We dont want to hear you here..*click*

However I come here because I don't want the drama that second citizen offers but the way they've locked threads here makes me feel I have no voice if I don't tow the party line, I've only been here a few months but this if the first time I've seen this sort of stifling of debate on the forums.

Maybe those with more experience can shed some light as to whether this is the norm, but good debate has been stifled and I feel cheated.

I like coming here, I don't want the drama that third party fourms provide, I agree with the no name and shame policy but I'm extremely disappointed right now by what I see as nothing other than censorship and stifling of opinion.

There are plenty of other options for third party forums, give them a try you might be pleasantly surprised.

Broccoli

Okay, I think I got the original point across and you've all (well mostly all) brought up relevant concerns about the 'If we can't hear you then there must not be a problem' approach that LL seems to have adopted. The REAL issue still needs to be addressed, and quickly. Daniel threw out a lot of vague and easily twisted generalities in his blog. We need specifics so we can adjust accordingly and not live with the fear of having a nuke dropped on our heads out of the clear blue sky. I'm a perfextly law-abiding citizen 99% of the time in rl. But making a law that says "Don't speed"...without posting the limits is ludicrous. My idea of speeding may be 70 mph while the cop that holds the radar gun thinks it should be 35. Legally he is in authority and can write me a ticket; but would it be fair? Suppose he had a fight with his wife that morning and where he's usually been allowing 70 mph no problem; today he's angry and starts busting people for going over 25...see my point? Vague rules lead to unintentional violations and eventually chaos.

Very good analogy, that speed limit thing.

As to the mods, there is no "mods" doing their job; there is no "mods" locking threads.

There is Strife, one resident volunteer, doing 98% of everything.

And - from what LL has said - there will be no more calls for mods.

The idea seems to be that if Strife quits, there will be no forums at all.

coco

Nope. That got closed down and archived a while back. Irony: The last post to that forum was not only mine, but was in protest to the closing of that forum!

My opinion of Linden Labs has taken a drastic dive as fast becoming the most screwed up and fubar'd company in existence. I don't take great pleasure in saying this, but Dell has far better customer support. (I LOATHE DELL!!!) Dell has forums. Dell has a functional and answered phone system. (Yeah, it might ring up in India, but at least there's a human at the end of it.) Emails to Dell do get answered. (It may not be the right answer, but it's at least answered!) And Dell is 24/7 no matter what... And you can contact them easily.

There were so many options that the users put forward to Linden Labs about the forums, including outsourcing the moderation. But as usual, 'with regrets' and 'because it isn't scalable' they closed many of the forums. So far, the only thing I have seen as 'not scalable' has been Linden Labs.

There are plenty of third party options waiting for that day.

Broccoli

That's not an answer though is it, not being funny Broccoli but there are quotes from Lindens saying that these forums are part of the community, if these forums are censored n the fashion they have been today then where is our voice?

Have you ever looked closely at the Second Life logo?

"Talk to the hand, because we aren't listening"?

Broccoli

Third party options that the Lindens will never read and can always dismiss, since the aren't 'sanctioned' by them.

I'm not especially fond of the "take it elsewhere" way they've set this up. That makes it too easy for the Lindens to not be bothered by us.

The squeaky wheel will not only not get the grease, but the cart is preferably parked on the next block over.

I would prefer my membership fees and tier fees go towards operating costs, support and development, not towards keeping the 'official forums' up and going.

Maybe they think providing a closed venue worth the investment of time and effort of keeping the official forums open... after all, our whining can't be heard by outsiders from here.

They take note of what happens in the forums. They may or may not take action on it, but they do take note.

One could use the wiki for making their opinions on issues known.

One might check the group forums and see if there are any that seem appropriate to post in.

I tend to think the banishment of our general opinions to third party sites was to keep newcomers from being scared off by reading the various unflattering posts. The whole "GEEEEEZ, WE CANT HANDLE MODERATING THOSE CRAZY THREADS" excuse just sounded rather feeble. This is our community, and a community needs a soapbox. To say " TOUGH COOKIES PEOPLE, WE DONT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO POLICE YOUR VIEWS. GO HANG OUT ON SOMEBODY ELSES STREETCORNER." is a complete and utter snub to the residents of this alternate universe. The people who pay your bills should be respected due to the sheer fact that without them, you are nothing. Hiding the opinions of your customer base under somebody elses rug doesnt silence the opinions, just makes them seem more relevent. Ie: What exactly are you trying to conceal?

AR'ed for offensive sig banner.

Intelligent businesses WANT to know what their customers are thinking, and often go to a great deal of trouble to find out. Here, LL gets what its customers are thinking handed to them on a silver platter, loud and clear. Of course, if they choose to be not intelligent...

Unofficial forums are usually dead. Maybe they should be assigned days. If it's Monday it's sluniverse! Tuesday secondcitizen! Wed. is... you get it. Not that you'd have to go to the daily site, just that you'd be more likely to have company if you did.

Unofficial forums also have the distinct problem of not having every voice on it. I know that not every SL member uses the forums, or even looks at them - hell, after a year and a half of playing, I've only recently started looking and using them myself. But by and large more SL members would be found on these forums than a third party forum, unless it was a forum THEY started with their friends. More voices are heard on the official forums.

SC isn't dead. I would wager more Lindens consistantly read the SC forums than the SL fourms.

I've heard that said.

... in the SC forums ... <runs and ducks>.

If you actually visit SC you would know it's true.

Phillip Linden said the general discussion areas here were closed because his employees were getting depressed by them.

My place of employment uses a web filter that blocks secondcitizen as 'malicious content'... And even though I'm the Network Admin if I subvert the filter just to read it I could be fired from my RL job... Not really something I want...

I don't read the forums once I get home... To me they are more about my SL fix during the day, check up one the latest issues I didn't hear about while in-world the night before, and find out what businesses may be looking for something I'm selling... Soon their may only be the last of those three and even that may be limited to what it entails...

I think this is called "shooting the messenger" ...

It's also called Denial.