Before anyone panics, I am not announcing the closure of
SLU.
When Linden Lab announced their new Brand Center and the rules regarding domains with
SL in them, I was quite angered by how badly the announcement was handled, and how arbitrary much of it seemed. I still feel that both points are true. I have expressed quite explicitly here how I have felt about the prospect of a forced name change, and my willingness to fight it. That willingness has not changed - if I felt that I were being forced against my will to change the name of the site to conform to Linden Lab's sudden rule change, I would put up a fight. After discussions with them, however, that is not the case.
I had a long phone conversation today with someone at LL, which admittedly started out quite hostile on my part. I addressed the many frustrations I have, including the feeling that LL is throwing out the very community support that built it now that they no longer need it for growth. I also pointed out the absurdity of the two generic noun rule, and that it seemed particularly pointed at existing large sites that have provided tremendous benefit to Linden Lab for free. We discussed at length the issues that I have, and what LL's perspective is, and also the larger picture for my site.
Ultimately, after considering what is best for my site's long term growth, I have decided I do not want this site's branding and content to be limited by or so dependent upon Second Life, especially at a time when the virtual world space is beginning to rapidly evolve beyond Second Life. In other words, I don't want this site to be associated solely with
SL, but to stand on its on.
Over the summer, I will be changing the domain and name of the site, with the SLUniverse.com domain still redirecting to this site at least through the end of the year. I do not yet know what the new name will be - I am open to realistic suggestions. I would like it to be something that encompasses the concept of virtual worlds and community - but is unique and memorable.
I will also phase out slpics.com and begin using the snapzilla.net domain name in an effort to further establish Snapzilla as it's own brand. While it is an
SL only picture site at the moment, with the addition of image uploads, and the maturation of Open Simulator and other projects, I will be expanding its scope as well in the future.
Thank you to those who expressed support about fighting the name change. I am very happy with my decision to change the name on my own terms and timetable - it is the right thing to do for this site, regardless of Linden Lab's wishes. They did actually turn out to be quite supportive in a way I did not expect, given how badly all this had been communicated and handled so far.
Thank you also to you all for helping to create a site that I am proud of and want to fight for in the first place.
-Cristiano