Resmod Opt-Out?

These are the official SL forums. This is where we can actually communicate with Linden employees, read the latest announcements, and get the most up-to-date info from the largest pool of Lindens, and the most helpful tips, opinions and advice from the largest pool of SL residents.

A recent change has been implemented that it seems a large portion of the forum users do not like. So, we should just shut up and shuffle out, instead of voicing our displeasure and hoping they see how fucking retarded and prone to corruption the new policy is and reverse it? Naw.

I demand of you to make more pretty red dresses...I ROOL YEW!

I think the voicing of our displeasure, and debating the program can be a good thing.

However, if our voices get so loud and emotional that we begin to make any opposing views unwelcome, it wont be surprising if the view of 'a large portion of the forum users' appears homogenous.

If the opposing view is "Love it or leave it and STFU about it" then it is unwelcome. I don't buy that crap from the Bush apologists, I won't buy it from the Linden apologists either. "Love it or work toward change" is a much more appetizing option.

Yes, and I want to ask where these mentalities are coming from - the "If the resmod system fails, the forums must be shut down", or the "Accept it or leave" mentality.

I begin to wonder if this response is what LL anticipated (wanted?).. and so on, and so forth...

*raises eyebrow*

Were the forums a failure prior to the resmod program? I don't think so.

We've got a HUGELY diverse set of people in SL, and everyone has opinions, agendas, and flaws (we are human beings afterall). I don't think the forums are failing - we talk about SL here, some of it's great discourse, some isn't. Again, we are human beings - life isn't all peaches and cream, so it stands that some of that is going to show up in a place like the forums.

Take a look down the first page of threads in the General section - can you honestly say you see more than 3 or 4 threads that have had some interpersonal drama in them? That's what? 1/5th of all threads on the front page? If it wasn't for this resmod issue, we may only have 1 or 2 dramatic threads, and so what? Do we want a sterile, robotic, Stepford forums? I don't.

There are a myriad of topics out there, so what if 4 or 5 of them currently happen to be about resmods? Don't wanna hear people complain? Don't read those threads. There's a great irony in entering a complaint thread to complain about people complaining. THAT is what makes drama, and I have been guilty of it myself at times. Just let 'em complain, they're just working through it in their own ways.

Prediction - The resmod Program will "fail", the forums will be sheared, and the people who complained about the resmod issue will be blamed for the closing of the General and Off-Topic sections.

and the rebel force shall flee to 'Land and the Ecomony' and launch attacks upon 'Notices and Well Wishes', wishing Linden Lab not very well wishes and leaving not very nice notices.

Darkness shall not prevail!!!


Fuck, my lightbulb just went pop!

* sobs *

A common theme I've seen is about our humanity--all the facets and flaws. As Nol pointed out, and certainly I've seen "We're not going to all get along" either. So, I was thinking more about this...

I'm going to suggest a bold idea. This is just an idea but let's see where it takes our minds, and what each person thinks. I have a good feeling it's going to spin off into tangents I haven't even conceived yet, so it's important I feel this out. The following is also derived from several discussions I've had re: ResMods recently.

Okey, so we all know LL sells a lot of land. And we've done it a lot. In a way, we provide "hosting". So, what if: instead of shutting down these official SL Forums (which I really hope doesn't happen), LL provides hosting for additional forums, with a vanity domain, which you can sign up for as a Resident. Monthly fee, like land usage.

A benefit would include that it's already connected to the "forum network", much as inworld, you can TP around without having to login with a separate password.

In addition, it's possible the Community Standards wouldn't necessarily exist, and you could modify your rules as you see fit--

Think of it like the mainland and estates, because with estates, we're moving towards covenants--self-governance. They may not be LL's goals, but that's alright, as we're continuing into the future, we recognize this doesn't fit everyone's style. So think of SL Forums that have self-governance unto them. You wanna ban (like an estate-level ban) someone you deem a troublemaker? It's your forum, go ahead! Wanna make it visible only to a group of friends? Or do you want a sprawling free-for-all like Off-Topic gone exponential? Etc. etc. etc.

In spite of our differences, we do have something in common: Second Life.

What say ye?

DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!! IT'S A TRICK!!!!

* Slices off Torley's head with my 20 prim lightsaber that I found at Yadni's store *

Damn insurgents!

Just charge people 100L for every post (and 1000L for starting a thread) in general/off topic/...

Edit: and 5000L for a poll that mentions pie

We'd see a rise in crime figures as we'd need to steal the money to feed our habbit

I say no.

People can already provide their own forums or message boards without having to pay LL anything.

And the idea of having a forums where every resident can participate is a very common thing - the idea of having to pay to run the forums your way is not a typical way to do things.

It's bad enough one has to buy their way to the top of the Classified lists; it would be ridiculous to buy your way to a decent forums.

There is an option the Lindens refuse to consider: Hiring unbiased employees to run the forums. Aside from that, they are loathe to let them go to Stratics, either. But out of everything, this idea of the forums going to the highest bidder is possibly the least desirable idea.

coco

I don't recall seeing the source of this earlier. Could you please show me where this was stated by a Linden? I should check on that.

From Robin, in the Answers forum:

"As Second Life grows and we need to scale to accommodate the sheer numbers of residents and diverse views, the alternative to ResMods is for us to either leave the forums unmoderated or turn them over to an outside moderation company like Stratics. Neither of those options is appealing to us."

coco

I'm going to suggest a bold idea, too. Get rid of the ResMod system. It sucks.

Do you have a problem with polygamy?

We're just one state down from Utah!

So long as I get a hot dinner at Midnight and get to take photos, I'm down with the sickness!

Oi

I've yet to see a proposal more likely to acheive the opposite of its intention. SLUniverse or a similar site would have become The Forum a year ago if LL would only shut down their site. But they won't. LL doesn't yield control in anything. This is acceptable from a benevolent dictator, it breeds contempt from a tyrant.

Webhosting is cheap beyond compare; if LL's goal in retaining the forums is to promote "community", charging for it will destroy them in a day. Shifting from zero cost to non-zero cost would be as effective as simply zapping the domain name. This is called the "substitution effect" by economists.

Eh I maintain that the official forums should be a place of information - questions and answers and all that.

The reason that General and Off Topic fail is because they simply don't fall into the easy to maintain guidelines that the other forum topics to. They are simply too broad and too subjective.

Stacked side by side along with the other topics they are the 'odd man out'.

I honestly think that is LL wanted easier moderation they would zap them and let them be taken up by the fansites (which would do a better job of maintaining them anyways). The idea of harnessing General and turning into a showpeice of how wonderfull things in Second Life are isn't working - it hasn't worked for as long as I've been here.

Thats my opinion anyways.

linden moderators are paid to do their job. their incentive to do their work properly is employment. LL has a loose set of guidelines to maintain a certain degree of impartiality amongst their employs.

resmods are uncompensated residents. there is no tangible incentive for them to do their work properly. LL has a set of guidelines that they cannot ethically enforce because they are requesting professional work from volunteers. resmods are naturally more likely to either exploit their powers or to feel entirely uncomfortable to use them effectively.

finally, i don't feel like posting on third party forums. they are underpopulated and i want an audience for my very important messages.

Torley, i actually liked that idea when i first read it. i'm not foreseeing any real problems with such an idea and it may encourage some Resis to start forums here instead of needing to set up their own website just to tack on a forum.

the novelty of having a vanity doamin could potentially be worth the cost, but it would have to be a fairly small cost.. AND be able to pay for it with L$. and for those who don't wish to "own" their own SL-connected forum, they could always visit them for no fee. one huge potential would be for SL groups! ionstead of having a Groups forum presence here to rely on, they could have an entire set of forums to themselves.

of course, for those who set up SL fan sites and want forums on their site, this would be a groovy option to just link to a vanity forum instead of having to set it all up themselves.
--

Jauani, while you do make a valid point about ResMods not having much to lose, i have to admit there's a convincing counter-arguement i read somewhere else.. i forget who said it and when. anyway, the basic premise was that (some) ResMods DO have a lot to lose.. reputation. if someone who runs an operation of any kind in SL becomes a ResMod, they had best behave themselves and perform as fairly and decently as possibly, lest they sully their reputation and tus harm their in-world business as a direct effect of that.

so yes, there are those who may easily succumb to the possibility of abusing the power of such a position and i would hope these people would be quickly outed and dealt with. (as the guidelines point out, loss of ResMod status AND possible Second Life disciplinary actions). but, in counter-point, reputation is of fairly high importance to many SLers and i believe this serves as a powerful influence on how a ResMod conducts themself.

cybin,

with all due respect, reputation is bullshit.

forum reputation does not keep anshe from sending money home to mom and dad
forum reputation does not keep impeach bush guy from defaulting on his tier
forum reputation does not keep jamie bergman from laughing all the way to the bank
forum reputation does not keep people from taking me seriously when i'm serious.

and if that wasn't enough, this is an anonymous world where everytime reputation becomes a problem we can reboot our second life with a shiney new av.

good points and well taken. especially being able to just "Reset".

on the other hand, what if someone like Marcos F became a ResMod and started shoving people around and acting in a corrupt manner.. i tend to think that Armord would suffer because of that. (not that i think such a thing would ever occur, just using an extreme example)

or even personally. i may not have a busniess or anything of virtual material substantiality to lose, but i do value my place ni the community and "starting over" is simply not in my lexicon of possible actions. i am Cybin Monde (well, The Quirk too.. but that's besides the point) and always will, first and foremost, be so.

i value who i am here and would hate to do things to turn the opinion at large against me. not that opinion is what guides my actions, but it's a valued by-product of who i am.

so while it's not necessarily a barring factor in all cases, there are some where it is an important one.

Cybin. I love you, despite you not being one of us. But if somebody wants to attack my so called reputation then they can do so in many ways. They don't have to come onto the forums and tell everybody that I eat a baby every morning before logging into Second Life.

I've been in Second Life for two years (logging out "occasionaly" when I crash) and only sent a single AR. I honestly didn't need to send that report. But I wondered how the process worked and so I sacrificed somebody (Not seen them in Second Life since). I think some people are just good victims and those people need to be looked after by Liasons and Resmods. Perhaps victims need to be trained on how to kill their enemies with just a single word.

But you know all this!! So just throw down your weapons and and come sit beside us.

Or I'll tell everybody about the time when... well, you know. .

Seriously though. I can sleep at night knowing that there are Resmods in the world. I think it's nice to know that somebody out there cares about me.

I wish that Starax was a ResMod (and ResCopy and ResTrans too!) and then he would edit people's posts and add expletives