Great Ebbe Altberg Tributes by a Reader & Longtime Staffer Kona Linden

Reader Soda Sullivan posted this comment last week as a tribute to the late Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg:

What a guy.

I do not think it is an overstatement to say that Altberg was Linden Lab's best CEO and Second Life's best "leader' since its creator. As I read this news about his ongoing battle with illness, I keep thinking to myself, "He was this sick and he could have easily been doing ANYTHING else but he chose to stick around and put up with us lunatics." We are so lucky he did and we should all be eternally grateful.

Ebbe certainly did a lot to repair bridges between users and Linden Lab, and he did it with a sort of paternalistic view of the virtual world. Clearly, it meant A LOT to him. We were very lucky to have him lead us and he will be impossible to replace and truly missed. Let's all send our most positive thoughts to his family and his friends.

I believe Ebbe made an in-world appearance a few months ago, and helping with customer service on Twitter last April (see below) which speaks to his dedication to the community --both SL users and Linden Lab employees -- until the very end.

Speaking of which, longtime Linden Lab support team manager Kona Gurion sent me his tribute to Ebbe last week:

Have a look now.

— Ebbe Altberg (@ebbealtberg) April 17, 2021

"Like Philip Rosedale before him," my pal Kona tells me, "Ebbe was a compassionate and approachable CEO. He took the time to understand and learn Second Life, the product that put our company on the map, and residents appreciated his presence in-world.

"In person, he was very personable and pragmatic. He took the time to understand people's perspectives when it came to complicated issues, yet gregarious enough to kick back a beer with you after work. He was a go-getter and driven as much as he was thoughtful and encouraging for a CEO. As human being, I found him to be a kind and caring man... I will miss him dearly. May he forever rest in power."

Kona, I should add, was among the people laid off by Linden Lab last February, so his tribute to Ebbe the CEO and the human being ring that much more true.