Why is there no upgrade path for third party creators?
This seems to be a recurring topic and shall be addressed.
Let's talk about the kit itself first for a moment.
This seems to be a recurring topic and shall be addressed.
Let's talk about the kit itself first for a moment.
What kit?
N° 9 series 300 had a creator kit aka 'Peanut Collar Kit'.
The kit was a loved creation aid. It was lots of fun, and even played some cool music while auto-building collar features into mesh designs.
Thanks to the features being supported by Wendy Starfall personally, the products made with the kit resulted in virtually no customer support for these other parties.
The price of the kit sometimes changed, depending on supply and demand, but was usually in between L$500 and L$1250.
Meaning that a third party had to spend only in between US$2 and US$5 a single time in exchange for a perpetual license to include one of Second Life's most popular feature sets in their own products for sale, and get them supported by the developer personally, while also receiving regular upgrades over the span of several years for themselves and for their customers.
The kit was a loved creation aid. It was lots of fun, and even played some cool music while auto-building collar features into mesh designs.
Thanks to the features being supported by Wendy Starfall personally, the products made with the kit resulted in virtually no customer support for these other parties.
The price of the kit sometimes changed, depending on supply and demand, but was usually in between L$500 and L$1250.
Meaning that a third party had to spend only in between US$2 and US$5 a single time in exchange for a perpetual license to include one of Second Life's most popular feature sets in their own products for sale, and get them supported by the developer personally, while also receiving regular upgrades over the span of several years for themselves and for their customers.
Wow.
No matter from which perspective you look at it, this deal was too good. It only existed because Wendy Starfall always wanted to support other artists from the kindness of her heart.
99% of these other parties selling N° 9 series 300 aka 'Peanut / Peanut No. 9' advertised their collars as 'OC scripted', and most of the credit for these new features went to OC instead of rightfully to Wendy Starfall.
People referred to everything Wendy Starfall and Garvin Twine made as 'OC', calling our sim the 'OC temple', long after there was no more connection left.
It was an ongoing battle for identity.
Wendy Starfall and Garvin Twine kept improving their own collar branch tirelessly in an uphill battle for their own identity.
99% of these other parties selling N° 9 series 300 aka 'Peanut / Peanut No. 9' advertised their collars as 'OC scripted', and most of the credit for these new features went to OC instead of rightfully to Wendy Starfall.
People referred to everything Wendy Starfall and Garvin Twine made as 'OC', calling our sim the 'OC temple', long after there was no more connection left.
It was an ongoing battle for identity.
Wendy Starfall and Garvin Twine kept improving their own collar branch tirelessly in an uphill battle for their own identity.
At first this situation was confusing indeed.
'OC' content came from Wendy Starfall, everyone knew that, but suddenly some other person announced in her stead that she had retired from creating collars, and the, quote, 'OC project was being put back on track now'. A story passed around written in notecards, and then later posted to a markdown file on GitHub, to legitimise the bizarre takeover of the large OC group in 2017.
While it was fine to mix things up at first, this many years later it is not fine. It is not okay in the slightest, and regardless if any of it was done out of ignorance when someone didn't care to read the kit's paperwork, or because some creators believed their products would be more easily bought/found when labeled with 'OC' - the end result is this current situation.
Everyone expects everything for free, and reopens old wounds when mislabeling/miscrediting the content multiple times a day.
We still have to fight way too hard to simply be our own brand, serve our own customers, doing our own thing. No other SL or RL brand has to deal with problems like these.
It should not have to be this way.
While it was fine to mix things up at first, this many years later it is not fine. It is not okay in the slightest, and regardless if any of it was done out of ignorance when someone didn't care to read the kit's paperwork, or because some creators believed their products would be more easily bought/found when labeled with 'OC' - the end result is this current situation.
Everyone expects everything for free, and reopens old wounds when mislabeling/miscrediting the content multiple times a day.
We still have to fight way too hard to simply be our own brand, serve our own customers, doing our own thing. No other SL or RL brand has to deal with problems like these.
It should not have to be this way.
What do we want?
We just want to enjoy creating some content, have a good time with others in our community, and enjoy being alive.
We want that creators who advertise their product as 'OpenCollar scripted' to include 'OC scripts by official OpenCollar', and not ours.
We want that other parties supply their own updates.
In a post Wendy Starfall era, we couldn't service other party customers free of charge even if we wanted to.
This has to stop.
If you want to receive services from us we must insist on compensation. This isn't a charity. Nobody needs collar scripts to ensure their immediate survival.
We want that creators who advertise their product as 'OpenCollar scripted' to include 'OC scripts by official OpenCollar', and not ours.
We want that other parties supply their own updates.
In a post Wendy Starfall era, we couldn't service other party customers free of charge even if we wanted to.
This has to stop.
If you want to receive services from us we must insist on compensation. This isn't a charity. Nobody needs collar scripts to ensure their immediate survival.
Who is we/us?
You know me as Luna. I'm a Latvija based photographer who dabbles in SL for the fetish and kink content. I worked as CSR for various SL brands. I don't possess the same skill as Wendy Starfall. I'm not a genius. I can't stay awake and perform error-free for 30 hours like she could, but I can manage and run the business well. I admire Wendy Starfall's persona very much, and I want to honour her, not be like her.
Garvin Twine is a gifted German engineer who contributed as much to the collar as Wendy Starfall. They were a fantastic team and working with them felt most rewarding. I feel privileged to continue this work with Garvin Twine. He is respectful with female contributors, which is a wildly different experience when compared to other creators I worked with in the past.
That's us. There is no other staff, but there are friends who help out.
Eva Ryan is a moderator at the sim, Jazz Boucher helps by answering questions in the chat, and Rory Starlight sometimes helps with technical tests and quality assurance.
Garvin Twine is a gifted German engineer who contributed as much to the collar as Wendy Starfall. They were a fantastic team and working with them felt most rewarding. I feel privileged to continue this work with Garvin Twine. He is respectful with female contributors, which is a wildly different experience when compared to other creators I worked with in the past.
That's us. There is no other staff, but there are friends who help out.
Eva Ryan is a moderator at the sim, Jazz Boucher helps by answering questions in the chat, and Rory Starlight sometimes helps with technical tests and quality assurance.
With all the drama, fluff, and moralism removed, what remains is this:
I am convinced that the best course of action for mesh designers is indeed what Wendy Starfall posted recently:
By doing this you are not just saving your own time, you are steering clear of drama, and future technical support.
Please join us in being decent and reasonable.
Thank you, and with kind regards,
Luna
- We will continue what we do even without Wendy Starfall for the time being.
- We want to have a nice experience with our community, and serve our own customers.
- Our staff consists of only two individuals, and we cannot provide free services for hundreds of SL shops for no compensation.
I am convinced that the best course of action for mesh designers is indeed what Wendy Starfall posted recently:
- Keep your mesh modifiable.
- Only add texture change scripts.
- Allow your customers to install their own choice of scripts and features.
By doing this you are not just saving your own time, you are steering clear of drama, and future technical support.
Please join us in being decent and reasonable.
Thank you, and with kind regards,
Luna