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The Virtual Whirl: News of the Whirl
This week, in The Virtual Whirl, we're having our monthly roundup of news items. Things that got missed, things that didn't make the cut, things that got buried, and things that really should have gotten your attention anyway.
Second Life's classless server scheme
Thus far, one of the key factors in Second Life performance has been the class of server hardware hosting the simulator. There are plenty of other non-server items that might contribute to perceived poor performance, of course, but server class versus server utilization is a pretty consistent factor. Traditionally, each class of server has a numerical designation and represents a certain basic equipment and operating system specification. In the past, some estate owners have opted not to upgrade to a newer class of hardware in order to avoid higher monthly fees. Now the server class system is coming to an end.
Linden Lab talks Adult issues at Second Life press conference
Last week, the Lab held one of their occasional in-world press conferences in Second Life. This time it was about the addition of the new Adult content category, which not unnaturally has generated quite a bit of interest and concern among users. It's obvious from the questions that were being asked that quite a few people are still under the impression that this move is a precursor to merging Teen Second Life with regular Second Life (which is obviously not the case), that this constitutes censorship (it doesn't, though it does constitute additional editorial control from what the Lab is saying), or that all non-G-rated content is being pushed out to the Ursula continent (which also is manifestly not the case). We're not even sure how some of those notions got formed.
Linden Lab to take action against Second Life SEO bots
Looking mostly like fluffy clouds, this box of bots at a gambling site in the Joywind Korea sim in Second Life makes the site seem more popular than it otherwise might be. Jack Linden, head of Linden Lab's Land Team, handed down the news yesterday. Linden Lab will be taking action against traffic and camping bots (both of which artificially boost a Second Life site's traffic figures, and thus search rankings) starting in one week's time. It's an interesting move, and for many, one which has been too long coming. It's more interesting however, because of how it is being applied. You see, it isn't the bots themselves that are being targeted, it's the people who benefit from them, and that's not quite the same thing.
Openspaces: Linden Lab short on answers
The fifth of January has come and gone, and the Second Life Openspaces 2.0 product has passed into history, to be replaced with the lower-value Openspaces 4.0 and Homesteads 1.0 products. In the couple of months since the initial announcement, we've been inundated with reader-requests asking us to get some sort of explanation of the reasoning from Linden Lab, and render it into comprehensible form. Unfortunately, despite repeated promises over the last ten weeks or so to provide us with that information, Linden Lab has been unable to actually provide us with any explanation or reasoning behind the changes in pricing and specification. What we do know is that the price rise for void simulators was announced at the end of a month in which Linden Lab reported raking in record levels of monthly revenue.
A brief history of void simulators/openspaces
The context in which the Second Life issue of the void/openspaces price-rise exists is a rather complex one, going all the way back to 2006. So, in order to get the whole issue in perspective, we've rounded up the history of void simulators, costs and conditions, all the way back to the beginning. And it is a far more interesting progression of events than you might think. On with the show.
Linden Lab responds to void simulator furor
Jack Linden, head of Linden Lab's Land Team, has proferred an update on the policy changes to void simulators that sparked a revolt in Second Life earlier this week. According to Jack, all of the feedback has been read. That must have been an absolutely Herculean task right there, considering that the responses number in the thousands, and Jack is apparently out of town. Jack implies that the type of usage is a more important factor in the pricing changes than the actual cost of usage, though to be fair, it's an ambiguous pair of sentences, 'We are saying that the use has changed, and continues to do so as people find more creative ways to use them. So the revised pricing is about recognising that change of use and the additional costs and value associated with it.' Linden Lab themselves, appear to have a slew of apparently overloaded void simulators on the new Nautilus continent.
The spirit of 1776: Second Life's second revolution?
Second Life users are already calling it Second Life's second revolution. Outside of Linden Lab's in-world Land Team offices, capacity crowds of users have been gathered through much of the day, though there's been nary a Linden Lab staffer in sight. People are cursing, newcomers are asking for protest signs, and there's angry chatter in over a dozen languages. There are a lot of Europeans here, which is not unexpected. They have to pay VAT on top of any additional costs. There is talk about switching the signs and banners for flaming torches and pitchforks, because, if nothing else Second Life users find value in tradition. There are even discussions about picketing Linden Lab's Battery Street office in San Francisco. All of this started yesterday at 6PM SLT (US Pacific time) when Jack Linden, head of Linden Lab's land team, announced a price-rise to void simulators (known to Linden Lab as Openspace sims). The reaction since then has been ... robust.
Linden Lab drops advertising licensing (mostly)
Linden Lab's Jack Linden, head of the land team has announced that Linden Lab will not go ahead with previously-announced plans to license network advertisers on the mainland of the virtual environment Second Life. That doesn't mean that Linden Lab is going to be light on regulation, however -- or that licensing is totally off the menu. There's a whole list of requirements, the violation of any of which may be reported by any Second Life user under the Harassment category and may lead to account sanctions and being stripped of Second Life assets. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Linden Lab to license network advertisers in Second Life
Jack Linden has dropped the next shoe on mainland policy changes in Second Life, while we're expecting plenty more shoes, this one at least seems to have been widely welcomed, increasing the overall crack-down on what are known colloquially as ad-farms. The short form is 'Network advertising (Ad Farming) will no longer be permitted on the Linden Mainland unless you have a written agreement with Linden Lab (essentially meaning a license to advertise)', writes Jack. There's additional explanations and caveats to that, though. The last policy post on ad-farms was certainly considerably deficient and seemed to cause more problems than it solved. Users who are are operating advertising networks that are infringing this policy have until 1 October 2008 to obtain a license and comply with the terms of that license, or to remove their content. Jack does not say what will occur otherwise, but content-removal and account-sanctions are the safe bet. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Linden Lab warns tighter rules to come
Linden Lab's land-team honcho, Jack Linden, posted a heads-up this week of upcoming changes to Second Life mainland (that is, Linden estate) policy. That's right, townies -- you're going to have to make way for the ... errr ... townies. The announcement itself is more of a piece of expectations-management. It's thin on actual useful content (in fact, there's virtually none -- and what little it has is mostly there by implication), but provides ample warning for users not to be blind-sided by upcoming policy announcements. The warning comes in two areas. One is the introduction of zoning, and the other has to do with in-world advertising. Jack identifies advertising particularly as a critical issue, but suggests very little about what will be done, and much of that is confusing. Right now, though, we're wondering if this is more than talk, as Linden Lab seems to lack the resources to make anything stick. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Linden Lab lowers prices, estate owners rebel
Linden Lab is giving the air of being somewhat baffled this week. Earlier in the week, it lowered prices for new Second Life simulators -- because well, lower prices are good, aren't they? Unfortunately instead of lavish praise for the price cut, response to the move seems to be more along the lines of "Argh! You sons of bitches!" (loosely paraphrased). There seems to be more depreciation than appreciation involved.
Linden Lab Q2 land report: lower sim pricing, new continent
Jack Linden has weighed in with the belated quarterly Second Life land supply and pricing report. Longer than the usual report, here's your key takeaways: New simulators: US$675 cheaper sometime this month. Opening auction prices dropping by US$500. New continent on the way to lower mainland prices. Got your attention yet? We thought it might.
Linden Lab takes a position on ad farms
Linden Lab's staff for the last month or so have been mentioning in public office hours that they have been looking into so-called 'ad farms' in Second Life and talking about potential changes of policy. Indeed, Jack Linden of Linden Lab's land team recently made specific mention of that on the Linden blog. Ad farms appear to exist for a variety of purposes. Linden Lab is targeting one of these, specifically land-extortion. Land-extortion ad-farms involve the ad-farmer taking a parcel of any size (it's most common on land parcels that are only four metres square, but there doesn't seem to be any limitation on parcel size), and cramming prominent, unsightly, (often spinning) advertisements on the land and setting the land for sale for many times the going market rate per square metre.
Switch your simulator server class
Linden Lab's land team is offering switcheroos on Second Life simulator server classes starting from Friday, 1 February and running until - well, I suppose until they change their minds. The new deals allow you to either upgrade one non-mainland simulator from class 4 (those with lower class hardware - are there any? We don't think so - need not apply) or two swap two simulators where one is class 4 and the other is class 5.
Linden Lab land plans
Jack Linden reports on Linden Lab's pricing and supply plans for land over Q1 2008. According to Jack, mainland prices are averaging L$6.3/sqm - though a more useful number would be the median price per square metre. "[A]round L$6.3/m, ... we feel is a good level, low enough for those coming into the land market for the first time and high enough that both mainland and islands can be profitable for those interested in trading or leasing land."
Last of the class 3 servers
Jack Linden, honcho of Second Life's land team, announces today that the last of the Class 3 servers are on the way out, to be replaced with Class 4 servers. While there are increased costs for owners of simulators running on older hardware to migrate to the top-drawer Class 5 servers, the upgrade from Class 3 to Class 4 does not represent any additional one-time or ongoing monthly cost. However, current Class 3 owners can upgrade to a Class 5 for a one-time fee of $200USD (plus the increased monthly fees for Class 5 hardware). The implication in the notice is that Class 3 owners who are upgraded to Class 4 servers will no longer be able to take advantage of the upgrade offer. If you are a Class 3 owner who wishes to upgrade to Class 5, you need to file a support ticket before close-of-business on Friday 16 November. The last of the Class 3 servers are expected to be decommissioned by late today or early tomorrow.
