Lord Tristan’s Blog

I suppose its time for another post. I've been neglecting it and many other things as I've found myself more and more caught up in the IMVU Forums. Which.. scratch that. I've been reminded that as a member of the APC, I set an example in the community. How I handle things, how I speak, how I treat others, and how I deal with situations is important - others will judge by it, and possibly begin following suit. It seems I should probably remember that in my blogging as well - as some may read this from the forums. Either way to me it seems a touch ridiculous.
 I've been told I lack tact.. which is only half true. I perform very well in sensitive situations and what have you, on the other hand - I don't handle people with kiddie gloves. I'm not sure exactly at what point we as people began thinking we were responsible for other peoples fragile feelings. I suppose it should be comforting to know that I have that kind of power over other people - that I can completely rip their hearts out with nothing more than a flip comment. It's not though, its an annoyance. As a person who doesn't hold back, tells things how it is, and lays the truth out like an H-Bomb - I don't feel that I need to treat adults like children and " sugar-coat " things so that they don't get their little feelings hurt.
 I grew up being taught " If the truth hurts - change it. " If the shoe fits.. wear it. Be accountable for yourself and only yourself. Do not hold back your thoughts and opinions because it may sting others. These are real simple things to understand. They're also tools that served me well in Yahoo as I faced off with idiotic bastards who's single goal in life was to create chaos and make others miserable. I'm really starting to miss serving people's asses on a silver platter for them to chew on. There is a huge rush of handing someone their ass.. perhaps too big of a rush. I don't believe the rush is from hurting people.. it comes from serving the smack down where its deserved - ESPECIALLY when its being asked for. I can't count on my hand the last couple of days of how many people have needed to have their asses handed to them simply because they don't stop to think first.
 The people in IMVU are different from Yahoo Chatters. The majority of them are good people.. its these people that I willingly represent on the APC.. these are the people I fight for.. but then there are people who make a lot of assumptions, believe everything that comes out of someone's mouth simply because the person is popular, allow their emotions to rule them - and end up catering to their own perceptions. Its easy to get frustrated on the IMVU Forums right now - especially with all of the things going on.. but it seems even easier to some to assume. These are the people that I can't be blunt with.. the people I can't drop the bottom line on.. the people I have to handle with " kiddie gloves ". The majority of the community respond well to the truth.. they listen and offer their own thoughts. They may not like what they hear.. but they can respect it because its coming from a truthful place. They're frustrated, irritated, and upset - but they're committed. They're ready to go to the mat and keep on fighting for what they deserve. Then there are the ones who simply want everything yesterday, who demand over and over things that simply aren't going to happen BAM right now, who cater to the popularity, who listen to the rumors, who take a stance based upon how others feel - instead of they themselves truly feel. Maybe the community isn't that much different from Yahoo after all.
  As I write this, I remind myself over and over that anything that comes easy isn't worth having. If you're not willing to fight for it, you don't deserve it. Its harsh, but its honest. How you fight however is comparable to tact. You can rush in, guns blazing and end up leaving in a pine box.. or you can take a bigger gun and take aim. How you fight depends not on how you personally wish to do so - but how the situation dictates. I've always sucked at picking my battles. As far as I'm concerned.. if 10 battles pop up.. fuck it.. load and go. Don't pick and choose which battle to fight first, or last, or not fight at all. However, again I realize that without strategy you will lose every damn one of them. So going into battles without strategy is tantamount to failure before ever taking one step. It seems to me that the community really needs to get organized, and begin preparing themselves to do what it takes to help make the IMVU community a better place.. or simply walk away from the battle. If your heart isn't set on improving the community and your only concern is your self interests - then you're going to hurt the community.. better to walk away now then to stick around just to fulfill your own self-serving interests.
 For a good week now, things have been building.. well longer than that, but for the most part this last week. I've posted over and over on the threads.. and some didn't like what I had to say - or didn't take the time to read the flashing NEON sign that specifically said I wasn't attacking them - but a policy. I've been posting passionately about any and all things that catch my attention.. and some people are getting their feelings hurt.. not because of what I actually have to say - but because of their own perspectives. I walked the line for awhile, watching some get more and more pissed.. getting upset.. and baiting. Its funny to me when people try to bait me.. it really is. As a person who isn't controlled by anyone.. no matter how passionate I am - no one can bait me unless I want to be baited. And when I am baited and I respond.. its because I was waiting for the opening to drop the bomb.. not matter how big or small it is. Thus, as the week moved forward, and emails, pm's, and calls took place I knew that I was walking that line and I knew I was going to have to answer for it. Which of course I have no issue doing because frankly.. if the truth hurts - change it.
 I've watched people attack each other with snide comments, and rude remarks. I've watched people abuse their positions, I've watched people say one thing in the threads - but know for a fact that its a bold face lie. I've watched people who claim to want the best for the community and behave that way in the forums - but in private serve only themselves. People talk about IMVU not being honest, or dragging them along.. if they only realized that IMVU is only half of the problem. We speak about communication, of teamwork, of solutions.. and when that communication breaks down, or the teamwork isn't followed we point fingers at the Evil Corporations. We don't always know every fact, we don't know whats being said and done behind the closed doors. Some are privileged to it - others aren't. We believe the things that the popular say.. we look for reasons to jump. We jump for the wrong reasons.. reasons that are the result of self-interests. There are always 2 sides to every story.. and before you begin believing what one side says - you should wait and hear the other side.. then decide whats true. To believe one side out of blind loyalty isn't a wise thing to do. More often than not, you're being played.
 Sometimes it pays to simply voice your opinion, wait, and watch. Actions speak louder than words - and sometimes actions aren't immediate, or they're not seen. Sometimes one person does more or less than another.. and no one really knows who's actually doing what - and we believe what one person says without knowing all the facts.
 As I strap on the kiddie gloves and await Monday.. I take a deep breath, and doubt the very reasons for the gloves. People look to me because I am passionate, because I'm intelligent, because I'm not afraid to speak my mind.. because I'll go for the throat and not let go until the battle's won - at least thats what I've been told time and time again.. and I have to wonder.. who stands to gain the most when I have to wear kiddie gloves and tone it down? Who stands to gain the most when I can't go for the throat because it may hurt feelings.. The Community? Do they stand to gain the most when I'm on leash? Or am I more effective to their cause without the leash and gloves...
 When they figure it out, it may be too late for me to do anything. Maybe that's the point some would like to see carried out - and the biggest irony? Its not IMVU that's telling me to be a good boy.

 Lord Tristan
 

 So.. I'm on my own little hooligan holiday at the moment. I've decided to take this little weekend off from anything major and have a little downtime before Monday.
 Things with IMVU have been hectic, dramatic, frantic and numerous other things as the Adult Community struggles with IMVU policy and restrictions. The AP Forum has been an adventure to say the least, for a few moments of discussions I found my old " Yahoo " self creeping to the front. There were times where I wished that the forums were more like Yahoo where I could rip into trolls and drama queens without any regards to personal feelings. At the same time though I kept reminding myself that everyone was frustrated, and burned by all of the restrictions, trespasses, and insults that IMVU had been shelling out for awhile now. It seems that in the heat of the moment when debates and opinions clash, we tend to turn upon each other instead of focusing on the battle.
 The recent battles which have included reimbursement of disabled Mature Content Items ( and even some items that weren't mature.. ), the inequality of the TOS enforcements, and the formation and nomination of the APC and its members, have been all uphill it seems. However, between protests, debates, flaming, petitioning, and attitudes.. it seems that we are making progress over all. Even though it seems like everything is going to be uphill no matter what.
 All in all, I'm happy with the outcome. The new APC ( Access Pass Committee ) that has been formed to deal with the issues regarding the Access Pass and everything that falls under it.. is promising. I still hold my reservations as to wether or not IMVU will listen to the APC or the community. Honestly, I'm excited and ready to get to work along with my teammates on the APC, and I'm ready to start seeing some positive changes. All things take time, but there is a limit as to how much time is acceptable. I believe there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed and I don't think IMVU has a year to address them and fix them. I also know that the AP Community is ready to see some changes, and of course the expectations and scrutiny of the community are to be expected. Most of us have warned IMVU that every move they make at this point will be under heavy scrutiny from the community. They should expect it and be ready to stand up and answer for everything they do at this point - that doesn't include " Because we said so. I think many of us heard this line growing up, and as adults.. its not acceptable. There is a reason for everything, regardless if someone has the balls to explain the reasons - they still exist.
At this point, I'm trying to remain optimistic and hopeful of the future. At the moment, the APC team is waiting on Monday for more information and details from Nino regarding the " how " " what " " when " etc. The coming week should be interesting.
 In other areas, since before the whole AP Castration I was working on my products - fine tuning, tweaking, coloring, and product pages. Sadly enough I haven't had a lot of time to work on my products as I was active in the forums. Here in the coming weeks I'll work on my products and unhide them from the catalog as each one is completely finished. On the plate as well is the Horizon Developers Guild that Jen and I put together. Thankfully Jen is willing to take over on some of the duties of the HDG since my nomination to the APC went in. The HDG is slow going, but I figure eventually it will pick up the pace and become more and more active. So the APC Nomination comes at a good time while the HDG is still starting off. It allows me to focus on my duties of the APC, and still keep an eye on the HDG.
 All of it seems a lot to handle, but I'm fairly confident that I'll have little problems multi-tasking. To be honest I'm not happy unless I am multi-tasking. It seems that I do my best, and accomplish more when I'm multi-tasking projects and it keeps me busy. Its sort of like self-medication for my ADHD to stay busy at all times, concentrating my focus on 2 or 3 major deals at once. My creativity on them all tends to shine brighter and I feel more complete within. Of course I may just be crazy *Grins*
 So.. that's pretty much a wrap. I have a few smaller projects going on.. such as my IMVU homepage, as well as putting my server computer back together and get it running for better hosting. At the moment I'm just going to relax and do as much as I can as I can.
 Anyways.. Best Wishes All,
 Lord Tristan

Welcome visitors to my blog.
 I decided to begin a blog here on Vox in order to combine my various blogs - at least until I get my old servers back up and running - if I ever bother.
 This blog will contain various content from IMVU, Yahoo, etc... but more than anything it will be full of my opinions and thoughts regarding life and the world. It's not for the weak of heart... I make no apologies for my opinions or my words. I'm very dominant, open-minded, intelligent, and quick to lend my voice to issues I believe in. If you are someone who keeps a closed mind, or believe you have a say in how someone lives - other than yourself, then this blog probably isn't for you and it will probably upset you to the point of irrational babbling and incoherent thoughts.
 Keep in mind that I allow anyone to comment on my blog and share their opinions - as long as they can do so intelligently and respectfully. You may not like what I have to say - but there isn't a rule in the Book Of Life that says you are required to like it or anything else. So.. if you can comment with respect for others, leave idiocy out of the equation along with flaming - then I would be delighted to converse with you. If you are on a crusade against a certain politics, religion, or morality... then you will find I will be quite swift and severe in my comments and responses. I tolerate nothing in terms of harassment, bashing, or hate - unless it's my hatred of stupidity.. That I tolerate quite well actually.
 So.. best wishes to all.. and welcome to my blog.

 Lord Tristan
 
Note: At the moment I am working on importing blog posts from other areas, everything listed prior to this post are those archived posts from other areas.

Note 2: If you are a member of the IMVU Community - newbie or otherwise, feel free to check out my forum and homepage. The links are listed on the blog.

Wow..
It's been a busy week, especially with the latest commotion regarding the removal of Mature products from the IMVU Catalog, and from people's inventories. Needless to say its caused a lot of issues for most, including a lot of arguments, decisions, and comments. I won't go into the details of this entire matter because.. well simply because. There's not really much to discuss on the topic to be honest.
Needless to say, it has caused me to set up a few projects of my own. One of which is the Horizon Developers Guild.. the link in this blog is for the Forum site where anyone can sign up as long as they have membership on IMVU, please read the rules however before signing up for an account. For those who are wishing the banner for their pages, simply leave me a message on this blog, and I will get one out to you. To get to the forum simply click the banner above.
I am still in the process of organizing catalog images and pages of my current projects.. once that is complete, I intend to go back over existing products and tweak them for graphical appeal. I'm not sure how long it will take, but when it's done I will begin my next Product.. wether its a bundle or something else. I'm not entirely sure.
Something else I do need to mention. Due to some issues with the IMVU Mature Content Policy, I have taken some time to re-evaluate my existing products and their ratings. Because the Policy is open to a lot of interpretation.. it's hard to determine at times what age range a product is appropriate for. The biggest product I have is the Shot Gun that comes with the Midnight Cowboy and Cowgirl Bundles.. according to what I believe - its not an item that a minor needs to have access to. However, the male bundle has sold at a large rate and many have access to it. If I leave the item in the bundle, I would have to restrict the entire bundle.. which means that you would have to have an Access Pass in order to use it. I do not believe that is fair to my customers. Therefore I will be pulling the item from the bundle and replacing it with something that is rated for General Audience. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but that is simply the best way I feel to deal with it completely. The other option however is to simply leave it alone, until such a time when IMVU feels that guns are not suitable for minors and restricts the entire bundle because of the shot gun included.
Those of you who have any thoughts on this matter and possible solutions, please leave a comment on this blog so that I can get a better idea of what it is I need to do regarding the product.
Thank you all and Best Wishes...

Lord Tristan

Hello All..
The Midnight Cowgirl Bundle has been finished. I'm not completely satisfied with a few things on the Cowboy and Cowgirl bundles, and I intend to edit them a little and make a few changes. Outside of that I have some organization, photo, and catalog work to do on all of my products. Some of you may have noticed the new look on my catalog pages.
Before I begin all of that work however, I have many things going on IRL, and I will be taking a little time off to deal with them. I will not be releasing any new items in the foreseeable future. Once the catalog and all of my items that are currently out are dealt with, I will begin my next project.
I do not have a timetable in mind for how long I will be taking a break, maybe just a few days or so, but I will check messages daily when I can find time to do so. If I do not reply to a message it will be because there isn't anything I really have to say. However, if you have an issue etc.. I will do my best to help. Thank you all for your understanding.
Best Wishes to all... Lord Tristan

Well...
The last two weeks have been fairly busy for me IRL, including a birthday. I am now 31 years of age for anyone who is interested.
I tore apart my old homepage due to some things not working correctly, and it looking cluttered. I have as of today added a new sticker, rearranged, reworded, and removed some older stickers and comments from my modules. I believe the revamped look is quite better and now I'm once again satisfied with the page.
Now that I have finally made my way back here, and gotten caught up on messages, etc I am ready to get back to developing. My time this coming month will be limited, but it's my goal to finish the Midnight Cowgirl line. The hat/hair combination hasn't sold as well as I had hoped, but it hasn't deterred me from continuing whatsoever. Expect to see more items from the line to appear in the catalog. Its a wrap.. best wishes to all.

Lord Tristan

http://www.imvu.com/catalog/index.php?manufacturers_id=8915936&filter_id=509

Hello once again...
So this week I have been concentrating on the Midnight Cowgirl Bundle.. So far so good. Following in the footsteps of the Midnight Cowboy Bundle I have selected the individual clothing pieces that I wish to include, gathered templates of each item so that I can recolor, grabbed opacity maps on items that allowed their use, and of course tested each clothing piece to ensure that all the items would work properly together before I ever derived from them. Tedious process like all things, but I ran into some nice flukes. One of course was the fact that there are virtually no " work boots " for females. Although there seems to be an obsessed fascination with high heeled boots. Which.. anyone who's ever worked on a farm or ranch understands that no cowgirl would ever make the mistake of wearing high heels.. boots or shoes out to work in. Can you imagine the many ankles being twisted while carrying out chores like tossing bales to horses? Ah fashion...
Another issue I have ran in to is that there are no cowgirl hats that can be used really. While I could merely use the male version of the cowboy hat for a female, as some others have done, there are very few female hairs that would work with it. This lead me to the discovery of Yumi's cowgirl hat which comes with hair included. This caused a small issue because obviously we all enjoy options. The thought of every female who purchases my bundle running around with the same tired hair is not an appealing thought, and I do not believe my customers would even bother with the hat by itself or within a bundle.
Following that logical train of thought I have created a total of 24 variations of the Midnight Cowgirl Hat. Ultimately, I have created 8 different hair colors, with 3 tone sets to each. I believe this should provide enough variations to keep everyone happy. However, if someone wishes to have the Cowgirl Hat with a tone I have not created, alls they need to do is ask and I shall see what I can do when time allows.
The worse part of developing.. advertisement and promotion. Tedious work it is.. and probably always will be when it comes to providing images of your products, hosting the images on a website so you can display them on your product pages. Catalog Images, Promo Images, Slide shows.. all helpful in giving your customers a better idea of what it is they are thinking about purchasing. I'm a stickler on this because I as a customer want to know what I'm getting before I ever dish out my credits. So to sum it up.. with the help of my lovely wife, Lady MoonGlow ( Thank you babe for all of your help and keeping me focused on the task.. you did *Grins* ) I was able to get 24 catalog images up, and 4 promo images of each hair set. Many many images... I love that Paint Shop Pro is fast enough to keep up with my fingers when I am blazing through keyboard short cuts.
Back to tedious.. I was hosting images using PhotoBucket, but I discovered that PhotoBucket allows only 10 slide shows on it's free account.. and that simply will not do. So I am looking at the options and trying to decide what I need to do next. Meanwhile, the rest of the Midnight Cowgirl Bundle is on hold while I deal with the hat/hair issue. Once it has been solved, I will begin work on the rest of the bundle. For those of you interested, stay tuned.. more Nocturnal Designs Developer News coming as needed.

Lord Tristan

http://www.imvu.com/catalog/product_info.php/Male-Bundles/The-Midnight-Cowboy-by-LordSoulFire/products_id/604420

Hello All,
Tonight I finished up some last minute changes and whatnot on my latest release(s). After a few weeks of working with little break, I am now proud to announce the release of the Midnight Cowboy Bundle. I will still be tweaking the product page and whatnot, but it's ready to go. Complete with 11 products in the bundle, if you're looking for a complete set to take your avatar to the country, it's the bundle for you.
It amazed me that it took me awhile to get all of the products finished, but a few bugs here and there in the development process held some things up. I am proud though that I was able to release my first bundle with so many products included. I was going to do a bundle for each outfit, but I decided I wanted to do it a better way. There are enough pieces of clothing in the bundle for a lot of rotation to keep your avatar from getting too bored.
At the current cost.. which I will be the first to say I believe is too high. I'm not happy with the cost of the bundle which is 7,700 credits. I wanted it to be a lot less. However.. assuming you know how the credit breakdown goes in IMVU, if I set it in the 4,000 credit range like I wished to do, I would have lost credits on every sale. So if anyone complains about the price, I'll just take the complaints and apologize I supposed. At the same time, even though I did not create the meshes of the products, but merely re colored and tweaked them.. I'm proud of it.. especially seems as it's my first bundle.
A nod of appreciation and a thanks to Terence69 for his advice and help with the shirt and vest. I ran into a few glitches and issues and he was kind enough to get me going in the right direction. Its great to be able to ask for help when you hit a wall and people are willing to give a hand when they can. So, thank you Terence for coming to my rescue, I appreciate it.
I guess that's it for the moment.. future development news.. as soon as I have the product page done for all of the bundle and each item, I will begin work on the Midnight Cowgirl Bundle.. stay tuned.

Lord Tristan

Huh.
It's been an interesting past few days. I have been busy with numerous projects - which it seems the more I get done, the more I go back over what I've done for another pass. OCD Perfection I suppose. At the moment I am working on creating a Sticker Tutorial complete with Banner Creation, as well as my Midnight Panther who I have recently recolored.. which I may do yet again if it doesn't turn out better than the last. However, with the changes on the panther.. I don't see them when I load him into my 3D Rooms so I think I've broke it or IMVU has glitched again. I'm not sure obviously what's going on with it but when I figure it out or someone tells me I'll make a note of it.
On my other projects list is the Nocturnal Chaos Design which I am still building. I foresee a few changes coming on the horizon, including a new name possibly which will send me back to editing banners, etc. So besides recruiting developers for the Nocturnal Chaos Design, I'm also working on the first line of products to release right off the bat. We shall see though.. all in all it's been hectic and I haven't found a lot of time to chat which is disappointing because I see some wonderful people visiting that I just don't seem to have a lot of time for right now. I hope that people can understand why and not think me rude.
Well that's enough for now I believe, back to work..

Lord Tristan