Due to being distracted by real life,
notably spam calls, this article was delayed. Pardon the pause.
For some reason, in the last week of October, many of the Second Life Moles, the people employed by Linden Lab from the residents for the Department of Public Works, the people behind various projects such as Bellisseria, have had their distinctive "Mole" surname replaced. On October 26, a thread in the official forums was started saying a number of Moles had their names changed to ordinary sounding ones. Ancient Mole had become Ancient Oak. Mischievious Mole had become Mischievious Rascal. And so on. There had been no announcement from Linden Lab.
A number of residents were unhappy, "As an unofficial SL historian, I truly hate these changes. These changes mean the very name of the annual 'Mole Day' in Bay City is now basically over. It also turns decades of historic ;Mole Builds; into ordinary named ;Resident; anonymous style builds. How will we know which Mole built what any more?" "I feel like sunsetting the "mole" concept will bring us more drama, and somehow strips away a layer of magic. Like finding out that every year when Santa showed up at school, it was just the Vice-Principal in a costume." A few were approving, "...why would you want 'people' who make mistakes just like everybody else , to be mystified? Many also could see the moles having normal names like the rest of us , as more equalizing . People will probably approach them more openly if they seem more 'normal' instead of some kind of enforcer/staff / teacher that we can't talk in front of without fear of being reprimanded."
There was speculation as to why, "I bet it's a contractor law issue. Employment law is complex, but it's my understanding that if you have people wear a company uniform, then they can sue you, and use that as one part of a claim that they aren't contractors any more, and are therefore entitled to certain benefits, as a full time employee. Overtime, health insurance, sick days, etc. I bet the last name of Mole could be treated as a uniform, by the courts. Or maybe it's close enough to a uniform that LL doesn't want to litigate it, so they just did away with the Mole last name."
On October 28, Linden Lab would host the monthly Concierge and Land User Group Meeting. At around 14:20,
the question about what happened with the Moles was brought up. One Linden answered, "Basically we made some terminology changes in how we refer to our creators who are independently contracting with us. We're still working closely with these creators. We just shifted to a new last name of their choice as they continue to work on our different variety of products, including Linden Homes, Premium gifts, etc. We're basically working with them on those and other initiatives that help to strengthen Second Life, but we haven't stopped our association with them or anything. It's just kind of a reformatting on how we're working together." Moments later, another Linden would say, "... you do still see them in the LDPW group and they still have the same inworld powers, and such. There's a couple of powers actually, really only a few Linden Homes type powers that were attached directly to the last name. So that's why there are still a few people with that last name that handle those kinds of things. While we're transitioning those scripts." Why the change was made was not explained.
The roundabout answers about "a reformatting on how we're working together" didn't quiet the matter on the forums and chatter continued. On Friday October 30 around mid-afternoon Second Life time, there was a demonstration at Governor Linden's Mansion in Clementina about the issue. There were "Save the Moles" signs, and people called for the decision to change the Mole names to be reversed. "If it ain't broke dont fix it!" one protestor would shout. Another went, "Second Life's strength is its constancy and tradition. That's what people invest their hearts in." The comments went on, "This is just wrong. People worked for us and earned the title Mole. This is a huge slap in the face to them and all the work they do. Taking the title 'Mole' away from the Moles. They earned that, working from us." "Stripping them of the "mole" last name, and renaming the LDPW a generic chatgpt name."
Prokofy Neva would have a number of things to say on the matter. Among them, "I think the simple explanation is the type of contract they have, either as grandfathered, or as Americans in X or Y state with Z or A conditions and all others ('foreigners') abroad who were paid via Upwork or in some other fashion via a platform. And that's all there is to it, and it's about Management needing to streamline the burgeoning work force, or let's say '1099 or gig work employees' or 'those requiring compensation; ... So rather than keep the sacred guild name ;Moles' which is like 'Master Craftsman' in the Medieval Ages, they ditched it as 'unfair' or 'inconvenient' or 'an anomaly in this modern age of platformista versus w'uarldera. The explanations coming out of the mouths of actual Moles and Lindens may vary, may be very convoluted, but as I look at it, it just seems a cost-cutting measure AND a move to avoid any employee litigation of any sort whatsoever. ...And guess what, they won't be talking most likely as they already kinda sorta had Izzy explain it. ...
"I think it's sad that they are losing the great guild name of 'Mole.' But the Lindens have killed off other romantic things of SL ...We all have our little nostaglias in SL. This dermitological move is motivated by classic business concerns: cost-cutting, amalgamation, limiting liabilty, etc. It's not personal and the people are 'still the same' we will be told a thousand times."
Prokofy did go on to say this might not be the end of the Mole name, "That's why I think it's worth protesting. It might not be reversible. BUT, Gatchas and Skill Gaming once seemed "non-negotiable" and yet they ultimately put them back on their own because they recognized their legal advisor was overly catastrophizing. AND We live in a world where an entire continent was slated for demolition -- good! -- because it was full of abandoned land -- great! that's the right idea! -- and yet because a few sailors complained, the Lindens reversed themselves and went through this entire debacle of clawing back swaps, allowing sales of both original and swapped land AND giving compensation."
As of now, the situation remains pretty much the same, with no explanation yet by Linden Lab as to why.
To check out the proposal to vote on it,
Click Here.
*
Small Update* Inara Pey of Moden World has
spoken out on the issue, "My
personal take on this is that as the entire concept of the Moles and LDPW is so ingrained in the substance of Second Life – particularly for many long-term users (take the Bay City Mole Day, an exceptionally popular event in-world) that:A
portion (emphasis on
portion here) of the reaction is more a typical reaction to changes that appear to upset the accepted status quo within SL, leading to a lot of FUD. Nevertheless (and given the changes were bound to cause upset / concern), LL could have pre-empted a fair portion of it via up-front communications such as a blog post on the changes, outlining the reasons and providing reassurance."
Bixyl Shuftan
