Linden Lab has released the figures for the third-quarter performance of Second Life.

If you want the short version, it wasn't a growth quarter. Q3 2009 figures were not really very distinguishable from Q2 2009. There's actually nothing wrong with that. Growth plateaus are occasional and inevitable and generally represent a good opportunity for engineering and support to catch up a little with the service.

Continue reading Second Life plateaus during Q3 2009

Second Life plateaus during Q3 2009 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mark Kingdon, Linden Lab's CEO, has been a bit of a mystery figure since his appointment about a year and a half ago. While he has not been uncommunicative, it's been hard to get a very good sense of the man at the helm of Linden Lab, his passions, interests and direction.

We were very pleased, therefore, when he took the time to sit down with us and answer a whole grab-bag of questions, about himself, about Linden Lab, and - of course - about Second Life. Bear with us, because we've got a lot of ground to cover.

Continue reading Exclusive interview with Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon

Exclusive interview with Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Linden Lab, the company behind the Second Life platform is launching the open beta of Project Nebraska today. Project Nebraska was the working title for what is now called Second Life Enterprise, a standalone Second Life solution for enterprise use.

This "Second Life in a box" solution, is actually in two boxes. It consists of a combined software and hardware bundle, including two 1RU rack-mount servers, prepackaged as an appliance and configured to provide virtual environment and voice services, ready to use with standard Second Life viewer software.

But that's not all.

Continue reading Linden Lab launches Second Life Enterprise beta, Second Life Work Marketplace to come

Linden Lab launches Second Life Enterprise beta, Second Life Work Marketplace to come originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You're in a business. Your business has a presence in Second Life. In your business, you have two furries, three hot vixens who probably belong in a strip club, the token emo goth guy, and the dude who made his avatar just like his real world self. Everyone's happy with how they look and how they represent the company, right?

Well, according to the analysts at Gartner Inc., the winds of change might be blowing through virtual companies. The analysts are saying that over 70% of all virtual companies will end up adopting avatar dress codes by the end of 2013, in a move to look more professional and focused.

While avatar dress codes aren't the best option in the world, we too understand that some level of conformity in virtual business is needed. Of course this all depends on the business, as more independent companies can take a looser stance on dress codes. But, in a world where you can be literally anything, you might want to add some level of professionalism to your business avatar.

Avatar dress codes might happen sooner than you think originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

'I cannot read the fiery letters,' said Frodo in a quavering voice.

'No,' said Gandalf, 'but I can. The letters are English, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Lawyers, which I will not utter here. But this in the Common Tongue is what is said, close enough:

'You agree to review and adhere to the guidelines on using "Second Life," "SL," "Linden," the Eye-in-Hand logo, and Linden Lab's other trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, domain names, taglines, and trade dress..'

He paused, and then said slowly in a deep voice: 'These are the Master Rules, the Terms of Service that rule all accounts.'

Continue reading A video guide to the Second Life Terms of Service

A video guide to the Second Life Terms of Service originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seems that most of what you hear in and about Second Life recently revolves around creator rights, copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property rights, infringement and so forth. It's not that intellectual property infringement is new - you can certainly replicate content with the official viewer if you know how - but it is in the limelight and a major feature of Second Life discussions by virtue of assorted high-profile infringements, and legal actions.

Copyright infringement can't be made to go away. Since the Statute of Anne in 1710 originally codified copyrights in law, infringement has only been somewhat quelled by various means, never practically eliminated. In these predominantly digital times, there are many new tradeoffs could be made that could reduce the incidence of infringement, but at the cost of also reducing functionality.

Continue reading What compromises would you make to reduce Second Life copyright infringement?

What compromises would you make to reduce Second Life copyright infringement? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While Linden Lab allows you to submit a DMCA notice via post or fax, there is a third option that's valid while you're waiting for the promised new DMCA process to come along.

While many service- and platform-providers insist that they do not accept emailed DMCA notices, if you submit them correctly, the provider is lawfully obligated to accept them. Interestingly, a proper DMCA notice by email can actually give the recipient more surety about the identity of the submitter than faxed or posted notices.

Continue reading How to email a Second Life DMCA notice

How to email a Second Life DMCA notice originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Remember Kevin Alderman (known in Second Life as Stroker Serpentine), CEO of Eros LLC who is one of the plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against Linden Lab for negligence with respect to security and failing to act in accordance with their obligations under the DMCA? Well, it can't be a good week for either him or for the Lab.

During Linden Lab's Burning Life event in Second Life this year (a sort of living pop-art showcase and party that draws many spectators) persons only presently known to the server logs left a cache of copied content, including at least one of Alderman's latest products, and a whole swag of other content belonging to other designers - free for the taking.

It isn't really Burning Life's fault, but if you had to place the stuff somewhere where many people would take it, none-the-wiser that it was unlawful content, that would be the best place at this time of the year.

Continue reading Second Life designers burned at Burning Life

Second Life designers burned at Burning Life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Linden Lab have installed a new account setting for Second Life users, where an account can be marked as a 'scripted agent' (which you can call a 'bot' if you prefer). At present, it isn't actually known what effect the marker has, or to what use it is being put. At some future time, we are told, it may be used to exempt accounts from contributing to the Second Life parcel-traffic system.

Right now, though, it's sort of like being asked "Would all citizens who have firearms and do not use them to break the law, please leave your name at your local police-station." That is, there doesn't seem anything actually wrong with the idea, but you've got to wonder why it is being asked at this time.

Continue reading Second Life users can flag accounts as bots, to no effect

Second Life users can flag accounts as bots, to no effect originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, Linden Lab made an announcement regarding third-party (or after-market, if you prefer) viewers that has so far elicited a vociferous response from some of the more outspoken Second Life users, and those involved in after-market viewer-development. The announcement largely revolves around upcoming policies that have yet to be decided.

This is compounded partly by there being two announcements. One directly emailed out and one on the blog, both of which carry somewhat different information. The announcement is a lead-up to a series of "brown bag" sessions which are advertised to determine the details of the scheme.

Continue reading Linden Lab to alter third-party Second Life viewer policies

Linden Lab to alter third-party Second Life viewer policies originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While it has been called Viewer 2009 once or twice, almost every Linden Lab staffer who mentions it calls it Second Life 2. Once on the drawing-board as a major overhaul of Second Life both at the server and at the viewer (client), the idea of a huge developmental jump was abandoned some years ago, and all of the features slated for Second Life 2 were added to Second Life 1, incrementally.

Well, except for the last item on the list, the user-interface. Essentially Second Life seems to now everything SL2 was originally planned to be, sans the new interface.

Continue reading Looking forward to Second Life 2.0

Looking forward to Second Life 2.0 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week, as you might recall, we covered a tale that really caught people's interests, and warmed the hearts of many a Second Life content-creator; That Linden Lab had run a bit of a sting, which neatly suckered a bunch of copyright infringers, resulting in their banning.

In the wake of that, a number of readers (indeed quite a lot of you) wrote in to tell us that you had heard that the bans of most or all of the those involved had been reversed within a day or so. While people do indeed circulate all manner of rumors, that would certainly be quite an interesting turn of events, so we got some legwork done to see if we could get to the bottom of it.

Continue reading Copyright infringement bans upheld, or repealed?

Copyright infringement bans upheld, or repealed? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Imprudence project has released the next beta in this release cycle for their Second Life viewer. Imprudence is one of our favorite after-market Second Life viewers (and just about the only one whose licensing status we've been able to verify with confidence).

The new beta has some changes to the pie menu (which often makes people just a little tense), updates Kitty Barnett's RLVa support, fixes 24 bugs including some search and appearance problems, two crashes and some assorted UI weirdness that crept into the last build.

The first round of Windows binaries in this beta release had a minor installation issue, but fresh installers were issued quickly and have sorted that out.

Continue reading Imprudence 1.2 beta2 viewer for Second Life

Imprudence 1.2 beta2 viewer for Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Friðarsúlan in Icelandic, otherwise known as the Imagine Peace Tower has been recreated at least three times in Second Life that we're aware of. The tower of light, dedicated to the late John Lennon, consists of a geothermally powered base, and shines its light as much as four kilometres into the sky. Around the base are the words imagine peace in 24 languages.

This third Second Life recreation of the light tower was commissioned by Yoko Ono, artist, peace-activist, musician and Lennon's widow.

After the lighting ceremony for the physical tower in Iceland, Ono will be unveiling this Second Life version on Imagine Peace Island (SLURL) at 3:30PM US Pacific time today.

The tower will illuminate 15 minutes after sunset each Second Life day, and remain lit until the next Second Life dawn. Sunset on the island takes place at 3:30, 6:30 and 10:30 (both AM and PM) US Pacific time each day.

	Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Imagine Peace today originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Numerous Second Life content creators are warning their clientele that the Web-site virtualget.net (which has been apparently been operating for a couple of months now) is a credit-card harvesting scam. Whether that's correct or not, the site appears to be using the product images and product descriptions and trademarks of numerous Second Life content creators without their permission. The original images and text appear on Linden Lab's Xstreet SL virtual goods shopping Web-site.

Numerous DMCA notices are reportedly being filed by content creators at present. We attempted to contact virtualget.net (anonymously registered in Singapore) for comment, but none of their email addresses appeared to be functional -- One email address was restored to function when the majority of the site was taken down a short time ago, but we received no response. Linden Lab, who has an intellectual property stake in the matter, was not available for comment either.

Users of Kaspersky protection software found the Web-site marked as a phishing site several hours ago, presumably based on user reports.

Update: The operation seems to have disabled access to much of the site in the wake of numerous DMCA notices filed by content-creators.

	Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Second Life content creators warn about scam site originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now, we must admit that we find this one both amusing and appropriate. In short, Linden Lab has sent 50 or more Second Life users who were using the after-market NeilLife viewer on the spank-bus to ban-town. Not just for using the viewer, but for copying content that they shouldn't ought to have.

What's clever is how Linden Lab caught and detected them.

Continue reading Linden Lab rounds up and ejects a bunch of copyright infringers

Linden Lab rounds up and ejects a bunch of copyright infringers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When news broke about Linden Lab sending a takedown notice to the core Second Life education community Web-site, our colleagues over at the Metaverse Journal put a number of questions about the matter to Linden Lab.

The Linden Lab response to those questions yesterday seems to have generated a reaction among educators akin to pouring gasoline on a blaze, coupled with a vigorous fish-slapping. While there's a undeniably a spectrum of reaction to the Lab's response, most of what we've seen seems to cluster around the livid end.

Continue reading Linden Lab explanation alienates educators

Linden Lab explanation alienates educators originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jokay Wollongong, one of the premier promoters and supporters of the educational uses of Second Life, and keeper of the largest single resource for Second Life educators, suffered something of a reversal this week, when Linden Lab decided that that very same resource, sleducation.wikispaces.com, infringed on their SL trademark (which has now only been registered for nine days), and sent Wollongong a takedown notice.

That's something of a surprise considering Linden Lab's ongoing endorsement of the site on the Second Life Education mailing-list. The site, which has been up since late 2006, documents over 100 case studies of educational projects in Second Life, as well as providing key community resources and information for educators who are just getting started with virtual environments.

Continue reading Linden Lab punctures education community with newly registered trademark

Linden Lab punctures education community with newly registered trademark originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Imprudence project has started a new release cycle for their Second Life viewer. Imprudence is one of our favorite after-market Second Life viewers, and the new 1.2 beta contains a number of delicious treats.

The new beta features a grid manager, new minimap radar with some useful features, optional support for Restrained Life (using RLVa), a selection of Emerald viewer features, object backups (for your own creations only), and a heap more. Our personal favorite is the option to have a draw-distance slider on-screen, as it is perhaps our single most-commonly used UI feature.

Continue reading New: Imprudence 1.2 beta viewer for Second Life

New: Imprudence 1.2 beta viewer for Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over the last few days, Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon, and Lab director of Marketing and Communications, Catherine Smith have been in Europe, where Kingdon is reportedly seeking office-space for Linden Lab in Amsterdam. The office is intended to start as a small marketing headquarters for Linden Lab.

At NIMK, Catherine Smith told De Hoeksteen Live! that Linden Lab was planning to launch the new office in January next year.

Linden Lab's marketing efforts for Second Life hitherto have largely focused on placement of speakers at conferences and events, and - prior to 2008 - on minor registration incentive programs. More recently, efforts have focused on the revamped Web-site and assorted press-materials and white-papers.

Continue reading Linden Lab to step up Second Life marketing with Amsterdam office

Linden Lab to step up Second Life marketing with Amsterdam office originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.