Long Road Behind, Long Road Ahead
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 3:47 PM by: Philip LindenOur mission is: “To connect everyone to an online world that improves the human condition.” Though work at Linden Lab can be hard and sometimes frustrating (and this week is certainly no exception with its downtimes), it is inspiring to pursue such a goal. What is interesting is that we recently changed the wording of this statement. The old version said “Create an online world having the exceptional property that it advances the capabilities of the many people that use it, and by doing so affects and transforms them in a positive way.” The difference between these two statements of mission isn’t huge, but I think important in looking at our history and then looking at how we need to change in the future to best fulfill that mission. Let me give you some thoughts on that.
I started Linden Lab in 1999 with the dream of finally being able to create an online world that was truly an alternate reality - a place where you could do anything. I had been thinking about this general idea for a long time, because as a kid I was always dreaming up things I wanted to build that were difficult, expensive, or impossible to create in the real world. And along with being creative, I was also very into computers and science. So in my mind, the ultimate thing you could do possibly do with computers was to simulate reality - to create a place where you can make anything you can imagine and share it with others.
Although I started thinking a lot about both the simulation and interface technologies to build Second Life in the late 80’s when I was in college, my hunch was that networks and computers weren’t fast enough to make something that could really be appealing to a lot of people. But in 1999, all that changed with the rise of broadband and the introduction of the first cheap, generalized 3D cards. So I found our first little office in a warehouse in San Francisco, convinced our very first employee to take a break from his PhD work in physics, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Anyway, back to that mission statement. In the beginning, it was pretty clear that actually demonstrating that a virtual world could be compelling was going to be a big, hard problem. It was very difficult to raise money or hire people, because no one really understood what we were doing. Also, we figured (correctly) that this was a very large software project, and that if we tried to carefully design it all up front, we wouldn’t even come close to getting something working before we ran out of money. So we were a classic ‘lab’, in both name and behavior. We worked very fast and were very focused on getting enough of the system working so that people would be able to see what we had been dreaming about. Now, 8 years later, I think we have clearly passed that test. We have managed to create a virtual world with the magical properties that we all knew were possible. If Linden Lab were to disappear tomorrow, this work would still go on. The rocket is lit. Virtual worlds are finally real.
So what should come next? Taking a look at the last few years, we’ve gotten many of the critical features working and scaled the world just enough for people to believe. We have managed to create the first really viable virtual world, but how can we be relevant in the future? Our goal initially was to quickly make things work… for example avatar animation, a scripting language, buying land, or voice. But now we seem to have reached a point where the rapid addition of capabilities is no longer the key challenge, and indeed can be counterproductive. So we sat down and thought about this together, and concluded that the first mission statement was complete, and that we needed both another mission statement and probably a different way of doing things. That change came at about the same time I stood up at the SLCC conference wearing a “Missing Image” T-shirt (sadly I’m sure most of you get the joke) and talked about how all too often Linden Lab is now simply ‘in the way’. In the way of you creating your Second Life, or having a collaborative meeting, or keeping your virtual business running. I promised that we were listening, and that we would change from being a ‘lab’ trying to bring SL to life into a company that keeps SL growing and scaling until everyone in the world is online. See how that all goes together?
Looking back at the last year or so we’ve seen lots of challenges, and I think, though they’ve been hard, we’ve been able to weather them: Second Life has grown enormously faster than our systems have been able to support, we collected European VAT charges in a clumsy way, we restricted different types of activities to comply with the law and our own principles, and we suffered through far too much downtime and instability. But we’ve also started to change in the way I had promised in September. Our downtimes have been lower for September and October than during the summer, we have done a better job communicating and handling the release process, we’ve identified and fixed some sources of content loss, and have a solid plan and work underway for substantially reducing both client and server crashing in Q4 and Q1. It may sometimes seem like we are not listening, but I can tell you that we are. We are changing, for the better, and I think, for a company of almost 250 people, we are doing it faster than expected.
Looking ahead, some thoughts. As I mentioned above, our weakest link is now clearly crashing (both client and server), and we are going to very substantially reduce it over the next two quarters. Our update to our physics engine, which is now in beta testing, is one visible example and will hopefully greatly decrease server crashing. Stability is what we’ve got to be all about in the first half of 2008, at the cost of other work. Beyond stability, there is one new platform feature that still seems really important to deploy given the rising use of SL for education and collaboration, and that is being able to browse the web easily from in-world. So we have a small team of people working hard on that right now.
Looking further out, three things: First, We need to seriously reconsider how the UI and more broadly the user experience for SL works, especially for new users. We aren’t there yet in terms of the interface for virtual worlds. There is now a small new internal team doing nothing else, so expect real progress. Second, we need to keep opening SL up, as we’ve started talking about lately. This means formats, source code, partners, and more. We are working on turning our clear vision on this into more detailed plans. Virtual worlds, in their broadest form, will be more pervasive that the web, and that means that their systems will need to be open: extended and operated by many people and companies, not just us. Third, we need to create new and different ways to communicate more often and more clearly with the community. For my part, I will start writing monthly blog posts like this to let you know about some of things that are on my mind.
If by chance you are still reading this and feeling like you didn’t get enough value or inspiration for your time, how about if I you just watch this video, or this one, both created by Robbie Dingo. I’ve already watched that first one about 100 times. Thanks very much for listening.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:51 PM
I still cannot log into SL at all.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:53 PM
One must know failure to understand the value of success.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:55 PM
I know you are always thinking about SL and what the future holds for it. I think that you guys are so close to really grasping the potential for what SL could be…. but I don’t think you are there yet. Keep working hard and moving forward. It’s amazing to see all the differences between SL one year ago,and today.
Congrats.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:56 PM
A lofty vision, and this participant is encouraged.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:56 PM
Nice article - however I also cannot sign in. Still.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:58 PM
No one cares. Get SL back up.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Well, isn’t that just swell.
I WANT to feel all warm and gushy about your post, but right now I am seeing red.
I have been unable to login in for OVER 7 HOURS! I am losing precious time that I need in-world. The performance of SL over the past several days has been unbelievably retched and this is the icing on the cake.
Can someone please give an update on what the effing hell is going on with the login issue? Something OTHER THAN “The Ops Team estimates that the Login Issue resolution may take up to 5 hours.”
November 21st, 2007 at 4:01 PM
I certainly hope that STABILITY is really going to be a goal. No more creaky new features that slow down the whole thing.
I just hope STABILITY is really and truly a goal. Right now some logins are disabled, and that is really annoying. I hope to see less of that kind of thing and a more stable environment going forward
November 21st, 2007 at 4:01 PM
“It may sometimes seem like we are not listening, but I can tell you that we are.”
Show me
November 21st, 2007 at 4:02 PM
Glad to know LL has big plans; dreaming is always the first step! Just please…. Fix the login issue! :p
November 21st, 2007 at 4:04 PM
Good for you PL. Systems crash, things go wrong, I personally think everyone should try to remember that without you guys we wouldn’t have this amazing place at all. Keep doing what you are doing, it can only get better.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:04 PM
Don’t feel bad. I still cannot log into SL either. Keeps saying the inventory system is unavailable. Too bad for those of us who are builders, huh.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:04 PM
Thanks for explaining your vision on where you want to go. I wish you the best of luck. Be sure to make sure all you Lindens enjoy Thanksgiving!!!!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:05 PM
Sure the “scheduled downtime” may be less but the individual downtime of either an AV crashing, unable to log in or a sim going down more than makes up for the “scheduled downtime” - It’s all just there but just not “officially” recognized anymore.
Plain and simple - SL is going to hell in a handbasket and the users are screaming all the way down……
November 21st, 2007 at 4:06 PM
How lofty.
When will I be able to log in? It has been a long long time, and I am getting discouraged with SL. Perhaps another online activity would be more reliable for me to spend my time with?
November 21st, 2007 at 4:06 PM
I still can’t log in either, but I do find your statements encouraging. I also enjoyed the videos by Robbie Dingo. Thanks
November 21st, 2007 at 4:09 PM
I’ve got many years of expertise in deploying big, complex systems and keeping them up and running 24/7/365. I work as a consultant.
Months ago I both sent a resume to Linden Labs and got in touch with recruiting staff there. Though I was told that my background was of great interest, I was also told that someone would get back to me after voice launched.
I’m still waiting.
And so are SL residents. A focus on stability and availability in exchange for new features (what are the voice usage stats anyway?) is long overdue. Best of luck!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:09 PM
I have seen second life inprove over the time have have been in second life i have met some grteat people and have learned so much from second life im just wondering when will the log in issues be repaired so i can log in and enjoy my Second Life
November 21st, 2007 at 4:11 PM
Yay Philip! Yes, you’ve pushed virtual worlds beyond the tipping point. You’ve power-enabled the world community to meet and work in a whole new convincingly present way. It’s a chaotic process, and this is in a world where “chaos” has moved from myth to science… we know you can’t control and manage chaos… but you CAN participate in and influence it by communicating persistently and on signal. Kudos for your newest communications including performance stats online, and this blog. Site
November 21st, 2007 at 4:12 PM
My congrats to the team. you all deserve a pat on the back. I understand the shear magnitude of expectations you have created for yourself and others and think you have done a wonderful job thus far. Crashes… blah blah… hell… Vista still has issues.
Lets think, what if SL wasnt here before moaning and groaning about the “cant log in” issue. 5 hours? i’ve experienced worse on other platforms with other apps
Well done mates
November 21st, 2007 at 4:12 PM
dont care about the history fix it im borded
November 21st, 2007 at 4:15 PM
This “great” vision is unsubstantiated due to:
a) current facts proving the LL approach totally wrong.
b) ignorance paired with incompetence turn potentially interested parties away and
c) it take some guts to post a CEO meesage like above at a time when the team again successfully “lindened” the grid.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:16 PM
That is quite true, ‘crashing’ is the main problem now, It was never the problem for some time for me, I use to be able to log in as soon as the window popped up now I have to wait a bit & even when I do the client instantly crashes as soon as I get any visual (Meaning I cant interact at all) I haven’t a clue what it could be. It may be the client itself on my connection though it isn’t dial up anymore. I just wish I knew what it could be, Hopefully LL can fix it so I can get back in
November 21st, 2007 at 4:17 PM
Oh, well. I’ve been telling my SL friends goodbye for a week or so now as I really can’t waste the time. There are other services (web and otherwise) that are more reliable and fun, and I suppose some of them will agree to meet there.
I’ll be canceling my account within another week.
Sorry, PL, but too little too late.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:18 PM
I agree with you ken i miss my Second life
November 21st, 2007 at 4:18 PM
Awwwww that is really nice… but I think you might have wanted to wait to post your thoughts on the future of sl until all of us unable to log on were fixed. Was thinking of becoming a paid member, but I am really tired of all the log in issues lately. Seems like it might be wasted money.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:18 PM
This is so not the sort of post you should be making at this time. You should be posting about what has gone wrong and what you are doing to fix it and prevent it from happening again. This is just one more example of how totally out of touch LL is with its customer base.
AND WHEN THE HELL IS SOME ONE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THE POSTS SAYING SOMETHING IS RESOLVED WHEN IT CLEARELY IS NOT? YOU HAVE LOST ALL CREDIBLITY.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:19 PM
I still cant log on either. I think that it would be better to work on getting the servers back up then telling us what you plan on doing :/
November 21st, 2007 at 4:19 PM
Through word of mouth from friends who have been on second life for a long time I chose to join up a bit ago. It is nice to be able to know about improvements made from older versions of the game; however, it is hard to see these improvements when most of the time the only thing that one is able to do is read the blog about how it is not working. Yes, I am one that understands things occur and yes I do have a life outside of sl, but in same regards it is frustrating to not be able to log in after 5 hours of time prepared for this fix.
There are those who complain about the rolling restarts, in some ways they are justified. Because if most of the time we can’t show our creativity, are not allowed to build or improve anything we have invested time, money ect in, it becomes an issue on whether or not any investment should be made.
I myself am at a medium right now. I do pay monthly on a level to not only support the game, but my own wishes for game activity. There are so many reasons to want to stay with second life, but when so much is happening where there is not a real chance to see the game most of the time, it becomes a struggle to wish to continue.
I from my own personal viewpoint am grateful a game such as this exists, but I am also frustrated that most of the time what is offered is slow logins or not at all, bad rezzing of things, and just being able to read the blog.
It makes one consider how important this game has become and should it remain as important to them or be put on the back burner for perhaps a more better game out there.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:20 PM
On the bright side the beta grid seems to be working flawlessly.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:22 PM
Action awwwww dont leave sl its the best web site and people that leaves always cames back
November 21st, 2007 at 4:22 PM
congrats-Youv’e created a wonderful experience, online has certainly come a long way in a short amount of time since q-link.
Glad to hear your focusing on stability. Please keep up with YOUR WORLD, YOUR IMAGINATION policy (people freely interacting & creating without too much censorship or controls) let’s keep government regs to a minimum here, it’s one of the best features of sl
thanks & best of luck
November 21st, 2007 at 4:22 PM
You know, as much as I grit my teeth and bare my fangs at LL, it’s not because I hate Secondlife. It’s because I want to see it be all that it can be. I see it having a lot of potential, and while it can sometimes be quite frustrating with its kinks and quirks, it is by far the best virtual world platform I have ever seen.
That said, the LL team does deserve a big pat on the back for not only providing something truely innovative and intuitive, but for providing it for free, and sharing their knowledge with the world.
Philip, you are a man of vision, and while Linden Labs has made some mistakes in the past, I truly believe that you, and the people at LL simply want the best for SL as a whole. Besides, accidents are life’s best teachers. If we don’t mess up we don’t get the chance to learn and grow from it.
I see the truth of your words, every day. SL is moving forward in a very positive way. Constantly progressing, growing, expanding, and becoming better. Not only because of the work that LL puts into the software, but because of the content the users develope as well.
In short, thank you, and I look forward to reading more of these posts from you. Very well written, and it kind of puts things in perspective as to what I can expect from LL in the future.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:22 PM
I can log in on my “main” account that i never use… but my ALT has a “no_inventory_host” login failure… anyone else???
November 21st, 2007 at 4:23 PM
I just don’t understand this logic. Issue announcements are quickly covered by less important topics, splash screen says a green ONLINE, not to mention that it shows wrong time and no recent blog entries (actually a good thing at this moment, but surely not intentional).
I am not sure I would trust the Online Now number either (on home page, where it might be more current). Well, guess statistics on http://taterunino.net/statistical%20graphs.html will be wrong, although even as it is, they show a pretty grim picture. Wonder when we will get October results on http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics. Were they that bad?
I am not ranting because I cannot log on. I have plenty other things to do. Submitting bugs to jira for one
Or watching Torley’s videos. Though I’d like to try some things right away…
And why are comments off for issue entries. Any discussion on other topics is simply ruined by angry users. Well, including this one. (errr, this user or this topic?)
Anyway …. nice to hear a confirmation on the vision. Turning a large boat takes some time and many will have some more chances to complain before the results are here.
I do hope that this week was one biiiiig pile of misfortunes. Let’s all write to Santa to bring LL some much needed luck. BTW, Windlight also packs impostors, which could improve performance in crowded areas. Fingers crossed it won’t crash and burn.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:23 PM
can I suggest with regard to crashes, firstly, head hunt some guys from Xbox Live. Second, sell land based upon the complexity of objects you can place in it, NOT square meters. Selling by the meter leaves peoples graphic boards screaming for air, the polygon count is just nuts for live feed over broadband. If people had x amount of complexity but space, it will cool everything down and up the frame rate, which is appalling.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:23 PM
Oh the predictable stall…
Sorry, we couldn’t repair the system in 7 hours but we brought you some youtube videos and plans for the future. Stop wasting time posting history and continue fixing the log-in issue; if we wanted that we’d be on wikipedia.org instead of secondlife.com
November 21st, 2007 at 4:24 PM
do us a favor and show us that you are listening!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:24 PM
For over a year I have been in SL trying endlessly to understand what’s most attractive.
For many who have ability and sense to create objects and fashions, attraction of SL is creation and feedback. For those who cannot create, it was about purchasing and meeting with others, and there have always been deep gap between these two groups. And so far it seems SL only welcomes the former kind.
I want fair ground for non-creative people.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:24 PM
Go back to your ivory tower Philip. You have clearly lost touch.
Shocked at this vehemence? Then listen to this and the other posters
Fire half the staff, especially people who post poorly thought out and vague restrictive policies on a Friday, things like ageplay, gambling, VAT, IDV at al.
Force your staff to leave these comments open
Force your staff to read them
Take voice out, it screwed up SL so much it’s not funny
Work on Bug Fixes, not new features. Stop Windlight
Improve Server Infrastructure
Use a decent DBMS
Improve Support
Make the Lindens spend time in world talking to people
gah, why bother… this list is so long and now you have done your single yearly posting for this coming year you will go back to the bahamas with your swags of money that you should be spending on making this work.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:24 PM
Keep on Chooglin’!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:26 PM
I have to echo Jensen’s comment. SL is a massive undertaking and it’s amazing how much progress has been made in a little over 7 years. I’m a paying member with a pretty large investment of L$ in this little enterprise, so I’m always disappointed when things like this happen. But I understand that they happen despite the best efforts of the development team. Carving new paths in unexplored territory is always risky and often painful. To those of you who have little patience for these inevitable “learning experiences” that the founders are going through, I would say by all means, jump ship! Teach ‘em a lesson! Cancel your SL account and sign up with SL’s biggest competitor! What’s that you say? There’s no other alternative that even approaches SL, yet? Hmm…..
November 21st, 2007 at 4:26 PM
Those videos are amazing, love the starry nights one. I thank you for putting your thoughts and visions out here, at least we know that you know we are having issues and many problems.
I wonder what it must be like, to look at Second Life through the eyes of Phillip.
After all it was your vision, your dream Phillip, to see it as a reality must be pretty darn amazing.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:27 PM
You folks wouldn’t have a second life if it weren’t for LL. So be patient. Some of you are definitely right about being the wrong time to make a blog about this though. Thats for damn sure.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:27 PM
Please Please get SL back up
November 21st, 2007 at 4:27 PM
for those that are having problems, your pc sucks, i got in fine, and i have eben on fine for the past 5 hours, so there, and, if worse comes ot worse, log in via windlight
November 21st, 2007 at 4:28 PM
Yes great strides have been achieved but you really should read Robert X Cringely’s book about “Accidental Empires” because right now you’re more likely to be a Gary Kildall than a Bill Gates.
The choice is yours, do you want to be remembered as that guy, what was his name, the one who pioneered virtual worlds or do you still want to be at the forefront of this bandwagon?
Amateur hour is over Philip, it’s time to take yourselves seriously, dust down the business suits, invest in customer service and enrich this beast you’ve unleashed for the long term good before someone else comes along and takes it off you.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:28 PM
I cannot login. Every time when I try to login I get a “Login Failed: The Inventory System is Currently Unavailable” message.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:28 PM
The natives are restless…
November 21st, 2007 at 4:28 PM
Thank you for the long, thought out post. It’s good to know things are being worked on, however, I don’t think anyone cares about the mission statement right now. Sadly, there seems to be a hardware failure at Linden Labs which houses assets/avatars. It would appear that newer avatars cannot log in because they are housed on this crashed/broken server. The youngest avatar I was able to log in at present has the creation date of May 15, 2007.
The biggest thing I think LL should be working on right now is stability of the grid, reliability, and redundancy? This month has been horrible for this service. I enjoy this platform, but this kind of unreliability is turning a lot of people off; I’ve seen a lot of goodbye posts in the forums lately. I am kind of startled that LL only has 250 employees…
I was just wondering why on October 31st 2007 there was a planned maintenance period which was canceled, but it seems that it was not rescheduled for Early November. Why is that?
On a brighter note, thank you for bringing about this world Philip, it has brought a lot of people I know great pleasure. Please keep working to make it better for everyone.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:28 PM
I like the stability part, but not the “opening up” part, which generally consists of choosing “partners” to give a big chunk of the whole pie to, or selling us and our interests out to the highest bidder.
We individual business people in SL ought to mean something to you, and I feel we don’t anymore.
coco
November 21st, 2007 at 4:30 PM
He tells you a story of a dream, and half the replies are. “I still cant log in”. How amusing
Just remember that it F***ed me off to, coz thats when some1 important came online. However just remember that step by step they are improving this. So if you arnt prepared for an uncomfy ride as they constantly strive to improve it, you could always try something else. I made a new account called For example, So i could continue. Others may try a new game ==^.^== Remember this isnt your average “Game” I struggle to even call it that.
I am sure all these constant promises to fix lag/crashing/disconections will soon be at an end, as i am sure they shall be. Then you can complain about the next issue, ooh i dont know… Perhaps You can blame them for bad graphics too or maybe even not loading your inventory once in a while. Ah well have fun :p
November 21st, 2007 at 4:34 PM
Linden Labs statement is so far reaching, it will serve to inspire generations. Our children’s children will be as comfortable with virtual worlds as we are with telephones today.
The future will be a better place because of Philip Linden and all his friends.
Thanks!
By the way, that first video “Watch the World” is amazing. I encourage everybody to take a look and enjoy it!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:35 PM
God - what a whinny bunch. OK performance sucks and not being able to log on for hours sucks more - but hell my bank has longer outages - curb your bad tempers and look at the benefits - and if the promised stability is delivered - whoose gonna come back on here and post an appology?
Nice vids btw
November 21st, 2007 at 4:35 PM
Great post and I think Linden Lab already has managed to do great things. I am even quite surprised actually that you really take the step to open that open standard (although not too many people seem to be jumping on that yet). We see such efforts to get a more decentralized system also in all the social networks right now. It’s good to see that this happens rather early in the Virtual Worlds area.
Regarding user experience one big thing is of course also finding your way into Second Life. I think it’s still too many people who don’t know what to do actually after they finished orientation.
At least some hints for cool places might be given (yes, this will impose that somebody has to choose them and some might be unhappy etc. but I don’t see any other way). These places could actually be choosen based on country they came from (and thus language) and by some interest (which they have to choose from).
Of course there is also the “create your own orientation island” solution but I think the main problem here is costs. Not everybody might want to (or is able to) pay US$295,- just for getting an entry point for their users. But actually I have no idea how to solve this problem
(OTOH is usability of the client would be that easy you wouldn’t need orientation anymore or actually it could be build into the client directly, sort of learn-as-you-go).
Beside I think many people who are waiting for the next big thing after Second Life (I only meet such people if they are not totally turned down by just the idea of virtual worlds besides gaming already). Now for me it still looks like actually SL will be the next big thing after SL as somehow I don’t really see any competitor which offers the same. So keep it going!
– Fanboy
PS: I think you need to work more also on the PR front.. I really would like the SL Grid Architecture Working Group to become more known also outside SL but even here some simple things are missing such as a memorable name (best would be without SL in the name) and a memorable URL. As for SL in general I think more local PR would also be needed.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:35 PM
A nice statement, but when you choose colo facilities on cost instead of reliability, use unreliable products in making the VPN and databases stable, it falls short. It’s like saying “we hope to feed the world!” and buying 100 cheeseburgers, cutting them in half and handing each of 200 people 1/2 of one and saying “look at our goodwill!” ..if you’re out to be noble, then invest the time and effort to do it right.
If doing it “right” also means take SL offline for a couple weeks for a full upgrade instead of these patch after patch style on a fully running system, then do that too.. 2 weeks of downtime would be better than the excessive problems day after day, month after month…
Take the time to improve (fix) SL before improving the human condition and the world..
November 21st, 2007 at 4:36 PM
While the lofty vision espoused in the mission statement is a very noble goal, as in all such goals baby steps need to be taken. If you (Linden Labs) make the goals manageable steps towards the biggest issues in Second Life, server stability and login issues, then I am willing to suffer through minor downtimes to fix issues. On the other hand, not being able to login for over a quarter of the day is ridiculous. Why is there not better communication as to why we can’t login? That would go a long way to establishing some credibility in your mission statement.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:36 PM
Happy Thanksgiving! It’s good to hear from the “big guy” again.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:37 PM
I enjoy SL very much and appreciate how hard it is to create a new service. Please remember many of us are paying Island Tier, Classified Ad fees, and Premier Membership fees without any compensation for frustration, lost service and missed sales except numerous apologies.
This is a business for many of us as well, don’t forget that.
Your vision is complemented by the creativity, imagination, and loyalty of the users of SL without which SL would not exist either.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:38 PM
In response to Kiboe Munro…Thank-you for your obsevations..but keep them to yourself. I for one am will to bet that My computer is far, far, better than you could even think a computer could be set up.
And I still can’t get logged in… It’s not always a computer that has problems logging in…It’s servers 90% of the time. If you had understood that, then you would have never left the post you left.
You can log in…Good for you, I’m truly happy. But not all of us can, because of the servers in certain areas. Have fun while you’re online, because it must be lonely without friends.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:39 PM
I still consider the Starry Night production a showpiece for how classical artists’ visions can protrude into a new frontier such as SL - a superbly moving piece, and quite an accomplishment, even if, sadly, only ephemeral.
I’m pleased to see acknowledgement that the VAT issue was horribly handled. One thing I’d like to see come out of that train wreck is a commitment that substantive changes in the T&C must only come after a sensible period of notice - at least one full month, preferably two.
Of course, that’ll only be so much of an issue as long as LL wishes to focus part of its efforts on being a hosting provider; when individuals can run their own sims as easily as a local copy of Apache (bandwidth permitting, of course - we all know SL can take up quite significant bandwidth), we’ll enter the second age of Second Life.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:39 PM
It is exciting to read about your vision and plans for the future.
I am impressed and excited about the entire project.
But, as much as I would like to be right up there walking beside you as you travel into this new frontier, I feel like you are dragging me behind you. suffering the travails of your failures.
Help me up, hold me closer, so I can walk beside you. I want to see the future with you, not from behind you.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:40 PM
Well, SL changed my life and the lives of my friends here in SL in a very positive way. We laugh more in RL; we are more creative and grateful for what we have.
SL helped us remember how to play and how to be creative again.
For some reason, all the growing pains don’t bother me..I pretty well think they come with the territory and I think you’ve done really well considering how big the creature is that is being born.
I just love surfing in the wake of a visionary. Thanks Phil..it was my dream to as a kid and you made it happen.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:42 PM
JacobAlan is right on the dot; the issue is serverside and has nothing to do with how big and bad the thing sitting next to you is. Linden Labs needs to focus on stability first and foremost, as was also mentioned previously. Finally, the News and Announcements section needs to include DETAILED explanations of the issues and leave them open for discussion.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:43 PM
I found that very interesting indeed. ^_^
I didn’t know LL came from such a dinky little place.
I guess everything must start somewhere and at least you know where you want to end up. 
The old mission was very long the new one is much better. XD
I’ll certainly look forward to some stability improvements, that and windlight would make me a have happy resident.
It will certainly be awesome when you’re done, not that it isn’t already. 
Hope to see you around, XD (lol)
SDF
November 21st, 2007 at 4:43 PM
@60 LOL
That about sums it up. Thanks for the laugh.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:44 PM
I too believe that SecondLife is just as real as our FirstLife. I have stated with others in SL that I think the issues that SL is facing now are just the proof that things are greatly improving. In all walks of life. we all have faced our difficulties, but we constantly go forward in our life. I know that SL can do the same thing. Even I have been frustrated with all the lagging and other bugs within SecondLife, but I have not nor will not give up on it.
For me, I have recently graduated from a technical school. I am working hard to get my career started. Since we are both working for the future, we just might have our paths cross. My biggest strengths are writing, photo editing, and I am sure I could do graphic creativity. All I need to do is learn how to use the graphic creative softwares need to create new things using a computer. I see great wonders with SecondLife as well as Linden Labs because I see great wonders in myself and my future. Thank you for creating this wonderful world for all of us to use.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:44 PM
Hey Philip,
Cool to see you on the blog, you ought do it more often.
(bit shorter mind then more peeps would read it all the way through)
Could you do me a small favour and encourage someone to write up some docs for mulib and eventful and package it up so its easier to install and use.
http://ulaluma.com/pyx/archives/2007/09/rest_to_lsl_via_python_and_comet.html
This is so cool and would be utilized by more people for great content!
BTW Thats a pretty bold mission statement, not quite as bold as googles but bold - good luck with it, Ill be supporting you all the way
November 21st, 2007 at 4:50 PM
The first thing I noticed is that the new mission statement reads more like something a human being would say, and less like a corporate committee would say. Less puffery, less over-blown, less legalistic.
Awesome! A positive trend!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:51 PM
I don’t know how QA is managed? As a QA consultant/manager I would say: Maybe you need to redefine business risk and requirements because past issues looks like your worst nightmare.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:51 PM
As with what nearly everyone else has said, it’s the constant, day by day week by week problems that SL has had for years now that are not getting any better and in fact geting worse as time goes on that worries us most.
Logins, teleporting, inventory, asset availability, friends ist, IMs… These things have been slowly degrading over time. And those things and those things alone does a majority of the populatin care about being fixed.
HTML on a prim? Nice. Necessary? NO.
Bettter UI? Nice, necessary? NO.
What is necesary is reliable services, all of them. You guys have had a lot of “dead” time with very little population growth to get ahead fo this problem and you havent’t at all.
We hear so much more about “Windlight” and other “Nice, but given the current fagility of the sysem, totally unnessary improvements and almost nothing at all about how you are in the next 3 months going to make it so that logings never again fail or thouseands of regeons are not ever again down because of a VPN that probably should not even be used in lieu of dedicated circuits.
You’ve managed to “keep up” with growth but you are always about 10,000 users BEHIND the necessary level to keep things running smoothly. We want to se SL running ABOVE weekend capacity, not at or below like it has been for the entire 2 years I’ve been on. And lately… It seems like some sort of critical mass of complexity has been reached where there is SO MUCH hardware in use at full capacity that daily something has to break.
So… please excuse us if news about HTML in world, windlight, new UI etc go out with less than great enthusiasm, I’m sure they would be if the entire system did not suffer substandard service 4-5 times a week
Well I’m looking for the turnaround, I just hope that the appropriate atention is being paid to the unglamorous, unfun, unvisible and unsimple world of getting the core infrastructiore ROCK SOLID in the next 6 months… At least give that issue equal blog time with the other nice but unnessary features that we all need daily to be in world.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:53 PM
Shees… the vitriole…
This is a complex thing, people… its gonna break, sometimes often. Chill! Certainly there is more to your personal life than SL… go hug a puppy or something.
Interesting comments Philip and your foward looking thoughts seem headed in the right direction. One concern I have is cost as the scope of the SL world expands… I’m fairly new here and so much of what I am surrounded with is merchandising by other residents. I feel like prey for Linden seekers sometimes and pray for zoning controls!
Obviously you have to pay for all the amazing stuff and people behind this. I hope your strategy will include minimizing the user costs so that residents will not be so driven to make money inside that the world becomes even more advertising-littered.
I’m enjoying SL (well not at this exact moment, of course) and appreciate and am awed by what you’ve created.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:54 PM
Please get SL back up, i’m not able to log in.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:54 PM
I miss my Second Life.
Congrats on creating such a wonderful virtual world. I have become rather fond of it. Please can the login issues be sorted very soon. I have been pining for hours.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:55 PM
I agree with just about everything written above, but it is hard to believe that LL listens very closely when blog comments are often closed or open only to a few selected bloggers who then generally parrot the official line.
SL isn’t bad, it’s just drawn that way.
A mission statement..HA..I’ve worked at enough major corporations in my life to have seen the dawn of the Mission Statement..and it’s inevitable sunset. If there was ever a more laughable idea it’s “The Mission Statement”. Just tell your employees what to do and pay them well enough, don’t try to bamboozle them with touchy-feely mission statements.
Stop thinking up mission statements and get your hands dirty again Phil….fewer cocktail parties more late nights coding again will solve your problems.
Cheers…I love this place anyway…warts and all.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:56 PM
[...] really need to roll out Philip Linden more often, the latest blog has a style and grace about it that is so very sadly lacking in most LL communications and if a [...]
November 21st, 2007 at 4:56 PM
Thank you Philip for your communication with us resis. You have created a wonderfully emmersive environment that millions of us (no pun intended
enjoy. Keep up the good work; and thank you for listening to us about the core stability and reducing the shinies.
Let’s not see it go to the wayside…
This has tremendous potential
November 21st, 2007 at 4:57 PM
Ok Mr Linden, were you bored because SL was down, and found time to change the slogan? *grin* I jest, I like the new mission statement better, it’s clearer. Like you say, however, there is a long road ahead, and here are some of the points that I feel need addressing. I have 2 major gripes:
Crowding on mainland and many rental sims is not an improvement on RL. In fact it’s somewhat worse than RL.
Privacy is far below RL standards.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:59 PM
How do hermaphrodite furry avatars yiffing in public places, virtual brothels, and bondage-rape dungeons with scat themes improve human condition? Helping people hide their deviancy and helping ‘the human condition’ are very different things to me.
I’m not here to judge those people, but this whole ‘bright and shiny’ PR spin Linden Labs seems to put on everything when you look at this website doesn’t fly for me and I’ve only been playing for a couple of months. Compare SL in it’s entirety to any other online game and SL is one of the most gritty, seedy, and nastiest places on the internet.
While user are capable of great feats of creativity they would not be able to do in any other game, they are also free to indulge themselves completely at a whim. I know LL is running a business and they just want customers, so why try to put a pretty face on it like ‘helping the human condition’ when as any business understandably would, they are just trying to suck in everyone they can. LL seems to focus completely on the beautiful aspects while silently stuffing the rest in a closet that they hope no one will ever open.
That’s my opinion of it anyway, and I’m sure many will disagree, having not stumbled across the things I have.
Let’s forget about that for now and pretend it really is a beautiful place in SL that is helping the world grow or whatever. I can’t log in and I notice that -no one- can actually log on at the moment, yet for some reason the front page of the SL client and website both say 40000 people are logged in. This number seems to fluctuate randomly but it always stays relatively the same. The pattern is that of a randomly generated number around 40000 rather than people logging on and off by the thousands every second.
Also, why is it that when I try to log in, time actually reverses according to the SL clock? Why does it say ‘Online’ when it’s clearly been ‘Offline’ for the larger portion of today? Why is it showing between 10:20 am and 10:29 am PST when it’s currently 5pm PST?
If you’re going to put a status panel in your stupid client, at least have it reflect the real status of SL. 8 PM PST OFFLINE 0 PEOPLE LOGGED IN.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:59 PM
I think many of us are so focused on the occaisonal tree (ok, trees…
falling that we fail to see or remember the forest. So it’s nice and encouraging to read your blog, Philip, because it shows me how clear and how strong your vision is of that forest, as well as your determination to make all those trees flourish. Kudos to you, sir!
And - I have to say - paring down the mission statement, sharpens the focus on what I hoped Second Life would always stand for - making my first life the better for having lived a Second.
Thanks, Philip!
November 21st, 2007 at 5:00 PM
I appreciate your comments today… But it sounds like SL has a problem with growth… not in terms of development, but in terms of popularity… Maybe, the time limit for one to join free should be limited… I have enjoyed me experience here at SL and quickly joined. Try a limited trial period. Thanks for the blog today. And keep the dream alive.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Okay, I was upset about the bad performance of SL in the last few weeks. But the main thing is: I’m proud to be a resident here. If one day all works as it expacted I can say: I have helped just by beeing here
November 21st, 2007 at 5:00 PM
~ I have been logged in all day and just finished a large build ~
November 21st, 2007 at 5:02 PM
I’ve been on Second Life since April this year - first I’d heard of it, and the stumbling over it was pure boredom…just looking for something novel to do at 3am one morning. I clumsied around the first and second day, but by the 3rd I was as addicted as the rest of you guys. My one driving thought was how utterly ingenious this whole program was…how exquisite and beautiful were the fresh, unique, spectacular landscapes and scenes loading in front of me, what an amazing dream like quality it all had…I’d never seen anything like it.
I watched a video awhile ago where you - Philip - were discussing SL (forget offhand which it was, sorry) but even then I’d already experienced SL and found the whole talk you gave very inspirational.
A LOT of people bitch and moan and complain, and I’ve done my share of bitching when I would get booted off, and I can understand where some of the madder ones feel justified since they’re part of the economic motor and don’t want to lose money…but all in all, on a personal note, I can forgive the growing pains and make allowances for the bugs and problems and recognize that ya know, *I* couldn’t create something like this even if I tried…I’m really appreciative of this vision you had and have, and would be more than happy to help in any way to make it “reality” (whatever that is anymore!).
I think Second Life rocks. It’s not for everybody, obviously…and no matter who gets on here complaining, just smile when you go to bed each night knowing that first and foremost they’re just as addicted to this place as the rest of us…else they’d close it down and find something else to do. This addiction is one we all willingly embrace because we do *see* what you’re wanting to accomplish and we believe that in the long run it will be worth it.
Maybe some day I’ll have the good fortune to run across you in world and if I stopped to say hello, you’d hang out a few minutes and let me pick your brain…but in light of that, just add me among those who send you big hugs and much thanks for having the genius and the fortitude to create Second Life and share it with all of us.
Happy Thanksgiving…and same to the rest of you SLers out there. Be well!
KK
November 21st, 2007 at 5:05 PM
You people don’t seem to understand. Quit acting like spoiled brats. “omg itz downz FIX ITZ!11″
Know what? if they wanted they could just shut it down completely or make it availible for ONLY paying people again.
it is an honor to play in such a world for free as well as even paying to play in a world where you can be anything you want.
Stop whining.
Bold vision, I doubt you’ll read my post, but I’m a developer of games myself and I respect your dream.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:05 PM
Keep on keeping on Linden Labs! Don’t let the naysayers that have no idea about the complexity of this platform get you down.
On a side note, I’m still downgrading my account to basic and will limit my time on SL, but that is because there just isn’t much to do here anymore. SL has become the most expensive 3D chat room I have ever been involved in.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:07 PM
midnight: i am getting in fine
November 21st, 2007 at 5:07 PM
You are one of the few that is logged in Dytska….while you ther…why don’t you look for Kiboe Munro…He’s lonely, and doesn’t have any friends to talk to.
People that are logged in…please stop posting that you are. Be happy with the lack of people in SL…go shopping in peace….the only thing I’m worried about is you being in my SL house….but anyway you look at it….the world is your’s to explore!!!
Happy hunting.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:08 PM
RainbowEyes Undercroft says: [You people don’t seem to understand. Quit acting like spoiled brats. “omg itz downz FIX ITZ!11″
Know what? if they wanted they could just shut it down completely or make it availible for ONLY paying people again.]
…and then the number of SL residents would go back down to what it was when they began; slim to none. The resident is always right; and people arent spoiled for demanding a working system; especially where real life money is involved. Get off your pedastel.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:08 PM
BOY DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE A LONG ROAD TO GO DOWN ON !!!!!!!
November 21st, 2007 at 5:09 PM
i think it’s all wonderful. i’ve created much art with Bryce3, in the years of early pentium, and i dreamed of being inside my rendering, i created places, and ‘moved’ about in them by rendering new scenes, and now with windlight, i feel i’m inside bryce for real (real, get it) i’ve just been windsurfing off Bora Bora and i’ve had the best time ever.
it’s not perfect, and it breaks yes, and i can’t log in either, i have a mandatory update which won’t download - but let’s all remember how complex this is, how much sheer machinery is involved, the amount of discrete programs must be staggering, can we have a head count?
this will eventually be room sized 3d immersive tactile that is interchangeable with reality, science fiction has pointed a very big finger and i think Second Life will one day be loo