This evening I’m writing from Coffee Island Inc. I have the place to myself, which is odd, because it looks like a great café. There’s seating inside and on the rooftop. The evening sun is bathing the shop with a warm glow from the south-west. The coffee’s a bit pricey. (Apparently you must pay the cashier’s mat L$50 to get anything.) So that may have something to do with it.
Back in August [‘back in August’?! the summer is gone already! That happened quick 😕] Second Life University hosted a Live stream with Keira & Tommy Linden on the topic of governance issues.
In episode 15, over the course of sixteen minutes, Keira & Tommy fielded questions from Strawberry, questions that she’s often heard from residents over time. As usual, there is an excellent table of contents with timestamped links in description.
Also as usual, Strawberry Linden hosted. Keira Linden, Support Operations Manager, and Tommy Linden, Support Operations Supervisor, were on hand to answer her queries. Following introductions, Strawberry got right down to business.
[Note, except where explicit quotation marks are used, the below is not intended to be a literal transcript of the conversation. I’ve tried to capture/summarize the substance of the questions and answers.]
SL: What is the best/fastest way to get answers/assistance?
KL: The support portal is the best way to find information. It has a robust knowledge base. Depending on your account level, you may have access to live chat and the ticketing system. Also depending on account level, phone support is available in hours.
N.b., governance questions are not addressed over chat or phone. Governance issues are best done via a support ticket.
SL: (Notes that links in to support portal and ticket system are in the description. And also, you can get to support through the viewer help menu.)
SL: Abuse Reports (ARs), what’s the best way?
TL: Do it from the viewer. Right-click on the name and report. If they’re gone, go to help menu and “Report abuse”. The pop-up will take a screen shot and present a few fields to fill in.
SL: Can the user paste into the report from the chat log?
TL: No, anything that might have been edited, they cannot accept. If you need to include conversation, have it in the screen shot.
SL: Then what happens?
TL: You’ll get an e-mail confirming that the report has been received. However, privacy issues preclude them informing you about any actions taken because of the report.
SL: What is done with the report?
TL: The AR is a starting point. Decisions are never made based just on the report. “There’s always three sides to every story.” Having multiple reports doesn’t necessarily change anything.
The report is investigated using tools available to the support team and action is taken as deemed appropriate.
SL: What can you do if an AR is filed against you, action is taken, and you don’t agree with it?
TL: Appeal is available. Submit a ticket under account issue, abuse appeal. Appeals are never reviewed by the same agent that took the original action against the account.
SL: What if my account was suspended or put on hold? How do I file an appeal?
TL: Submit a guest ticket.
SL: How can residents keep their account safe?
TL: MFA (multi-factor authentication) is available. It is the single best thing residents can do to protect their accounts. The main way accounts get stolen is through phishing link. Double-check links sent to you. [Personally, I treat any emailed or posted link as toxic waste and always navigate to the desired location through the SL main website or links in the viewer itself, such as those in the help menu. -AT]
Never share account information. (SL: Notes that besides being a way to have your account stolen, sharing account is against terms of service.)
SL: Second Life Community Forums, recent changes and why?
KL: Topics have been re-organized. Types of topics that can be discussed have been limited, keeping the focus on SL & LL. Part of the goal is to attempt to reduce flame war discussions. Discussions must relate to SL. (Bun fights are still permitted inworld 😏)
SL: When a content creators intellectual property is stolen, what’s the best way to report?
KL: This is not a support issue ?. It is a legal mater. File an intellectual property complaint form. (See links in description for video on how to file and IP policy.)
SL: Anything else to share?
KL: If you’re unsure about anything, support can help with that. Don’t forget the knowledge base.
Once again, even though I’ve been at this for… quite a long time, I learned things from watching this.
Thinking Outside the Plywood Box 