I told you last week that the tech worker formerly known as "Xiola Linden" recently left her role as Community Manager at Linden Lab to take a similar role with mixed reality startup Ubiquity 6. As she did, I asked her if she had any last message for the Second Life community she loves so much. I put it to Xiola this way:
If the SL community asked you the best way to improve itself and make it stronger, what would you suggest?
And this is what she told me -- her farewell address as a Linden, so to speak.
"Be open to change, but never stop questioning it. Constructive criticism is always going to be received more enthusiastically than attacks. It is very easy to get emotional about something that means so much to us. I know, from my own experiences with Second Life, that it's sometimes difficult to keep calm and Second Life on -- but I also witnessed that sort of emotional response grow into a lot of misinformation and unnecessary panic. So, it's a balance. But it is important and key, I think."
The community should also strive to be more of a community in the best sense of the word, because there's still so much potential in Second Life:
"We live in a world where it can be difficult to not get jaded and overwhelmed," as she put it, "but Second Life is a world that we can control, and I have always felt very strongly about the positives of how it impacts people. How it impacts me. That is what makes it so strong. It should be the playground and sandbox that it is so great at being. A place where we can feel welcome and empowered.
"So, my suggestion is that everyone try to be more welcoming, and also empower one another. I know that may sound idealistic, but it's a very simple concept when you think about it. That is what builds an incredible community. That is the principle that I always strive to bring to my work with any community, and one I think that everyone can benefit from practicing from time to time."
As for the woman behind Xiola, the community has not seen the last of her. While she's focused on her new role at a new company, she's still a frequent Second Life user, often logging in via her "civilian" avatar:
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