My interview with a famed YouTuber turned Linden Lab staffer Strawberry Singh provoked some reader complaints that the company is not very responsive to SL user feedback. As reader "Mac" points out, there's an easy way to partly address that problem:
People need context to understand. Just as important, however, this context needs to be accessible and available.
My suggestion: Have Linden Lab make a bullet point FAQ list. '20 Top Misunderstandings Explained' -- something like that. Put this list up on the Forums and PIN IT, so it stays up there and people are forced to see it. Pinning it will also help with (formerly answered) questions that keep coming up, such as "Why won't LL tell us the exact time when they're going to do big maintenance?" [Linden Lab community forum staffer] Grumpity (I think), has answered that several times, but without a pinned answer, her attempts have vanished into the ether. Add to, and update, this list when necessary.
One great thing about having a prominent FAQ is it encourages oldtimers to point to it, when noobies ask a basic question. It's why RTFFAQ is a commonly used acronym. And as Mac continues, it helps convey more transparency:
I believe a pinned list of FAQs is better than any verbal meeting, since it is an upfront, undeniable, persistent textual record of evidence you can point/link to.
I understand LL cannot be fully transparent -- no company can -- but they need to do something to improve wide-angle communications between the company and Residents. Keeping quiet, even if it's policy, damages the company's business and relationship with its customers. Not only that, but it hurts all the Lindens who are working hard to improve Resident experience. If you are a Linden who cares, being faced with a constant tsunami of angry, uninformed accusations from the people you are trying to help can only lead to deep work frustration and low morale.
Something needs to be done, now, for all our people on both sides of Second Life.
Linden Lab has maintained an SL FAQ in previous years; 15 years later, however, there's likely thousands of frequently asked questions. Even then, it's something worth creating.
Comments