Obviously there has been a ton of talk across the internets about this “Virtual Decatur” concept, but I noticed that – not surprisingly – nearly all of it is just packaging and repackaging of what’s already stated on the city’s Virtual Decatur page.  Personally, I was curious where this idea originated and if the city was surprised by the amount of attention its getting from tech blogs/websites worldwide.

So, I followed up with the city yesterday and RFI coordinator Lena Stevens was good enough to reply to my inquiry earlier today.

She reiterated that no money has yet been budgeted for Virtual Decatur and no timelines on decisions have been established.  If/when a time comes for decisions to be made, Stevens reassures us that there will be ample oppertunity for public comment.

In terms of where the idea originated, Stevens explains that the Decatur City Commission thought it up with the original intent of viewing potential Decatur development in a 3D space  and the idea “branched out” from there “to include the entire Decatur experience – people, businesses and government. Rather than reading about Decatur on a flat website, users could experience the community by interacting with one another as well as with city officials.”

In regards to the online response, Stevens says that the city was “surprised by the amount of media buzz surrounding the release of the Request for Information”, but chalks it up to the cutting-edge aspect of the technology being considered.

Though the city has yet to receive any final submissions for Virtual Decatur, Stevens says that “10-15 companies have notified me of their intent to respond.”  She also promises that “more details about this project will be made available after the responses have been received and analyzed.”

Speaking for myself, I would like to see a comparison of the cost of the commission’s original idea (a 3D model of a potential development) versus this more involved and expanded one.  Because while I have reservations about the “Second Life” version, I think a place to view 3D models of potential developments from a bunch of different angles could be quite useful.   While I appreciate the city thinking outside the box in terms of communication, I’m worried that the more far-reaching version could potentially overshadow the original idea.

In case some of you didn’t see this comment from Deb yesterday, she inadvertently confirmed that YDFM is now strictly enforcing its new “All Sales Final” policy…even on stuff you cannot smell/taste/see before opening.

I purchased a gallon of organic milk on Friday. It was sour and had big chunks in it. I took it back the next day (with my receipt-I had spent nearly $80 the day before). The shelf on it was 1-17-09. I stood in the customer service area for about 15 minutes when a “punk” with a coach name tag showed up and pointed out the NO RETURNS on the receipt. I left the milk, my receipt. The Peachtree Ind Blvd Farmer’s MKT went under recently. These clowns need to discover customer service or they too could lose it all.

I will never again purchase any packaged item here. I have previously purchased sliced cheese that tasted like mold. I guess they don’t clean the blades too often.

Buyers Beware: on the bottom of the receipt it says NO RETURNS.

It is impossible to know if sealed items like milk are rotten.

You get what you pay for…and I guess those low prices also buy you some inflexible rules and really unsympathetic customer service.