This entry's about Linden alts. Lindens reading this, you know who you are (even though most of us do not).?:-) I used to be a fan of a show called Dead Like Me?– reason why I'm not anymore, is because it was cancelled, thus putting a damper on my interest. The series had a premise which I can't quite describe, but I do know it relates to Second Life on this level: in DLM, select people became grim reapers, to take the souls of others, following their deaths. They were still roaming the Earth and could be seen, but they appeared differently to the living due to some supernatural "glammer" (it's never explicitly explained). So, when one character, the young woman George Lass, went back home in one instance, her Mother didn't recognize her and made her feel very unwelcome.

More than several experienced ex-Residents of SL have become Lindens, which means that they have ascended (thanks Oneironaut, LOL) to an official status working for the company that is Linden Lab. As such, there is a whole class of ethical policies they must abide by, although that doesn't stop them from being a family of some of the most fun "workers" around. Some Lindens hardly (or never? Although it's hard to say absolutes) come back to their former accounts, which are now known as alternatives or "alts" because the Linden one becomes the primary one. Others still venture inworld on a frequent basis, balancing work and play. It comes down to the individual too — some Lindens drop a lot of hints as to who they also are, cracking inside jokes and making references to certain events which only a limited number of avatars were privy to, while others keep it a matter of hush-hush discretion… in other words, SECRET AGENT LINDEN.

When talking with certain Lindens, I do get twinges of familiarity and a good vibe that's hard to describe. I just know I feel it and that while it borders on deja vu, it's not quite the same thing.?I've occasionally blurted out, "You have a style like so-and-so… you'd like him/her/it!" Maybe they're one and the same. Sometimes, I feel like I have guardian angels watching over me — and not only me — but the whole community as well, because these Lindens know what it's like to live a day-to-day Second Life: they take that field experience and now use it to gracefully guide the gridverse forward. They may not be able to make direct statements in some cases because of political issues, but they can positively suggest new directions for us to travel in and encourage us to think, feel, and act for ourselves.

I wonder if it can be hard for some of the more private Lindens to be around their friends and not be as personal as they'd like to be. Or, if?a Linden who?was a good chum with someone now?get?treated like crap?by them?because 1) they don't know and 2) their true colors show. That must suck.?:*(

One of the "reaper rules" in Dead Like Me was that prolonged contact with the living was frowned upon because of potential interpersonal conflicts and the cosmic mess it could get the universe into.?For example: Lindens may see a familiar face, but not be able to reach out and go "BOOYEAH!!!". Or use as many emoticons as they'd care to, lest they give something away. They must do their sacred duties and go about on the job, laying the smackdown on GREEFER KIN and helping newbies and veterans alike with their inworld problems.

That being said, I very much respect and honor the personal privacy of Lindens and their alts?– as they do for the members of Second Life in their TOS and Community Standards — but I just can't help but wonder . . .

"Somewhere in the heavens… they are waiting…"
-Marathon