In a surprising and unexpected move, Linden Lab has just announced that they are going back to become a 3D content provider as before — after an almost two-year-long hiatus of zero content production.But… there is a twist! This time, under the name of “The Linden Department of Public Works”, Jack Linden encourages crowdsourcing again — getting a cartload of volunteers with a lot of spare time, spread them across the grid and… well, as he claims:
What will we work on? Good question; basically, we will consider anything and everything that we feel will make the mainland more attractive, fun, engaging and interesting for new or existing residents.
So what does this mean? Linden Lab is back with a zero-cost team of talented developers, eager to work 16-hours-a-day for a pat in the back, and are remodelling the mainland — again? Why? What for?What dramas will unfold, as residents-overseen-by-Lindens become grid-famous and start outsourcing their work to Big Corps? Will these people be hand-picked by Linden Lab? Is the Linden Lab Approved Builder Certification being beta-tested with this new effort? Will the Metaverse Development Companies cry foul, as Linden Lab steps back into the content creation business? Or is Linden Lab just getting ready to beautify the mainland, parcel it off, and send it off to the land barons to manage? Or, well, are they listening to the comments made back in 2003-5 when so many residents had volunteered to do exactly that, and, seeing how things worked with the Volunteer Teams (Mentors et al), they felt it was time to expand the model on the mainland with different sets of people?Oh, and perhaps you should attend the Linden Department of Public Works’ Office Hours soon. They promise to be… interesting.
