Support Ticket #01587329 VII

The adventure continues and the plot thickens... Today I sent the following email to my friend Theresa Linden at Linden Lab.

Illustration from autocab International

"Hello again Theresa,

When I did the self-tests you have asked me to perform with the test avatar I got the following results, nothing has been attached.

I do not get the repeats when I am chatting from my home sim (Southern Charm), neither in IMs nor in local chat. However if I go to a laggy sim (KMADD or a party sim) I still immediately get repeats of my own chats in local chat and those I talk to tell me I repeat in IM.

I also get the repeat teleports when I go from the laggy sims back to Southern Charm. When I have already successfully teleported back to Southern Charm I get this pop up (see picture Teleport message).

During this whole experience I have tried scanning for virus with both the program I have installed on my computer (PC Tools Internet Security) and several of the online virus-scanners (f-secure, Trend Micro etc.), at the suggestion of friends I also tried a free trial of the program Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.  None of these could detect any infection.

As some of my friends had told me about a Trojan that could settle in my keyboard I late last night made a search for a program that could detect and remove such a threat. I found and installed the program Spy Emergency, using this program two infections were detected VX2 ABetterInternet and Trojan Win32 Malware. These were removed in the recommended fashion and then I tried out Bock again, but the results were the same as I have reported above.

I am once again anxiously awaiting your recommendations on further actions.

Hugs,

Bock"

P.S. to my email earlier today.

"Hi again Theresa,

I forgot to mention that my payments are still repeated when I am in a laggy region but not when I pay from my home sim.

Hugs,

Bock"

Support Ticket #01587329 VI

Illustration from Omnitechsupport

During the past night Theresa Linden has been putting Bock through another set of trials ordeals, whereupon she sent me the following email:

"A comment has been added to your Case..

Case: 01587329
Avatar: Bock McMillan
Type: Other Inworld Issues
Status: Information Requested

Hey Bock,

It is a pleasure helping you. You are so cooperative and understanding! I have logged in your account again today and it was also cooperating well. Just to make sure the issue causing the problems was not something on your avatar, I have detached everything from him, and also turned you into a test male.

What I would like you to try is seeing if you encounter the same issues when you are in this test avatar status. If you do right away, let me know and feel free to attach as normal. If you do not, slowly start attaching things one at a time starting with skin, shape, so on and so fourth, while testing your issues. Please let me know how this experiment goes!

Thanks so much for your time,

Theresa Linden

To reply to this case, either Reply to this email, or visit : https://secondlife.com/my/support/?caseID=01587329

(To view the Case online, you will need to log into Secondlife.com with this Avatar: Bock McMillan)"

---

The coming weekend I will do as Theresa has asked me and then report back to her. Please, keep your fingers crossed!

...but to night I am going out in first life to celebrate an 80th anniversary. Take care my darlings and we will meet tomorrow!

Support Ticket #01587329 V

Illustration from Sidel.com

Theresa Linden of the technical support team at Linden Lab is diligently working on trying to help me with my problems. When I woke up this morning I had the following message from her in my mailbox.

"A comment has been added to your Case..

Case: 01587329
Avatar: Bock McMillan
Type: Other Inworld Issues
Status: Information Requested

Hello Bock,

You are too funny! Your internet speed is pretty awesome, so we can rule that out, lol! I was wanting to try one more thing with your avatar if you didn't mind. Just one more test to rule out inworld contribution to these issues. I again appreciate your patience. Once you comply, you will receive an email advising you that the action is taking place so that you don't login when we are testing, then another email letting you know when we are done. When you're logged out and ready to go, respond to this case and we will get started. If you do not see that email from me, don't worry and go ahead and use your account. If I don't get to it tonight, I will return Thursday since I am off Tuesday and Wednesday, and conduct the test then.

Thanks again!

Theresa Linden


To reply to this case, either Reply to this email, or visit : https://secondlife.com/my/support/?caseID=01587329

(To view the Case online, you will need to log into Secondlife.com with this Avatar: Bock McMillan)"

---

As I was only half-awake my response was short and sweet.

"Hi again Theresa,

I don´t mind at all, please go ahead and test at your convenience!

You cannot imagine how grateful I am for you trying to help me out.
Bock McMillan"

As there was no new email from Theresa waiting when I got home, I should think she did not get my answer before she went off on her short but well-earned days off (or other activity).

Support Ticket #01587329 IV

Illustration from Omnitech Support

Between 5:35-6:07 AM this morning (CET) I received three messages from Linden Lab. The first one informing me that they were going to disable my account while running their tests with Bock, the second one  informing me that my account was restored to me and the third one is the one below..

"A comment has been added to your Case..

Case: 01587329
Avatar: Bock McMillan
Type: Other Inworld Issues
Status: Information Requested

Hello Bock,

Thank you for allowing me access to this avatar inworld. I was able to run tests on everything you reported wrong in the attached file. The good news is I was not able to duplicate any of the issues reported, which means nothing is wrong with your avatar!

-Repetition of my chat in local: Negative (tried in different regions including home) -Repetition of my chat in Instant Message: Negative (IM test to two different Lindens online) -Repetition of payments: Negative (sent a payment to a Linden and received it back, once each time) -Involuntary movement: Negative (dancing in an SL club)

This is good to know, but now we need to know what is causing this to happen on your end. If you don't mind, I would like to ask for some more info from you. Can you please go to www.speedtest.net, and please begin at test. What I would like to know then is what your Upload and Download speed reports. If you can please reply with that info when you have it, that will be great!

Thanks for your time,

Theresa Linden

To reply to this case, either Reply to this email, or visit : https://secondlife.com/my/support/?caseID=01587329

(To view the Case online, you will need to log into Secondlife.com with this Avatar: Bock McMillan)"

---

As soon as I had read the emails I immediately ran the speed test and sent the following response.

"Hello Theresa,

I hope you were gentle with Bock, he is not used to being handled by women. Nonetheless I was happy to give you access to Bock so that we can hopefully get to what causes these problems when I run him myself.

I have run the test at Speedtest.net with the following result 

Download 88. 57 Mb/s 

Upload 9.68 Mb/s 

Ping 9 ms

Thank you so much for your assistance in this matter,

Bock McMillan"

Support Ticket #01587329 III

Illustration from Sangoma

Things are moving along well with my support case despite the weekend. I got the following email today.

"A comment has been added to your Case..

Case: 01587329 
Avatar: Bock McMillan 
Type: Other Inworld Issues 
Status: Information Requested 

Hi Bock ---

Thanks for the additional info. What I need to try now is seeing if I encounter the same problem when I have access to your account. If you are ok with me performing this test, please reply back that I have your consent.

Once you comply, you will receive an email advising you that the action is taking place so that you don't login when we are testing, then another email letting you know when we are done. When you're logged out and ready to go, respond to this case and we will get started. We do not need your password for this.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Theresa Linden


To reply to this case, either Reply to this email, or visit : https://secondlife.com/my/support/?caseID=01587329 

(To view the Case online, you will need to log into Secondlife.com with this Avatar: Bock McMillan)"
---

I sent the following response as soon as I saw the e-mail (at 4 AM in the morning my time when I woke up to "wash my hands").

"Hi Theresa,

You have my full consent!

Yours,
Bock"
---

P.S. In hindsight I wish I had asked Theresa to be gentle with me, because as a Kinsey type 6 this would be my first time with a woman. It´s been bugging me since I sent the email...

Mesh-Monster or A Support Ticket #01587329 Experiment

Today I made an experiment to check what would happen if I allowed my stepson Guyke to take Bock for a spin on his machine. Would the problems I have encountered in-world for the last two months still occur? I also told him that while he was at it, he might as well equip me with some of the mesh-clothing he loves so much.

Well, as it turned out none of my problems occurred when Bock was run on Guyke´s machine, no repeats in local chat or IM, no double teleports, no double purchases etc., etc. And he also got me an outfit from KalRau that I love, I may have to reevaluate my attitude and resistance towards mesh-clothing after all.

When I once again took over Bock the problems came back again. So I guess it means something but I cannot imagine what, except that the issues are connected to me and my machine rather than to SecondLife.

WARNING Just a word of advice in closing, only let someone you trust totally, absolutely and without any reservations take your avatar for a spin.

Support Ticket #01587329 II

Illustration from Everest.ca

Today I received the following response on my support ticket from Linden Lab.

"A comment has been added to your Case..

Case: 01587329

Avatar: Bock McMillan

Type: Other Inworld Issues

Status: Information Requested

  Hello Bock,

I want to first thank you for providing so much helpful and needed information about this case. I wish more cases were in depth like this one.  I am very sorry to hear about these issues you are having and this situation is very unique.  I do have a question for you that I could not see an answer for:  Are you using a Hardwired or Wireless internet connection?  I will probably have more questions, but this is very vital, and I wanted to start here.  Thank you for any additional info you can contribute!

Theresa Linden

Second Life Support

To reply to this case, either Reply to this email, or visit : https://secondlife.com/my/support/?caseID=01587329

(To view the Case online, you will need to log into Secondlife.com with this Avatar: Bock McMillan)"

....

I sent the following answer.

"Hello Theresa,

I am using a Hardwired Internet connection.

I have also tried out my alternate accounts all of them seem OK except for one other that gets the same repetition in local chat. However I do not use those accounts much at all and it has only been on the home sim so the value of this discovery is limited I should think.

Another thing I would like to add, is that it seems like I the system tries to repeat my teleports also, because after every time I have teleported I now get a pop up telling me that teleports are blocked. This happens when I am actually at the place I wanted to tp to.

Kind regards

Bock McMillan"

Support Ticket #01587329

Illustration from Farend´s website

I finally lost patience with the problems I have been having for more than two months (see my previous post Technical Malfunctions) and submitted a support ticket to my darling tech-geeks at Linden Lab, even if many have told that they themselves - or someone they know - have had similar issues that suddenly stopped after awhile.

I got the following confirmation via email from Linden Lab..
--
A new case has been created
Case: 01587329
Avatar: Bock McMillan
Type: Other Inworld Issues
Status: New

To comment on this case, either Reply to this email, or visit: https://secondlife.com/my/support/?caseID=01587329

(To view the Case online, you will need to log into Secondlife.com with this Avatar: Bock McMillan)
---

I will keep you updated on the progress of the case.

Technical Malfunctions

Since a couple of weeks I have been experiencing some strange technical problems in SecondLife. Below I will give you a complete list of the various problems, the causes that have been suggested to me and what I have done to try to solve them.

I noticed all the problems at the same time, so as far as I know they arose simultaneously. At that time I was using the Firestorm viewer.

Problem 1:  Repetition of my chat in local

Frequency: Daily

Description: When I speak in local chat all my remarks are repeated once. It looks like this in local chat:

"Bock McMillan: I am speaking in local chat.I am speaking in local chat."

or 

"Bock McMillan: I am speaking in local chat.

A.A: Bla bla bla

B.B: Yodel-yodel-yodel

C.C: Di-da-de-da-dum-dee-dum.

Bock McMillan: I am speaking in local chat."

What I have tried to illustrate above is that sometimes the repetition is instantaneous while at other times there is a delay of between 10-60 seconds. There are no brackets around the repetitions. Mostly I can see it happening myself but at other times I don´t see it.

Suggested causes: a) Translation is activated, b) Pushing Page Up, c) Lag

a) I have checked this at least 25 times and translation is never, and has never been, activated, besides if it were a translation it would - usually - have brackets around the repetition.

b) No, I do not try t annoy myself and everyone else at the venue by pushing the "Page Up" key on my keyboard every time I have spoken in chat. (You will have to take my word for this, I´m afraid.)

c) Yes, it happens in venues where there is lag, but it can also happen where there is no lag at all.

Problem 2: Repetition of my chat in Instant Message

Frequency: Daily

Description: When I speak in IM all my remarks are repeated once. Reportedly sometimes the repetition is instantaneous while at other times there is a delay of between 10-30 seconds. I cannot see it myself but the people I am talking with tell me about it.

Suggested causes: See Problem 1.

Problem 3:  Repetition of payments

Frequency: Daily

Description: When I buy, donate or tip my payment is repeated either immediately or within 60 seconds afterwards. This means I make two purchases and receive two deliveries of everything I buy or that I donate or tip twice the amount I had intended.

Suggested causes: Lag (See Problem 1 c and my additional information about this)

Problem 4: HUD's are turned on or off involuntarily

Frequency: Daily

Description: If I have a HUD turned on it turns itself off and if I have it turned off it turns itself on.

Suggested causes: Lag. (See Problem 1 c and my additional information about this.)

Problem 5: Involuntary movement

Frequency: Weekly

Description: When I am standing around or dancing at a venue my avatar starts moving around until it ends up in a corner from where it cannot be moved.

Suggested causes: Lag. (See Problem 1 c and my additional information about this.)

Measures I have already taken to try to solve the issues, to no avail so far.

1. I have cleared my caches 984,367 times (Well, no less than 100 times if that is more believable)

2. I have restarted  my modem no less than 25 times, on occasions leaving it off more than an hour.

3. I have re-installed the SecondLife viewer more than 20 times, making certain that I did a fresh install every time.

4. Switched to Linden Lab´s viewer 3 and then back again to Firestorm and then back again to Linden viewer 3, making sure every time that I did a fresh install.

5. I have talked with a sweet Linden on the labs Live-Chat support. She made the same suggestions that I have listed above (1-2), checked my avatar for corruption and told me it was low but she was going to run a cleaning procedure anyway, which she did. 

6. I have taken off all my attachments and HUDs and reset the HUDs.

7. I have run several virus and malware scans on my computer, both online and offline.

Today, after yet another fresh install, I took the drastic measure to delete everything in my Inventory that was younger than sixty days. Luckily I have not been purchasing much lately, but unluckily all your holiday greetings had to go I am afraid. Results of this drastic measure are still pending. This measure did not help at all!

(The information in this post was later turned into the support ticket #01587329 I sent to Linden Lab)

Blue & Non-Blue

Did you know that you have blue USB ports and non-blue USB ports on your computer?

Well, I didn't until today. I have wasted most of my day trying to reach my Internet bank and have been told that I do not have the correct card holder. This problem seemed to be known to my bank and there were instructions about how I should handle it. I followed the instructions meticulously and to the letter and still got the same error message "Incorrect card holder".

After removing and re-installing the shitty programs 15-20 times and a nap to release my frustration, I finally caved in and called customer support.

The friendly guy on the other end first tried to take me through the steps that were published on the banks website, I snapped at him that I had already done those steps 200 times (mildly exaggerating) and they did not help me.

He then asked me if I had a new computer, which I answered in the affirmative. He then went on to ask me if the USB port I was using was blue. The question amazed me because I thought a USB port is a USB port is a USB port. Apparently that is no longer true, there are now blue USB ports and non-blue USB ports, and I needed a non-blue one for my banking card holder.

When I found a non-blue port on the back of my computer everything worked fine. I thought I heard a silent giggle when I hung up after thanking the support guy.

The call with customer support lasted about five (5) minutes, I am considering suing my bank for the mental pain and distress and emotional anguish they made me suffer and the time wasted for not informing me about the blue and non-blue USB ports on their website. (No not really... I hate those frivolous and costly lawsuits, but I will make sure to send them a not so sweet e-mail about it.)

Warning to Friends

Calm, cool and collected - or just a very poor self image?

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm and prince of Cascade Falls, has - finally - started building again.

His head is buzzing with exceptional ideas on fashion accessories, candle sticks, lounge chairs and many other essentials for a good life in SecondLife. Frequent visits have already been made to the Textures R´Us store in search of good fabrics and other textures.

As the laird came late to building and has been preoccupied  with other matters lately his building skills are rusty - to say the least. If you are online when he hits a tight spot you can almost be certain to get a call.

Yesterday he managed to disrupt the lives of Adrina Welders, cobbler extraordinaire with the shop AW Designs, and Chade Dagger, well known studly club owner of Erotes, when he got stuck and remembered there was a way to do things but could not recall how. Adrina was hastily transported from whatever she was busy with to come and inspect and aid the laird.

The laird also made a call to SecondLife live chat for support when he for twenty desperate minutes thought he had blown away half of his humble living accommodations. Luckily he stayed calm, cool and collected and was experienced in all things SecondLife enough to do a relogg before calling up a rollback of the sim by Linden Lab. When he returned after the relogg everything seemed to be back in place (it must have been a camera thingy).

All the members of the McMillan-clan are up on their toes and ready to start the production-lines again. They are all certain that this surge will establish the BMcM Corporation as one of the leading enterprises in SecondLife.

Please be patient, he is crazy but he means well most of the time!

Excellent Service, Linden Lab

Today I got the weekly newsletter from the Calas Galadhon group in SecondLife. In it my friend Ty Tenk, owner of the Calas Galadhon Park sims together with his partner Truck Meredith and gardener extraordinaire, tells us about the how the excellent customer services of Linden Lab came through for them after a recent mishap.

Ty tells us he was cleaning up at the wonderful Misty Mountains sim, and was returning stuff that visitors had carelessly left there, when he by a mistaken click on the mouse ended up sending back all of the beautiful sim to his own inventory. The woods, streams, grasses, flowers, animals - in short everything!

Ty called the customer service at Linden Lab and within thirty (30) minutes of his call for help the sim was rolled back and everything was restored to it´s former pristine condition.

In spite of the constant badmouthing of the customer services at Linden Lab going on among some residents, I have always maintained that they do a great job and handle the issues presented to them with as much speed and empathy as possible in the given circumstances. This just - once again - proves my point.

...and guess what, Ty didn't even have to tweet Rod Humble once!

Will The Last Elves Emigrate?

I leave SecondLife for real life a few days and it seems like all hell breaks loose.

The big story is of course the decision of ElvenMyst, presumably the last Elf clan in SecondLife with over 2 000 members, to leave for a lesser virtual world.

I was really sorry to read that news. I have never had any dealings with the elves of SecondLife - not that I know of - but my Ars always spoke with great admiration of their talent, creativity and skillfulness. As I understand it there were many elves in the earliest days of SecondLife, but they had for some reason or other moved on to other worlds in the course of time.

This last emigration seems to have been brought on by a hiccup in the Linden Lab billing system, which started when one of the Eldars of The ElvenMyst clan got an automatic e-mail from the billing system about being late in paying tier, which he then actually tried to do several times but the system did not accept the payments. The Eldar then filed a ticket with customer support, when it did not get an immediate response or solution the four Eldars decided to pull up stakes and move to InWorldz (of all ghastly places).

Although they have now, according to the clans blog, - a day after the ticket was filed and after direct involvement by Rod Humble (the cute new CEO of Linden Lab, a k a Rodvik Linden) - already been given an both an excuse and a very generous offer of compensation although the Eldars want more.

As I understand it the Eldars are now in communication with the membership to find out what they wish to do in the present situation.

I must say I would be very sad to see the last elves leave, but I cannot help thinking that the decision to leave was an overreaction which was too hastily made. We cannot presume that the people working at customer service know who we are and our standing in-world. Most of those working there probably only visit in-world for work purposes and are not involved in any of the communities.

In my own experience the people at Linden Labs customer service are mostly benevolent and helpful, even if they are not always able to solve your problem fast but then again neither technical nor legal problems can usually be solved by snapping one´s fingers, no matter how huge the customers business is.

I am hoping the elves choose to stay in heaven!