Today, Linden Lab is (finally) publishing its much-anticipated Q2 metrics for Second Life, something I have been pushing for over the last few months. Last night, I transcribed the material the Lab provided, and added observations and commentary to it. You’ll find that below.

For the lazy, the rushed, and the hard-of-thinking, here’s a quick summary:

• Reporting has changed. Linden Lab isn’t publishing all the old familiar figures, particularly a couple that took a swan-dive during the quarter. This is because they are ‘not indicative’, apparently.
• User-to-user transactions are deprecated (again). Apparently the Lab has trouble figuring out which figures are and aren’t ‘indicative’.
• Certain statistical feeds are to be shut down. They will be ones that the Lab feels are not ‘indicative’.
• Linden Lab indicates that the economy is stable, but there aren’t sufficient metrics provided to support that position.

Everything else requires more explanation, so on with the show.

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