It's nice to hear Linden Lab opening up a little and talking about the reasoning being upcoming changes, like this piece on upcoming changes to abuse reporting. Full marks for letting us know something is in the wind and why.2,000 abuse reports per day, many spurious reports, and so lead us to...
"The main thrust of this project is to move our process away from the current one report/one resolution model and towards a system that with will quickly and accurately identity and manage those individuals and behavior that make Second Life feel unwelcoming or unsafe. The revised system will focus also on moving problems towards more useful paths for resolution – specifically by enabling and encouraging the development of inter-Resident mediation and dispute resolution options for those issues Linden Lab isn't equipped to resolve. A further emphasis will be placed on self-resolution - by improivng[sic] existing tools like mute and parcel-based access restrictions."
The problem is that they always seem to trail off on a decidedly vague note. Lots of goals but no real means. Outcomes without actions, if you will. Don't get me wrong, it's good to see you airing your reasoning, people, and sharing what your outcomes are, but the tone suggests you've got specifics ready to implement, and you're asking us to watch this space to find out. Don't make us wait too long for the meat.
We're still wondering where this similar announcement, posted at the 11th hour before the thanksgiving break will go. Requests for further information have been met with silence so far.
Still, communication with a community is more art than science. Things have improved in the areas of communication with the Second Life communities. We look forward to seeing that communications continue to improve.
1. Tateru, you are such an unrepentant fangirl. For someone who has been so close to the regime, and already so indispensable to its newbie industry, complete with your own mini-cult of personality, you are awfully trusting and expectant. In fact, it's a bit heart-breaking to watch.
Why do these people who take scads of our money and time and labour get full marks for this perplexing announcement that raises more questions than it answers?
The big open question is whether they are going to annoint some of their pets (like you, or others in your stead from the same sorts of inner circles) to become inworld resmond dispute adjudicators. The forum post is full of Helpful Hannahs offering to volunteer to sort through abuse complaints. Meh. Get the kids out of my grown-up, paid-for world here, please.
There's some interesting proposals, like paying for an abuse report -- justice shouldn't be for the rich, but it could deter frivolous reports to have even a small payment like $10.
A lot of abuse now can be handled with parcel controls -- if you have them. Not every renter gets them (I give them, but not all do, because they can also be used for griefing other tenants -- the reformed group tools are messy that way). A lot of people, even owning land, don't know they can right-click and remove an abusive person -- and how would they know? It's not written in neon lights somewhere.
As you know, I'm a firm believer in blowing up not only the mentors/helpers etc newbie greeting conveyor belt but the abuse report system. It's ghastly. I know how much work it is to do a proper justice system, and I don't expect Lindens to do it. But putting it into the hands of all these fake unaccountable police and helpers isn't the answer either.
What I hate most about their announcements like this -- and which you should protest instead of giving them credit for -- is their claim that this is a "discussion" or "dialogue". They decided this long ago. Their thinking was visible in the (now deleted) covenants group sessions as I reported on the Herald. And they are just softening up public opinion before imposing it.
Posted at 11:52AM on Dec 9th 2006 by Prokofy Neva