OMGWTFBBQ! Chances are, if you don't know Torley, you've heard of her. Arguably SL's most popular and well-loved resident, she started her Second Life as Torley Torgeson, and only recently became a Linden. She's kept the watermelon colors, though, and continues to update her look. She graciously granted me an interview last week, and we covered a lot of ground. In fact, I was so busy that I didn't get more than a few photos. Seen above, 'Tollie', holding onto her kitty. Apologies to the Torley Fans out there! Torley, thank you for being such a wonderful interviewee!

Before we start, however, I have to give the opening words to resident Kumi Kuhr, who, before Torley and I tp'd away for the interview had this to say:

Kumi Kuhr: OMG
Kumi Kuhr: you are Torley
Kumi Kuhr: you look very weird

SLI: So, first question: How did you pick Torley as your name?

Torley Linden: I picked "Torley" as my name, because that just happens to be my "real name"! I couldn't think of anything better... and in Second Life, I'm still... me. I know that sounds silly but, hey, I couldn't come up with anything else.

SLI: Torley is an unusual name; is it familial?

Torley Linden: "Torley" is actually short for my full name -- it's Thai, and many many letters. So we'll just go with "Torley". :) Some people think it's English. Or Scottish. Or something!

Continued after the break!SLI: What brought you into SL?

Torley Linden: What happened was I was super-depressed. I used to be a very negative person just loaded with unhealthy emotions. I used to be an electronic musician and had banked my whole life on making it a career. In about May 2004, I came down with hyperacusis--collapsed tolerance to noise. I hid myself in a room and was very quiet, and basically ended up reading a lot of books.

I started to think... what if I could evolve past this? What is in my future? What will I do next? Who am I and what do I become? So, I went to the library (a quiet place) and started reading a lot of cyberpunk literature. Not really the dystopian ones, those were even more depressing... but... having this space of not making my music... I had LONG wanted to catch up on a lot of those novels. Just didn't have the time before because I was SO busy with music.
So now, with so much time, I put it to use... reading... lots.

Eventually I began to think, "Reading's good, but... I'm lonely." And I went on the Internet, and started to look for cyberpunk experiences. In part because I really like the world of Deus Ex and similar games. I really just wanted to do it in a way that was... social, for lack of a better word. Eventually, my web searches... they led me to... Second Life! Specifically, Nexus Prime. A cyberpunk city of the future. And it grew from there. At the time, Basic accounts were 10 bucks... so I was like, "One-time charge? That's cheap! Man, I am so diving in..."

And a lot of it, the details, the day-to-day stuff, is of course recollected on my blog. Just about every moment along the way I've reflected on and written about. So for example if you look at http://torley.com/index.cfm?m=9&y=2004 there's a lot there.


On a leaf hammock with Torley

SLI: I think that, for a lot of people, what draws them to you is your obvious love of this virtual world... have you found that, since becoming a Linden, that any of that has decreased, or has it grown?

Torley Linden: Some of it has decreased. More of it has grown, however. That's just the reality of it. I am always finding new experiences to partake in. I'm kinda experimental that way. I like to explore possibilities and use them up, learn from them, and move onto the next thing. An important thing is day-to-day progress.

I'm enamored with the Japanese process of "kaizen". Daily incremental improvements, and basically, in hindsight when you look all the way back, you'll be amazed at what a pile you've accumulated. Looking at components, parts of the machine, so to speak. Trimming things when possible, using automation to save time (and less hurt on my hands)... And at the same time for me I like to be very personal and warm. "Kaizen" basically means "change for the better". And with Robin's blog being "Be The Change" as a tip to Gandhi, it's consistent. It sounds so obvious but a lot of people have dreams they don't act on, so no changes happen. This is my living dream. :)

SLI: Have you ever found that your fame or notoriety has been a negative thing?

Torley Linden: Sure, there's negativity involved. That's just the way it is--but the cool thing is, it helps me to distinguish people's characters, and learn more about humanity on the whole. Often, I find that negativity is a result of miscommunication.

It is strange... I make myself available for questions, and when some assume instead of asking me, it results in wrongness. On the whole that is sure a minority, though.

SLI: I think that on the whole, people would rather be nice, but someone always needs to take the first step.

Torley Linden: Yeah. And for me, it's RRL = Really Redundant Loop. So been there, done that. Not interested. At one stage in my life... I was exploring all the permutations of anger and those types of emotions. Eventually I got bored with it (after breaking a lot of stuff in the process too)... so I moved on to happiness.

SLI: Interesting... so, do you find that SL provides a release for bottled up emotions, both negative and positive, or more of a generator of emotions?

Torley Linden: It's both to me. I'm more of an AND than an OR person on the whole. For me, I've been able to express myself fully through watermelons in a way I never have before. Long been a passion of mine...

I think a problem is when someone takes their baggage into here, and saddles others with it--causing more burden, as opposed to dealing with it and killing the hate.

SLI: do you own land in SL?

Torley Linden: I do now! LOLEX, before I didn't. I don't have a personal home or anything... I do own a fair amount of land for various testing purposes. And some of it is temporary and gets transferred to other Lindens or Residents.

Those specifically may be in situations where, for example... there was a bad rollback and someone purchased land and when they came back, it wasn't in their name. So after I verify it with Customer Support, sometimes in a pinch, I can help them get it back. Not my specialty or my job focus but I like to learn as many skills as possible.

SLI: Definitely... it gives you a great overview of what's possible... you start to make subconscious connections that reveal themselves at unexpected and opportune moments.

Torley Linden: Exactly!

SLI: By the way: What is it about watermelons?

Torley Linden: Ah, long story, and MANY reasons. I like the taste and smell. They are a good food.

My biological father used to tell me tales... of Chinese Robin Hood-like characters, who stole watermelons from the rich and gave to the poor to feed them. And the colors are great and high-contrast.
Top that off with I have Asperger's Syndrome so I must be obsessed. HA HA HA.

It's wonderful in Second Life, I get to live out my passions and share them with others. It's also good because it's very convenient for others to refer to me... Watermelinden! Keeps things simple.

SLI: Are you still doing music?

Torley Linden: No, I haven't in a couple years.

SLI: Do you miss it?

Torley Linden: I sure do. It feels so distant... and yet, next to me because music is all around. It's traumatic that way.

SLI: A constant reminder of your past?

Torley Linden: Yes, and hard because I can't go back there unless there was to be a miracle surgery. Or somesuch thing. But I remain hopeful. I am in this world now. And I keep myself busy so I stay out of trouble. *laughs*

SLI: Sometimes I feel like even with all the time in the world, I couldn't see all of SL, and that's actually okay. It's so rich, this life.

Torley Linden: Yes. Me too... it used to be pressure sometimes, but now I just flop and fall around, and stumble across things. It's my lot in life, and Second Life. Whatever comes, comes.



SLI: I think that's healthy. The Buddhists say that suffering derives from attachment to desire, so being flow-y actually works out really well. What would you like to see implemented in SL?

Torley Linden: There's a whole lot of things I'd like to see added to, and some things subtracted from Second Life.

SLI: Let's pick your top two for each.

Torley Linden: Now, one of my longtime faves... GIVE US GROUP TELEPORT OPTION OR A "FOLLOW" MODE, PLEASE! Second Life is so social... so *why* is it that we teleport alone? Doesn't make sense. I know there are currently technical constraints but... the principle and fundamental is very, very nice.

Recently, there's been a new team formed at LL called the Resident Experience team. I'm on the team, and a lot of what I'd like to see added and subtracted from SL directly has to do with the Resident experience. A lot of simple tweaks that all add up.

For example, in the past... one of my BIGGEST wishes was to see Force Sun moved into the main menus instead of hidden away in Debug. It has been, and it has made SUCH A difference.

I would like to see the "Add Landmark" button come back to the Search panel. It used to be around pre-1.6... it was VERY handy for collecting landmarks without having to teleport there. Super, *super* handy.

SLI: What would you say is the biggest misapprehension about Linden Lab?

Torley Linden: There's not just one, I don't think. I think there's a cluster. And part of it comes down to us not having better communication tools to get the word out--for instance, forum postings, even in bright orange, often get lost. I believe, certainly one of the biggest misapprehensions has to do with Linden Lab's future directions. And what's coming down the road.

I see a lot of fear that "Oh no! This is the end of this feature? Why isn't this being added?" True, there are some cases where the feature-set is stale... like Gestures... but a key thing to remember is that there are phases, and ongoing change, and again--it comes back to kaizen!

There's a lot of forgotten history. If more people would read up on the past, they'd feel better that LL has accumulated quite a track record of things. Now, obviously, I also have to say that I see tons of spots for improvements. But me, I'm the type of person who doesn't keep pointing the bad things out. I do that, and move on to saying, "This is good. This is great. This is SUPERFANTASTIC! Can we please have *more* of this?"

I'd say a misapprehension is that LL has some utopian, all squeaky-clean, no-grit attitude. But this is not true. I often know I have internal discussions, and on my own blog, where we clearly point out, "This is what we can do to make things better!" What's essential here is that we keep on moving, and don't be paralyzed by fear or petty cries of "Favoritism!", and that we do the best we can for our Residents and the community at large.

Now that sounds like a pretty fluffy thing to say, but time and time again, I can point to specific instances. Right now, we've implemented all these anti-griefing tools. A fire was lit under our collective asses... and wowza! PUSH RESTRICTIONS AFTER ASKING FOR IT FOR SO LONG! It's come true. Onto the next, and the next, and the next.

So I think it's important--I know I do this, anyway... When I express an opinion, I take the needs, wants, and desires of others into consideration as part of my own. I'm a composite alloy that way.

SLI: Torlite.

Torley Linden: RUR RUR RUR. That's good.

Like from the recent Tao of Linden, when I choose my own work, it's *really* about what other people want. That I just happen to want too. And what needs to happen in order to bridge and address the misapprehension... is more clear communication from Lindens <---> Resis, which I'm ALL for.

So look for more Linden blogging soon, where we can clearly stream out what's going on with LL.

SLI: Awesome... I think that's a great place to end this. Do you have any final thoughts, or shout outs?

Torley Linden: Well thank you graciously for the interview! Hehe. Gosh, I will say this. I have said it many times before but can't say it enough. I am grateful, humbled, and humored to be here in Second Life. It's been an accelerated course in being human for me. I'd like to thank so many people here who were so supportive of me and who encouraged, inspired, and in some cases forced (in a nice way) me to follow my dreams. And live them. :)

I am nothing without all the people here. You have to believe in me or else I will disappear. I'm a reflection of the good I see around me and I like to share that back!