Alexa Linden Leaving Linden Lab

 

The Lindens don't usually announce when someone is leaving Linden Lab these days. But someone who's been a reliable source informed the Newser that Alexa Linden has been laid off by Linden Lab. She gave the news on her Twitter/X account on October 9.

 

Thank you all for the last 17 years! I guess I'm gone! I love you all! (broken heart picture)

Her post was followed by numerous well-wishers, expressing sadness, and some confusion. "What are LL thinking?" "WTF?" "This might legit be one of their worst moves yet." "That makes no sense." To add to the confusion, her message briefly disappeared, leaving new readers to see only responses. She would add that other Lindens had been dismissed, and say, "I guess I cared too much and was too vocal. I don't regret standing up for the product, or the residents."

Alexa Linden joined the Lab in 2009, and has been in a number of events, such as the old "Kiss A Linden," "Bid the Lindens Bald," a Madpea charity event to raise money for a school in Kenya, and others. She's also been credited as coming up with the idea of "Dog Food Day," which was to encourage Lindens to use Second Life more. 

A few days later, Alexa would leave this message:

Thank you all for your kind thoughts, comments, and well-wishes. Seventeen years is indeed a long time, and you're the reason I got up each day and logged in. Second Life was my world for twenty years, providing me with an incredible group of coworkers I now consider family. It introduced me to my husband and filled my days with laughter from your hilarious pumpkin JIRA jokes to the support in fixing my neckline or scripts. I have friends who have always been here for me. Every day was a new adventure.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Bless you Whirly, Jess, & Kyle

Know a company looking for a project manager with my background & passion? I'd love to explore the opportunity.

Be excellent to each other.

You are Second Life

Wherever you go from here, Alexa, we wish you well. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Torley Linden Gone From Linden Lab

Some sad news for longtime Second Life users. Torley, the beloved Linden noted for his "Friendly Greetings" tutorial videos about Second Life and his fondness for watermelon, is no longer with Linden Lab.

In his LinkedIn account, Torley described his employment with Linden Lab as ending in February 2020, which was the time a number of Sansar's already severely cut staff was hit with layoffs. He had been working on Linden Lab's "next generation virtual world" for three years, and employed with Linden Lab for a few weeks shy of fifteen years.

A few weeks ago, a reader notified the Newser of signs something was wrong, the disappearance of Torley's sims such as "Here." But there wasn't anything else to go on at the time.

Considering Torley's devotion to Second Life, and the number of fans he had, as well as numerous residents whom never forgot him despite his Second Life tutorials eventually ending years ago, this is sad news not just for the users of the virtual world, but Linden Lab as well.

Hat Tip: Hamlet Au

Bixyl Shuftan

Linden Lab Lays Off Twelve, VP of Product Leaves

Linden Lab is a little smaller as a small number of employees have been dismissed. Also, one of the people higher up has left to accept a new position elsewhere.

Hamlet Au recently stated in New World Notes that, "A highly reliable source tells me Linden Lab recently made workforce staff reductions. ... this most recent layoff impacted about a dozen employees: 'It was like one person from each department, totaling 12 ... mostly shared staff ...' "

There were also two recent former employee reviews of the Lab on Glassdoor, which may or may not be two of the twelve. One who called himself a software engineer remarked, "Massive layoffs, but got rid of the wrong people." While he felt, "Some of the people I worked with were smart, passionate and really wanted to create something amazing." He had a mediocre view as a whole of the company, "Leadership has no vision and don't have the skills to run something as ambitious as Sansar. ... The same old people have been there for the longest time. (They) keep hiring the wrong people and putting the wrong people in positions of power."

The other review from an anonymous employee, "Make LL Great Again" was less critical. But he still had a negative outlook, "Company is too focused on its new product; those who work on the mainstay feel set aside and taken for granted. HR is nearly non-existent; most team members are remote or barely in the office. Too many org changes lately have left folks feeling insecure, morale is low and sinking. I hope they can turn it around." His advice to the Lab's leaders, "You have some really awesome people there; get out of their way."

In June 2010, Linden Lab had a massive layoff, or "restructuring" as they called it, in which about a third of their staff was given pink slips. Followed by the CEO then stepping down, it was a sign of a company in trouble. This news following the Lab's decision to raise fees for it's users a few months ago can be considered a sign the company is more pessimistic about it's long-term profitability. Part of the reason may be Sansar having a small base of regular users, despite Linden Lab's large investment in the next-generation virtual world.

One Linden whom left the company recently did so on his own. Bjørn Laurin, who was the "Vice President of Product, turned in his resignation. Joining Linden Lab in March 2015, Laurin was most associated with Sansar. Inara Pey described him as "one of the popular Lab reps (alongside Ebbe Altberg and Jason Gholston (Widely Linden) ) for his willingness to offer broad-ranging views and comments on Sansar’s direction, upcoming releases and ideas being discussed for the platform back at the Lab." Laurin left to pursue a job at HTC Vive.

Sources: New World Notes, Modem World, Glassdoor

Bixyl Shuftan

Qarl Linden: He Will Be Missed

On August 4, 2010, Linden Labs killed off Qarl Linden. As the word spread quickly through SL and RL, residents were shocked and sadden by the departure of such a skilled and well-liked creator. A texture was sent to many residents, including this reporter, and posted throughout the SL blogger world, protesting the decision and demanding an explanation. So far, no one from Linden Labs has responded.

Even Qarl himself was shocked at the decision, especially since he had gotten glowing job performance reviews. As he wrote on his blog, “honestly, I’m completely baffled at the decision, as are all my coworkers (and my boss, and…)”. Check out the details at his blog: http://www.qarl.com/qLab/?p=64.

In real life Qarl was Karl Stiefvater, a multi-talented programmer. His credentials include two “Matrix” and “300” movies. His background and professional history was very broad. Most importantly, he loved Second Life and its possibilities. “SL is the coolest thing on the planet - the world we’ve all built is literally incredible - beyond belief,” he wrote on his blog.

I talked with Samantha Glume, CEO of Samantha Glume Enterprises, who builds communities and creates worlds with an emphasis on sci-fi. Like many creative people, she knew Qarl best through his work on sculpts, Jira and other projects. She described him as a talented programmer who had a spotless reputation.

His departure has had a devasting effect on the morale in SL among creators. Glume characterized the news of his removal as demoralizing. Because he was one of their best programmers, she said the Linden decision “just makes no sense.”

Qarl was working on mesh compatibility, which Glume said will enable the sci-fi community to build ships that look realistic without requiring thousands of prims. His work on sculpts was invaluable because sculpts are what make SL look and feel real. He was also working on the shadow engine, which will allow things in SL to cast a shadow, just like objects do in RL. His departure will be a huge loss to the creative community because, as Glume explained, he was responsible for actually building the systems.

“He will be greatly missed,” she said.

Source: Quarl's blog

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