Last Sunday as many Second Life users were celebrating the world's 10th anniversary, a group of people who had helped create the world itself quietly gathered there to have their own celebration too. Led in part by Babbage Linden, a steampunk gentleman with a bronze robot arm, many Linden Lab employees (mostly past, but some present) assembled in the Corn Field, which is the place that naughty SLers were once sent in banishment. (Created by Daniel Linden, it was his wry tribute to a famous Twilight Zone episode.)
"I thought our little SL10B party was a great combination of remembering old times in Da Boom and the Corn Field and being dazzled by WindLight skies, shadows and Osprey's amazing meshes at SL10B -- awesome," Babbage tells me now. "I also gave away my last non-copy Babbage Linden Bear to a collector at the Linden Bear Museum, which was fun." Babbage left the company in 2010, riding out of San Francisco on his longboard, and lately he's better known as Jim Purbrick, software engineer at Facebook.
So they gathered there and shared memories and occasionally danced. Many SLers tell me they believe all Lindens are indifferent to Second Life, and just consider it a job. But the Corn Field tells another story.
After the break, a rundown of the Lindens (and some non-Lindens, and some Lindens in their alts) pictured above:
Pictured in the Corn Field photo: At far left in Matrix leather, Dave Zeeman. Taryn London, formerly Teagan Linden, has the red Mohawk. Standing on the TV is Doc Gascoigne, in the TV's bottom right frame is Osprey Therian. CG Linden is leftmost sitting on the TV. Amber Linden is standing by herself on the lower right corner (in red sweater). The photographer, Neuro Linden, is the boxy monkey in the middle. If I missed you, please let me know in Comments!
Plus as promised, bonus dancing Lindens, courtesy of Babbage:
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Also, first life prevented me from joining the Old Guard...but then again, I'm still forging forward at the Lab ;) Miss everybody, including you of course, Hamlet ;)
Posted by: Kona | Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 11:37 AM
RL also prevented me from joining the celebration. As a former Linden, I can attest that for myself and those I worked with, SL was far from just another job. For the great, and (as with any workplace) sometimes not so great times, I'll always remember the many years I spent at the Lab, and my former co-workers (and current friends), fondly.
Posted by: Jill | Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Er, Blue Linden built The Corn Field
Posted by: Marianne McCann | Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 04:08 PM
I'm guessing hamlet hears often from SL's crop of cynics. Myself, and my in-world friends never thought you Lindens were just punching a timeclock. Years ago, just of out college, I worked at a fab startup and experienced maybe something of what you probably did, well, less the edgy user community! Hat tip to all you who made SL an RL reality.
Thank You
Argo.
Posted by: Argo Nurmi | Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 03:43 AM
To the Cornfield Crew:
Many thanks for my "other life!" That life and those times are irreplaceable in any world.
Posted by: mollynmona | Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 08:37 AM