The Linden's Strange Silence

Can anyone explain why there have been so few official communications or announcements lately from Lindens?

We passed 5 million users. You would think they would be celebrating. Not one mention of it by a Linden in the Forums or in the Blog.

They implemented what appears to be some sort of replacement for First Land, allowing a real world realty company to adminstrate a land sales program only for newbies, and apparently providing resident data to that company that allows them to tell if a potential buyer is a real newbie, or an alt of a land owner. Not one mention of it by a Linden in the Forums or in the Blog.

What we get in the Blog of late is just break-fix announcements and occasionally a new Liason being announced...

What is going on? Have they just decided to stop communicating on any important issues?

I though we determined that the Coldwell Banker thing wasn't a Linden-backed deal and they just decided to come in and do it on their own?

Probably LL had no idea Coldwell were getting involved in SL.

Last time LL proudly declared they'd passed some kind of landmark on the blog the entire thread turned into a huge mocking bashing session so it's no huge surprise that they choose to celebrate that number privately and in the general media rather than with the rather cynical users who read the forums and blogs.

This is the one and only thing that really bothers me about the way LL do business. I'd feel a lot less worries/fed up about things if I just knew a little more about what's going on, or the Lindens gave me some indication that they know what's going on.

I guess we just have to live with it and hope for the best.

Vale

Ceera - funny because I have the exact opposite reaction. I think they're communicating more, better, faster. All the communication re: grid issues - a very good thing. Those are issues that matter to people in real time. I think they're getting a lot better. Look at the blog! That stuff matters big time to people. Residents want acknowledgment of their issues and I believe they're getting that.

I don't know why they would communicate about another corporation's program (Coldwell Banker)...it's not a LL program and it's not meant to be a replacement to first land.

If they announced - YAY WE HIT 5 MILLION ACCOUNTS, they would only get backlash...remember what happened at 1 million and 3 million? They're demonstrating that they're focused on making the grid work again...not backpatting.

All good things IMHO.

I kind of think of the Lindens new approach like the Reagan presidency.

Just govern in oblivious-ness.

My theory will be confirmed when the town hall starts out like this -

Phil "Reagan" Linden: "Well .."

Yep when we passed the 1million mark they got hammered with complaints when they tried to celebrate. And people wonder why they no longer respond in the forums. There really should be an 800 number to report Linden abuse.

Coldwell Banker is definitely NOT a replacement for the First Land Program. First Land allowed you to show creativity, whereas Coldwell Banker won't even let you modify your home, if that CNN report quote is correct.

And yeah, there are constant complaints about the fact that there are too many people logging in and griding the grid to a standstill. I'm glad that they are proving it's not totally about the numbers on the front page.

The intensity of venom and hostility that is directed at the Lindens would tend to erode my morale. I'm constantly amazed at how well they tolerate that abuse. Residents complain about being ignored and mistreated and receiving poor customer service, but I'd rather be on this side of the equation than on the LL side. There is literally no comment or announcement that they can make that won't draw somebody's ire, no matter how contradictory the reactions may be.

The projection of apathy can also fuel venom and hostility =/

Anyone in a service business will get the same angry customers in direct proportion to how much money is spent on the service.

A responsive telephone line might be a big benifit since it would possibly reduce the number of people choosing to vent in text for others to read.

There you go again. [gesture: Reagan's famous ironic smile]

I am guessing they are realizing that SL residents understand the "5 million" figure is basically bogus, and if I were a potential long-term investor I think I would do my due diligence and become a resident for some months before investing the "long-term capital" LL says it is looking for. So yes, they are bright enough to downplay the PR hype stuff like that to residents. (I basically watch the concurrency figure myself, but you do have to use that as an indicator rather than a "real" count because of all the camping zombies.)

So yes, I too think they are being much better lately at communicating with in-world residents on matters that matter a lot in a practical way to in-world residents. And I think they are reserving the hype to spheres where hype might help them.

In many ways, SL is a laissez-faire dream world undergirded by LL but the joint (and not always universally approved) creation of its residents. But LL is a RL business that has to exist in the real world, and business in the real world is and needs to be strictly Darwinian: The Law of the Jungle, baby, and only the fit survive. So please don't get on their case about doing stuff they need to do to survive and grow in the real-world jungle. If they don't make it there, this fantasy world here won't survive at all. (And to deal with the self-appointed morally superior among us: I am not talking about anything illegal or unethical. I am talking about doing legal and ethical stuff making this thing work.)

If you have a problem in-world that affects the survivability of SL, for God's sake tell them about it! If you think they are making decisions that will hurt their survivablity in the real-world jungle, for God's sake tell them about it!

Otherwise, if all you have is your own bitching that serves no constructive purpose, please don't waste everyone's time about it here. Go off in a corner and masturbate in private about how wonderful you are. The rest of us want to build something that IMHO will change the world for the better. If you have something that will help further that, for God's sake, don't just masturbate, TELL THEM ABOUT IT!

Go LL! You rock! And if we find a way you can rock better, you better be ready to hear about it!

UP THE REVOLUTION!!!!

And that's exactly the kind of reaction that puzzles me. You're *assuming* apathy -- even carefully couched as a "projection" of that attitude -- which in turn supposedly justifies a reaction of anger. So some residents, if not you in particular, seem to assume the worst possible motivation for LL that can be applied to the situation, and then react to that assumption as if it's a fact.

Since I have never stepped foot in the LL office, and have no direct or indrect contact or knowledge of the numerous employees or executives who work there, I make no assumptions about their motivations. The lack of customer service could be apathy, even incompetence, or it could also be the disorganization and chaos that ensues when a small visionary company grows too fast.

Criticism about poor company performance is more than justified -- but blanket slurs about the motivations and attitudes of the entire company, not even just one or two individual employees, serves no purpose whatever.

/me says "seconded"

This is well said.

However
- I dont know if its so much *Im* assuming apathy, as much as the people who try to get resolution on their issues and encounter poor customer service have decided LL does not care.

the reputation LL has in world amoung the people I talk to is an unresponsive company , very hard to get a hold of for any customer service problems. Many feel when someone is reached, resolution is often unsatifactory.

Hence me describing it "Projecting apathy"

My personal beleif is LL isnt really apathetic - so much as having motivations different from what we see. Business first. Basically.

-a little specualtion-
If your goal is to get out of the Virtual World management business , for example, you wont spend all your efforts on managing the virtual world you run.

Has there actually been any credible statement to the effect that Linden Research is providing information about who is who's alts to Coldwell Banker?

It's none of Coldwell Banker's business what accounts I have. I doubt that Linden Research has actually given them this info or access to it. I would think there would be concern about this loss of privacy.

I've read that Coldwell Banker has some relationship with residents to aid them in their program. I suspect that if Coldwell Banker does have information about who is supposedly whose alts that it comes from these residents, and may well be inaccurate and possibly inaccurate on purpose to serve the interests of these residents.

It would good to have some reliable info on this matter.

That's what I said...it's NOT a replacement for first land so why would they blog about it?

Perhaps they realize that they cannot patch the thing as fast as it crashes.