PostHeaderIcon Merry Christmas, F*ck-you Very Much

So, who is more wrong, a person cheating on someone or the cheated person who discovers the cheat?
We've all heard about how people 'game the system' - especially with classifieds and the events calendar in SL. But what about when people 'game' each other? We all know how hot and heavy emotions can get in SL. And when they get hot and heavy in negative space, duck and run.
I hope not to insult anyone's intelligence, but we all know there are two basic camps in SL. Those who immerse themselves into a fantasy world - whatever that world may be, and those who view SL as simply another tool to extend who they really are. Sometimes the two will clash, but not always. For the most part, we seem to all get along quite happily.
Now, in the immersion world, A.K.A. 'Role Play' - many misunderstanding can take place. After all, when your sole means of communication is written text, there just isn't much to go on and most (myself included) are not very good writers, especially on-the-fly the way live chat will require.
Hence, there is so much missing from our standard means of communication. There is no body language, no facial expression and, without voice (as most role players choose not to use it) not even simple voice inflection.
This means you must try your best at following the old adage of 'say what you mean and mean what you say'. The problem is that most of us are always 'reading between the lines' whether we realize it or not. Far too often do we take a statement to mean something it was never intended to mean, or out of the intended context.
Then there are those who do use voice. Far less miscommunication happens there, but it does still happen. And many times those using voice don't use it exclusively. When that happens, see above.
We've all seen the cliche "SL is SL and RL is RL, never the two shall meet" in so many profiles. Especially in the "1st Life" tab. However, feelings and emotions are real in SL and sometimes that mash-up does happen. Even rather willingly for those who consider SL simply a chat tool, instead of an immersible role-play experience.
So I've managed to find myself closer than I want to be to what is likely not a very unique scenario in SL and the emotions were definitely hot and heavy, in every sense of the words.
Now, granted, this is all from my perspective and understanding. But let's just consider it hypothetical in jest, shall we? Now, as we all know, there are many, many factions in SL. The BDSM world, the Furry world, The Gorean world, The Families (children) worlds, The Star Trek/Star Wars/Battlestar Gallactica/Insert Sci Fi here worlds, the (insert fetish) world and so on.
In this case, we'll just say it's a "Owner/owned" scenario.
Boy meets girl.
Happens often in SL, right?
Boy notes girls profile: Recently released :(
Boy begins talking with girl. She's a little down in mood, but otherwise okay.
Boy and girl chat for a few days, get to know each other.
Girl eventually submits to boy and they become item and relationship begins.
All is good in the SL universe.
Mostly.
They talk and real life is no big secret. They each know where they are in the real world and how they got there. It turns out they are on opposite sides of the planet. Both citizens of the same country, but she is 'overseas' as her job requires. But "time-zone differences are not an issue" because she has unusual sleeping habits and telecommutes - so she is in world all the time and there won't be any problems there.
He spends a lot of money on her (which is stupid as there are a lot of 'gold diggers' out there.) They live happily ever af...
Well...
Three days later, he gets IM'd that (her collar reports) she has 'run away' - and more similar messages from other accouterments she wears as part of her costume in their relationship. A single message directly from her is "Sorry, the time-zones are too out of sync, it won't work."
It turns out her previous owner, whom she had either left or was kicked-out from has demanded she return. She does. Even after she discussed with the 'new' boy how much they (original owner) hated each other.
So they talk off and on for the next month in IM. He tries to convince her to leave him because it's not good for her. Regardless if she comes back to him or not. She eventually leaves the 'original' and returns to the 'new'. She's in a bad way. Emotionally a wreck. It's likely affecting her physically. Over the next couple months they prosper.
She gets well again. She's happy. He's happy. They start what turns into a highly successful business. She builds and he scripts. They share the business and they are inseparable. Always together and happy - constantly. When he arrives in world, she immediately comes to him or, sometimes immediately offers teleport to bring him to her. They allow each to 'map' the other, even becoming official 'Partners' in SL and everything.
All is Shan-gri-La.
Then it happens.
It's Christmas day, 2007.
He comes in world and gets a Christmas greeting from her... but that's it. She doesn't pop to him or offer a TP to her. In fact, she's very slow on her IM replies and not responding, except little snippets of one or two word sentences. Like she's wanting him to leave her alone.
She's asked what she's up to. Her reply is 'oh, nothing.'
Asked again and again - the only 'complete' message that comes through after much prodding is "Up to nothing. Helping a friend decorate his new club. Out with friends. Everything is fine. I'll be with you soon. I need space." She never does return to him after a few hours, by the way.
She's turned off mapping capabilities, doesn't say who these mysterious new friends are, refuses voice calls and is very slow to respond to IM's - so slow it is quite obvious she is highly distracted and involved in something deeper than 'helping decorate' a friend's new club.
Under the circumstances, if this were your partner...
What would you think?
What would you do?
So... in the short of it, she is discovered 'cybering' and 'playing' with someone else. Okay, in SL a pixel is a pixel, and everything is a cartoon. But if it's voice cybering with someone else... is that really a cheating tryst? What about his learning of it - is that a 'stalker'?
She discovers he discovers she is cheating. She explodes in fierce anger. Breaks their partnership, removes friendship, basically cuts all cords. Her complaint is that she's "freaked out" that he "stalked and hunted her down" (this IS SL, by the way.) She claims she was with a friend - having fun creating 'blackmail' naughty pictures for kicks. He says it wasn't he who found her cheating, but a friend. She sys it was an alt of his.
Merry F*ing Christmas, love.
As for me - I don't care the reason, she's cheating on him. As for the 'stalking' claim - please. You allowed mapping of each other. Suddenly you're so secretive that you turn off mapping and refuse to answer any questions and the like? And then you are 'freaked-out' that he actually suspected something was up and wanted to know what? Okay, the word "stalking" and "Second Life" just don't seem to fit. But, I digress.
So... even if she's right that it was an alt of his and she was only 'goofing around' - who's more wrong? He for 'hunting her down' with probable cause or she for doing the cheating in the first place, even if it was only 'goofing around'?
Honestly, to me - she was.
Sp, she dissolves the partnership, unfriends him, basically cuts all cords and relations whatsoever. He's devastated, would prefer they stay together. (Stupid idiot. Pay attention to the red flag, with you?)
But I guess it's all moot now.
Maybe they haven't kissed, but they have made-up. They continue to run the business together. She builds, he scripts. She now has low-cost personal land equaling more than a quarter of his sim. She has said she wouldn't trade any of their experience together for anything and he's "a good friend" and he feels likewise.
He's since found another girl and she chooses to remain solo and has expressed she doesn't care about his new relationship one way or the other. Perhaps not Shan-gri-La, but fair enough. They are both apparently happy and the world turns.
Update: well, apparently she has gone to him for many needs and assistance in her prim building, security systems, store management, and whatever else she has questions about or needs assistance with.
In one of her IM's she wanted to make a request for something, and he asked her to get back with him a bit later. It turns out he was 'enjoying time' in his new relationship. Apparently, her feelings of 'not caring one way or the other' wasn't entirely true. The conversation explodes. Suddenly she is on the attack and he tries to brush it off just to let it die... until finally he explodes, too. (I've seen the exchange. Note 'red flag' above.)
So, now she has banned him from her personal land (on his own sim) - she exclaims that he is not to have anything to do with the store and that she plans to tear it all down at the end of the month, customers-be-damned. Demands he leave the store groups (they are both owners of the groups) and that he stop selling anything he has that is based on her design (that she built and he has scripted) and then bans him from the store land (on his own sim) even though he still has objects for sale. She returns all of his in-progess projects whether she created the prims or not. and then takes the "I'm a victim" angle in everything she says.
Okay, is there something wrong with this picture?
Not as much with being banned from land on a sim he owns, but rather with her reaction and subsequent activities and attitude. I reiterate: red flag, glowing very very brightly. I suspect if they were in the same room, he'd be dead by now.
A fit of jealous rage, perhaps? I certainly think so.
I believe she has... erm... 'issues'.
After all, she's the one who called it quits the first time. Yes, this part of the story is strictly my own comments and definitely from my perspective and opinion.
To her: Lady, give it up. You are the one who ended the relationship when he didn't want to. He has someone new and you apparently can't stand the thought of being replaced. So, you don't want him, but no one else can have him? Grow up, please. You cut the cords... twice. You make decisions in the middle of a silly, jealous rage and act on them. The way I see it, the only one who will end up getting hurt in it will be you. So I recommend you step back, take a few deep breaths and actually think about what you're doing. And don't act on decisions made when you are angry. Only fools and idiots do that.
To him: Sir, move on and leave her behind. Give up and stop trying to be so nice and amicable and all that crap. If you want to let her continue her store and personal land on your sim, go for it. But keep your distance. She wants her cake and to eat it, too. You'd be wiser and happier if you simply didn't allow that to happen.
Yes. I take his side in it. You have to know these people to understand why. And, there is something going on in her personality that causes her to become seriously angry and vindictive. Also, making decisions in the midst of a raging mood is probably not the wisest thing to do.
She is an angry person at heart. Seems to hate everything. Newbies, people who buy the same clothes she does, all other skins other than the ones she buys - but then hates people who wear what she wears, All music except what she likes, All style of clothing, except what she likes... No grey areas here. It's either love or hate. No in-betweens. And if you're wearing something she doesn't like, she'll pile you into that and not like you, too.
Unfortunately, her friends will suffer until it becomes and endless cycle of making new ones and then losing them, and then making new ones to replace the ones she's lost until she loses them and has to make... You get the idea. I'll say this: she has my pity.
To both of you: just go your own way and leave each other alone. Personally, I'm tired of it and I don't want to lose friends. But if a friendship is going to cause me stress and grief, I simply don't need it. It's easier to just move on and start new friendships, leaving all the old, stressful ones behind.
So - welcome to Linden Place, where The World Turns and everyone Searches For Tomorrow. No serials here, please. Lets just let this story end without any sequels. Please?
Now I'm really curious... is he really wrong here? or she? perhaps both. but if that's the case, who's more wrong?
OH! And here's the funny thing in this whole drama: I am dead-certain the whole episode began with a simple miscommunication.
Careful how you live your Second Life. It can get very real and be a little too much like First Life. What do you think?

PostHeaderIcon Virtual World Marketing Gets Reality Check in 2007 - ClickZ

Is Sl finally going to stabalize in the public eye? Perhaps. it is, after all, the advertisers and marketers that get the news out. SL was the darling of the world at the edn of 2006 through mid '07. Then a huge backlash whipped through. But now, are the media waters finally starting to calm down and the storm blow-over?

It looks like it. And as the virtual world marketers finally get their reality check, it seems they will finally start stepping back and evaluating when, what and how to approach virtual world marketing. A great article over at ClickZ:
Virtual World Marketing Gets Reality Check in 2007
"2007, especially early 2007, was the year of Second Life," said Greg Verdino, chief strategy officer for Crayon, a marketing consultancy. "Late '06 through '07 was this interesting virtual world rollercoaster ride, where coming into '07 everybody thought they had to be in Second Life, and they didn't know why."

PostHeaderIcon Simcity Societies The Answer to SL?

So Simcity is coming to MMORPG status.

Though the rev iew of it mentions Secondlife, it sounds like a kiddie game. Well, not much for the entertainment of adults. Might be interesting if you're still a huge Simcity fan. I've personally always loved the game. Not too sure how this one will play out though.

But one thing's for certain: MMORPG and PVW's are here to stay and the competition is only going to heat up. An alternative, likewise competitor to Second Life is in the wings, somewhere, being worked on right now, I'm sure.
Review: Simcity Societies simulation game
The new edition, Simcity Societies, takes things in a different direction. Essentially, its the games answer to virtual worlds such as Second Life.

PostHeaderIcon The Year in Poker: Poker News

So it seems the gambling fiasco of Second Life is still making news. It turns out that the magazine "Poker News" has created a short list of the most significant 'poker news events' of 2007. Second Life, run by "New Jersey-based Linden Labs" (rather than San Francisco-based Linen Lab) made the list.

Okay.

Wow.
The Year in Poker: April, 2007 | Poker News
Online Second Life Universe in Online-Gambling Difficulties — New Jersey-based Linden Labs had created an Internet sensation with its Second Life online universe, where millions of member players enjoyed virtual existences paid for with very real money. Trouble arose when the U.S. government caught wind that virtual casinos were part of the Second Life universe, and while the Linden Dollars used were also virtual, they could be exchanged elsewhere for very real dollars. Over the next three months, Linden Labs excised all gambling from the Second Life online world, leaving it as a somewhat sanitized emulation of real life, at that.

PostHeaderIcon SL Content: King or Curse?

I've been following a Reuters blog thread for a few days now. Even though it's an older story, the thread is still going somewhat. The Reuters story can be found here.

The story is Adam Reuters' report on Meta Lindens blog post of SL Metrics.

The story can be summarized as follows (my own paraphrasing):
'Linden Lab reports improving performance at the server side, but declining performance at the client side.'

In other words, Linden Lab is improving that performance and stability of Second Life on the server side - their machines that actually host the virtual world - making them better. While at the same time, the clients - or the viewer software used by residents on their local computers to connect to the virtual world - are experiencing degraded performance and crashing.

There are many reasons for this and people will be more than happy to throw-in their two-cents. And so am I. >:)

PostHeaderIcon Is This Idiot You?


Ever buy something in SL and it doesn’t come? Doesn’t appear in Inventory? What do you do? IM The creator? What is your disposition when you do?

If you are one of the idiots I describe below, this message is for you.

Second Life has issues. A lot of them. Linden Lab really needs to get their act together, and I’m not referring to the viewer software that sits and runs on your local machine. Rather it’s the back-end that needs serious work.

Don’t get me wrong, the viewer is usually borked, too. But, that affects people on an individual basis. One hiccup in the back-end (server-side at Linden Lab) can really screw everyone on the grid, whether you’re there, logged-in or not.

So sales are singing along just fine and dandy as usual yesterday. I even make a couple purchases through SL Exchange and OnRez (personally, I prefer the latter).

Suddenly, I get an IM about a purchase made from my store… but the product wasn’t delivered from the vendor.

Now, here’s the part that burns me: being told my vendors are screwed up when I don’t use vendors in my store. In other words, you see a sex bed in my store, it's set to sell a copy. You click the buy button, you get a copy of it in your inventory. There is no possible way it can’t ‘deliver’. It’s the original, most basic way to sell anything in SL. It always works. It can’t not work.

Well, unless Linden Lab servers are borked.

Again.

All day yesterday (12-19-07) - LL had major asset server issues. Even to the point that the grid was shutdown completely with only two-minutes notice. If that’s not an emergency, I don’t know what is.

Anyway - before the shutdown, the asset server issues had been going on for a few hours. Here’s the BLOG entry:
If you don’t know, the Asset Server is the server machine(s) and software that keeps track of all objects in SL. That means your house, television, radio, clothes, car, primdick, everything. Even your bed.

Everyone on the grid had trouble rezzing objects, transferring objects, and objects that were placed (rezzed) disappeared into the great black void of nothingness. It was mayhem.

So, back to the IM I received…

First, I’m told a purchase was made, product not delivered, can a replacement be sent directly? Usually, after some polite vetting of the situation, I would do exactly this.

However, in this case, the IM was rude and obnoxious right off the bat. I was being accused of cheating this idiot. That I took his money and 'the vendor' never delivered the product (see above about use of vendors in my store). He demanded the product be transferred to him immediately. Fuckwad.

I explained that the asset server was having problems, that if I tried to transfer it to him it might not work, but that I’d give it a go. I did. I asked if he received it. ‘No.’

Now, please keep in mind, I tried to remain calm and professional, but this individual was belligerent and cussing harder than a 6th generation lifetime sailor. The exchange was becoming heated. I offered to refund his money. He was still cussing up a storm and demanded the product, refusing the money.

So, eventually I just gave him back his money and then I kicked him out of my sim and banned him. I don’t need money from a belligerent idiot. Unfortunately, there are too many of them out there. Are you one of them?

Here’s the most common one I get:

“Hello?” [long wait with nothing else said - please don’t start an IM with someone this way and then just wait for a response] “I bought a [insert scripted product here - such as a sex bed or dynamic throne] and it doesn’t work.”

“What is it doing when you rez it?”

“I don’t know. it doesn’t work”

“What is it doing when you rez it?”

“It’s broken, it’s not working for me.”

“What is it doing when you rez it?”

Get the fucking clue? Telling me ‘it’s broken’ or ‘it doesn’t work’ isn’t saying anything. I need to know what it IS doing - even if your answer is ‘it doesn’t do anything’. So just shut-up and answer my damned question, please?

I usually end-up telling them to pick-up the bed or whatever else it is they bought and then I teleport them to my workshop, where I have control of the environment (scripts allowed, building objects allowed, etc.).

I tell them to rez the bed. Then I edit it and one of the following scenarios occurs:

The bed is fine. Everything is in there. I touch it and it starts loading up the scripts. After a minute or two (there’s a LOT of animations in our stuff) I click it again and low and behold, the menu appears and everything works fine.

It turns out the knucklehead didn’t read the instruction notecard that automatically is offered to them whenever they rez the product. The need to click on it to turn it on for the first time is clearly mentioned.

Or The bed is fine. They do click on it to start it up and don’t read the private owner-only messages that say the [product] ‘is starting up, please be patient’. They start clicking away and nothing happens (it’s still starting up) - so after 10-seconds of no response from the product, it’s “broken and doesn’t work”.

Or, The bed is fine. Turns out they rez the product on land that has scripts turned off (because they don’t have the right group active when they rez it, etc.)

Then there’s my favorite: remember, I sell copies of my furniture - no vendors. The working floor model is what you get a direct copy of when you buy. They are NOT boxed. When you buy it, then drag it from inventory onto the ground, the actual product appears. Start using it right away.

So when I have a complaining customer rez the product at my workshop and I look inside - it’s empty. It turns out the numb-skull had removed the contents from the product into a folder in their inventory.

YAY! Brilliant, you boob! Lets go buy a real life car and take it home and pull the engine out of it and then bitch and cuss out the manufacturer because it doesn’t work!

Even though as soon as you rez it in world a notecard is immediately and automatically offered to you that specifically says “DO NOT OPEN THIS PRODUCT AND COPY CONTENTS TO INVENTORY! Simply click once on it and wait for the scripts to load.”

This is why we, (and many others,) have a clearly posted (though no one ever seems to notice them, right?) refund/exchange policy that explicitly states there will be no refunds and no exchanges except at our discretion. (Because you might be one of the utterly boneheaded buttfaced idiots that Darwin forgot to prevent in the evolution process.)

Oh, and all our stuff is on the floor in our showroom. It’s already rezzed, right there for you to look at it and review it and play with it. What more can we do to help you make sure it’s what you want? So if you buy a product - it’s yours. Don’t come asking for an exchange because it isn't what you thought it was.

However, because we really do want to be customer-friendly, we now offer free demo versions that you can place in your home to check out how well the ‘colors match’ your drapes or whatever. [/me rolls-eyes].

Now, before you go accusing me of being a rude, crude business person that won’t last long, (yes, I am accused of that often,) let me qualify all my rude, crude responses and comments above with this: these are the responses you will get from me when you are rude and crude.

All the world is a mirror.

In other words, you will receive what you dish out. If you are rude and crude with me, I might very likely end the conversation immediately and just kick and ban you and you'll be stuck with whatever 'broken' item you have in your possession. However, if you are respectable and kind, I will be likewise.

I said I had purchased a couple items on SL Exchange during the LL Asset Server SNAFU (before it was known to be a SNAFU yet). They never arrived in inventory. Even though my email from SLX said it was delivered. So, I IM’d the creator. My message was very simple and all in one submission.

I didn't do what most people seem to do: “Hello?”(User offline) “I bought something” (User offline) “I didn’t get it” (User offline) “Can I have another?” (User offline)) - all causing IM's to cap, and spamming this poor guy's email inbox with separate messages.

My entire message was typed out before I pressed the send (enter) key the first time.

My message was simple: “Hello [merchant name] - just purchased [item 1] and [item 2] from SL Exchange. They didn’t arrive - maybe asset server issues, not sure. I am hoping you could send them to me again when you have the opportunity. I apologize for creating a headache for you. :) Thank you very much! [my name]”

A simple, patient, cordial message that gets to the point of what the IM is about (missing inventory) , what I did (make a couple purchases and from where) and what I am asking for (manual replacement). Plain and simple. Now, these items are no copy. Usually, replacements are NOT given in this case. But, I didn’t accuse him of screwing anything up. I know it’s LL’s fault, not his.

I also offered an explanation and made it clear that I wasn’t sure that was actually the problem. I also apologized for bothering him with this issue. And I used a smiley face - to show that I am not all pissed off and grumpy - and that I understand 'shit happens' in SL.

I’m not saying I personally expect incoming IM’s to me of this nature to look and be phrased this way. It’s just how I do it when I am sending an IM to a creator, asking for a replacement delivery of a missing item. But I have also have never been denied a replacement in these situations. Ever.

I find most merchants are understanding. And this one was. This morning in IM (email) I see a message that basically said ‘it shows that it was delivered, but I’ll send you new copies anyway’

SL is still borked, because when I login, all my IMs are usually still there. In this case - they weren’t. (So beware of this, everyone.) Anyway, I thanked the merchant for understanding and asked him to peek at the blog to see what happened and what I thought was the cause, since he was apparently unaware of the circus.

So, if you ever have problems or issues with the delivery of something you purchased - it’s most certainly NOT the merchant’s fault, unless it’s a vendor hiccup (offline, goofed configuration, something to this affect) - in which case, they will get you taken care of.

Except for vendor hiccups, blame Linden Lab. And then communicate politely with the merchant for a replacement. Remember, they are likely getting spammed with angry, rude, crude customers all bitching and cussing them out about the same thing.

Make yourself the one shining star that, at least, gives the impression that you understand the pain he or she is going through and be polite. Use smiley faces and tell them you understand and that there's no hurry. And then really do try to understand.

You will likely be well taken care of - if for nothing else than being the one polite, understanding person in a sea of stupid, rude, crude, obnoxious idiots. And remember, when something like the asset server gets stupid, you aren’t the only one suffering. It’s not just the people buying things, it’s the people selling, too. And everyone else on the grid.

Oh, and as for the asshole who cussed-up a storm and got just plain stupid with me? 5-minutes after I refunded his money and kicked his sorry ass off my sim and banning him… a Linden grid-wide message came through to every resident saying (paraphrased): “Asset server issues - do NOT buy anything or rez anything especially no-copy objects! Do not perform inventory actions whatsoever.”

About 20-minutes later - emergency shut-down of the grid.

I can only hope that asshole feels like… well, an asshole.

So, are you a nightmare customer when things aren’t working right for you?
Come, let me kick your ass off my sim and ban you from all my estates.

PostHeaderIcon Are you the idiot I speak of?

Ever buy something in SL and it doesn’t come? Doesn’t appear in Inventory? What do you do? IM The creator? What is your disposition when you do?

If you are one of the IDIOTS I describe below, this message is for YOU.

Second Life has issues. A lot of them. Linden Lab really needs to get their act together, and I’m not referring to the viewer software that sits and runs on your local machine. Rather it’s the back-end that needs serious work.

Don’t get me wrong, the viewer is usually borked, too. But, that affects people on an individual basis. One hiccup in the back-end (server-side at Linden Lab) can really screw everyone on the grid, whether you’re there, logged-in or not.

PostHeaderIcon Windlight Makes for Ugly Avatars

Over at SLNN, another Windlight review was dropped on their readers (this was posted a week or two ago - I read it then, but wanted to revisit this). Now, in fairness, a new First Look of windlight has been released since then, but the graphic enhancements are still the same.

However, according to the author, and many others, the new Windlight 'look' creates havoc (no pun intended) on Avatar appearances:
The skinny on WindLight and skin
With its physics-based, ever-changing lighting, Linden Lab's beta WindLight viewer can produce spectacular sunsets and realistic rippling water. But some residents aren’t happy about the way it makes their avatars look.

“I appreciate how WindLight has made me look at my sim in a whole different way,” Venus Petrov said. “Unfortunately, it's also made me see my friends in a whole different way, too.”
Specifically, Petrov said, WindLight “dirties the skin” and “creates shadows and lines that aren't there in the regular version.”

I say deal with it. Linden Lab will not be able to satisfy everyone all the time. In truth, I;m not for or against Windlight. I could live with it or without it. I think things are fine just the way they are, but I don't mind the other new features in it as well, such as Avatar Imposters and the like.

Being involved in 3D since 1987, I have to say that the lighting and shadowing in Windlight actually make your avatar and skin look better. Though I do think the default sky color is a bit bright, it is realistic.
The problem is in the comfort zone everyone has fallen into. Change means discomfort because we prefer things the way they are.

I say deal with it and get a 'life'.

PostHeaderIcon Sellers: Caveat Emptor, Too


Caveat:
Noun
"Warning, caution, admonition, proviso, condition, stipulation, provision, clause, rider, qualification... A warning or proviso of specific stipulations, conditions, or limitations."
Origin: mid 16th century: from Latin, literally 'let a person beware.'

Ceveat Emptor:
Noun
"The principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made."
Origin: early 16th century: literally 'let the buyer beware.'
So we all know the 'buyer beware' rule. And it's especially true in Second Life.

However, it's also true for the *seller*.
We are all buyers. Even the sellers are buyers.

For example, in SL - all sellers need a place to sell from. That's not usually an issue. You throw your stuff up on SL Exchange or OnRez.com and away you go. Though most will either buy land to set up shop or rent space in a mall or island.

So, even when shopping for a place to sell , buyer beware.

Don't you just hate when the mall owners just start dropping notecards on people for no reason at all - advertising their malls in the hope you will be anything other than annoyed? Perhaps enough to even consider considering it?

It just so happens I received one of these. It also just so happens I was already in the process of considering vendor space in a few malls, even though I already own my own sim and 1/4 of it is dedicated to my own showroom. Of course it had the usual over dramatic, overstated hoopla. I won't mention the sim, the mall or the owner who spammed me... but even his exaggerated claims were lackluster at best. "the sim had more than 10,000 traffic last week." Okaaaaaay. My 1/4 sim fluctuates between 8,000 and 13,000 every day. So whats so special about a whole sim doing that?

And we don't use camping chairs or dancepads. (Full disclosure - since all this has happened, we did add a sim camper - but it's an object camper that give prizes - and you aren't tied to one spot.)

He told me "no campers".
I said "sell me - why should I rent space from you?"

He didn't do a very good job. No compelling reason at all to even go look. But, I'm short on time and don't want to make the effort of shopping, so I agreed to look around. When I landed, I was immediately unimpressed.

The 'sim' was packed with existing merchants. I wondered if there were any available vendor spaces at all. But I saw camping dance pads immediately. And it was a forced landing point. So, my first thought was which vendor booth can I see from the landing point.

Nothing.

So he shows me a booth. There's one right next to a very prominent, high profile retailer. I take this booth. I pay the rent (first month is free, so it was immediately refunded). It takes me a couple days to set up my temp-rez vendor before I can set anything out.

So I return in three days.
My booth is full of someone else's stuff.
The rental box still has my name on it with 27 days to go.

On top of that - I check the parcel to learn that the mall owner only 'owns' about a 1.4 of the sim - and there's only about 6 prims left. That with about six or seven empty vendor booths left - and no doubt, spam notecards still being distributed.

So, in a rage I Instant Message the owner - and in a someone friendlier tone, the owner of the vendors that are in my booth. To make a long story short - the mall owner had the vendor as a tenant... right where she was. Then he rearranged a bunch of booths (adding more, no doubt) - and returned all her stuff.

Before she could return her things, the owner sold me that booth. But, since I didn't have time to place a sales box yet, the original renter returned, unknowing of my own purchased of that booth. So then I am offered to pick another empty booth and my rental box will be. On top of that, the whole parcel has a whopping sic prims available for me. I should have gotten a clue when the owner said my booth was good for "25 or 30 prims".

Well, I just let that one pass... I left the group and such is (Second) life.
The ironic thing is that I've been in SL since spring 2006 (in a previous account) and have run successful businesses in the past. never had any issues with vendor space and malls, ...until now.

So, even as an 'olbie' - I'm still learning.

Caveat emptor.

PostHeaderIcon Caveat Emptor... for Sellers, Too

Caveat:
Noun

Warning, caution, admonition, proviso, condition, stipulation, provision, clause, rider, qualification... A warning or proviso of specific stipulations, conditions, or limitations.
Origin: mid 16th century: from Latin, literally 'let a person beware.'


Ceveat Emptor:
Noun

the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made.
Origin: early 16th century: literally 'let the buyer beware.'

So we all know the 'buyer beware' rule. And it's especially true in Second Life.

However, it's also true for the *seller*.

We are all buyers. Even the sellers are buyers.
For example, in SL - all sellers need a place to sell from. That's not usually an issue. You throw your stuff up on SL Exchange or OnRez.com and away you go. Though most will either buy land to set up shop or rent space in a mall or island.

So, even when shopping for a place to sell , buyer beware.

PostHeaderIcon Windlight: Fasten Your Seatbelt

Prok has another opinion on things - this time about Windlight, the new graphic angine coming to SL.

I like Prok's articles, though sometimes it's difficult to follow along as 'he' tends to use those big, fancy words and grammar tricks.

This one is well-written. Giving the 'inside scoop' on Windlight the way it really is. yes, I know, Prok isn't the only blogger to complain about the issues with Windlight hosing things up.

But he covers the real issues - not the 'omg! my face looks terrible!' girly-girl diva whining. I actually think the avatars look better in the side-by-side sample pictures I've seen.

Thanks, Prok - this is a good article that mentions the issues we won't really start hearing about until they roll this out. Perhaps your video card is at fault. but that's okay - because I suspect you're in the majority with regard to system capabilities of users of SL.

Check out his article. it's a good one. And fasten your seatbelt, Windlight's going to be a bumpy ride.
The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful
Windlight destroys immersiveness, and makes the world a set of pretty postcards to blog about. It makes the world thinner, and makes it "like the Internet" because it makes parcels like web pages and not immersive worlds. I think that's the idea.

PostHeaderIcon Influx of Real Word developers on the way?

The following headline appeared in the Redmond Developer News:
Get a (Second) Life!

So why is this so important?

Simple, it means things are going to get interesting in SL with regard to scripting and scripted objects. The article is targeted to real world developers - software authors and engineers.

The good news is that things will get very interesting in SL. Very interesting.

The bad news is the copetition is going to skyrocket. Object builders like myself and my partner and practically every other builder in SL are going to see increased competition in scripts and scripted objects. And yes, there already are many RW developers building in SL.

But, for builders like myself, where I'm not a scripter, the times will become a bit more difficult. At Zodiac House (Land of Hope sim) we rely more on the design and look of our builds over functionality. So it's the look that people rely on. As for gadgets and other things, it's the functionality that matters to the buyer.

But, when will functionality become the overriding purchasing decision for everything?

An excerpt from the article:
The foundation for much of this is the Linden Scripting Language (LSL), officially described as: "An internal, event-driven, C/Java-style language that allows you to control object and avatar behavior, up to and including mini-games and other complex programs." This is where it gets interesting for creative programmers and developers. LSL is sufficiently familiar to anyone who knows C# (or C or C , or Java). It's also sufficiently different from what most of us already do (unless we're hard-core game developers) to let us explore a very different realm of programming.

PostHeaderIcon SL Getting Fixed For Real?

Okay - it's old news now:
Linden Lab CTO Resigns From Second Life

However, in this article a bit more information is spoken of. namely, the 'real' reasons for the split. Is uncle Philly getting serious about fixing SL and all the problems it's riddled with?

This article might shed a little light.

Quote:
Although a very popular virtual destination, Second Life has been experiencing several problems in the past year, which is why Rosendale decided he needed a new user interface and a new CTO.

PostHeaderIcon Fly Right Into a Hurricane

¬in case you didn't know it, the Feds are here in Second Life. Have been for awhile now. it seems that more than the usual are coming in, too. The CDC (Centers for Deisease Control) and been experimenting through PVW (Persistent Virtual Worlds) for some time.

They are learning that PVWs are a great way to educate the public.

Hey, good for them. You tax dollars at work here. :)
FederalTimes.com
In the popular virtual world called Second Life (secondlife.com), which boasts more than 11 million residents, the agency has created a virtual island where people — as avatars — can fly into a hurricane on a P-3 Orion, explore underwater caves in a virtual aquarium, and see a glacier melt from global warming.

PostHeaderIcon Mac Users Welcomed, Too

Macworld | Living a Second Life
Mac users are as welcome as anyone else in this world, but the simulation was originally developed for Windows, so some aspects of Second Life work differently on a Mac.

We've all known about the funky interface and commands and controls of the SL viewer. Now, lay down on top of that - "Windows-standard' commands and menus - even on the Macintosh version.

How funky is that? Really?

I use both Windows XP and Macintosh.

Ironically, Second Life runs better on my dinky little MacBook (no, not the 'Pro') than it does on Windows XP (no plans to touch Vista with a 100-foot pole). I mean more stable and better framerates and little lag. Go figure. No hidden message there - I'm serious.

However, I'm also in the IT profession along with graphic design. I'm used to both platforms and they're both pretty good. However, Second Life is a platform all it's own.

With SL on a Mac, it's a whole second set of menus and keyboard shortcuts. Even as a pro Mac user, I still get flustered when I try to 'cam' around, for instance. Yes, I know how to do it expertly on Windows, but when I'm at my Mac keyboard, my mind knows it and muscle-memory switches to Mac-specific paradigms.Well - the mentioned article is written for Mac users who want to jump into the world of Second Life.

Not only does it explain how to join and use Second Life, it does it all from the Macintosh User's perspective! Woot!

And for the record, I do use Second Life on my Windows machine, simply because my Mac is a lot easier to get work done on. When I multi-task work and 'play' - the Mac does the heavy-lifting (RL work) and Windows is the 'toy'.

And I love both platforms - they both have their merits. So, no Mac vs. Windows flames, please. :)

OH! And I don't know what SL looks and works like on Linux. Just never had the opportunity to play with it there.

PostHeaderIcon Virtual Rape Is Really Rape?

When are the lines bewteen imagination and reality blurred?

A fascinating article from Channelnewsasia.com

explores this idea. It's actually a fascinating read about a couple of current theatrical picture shows about this very idea. In fact, the article makes the comparison between a raunchy, noughty flick and a Disney one - and mentions Sl in the process.
"For when fact gets this close to fiction or fiction to fact, how do you draw the line?

"Take, for instance, some of the shenanigans in Second Life, an Internet-based virtual world, launched in 2003, where users (or "Residents") can interact with one another through their avatars.

"Legal experts are now cracking their heads over whether an avatar raping another constitutes an actual crime. Belgian police have, in fact, opened a case file on one such complaint.

" Even journalists are occasionally tempted to play fast and loose with the facts. "

PostHeaderIcon SL Considered One of Four Most Popular

This headline got my attention: The four most popular social networking sites

Okay, so I had to look. It's a simple list that also includes Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, as the most popular. Second Life comes in at the bottom of this list, but it isn't made clear that these are presented in any particular order.

But what's refreshing here is the way the information is presented. No apparent opinions - just straight facts. For instance, it seems everyone who writes about SL always has to squeeze-in the naughty side of it.

However, this article makes it plain without the hoopla:
"It is a semi-structured virtual environment where characters undertake activities for the purpose of personal enjoyment."

"Despite its prominence, Second Life has notable competitors, including There, Active Worlds, and the more "mature" themed Red Light Center."

PostHeaderIcon Fly Right Into a Hurricane

in case you didn't know it, the Feds are here in Second Life. Have been for awhile now. it seems that more than the usual are coming in, too. The CDC (Centers for Deisease Control) and been experimenting through PVW (Persistent Virtual Worlds) for some time.

They are learning that PVWs are a great way to educate the public.

Hey, good for them. You tax dollars at work here. :)
FederalTimes.com
In the popular virtual world called Second Life (secondlife.com), which boasts more than 11 million residents, the agency has created a virtual island where people — as avatars — can fly into a hurricane on a P-3 Orion, explore underwater caves in a virtual aquarium, and see a glacier melt from global warming.

PostHeaderIcon 2009 RC Z Concept Car Available Now

The wonders of Second Life.

get hold of a flashy new 2009 concept sport car now.
Peugeot Rumored Planning To Produce RC Z Concept
This concept version was already launched, after a fashion, in mid-September on the Second Life Internet "virtual world," where it can be found on a place called Peugeot Island.

PostHeaderIcon Mac Users Welcomed, Too

Macworld | Living a Second Life
Mac users are as welcome as anyone else in this world, but the simulation was originally developed for Windows, so some aspects of Second Life work differently on a Mac.

We've all known about the funky interface and commands and controls of the SL viewer. Now, lay down on top of that - "Windows-standard' commands and menus - even on the Macintosh version.

How funky is that? Really?

I use both Windows XP and Macintosh.

Ironically, Second Life runs better on my dinky little MacBook (no, not the 'Pro') than it does on Windows XP (no plans to touch Vista with a 100-foot pole). I mean more stable and better framerates and little lag. Go figure. No hidden message there - I'm serious.

However, I'm also in the IT profession along with graphic design. I'm used to both platforms and they're both pretty good. However, Second Life is a platform all it's own.

With SL on a Mac, it's a whole second set of menus and keyboard shortcuts. Even as a pro Mac user, I still get flustered when I try to 'cam' around, for instance. Yes, I know how to do it expertly on Windows, but when I'm at my Mac keyboard, my mind knows it and muscle-memory switches to Mac-specific paradigms.Well - the mentioned article is written for Mac users who want to jump into the world of Second Life.

Not only does it explain how to join and use Second Life, it does it all from the Macintosh User's perspective! Woot!

And for the record, I do use Second Life on my Windows machine, simply because my Mac is a lot easier to get work done on. When I multi-task work and 'play' - the Mac does the heavy-lifting (RL work) and Windows is the 'toy'.

And I love both platforms - they both have their merits. So, no Mac vs. Windows flames, please. :)

OH! And I don't know what SL looks and works like on Linux. Just never had the opportunity to play with it there.

PostHeaderIcon Virtual rape is not really rape?

When are the lines bewteen imagination and reality blurred?

A fascinating article from Channelnewsasia.com

explores this idea. It's actually a fascinating read about a couple of current theatrical picture shows about this very idea. In fact, the article makes the comparison between a raunchy, noughty flick and a Disney one - and mentions Sl in the process.
"For when fact gets this close to fiction or fiction to fact, how do you draw the line?

"Take, for instance, some of the shenanigans in Second Life, an Internet-based virtual world, launched in 2003, where users (or "Residents") can interact with one another through their avatars.

"Legal experts are now cracking their heads over whether an avatar raping another constitutes an actual crime. Belgian police have, in fact, opened a case file on one such complaint.

" Even journalists are occasionally tempted to play fast and loose with the facts. "

PostHeaderIcon SL considered one of four most popular

This headline got my attention: The four most popular social networking sites

Okay, so I had to look. It's a simple list that also includes Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, as the most popular. Second Life comes in at the bottom of this list, but it isn't made clear that these are presented in any particular order.

But what's refreshing here is the way the information is presented. No apparent opinions - just straight facts. For instance, it seems everyone who writes about SL always has to squeeze-in the naughty side of it.

However, this article makes it plain without the hoopla:
"It is a semi-structured virtual environment where characters undertake activities for the purpose of personal enjoyment."

"Despite its prominence, Second Life has notable competitors, including There, Active Worlds, and the more "mature" themed Red Light Center."

PostHeaderIcon Welcome

Okay, so here's the inaugural post.

Done.

Now on the to business!

PostHeaderIcon per·ti·na·cious

/ˌpɜrtnˈeɪʃəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pur-tn-ey-shuhs] –adjective

1.holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute.
2.stubborn or obstinate.
3.extremely or objectionably persistent: a pertinacious salesman from whom I could not escape.

[Origin: 1495–1505; < LL pertinācitās, for L pertinācia stubbornness, perseverance (> obs. pertinacy), equiv. to pertināci- (s. of pertināx) steadfast, stubborn + -tās

—Related forms
per·ti·na·cious·ly, adverb
per·ti·na·cious·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. persevering. 2. dogged.

PostHeaderIcon Welcome. Now Fasten Your Seat-belt.


This blog was started in mid 2007.

Then it was moved from Blogger over to WordPress and now it's being moved back. Don't ask. It's a behind-the-scenes things and how the back-end of these blogs work. Either way; the back-up function broke somewhere, so I will copy a few choice posts from my other blog (Common|Sensible) and plop theme here to simply fill things out until I get this one started and fired-up again.

Primarily focusing on Second Life and the wacky, wonky, wonderful things Linden Lab and the residents do. All of it, the good, the bad and the ugly. Chances are I'll offend you sooner or later. Tough shit. Deal with it, because here, I only speak truth.

So, I'll rave where it's due but I'll rant like hell, too.

As a quick reference, I usually classify everything into one of five categories relating the subject matter, and the specific context of the situation and its "social acceptability" level. So, based on this, a particular subject and specific instance I write about will be considered:

  • Socially Awesome
  • Socially Promising
  • Socially Mundane
  • Socially Disgraceful
  • Socially Fucked-up

Coming here, you already were warned this is an 'adult-rated' blog. So, if you don't like the language and imagery you might find here, tough shit. Pack-up and move-on. If you are such a pussy as this, you can pop-over to my other blog where similar (if not the same) subject matter is posted, but in a softer format for pussies such as yourself. Still every bit as politically incorrect wherever possible, though.

So fasten your seat-belt and welcome aboard.

Should be a fun ride.

PostHeaderIcon Welcome

Okay, so here's the inaugural post.

Done.

Now on the to business!

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