Cartoon of The Day: What's In A Name?

 

 

 Taken at Club Scorn. Yes, that really was his name.

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

EOTB: Large Number of New Last Names Available

 

On Tuesday February 28, Linden Lab announced a number of new surnames for accounts. Unlike previous announcements in which there were several, this time twenty new ones were announced, the largest change since the ability to change one's last name was announced in April 13, 2020.

Today we are doing our biggest last name refresh by removing some of the older last name options and adding the following new ones from your suggestions:

Jeon
Foxtail
Varela
Kealoha
Primdashian
Spicy
Costanza
Gupta
Softpaw
Vandervoort
Tordenskjold
Peabody
Whiskers
Quack
Pixelbottom
Blossom
Bork
Nightingale
Sausage
Fibble 

 

 

 Of the original list of last names, only "Resident" remains as an option to change to (which to my knowledge has never been done).

On a personal observation, some of these names look like they were intended for furries, tinies, and nekos, such as "Foxtail" and "Softpaw." Some such as "Primdashian" and "Pixelbottom" sound like funny ones. Not quite sure who would name themselves "Sausage," aside from someone trying to get laughs where he or she went. Will we end up seeing a "Pork Sausage" or "Beef Sausage?"

For those wishing to suggest a future last name, Click Here for the Google doc. For those wishing to read comments about them, chech this thread in the SL forums.

Bixyl Shuftan

Breaking News: Last Names Are Back

Good news for Second Life residents with "Resident" as the last part of their account name, which is everyone who signed up after late 2010. Linden Lab just announced that after months of development, users can now either get or change their surnames. Or in layman's terms, last names are back. At least if you have a Premium account.

Given the ongoing interest in “last names” among our community,  we’ve reinstated “last names” effective today as a new option for Second Life Premium Members. If you have a Premium account, you will be able to visit https://secondlife.com/my/account to change your first, last or both names. In the true spirit of the original “last names” option last seen in 2010, participating Residents will once again be able to choose from a rotating list of available last names. Some names may only be available for a limited time, so if you see one you like then you might want to claim it quickly!  

Already changed your name and want to go back to one of your old names?  You can do that too!  After you have changed your name once, you will see a list of your previous names below the list of available last names.

To begin with, the option is available only to Premium accounts, which are $11.99 USD a month. Also, one will need to pay a fee to have their name changed, $39.99 USD. So someone with just a basic account will need to pay $51.98 USD.

The Lab has made available a Frequently Asked Questions page.

Stand by for further details in what is clearly a long-anticipated and big development in Second Life


For the blog post in full, Click Here.

Looking Back: Why Did Linden Lab Get Rid of Last Names?

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was one week ago in which Linden Lab announced they would be bringing back last names to new accounts. It was a move that was cheered by the residents. Though some were asking why did they get rid of them in the first place?

As most longtime residents remember, before 2011, when someone made an account in Second Life they were asked to give it a first and last name. The first name they could make most anything they wanted (slurs were not allowed, and profanities were usually not). The second name was from a list. Originally, once 150 people chose a particular surname it was no longer available. But that limit was later dropped. It was possible for a noted person, such as Newt Gingrich, to get the Lab to have his account named after him. But most didn't have that choice.

According to the Second Life Wikia, "Last names often refer to significant people, places, or events, either in history or in popular culture and literature." Examples include Baker, the name of the actor who played "The Fourth Doctor" on "Dr. Who," Maginot, referring to France's Maginot Line built between the World Wars, Trudeau, a Prime Minister of Canada, Trumbo, a novelist and Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted for refusing to testify before Congress, Pascal, a 17th Century French mathematician, Protagonist, which refers to both the central character of a story and the name of a character on the cyberpunk novel "Snow Crash," Rand, a Russian-born American novelist, and thousands of others. But just as often, "the names can reveal much about the mindset of the Lindens." A website named "SL Name Watch" gave a list of 10,888 last names that were offered by Linden Lab. The most common one was "Gossipgirl" with over 163,000 residents choosing that. Over 400 were chosen by more than 10,000 residents.  My own, "Shuftan," was chosen by a total of 594. According to this list, there were dozens of names, such as Goodwin and Parkinson, that not a single resident bothered to pick.

Some of the names were a bit odd. While many liked them, others didn't. So why were some occasional odd and offbeat names put on the list at times? Perhaps many were a case of "it seemed like a good idea at the time." Though Hamlet Au, whom was once Linden Lab's embedded reporter, stated that at times the person in charge had to struggle and ended up pulling names from unusual sources, "In my Linden Lab days, I sat next to former community manager Daniel Huebner, and enjoyed watching him wracking his brain to come up with new last names, for a time going through various desserts of the world -- which is why many oldie SLers are named, say, 'Tiramisu.'"

It made sense to many, just as in real life, one had two names. And this system would put residents in a kind of "extended family" whom were roughly the same age and presumably the same level of experience. And it certainly gets the attention of most pre-2011 residents when they see someone with the same surname. But not everyone was happy with this system. When signing up, if you didn't like any of the last names on the list you were given, there were only two options: bite the bullet and accept a name you thought was bad, or turn around and not sign up to Second Life after all.

As James Cook, the former James Linden put it, "Whenever you have a registration flow for any service you lose signups for each additional step." There was also that this naming system was different from most MMOs, in which you simply used one name. And of course some people were confused as why couldn't they use their real name.

2010 was a year of change to Second Life when the Lab realized it was no longer attracting media attention, and people signing up, like it did before. So it made a number of big moves, such as laying off a third of their staff and merging the Teen Grid with the main one. Seeing that many people weren't bothering to sign up due to the naming process, Linden Lab decided a change was needed. So the old naming system was dropped in favor of just one name that you could more or less make whatever you wanted too, unless it was obscene or a slur, as long as it was unique. They also added "Display Names" that one could make whatever the resident wanted it to be.

But just like the Teen Grid merger about this time, which led to most of Second Life's younger residents leaving (aside from those who were faking their age), the move had consequences the Lab failed to foresee. Seeing older residents with two names, and with all new accounts given the default surname "Resident," newcomers felt like second-class citizens. Linden Lab had in effect created a dividing line between Second Life users who had signed up during when it had the old naming system, and those who signed up under the new one. Seen as newbies, they were treated differently from older residents, and even made unwelcome as some places were so fearful of griefers they threw them out as they were instantly recognizable as recent accounts. Less important but still a problem was that while there was now one name like most MMOs, the new system brought with it some of the problems associated with them, such as names with numbers and repeated letters, such as John777 and XXXcalabuRRR.

Linden Lab soon realized they had a problem. And in December 2011, then CEO Rodvik Linden announced the Lab was looking into how to bring back last names. But a few months later in March 2012, they announced they couldn't find a way to do so that was best for everyone. While some acknowledged the new system was a better one than the old, the general feeling was that the Lab could have easily made some improvement, "The Lab has just blown off one way that could have given a greater degree of engagement and building community – without costing residents money."

Since then, the issue wasn't really mentioned by Linden Lab. It's easy to assume they were waiting for the residents to forget about it. But they never did, occasionally discussing the issue. So why is Linden Lab addressing this issue at this particular time? Did it really take them several years to figure out how to bring back surnames for new accounts, or did they just not bother to try after their initial attempt until someone suggested they could charge a fee for it? Could recent questions about if Linden Lab was having a "cultural shift" away from Second Life and to it's newer (and far less successful) virtual world Sansar have spurred the company to do something. Talking to various residents, all were happy overall with Linden Lab's announcement. The one complaint I heard was that those who signed up after 2010 would not be able to get a last name for free but would have to pay to get it. They felt those without surnames in their account names should be able to get one for free

And so, as Second Life approaches it's fifteenth anniversary, those stuck with the surname of "Resident" will finally get a chance to have a real last name like older residents. But, it will cost them.

Sources: New World Notes, Second Life Wikia, SL Name Watch 

Bixyl Shuftan

Linden Lab Announces Upcoming Changes, Including Return of Last Names

In an announcement that they linked to Second Life's upcoming 15th Anniversary, Linden Lab announced there would be a number of changes this year. Counting a few earlier changes such as lower mainland tier, they listed a total of fifteen, one for each year the Grid has been around.

Among the changes are "more value for Premium members," which could mean more perks. The Lab also promises "more exclusive games and experiences," which could mean at least one more game like "Tyrah and the Magical Glitches" last year. Some interesting changes mentioned included "themed learning islands," "Linden Homes improvements," and "land auctions." They also plan to move Second Life's infrastructure to The Cloud, and officially release animesh in full.

But the change that's gotten the most attention, "The return of last names." Until about 2010-11, those signing up for a Second Life account gave it two names, the first whatever they desired and the second one from a list that varied depending on when the account was created. Then Linden Lab gave new accounts a different naming system. One was a display name that was whatever the person wanted. But for account names, they did away with surnames and on browsers all new avatars showed up as having a default last name of "Resident."

While display names have been popular overall, the move to ditch last name choices for account names was highly unpopular. With every newcomer listed as having the surname of "Resident," many felt like second-class citizens. There were also complaints in the first few months that some clubs were banning everyone with the default name as it instantly identified them as newcomers and possible griefer accounts. People also looked for ways to make an account with a last name.

Linden Lab realized they had a problem, and in December 2011 announced they would study how to bring back surnames. But in March 2012, the Lab announced they just couldn't find a way to do so. While several years have gone by, the issue was never forgotten.

Exactly how the Lab plans to return surnames is unknown. It's also unknown if existing "Resident" accounts will be given a chance to get a real surname. Time will tell on both.

To read the Linden announcement, Click Here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Linden Labs Announces First Invitations to Sansar Sent, Drops "Project" In Name

In a press release yesterday, Linden Lab stated that this week, they would be sending the first of their invitations for Sansar to the content creators whom applied since May. For the first time since they named what had previously been called the "Next Generation Grid" in May 2015 as "Project Sansar," Linden Lab began referring to the virtual world simply as "Sansar," dropping the "Project" part of the name.

Linden Lab® today announced that the first invitations to the Sansar™ Creator Preview are being sent this week. Select applicants will be invited to create their own social VR experiences with the new platform, slated for public release in early 2017.

The Sansar website, where content creators can still apply to early access, has been changed to www.sansar.com .

It was announced that over 6500 people had applied for early access, "As the platform matures, we’ll continue inviting more and more creators up until public release early next year." Earlier this month, Ebbe Altberg, the CEO of Linden Lab, stated in an interview he expected Sansar to be ready to be fully opened to the public in January 2017.

Inara Pey noticed the change in the name, and emailed Linden Lab's Peter Gray (Peter Linden) about it. His response was simple: "Good eye." Inara commented, "The new name shouldn’t really be a surprise – after a year or so of referring to it as “project Sansar”, to the media and the VR public, changing the platform’s name to “Sansar” is a lot easier and less confusing than trying to effectively rebrand the platform, even if it hasn’t yet been formally launched."

Linden Lab would also post four screenshots from Sansar onto it's Flickr account. Among the pictures was one with a few avatars, the first such screenshot they have released so far.

To view the press release in it's entirety, (Click here).

Source: Modem World

Bixyl Shuftan

Last Names In Second Life

"What's in a name?" so goes the saying. Plenty. Names are after all our identity, whether in real life or Second Life. For the first several years, when you signed up for an account in Second Life, you chose a first name, plus were offered a choice of last names. Then the Linden Lab changed that, getting rid of last names for accounts and instead offering a single name for them, along with a separate display name. This was a controversial move that still bothers a number of residents Grease Coakes offers his opinion on the issue.

Read Grease's commentary in People.

Vanwenia - Realms of Fantasy

Becky Shamen's choice of locations to explore turned out to be not that far away on the Grid from the SL Newser office in the Sunweaver Estates. Across the ocean about two miles away was a large group of Fantasy Medieval sims. The area wasn't unified, and didn't even have a name for the whole place. So besides writing about the region, Becky took it upon herself to give it a name.

Read Becky's article in Places.