Second Life shutters orientation islands

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Filed under: News items, Opinion, Second Life, Virtual worlds

Linden Lab has chosen to close its existing task-based Second Life Orientation Islands, which have been problematic in so many ways. Instead a modified version of the so-called Help Islands will be used as default user-entry-points instead. These modified islands were a part of an A/B testing program last month, and Blue Linden, Linden Lab's volunteer coordinator, said that the modified Help Islands 'are proving to do a bit better' according to the internal metrics that Linden Lab keeps. Just how much better, we're not sure, as Linden Lab generally plays those cards fairly close, but one Linden staffer is reported as saying that the hub-structured, task-oriented Orientation Islands are currently only yielding about 1%.

We're not even sure whether to believe that grim statistic, as it seems to be shockingly low. Linden Lab's testing seems to indicate that the task-oriented nature of the Orientation islands is a mark against them, while many others have suggested that it is the hubbed layout that is at fault. Certainly everyone agrees that the outdated and faulty Orientation HUD system (an attachable user-interface item that is intended to guide and instruct) is a major strike against the existing orientation experience.

Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop. Continue reading Second Life shutters orientation islands



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