Mergers & Acquisitions (Updated)

"Linden Lab, the makers of SecondLife, announced today that it is in discussions with High Fidelity over merging the two companies and thus consolidating in anticipation of a future collaboration with or takeover bid from Facebook", the Financial Times reports, citing sources.

As Philip Rosedale, a.k.a. "our creator", Philip Linden or "my beloved Philip", has a major interest in both companies it is assumed that the discussions will go smoothly and a deal will be made before the end of the week.

According to the article  it is probable that Philip Rosedale will become the Chairman of the Board of the new company, while Ebbe Altman, a.k.a. Ebbe Linden, will remain as CEO.

Read the full article Financial Times: Linden Lab & High Fidelity to merge?.

More updates on this will be posted here, as soon as I learn more.

UPDATE April 2, 2014
This entire post is of course a fabrication, it was my attempt at trying to fool you on April Fools Day.

Avatar Appearances

Its important how you look, not crucial, but still important. Sometime during Pride week one of my immediate "friends" (huh?) told me very kindly that I looked old, which set me out on a hunt for a new skin. I have spent most of my time since, when I do not assist my cantankerous builder/interior decorator Butch Diavolo, with searching for a new skin that I would feel happy and content in.

I ended up buying four (4) skins in three (3) days, because I momentarily thought I liked them. After using them a short while everything about the new skin just feels "wrong" in a powerful way. It is silly really, because my avatar is not really me, but still I have to feel good and comfortable in every aspect of it.

So I have now - for the time being at least - decided to stay with the skin I have had for two years. All the new ones feel too shiny and oily. Besides they all also seem to have too much eyeliner on, wearing the skins I feel like a man of ill-repute in a Moroccan bordello. What do I care if I look old, I prefer aging gracefully than to look as if I was desperately trying to be more youthful than I am., Growing older is still better than the only other option.

Speaking of eyeliners, following a comment on my blog yesterday I came across an interesting post on Nigel Riel's blog Trials of Eyeliner (I have added it to my blogroll now) that deals with avatar shapes.

Apparently there is a rule of thumb concerning human - and hence also human avatars - proportions, saying that an adult humans height should on average ideally be around 7½ heads high, with the rest of the body parts spaced in as you see from this picture on Nigel's blog.

Image by Nigel Riel

In my life as an avatar I have of course come across the usual accusations from those in SecondLife who believe that we should all try to emulate reality in-world also and it is therefore somehow "morally wrong" to be the normal 2,20 m tall, the same rule seems to apply on overly muscular bodies. To them I say, "Bite me!"

Oh speaking of proportions, reality and heads, did I ever tell you about the two supposedly artists that at separate occasions have IM'd me to inform me that my head "is too small compared to the rest of your body". They both looked like dogshit in their perfectly proportioned bodies, by the way. Being the kind man I am, I did not tell them that but merely answered that, I liked my head fine and that the head actually doesn't grow when you pump up your body. Of course they could have meant compared to my height, in which case they would have been correct, but as I remember it they said nothing about my height.

Well, I don't care one bit about "reality" in avatar appearance, but I do strive to be proportionate. Using the guidelines that Nigel points to in his post Trials of Eyeliner: Monday Meme – 6-24, I am going to give my avatar an overhaul on proportions. Hopefully it will help me plenty in the avatar meat race!

Idag var det Ars RL födelsedag

Detta är den sista bilden jag hittar på Ars och mig tillsammans. Den är tagen lördagen den 6 februari 2010 på Elfay Pinkdots "Coffee and Pajamas Show"

Jag ägnade dagen åt att tänka på min Ars och de goda åren vi hade haft tillsammans. Dessutom köpte jag ÄNNU EN nalle till honom och lite blommor som jag ställde upp vid hans minnesmärke på simen.

Linden Lab gav mig en stor gåva idag också, på Ars födelsedag.

"Från: Linden Lab - Support [mailto:no-reply@secondlife.com]

Skickat: den 21 april 2010 01:10
Till: x@x.se
Ämne: Ticket #4051-7546025: Sent Final Resolution (Ramifications of SL partners passing)

We have solved your issue

Solution: Hello Bock,

I am so very sorry for your loss. I have completed the transfer of the region Southern Charm from Ars' account to your own. Regarding the objects on the region, even if Ars' account is disabled the objects he owned on that region will remain. We will not remove any of those objects if his account is disabled.

(...)

If there is anything more we can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,
Keira Linden"
........

Jag har ju, förutom vad som skulle hända med simen, också oroat mig för vad som skulle hända med alla de saker Ars hade rezzat på vår hemmasim, och just denna dag fick jag beskedet att de kommer att finnas kvar. Det känns nästan som om Ars jobbar för mig någonstans!

Jag vill nu passa på att tacka Belinda Linden och Keira Linden på Linden Lab för all deras vänlighet och tillmötesgående i den sak!

Samtidigt vill jag också tacka alla er andra - ingen nämnd och ingen glömd - för allt ert stöd och all er värme och omsorg under de senaste veckorna. Ni har varit fantastiska!!!

Dagen avslutades med att åka iväg till Egypt och rösta på Bara Jonson naturligtvis!

Trying to deal with reality V (The conclusion)

Från: Linden Lab - Support [mailto:no-reply@secondlife.com]
Skickat: den 19 april 2010 02:37
Till: x@x.se
Ämne: Ticket #4051-7546025: Customer Posted a Comment (Ramifications of SL partners passing)

Requested Information:
Hi Bock

Many apologies for the delay in responding to you.

We are pleased to advise we will proceed with transferring the ownership of this region to your account and you should hear from us within the next few days as that is completed.

If you have any further questions please feel free to add them to this ticket and we will respond as soon as we are able.

Best regards

Belinda

----

Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Thank you so much, Belinda Linden´and Linden Lab! I am so happy and relieved I don´t know how to express it except in one way...

BIGGEST HUGS EVER!!!

Trying to deal with reality IV

It´s been awhile since I updated here. This is what has happened since then.

On April 1st I payed the full tier of 295 USD to Ars PayPal account. I did this in the hope that the subscription for the sim tier that Ars had told me about was still in place, so that the tier payment for April could be automatically deducted from there by Linden Lab. If nothing else that would at least give us a little time and the sim would not be shut down due to non-payment of tier.

I haven´t gotten any confirmation that the tier has been paid.

On April 9th we finally got Ars death certificate and the letter from his Estate to Linden Lab, both as a fax to the legal team and as attachments to the ticket. (Ars father had first tried faxing it to Linden Labs legal team without success for several days.)

The letter from Ars Estate to Linden Labs:

"Linden Labs
Attn: Legal Department – Fax No. 415-243-9045

Re: Ticket No. 4051-7546025 (Closed) Ramifications of SL Partner Passing
(Ars FirstLife name). SL Avatar Ars Northmead Southern Charm sim 5435.agni.lindenlab.com

Attached is copy of Death Certificate for (Ars FirstLife name). who passed away March 12, 2010.

(Ars FirstLife name) died without a known will. Under Arkansas law in the absence of a will, his estate goes to his surviving parents which in this case is the undersigned.

We, beneficiaries of the estate, have no objection to (my FirstLife name) “Bock” as surviving partner in ownership of sim 5435 taking over (Ars FirstLife name) interest in sim 5435.

If there are other SL properties held by (Ars FirstLife name) that need to be disposed of please advise.

Sincerely,
(Ars fathers name)"

When I added the documents to the ticket at Linden Lab I also asked them to contact me if they needed additional information or - if need be - Ars father directly (as they may not trust communication with me in some matters). Hopefully they - or I - will not need to worry Ars father anymore. It´s a terrible thing for a parent to lose a child.

As I wrote to Ars sister in a mail after she had informed me that the fax mentioned above had been sent to Linden Labs and was sorry for the delay because her father was "a little under the weather": I can completely understand that your father is a little under the weather. My younger sister passed away in cancer a few years ago and my parents were completely devastated by that for a long time. As my father keeps repeating "Children are not supposed to pass before their parents." I am also terribly sorry I have had to burden him with the matter with Linden Labs at this difficult point in his life. Hopefully Linden Labs will now act according to our wishes and we can leave your father to the more important matter of caring for himself and your mother. Please tell your father I am very grateful that he took the time for this.

I check my mail every morning before I go to work, every evening when I come home from work and every night before going to bed.

Meanwhile I try to convince myself that no news is better than a flat refusal and wait...



The pictures used in this post are by Kent Hutchinson, KH Photo, see SLurl in earlier posts. 

Trying to deal with reality III (glimpse of hope)

After receiving the e-mail from Linden Lab on March 30th 2010 I reopened the ticket with this comment:

There is no will, thats the problem - or I would not have contacted them in the first place.

This is totally confusing!

I am asking Linden Lab to grant me the privilege of paying them 295 USD a month to keep my home and memories of the good times with Ars and also to save them any other inconvenience!

All I want from Linden Lab is the possibility to pay the tier for the sim Southern Charm on behalf of the avatar Ars Northmead, so that that avatar can retain ownership. I do not mind if my darling Ars remains the official owner of our sim. I do not want or need access to Ars account or the rest of his other property in SL.

 

 

Later the same day I added this to my ticket:

 

I have also now sent an e-mail to Ars/Dougs RL family asking them to send you his death certificate and a message concerning Doug´s estates position in this matter.

 

It will hopefully reach you soon.

..................

The same day I also sent a note card to M Linden, the CEO of Linden Lab Mark Kingdons avatar in SL, (with a copy to Belinda Linden) summarizing in a more orderly fashion - than in the ticket - what had happened.

Today I received another e-mail (I cannot understand why it did not show up in my inbox this morning at 5 am my time, when I last checked it...it must have been stuck in cyberspace somehow)


Från: no-reply@secondlife.com [mailto:no-reply@secondlife.com]

Skickat: den 1 april 2010 23:04
Till: x@x.se
Ämne: Ticket #4051-xxxxxxx: Customer Posted a Comment (Ramifications of SL partners passing)

Requested Information: Hi Bock

Apologies for the delay in responding to you, I was discussing this further with our management team to see if there were any other solutions we could offer. Unfortunately at this stage there arent, but I have forwarded to our legal team your latest notification about contact with the family of Ars/Doug, and I hope that we will be able to resolve this in a speedy fashion for you.

I will keep this ticket open so that you can communicate with us here should you need to.

The Postal address for our legal team is:
Linden Research, 945 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, Attention: General Counsel.

best regards

Belinda
Concierge Team Coordinator

.....

At the moment I am totally falling in love with Belinda Linden! This was a glimpse of hope that I was sorely in need of.

Trying to deal with reality II (updated)

I received an e-mail today.

Från: no-reply@secondlife.com [mailto:no-reply@secondlife.com]


Skickat: den 30 mars 2010 12:24

Till: x@x.se

Ämne: Ticket #4051-xxxxxxxxxx: Closed (Ramifications of SL partners passing)

Ticket has been closed

Comment(s): Hello Bock

Firstly I would like to pass on my condolences for the passing of Ars, and I hope the following information is of use to you.

With this situation there are a number of legal issues that come into play, and I have included the information relevant below:

Our privacy policies disallow sharing information about accounts with someone other than the account holder, except as required by law.

From Section 2.4 of the Second Life Terms of Service: You may not transfer your Account to any third party without the prior written consent of Linden Lab; notwithstanding the foregoing, Linden Lab will not unreasonably withhold consent to the transfer of an Account in good standing by operation of valid written will to a single natural person, provided that proper notice and documentation are delivered as requested by Linden Lab.

To access an account in the event of the account holder's death, we will need
-a copy of the death certificate
-a copy of the will
-real-life ID from the beneficiary
-a letter from the beneficiary stating that they wish to close down the account or assume control of the account and its content (this includes responsibility for fees and estate ownership).

The beneficiary, if they do not have a Second Life account, should sign into secondlife.com, access the support portal and submit a ticket as a guest. A scanned copy of all the requested information may be attached to the ticket, or these documents may be faxed to 415-243-9045, attn: Legal Department.

I hope this information can assist you, and again pass on my sympathy for your loss.

Best regards

Belinda
Concierge Team Coordinator.

..........................

There is no will, thats the problem - or I would not have contacted them in the first place.

This is totally confusing!

I am asking Linden Lab to grant me the privilege of paying them 295 USD a month to keep my home and memories of the good times with Ars and also to save them any other inconvenience!

All I want from Linden Lab is the possibility to pay the tier for the sim Southern Charm on behalf of the avatar Ars Northmead, so that that avatar can retain ownership. I do not mind if my darling Ars remains the official owner of our sim. I do not want or need access to Ars account or the rest of his other property in SL.

Trying to deal with reality

First I tried the Live chat support

[12:05 PM] Gareth: Hello Bock McMillan, my name is Gareth Ontyne. Thank you for contacting Linden Lab Support. How can I help you?
[12:05 PM] Bock McMillan: Hello Gareth
[12:05 PM] Gareth: Hello Bock. :) How can I help?
[12:06 PM] Bock McMillan: The RL person behind my partner passed away on March 12th
[12:07 PM] Bock McMillan: we have a sim together, the tier for that is paid from his Paypal account
[12:08 PM] Bock McMillan: can that payment be transferred to my paypal account instead, or can i pay the tier in his place or how do we go about this - i am totally confused
[12:08 PM] Gareth: OK Bock, firstly I'm sorry to hear about your partner passing away - my condolances.
[12:09 PM] Gareth: Could you tell me about your land, is it a private island that you both owned?
[12:09 PM] Bock McMillan: thx gareth, bless you
[12:09 PM] Bock McMillan: its group owned, we rent from LL
[12:10 PM] Bock McMillan: i have the sim number, if that helps
[12:11 PM] Bock McMillan: Southern Charm located at sim5435.agni.lindenlab.com (216.82.49.182:13002) Second Life Server 1.36.4.202355
[12:11 PM] Gareth: OK Bock, thanks very much. As the resident has passed away, what we normally would do in this instance is ask for a death certificate and then switch the payment over to another resident. However, since this is not possible in this instance, what you would have to do is submit a support ticket requesting the transfer of this land to yourself. This may take a little while to be done but unfortunately we can't do this from Live Chat as we will need to investigate the matter and then begin the transfer.
[12:12 PM] Gareth: You can submit a support ticket by going to: http://secondlife.com/support and click on Submit a Ticket. If you fill in the webform with the details of the situation, we'll escalate that to our Administration department and it will be upto them on the decision that is made.
[12:13 PM] Bock McMillan: the tier is due around the 6-8th
[12:13 PM] Bock McMillan: can i pay in his place?
[12:14 PM] Gareth: You wouldn't be able to unless you had access to his account.
[12:14 PM] Bock McMillan: no i do not
[12:14 PM] Bock McMillan: i meant pay it for the sim from my account
[12:14 PM] Bock McMillan: sorry
[12:15 PM] Bock McMillan: ill submit a ticket
[12:15 PM] Gareth: Then you would have to wait until the Administration team dealt with the matter. I am sorry about that but unfortunately we have to ensure that it's dealt with properly and sensitively.
[12:15 PM] Bock McMillan: you already told me you could not do anything from here
[12:15 PM] Bock McMillan: Thx Gareth
[12:16 PM] Gareth: Not a problem Bock, is there anything else that I can help you with today?

(Yes, I do remember I have told you I hate those pasted conversations with timestamps! So boring, but this time I feel it is necessary!)
....

Then I submitted a ticket

Ticket Summary
Ticket #: 4051-xxxxxxxxxx
Email Notification (Contact Info): Yes
Status: New
Date Created: 26/3/2010 10:01 AM PDT
Last Updated: 26/3/2010 10:01 AM PDT
Ticket Description

Summary: Ramifications of SL partners passing

Preferred Language: English
Details: XXXXXX "Doug" XXXXXX, the man behind the avatar Ars Northmead, passed away peacefully on Friday March 12th 2010 at 8.30 pm PST/SLT in Little Rock, Arkansas.

(Dougs online obituary can be seen here http://deleted.information/)

Ars has been my partner in SL since more than two years, although we did not "officially" partner over the SL-system until just a month before his passing away. During those two years we have lived together and had our home on the "Southern Charm"-sim located at sim5435.agni.lindenlab.com (216.82.49.182:13002)Second Life Server 1.36.4.202355.

A couple of months ago we bought the sim together from the previous owner Slyder Jewell (in your papers it could look like Ars bought it alone but I always payed him half the tier through his Paypal account minus what we got in tier from our only tenant X X.)

The sim is group owned by the group X in which Ars is stated as the owner and I as the only officer.

The tier for the sim has been paid through a subscription to Ars´ Paypal-account x.x.@x.com. (Ars also had another parcel at the X-sim for business reasons - I do not know how payment for that was made or to whom.)

----

I do not want to lose the sim which has been my home with Ars for so long. How do I go about paying for the sim in the future? Please note, tier payments are due around the 6-8th in every month.

1. Can the payment for the Southern Charm sim be transferred to my Paypal-account instead?

2. How do I do about setting this up and what do I need?

3. If 1-2 are not possible, how do I go about paying you for the sim in Ars place, that is without setting me up as owner.

....

Please help me! I am desperate and do not wish to lose our home and all my memories of Ars too.

That reminds me! My Ars has done alot of work on the sim and has put out many objects to make it a beautiful place for us to live in.

Some people tell me that all those things go back into my Ars inventory and disappear when - as they tell me - his SL-account is deleted due to inactivity after three months. Is there some way this can be prevented???

Please help me and tell me what I can do to save our sim and our home. His RL family has told me they will do anything they need to do to help me.

.................

Jag är så rädd att förlora vår vackra sim och allt det vi har byggt upp tillsammans (...och ja, jag förlorade fattningen på slutet...)










............

Then I received the following e-mail:

Från: no-reply@secondlife.com [mailto:no-reply@secondlife.com]

Skickat: den 26 mars 2010 18:32
Till: x.x@.x.se
Ämne: Ticket #4051-xxxxxxx: Sent Information (Ramifications of SL partners passing)

We have some information about your issue.

Comment(s): Hello Bock,
Thank you for contacting Linden Lab Support with your issue.

I am going to escalate this ticket to the appropriate department and they will contact you shortly via email regarding your request. In the meantime, if you need to contact us again about this issue, please add a comment to this ticket rather than creating a new ticket. I've attached instructions on how to do this below:

HOW CAN I REOPEN A TICKET I SUBMITTED?

My Support History allows you to review, reopen, provide additional information or add a comment to a ticket that has already been submitted.

Visit http://www.secondlife.com/support

Click Submit a Ticket
Click My Support History, located at the top of the page
Click My Tickets, a link located under the My Support History link
Choose a ticket from the list of tickets
Available options for your ticket are listed at the bottom of the website

Thanks for your patience in this regard.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Kind regards,
Tiruo
Linden Lab Support

------
Foto: Kent Hutchinson, KH Photography
SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pocasset/47/58/690