This group really doesn't do much. Population, 171, with quite a few who have not logged in since 2018 or 2019. I joined it because in principle I support any Mainland effort. Although some of the efforts of this group really go astray (obsession with spam pods). There's another group with the promising sounding name "Vivid Route Initiative" run by Reklame, whose name means "advertisement" in German, Russian and other languages. Here, the "vivid" has really gone astray. It's not the $77 charge to join (I'm not going to burn $77 on this and see how many members there are. And you will never convince me, for example, that Abner Mole's ugly black obelisks telling you to be a good neighbour, which Reklame spams everywhere on microparcels are effective at all -- I know they merely cause people not to rent my land when they sprout next to me. Maybe that's their ultimate purpose. Abner Mole is listed as the creator -- I can't be sure the texture on this obelisk is his, or if he supports spamming micro-parcels with it (likely not). I see various Mole fanbois like Evola Courtois love it. And Reklame of course, whose role in SL is opaque to me. His profile says "Vita secunda praeconium est," a made-up Latin phrase which I guess means "Second Life is advertising". And "Vita ludus non est" ("Life is not a game", something I'm not sure the ancient Romans said. I do stand corrected on a previous attribution I printed here, which is that Timo Daehlie is responsible for the ugly obelisks. He most certainly is not. He tells me that he hates the obelisks, too, and ARs them. I'm not sure how Timo's name became associated with the parcels, possibly because he bought microparcels to beautify them.
Linden Road Community has some enthusiastic supporters, although some would-be members are put off by the owner's support of Trump. That doesn't bother me; I have tenants who are Trump voters and European tenants with even worse political views; I'm a Democrat and a Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden voter, but it need not be a reason for rejecting someone in a virtual world.
BTW, I pretend little different re: membership log-ins with my older group, SL Public Land Preserve, population 785 (founded in 2005 by Random Unsung, my old alt), with people going back to 2006 who haven't logged on; the people from 2005 may have completely disappeared, although sometimes groups retain people who are gone from the People list. I should count the non-loggers -- they could make up as many as half. But it's ok, sometimes they come back so there's no need to boot them; after all, they paid $5 (and now $10) to join. Some have content here and there. And the main thing is that it grows every day. People are always joining, some rent, some hang out, some leave, and really, I don't ask them to do anything except follow the simple rules on the land. I give them regular group gifts and update the content frequently. Sometimes people donate tier or make areas. Every day I get cash donations at multiple sites. Not enough to pay the tier, but between the content sales, rentals, tier donations, and cash donations, a good part of the tier is covered.
As for Linden Road (which I don't view as any kind of competition and it's not about that) -- the very occasional notices mainly have to do with the owner getting hysterical about some non-event or kvetching about somebody doing something to her and explaining that she can't hold events. She's very good at making emotional YouTubes. The latest one is a long lament about somebody with whom she had a nice conversation, but who TP'd away saying he could never get over their political differences because he couldn't support Trump. Understood. I usually can't sit still through all of these, Trump or no, pods or no -- she wasted an enormous amount of tears on the supposed demise of her beloved pods, but in fact they all were back in 2 days and it was a "misunderstanding". It's good she has a YouTube channel that has some competent videos of SL building tips and such. Maybe someone will be interested. I think making the channel "age restricted" is a bad idea and contributes to the misperception of SL, but whatever.
When Asadora had a Halloween event last year, which I took part in to be supportive (you could make your land a stop on a circuit ride), she constantly browbeat people for not taking part and wept when they didn't. I find that if people don't want to join a thing, you can't browbeat them and scold them. You're not interesting enough; try another thing. SL is like herding cats. People don't like organized activities especially if politics are involved. So it is what it is.
Since I like the Mainland and tend to support things on there, I stayed in it, and I'm grateful for the few gifts -- although I thought it might be under the thumb of Yevad Doobie, one of those official hall monitors of SL who hates me for reasons I've forgotten or never knew (and who at first had a falling out with Asadora but I guess it was patched up) -- but probably because I criticized the pods. And with good reason. They spam up sims; nobody is ever in them; there is no reason on earth or the metaverse they can't be "rez on demand" and stop cluttering the view. Other people agree with me on this, but it's not the sort of thing we will ever get traction on because of the small coterie of pod lovers who actually don't log in much to actually ride them and are merely nostalgic about that one time in 2010 they rode one.
So I was flying around Adscita checking rentals and I got a message from Linden Roads about maps of the continents. I go to the Protected Roads Interest Group (owner Yevad Doobie)where the maps are said to be located and whoops, I'm banned. Oh well. If they're on all perms, someone will get them for me. If they aren't, I'll live.
So I spot Asadora Summers herself there who now goes by the display name "Asadorable Delightful" (...), the owner of the Linden Road Community (LRC) group there, and I IM her, and here's the conversation:
Prokofy: Oh, your lovely friend Yevad has me banned from this building so I can't get the maps. Oh, well, it's not important. This is because I rightly criticize those ridiculous pods that in fact are always empty and I have yet to see one with a person in them in years! Or...some other reason, who knows. Not important. Just thought I'd let you know.
[23:08] Inventory item 'Snapshot : Brair Rose Woods, Castaneae (68, 170, 87) - Moderate' offered
[23:08] Prokofy Neva: didn't have to wait long, here's an empty on now lol!
[23:12] Asadora Summers: Oh yeah... sorta like the sitting empty rentals you have right?
[23:12] Prokofy Neva: My empty rentals don't travel across other people's sims and spam up their view
[23:12] Prokofy Neva: bad analogy
[23:13] Asadora Summers: You have had the same argument for years and years. Obviously you don't realise that people love the pods and they actually use them. Just because you see them go by empty, doesn't mean they aren't used. You can't be on every route on all the continents to know if they are actually empty or not.
[23:13] Prokofy Neva: well they don't because...they're empty
[23:13] Asadora Summers: I have tried to be patient and understanding and defended you and frankly I'm sick of it.
[23:13] Prokofy Neva: other people who aren't in your insular coterie say the same thing
[23:13] Asadora Summers: they are not always empty!!!
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: I see them constantly empty
[23:14] Asadora Summers: You can't see every pod all the time 24/7
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: and I report this
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: the end
[23:14] Asadora Summers: Report them to whom?
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: well then they can release the statistics, but...they don't
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: to the world, so they can see how stupid this is
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: eventually the Lindens will end them
[23:14] Prokofy Neva: but you know, I don't have to be in your group. I don't even know why I am in your group.
[23:14] Asadora Summers: You have no idea that LL has given the pods the blessing and in fact are going to incorporate more yavapods
[23:15] Prokofy Neva: Um, I read the same forums as you do
[23:15] Asadora Summers: but you don't know the inside information that I do?
[23:15] Prokofy Neva: and eventually especially in Bellissaria they will get enough complaints and I won't have to be raising this topic
[23:15] Prokofy Neva: oh are you the inside dope with the inside dope? ok
[23:15] Prokofy Neva: I don't take the same weepy approach to SL that you do
[23:15] Asadora Summers: I understand you are a feeble old woman with nothing better to do than to play busy body in a virtual world
[23:16] Asadora Summers: But realise this, just as much as you hate 'all the pods' most of SL hates you.
[23:16] Prokofy Neva: um, I'm not a feeble old woman, are you? And I see you are out of arguments and have to make personal attacks
[23:16] Asadora Summers: Your IM is being held in a que. Wait time is forever.
[23:16] Prokofy Neva: um, most of SL in fact supports me OR doesn't know me, you live in deep illusion. Bye!
[23:16] Asadora Summers: Your IM is being held in a que. Wait time is forever.
Again, I think "most of SL" hasn't heard of me; if you took a vote, you'd find more supporters than detractors. Why? Because when I fly around and go to events and hear from tenants, they always say they like my posts and my blog and they think the same thing. They just don't say it because they don't want to take the hate that comes with defying the chosen ones on the forums and inworld. And I don't have any illusions that my views are "popular" -- they are controversial. But I think people appreciate that they are expressed, more than not. And in many cases agree with them.
Well, a petty mind is displayed here in this conversation, if you didn't figure that out from her YouTubes -- and since I'm not the one with a YouTube channel (I should start one someday!), do the math.
Note how this kind of low-intelligence mind works -- if I defend you, if I "do" for you, then you must defend me and "do" for me. I find that creepy. It's one thing to have mutual aid societies and cooperation. It's another to have omerta. That someone can actually be on the Mainland as much as Asadora is and doesn't see that those pods are always empties means that there is just no hope here of getting a break-through to reality. But it's not necessary. Eventually, if the Lindens themselves don't grasp it, others will get them to see it because the pods spam up the view and don't need to be "always on". They can be rez on demand like the bubbles and the inner tubes, you know? The Moles don't send inner tubes constantly sailing across waterways; they put them at locations spaced out over sims so you can generally find one after looking for a minute. It's not rocket science.
What's also so-very-SL is that someone who doesn't share your view on something thinks that if she hasn't converted you, then bans of you should be supported. BTW she is a Trump voter who puts Trump signs on her SL lawns, but that doesn't matter -- it wasn't a reason not to join her group because I believe it's still possible to get along in SL. You don't need to agree on everything. You don't have to share RL or SL views. I don't express malice to the creator of the pods or to those who support them; I simply keep pointing out how stupid, wasteful and spammy they are. If you don't share that perception, it's not personal. And since the insiders have prevailed on this and got the ear of the Lindens -- who love load tests -- why begrudge someone their opposition? Why ban them?
It's funny how a Trump voter ends up supporting the pods, which are essentially a socialist government-aspiring means of transportation. Trump supporters generally don't support such things. Even people like me think Amtrak should be privatized, it is run so poorly.
I don't bear malice to these groups; I think it's better if people in fact are not united and there are a variety of groups and they even take opposing sides on issues of the day. That's a much stronger civil society and democracy than just an authoritarian fan club worshiping Patch Linden and the Moles and doing what they want or their selected friends want.
Once someone engages in these kind of nasty personal attacks, however (despite not booting me from her group, so she can keep her numbers up lol and show off someone prominent), I ban them from my office or other central areas. Why have them creating trouble?
Again, my guess is that once those pods start hurdling across Belli, which actually gets some use, we may see some objections to them. I don't people will want their suburban or bucolic splendour interrupted by the Jetsons. The empty Jetsons' vehicles. In fact, if they do come to Belli, I bet they won't be able to appear as pods, which are ugly, but they'll make them other vehicles, perhaps those made by the "Bellissaria Parade" group guy, fonseca. He's very enterprising. There are enough different people in Belli that they may provide a counterweight of sorts to these forums regs and in-group FIC types that try to control things. Perhaps -- gasp! -- they may only be made rez on demand. Imagine!
I don't think Linden roads need attention or focus as the sim seam thing is likely insurmountable (although perhaps it will improve in the cloud). It's good enough. I see plenty of real people -- not empty pods -- riding along on their own horses or in cars. Sometimes they struggle; it can be hard and there is this drift to the right or left you constantly have to correct for -- except when you freeze and can't. But you know, you can fly in SL. You don't need to spend hundreds of RL dollars on Blake Sea land or horses or anything to enjoy SL. Sure, it's fun to have a thing to ride or sail. It's not vital, however, and not worth suffering over.
If the Lindens have extra time, I'd rather they name all their areas instead of calling them all "Coastal Area" and "Protected Land". They should have a contest -- residents would love to name sims. It would be fun
UPDATE: Note my corrected paragraph above about the true creator and deployer of the ugly black "Good Neighbour" obelisks. It's not Timo Daehlie but an obscure resident named Reklame ("advertisement") who has put them all over, and is a member of all the road groups. I'm banning him from Mainland Appreciation because of his hostile activity which doesn't rescue Mainland but despoils it.
I see "Asadorable" has now fallen out with her mates on the Linden Roads Discord server. They've now removed her channels and pictures and blocked her. I'm not sure if you pay for Discord or she paid in part but now others including Dismantled have taken over. It seems Holocluck, who is something of a FIC overload in Bellisseria and other enterprises, was annoyed with her making all those channels. I agree, it seems necessary and I have seen this happen before (which is why I don't like them or make them -- I associate them with games like FreeSO where I was on one). They are very game-like. People over-make channels at work on Slack, too, and people don't use them and forget to view them and crowd into one channel, that's human nature. Only the most draconian bosses can get people to use all of them. Don't worry I, won't be trying to join the pod route users group. Oh, here's some more empty ones going by...Look at this one leaving a road, driving down a dock, going into the water, and converting to a boat -- on Linden land where there already IS a free boat. Sigh.
Maybe you are unaware of this, but people fall out with you because you are just about the most vitriolic attention seeking fuckwit to darken the grid!
Posted by: Anon | 07/31/2021 at 01:57 PM