It seems to be, at least when it comes to the Detach Bug which has been eating HUDs for the last few months. As I blogged about in April, there is a way to get your HUDs and other attachments back when they disappear after detaching. But only Linden Lab customer service can do it for you.
But there were two problems.
Why?
Nock Forager found a way to reproduce the detach bug and posted it at jira.secondlife.com:
1. Open build menu.
2. rez new box object.
3. rename it “Object A”.
4. Attach “Object A” to Left hand.- Open inventory list and use filter key “object” make easier what will happen. -
5. You see “Object A” under the Objects folder.
6. Copy “Object A” and paste it in same folder.
7. Rename new “Object A” to “Object B”.
8. Drop “Object B” on floor (rez it).
9. Wear “Object B” directly from floor.Obserbed:
“Object A” dissapear from inventory.“Object B” appear under the Library folder as “worn on left hand”, but it just a shadow. You can’t rez it. And relogging make it completely disappear.
Should be:
“Object A” should remain under Objects folder as unweared.
“Object B” should located under Objects folder.
Notice that he is attaching these objects directly while they sit on the ground. This may not be the only way to trigger this bug, but it only reinforces what should be a law for HUDDLES users. Once again:
If you have suffered from this bug, please post a comment to confirm whether or not you ever wear your HUD directly from the ground.
It’s simply unacceptable that Linden Lab has no pathway for Basic users to recover lost inventory. Inventory Loss is still pervasive. There has been a rash of inventory problems in the last couple of months. Basic users who lose inventory are typically power users in Second Life. They rent land, they buy lindens on the Lindex and they are the bulk of customers who buy products from content creators. It’s appalling that Linden Lab’s official response to their plight is “go premium or go away.” Collectively they contribute mightily to Linden Lab’s bottom line, they deserve at least some minimal service when their property disappears because of Second Life’s faulty code.
There should be a quick and easy way for Basic users to request an inventory repair from customer service. They should add either a way for a Basic member to request one, or a way for all of us to run one ourselves through the website.
Please take the time to vote for this issue on the jira: https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/WEB-656
I now strongly suggest anyone who is a basic member of Second Life and who has lost inventory to become a premium member so that you can get customer support on the matter. I have been hesitant to recommend this because I was not sure that it would help. However, over the last few days, I’ve heard of several cases of people who have managed to get support and retrieved their lost HUDs (and other items).
In the mean time, I’m going to research other ways we can lobby Linden Lab to both fix the bug that is causing this latest rash of inventory losses and to create a channel where Basic members can get support for inventory issues.
I also found this issue on jira, I think this deserves many, many votes: To gather Inventory loss troubleshooting data, let Basic users submit tickets for loss.
Inventory loss bugs affect many Premium & Basic users. Linden has been interested in getting timely data to help track down the causes. However currently, only Premium users may submit tickets about inventory loss. By not allowing Basic users to submit tickets about this, Linden is losing all the troubleshooting data they could provide. And clearly, it’s needed. Linden should start letting Basic users submit inventory loss tickets. Besides, Basic users contribute to the economy, by buying items, buying/renting land, etc. It doesn’t seem fair that there is *zero* official concern when their investment in the economy (items) is affected (lost).
Please note, this issue is not specifically requesting that Linden HELP Basic users (though actually I think it should when we lose items)…it is requesting that we be ALLOWED to help Linden! By giving them data (ticket info) to help them track down bugs that affect everyone.
It’s not enough. Inventory loss should be something that all users of Second Life should be able to get support for, but it’s a start.
PLEASE NOTE: If this has happened to you, please add your comments to this jira entry about the detach bug explaining all the steps you took before the HUD disappeared. Also, for everyone else, please log in and vote for it.
JUNE 23 UPDATE: In order to get help for this, I now advise that you open a support ticket about this. Linden Customer Service has made significant progress in the last couple of weeks to address this. Open a ticket, explain clearly what happened (that your attachment disappeared from your inventory after detaching, after a crash, or after it was replaced by another attachment). Ask for a Directory Repair or Inventory Restart. It will work. At least I don’t know of a case when this fix has failed to return HUDs lost in this manner.
I sent this Linden an IM to thank them and to ask some follow up questions. I’ve removed their name so that he doesn’t get swamped with direct support requests. As always, you should go through the official channels to get support. However, I thought many of my customers would want to know some of the things that he said:
