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 

More on Patch Linden's Sudden Exit

 

After it was announced in the Linden blog that Patch Linden was no longer with the Lab, word quickly got around. In the Bellisseria group, Dreamer Pixelmaid gave the news, "Very upsetting News ... Patch Linden gave us Bellisseria and made it what it is today. 'Reorganization'??? My *ss!!! So many things I could say... and they wouldn't be good."

 

Prokofy Neva, who has been critical of Patch a number of times in the past, would announce the news in the SL forums, commenting if Patch had to go, he deserved a better farewell, "The Lindens have provided a terse announcement about the departure of Patch Linden. I think they should have listed his many accomplishments and history starting from a creator and manager of a men's clothing store in the old days as a resident going up to his last position of VP of Product. The Lindens' absolute greatest product from the perspective of business is Bellisseria, and Patch Linden was responsible for much of this, guiding and shaping and troubleshooting it and inspiring the staff and retaining residents through many iterations of its development over the last decades. Patch was also crucial in Linden involvement in resident-organized activities such as Relay for Life including what was advertised as an upcoming Fantasy Faire Jail & Bail, Halloween contests and much more. I think the announcement should have listed some of these accomplishments. I hope the Lindens have an inworld goodbye party for Patch Linden as they did for Oz Linden. I think we will never know the half of all the jobs Patch had to deal with in Second Life and his virtual shoes will be hard to fill."

 

But there will be no inworld party for Patch Linden. Already, his account has been deleted.  

 

In Bellisseria group chatter, there was some discussion about Patch leaving. Someone brought up the Ageplay Allegations controversy of 2024, of which Patch was among those accused. But it was reminded that if there had been any evidence of wrongdoing found, Patch would have been gone a long time ago. 

 

Further in the SL forums thread, many had other questions. How will the Lab's Department of Public Works be affected? Why was he given such a sudden exit without a chance to say goodbye? How come he didn't even get a chance to do his Jail and Bail for the Fantasy Faire this year, which as of the writing of this article is still listed on the FF blog. Who will give the opening speech at the Second Life Birthday? Would this mean less interaction between the Lindens and the residents? A couple commented the way things looked, it appeared something happened and Patch was fired. 

 

One commented even if he was, there should have been at least a chance to say goodbye, "The announcement seems a bit sudden and corpo speaky. I've always felt this corporate double speak approach to things doesn't really suit second life. I know it's a business and all but still. Every time something like this happens, LL feels like a less trust worthy steward of our world. We're talking about people that we know. His bear has sat in my sim for many years. I've seen him up close in all the LL Birthdays and events. Laughed at his dumb jokes at that Casino. I get it. They're employees. They can do things that get them fired. Would be nice to get to say bye."

 

Another would say, "I think the announcement could have been done in a better way, as it doesn't come off very well. For someone that's worked for the company so long, been an important part of major projects, and been a big 'face' of LL inside the SL world, whatever you think of Patch, it comes off as very cold, and 'terse' as other's have said . Even though they 'thank' him for his work. Or maybe it's just standard for LL ? I can't find any other official announcements of depatures in the past to compare it to. I think they had to announce it as otherwise there'd be a lot of speculation where Patch was, not showing up at the Faire and SL Birthday celebrations this year etc. But the announcement is just fuelling more speculation."

 

There will almost certainly be more chatter and comments. And no shortage of people asking "why?" 

 

Top picture from Diamond Marchant

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

News and Commentary: A Potentially "Taxing" Problem for Second Life Content Creators Outside the US

By Bixyl Shuftan

Psyke Phaeton, the maker of a security orb, was threatened with being thrown out of Second Life by Linden Lab. Not because his products are causing problems, but because he refused to provide tax documentation to Linden Lab.

On August 1, Psyke wrote on his blog that he had gotten a message from Linden Lab that he had to provide an IRS form, a W8-BEN, otherwise his account would be terminated in 28 days. Psyke wrote that he would not be providing the information for two reasons. One, he isn't an American but an Australian, and saw no obligation to pay. Two, he didn't want to make any contributions, however small, to what he saw the US government as eroding its Constitution and saddling its citizens with massive debt, and other actions.

So Psyke made his security orb free on the Marketplace, preparing for the end. Then someone on the Second Life Universe forums found some documents online that informed that as an Australian resident who does not travel to the United States, he doesn't have to pay any taxes to the US. Oops! "Well, that is a little embarrasing isn't it. Perhaps LL needs to be more clear about the consequences and less threatening. Now to reponder everything."

While Psyke may now be off the hook (except perhaps with fellow posters on the SLU forums), the incident does bring up some questions about Linden Lab's policies in this area. Originally it was just newly created accounts at the time of the new requirements (Nov 2013) that had to comply. Psyke's rezz date is listed as October 12, 2003. Also, some countries prohibit their residents from giving companies based outside their borders certain information. Might they possibly end up in a catch-22, choosing between in trouble with Linden Lab, or their real-life authorities?

Maybe there should be an alternative to expelling merchants whom decline to turn over tax information, at least those whom have been in Second Life for many years, live outside the United States, or both. Instead, just take away their ability to do business. Perhaps blocking them from using the Linden Exchange and thus unable to cash their Lindens into real-life currency, or "freezing" their Linden accounts so that while money continues to come in as people buy their items, the user can't spend it?

Something to think about.

*Addition* Psyke isn't the first content creator with this problem mentioned in the Newser. Earlier we wrote about Meissa Thorne, whom had been banned by the Lab for this reason.

Sources: Psyke phaeton's Blog, Ciaran Laval, Nalates Things and Stuff , SL Universe Forums, 

Bixyl Shuftan