Community Spirit

As a rule, I'm a forum addict. I've been this way for many many years starting with parenting boards then moving on to debate boards and finally into my current interest for the last four years, the virtual world boards. I've watched drama unfold, I've watched personal attacks and I've watched communities gather around each other when times were hard.

Basically, I've seen it all.

Or so I thought.

Recently, on the Inworldz Forum Boards, a new trend has started to emerge. Sides are being taken, the subject is discussed through numerous threads and posts. It's on-going, it's heartbreaking, and nobody ever wins. People become upset and those who could be civilized and polite with each other, no longer are. What is this new trend you ask and is it really new?

It's called "Telling other Creators what they should and should not do with their business."

Although probably not new to some, it is for me and I think that is because it's not consumers telling creators what they would like to see or how they wish to be treated. Instead, it's creators telling other creators how to run their business. The discussions generally start off innocent enough. Someone offers thoughts on how they run their business. Or maybe they ask for ideas that others have found to work for them. Possibly it's about prices and how does one go about deciding what might be a good way to figure out pricing. Occasionally, it's a rant about high prices or poor products. Worse...it involves freebies.

Sometimes, a smart person will say "this is only my opinion..." and share details on what works for them or as a consumer, what they prefer to see or how they prefer to be treated. Often, those words are twisted and turned around to accuse someone of telling another how to run their business.

However, the above isn't really the issue. What is starting to be seen more and more is creators losing their community spirit and attacking other creators. These aren't out right attacks, by far they are much worse. They are what I call the 'quiet attack' where your not really sure if the creator is addressing your products or another persons. Statements like "Too many business in a box or templates are being used", or more complaining about "big business' opening up their store amongst many other remarks that are being tossed back and forth.

These type of comments and jabs are extremely harmful to the community at large. It's true that a very small user base of the Inworldz community participates on the forums. What is also true is that a large portion read the forums, even if they only read them once. First impressions mean a lot and right now the creators of Inworldz are not making a very good or welcoming first impression.

What a person reads when they first glance at the forums are the issues surrounding our world, which is extremely open and transparent for a reason. That reason is to let others know that Inworldz is Beta and there are quirks, issues and down right hair pulling days. For many, that would be ok and acceptable. Be it to open a business, or to have a vacation home away from the Papa Grid, or even to take up permanent residence.

The other thing they are reading is creators fighting with creators. They are seeing people being called out on the forum for what another deems as poor behavior. They are seeing creators telling other creators that freebies are bad or higher pricing is bad. They are hearing comments about Inworldz sales paying for Papa Grid tier and how that shouldn't be acceptable (but apparently it's ok to use Papa Grid money to pay for Inworldz tier).

I'm not sure how any of this equates to the Community Spirit we all say we crave and want. It's not supporting other creators-even if we personally do not agree with their prices, their freebies or how they run their business, we shouldn't be calling them out in the forums. If we, as creators, want to get the Community Spirit back into the forums for Inworldz and make a good first impression that is welcoming to others, then it might be time to subscribe to the "If I can't say anything nice, I should not be saying anything at all" rule of thumb.

Does this mean you can no longer state your opinions? Of course not. What it means is to chose your words carefully and, keep in mind, you have an audience. What you type to another could possibly be their first impression of you. If you see something you don't like or feel it's not proper for the forums, by all means state so. Then end it there. Not everything needs to turn into a debate about what's better, or calling each other out on perceived attitude issues, or anything else that will end up with fights and locked threads.

We are all in this together, maybe it's time we all started acting like it.

MLP V2 Comes to IW

It is here thanks to Revision McCallen's hard work. The MLP V2 has been ported from SL to Inworldz for all to use and abuse. But the best part is, Revision has decided to open source the whole project just as it is in SL so we all have full access to use it in our own creations. Thanks to Ayla Holt, you can find the MLP all boxed up here: Community Center, The Park (139, 63, 21)

Some have wasted no time in employing the MLP. The creators over at MUSE! have been working diligently to get their set of animations loaded up into their newest lines of beds. Rumor has it they will be selling in the 2200 to 2600 I'z price range. While for some, this is a hefty price tag, early adopters are use to paying a premium for bragging rights. I am sure that price range will not last long once other creators bring their bed products to market.

While the MLP is a very welcomed addition to IW, I would like to remind everyone that the MLP is useless to the average resident unless they have animations to use with it. Right now the only people who can take advantage of this very generous gift to the community are the more established creators with access to appropriate animations. To make this a truly universal gift to the entire IW community, we need animations. It is in this light I would like to invite any and all animators to donate an animation or two to the community that can be used to make the MLP a truly universal gift.

I am not calling for a ton of animations to be given away free, only a few so the average resident can have some basic furniture such as a couch, bed or chairs without being beholden to furniture creators. This shouldn't be viewed as a threat to content creators however. The truth is, many residents will be more than happy to buy well crafted furniture. Yet not all residents are in a position to spend even a nominal amount for what is essentially a game.

We are bring a lot of ideas, products and customs with us as we migrate from other grids. Let us use this opportunity to import one of the better aspects of the other grids, free access to the basic elements of a virtual world. This should include the ability to make simple furniture functional. Revision McCallen has very generously ported and donated the MLP to the IW community so that all residents can create their own functional furniture. Yet the MLP alone is not enough. Basic animations need to be made available as freebies to complete the vision Revision has started. So if you are reading this and you have the ability to create animations, please consider releasing one or two to the community to use with the MLP.

State of Love and Trust

"State of love and trust is/busting down the pretext." Pearl Jam

Papa grid has issues getting the mainstream adoption it so desperately wants and needs due to two main factors: hardware hurdles and community fragmentation.

What does this have to do with Inworldz immersion? Well, the hardware issues stay the same for all virtual worlds. Third party clients may run a bit lighter than officials, and Heritage Key has a web portal option now, yet these things alone do not overcome the hardware hurdle for OSGrid worlds. A web based viewer is needed for mainstream adoption. Accessibility is the heart of the mainstream.

The community issues are the same as well. All grids after papa grid are in the unique position of being able to establish their niche from the start. All also have the trials and tribulations of papa as a living history lesson to study. What is the defining characteristic of Inworldz? Why should people make this grid their home?

Papa grid made some big mistakes here. At first, his defining characteristic was community. Come join a community and build a new life in a 3D world, he called.

And many answered.

Over time, though, it seems Papa has become all about the money; corporations and commerce. And all the pretexts and secret dealings that come with that focus. I doubt many would say that papa's grid is in a "state of love and trust". This revelation made me open to trying other worlds.

A friend asked me to try out Inworldz with her. I read the TOS, I poked about on the forums, I registered an account. I waited for a time when the two people I knew were on, took the plunge, and rezzed in.

The experience was altogether different than my rez in on papa grid. Instead of a fancy wasteland where I knew no one, I rezzed to a warm and inviting area, with two friends and a mentor saying hello. Everyone around us was chatty and open, both established residents and noobs like me. I logged out a few hours later, marveling at the feeling of possibility on this new grid.

All because of an open community based on helping people, not selling them stuff.

So imagine my surprise when I go to read ilivesl and find she has a different impression of Inworldz's overall focus.

maybe true niches will grow from this, like Reaction Grid’s focus on education or Inworldz on commerce similar to SL

grids like Inworldz will need to have very good protection of their creators if they will succeed more than LL has

Now, there is a money system in place Inworldz, and there are shops, but I thought they were looking for a better, safer community-not a consumer haven. Maybe the advertisers that stand in the path of the newly rezzed over at the coffee shop have more place there than I. Maybe the mentors are so bent out of shape over residents hanging out at the coffee shop because they're marking territory. Maybe Inworldz is a place all about exclusionary corporate consumer culture.

I hope not. I am worried, though-these trials are coming up so quickly. Most that make it over to Inworldz have been indoctrinated by papa grid. They assume it's all corporate. They assume the newly rezzed are consumers ripe for the picking.

Let those of us that came here to feel a part of a greater community of help and beauty make the stand with you. Don't push us off IDI. That's a state of love and trust. That will bust down the pretexts of consumerism.

Can Inworldz Learn From History?

It has to happen as surely as the sun rising in the east. Give a group of people near total freedom or, as in virtual worlds, a sense of total freedom, and some will opt for anti-social behavior. It has always been like this and it will always be like this whether you are in real life or in a virtual world. To think otherwise is folly.

Inworldz is not the first MMO to draw the attention of griefers, nor will it be the last. Inworldz is slowly becoming ripe pickings, for just such an influx of disgruntled, disenfranchised or otherwise troubled personality types. This isn't to say all griefers are socially dysfunctional, but the anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the majority of griefers are, at the very least, malcontents.

With the increasing incident rate of griefers on the Inworldz grid, the Inworldz community and governance body will be challenged both tactically and strategically in their efforts to minimize the disruption caused by the griefer's antics. This is where Inworldz must learn from history and avoid the mistakes of other MMO's before them. While Inworldz cannot completely control the actions of the community, Inworldz can and must develop an appropriate stance well before griefing becomes an institution within their borders.

From a governance standpoint, we need only look back into history briefly for examples of how not to deal with griefers. Linden Lab first took a hands off approach, believing the problem would simply go away with time. When this failed, they set up some crude and obtuse guidelines on how to discipline offenders and then, finally, they opted to join with the community in its policing activities. They arrived at what the lab believes to be a workable solution, but the company took a heavy credibility hit along the path. There are many, myself included, that to this day distrust the Lindens over their handling of griefers.

Reading over the transcript of the last Inworldz Mentor's meeting sent a chill along my spine as I saw within the typical ramblings, seeds of what could become the foundations of institutions like the "Sim Shadow Government" (SSG) found in the now defunct “The Sims Online” or the “Justice League Unlimited” (JLU). Both of these organizations were founded to combat griefers. While well intentioned, in my assessment, they both caused more harm than good.

Vigilante groups such as SSG and JLU get their start by community members first voicing unease with griefers, then once their voice finds other like minded voices, they come together to form a group. Naturally such a group needs to have meetings and to protect any strategic advantage they may develop, these meetings must be held in secret. For the group to have any real power it must also forge an alliance with the governing body, else their only real recourse is to employ the same tools griefers use. The trouble here is three fold, hidden group meetings tend to breed suspicion by those not invited, and it allows radical or repressive ideas to be more easily accepted by the group. Finally, a secret community group with membership that includes employees of the governing organization has disproportional influence.

In reading the Mentor's Meeting notes, I saw evidence of such a group forming as a byproduct of the mentor's good intentions in protecting the community from griefers. Don't get me wrong, I believe the Inworldz Mentor group is doing wonderful things and should continue to do so, however, I do see the start of what could become yet another secret group - and this must be avoided.

The group has decided to develop secret communications tools via private areas in the forums. This is an innocuous development on the surface, but considering historic patterns in MMO's, it should be avoided. What gives me greater pause is the unique relationship the mentor's have with the founders. If there were ever a reason to not go private, this cozy relationship would be it. Nothing the founders do with a small subset of the community should be secretive, else the founders risk alienating the community at large.

Another thing of note from the Mentor's Meeting notes is the tendency of its members to voice, without chide from other members, objections to various interest groups such as vamps or furries. As a half Drow, I can only wonder what they think of my dark ways. The point is, while the group members have a right to their own views, as does the group as a whole, their close association with the Inworldz governing body casts these views upon the founders, like it or not. Just being a part of the Mentor's group ties the grid founders to the perceptions the community holds of the group as a whole.

In fairness, during the meeting Legion voiced opposition to segregation or discriminatory trends and stated a neutral position repeatedly, which is commendable. Yet while his voice was strong, so were others with more restrictive viewpoints.

History is always there to teach us the lessons we need to overcome our obstacles. This is true in life and no less so in a virtual life. We need to know our history and be wise enough to head its lessons. Look at the ugly histories associated with the Sim's Online and their SSG or the JLU and learn from them. Keep meetings and communications as open to the public as possible, and avoid the temptation of injecting personal preference into any rules, recommendations, or courses of action. The Inworldz founders would be well advised to avoid getting too close to one group, and never allow one group to have either greater voice or access, or the credibility of the governing body will be quickly called into question.