New World Notes

Linden Lab & Its Users Have Strayed Far From "Your World, Your Imagination" (Comment of the Week)

Passionate reader conversation in this post about the drastic changes to Sansar's default avatar -- which to John C, removes some fundamental creativity options for most people who might use Sansar:

The Avatar is all the average person has to express themselves in a virtual world. Like in reality, how you appear to others matters, if it is the way in which you express yourself.

When I meet another Avatar I see two things, either an Avatar that creates beyond the "look" and those who create with their look. There are of course those who do both, but they are rare. So the creator of a virtual world must give the “people”, as defined by the average user, the chance to be something very special in this world. This is all they have, and virtual worlds are supposed to be about, another life, something “more” than what they have in the real world.  

 Clara Seller expands on that point:

JohnC is talking to the heart of what is failing both Sansar and SL. The importance of an avatar can't be stressed enough. Linden Lab has strayed so far from their foundation of "Your World, Your Imagination" that they don't know who they are anymore. Unfortunately, I think they've also taken a good portion of their remaining customers with them.

But Clara says the blame isn't solely with the company:

Linden Lab Officially Promoting Resource-Heavy Second Life Content That Drastically Hurts SL User Experience

The official Second Life Facebook page recently featured this post promoting a user-made video tutorial for the Catwa Bento Mesh head, one of the most popular and bestselling user brands in Second Life. Some SLers have called this company favoritism and free promotion for content that has competition in the virtual world, and that's a very worthwhile debate for another time.

Perhaps even more notable, however, is this question: Why is Linden Lab promoting mesh-based content that is so resource-heavy, it substantially degrades the user experience for nearly every Second Life user? As reported last year, the top-selling mesh bodies in Second Life -- Maitreya, Belleza and SLINK -- are extremely resource-heavy, and tend to degrade performance of everyone around them, including the users wearing these bodies.

They're so resource-heavy, in fact, a former Linden Lab engineer once told me that using them is effectively like launching a DDOS attack inside Second Life. And now, Linden Lab is effectively promoting those attacks.

But wait, this is just a Facebook post about the Catwa head, not a whole body -- just the head can't be that bad, can it? I asked SL graphics expert NiranV, developer of the acclaimed, graphics-optimized Black Dragon SL viewer, to take a look in the Catwa shop. This is what he found:

 

Linden Lab Denies Failure to Adequately Prevent Money Laundering, Sex Offenders & Ageplay in Second Life, as Alleged in Lawsuit -- Security Expert Plaintiff Replies: "[I have] Written Proof of Everything That I Am Alleging"

Wired just published a belated story on the wrongful termination lawsuit by a Muslim-American security expert that New World Notes broke last month, but it has some new information on the controversy -- including an official statement by Linden Lab:

The suit alleges company executives retaliated against her for flagging cybersecurity risks and potential violations of anti-money-laundering laws, child exploitation, and data misuse...

“While we will fight her alleged claims in court, we deny any allegations that the company has engaged in any illegal activity,” said Linden Lab spokesperson Brett Atwood. “Ms. [Kavya] Pearlman left the company on March 15 only after she was given the opportunity to improve her work performance. We look forward to all the facts coming out in a court of law,” he said, declining additional comment because of the lawsuit.

I just reached out to Ms. Pearlman, who stands by the security-related allegations in her lawsuit -- and says she has concrete evidence of her claims:

"Having written proof of everything that I am alleging," Ms. Pearlman tells me, "I look forward to discovery of fact and taking those facts to the court of law. Even Linden Lab knows, dismissing these allegations by citing some work performance issue of an industry expert on cybersecurity and compliance is yet another way of potentially attributing 'look away'. This is not new, it happens to security professionals raising security and privacy concerns, only in this case concrete proofs exist and truth is bound to come out."

Earlier this week, an anonymous tipster sent me a link suggesting (if not definitively proving) that at least one of the skilled game applicants is a convicted sex offender. Pearlman confirms that this is a legitimate concern:

"That a sex offender is potentially conducting skilled gaming is an example of Linden Lab ignoring [the] mandated Fincen rule of KYC ( know your customer)", as she puts it.

Notably, the Wired article reports that another former Linden Lab staff member confirmed to the magazine the existence of a likely "smoking gun" memo from the company's former chief compliance officer, one that's mentioned in Pearlman's lawsuit,; in it, she raised these issues, and a related one -- that the existence of age players (i.e. simulated pedophilia) in Second Life remains a constant problem that the company has not sufficiently addressed. It's a problem the CCO reportedly acknowledges in the memo:

Linden Lab Launches New Second Life Ad Campaign Heavy on Fashion, Romance, Exploration... But Little of What Makes SL Unique

Linden Lab recently launched a new video ad campaign for Second Life, a series of 15 second spots they're promoting on YouTube (and presumably across the web), all which you can also watch on their official YouTube channel.  There's roughly a dozen of these :15 spots, highlighting virtual world exploration, community (virtual equestrians and LGBT groups are featured), with the most viewed categories by far being avatar customization and, of course, romance. (As above.)

They're well-made as far as they go, but to be honest, they leave me wondering how familiar the Linden Lab marketing team is with the Second Life feature set -- or maybe more key, all the platforms it's competing against:

Linden Lab Hit By Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination & Retaliation for Raising Concerns About Its New Payment Service, Tilia

Kavya Pearlman, an award-winning cybersecurity expert, just went public about a wrongful termination lawsuit she filed yesterday against Linden Lab, where she worked last year. A Muslim-American woman of color, Ms. Pearlman alleges the company discriminated against her, and retaliated against her after she raised security concerns related to Tilia, the company's new payment service which all Second Life users are required to register with by tomorrow.

Ms. Pearlman shared the full text of her legal complaint with me, and it contains a number of highly serious allegations. For instance this passage, summarizing the red flags related to Tilia that she claims she brought up with senior staff: 

In the last year of her employment with Linden Lab serving as the Director of Information Security, Kavya Pearlman raised concerns on multiple occasions to her supervisors, top company executives regarding security risks and possible violations of important laws she observed in Linden’s Second Life and Tilia currency program which prohibit money laundering, child pornography, pedophilia, compromise financial and data security, and other related laws.

She goes on to allege that the company did not respond to these issues, but went ahead with Tilia's launch as scheduled:

Should Libra Be Legal? Here's Why Congress Should Ask Linden Lab to Testify

Congress is currently debating the status of Libra, the cryptocurrency backed by Facebook, with one bill proposed to ban it and other cryptocurrencies like it outright:

Called the Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act, the bill would apply to any company with at least $25 billion in annual revenue that offers “an online marketplace, an exchange, or a platform for connecting third parties.”

Covered firms would be banned from creating and operating digital currencies, a provision clearly targeted at Facebook’s Project Libra. But the measure’s broad parameters could also effectively outlaw financial products offered other major tech firms.

Companies subject to the bill — which appear to include Facebook, Google and Amazon — would also be banned from offering a slew of financial services such as banking, investment management, securities exchanges, financial advice and money transmission.

Lawmakers and regulators in both parties have expressed fears about Libra and Facebook’s ambitions in the financial services industry. Even so, the proposed bill would likely face substantial opposition from Senate Republicans concerned about regulatory overreach in the financial sector. 

This might be a good idea, but the problem is that the wrong people are talking about it in the public arena.  Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin may have serious concerns about Facebook's Libra, but he's seriously ill-equipped to express any opinion on virtual currency. But for that matter, the top executives at Facebook and the other big tech companies also have little to no direct experience with virtual currency.

Which is really why the people Congress should be talking to executives at Linden Lab, creator and publisher of Second Life. Here's why:

Strawberry's Second Second Life as a Linden: Check-In With Famed YouTuber

It's been a couple months since Strawberry Singh, Second Life's most popular YouTuber, joined Linden Lab as an employee named "Strawberry Linden", making videos like the recent one above for the company's official YouTube channel. So I just checked in with her to see how the transition has been so far:

"I'm learning a lot and enjoying myself," she tells me. "I have full control over what I want to cover and how I want to cover it. I've started with the basics and plan to move into more intermediate and advanced tutorials soon. I haven't had that much interaction with Residents yet, other than just running into them when I'm bouncing around on the grid. Everyone's always very nice. They keep asking me for a Linden bear though, which I haven't had a chance to make yet. I promise that will be my first project as soon as I learn how to build!"

The most surprising thing she's learned since becoming a Linden? It may surprise many SLers:

Nearly 2000 SLers Sign Petition Against Linden Dollar Processing Fee Increase

This online petition suggests that the backlash to Linden Lab's recently announced pricing changes continue, even after the company reversed plans to limit group restrictions. Launched just two days ago, it's already attracted close to 2000 signatures from Second Life users. At issue is Linden's plan to increase the cost of processing Linden Dollars:

[We are] disheartened by the other changes that you have announced that are scheduled to be implemented this month, specifically the doubling of the processing fee from 2.5% to 5%. While we understand that Linden Lab is a business that needs to profit in order to thrive, we feel it is necessary to remind you that we are running businesses, too. As you know, many of us are more than just hobbyists, we rely on the money we earn in Second Life to pay our bills, feed our children, and survive. 

"The last time the fee was increased, it was promised that the cash out times would be faster, which never happened," one signee, content creator Mari Mitchell, tells me.

She also makes an allegation frequently raised by SLers: That the company is squeezing Second Life to benefit its new virtual world, Sansar: "Announcing that [fee increase] at the same week then removing the transaction fees from Sansar was disheartening to many of us," as she puts it, "making us wonder if Second Life creators are listened to or valued at all."

The petition claims that the signees "have a long list of innovative and insightful ideas of how Linden Lab might increase profits without relying on land and without creators having to bear such a severe financial burden." However, specifics on those ideas are intentionally vague:

Bowing to User Anger, Linden Lab Reserves Plan to Limit Group Memberships for No-Subscription Basic Accounts

If you read New World Notes reader comments over the last few days, this won't come as a surprise: Linden Lab recently reversed its plan to limit group memberships for Basic accounts:

We’ve since heard strong and convincing feedback from many in our community about the impact of changing Group Membership limits for Basic accounts. For example, many Residents have shared how they rely heavily on Groups to stay informed about new product releases as Merchants use this feature to regularly communicate news and updates to their customers, and how much Groups are used for keeping communities active. We hear your concerns and, as a result, Group Membership limits for Basic Residents will NOT be reduced as part of our Premium Membership changes rolling out on June 24. While Basic Members will continue to have an unchanged limit of 42 groups, all Premium Members will still see their limits increased from 60 to 70.

This shift clearly reflects a disconnect between how group memberships are actually used in Second Life, and Linden Lab's assumption of how they're used. As reader Susan Wilson put it:

I've done business in SL for 11 years now and have never had a premium account simply because it didn't offer anything I needed or wanted. Now I feel I'm forced to have one to get enough offline messages to serve my customers - something that does not cost LL anything. 25 was already cutting it close but limiting it to 15 would have hurt my business which is very customer service intensive. I don't feel I'm gaining anything because of this membership that I didn't have before the change so it's an added expense. 

It's not just SL merchants who complained. To judge by what Clara Seller says, there's many active users who are not Premium subscribers, but still pay quite a lot as Basic members:

Linden Staff Need to Meet More Linden Customers (Comment of the Week)

Last week we were talking about the trouble of seeking Second Life user feedback when few actual users beyond the most hardcore users are willing/available to give that feedback in a survey or in-game meeting; reader Soda Sullivan suggests a better way:

[I]n six years I have met one Linden employee in-world. One. We actually had several long conversations and he was fascinated with how I spent my time, why my home was like, how did DJ-ing in SL work, what were relationships like, etc. He was curious why I would never consider living on the mainland (poor zoning laws and shitty grass textures). He had no concept of sales events and their popularity, or how outfit folders where actually used by residents. He usual response was "I am just a coder, but this is interesting".

That is the conversation more Lindens need to be REQUIRED to have. No meetings, just log in and walk around talk with someone. And yes, analytics are VERY important. Crucial in fact! But with a world that really has no clear objectives and guidelines, I think they need to be tied to first hand evidence as well. A previous CEO apparently cut back on allowing Linden staff in world. To me that was a travesty. Good riddance. [Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg] seems to be a bit better. He will drop in once in a while, take some abuse and the leave.

As it happens, some Lindens have told me that the previous CEO and his executive team discouraged extensive interaction with Second Life users by staff, primarily to avoid misinformation and liability concerns. In any case, I've also heard Altberg reversed that policy, and encourages more Linden to SLer interaction. 

Ms. Sullivan believes it should be mandatory: