Philosophy

#SL Response

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I hear lots of people bitch about something they know next to nothing about. Unfortunately they are not limited to Second Life. Oskar recently gave a good reply to one such… (put your own adjective and noun or pronoun here). I think it is worth reading Oskar’s response to understand what it takes to get server fixes rolled out. There is also some interesting information on timelines and drop dead dates for fixes rolling out.

WolfB——- Bears—- wrote:

So you have fixed the ghosting issue. Great.

But you’re not deploying the fix for another 30+ hours. Not Great.

If you do have an explanation for continuing to run server code which you know is broken, I would like to hear it.

The best answer would be that you are running the fix through QA processes. That still doesn’t explain why, when some regions are inaccessible because of the number of ghosted AVs, you have not reverted them to an earlier, known-safe, version of the code. 

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SOPA, PIPA, OPENA, and ACTA

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A new article appearing on ReadWriteWeb is about the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The writer is part of the group that thinks SOPA, PIPA, and OPENA have been stopped. They have not. See: SOPA, PIPA, OPENA articles.

Now we have word about an international attack on our rights from another quarter: ACTA. Read the article: What You Should Know About ACTA and Your Rights.

This is important for our SL community because other counties will be adopting, or not, this treaty. Many countries still have opportunities to stop their countries from signing onto the treaty.

This law comes to us in the forum of a treaty. Pres. Obama has signed this treaty. Few people are aware of the attacks on our freedom in the US mounted by this admiration. A treaty must be approved by the US Senate. The House of Representatives has no say in treaties. So, in many ways the Senate is more important than the House.

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Climate and Science

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This article is not really Second Life oriented. I chose to include this topic because the collection of information I link to is extensive and Climategate2 has been vetted. I’ve closed off comments because I don’t want to deal with ideologues’ rants from either side. Read the information, decide, and use it as you choose.

So…

Poor Bear

The release of the second round of exposed private communications as Climategate2 is revealing. Those at the heart of manmade global warming science are revealed. The context of how they are promoting bogus theories, deliberately hiding and destroying data and information to avoid FOIA requests, pressuring scientific journals not to publish articles they oppose (censorship), and personal attacks on those disagreeing with them. All the drama one would expect in SL is there. Hiding scientific information and doctoring data is one of the most despicable intellectual acts possible in a university setting. None of those involved should be allowed to remain at a university. But, the same can be said about Sandusky

For those that like numbers, math, good scientific debate, and facts; check out this article on Anthony Watts’ blog: Climate FAIL from A to Z presented at Durban.

Warmist* and Denier** ideologues will have their predictable reactions to the information I am presenting. But, for the undecided, the doubters, and the skeptics the article is essential reading and an excellent reference source. The latest information on climate and its effects are in the article, or at least the links to the information are.

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Great Insights

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On Loki and the Goonies, Loki has posted an insightful article on Second Life gaming. You may have seen and even played his Evil Giant Worm Massacre. In true entrepreneurial style Loki is looking to provide a service and have it support his effort. The money to pay tier has to come from somewhere.

Evil Worm Massacre

Destination Guide

The Destination Guide is helping Second Life users in many ways. For merchants it attracts shoppers. For clubs it helps bring patrons. For game developers like Loki it brings new players. For the typical resident it provides a way to find interesting places.

Loki points out what is needed to make the Destination Guide a tool for all levels and types of users.

One of Second Life’s biggest problems is revealing the extent of Second Life and its massive content.

Loki has what I think are great ideas for improving the Destination Guide and Second Life.

Shakespeare is Leaving #SL

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We hear lots of accounts of people leaving Second Life. I suppose they are. They always have. According to Metaverse stats the average player retention is two years. But, we also have new people signing up and new regions coming online. It is hard to know if Second Life is gaining or losing ground. So, may be region loss does mean SL is shrinking. Region loss has been a trend. We have been measuring SL success by concurrent users. That is decreasing, but seems to have reached a plateau. The Lab says in general more people joining and playing but spending less time in Second Life. There are reasons for that, so it may be true. And there are some interesting reasons that The Old Globe Theater in Second Life is closing.

Metaverse still provides some statistics on Second Life. Their closing and new regions graph shows a little surge in regions opening. I certainly would not call it a new trend. It may only be from this weekend’s sale on regions, US$1,000 off. Only time will tell if the trend is changing. But it is a change.

Metaverse's Closing and New Regions

Customer Service

The story behind Ina Centaur leaving and allowing the four regions the Old Globe Theater occupies to close is described in a blog post and letter to the patrons of SL Globe Theater and Primtings. You’ll find it here: Our Magic and Our Passing – Goodbye from the SL Shakespeare Company, Primtings, and sLiterary [SIC].

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Honor’s Rant

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There is a gorgeous post (pictures) and an interesting rant in Honor’s blog today. If you don’t regularly look at her posts, Sunday’s is a good one to look at.  Check out: I do not have to Apologize for Using Viewer 2 in Second Life.

Something to Notice

I’m not writing about Honor when I ask, have you noticed how rude and hateful complainers can be?

Honor calls her post a rant. It is very civil for a rant. I think it is even constructive. She is tired of hearing about how bad the SL Viewer 2 is. What she and I are tired of is the users of various viewers and especially those anti-series 2 viewer people belittling other viewers and those using them.

Most of us probably don’t care which viewer anyone uses. I have preferences and reasons for using a viewer… or in my case, viewers. Others are welcome to their preferences and reasons too. I can consider others and respect their viewpoint. I’m just tired of THEM disrespecting others choices.

Something to Do

Check out Honor’s entry in SLB8. Two weeks from now…