It's good to be listened to. In earlier years, I had a lot of "insane" ideas that I tried to share around, but they weren't really understood or even appreciated. I generalize, but?these were my?earnest experiences. It's difficult to explain, but there was some sort of connection missing, some sort of personal chemistry?that?just didn't mix well. I felt like I was meeting a lot of walls and, to further that metaphor, my ideas were being dammed in.?In Second Life, all of that has changed for me: I not only have found some wildly creative people who totally get what I'm saying, but they can reciprocate and their words will resonate with me as we continue to converse… feedback in the truest sense of what it means.
Now, I'm not saying this is entirely exclusive or specific?to SL, but there are certainly elements — such as the realm of 3D exploration and the collaborative environmental space presented in such an openended fashion — which are presented in a unique way. I continue to be increasingly convinced of what a splendid place the world of Second Life is for this futurist brainstorming thinktankery (which, I suppose, you could call FBT for short).
It's scary in a way: it's like being rejected 99 times in a row and then finally being accepted on the 100th try. But it's also very exciting, and I hope to see more creative, talented, sociable people come into SL so that the beauty that has already been established in the community will only grow. Perhaps the Greeter Program will help with this, in awakening new Residents and giving them a positive first experience of the gridverse. I also believe as the population increases, more ways for people to get in touch and become fast friends will not only be beneficial, but essential to progress. There already exists a number of social network websites, and more dynamically engaging ways for people to connect in SL would be awesome.
Touching on that-which-was-just-mentioned, I see a need for expanded Resident profiles. There's already been discussion of integrating blogs with profiles somehow, and I'm still wondering why an HTTP link doesn't become automatically clickable (you gotta copy-and-paste). The whole crux of interoperability in a wired — and wireless, for that matter — world is a very fundamental one: someone like myself doesn't always understand the technical jargon behind why things don't work… but I do know when?a simple,?elegant way to go about things is in action. Consider the following:
For example, I have a dance bracelet. I want to be able to put some animations that are NO COPY or otherwise do not have full permissions into it, but for some reason, I can't drag them into the bracelet while it's attached.
To do so, I soon realize (after some fudging around) that I have to Drop the bracelet first, and then, when it's on the floor, I can examine the Contents and put in animations that are NO COPY and/or NO MOD and/or NO TRANSFER.
From this thread. Doesn't this seem clunky to you? According to Kelly, he kindly let me know that:
Torley: I believe that is intended behavior. Only fully permissive objects can be added to the contents of attachments.
Okay, so I know that this is the way it's "supposed to work" as per the current version of SL. But WHY??I reiterate:?does this seem like an awkward, duct-tapey hack to you too, as opposed to a methodology which is streamlined and consistent? Thankfully, Lindens do listen! I will be following up with this and other issues, such as the infamous UpdateGeom lag. You may have experienced this but don't know what to do call it, so there ya go. I'm just helping get the word out, and I am hoping to be listened to.?:)
From one link of the chain to the next, that's the way it goes. I am aware I have inspired a number of things in SL, including neon watermelon-themed items. I am both honored and pleased by this, and I get a real punch out of it. I am also aware that my role in the chain is often to be a facilitator of introducing "idea shrapnel" that others are more adept are sorting out and implementing, so that it can be turned into a creation like a lovely dress or an automobile or even my very own sushi shop. I enjoy all of this greatly, because it's like dreams come to life — Second Life — and it could not have been done without the whole chain of process. I do wish I could build more?and script and do all of that well, but I have accepted that in my existence, there are things I already do extremely well, so I should focus on them while exploring diversity, and surround myself with good people so that we can all be better for it, together.
None of this would get done without listening. Listening is crucial to good human relationships, from friends deciding what to do when hanging out to lovers's pillow talk. Business deals also involve a great deal of listening too, and understanding what the other side wants. As much as human nature confuzzles me at times, I think that if I'm not being presumptuous, I'm beginning to be able to grasp some of this really well, relative to how I used to be. While I can talk a lot at times, I will also be intensely quiet (how's that for a contradiction?) at others, and hence, in "listening mode". Sometimes ya just want someone to?not say much at all and just be there for you… a listening ear.
My humble observation is that on the SL Forums, as it stands, there is a lot of hostility that could be avoided or even effectively dealt with if more people listening to each other. It is definitely an angry screaming match with a whole mess of quotes-within-quotes and winding rhetorical diatribes, which soon devolve into personal attacks and a failure to appreciate someone else's point of view, even if one does not agree with another. Not the kind of chaos I enjoy. It sickens me, in fact. It's called a "discussion board" for a reason, which is self-explanatory. Even I tend to miss the obvious and know this. ^_^
So, more listening. Which in turn, leads to more learning, if you are open and receptive to new ideas and the improvement of one's self. And the best thing about listening? Well, I've talked enough… why don't you let me know?