I hope Linden Lab are listening!

"SNE Anouncment.
December 4, 2008 by Sarah Nerd

Posted in SNE Anouncment.

It is with great sadness that I must announce that SNE no longer has the ability to maintain a successful business in Second Life. With the help of the WSE and investors, two years ago this upcoming May I invested in mainland, estates, and product lines. Over the last few years several factors have gotten in the way including mainland crashes, Linden Lab pricing changes, wse down time, and so on. I have worked hard and tried to keep SNE afloat but I can not overcome the latest factors including a slowed economy, all time low rentals, and the latest OS 67% price increase. All SNE assets will be liquidated and any lindens received will be divided among shareholders according to percentage owned. All trading will be ceased at this time, and I will get a more detailed statement out in the next few days. "

It is a sad day for everyone when something like this happens.
Sarah has long been a spokesperson for Linden Lab and Secondlife, bringing in new business and having a business model that everyone looked to follow.
I would say her only mistake was trusting LukeConnell Vandeverre even, as everyone else saw, he was conning them Sarah continued to support him.
Linden Labs needs to look long and hard at their business practices when they lose such a huge supporter and I hope that if nothing else comes of this that they do realise they messed up BIG time!
More from Nicolo in the FINANCE section

A message to Sarah,
You have long supported sl-newspaper and were one of the first ever sponsors and now our longest supporter. If there is anyway we can help please feel free to get in touch.
JamesT and Dana

Sarah Lashes out and is suspended

Last Tuesday when Linden Lab announced the price hike to the openspace sims feelings ran extremely high - from renters who would never be able to own their own sim or island to big estate owners and land barons.
One of Linden labs biggest supporters has always been Sarah Nerd even when LL dropped the prices and caused most land owners to re-evaluate Sarah still supported them and adapted her business plans accordingly. The price decrease left most estate owners gasping back then and struggling to make ends meet - after all their business had been devalued overnight.
With this new increase in tier payments for ALL - not just new islands - everyone who bought into the Linden lie are angry and disillusioned.
I must admit to being shocked when I heard Sarah had been suspended for voicing her anger, not because she said 'F*** you Linden Lab' but because Linden Lab had the gall to suspend her for doing so. Talk about wanting to make an example - well LL if you want to do that there is nothing like attacking a staunch supporter!
In her blog on Your 2nd Place Sarah tells us how she felt and reading it is a moving experience:
"I was ashamed of myself. Not because I said f***, but because it was the realization that the game I love, had no love for me."
This one sentence sums up how many are feeling about Linden Lab and Secondlife right now more so than anything else I have heard said about the whole mess.
At the time of her suspension Sarah said:
"I was worried because the next 3 days I'll be working on a contract with a major university on a presentation for next week to help show the benefits of investing in SL for educational purposes."
I must admit I would not be promoting SL to anyone if I were in Sarah's shoes, but I guess she is a model resident which makes Linden Labs treatment of her even worse.
"In RL I talk about how wonderful Second Life is to anyone who listens. Even when I am angry at them, I still love the game and the people. I couldn't believe that moments after they made an announcement that I knew probably meant the end of my estate business I was suspended for voicing my anger with a group of my peers. Did they expect everyone to be quiet and take it? Is it because I used the word f***? I wasn't the only one who did but I was singled out for it. The answer to me saying "F*** You LL" was to take away my ability to do the work that allows me to pay them thousands of dollars in tier??"
The temporary ban was lifted after an appeal to live help who believed Sarah had been treated harshly - What an understatement!
By Dana Vanmoer
Quotes used with permission