User:Torley Linden/FAQ

Good questions I've been asked four or more times, hence FAQ. ;)

Eliminate wasteful redundancy, distill actionables today!!!!

Video tutorials

How do you make a Video Tutorial?

You wanna know all the gory details? Here's my workflow.

What's the story behind the Tip of the Week?

Ah, there's a classic dilemma I refer to as "communicating about work vs. doing work". There's often very important behind-the-scenes stuff @ Linden Lab which isn't communicated publicly, and without sharing "This is what we did for our community today", how would you know? You most likely wouldn't.

The trickiest thing here is lack of time, and over the last stretch of months and years, we've allocated more resources to relatively improve how much of this otherwise invisible stuff you know about. Take our Service Status blog updates, for example.

Well, "Tip of the Week" came at a time after I had already made some Video Tutorials and was eager to do more. I was buried in other work, but thought this should take #1 priority. After all, I've been in 100s of situations helping walk Resis through problems, and some of it is difficult to communicate through text and still pictures alone — I started amassing a pile of requests to "Show me an over-the-shoulder view of how you do things".

What could I say? Wish granted.

I started thinking of all the questions I get asked time and time again, and how I could reduce friction and ultimately save more time in the long run by sharing these quick 'n' easy tips, or TotWs as they're known for short. Thus, Tip of the Week was born. There's no end of topics, and as of this writing (2007-12-11), I'm nearing #15 in the series!

A guiding principle behind doing TotW has always been sharing why some things you don't yet know about are important to you, or if you already know about them, then I'll show you how to use them in new, useful, & FUN ways. Something that generates a gut feeling of "Gosh, I wish I knew that before!" is a good candidate for a tip. My inspirations in this field include Russell Brown and Heloise.

If you have ideas for future TotWs, be sure to let me know. Many of the already-made episodes have been done in response to Resi or fellow Linden requests — I warmly welcome and encourage it so we can help make your Second Life better!

How can I watch your video tutorials inworld?

Use the "DOWNLOAD" links on the Video Tutorials page.

FEEL FREE TO STREAM THESE INWORLD AND I THANK YOU, just be aware my materials are provided for educational purposes with the blessing of Linden Lab and don't do anything illegal with 'em, k? Thanxies.

How do I convert video tutorials for playing inworld?

I wish we could play YouTube's Flash video directly, but presently, that's not conveniently possible. Supported inworld video formats are QuickTime-compatible — e.g., anything QuickTime Player can play can be viewed in Second Life.

I keep holding out hope that YouTube will convert all their videos to QuickTime-playable H.264, but until then, if you want to play Video TuTORials — or any YouTube videos, infact — in Second Life, you'll need to do something like this:

• Convert them with a tool like iDesktop.tv, Flvix, Vixy, Zamzar, (let me know if you're aware of something better), etc.
• Store them on a web server.
• Use the URLs to those videos in SL's About Land > Media tab.

What music do you use in your Video Tutorials?

Up to now, it's all my original tracks. I used to be an electronic music composer (until my ears went bad, leading to me joining Second Life... yeah, a really epic story!).

And which vid are you wondering about? If it's the WindLight demo with the amped-up techno, you can download the soundtrack in MP3.

230 of my tracks can be found here, and I have a lot of solo piano improvisations too. Most of it is pretty relaxing and healing, and I listen to it while working. :)

All my music is FREE and you can even use it in commercial productions, thanx to the wonders of Creative Commons — my only gentle request is that you please let me know what you do with it.

Personal

Why the heck are you so hyper/talk so fast?

I don't see myself that way. If anything, my own perceived frame of reference leads me to believe I'm moving too slow. Can I be more wrong? ;)

<videoflash>XGbBrMoWyBE</videoflash>

Seriously, I have a lot of energy. I currently (as of 2007-10-05) usually sleep 4-6 hrs. a night, and that's by choice. It's a tradeoff, you see... less sleep, less dreams, and I do like dreaming, but I don't necessarily need more hours. Plus, the Second Life Tips of the Week I've been doing are intended to be presented and delivered in 5 min. or less for the sake of your precious time. I reckon you prolly have a lot of important things to do and picking up some knowledge on-the-go is a very welcome prospect.

Now, this doesn't mean I like to rush my narration at the cost of understandability, but that I do move along at a brisk pace. The advantage here is that since these video tutorials can be rewinded or paused at any time, you can replay it for your comfortability.

That being said, I graciously welcome the feedback I've gotten about my style and pacing, and I've made changes over time like letting some of the more verbose text subtitles linger onscreen longer. I really like adapting to change to suit you better, and help you learn more effectively.

How did you make your signature?

This one?

I have a Wacom Intuos3 6x8 tablet and I used ArtRage to scrawl it out. A quality graphics tablet is very useful for creating expressive art.

On 2007-11-07, I used VectorMagic to create this.

You're a man. Why do you have a girl av?

I sometimes hear this after folks watch my video tutorials...

This question has both a simple and complicated answer.

Simple: Second Life lets us look like just about anything we can imagine, so I'm merely using its potential.

Complicated: I love time travel. I have my own "myth arc" because I love creative narrative. I have many avatars. They're on a Torley Council. Some of them are female, some are not. Most aren't human, but "Torley Jr." and her variants, as she's known, is among my most well-known avatars. Why "Torley Jr."? Because I love time travel. She's my future daughter, come back in the timeline to save me from wasting my life potential.

Long ago, in mid-2004, I was very depressed because I was a musician who'd suffered a hearing accident (hyperacusis). I read up on a lot of cyberpunk books, dreaming of a brighter future, then tried Second Life. Since Basic accounts at the time were US$10, I can confidently say it's the best ten bucks I ever spent. My first avatar was actually "Torley Sr.", a male similar to "RL me" with a hot pink jacket and 50-something-lb. synth under his arm. I evolved him to a new form in the account Torley Olmstead, but on occasion, you may still see "classic Torley" around.

I'm more of an AND than an OR person, so really here, the correct answer is that I have many avatars and enjoy all of them. Do I prefer Torley Jr. above any of the others? Only if she's behaving well.

What's the music you have playing at Watermelinden Land?

It's a mellow piano composition called "ambiet XI", a little something I composed awhile ago. I chopped it into faded, 10-sec. bits that play randomly, but for the entire listening experience, you can download the MP3 here for FREE.

Professional

What else have you done at Linden Lab?

In addition to Video Tutorials:

• I developed communications — blog, Issue Tracker (learn more), wiki, etc.
• I was in Studio Blacklight, helping devs to identify and repro critical pain points.
• I acted as community-facing representative for WindLight (killer skies & kickass environments).
• I was involved with the inworld Resident eXperience, including our user interface — see Dazzle! — and exploring Second Life.

Further back:

• I used to moderate the Second Life forums with our ResMods.
• I worked with Residents to develop mainland Infohubs (those blue i's you see on the World Map).
• I wrote portions of F1 Help (pre-Knowledge Base), specifically the Avatar Customization, New Features, & Explorer's Guide. Jack, Jeska, & Cyn did most of the work — I was just happy to help. :)

How do I know which Linden does what?

Read profiles! Some Lindens have their profile filled out in great detail. I pride myself on being one of them. ;) And if you know what a Linden does but they don't have that info in-profile, please send an IM letting them know you'd appreciate having that stuff presented for the future people who wonder.

I know, that isn't the easiest nor most efficient way to sort by category. We have an internal company directory; some info (like job role) on there isn't classified, and I'd love to see it circulated wider. Perhaps if some enterprising Resident requests a New Feature on the Issue Tracker and it gets an overwhelming # of votes (100s), I can clearly show this to my fellow Lindens and say "See! Our community would really find the time put into this useful!" (Hint hint.)

Aside from that, see the "Topics" and descriptions in the Office Hours page, because it often directly relates with what a Linden's specialties are.

I do a lot of things in response to requests; it's like the law of supply and demand, only less lawful and more fun.

Related, see the "Who are Lindens?" video:

<videoflash>zhYxXTqNpdk</videoflash>

What about international-friendly Office Hours?

First, some context: I started the Office Hours page along with Pathfinder Linden as part of the early Linden Village initiative. The LV (not unsimilarly catchy to The OC, ha!) has continued to grow, because Linden Lab hires new Lindens. Some of these Lindens come from countries and time zones outside the US — and as a supporting factoid, most of our Support personnel "work remotely", some from places like Australia and Germany. Thus, it makes sense that more international Lindens = more international Office Hours, also provided that enough people show up to make 'em worth doing! (I, for the record, am a Canadian.)

Some Lindens list spoken languages (ah, polyglots!) in their profiles, and if you happen to have one or more of those tongues in common, let them know of your interest in their participation. Office Hours aren't mandatory and I started doing mine after I got asked a lot. So yes, you can make a difference.

Where can I see a list of issues you've reported?

I know what you're thinkin'... "Practice what you preach", right?

Have a look at this if you wanna see what I've been up to, and/or if you don't know what a filed bug should look like. As a Linden, I'd like to help set a good example and help you be more comfy.

Note that as of 2007-11-26, I haven't been a very active reporter because I've spent much more time triaging issues after they've been reported by our dear Resis.

You can also see Gigs Taggart's SLJiraStats, where I'm one of the top bug reporters.

[UPDATE @ 2007-12-31] Over the holidays, Gigs graciously let me know SLJiraStats has also added Personal Stats (see mine) and you can view bugs right on the site (see example). Linden comments are in red, which may help you parse through a plethora of data.

What do you do on the public Issue Tracker (AKA PJIRA)?

I don't tend to the Issue Tracker much anymore, but previously, I did all this, and more.

Can you help me setup an Infohub on the mainland?

For context, some of you may recall that back in '06, I helped establish Resident-created Infohubs aka Welcome Areas — 14 new ones, to be precise. This was done at a time when direct teleporting was introduced, and the few Linden-made WAs we had were prone to overflooding. Thus, changed ensued, and I give my gracious thank-yous to the Resis who participated and helped grow our community.

Over time, a lot more has changed. I don't currently setup Infohubs, partially due to lack of time (I can't personally accommodate the requests I get, several a month) and also because we've been focusing more on Resident-created orientation experiences on so-called "private estates" via the community gateways of the RegAPI programme. Also read "Linden to outsource Second Life orientation" from Reuters news. I'd recommend looking there if you'd like to craft a custom entryway into Second Life, but aside from that, I apologize we can't help setup mainland Infohubs.

Second Life culture

What is a "Resi"?

"Resi" is short for "Resident of Second Life". Every culture has its fun with words, and SL is rich with unique terms, and terms that you may've heard before but have a specific meaning here (like "rez").

"Resi" also makes sense because it takes the "dent" out of "Resident". ;)

And, it's as short as "User", but friendlier-sounding.

Assorted advice

Where can I find aspect ratios for profile pictures and more?

Here's a list, lucky you! All of these aspect ratios were measured at UI size = 1.000:

• Search > All for "Classifieds", "People", and "Places" - 4:3 (256x192 pixels)
• Search > Places and Classified tabs - ~7:5 (398x282 pixels)
• Search > Land tab - ~7:5 (358x252 pixels)

• Profile > 2nd Life tab - ~4:3 (178x133 pixels)
• Profile > Picks tab - ~16:9 (288x162 pixels)
• Profile > 1st Life tab - 1:1 (133x133 pixels)
• Profile > Classifieds tab - ~3:2 (206x137 pixels)

• About Land > Options tab - ~3:2 (178x117 pixels)

• Group Information > General tab's "Group Insignia" - 1:1 (126x126 pixels)

Can you teach me how to report bugs better?

... and if you followed that up with "the Issue Tracker is hard to use/confusing", I'm here for ya!

You're just in luck, seriously (but funnily enough) — I have a guide! See Torley's bug reporting best practices and keep in mind these are merely my experiences, based on the work of others.

Also see my video tutorials including "How to report a bug" and "QUICK-Searching the Issue Tracker".

If it helps you, 'twas all worth it.

What do you recommend for processing sounds for uploading to Second Life?

A fine question! Before you read further:

• Watch "Editing and uploading sounds" video tutorial I made!

• Read our Knowledge Base article, "How do I upload images or sounds?" (you'll need to login if you haven't yet). That tells you the need-to-know.

Insofar as getting your sounds prepared (not unlike rolling sushi), I like Sony Sound Forge which I've used for over a decade. However, it's not free, so if you like FREE, check out Audacity, which has gotten better over the years — I'm not fond of its interface, but it is strongly cross-platform, which is a lot going for it.

If your sounds are ready but in the wrong sample rate (remember, Second Life requires 16-bit, 44.1 kHz clips which can be mono or stereo but need to be 10 seconds long or less), I've gotten a lot of mileage out of r8brain, which is also FREE, but only for Windows.

And for all the times I get asked, "Since Second Life limits uploaded sounds to 10 secs. long, how do I upload whole songs?", I first make the preclusion that you have the right to broadcast and distro such material legally, and then, suggest two ways:

1. Splice the song into lots of little 10-sec. sections, and upload them with sequentially-numbered names (e.g., "MySong 01", "MySong 02", "MySong 03", etc.). You'll pay L$10 for each clip. You'll then need to put all the clips in the contents of an object along with a script which'll play them in order. Some example scripts are in the SL Forums' Scripting Library, including "Psyke's Music Script", and for fancy multi-prim action, "Synchronized sound/music playback".
2. Instead of uploading the sounds, upload the MP3 to a webserver and play it on your land parcel via About Land > Media tab — copy and paste the address under "Music URL".
3. OKAY, there is "sort of" a newly-emergent 3rd way, and that is: use inworld voice chat and configure your audio input to be a music-playing device attached to your computer via a stereo minijack, possibly USB port, or if you're really desperate, just play speakers near a connected microphone. The quality will be mono and at times choppy, but we're on the brave new frontier of experimentalism, baby!

For related recipes & ideas, check out Dizzy Banjo's blog, which is focused on "soundtracking virtual worlds". I'm glad he cares so much about the sonic arts!

How do you take such beautiful snapshots of Second Life?

I'm honored, really. I owe a lot of tribute to those who came before me. To paraphrase Newton, I'm really standing on the shoulders of some megatastical gargantuans.

In recognition of the many times I get asked this, I've started a snapshot tips page. Check it out!

What do you use to make Torley Textures?

I've got anecdotal recountings on my personal blog for some installments of the Torley Textures, but the prime tools I use are listed on the Texture Tools page. Yes, I'm a tremendous fan of Filter Forge to generate patterns and effects, PhotoSEAM for seamless tiling aid, and ArtRage 2 for wildacious sketch-skillz.

My sources of inspiration are many and varied, from the video installations of Nam June Paik, to more obtuse glitch art, to the lush environmental stylings found in Bjork videos like "Joga". I suppose it's difficult for me to summarize neatly, but if you have any particular fave textures, I'd likely remember the tale of how it came to be — each name has a special meaning. (Yes, I was gorged out on Dune when I did "Harkonnen Cloak".)

EVERY TEXTURE HAS A STORY!

Obsolete

There's pictures of nude people on the left-hand side of the Official Linden Blog! What do I do?

That photostream comes from an external site, Flickr, by way of a WordPress widget and is moderated by Residents. It's rated PG, meaning there shouldn't be explicit nudity, gore, etc. Second Life's own website is also rated PG according to our Community Standards. By far and large, the vast majority of those pictures are appropriate, but in case you see one that isn't, here's what to do:

• Click on the image.
• Click the "Flag this photo" link on the right side.
• Check "Please review this photo's safety level" and click SAVE button.

The photo won't disappear immediately, but will be investigated by Flickr staff.

If you see someone repeatedly trying to post inappropriate pictures over time despite being reported, let a group admin know.

Submitting images to the group pool will also push other photos out of the stream.