[Opensim-dev] Leaving Project

Mon Nov 23 13:06:37 UTC 2009

Rock,

     I sympathize with you on many levels.  I've also had my doubts
regarding the future of OpenSim, but I have also maintained some degree of
faith that things will pull through in the end.

     For me the shock came when I was abruptly informed that "OpenSim is not
Second Life, is not intended to be like Second Life, nor ever will."  I
still haven't the foggiest idea what this developer had smoked for them to
so strongly assert that incredibly false statement.

     For me, the enjoyment of OpenSim has come from my intense devotion to
building and skinning.  In fact, for the last few months I've been working
on a full region that has many hundreds of skins, clothes, hair, furniture,
etc, etc, that I'd like to package up as an OAR and give out freely, since
repeatedly I've been told that instead of giving money to help further
OpenSim I'd do more proactively by giving content.  So I plan to do just
that and give my money to other open source initiatives that matter to me.

     I have a passion for writing, and have thought many times that one of
the greatest powers OpenSim would gain is having simple, straightforward,
step-by-step instructions on how to download, compile, install, administer
and overall just plain operate the core applications.  What kills me is that
everyone who does a search for OpenSim inevitably hits the
opensimulator.orgsite and that is where the massive roadblock presents
itself.  It's useless
for most and irrelevant to the few who consider themselves OpenSim experts.

     Heck, even now on the configuration page it still displays info for
0.6.6 including (months old) known bugs in setting up region xml files.  If
there was appointed a volunteer whose sole job was to keep information on
opensimulator.org relevant that one task would resolve a mountain of
negativity right there.  I sit here in front of my computers a good 10 to 12
hours a day.

     I would sincerely love to contribute to the OpenSim project, especially
in documentation support.  But the thing holding me back is communication.
If I cannot get a straight answer on who to GIVE money to in order to help,
then I stand little chance of getting clear, straight answers from
developers when asking about issues I need to consider and incorporate in
documentation.

     If communication is a hurdle we can all overcome, with a genuine and
heart-felt effort to relay information, motives, and plans with one another,
then I'd sincerely appreciate having the opportunity to personally
contribute.  I'm not a programmer today, but have a degree in programming
fro the 90's (so much has changed my degree is practically useless in that
regard).  But I do know how to explain things and relay information in
simple terms.  But only if my own questions will be answered with more than
"look it up or figure it out yourself" as my answer.

     If any of you would appreciate my help, feel free to let me know at any
time and I'll do what I can.

- Len W. Brown
     lenwbrown at gmail.com

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 6:23 AM, Colin B. Withers <
Colin.Withers at eumetsat.int> wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> I have decided to leave the Opensim project. You will probably not even
> notice if I leave, as not being a programmer my only inputs were the writing
> of the step-by-step tutorials ( http://chapter-and-metaverse.blogspot.com/), the drafts of the OpenSim User Manual on the Forge, and helping out in
> the IRC channels, for newcomers.
>
> You may find my reasons for leaving Opensim interesting though (and please
> do not construe any of my reasons as an attack on anyone).
>
> 1. The Platform
> I raised this several times in the past in IRC, and made posts on my blog
> about the product lifecycle of the platform (
> http://rock-vacirca.blogspot.com/2009/02/direction-of-virtual-worlds.html). I believe that the platforms underpinning both Second Life and Opensim
> are quite long in the tooth now, and I questioned how much product lifecycle
> there was left, particularly given that Opensim is now nearing 3 years of
> development, is still in Alpha, and if the current release of 0.6.7 is any
> indicator, then still only around two thirds into the development cycle.
> With the (inevitable) coming of much superior platforms, such as Blue Mars
> and (as a virtual world); Unity, for browser-based Virtual Wolrds; and now
> UDK (for creating sandboxes, standalones, and open grids), then I fear that
> Opensim has missed the boat as far as the remaining lifecycle of the
> platform is concerned. When you show people what is possible with these
> engines (for example this avatar editor for the forthcom
>  ing APB (using the Unreal Engine):
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icR3LtEMvZI or this city:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmLzNbPXMDg (using the CryEngine), then
> neither SL not Opensim stands comparison.
>
> 2. Lack of Support for Currency in Opensim
> I felt the impact of this when I first made the switch from SL to Opensim.
> I had a thriving RP sim in SL (over 50 people, mainly female) and they all
> agreed to follow me over to my Opensim and the OSGrid. However, within a
> month they had all left, citing the same reason, the lack of places to shop,
> to buy the quality stuff they wanted (skins, hair, clothes etc), as a
> quality appearance, and the fun of shopping is what all the females placed
> high on their requirements from a Virtual World. They drifted back to Second
> Life, and the guys followed them. I have always believed that the lack of
> support for currency in the core was a mistake, but that is just my opinion.
>
> 3. Marketing
> I have also raised this issue several times, and blogged about it. It is
> far from clear just who an eventually released Opensim is actually aimed at.
> I think that any company that is interested in a firewalled corporate
> solution to collaboration and prototyping will already be looking at the
> Enterprise solution that is currently available from Second Life; that any
> indie group that is thinking of running a themed grid will need an economy
> to stay viable; and any individual who is looking for a private sandbox
> solution for their SL work will need full compatibility (which is not the
> case with the OS version of LSL diverging from the SL LSL). So, just who is
> the platform aimed at? I was also very disappointed in the view of one of
> the core devs who said that 'marketing is a null concept for us'.
>
> I am currently designing and creating cities for Blue Mars, and involved in
> a team for proving the UDK as a platform for the design and creation of
> Virtual Worlds (as opposed to purely games), and with so much documentation
> available for these mature engines (particularly for the UDK, Blue Mars lags
> behind somewhat in that department, but have hired extra staff to put that
> right), I am achieving the productivity I want, building the worlds that I
> want, with stable crash-free platforms.
>
> However, I do wish the Opensim team the very best in their endeavours, and
> I sincerely hope their goals are eventually achieved.
>
> If anyone would like to take over the Opensim Tutorials pages at
> http://chapter-and-metaverse.blogspot.com/ and
> http://chapter-and-metaverse2.blogspot.com/ (they will need some updating
> following several changes) then I am more than willing to pass the posts
> over, and of course the Opensim User Manual is there in the Forge for anyone
> to develop further.
>
> Best Regards and Good Luck
>
> Rock
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
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