Commentary: Patch Linden - A Long Career With A Sudden Ending That Leaves A Big Hole And Many Questions

 

It isn't often that one of the Lindens, particularly someone outside the Lab's CEOs, makes a big impression. Early on, there was Torley Linden with his "Friendly Greetings" Second Life tutorials. Oz Linden had some fans as well, and his farewell party had a huge attendance. April Linden as the one furry among the Lindens at one time had some admirers among the grid's furs. 

 

And then there was Patch, or Eric Nix as he's known in real life. 

 

It's fair to say Patch had a very huge group of fans. Being in the public eye since 2015, he would take a role in various Meet the Lindens events at the Second Life Birthdays and other occasions, as well as taking part in Linden Bid Me Bald events since 2017 and Linden Jail and Bail events since 2018. He was a part of Bellisseria since its beginning, and would sometimes appear in group chat and make comments, the locals as a group feeling he was one of them. 

 

As then CEO Ebbe Linden began to appear less in public around 2018-19, Patch Linden would stand in for him. When Ebbe Altberg passed away in 2020, Patch would be part of the Lab's leadership team, and took the lead in honoring it's departed leader. Linden Lab would never choose another CEO, it's leaders being those of the Waterman Network that bought them in 2019 with Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden) as Executive Chairman. But Patch would remain the most visible of the Lindens. 

 

It's fair to say to Second Life's residents, Patch would be the face of Linden Lab to many, if not most, taking the lead in being part of many fun events as well as announcements such as Pride Month celebrations and explaining why controversial moves such as the Gacha Ban were done. And he would also appear in public between events, and willingly be the butt of jokes such as people spinning on top of him and taking pictures and getting spanked. 

 

Then came the troubles.

 

In late February 2024, there was an article being passed around accusing several Lindens and Moles of engaging in ageplay, or in laymans' terms virtual child pornography, including Patch. The majority after being confronted with this "what the hell" moment would conclude there was no real proof any of the charges were true, Prokofy Neva, who was certainly no fan of Patch or at least a number of decisions made under his watch, would make a lengthy article explaining none of them held water. Linden Lab eventually felt it had to make a statement a few weeks later acknowledging they were taking the accusations seriously and investigating. While a few Lindens were let go some months later, the reasons were not given, so they could have been dismissed/resigned for other reasons. 

Sadly while most of us believe "all remain innocent until proven guilty," some go with "once accused, always suspect." And a small number would view him with suspicion and hostility. Linden and Mole Chatter in the Bellisseria group would vanish for a while. Patch would keep a low profile for some time, not appearing at the VWBPE Conference that year and it would be months later before anything was heard from him. It wouldn't be until the Second Life Birthday that all seemed more or less normal again. But once in a while one of his anti-fans would speak out. 

 

And now, out of the blue, while things were seemingly going well, comes the announcement Patch is no longer part of Linden Lab. 

 

It's fair to say Patch was fired and not simply deciding to move on and resign. There was no official final statement from Patch. His account was quickly deleted. And there was no time as a Linden to tie up loose ends. While he would continue to take part in the Jail and Bail at the Fantasy Fair, it would be as his "civilian" account, Patch Pawtato, which most of us hadn't heard of until now. 

 

So what happened? Companies do not simply up and toss out someone as productive and well-liked as Patch. None of the Lindens are talking. There was nothing in the short statement given by the Lab. So all we are left with is speculation. Naturally, some look at the accusations made against him and wonder if that was the reason. But it's been two years. If there was anything solid to be found, it would have been almost certainly been very quickly. In one IM conversation with someone, he gave one interesting possibility. A couple months ago, Facebook/Meta came close to shutting down it's virtual world, at least to those using VR gear. He thought instead of seeing it as a victory, the Waterman Group instead saw that the market for virtual worlds was going downhill and talked about the possibility of selling Linden Lab, talking enough about it to take a few steps, which included removing a certain high-profile employee with a cloud over his head, "'What about that guy who was accused of messing with kid avatars?' 'He's gone now.'" In my opinion, possible but unlikely. While perhaps not making as much as during the Pandemic in 2020, Second Life is still making quite a bit of cash. Someone else pointed out that Patch had been around for twenty years, and maybe the decision was made to move him aside to make way for someone new. Possible but highly unlikely. There's nothing to say Patch was out of touch with today's residents.

 

In my opinion, what probably happened was some kind of dispute, or a series of disputes behind the scenes between Patch and the owners. And all it would take would be for one of them to be in a particularly foul mood. CEOs. It certainly would be far from the first time someone was booted for POing the boss. 

 

But the truth is, we may never truly know why Patch was given the pink slip. With Philip Rosedale, Second Life and Linden Lab were established, and he felt it was time to move on. With M Linden, Second Life and Linden Lab had gone downhill during his tenure. With Rod Humble, he'd stopped the slide but hadn't succeeded in getting the place to bounce back and had angered content creators. But with our unofficial leader of the Lab, the reasons just aren't clear. And this uncertainty will likely complicate the Lab's relationship with the residents somewhat for some time. 

 

Will anyone else rise to fill the void Patch leaves? Right now, we don't know that either. Grumpity Linden is one possibility. But it's also probable no one Linden will truly take his place, among the Bellisserians, or the residents in general. The accusations were a reminder if you're high profile, you're a tempting target for trolls. 

 

Wherever you go from here Patch Linden/Eric Nix, we wish you well.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Newser