This topic is a unofficial FAQ about the process of making feature suggestions for Second Life. It was written by a resident, and is not necessarily endorsed by Linden Lab.
It was based on my old FAQ on proposing features for SL, but has been updated since then.
A note about Bug Reports
If you encounter something in Second Life which does not work as it was designed to work, then this is a 'bug'. To report a bug :
1) Check that it is not already a known issue on the known issues page. Also check the SL Forums and the SL Blog to be sure that the Lindens don't already know about it.
2) If you think that it's a bug the Lindens are not aware of already, use "Report Bug" under the "Help" menu, fill in and send the bug report form.
3) Note that you shouldn't file the bug as 'Exploit' unless it meets the guidelines set out by Brent Linden. The reason for this is that bugs filed as 'exploit' will page Brent to get up and work on them right now - even if it's 3am and he's asleep in bed. So, please don't use the "exploit" category in the bug reporting tool lightly. Check Brent's posts first to be sure that what you are reporting is really an exploit before filing it as 'exploit'.
4) Similarly, make sure to include the screenshot, and logs (chat-> history, copy and paste) if they help give information on the problem.
Note that bug reports tend not to get anything more then an automated response. So, if the bug is very serious, or means that you can't use Second Life at all, it may be helpful to contact a Liaison (use Search->People to search for online people with 'Linden' as their last name, then contact one who is a member of the 'Liaisons' group). If you cannot access Second Life at all, you should email support@secondlife.com.
A note about policy change requests
There are times when residents disagree with the Lindens about how Second Life should be run. One example is the Linden policy of "open registration", which was challenged by many residents. Challenging policy isn't covered in this FAQ. There are two reasons for this. First is that there is a precedent that 'policy' requests are not welcome on the feature voting tool. The second is that I don't actually know how one *ought* to go about requesting a change in policy. Since I don't know the answer, I can't write a FAQ about it
If any Linden reads this and does know the right way for residents to suggest policy changes, please IM or email it to me so I can include it in this article.Step 1 : coming up with an idea for a feature suggestion
Often, ideas for feature suggestions come as a result of simply doing what you enjoy. One day, you're doing what you love in SL, and you think "oh, wow, wouldn't it be cool if there was a way to _____!". This "______" is the cool feature idea
There are other ways of coming up with feature ideas, mostly involving SL as a system and experimenting with other ways the system "could be". This is very abstract though, and most people who have feature ideas don't do this. Instead, they're busy doing what they love (or trying to!) and they either find something stopping them ("I wish there was a way around ____, so I could _____"
, or they have an idea for something they wish they had or could use ("I wish there was a tool to _____".Once you have that idea, write it down, so you don't loose it! Once it's written down, think about it. Develop it. Ask yourself 'how would this work?', ask 'how would it fit with the other tools in SL?'. Ask questions, and try to get a more fleshed out idea of it in your mind. If you feel like it, go from "I want a tool to _____", to "how would I design a tool to _____?". You don't have to design the tool in detail, but it helps to have some thoughts about how your idea could be put into practice.
Step 2 : checking to see if someone else has already proposed this idea
Most ideas that are suggested have already been suggested before by someone else. It is important that you check that yours hasn't, before you start campaigning for it. The reason is simple : if 10 different people have the same idea, and all campaign for their own version of it, then attention is spread too thinly, and the idea is not very likely to get noticed. On the other hand, if 10 people back a single clear version of the same idea, then it has more chance of being noticed. The Lindens are very busy, and remember, your ultimate goal is to get them to consider your idea. To do this, it is better to have one or two versions of the idea with strong popular backing, than it is to have 10 versions of the idea each with a few people supporting them.
So, search the Feature Voting Tool (FVT) for similar proposals. Check the SL Forums, especially the feature suggestions forum. Make sure that nobody else has had the same idea as you.
If it turns out they have, then you should probably vote for the idea as they have proposed it, unless your version is substantially different. Remember, if you work together and co-operate with other people, it means that the idea you share is much more likely to be noticed and acted upon.
So... check other people haven't thought of it before. If they have, support them. If they haven't, or if your version is quite different than theirs, read on
Step 3 : developing and advertising your idea
Posting your proposal to the feature suggestions forum is very important. Not only will this help get your ideas noticed, but it is also the main place where yourself and other residents can debate and discuss your idea. Bear in mind that these residents want the same thing as you: they want to improve Second Life for everyone. Thus, you're on the same side. Don't let a debate over your proposals turn into a personal argument. That is bad form and reflects badly both on you and on your idea. Instead, work together with other residents, identifying potential problems and adapting your idea as needed to try to counter these problems. If there is a big flaw in your idea, and you can see it, then FIX the flaw, and post a modified version that fixes the flaw.
Sending the link privately to people you know are interested in related topics is also a very good way to get helpful suggestions for improving the proposal.
Remember, the time you spend debating your idea on the forum is very valuable - it helps you learn and gives you ideas about ways to improve your proposal.
When posting your proposal, explain why your proposals are wanted/needed. Give some examples of practical uses they could be put to. Give some examples of Resident wants/needs they would address. Summarise what you'd change. Don't waste time describing what already exists... just focus on what you'd change. This is quicker, easier to read, and clearer. Link your forum topic to other topics in which people express support for similar ideas. Make sure you tie your proposal directly to other topics that demonstrate why it is wanted/needed.
If Lindens have posted about this idea before, then quote the ones who support you. Also quote the ones who don't support you but give reasons, and show how your version of the proposal avoids the objections the Lindens have posted against previous versions.
If your proposal is long, it may be helpful to include a short summary at the top and/or bottom of it, for the people who want to skim-read.
If your proposal is ignored, then see step 4 for information on how to advertise it. Once it is advertised more, people may join in the discussion on it. If you keep trying to get people interested and nobody seems interested, it may be worth making sure that you can find other people who share your problem, or who think the idea is cool. For example, if your idea is about a new kind of prim, then contact other builders. They may be more interested in it than the general population of SL. If you've tried this and you still can't find anyone else interested, then it may be time to abandon the proposal, or at least consider ways to make it relevant to more people.
There are many ways to advertise your proposal.
* Put a link in your forum signature, preferably with a short, punchy title.
* Put a link in your in-world profile.
* Post about it on the SL forum, especially the feature suggestions forum.
* Hold in-world meetings to discuss it and organise a group of people to lobby for it.
* Use email to send the proposal link to people who you think would be interested in it.
* Forming an in-world group to advertise the proposal and show who supports it.
* ... many more, use your imagination!
Step 4: finalising your idea and getting Linden attention
Once you are happy that your idea is as clear, useful, and free of problems as it can be, you should consider tabling it as a proposal in the Second Life Feature Voting System. Don't rush to put your proposal up on the voting system before it is ready, though, as this will ultimately not work out as well as if you had waited, processed the feedback, and took more time over the drafting of your proposal. Once you have decided your proposal is ready, post it up on the FVT. The basic objective for you on the FVT is to get 500 votes. If you can get 500 votes, then you will get a Linden response to the proposal within about 6 months. If you want a faster response, get over about 600 or 700 votes. Proposals with 600-700 or more votes tend to get a response much faster.
So, how do you get the votes? Well, IMHO this comes down to two things : writing a great proposal, and advertising it.
The basic tips about writing a good proposal are :
* Make sure you consider all the feedback you have got thus far. Ask for clarification on anything you don't understand. Work with your critics to develop the best proposal possible. Try to address any problems that are thrown up in debate. Note that you don't have to bend over backwards to please everyone. There will always be some people who are impossible to please and who will whine and complain no matter what you do. Ignore these people, and instead focus on making sure that the final version of your proposal expresses the important ideas clearly.
* Make sure your proposal title is clear and punchy. Best results, I find, are gained with short but memorable proposal names, such as "Stop Griefing!" and "Give us more prims!". These are better than "a proposal on SL security" and "increase per-sqm prim count for SL simulators", because they are clearer and more memorable.
* Make SURE you put the link to the proposal's forum topic in BOTH it's "URL" box and also in the description box. The reason for this is that the proposal's "URL" as entered into the URL box does NOT show up when you are just viewing the proposal by itself, and not everyone knows how to use a database search to find its forum topic URL. Make it easy for people and put the URL for your proposal's forum topic in BOTH places.
* Clearly and succinctly explain your proposal in the "description" box. Remember, this is what Lindens are most likely to read, so outline the ways your proposal would be helpful to ordinary Second Life residents. Suggest ways of implementing it with as little hassle to the Lindens as possible. If previous ideas like it were rejected, then clearly state why it is different to those and does not suffer from the same problems they did. Remember : you have very few words to use in your description of a proposal on the FVT. Outline the main points, and then post your forum discussion URL to explain it in detail. You can use tinyurl.com to shrink your forum URL down to size, too. If you have a very long proposal, ask a writer to proofread it before you post - just in case there are unclear bits or mistakes you didn't spot.
Once your proposal is tabled on the FVT, it is a *big* effort to create a new one and encourage people to switch your their votes. You can't edit FVT proposals after they are posted, either. So, please take care to make the proposal as good as possible before posting it up on the FVT.
Now, how should you advertise your FVT proposal, and thus, get the most votes? IMHO, you should use *all* the ways you used back in step 3. By now, thanks to debating and discussing your proposal with other Second Life residents, you should have a few people (or, hopefully, more) who support your proposal. Once the proposal is up on the FVT, contact all of these people and encourage them to vote! At this point, your aim is to maximise the number of votes placed for your proposal, so that it stands the best chance of rising to the top and getting looked at.
Once you have at least 500 votes (preferably, 600-700 or more), and your proposal has not got a reply in 3 months, it is OK to post a request for a response at the Linden Answers forum. Be patient - only do this if the proposal has had over 500 votes for at least 3 months and no Linden has commented on it.
Bear in mind that the Lindens usually take *months* to comment on proposals, even after they reach 500 votes. So, you should be patient.
If you have any suggestions as to how to improve this FAQ, please suggest them to Angel Fluffy.
