When She Made a Second Life Graveyard for Laid Off Lindens, Others Left Flowers to Mourn Their Leaving

There is a graveyard for the one hundred Lindens whose terminations were announced yesterday, and it was built by CodeBastard Redgrave, who set it in her nightclub, half-submerged in water. You can visit that place by clicking this link, which is a direct teleport SLurl. Ms. Redgrave intended it to be her own tribute to those Lindens who lost their livelihoods and also their place in Second Life. Without quite planning it, visitors began showing up, and many left flowers, and other tokens, at the foot of many gravestones. When I was there late last night, a girl in a richly embroidered Korean dress kneeled before one, rezzed a flower there, and remained there for awhile in silence. Many more kept coming, as did the flowers. Even some Lindens arrived, to pay tribute to colleagues who were moving on:

Image credit: The Bot Zone

The future of Second Life is more uncertain than it ever has been. But one thing remains certain: Few customers of other Internet communities would build an impromptu memorial for laid off members of the company's paid staff, then quietly remain there in real mourning.

Comments

[Rob Knop]

I can't seem to teleport there... I'm guessing the region is full.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Well, this is just a wee bit morbid, isn't it?

I don't wish to be misunderstood. I feel awful for the employees let go, and I think that cuts this deep are appalling, and reflect very poorly on LL's corporate culture and its concern for customer service ... but tombstones???

I'm not sure how suggesting that these unfortunate individuals are now metaphorically "dead" does them a service. Wouldn't it be rather more appropriate to find an affirmative way to celebrate their contributions, than to imply that the loss of a job at LL represents "the end"?

[Adric Antfarm]

Scyalla, in a sense they are since their avatars are no more and I don't think anyone feels like celebrating (except those gloating who can go do something to themsleves Hamlet won't let me say).

I personally would do away with the um...dance surroundings for the time being, but apart from that I found it a very moving display. Looking at the names laid out like that provides needed perspective.

I can understand people seeing things from one perspective and others another, but it's clear the intent of these folks was respect and reflection, not to be morbid.

[Lonnie]

I think the tombstone, while creepy, is actually pretty metaphorically correct. When the Lab deletes an account, it deletes an avatar, a person with thousands of relationships and a history. It's not just deleting a job. Most Residents have no way to contact the people behind these avatars once the account is disappeared. I have sent messages to missing Lindens and never received a reply, only to find out much later through gossip that they weren't ignoring me... they were dead, gone, terminated, their email and IMs were routed into the Lab dustbin, and I never knew their real name or what happened to them.

Anyway, I'd like to remember some of the other Lindens who have been "disappeared" recently:

Jeska Linden
Glenn Linden
Pathfinder Linden
Dusty Linden
Phoenix Linden

There are more. Help add names to the list.

[Ann Otoole]

What about all the Lindens that got cut or wisely quit since 2008 before this mass layoff? Are they memorialized too?

[Talvin Muircastle]

They should add one for M Linden. It would add a bit of hope to a scene otherwise filled with despair.

[Carolyn Saarinen]

Oh blimey we're not going to go all Princess Diana over this are we? Do you know why you're unable to contact these people after they leave? Why it is that you don't know their 'real' names? It's because they aren't your friends. You didn't know them. They didn't care about you.

How many of these mourned Lindens have you genuinely wanted to see buried at some time in the past when they ignored your problems or even created them? Yet now they're actually as fired as so many wished so often that they would be so often, some are pretends they were saints. It's downright embarrassing.

Personally, I remember one individual, who responded to my criticism of LL's lousy performance at protecting newbies from griefers, by telling me I wasn't allowed to "smack talk The Lab" while 'firing' me from the Mentors group: I hope that irony tastes really good big shot! I'll visit his SL grave all right, and I'll bring my dancing shoes.

[Gwyneth Llewelyn]

This is exactly the kind of thing that would never be possible on any other virtual world, and one of the reasons why we are all still here, in spite of everything.

Now, LL just needs to tap into that potential! They hardly understand why Second Life is so special. Look at what Apple has done: they understood how special they were for their customers, that they are today bigger than Microsoft, which anyone would consider ludicrous just a few years ago.

Second Life is the "Apple of Virtual Worlds". The difference is that the management of LL hasn't yet fully understood the consequences of that.

Just imagine what would happen if tomorrow they decided to close down the grid, because they couldn't afford to pay people to continue to run it (which is hardly the case, rather the contrary). How many volunteers would they immediately get to do the work for them — for free? I can easily guess that at least 10,000 users would be more than willing to do that — possibly even 100,000. Possibly even a lot of ex-Lindens (unemployed or not) would eagerly help out. And this is the kind of thing that is really, really only possible in SL.

It is our world, after all, even if LL currently denies it.

Thanks to Codie for the wonderful memorial, even though I understand it might creep out a few folks.

[ELQ]

Yes, Carolyn, there are quite a few a-holes in the group, not to mention the ones who still have jobs. There was also some talent there, and the ability to get things done. Not all of them had it, but some did. And yes, some of the talented ones were also the a-holes. The two qualities aren't mutually exclusive. None of that matters when considering the fact that they will be missed overall, even by those of us who argued vehemently with them, sometimes often.

Many people aren't very quick on the uptake, and are just now realizing that SL is in danger. This is one way they are coming to terms with that.

[Hitomi Tiponi]

I just visited it and found it a truly moving experience. As Gwyneth says it is these sort of surprises (even though it comes at a sad time for those employees) that make Second Life so special.

[SadResident]

Are all of the lindens 'dead' i see some on tombstones like teagon, scarlet etc who are sitting in concierge chat right now...

[Simeon Beresford]

hmm some lindens visiting their on grave in that picture

[Dannah]

Yes, I saw more than a few supposedly 'dead' lindens there, too. Talk about creepy. But I saw many more 'living' ones.

If my company were going through mass layoffs, and I really valued my job, I certainly wouldn't join a "the boss is an a-hole" mourning site during prime business hours wearing my official Linden suit.

Call me skeptical, but something ain't right here...

The fact is, these are/were corporate people with corporate avatars. For all you know some just ditched the av and were transferred to another dept. Everyone forgets that the Lindens have just as much anonymity as we do. You know only what they WANT you to know.

[EileenK]

I visited and left a tribute. I said I'd never met a Linden in person. I'm on at the wrong time and just too small time as a land owner/renter. Still I find the mass layoffs wrenching. The best analogy I can think of is that this is like a city, town, or school district that faces budget cuts and lays off police, fire, sanitation, and teachers as well as workers at the local court house and jail. These are often folks who work with the public, who perform necessary services, and whose presence residents will miss. Also like lay offs by local government, layoffs in Second Life have a political feel about them. The graveyard is a political statement. Last, I think all of us are mourning our loss of a belief in Second Life's stability. Nothing that is freely offered on the net is stable. Think back ten years. Think of: Crosswinds, Homestead, Geocities, Boards4U, Template Depot, and a host of other free providers and remotely hosted applications.