PostHeaderIcon It's not Your Mother's Sex Toy Anymore

So many articles about Second Life, or that mention Second Life always seem to throw-in the quip of how 'over-sexed avatars are always getting it on' - making it seem like that particular activity just happens to be the favorite in-world activity of the majority of Second Life residents.

Meh.
Just as well. It doesn't matter that less that 15% of in-world users even have cybersex on their mind, I figured I'd go ahead and throw my hat into the fray. Why not?

"Second Life is riddled with over-sexed freaks who are addicted to bizarre, freaky, unmentionable, socially disgusting and should-be-illegal zombies driving cartoon characters on a computer, spending real money to add a cartoon penis or vagina all to mash them together, simulating lewd, crude, freakish acts against nature and offending all living and inert objects including rocks and dirt, all while masturbating wildly and frantically at their computers with one hand!"


Well, there. Now I feel like a self-richeous, self-important, more-popular-than-I-could-ever-possibly-be with fewer-readers than can fit into a Volkswagen beetle who thinks he knows what he's talking about when he writes about Second Life and tries so painfully hard to sound authoritative but absolutely, irrevocably fails miserably and makes my has-been newspaper look really, really bad, journalist.


I may be completely wrong about this next part, so we'll just say it's all hearsay and rumor. Innuendo.

Way back when I was doing a lot of reading about Second Life and Linden Lab and Linden Research and old uncle Phil, I remember reading a lot of really interesting stuff that I just never gave a lot of thought to until now.

Have you ever wondered why Linden Lab is often referred to as Linden Research? Ever wonder why Linden Lab calls itself a Lab? Well, I have it on good authority (and again, this could be completely off-base, so just opinion conjecture here,) that after old Philip left real Networks the other day, he wanted to get back into his own thing.

You see, he was picked-up by Real because he had this knack for getting working video to... well, work over the internet. Now we all know that sex sells. VHS tapes would never exist if it weren't for the bootleg pr0n tapes that everyone was copying over and over for each other and that's a fact.

We wouldn't have a lot of the Worldwide Web technologies we have now if it weren't for the pr0n industry and that's a fact. Pr0n sells. Philip knew that. It was rumored that among whatever it was he was getting back to and selling over there on Linden street or way or lane or avenue or whatever those San Franciscans like to call it these days, might have included a striptease or two. Now that really is only rumor, but a funny one at that (it's a comment made to a reporter by a business neighbor taking wild guesses as to what he was up to over there - and repeated in an article about Philip and Second Life.)

Now I also have heard that Linden Research has a patent on the... well... let's just say the ability to 'control one device remotely through the internet, via a web page or other method'. Now, imagine how popular pr0n is, and imagine the ability to create a device that can be controlled remotely via some scripting on a web page and put two and ten together, whaddayagot?

~wink, wink~

Now, the further rumor goes that there was a cool three-dimensional space software that was first created for the purpose of and to demonstrate whatever these new devices and inventions [ahem, cough, cough] were. However, it is rumored the Venture Capitol people or someone or who-other, whatever became more interested in the demonstration software than the product for which the software was created to demonstrate. Or so the story goes.

And thus the legend of a fairy-tale of a rumor has it that Second Life and the grid were actually nothing more than a quick slap-together demonstration platform to test and visualize the use of remote-controlled internet pr0n toys so people can cyber together in more realism than ever has existed before.

But, this is all rumor and innuendo.
I said all that so I could say all this:

I've known about teledildonics for a long-assed time. I've also heard of people trying to get them to work (yes, actually know a couple women who bought the things and tried to get them to work. Hey, I was hoping they would - wink-wink.)

However, part of what makes the above a surefire definite rumor is that Linden Lab ...er, rather Linden Research couldn't have possibly invented the things, Microsoft must have, because they are apparently as frustrating and reliable as Microsoft Windows with regard to setting them up and getting them to actually work with and through the internet.

Then again, with the reliability of the Second Life grid, plausibility stubbornly remains that Linden Research may still have been involved in the invention. Even if only slightly.

But, I digress.

The point of all this is where is Linden Lab's profit coming from? Private Estate tiers?
...or the licensing royalties of the apparently coming-of-age and popularity of teledildonics because of patent rights:

Gaziantep haber, haberler, haberleri, online haber [ Textual Satisfaction: Beyond the Sex Machine ]: "Even Second Life players, whose characters are already capable of having sex with one another, are using software so their avatars can have sex that is more realistic. Some people make friends beyond these real life simulations and take it a step further and have cybersex with one another sans avatars. They fire up the webcams and microphones and masturbate, simulating sex in front of their cameras for one another to watch. "



Oh, and you gotta go to the original article because the have to coolest, funniest, ermmm most accurate? ... picture there that simply has to be seen. So I ripped it for future use here.

~Evil grin.~

PostHeaderIcon M Speak, MI6 In Frenzy, 007 Still Lost

~sarcasm on~ So Uncle Mark.. er... "M" speaks again. It would seem he intends a monthly public notice (really more geared toward media and anyone else who'll write about it.. ummm... like me, I guess.)

He spoke about the usual things like how concurrency broke the 70K mark. I remember when everyone was panicking the whole grid would explode when we broke 8k - some of you no doubt remember further back than that. He also blurbe..er... blogged about Teleports failing less often and this less and that less and the wonderful things in-store...

4 months at the Lab: "Linden Lab is buzzing with activity. We’ve just completed a major strategy project to define the areas of focus for the next 18 months and we are in the process of translating those strategies into tactical action plans. To support the strategic initiatives we’ve identified, we’ll be hiring 60-70 more people over the next several quarters. This is all part of our commitment ensure Second Life remains the largest and most successful virtual world."


But that's the funny thing about it. "M" isn't really saying anything. Makes you think of "MI-5" and ol' James Bond, heh. The thing is, Mark Kingdon, Chief Executive Officer of Linden ...er... Research? Or is Linden Lab an official spin-off of Linden Research?

Come to think of it, the messages, announcements and practically all communication that comes out of the company isn't the only thing that leaves people confused.

Anyway, if you have ever wanted to be a coveted Second Life God (Linden) - looks like the opportunity's on the rebound. Of course, you submit your resume via the web and unless you are a coolaid-drinking, hip-hop-progressive-20-something, you'll never hear from them.

Okay, that was mean (but likely true) - I got that from some article Prokofy Neva wrote way back when. Anyway, Uncle M's remarks are considerably shorter than in the past, so if you usually get bored with seeing the same things said again and again about things you already know about, you'll get bored faster this month and it will be over sooner.

~sarcasm off~

Now - with all that sarcasm aside: Yo, Mark, congratulations.

I have been seeing improvements in the grid since even before you came aboard, though I am sure you have redoubled even the previous efforts. Along with a lot less communication from the company, there really is a lot less of the issues that plague us, as you mention.

Now you get the grid distributed properly so that critical areas don't get over-flooded with data requests and all those 'rusty' pipelines that gunk-up the system. Now if we can find a way to get 40 or 50 avatars in one place without the system bogging down to a crawl. Yes, Havoc and Mono help, no doubt. And certainly, as I've been saying for a long time, the end user's hardware plays a huge role, but anything and everything you can do on the back-end will help. Every penny counts, as they say.

Congratulations, Linden Lab. It does get better. I am anxious to see where it all goes from here. However, as secretive as MI-5 and it's leader, "M" are - I guess I'll just have to wait and see like everyone else.

(Via Official Second Life Blog.)

PostHeaderIcon Take Heed, The Taxman Cometh and Gets Nearer

Said it once, said it again... and again... and again.

Beware, folks. Over in the United Kingdom, they are making sure you know that taxes and Second Life are, in fact, linked and you need to know it, and act appropriately.

The PR.com (Press Release clearing house, basically) plops one of these beauties out:

The Chartered Institute of Taxation Returns to Second Life: "Chris Jones, a CIOT Council member, says: ‘As part of our commitment to helping people understand tax we are delighted to be dealing with this very important issue. The CIOT undertakes a range of educational projects and this is part of that programme.’"



To be fair, I understand this event to be where people can come (via Second Life) to get general tax questions answered and not specifically with regard to how taxes relate to Second Life. Though I do suspect that subject will rear it's head. I have no doubt about it, in fact.

European Union member residents already are slammed with Value Added Taxes and it doesn't matter if those taxes are refundable in whole or in part. Think of the hassle and time wasted (which equals cost to you) just in the paperwork alone.

All the Euros were livid when Linden Lab began enforcing the collection of VAT, and not by LL's choice. But rather by imposition.

So, Americans: let's take bets. How long before our government, federal or local, finally squeezes their hands into your virtual back-pocket like they are so badly itching to do and have been for a couple years now?

Six-months? A year? Two or three years?

Mark my words again: it's not if, but when. it's only a matter of time before the inevitable comes to pass.

By the way, for those of you interested in attending this Tax Answers event in second Life: The event will be held on the depo business park on Tuesday 30th September at 3pm BST.

PostHeaderIcon "M" Speak. 007 Confused.

The 3D Finger~sarcasm on~ So Uncle Mark.. er... "M" speaks again. It would seem he intends a monthly public notice (really more geared toward media and anyone else who'll write about it.. ummm... like me, I guess.)

He spoke about the usual things like how concurrency broke the 70K mark. I remember when everyone was panicking the whole grid would explode when we broke 8k - some of you no doubt remember further back than that. He also blurbe..er... blogged about Teleports failing less often and this less and that less and the wonderful things in-store...

4 months at the Lab: "Linden Lab is buzzing with activity. We’ve just completed a major strategy project to define the areas of focus for the next 18 months and we are in the process of translating those strategies into tactical action plans. To support the strategic initiatives we’ve identified, we’ll be hiring 60-70 more people over the next several quarters. This is all part of our commitment ensure Second Life remains the largest and most successful virtual world."



But that's the funny thing about it. "M" isn't really saying anything. Makes you think of "MI-5" and ol' James Bond, heh. The thing is, Mark Kingdon, Chief Executive Officer of Linden ...er... Research? Or is Linden Lab an official spin-off of Linden Research?

Come to think of it, the messages, announcements and practically all communication that comes out of the company isn't the only thing that leaves people confused.

Anyway, if you have ever wanted to be a coveted Second Life God (Linden) - looks like the opportunity's on the rebound. Of course, you submit your resume via the web and unless you are a coolaid-drinking, hip-hop-progressive-20-something, you'll never hear from them.

Okay, that was mean (but likely true) - I got that from some article Prokofy Neva wrote way back when. Anyway, Uncle M's remarks are considerably shorter than in the past, so if you usually get bored with seeing the same things said again and again about things you already know about, you'll get bored faster this month and it will be over sooner.

~sarcasm off~

Now - with all that sarcasm aside: Yo, Mark, congratulations.

I have been seeing improvements in the grid since even before you came aboard, though I am sure you have redoubled even the previous efforts. Along with a lot less communication from the company, there really is a lot less of the issues that plague us, as you mention.

Now you get the grid distributed properly so that critical areas don't get over-flooded with data requests and all those 'rusty' pipelines that gunk-up the system. Now if we can find a way to get 40 or 50 avatars in one place without the system bogging down to a crawl. Yes, Havoc and Mono help, no doubt. And certainly, as I've been saying for a long time, the end user's hardware plays a huge role, but anything and everything you can do on the back-end will help. Every penny counts, as they say.

Congratulations, Linden Lab. It does get better. I am anxious to see where it all goes from here. However, as secretive as MI-5 and it's leader, "M" are - I guess I'll just have to wait and see like everyone else.

(Via Official Second Life Blog.)


PostHeaderIcon Taxation Returns to Second Life

Sim-HoppingSaid it once, said it again... and again... and again... [I won't bother linking to all my past posts.]

Beware, folks. Over in the United Kingdom, they are making sure you know that taxes and Second Life are, in fact, linked and you need to know it, and act appropriately.

The PR.com (Press Release clearing house, basically) plops one of these beauties out:

The Chartered Institute of Taxation Returns to Second Life ® - PR.com: "Chris Jones, a CIOT Council member, says: ‘As part of our commitment to helping people understand tax we are delighted to be dealing with this very important issue. The CIOT undertakes a range of educational projects and this is part of that programme.’"



To be fair, I understand this event to be where people can come (via Second Life) to get general tax questions answered and not specifically with regard to how taxes relate to Second Life. Though I do suspect that subject will rear it's head. I have no doubt about it, in fact.

European Union member residents already are slammed with Value Added Taxes and it doesn't matter if those taxes are refundable in whole or in part. Think of the hassle and time wasted (which equals cost to you) just in the paperwork alone.

All the Euros were livid when Linden Lab began enforcing the collection of VAT, and not by LL's choice. But rather by imposition.

So, Americans: let's take bets. How long before our government, federal or local, finally squeezes their hands into your virtual back-pocket like they are so badly itching to do and have been for a couple years now?

Six-months? A year? Two or three years?

Mark my words again: it's not if, but when. it's only a matter of time before the inevitable comes to pass.

By the way, for those of you interested in attending this Tax Answers event in second Life: The event will be held on the depo business park on Tuesday 30th September at 3pm BST.

PostHeaderIcon Microsoft Still Hires Boneheads

Uncle Bill has stepped out of the day-to-day at Microsoft and weirdo Uncle Stevie is in charge. So be it. Microsoft, along with a lot of other companies is riddled with self-important elitists all over the place.

What makes it so laughable is that this buffoon supposedly speaks for Microsoft, even as Microsoft engineers tool protocols specifically for Open Sim, which is based on Second Life and Second Life Grid products from Linden Research, a.k.a. Linden Lab. And they seem pretty deep into the project.

Hence, in IT Exexaminer magazine/blog, this Craig Mundie sounds all-important and authoritative. Well, I will bet anyone a dime to a dollar that he's so far off-base and full of shit as far and the true authoritative figures at Microsoft as to Microsot's true feelings on the matter.

Second Life is among, if not the best-known 'virtual worlds' and often proclaimed the most popular (note: World of Warcraft is considered a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game - MMORPG, which Second Life is not, hence the difference.)

So, how many knuckleheads speaking for Microsoft are the left hands that haven't the foggiest idea what the right hands are doing? Personally, I really couldn't care any less what Microsoft does (as I am happily 100% Microsoft-free in all I do. Though Microsoft softwware isn't bad, it's nothing to be excited about, either.)

Craig Mundie gives mixed signals = dipshit.

Microsoft rules against Second Life: "Microsoft's Craig Mundie has said that 'synthetic virtual worlds' like Second Life, are a waste of cyber space.

Mundie, who oversees research and long-term strategy for Redmond, says it will not be until such worlds can use 3D tools that capture and model the real world that anyone will take any notice of them."

PostHeaderIcon Second Life Was First When First Life Was Second

I respect some web sites far more than others. For example, I respect The Motley Fool far more than I respect CNN (Cable News Network) - primarily because Motley Fool is looking out for you where CNN tries to influence you with some ridiculous spin.

Okay. CNN is nowhere near as bad as NBC, but I digress.

The point I want to make is this: The Motley Fool is hugely popular, well known and highly respected financial information site (and book series and system.) So, it strikes me funny as hell to see that Linden Lab and Second Life have gained the Motley Fool's attention. But not in the usual way for the usual reasons.

Rather a more sinister, unscrupulous reason. 
Second Life was First Life before First Life was Second Life a few months ago when Linden Lab put the kerbash (effectively-speaking) on all interest-paying banks and other ventures of similar design. This was done shortly after the Ginko collapse, which caused wide-spread panic throughout the Second Life economy and Linden Lab was essentially stepping-in to bail-out the economy after the Ginko collapse. The catalyst for all this, in hind-sight, appears to be the sudden-deth ban on all gambling and games of chance. Life imitates art?

Do you see the parallels here?

Hrmmm...
  • WaMu (Washington Mutual) = Ginko
  • United States Federal Government = Linden Lab
  • Bail-out by infusing money to keep banks afloat to protect the people = halt all banking to prevent money fraud to protect the people.
Oh this is so funny that it's not funny.
Maybe the treasury department should keep a close eye on the Second Life economy and start forecasting real life based on what happens in-world and on what Linden Lab does to influence the same Second Life economy.

Think I'm kidding?
Hell, no. Read this:

An Unreal Financial Crisis: "And in an art-imitates-life moment, Linden in January banned virtual banks from operating in Second Life because of risks to its economy. The irony? Real-world banks -- fine institutions such as, say, Wachovia (NYSE: WB) and Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) -- were made exempt from the rule. Quoting a statement from the company made at the time:
Usually, we don't step in the middle of Resident-to-Resident conduct -- letting Residents decide how to act, live, or play in Second Life. But these 'banks' have brought unique and substantial risks to Second Life, and we feel it's our duty to step in. Offering unsustainably high interest rates, they are in most cases doomed to collapse -- leaving upset 'depositors' with nothing to show for their investments."

Wow.
Déjà vu

PostHeaderIcon Torley Dood is Strange. But Not Me.

Okay, the title is a little misleading. It should read "Torley is strange. And so are you, and you, and you, and you."

Aren't we all strange to some others? Of course we are. Isn't that what the term "stranger" is supposed to mean? Put simply: you are new to me. There is a slight discomfort about you until I get to know you. Discomfort is usually described as 'strange', hence, you are a stranger to me.

Hey Torley, I admit you are strange. But, here's what I mean: sometimes your posts (yes, I read and follow your blog regular-like) just go over my head. I'd like to sit back, nod my head in feigned agreement, appearing to all witnesses (that would be zero) how enlightened I am at your illustrious, oh-so-wise words of genius.

But, I'm not so sophisticated as all that. The same is true when I read Prokofy Neva's blog. I enjoy the reading and the subject matter, but sometimes I'm just left scratching my head. Most others I get pretty easily.

So, yes, you are strange. So is Prok. So is Hamlet, and Tateru and CeNedra and Philip and all the rest of them. However, that is your charm. All of you. Unfortunately a lot of people will treat 'strange' as something that must be beaten down.

I criticize people all the time. But certainly not on the first, second or tenth meeting. Not until I get to know them. Even if it means simply lurking and observing for a long time. Unfortunately, there are people whom have met you only 30-seconds ago and then quickly jump-in by jumping on you over something you said all because it means something completely different than what it means when in full context.

Or, they are simply angry little people who do this to everyone because they hate the rest of the world.

So, am I normal? Holy-smackers, Batman, I hope not. At least, not to all those who know me!

We are stranger than we think: "Mediocrity is 'normal', what's tragically expected. 'Normal' is bland. 'Normal' is 'this is not who I really am, it's who I try to be to fit in with others'. All the while, those 'others' are thinking the same thing. And so on it goes, an ever-revolving round of charades. People pretending, wearing unnecessary masks — not for entertaining theatre, but at a large compromise to their lives."



Thank you, Torley for not being mediocre. I, for one, really appreciate it. I hope to express the same to Prok, too. And everyone else. Don't let the idiots beat you down and deflate you. For each bonehead who spits vitriol at you, there are ten more on the opposite side who adore you.

I'm not entirely sure what this post of yours, Torley, is really about (or the previous regarding criticism, which is my own speciality, LOL) - but this is one of those that doesn't make a whole lot of contextual sense to me.

So, please witness me now as I read your post. Sit back casually, two fingers and thumb gently rubbing my chin in contemplation as I absent-mindedly nod in total feigned agreement as my mind contemplates the artistic erudition of the thought-provoking enlightenment that has just flooded my intellect with illustrious, oh-so-wise words of genius and artistry.

Yes, my 'I want whatever the hell he's smoking, fun-loving, watermelony, he's too bright I need sunglasses' friend.

Come to think of it, I'm strange, too.
And damned proud of it.

~winks~

(Via Torley Lives.)

PostHeaderIcon 'Copyright Czar' Protects *YOU* ~Yawn~

Stolen PantiesIntellectual Property theft got you down? Who you gonna call? Ghost Busters? How about a "Copyright Tsar..er, Czar? yes, just like the highly effective beyond any question 'Drug Czar', there now will be a highly effective beyond question 'Copyright Czar'. Interesting.

So, Congress is apparently more serious about you sharing your music online and you losing microsales of Linden Dollars in $0.0001 increments than they are of the SNAFU economy eff-up.

Meh, hopefully people will take the seriously flawed and horribly designed and constructed Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) more seriously. ~winks~

Senate Passes Bill Creating 'Copyright Czar' | Threat Level from Wired.com: "U.S. lawmakers approved the creation of a cabinet-level position of copyright czar as part of sweeping intellectual property enforcement legislation that sailed through the Senate on Friday.
However, a controversial measure granting the Justice Department the authority to sue copyright infringers on behalf of Hollywood and the music industry was removed after the White House lobbied against assuming those new powers."


PostHeaderIcon You Are Strange. But Not Me.

The Infant FingerOkay, the title is a little misleading. It should read "Torley is strange. And so are you, and you, and you, and you."

Aren't we all strange to some others? Of course we are. Isn't that what the term "stranger" is supposed to mean? Put simply: you are new to me. There is a slight discomfort about you until I get to know you. Discomfort is usually described as 'strange', hence, you are a stranger to me.

Hey Torley, I admit you are strange. But, here's what I mean: sometimes your posts (yes, I read and follow your blog regular-like) just go over my head. I'd like to sit back, nod my head in feigned agreement, appearing to all witnesses (that would be zero) how enlightened I am at your illustrious, oh-so-wise words of genius.

But, I'm not so sophisticated as all that. The same is true when I read Prokofy Neva's blog. I enjoy the reading and the subject matter, but sometimes I'm just left scratching my head. Most others I get pretty easily.

So, yes, you are strange. So is Prok. So is Hamlet, and Tateru and CeNedra and Philip and all the rest of them. However, that is your charm. All of you. Unfortunately a lot of people will treat 'strange' as something that must be beaten down.

I criticize people all the time. But certainly not on the first, second or tenth meeting. Not until I get to know them. Even if it means simply lurking and observing for a long time. Unfortunately, there are people whom have met you only 30-seconds ago and then quickly jump-in by jumping on you over something you said all because it means something completely different than what it means when in full context.

Or, they are simply angry little people who do this to everyone because they hate the rest of the world.

So, am I normal? Holy-smackers, Batman, I hope not. At least, not to all those who know me!

We are stranger than we think: "Mediocrity is 'normal', what's tragically expected. 'Normal' is bland. 'Normal' is 'this is not who I really am, it's who I try to be to fit in with others'. All the while, those 'others' are thinking the same thing. And so on it goes, an ever-revolving round of charades. People pretending, wearing unnecessary masks — not for entertaining theatre, but at a large compromise to their lives."



Thank you, Torley for not being mediocre. I, for one, really appreciate it. I hope to express the same to Prok, too. And everyone else. Don't let the idiots beat you down and deflate you. For each bonehead who spits vitriol at you, there are ten more on the opposite side who adore you.

I'm not entirely sure what this post of yours, Torley, is really about (or the previous regarding criticism, which is my own speciality, LOL) - but this is one of those that doesn't make a whole lot of contextual sense to me.

So, please witness me now as I read your post. Sit back casually, two fingers and thumb gently rubbing my chin in contemplation as I absent-mindedly nod in total feigned agreement as my mind contemplates the artistic erudition of the thought-provoking enlightenment that has just flooded my intellect with illustrious, oh-so-wise words of genius and artistry.

Yes, my 'I want whatever the hell he's smoking, fun-loving, watermelony, he's too bright I need sunglasses' friend.

I'm strange, too.
And damned proud of it.

~winks~

(Via Torley Lives.)


PostHeaderIcon Second Life Noobers: Go Into the Light

And the "light" is Mitch Wagner of InformationWeek as he posts a second Second Life article as promised. And though it is likely a bit on the boring side for most Second Life blog readers - those of you with respectable SL experience in-world - it's another newbie-orientation column that actually does the job nicely. I know, rolls eyes, right?

Yes and no. Yes because there are a lot of these out there and so, here comes another one. But 'no' because Mitch really does capture a full-encompassing overview of what Second Life is, what you can do there, where you can go (and even points out the more popular blogs and web sites to help you out before putting your new digital shoes on.)

He doesn't speak down to you (isn't that what it always feels like to read these kind of articles for us 'oldbies'?) And he is pretty concise and very, wait, no, I'll rephrase: astonishingly accurate in his descriptions, and providing links and, URLs and even SLURLS (and briefly describing what a SLURL is,) along with it all. and it's nice that Mitch actually points to authoritative sources that have been around a while and are accurate in their own descriptions and information (and I'm really happy to see SLWTF make an honorable mention and link in Mitch's column, too)

Here's a sample of the way a professional writer concisely and cleanly, yet accurately and completely describes something:

Second Life's Popularity Rests On Breadth Of Activities:
"You can shop for virtual clothing, furniture and buildings. Second Life also provides tools for creating that kind of content, and you can go into business to sell your creations, or partner or get a job working for someone else selling their handiwork. 

"Sightseeing is very popular; Second Life travel blogs, where you can learn about new Second Life places to see and things to do, include Ambling in Second Life, Not Possible IRL, SL Things to Do, and SLWTF. SL Things to Do, for example, recently had a write-up on people training for real-life triathlons in Second Life."

I read Mitch's column all the time (I'm an old I.T. hand and like his columns) and I recommend him if you follow the same kind of news. But I especially enjoy his Second Life columns because he gets it right.

Mitch is in Second Life. He is not a newbie. He knows what he's talking about and with the experience of professionally passing news and explaining things: this is a Second Life Newbie column to point your grandmother and everyone else curious about Second Life to.

Kudos, Mitch. Excellent newbie fare here.

Source

PostHeaderIcon Finally: Newbie Column Done Right

Mitch Wagner of InformationWeek posts a second Second Life article as promised. And though it is likely a bit on the boring side for most Second Life blog readers - those of you with respectable SL experience in-world - it's another newbie-orientation column that actually does the job nicely. I know, rolls eyes, right?

Yes and no. Yes because there are a lot of these out there and so, here comes another one. But 'no' because Mitch really does capture a full-encompassing overview of what Second Life is, what you can do there, where you can go (and even points out the more popular blogs and web sites to help you out before putting your new digital shoes on.)

He doesn't speak down to you (isn't that what it always feels like to read these kind of articles for us 'oldbies'?) And he is pretty concise and very, wait, no, I'll rephrase: astonishingly accurate in his descriptions, and providing links and, URLs and even SLURLS (and briefly describing what a SLURL is,) along with it all. and it's nice that Mitch actually points to authoritative sources that have been around a while and are accurate in their own descriptions and information (and I'm really happy to see SLWTF make an honorable mention and link in Mitch's column, too)

Here's a sample of the way a professional writer concisely and cleanly, yet accurately and completely describes something:

Second Life's Popularity Rests On Breadth Of Activities -- second life -- InformationWeek:
"You can shop for virtual clothing, furniture and buildings. Second Life also provides tools for creating that kind of content, and you can go into business to sell your creations, or partner or get a job working for someone else selling their handiwork.

"Sightseeing is very popular; Second Life travel blogs, where you can learn about new Second Life places to see and things to do, include Ambling in Second Life, Not Possible IRL, SL Things to Do, and SLWTF. SL Things to Do, for example, recently had a write-up on people training for real-life triathlons in Second Life."

I read Mitch's column all the time (I'm an old I.T. hand and like his columns) and I recommend him if you follow the same kind of news. But I especially enjoy his Second Life columns because he gets it right.

Mitch is in Second Life. He is not a newbie. He knows what he's talking about and with the experience of professionally passing news and explaining things: this is a Second Life Newbie column to point your grandmother and everyone else curious about Second Life to.

Kudos, Mitch. Excellent newbie fare here.

Source

PostHeaderIcon Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

So, you read blogs, huh? You follow Second Life news wherever you can get it? Unfortunately, some of what you get in the way of "news" is all crap and I don't mean Crap Mariner, but rather alarmist, sensationalist bullshit.

Fortunately, the majority of blogs out there are good ones. Most are simple commentary on in-world experience and what's happening, or they are product or other business-oriented information blogs. A lot are informational, like 'Things to Do' and a majority of what Hamlet (James Au) posts over at New World Notes.

There there are those who think they are humble unknowns: Garth Goode's SLWTF and Cen's Two Cents are my two favorites. They are favorites because they are simple, opinion-based and for some unknown reason, interesting to me.

In the case of SLWTF, Garth simply takes us on a (almost) daily tour of some location he's found in Second Life. He usually provides SLURLs in his posts and I like it a lot better than the "Things to Do" blog. He is much more consistent and really does find fascinating places. Damned him for stealing my idea by thinking of it first!

I like Cen's blog because it's a good perspective from one person who isn't out to ruffle feathers and create acid-like fervor among the throngs like others (anyone ever heard of Tenshi Vielle?)
Then there are the ones like me. I tell it all like it is. it's why Tenshi, among a lot of others I am sure, simply loath me with a purple passion and wish me to burn in hell for eternity. It's because I couldn't care any less about what you think. You'll either agree or disagree with me, but if not, then we'll just have to agree to disagree because we likely will not be changing each other's minds.

The problem with blogs like the Second Life Herald and bloggers like Tenshi is that they can be dangerous under the right circumstances. But I've already written about that.

I find there are a lot of really good people in SL. I mean really, deep inside good. Goodness and niceness is in every fiber of their public being. but they are human. They feel the frustration and anger and confusion and passion just like everyone else. The difference is in order to be nice to you, they keep it inside.

CeN's Two Cents: I Have Some Things To Say: "Before I started this thing I used to think that if I ever did have a blog it wouldn’t be all about I love everybody, and every Sim I’ve ever been to is amazing, and every piece of clothing I’ve ever bought was the best thing ever. I wanted to be me, to be real. Let’s call that plan a fail ok?"
This is likely true with many of the bloggers you might read. hell, even Prokofy Neva likely holds a bit back, though they do get their mind out, but in good writing style. So my point is: Cen, it's okay to let it out. Come on over here. Here, you can say whatever the hell you want (as long as it's truthful, unlike Tenshi.)

Yes, I bash Tenshi a lot. But she's earned it wholeheartedly.

So, pop over to take a look at Cen's thoughts. and after that, subscribe to her blog. it's actually interesting and I haven't the faintest idea why. Oh, and she's hot. I have every intention to find her in-world, collar her and steal her ass from her other half all for myself ~evl grin~

Read Cen's thoughts

PostHeaderIcon The Great Mitch Speaks

Like many of you, I follow blogs and news wherever Second Life is concerned. Most I find are often ridiculous riff-raff, 'wish I knew what I was talking-about' journalist report kind of stuff. The blogosphere runs the gambit from alarmist sensationalism  and dramatic rumor-mongering all the way up to serious, balanced and useful news reporting.

I like Wagner James Au's reports because he's pretty middle-of-the-road. However, most of his stuff is restricted to short bursts of information snippets like a 'what's happening' kind of thing.

My favorite regular read is Tateru Nino over at Massively. Her reporting is clean, concise and to the the point. In fact, I would consider Tateru's reports to be my regular source of news about Second Life and Linden Lab.

Then there' Mitch.

That would be Mitch Wagner, over at Information Week Magazine.
I've always liked Mitch's reports about Second Life because he's among the big pro reporters that speaks to the I.T. world about real life I.T. issues and news. And he's the only one, in my personal opinion, who reports matter-of-factly about Second Life and actually knows what he's talking about.

He's cut-back a lot on his reporting on Second Life. Unfortunate for me as I'm selfish that way. But he's released a new column. A big one. It's a long read. But well worth the time it takes to read it.

A wonderful close look at Linden Lab and the direction it is taking. Very insightful and interesting stuff. So, if you follow Linden Lab and Second Life 'news' - you absolutely must catch Mitch's current column on the "Second Act" of Second Life:
Mitch Wagner sez: "Kingdon must grapple with a number of problems: Making Second Life simple enough for most Internet users to get into it, improving stability of the very buggy service, streamlining the user interface, and dealing with a corporate culture that's often more interested in mystical vision than the hard job of running a business."

Source: Second Life Tries For A Second Act -- second life -- InformationWeek

PostHeaderIcon Marketing in Second Life [Can] Works

It's among one the the favorite stories about second Life and commercial entities entering it: American Apparel. Fail.

They came, they saw, they left with head hanging low and tail between legs.

I never saw the movie "Field of Dreams" - but I am well familiar with the tag line: "Build it and they will come." Well, as with all Hollywood movies, that's just plain fantasy. Practically all of what they dish out is false fantasy, even documentary material.

The fact of the matter is you can build it, but they won't come. Not unless there is a reason to do so, anyway. This is true in the real world as well. But even more so in Second Life and any other virtual world.

In Second Life, you have no need for any of life's essentials: food, shelter, clothing... nothing. You can't even die in Second Life. When "killed" - you are simply sent to your home location. You don't even poof and respawn. As a 'game' Second Life totally sucks as there is zero risk in anything and everything you do or don't do.

So along comes American Apparel: creates a build and a virtual location in-world and leaves it. it is easy to proclaim that they are either really so conceited that they think their brand actually means something to anyone or they are really, really stupid or both.

Well, it's not about that. Why would anyone go there for clothing? Clothing isn't needed in Second Life. Why would anyone go there for information on their products? They already have a decent web site for that. Why would anyone go there to inquire about a job, products, locations, anything? There were no official representatives on-hand. There wasn't even a proper catalog of product.

So they built it and left. No one came. Fail.

I can't speak for American Apparel and what their own take is on it. it was reported time and again that it was a, and I paraphrase here, 'massive failure'. Thus, all commercial endeavors in Second Life have been, is and will be: total failure. so don't waste your money.

Pffft.

The fact of the matter is that they simply didn't do it right. You need to treat Second Life as a whole new country with it's own culture and that culture requires interaction. There are many successful commercial entities in second Life. I've already mentioned in a previous post how I went to a flower shop in world, previewed several arrangements, made the purchase to have delivered and paid in Linden Dollars (L$) - they were delivered and the arrangement was actually pretty close to what I saw in world.

It was a wonderful experience. A large part of that experience was that there were 'official' representatives on-hand, in-world to help me out. it was great. Last year it alo was big news how a new method of marketing in virtual worlds became the grand experiment, which is considered the most successful venture to-date in second Life.

So much so that they still speak of it:
Wagner James Au sez: "Serve Existing Community Needs:With Second Life, new users enter a strange, overwhelming world without many objects in their inventory, and are usually too intimidated to talk with the locals. To serve this need, the agency behind a promotion for IMAX created “buzz agent” avatars who cheerfully engaged “noobs” in Second Life’s Welcome Area, offering them tips on using the interface — all while handing out “Harry Potter” memorabilia and directing them to IMAX’s retail site.

"Of course, while these success stories might encourage marketers to take a second look at Second Life and other virtual worlds, the metrics of success still haven’t been agreed upon. That’s why many are eagerly awaiting a Forrester Research report that will try to define and standardize virtual marketing ROI."

My point being a simple one: Understand your target audience - simple enough. Your current demographics will serve you well here. But also understand your market. In Second Life, your market is Second Life. It's a whole new culture that is not based on ethnic or any particular cultural paradigm. it's a new mish-mash of ideas and attitudes.

AQs in the real world, people must have a reason or interest to even look at your product. They must know it exists, have an interest in learning more about it, then and only then - if the interest holds - will they seek more information. Having a means to answer those questions clearly and completely will go a long way.

So, in Second Life: the culture has a lot to do with interactivity.

Source

UPDATE - 2:50 p.m. Pacific: In a bit of funny timing, here's another article about successful marketing in-world in Second Life. And actually a fun read, whether you're a marketeer or not. The article is found here.

PostHeaderIcon Mitch Speaks. Again.

Like many of you, I follow blogs and news wherever Second Life is concerned. Most I find are often ridiculous riff-raff, 'wish I knew what I was talking-about' journalist report kind of stuff. The blogosphere runs the gambit from alarmist sensationalism and dramatic rumor-mongering all the way up to serious, balanced and useful news reporting.

I like Wagner James Au's reports because he's pretty middle-of-the-road. However, most of his stuff is restricted to short bursts of information snippets like a 'what's happening' kind of thing.

My favorite regular read is Tateru Nino over at Massively. Her reporting is clean, concise and to the the point. In fact, I would consider Tateru's reports to be my regular source of news about Second Life and Linden Lab.

Then there' Mitch.

That would be Mitch Wagner, over at Information Week Magazine.
I've always liked Mitch's reports about Second Life because he's among the big pro reporters that speaks to the I.T. world about real life I.T. issues and news. And he's the only one, in my personal opinion, who reports matter-of-factly about Second Life and actually knows what he's talking about.

He's cut-back a lot on his reporting on Second Life. Unfortunate for me as I'm selfish that way. But he's released a new column. A big one. It's a long read. But well worth the time it takes to read it.

A wonderful close look at Linden Lab and the direction it is taking. Very insightful and interesting stuff. So, if you follow Linden Lab and Second Life 'news' - you absolutely must catch Mitch's current column on the "Second Act" of Second Life:
Mitch Wagner sez: "Kingdon must grapple with a number of problems: Making Second Life simple enough for most Internet users to get into it, improving stability of the very buggy service, streamlining the user interface, and dealing with a corporate culture that's often more interested in mystical vision than the hard job of running a business."

Source: Second Life Tries For A Second Act -- second life -- InformationWeek

PostHeaderIcon And the Rich Get Richer

Dusan Writer has managed to find the all-illusive tool that allows you to import true 3D models from professional design applications into Second Life. This is actually bigger and heavier news than it may appear to be at first.

Unfortunately, the tool appears to be exclusive to 3D Studio Max.

This is a problem because 3D Studio Max costs an arm and a leg and two or three of your first-born, too. What I am getting at is this: The people whom have already dealt with the massive learning curve of 3D Studio Max and own a legitimate copy they have paid good money for are well-off in terms of making a living.


They are the ones who will be able to create kick-ass objects in Max and upload them into Second Life, creating kick-ass product that will no-doubt fly off the virtual shelves, in turn earning them handsomely. Good for them. The rich get richer.

No, really. Good for them.

Dusan Writer sez: "Prim Composer, a new tool developed by Shack Dougall, accomplishes near seamless integration of 3DS Max with Second Life and Open Sim.It’s nearly flawless. It takes care of all the uploading, including textures (AND their placement!). It lets you build and import builds fully composed and rendered in 3DS. And it’s free. (But I beg of you, make a donation!) I wasn’t sure it could deliver when I ran across what was promised - but it does, and more."


Here's the problem as I see it: I know one person, yes, only one person who knows how to use 3D Studio max professionally. It's a legitimate $5500.00 copy. Everyone else I know who uses it have acquired it by unethical means. It is a bootleg copy.

I have no issues with bootleg copies of software, as long as you buy the legitimate copy if you keep using it. I use Apple's FinalCut Studio and other professional media software. I used a bootleg copy for six-months until I was able to earn enough money, (ioronically, from using that bootleg copy,) to buy a full-fledged letigimate legal copy. And the feeling of doing so is unexplainable. It's a wonderful, warm feeling to know that even though I had a working pirated copy of $1800 software, spending that money just to have a serial number I could register under my own name was euphoric.

Now the issue here with Max is: how many gorgeous, wonderful, kick-ass products will be created for Second Life that eventually get ripped somehow and the bootleggers in SL start selling them, plagiarizing the original creators? How many of those creators will scream and shout and bitch and whine about intellectual property rights?

All those hypocrites who shout their shrill bullshit: their stolen creations created on stolen software.

The real problem is how Second Life doesn't offer (or allow) the ability to import 3D models created outside Second Life, such as Object (.obj) files, 3DS files or any of the myriad of other formats. Apparently, and a good thing, there are after-market creators making this a possibility

There are many of us whom have been creating and playing with 3D software and ray tracing, modelling and otherwise rendering scenes in professional 3D (read: not the comsumer-oriented Poser or Bryce software) for a long time. We have years of creations all sitting in useless file formats. Well, useless as far as Second Life is concerned.

If only there were a way import Maya or Lightave files, I would be making a shear killing business-wise in SL. Well, hopefully this dream of taking my many years of modelling may come to pass someday soon.

Being able to import Max files is definitely a start. And, for some reason, all the software pirates seem to think 3D Studio Max is some kind of defacto standard as far as 3D modelling and rendering software goes. Which means it is the one most bootlegged.

Thus, when I can finally import Lightwave and Maya models into SL, the comeptition will be far leaner.

Woot!

(Yes, I know I can convert my models to max files - but that sucks. So if that's what you're thinking, shut it.)

Source


PostHeaderIcon Second Life: Mitch Speaks. Again.

Like many of you, I follow blogs and news wherever Second Life is concerned. Most I find are often ridiculous riff-raff, 'wish I knew what I was talking-about' journalist report kind of stuff. The blogosphere runs the gambit from alarmist sensationalism  and dramatic rumor-mongering all the way up to serious, balanced and useful news reporting.

I like Wagner James Au's reports because he's pretty middle-of-the-road. However, most of his stuff is restricted to short bursts of information snippets like a 'what's happening' kind of thing.

My favorite regular read is Tateru Nino over at Massively. Her reporting is clean, concise and to the the point. In fact, I would consider Tateru's reports to be my regular source of news about Second Life and Linden Lab.

Then there' Mitch.

That would be Mitch Wagner, over at Information Week Magazine.
I've always liked Mitch's reports about Second Life because he's among the big pro reporters that speaks to the I.T. world about real life I.T. issues and news. And he's the only one, in my personal opinion, who reports matter-of-factly about Second Life and actually knows what he's talking about.

He's cut-back a lot on his reporting on Second Life. Unfortunate for me as I'm selfish that way. But he's released a new column. A big one. It's a long read. But well worth the time it takes to read it.

A wonderful close look at Linden Lab and the direction it is taking. Very insightful and interesting stuff. So, if you follow Linden Lab and Second Life 'news' - you absolutely must catch Mitch's current column on the "Second Act" of Second Life:
Mitch Wagner sez: "Kingdon must grapple with a number of problems: Making Second Life simple enough for most Internet users to get into it, improving stability of the very buggy service, streamlining the user interface, and dealing with a corporate culture that's often more interested in mystical vision than the hard job of running a business."

Source: Second Life Tries For A Second Act -- second life -- InformationWeek

PostHeaderIcon Second Life: Marketing Does Work... If You Do It Right

It's among one the the favorite stories about second Life and commercial entities entering it: American Apparel. Fail.

They came, they saw, they left with head hanging low and tail between legs.

I never saw the movie "Field of Dreams" - but I am well familiar with the tag line: "Build it and they will come." Well, as with all Hollywood movies, that's just plain fantasy. Practically all of what they dish out is false fantasy, even documentary material.

The fact of the matter is you can build it, but they won't come. Not unless there is a reason to do so, anyway. This is true in the real world as well. But even more so in Second Life and any other virtual world.

In Second Life, you have no need for any of life's essentials: food, shelter, clothing... nothing. You can't even die in Second Life. When "killed" - you are simply sent to your home location. You don't even poof and respawn. As a 'game' Second Life totally sucks as there is zero risk in anything and everything you do or don't do.

So along comes American Apparel: creates a build and a virtual location in-world and leaves it. it is easy to proclaim that they are either really so conceited that they think their brand actually means something to anyone or they are really, really stupid or both.

Well, it's not about that. Why would anyone go there for clothing? Clothing isn't needed in Second Life. Why would anyone go there for information on their products? They already have a decent web site for that. Why would anyone go there to inquire about a job, products, locations, anything? There were no official representatives on-hand. There wasn't even a proper catalog of product.

So they built it and left. No one came. Fail.

I can't speak for American Apparel and what their own take is on it. it was reported time and again that it was a, and I paraphrase here, 'massive failure'. Thus, all commercial endeavors in Second Life have been, is and will be: total failure. so don't waste your money.

Pffft.

The fact of the matter is that they simply didn't do it right. You need to treat Second Life as a whole new country with it's own culture and that culture requires interaction. There are many successful commercial entities in second Life. I've already mentioned in a previous post how I went to a flower shop in world, previewed several arrangements, made the purchase to have delivered and paid in Linden Dollars (L$) - they were delivered and the arrangement was actually pretty close to what I saw in world.

It was a wonderful experience. A large part of that experience was that there were 'official' representatives on-hand, in-world to help me out. it was great. Last year it alo was big news how a new method of marketing in virtual worlds became the grand experiment, which is considered the most successful venture to-date in second Life.

So much so that they still speak of it:
Wagner James Au sez: "Serve Existing Community Needs:With Second Life, new users enter a strange, overwhelming world without many objects in their inventory, and are usually too intimidated to talk with the locals. To serve this need, the agency behind a promotion for IMAX created “buzz agent” avatars who cheerfully engaged “noobs” in Second Life’s Welcome Area, offering them tips on using the interface — all while handing out “Harry Potter” memorabilia and directing them to IMAX’s retail site.

"Of course, while these success stories might encourage marketers to take a second look at Second Life and other virtual worlds, the metrics of success still haven’t been agreed upon. That’s why many are eagerly awaiting a Forrester Research report that will try to define and standardize virtual marketing ROI."

My point being a simple one: Understand your target audience - simple enough. Your current demographics will serve you well here. But also understand your market. In Second Life, your market is Second Life. It's a whole new culture that is not based on ethnic or any particular cultural paradigm. it's a new mish-mash of ideas and attitudes.

AQs in the real world, people must have a reason or interest to even look at your product. They must know it exists, have an interest in learning more about it, then and only then - if the interest holds - will they seek more information. Having a means to answer those questions clearly and completely will go a long way.

So, in Second Life: the culture has a lot to do with interactivity.

Source

UPDATE - 2:50 p.m. Pacific: In a bit of funny timing, here's another article about successful marketing in-world in Second Life. And actually a fun read, whether you're a marketeer or not. The article is found here.

PostHeaderIcon SL Economy Reliant on U.S. Congress

EconomyTateru Nino is a respectable reporter. Very good, in fact. not alarmist, doesn't use the terms 'can' and 'will', but rather uses 'could' and 'might'. This is proper reporting and because of this, she is probably my favorite of all Second Life commentators are is highly respected by all.

So the current 'big' political news has to do with the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" (UIGEA) - which is just as stupid and damaging as the "Digital Millenium Copyright Act" (DMCA). The problem is that the U.S. Congress tries too hard to placate the loudest whiners (can you say music and movie industries?)

Unfortunately, with such overbearing and complicated laws, there always are too many loopholes and there will be those who game the laws in real life. Example: music industry suing a 12-year-old girl for having a half-dozen MP3 files in the sharing folder of her computer.

So, in the interest of protecting us from ourselves, (yes that is really the whole reason and purpose as insinuated ,) we now have the UIGEA. The problem is that because internet gambling sites are usually based outside the United States and untouchable by U.S. laws, the UIGEA goes after U.S. financial institutions directly if they transfer money to these site or for these purposes.

It's as though it is illegal for you to buy candy, but if I give you money and you choose to spend it on candy, I get arrested for providing you the money you use to break the law. Or better yet: the gun manufacturer should be tossed into prison because you aimed it at a human being instead of a bear or dear or duck, regardless if you pulled the trigger or not.

There is real money involved, so these financial institutions will overreact to leave absolutely nothing to chance. Even if there is the slightest fraction of a percent that they could be fined for being on the wrong side of this law, they will move quickly to avoid it - proactively. It is far easier to punish the majority because there is the slightest chance the minority could cause trouble - no matter how realistically unlikely it might be.

So, the fear is that the UIGEA is not completely worded properly and thus there is an "emergency" session by Congressional committee to 'fix' it. Okay, Tateru: I'm not so sure the word 'emergency' really applies here.

I won't go into how all this applies to Second Life because Tateru has done an outstanding job:
Tateru nino of Massively sez: "Most obviously affected are some fantasy sports activities, and assorted fictional stock-exchanges, various other online games (backgammon, bridge, and poker -- ostensibly primarily a game of skill), and quite possibly any number of otherwise legitimate business activities in virtual environments from land speculation and rentals, to the manufacture and sale of clothing.It all depends on exactly what the wording says. Certainly it is causing a stir among some Second Life and Entropia Universe users who are concerned that this will break their respective digital economies."

Because this is a huge political season, there are those who will proclaim this as the Bush Administration attacking or otherwise looking to quash Second Life - which I quickly put the querbash on at my other blog (warning if you go there - it's far edgier and quite uncouth - I don't hold my opinions back!) For the record, the Presidential Administration has nothing to do with U.S. law other than to enforce it. It is the Democratic Congress that is behind this S.N.A.F.U.

The fact of the matter is this: the chance that Second Life's virtual economy or that of Entropia or any other virtual economy will be affected by anything like this at all is next to nil and here's why: in the case of Second Life - all legal tender is traded with Linden Lab - not the other individuals in-world.

Thus, it can easily be argued that any money you earn through Second Life is simply money that the company Linden Lab owes you. It is a credit, rather than a debit. No difference than a cash rebate one might get from buying a car or new television or a new bed or whatever.

Once in-world, all 'trading' is done by the digital equivalent of plastic tokens. A lot like the arcade place in the local shopping mall: you buy the tokens and then the tokens are used to play games or buy trinkets or whatever. The main difference is with Linden Lab, you are allowed to get a refund on any remaining tokens. Yes, this is over-simplifying the way all this works, but you get the idea.

Even if this argument doesn't fly with the overly nervous and on-the-verge-of-panic financial institutions, I still wouldn't worry and here's why: Congress, and the states are watching all that money being thrown around through Linden Lab and others. They are so itchy to get their hands into that pot that it's secretly driving them crazy with greed.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Congress is dreaming-up some kind of legislation to accomplish this goal. There is no way in hell that they will allow the Second Life or other virtual economies falter. There is simply too much money at stake. Especially with the huge numbers LL throws around with regard to the number of people and amounts of 'profit' being made in their spinning of public press releases.

At the very least, I see legislation whereas Linden lab will be required to report to the Internal Revenue Service the names and amounts earned of people who ever cash-out their credit from Linden Lab. Especially with all those shrill whiners and critics of LL who constantly proclaim proudly how they are making a living through Second Life and how it's their primary or sole income. I'll bet a penny to a dollar not a single one of them have voluntarily paid the taxes due.

Be careful what you say. Be careful what you wish for. Be very careful, people.

Congress already has had a 'virtual meeting' session inside Second Life. The whole secondary premise of the UIGEA and real purpose in my own suspicion is this: It provides a means to require all financial institutions to monitor all monies coming and going through the internet, from and where to and by whom, especially institutions like Linden Research and Second Life.

This is a prerequisite to getting the needed data in order to track you, specifically for the purpose of taxing you later. I would not be surprised to see in the news how some Second Life resident is being sued by the I.R.S. for tax evasion because they did not report the income received from Linden Lab, which they did not first put-into Linden Lab: a.k.a. profit.

Mark my words.
It's coming.

And when it does, it will be a bittersweet vindication for me, as I'll be just as frustrated, angry and completely pissed-off as all the rest of you. The difference with me is that I never cash-out my Linden Lab credit. That money sits there, paying my tier fees. The question is whether the greedy politicians will find a way to call that income, even though I never received it, but solely because it's in my name.

I await the day that the law will require Linden Lab to report all legal tender credit they owe you to the I.R.S. When that happens, 'big brother' will be a step closer to the big brother of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Tateru's Report

This subject as referenced at:
Socially Mundane blog (Warning - vitriolic ranting here)

PostHeaderIcon Second Life Economy Reliant on U.S. Congress? Yes... and No.

Tateru Nino is a respectable reporter. Very good, in fact. not alarmist, doesn't use the terms 'can' and 'will', but rather uses 'could' and 'might'. This is proper reporting and because of this, she is probably my favorite of all Second Life commentators are is highly respected by all.

So the current 'big' political news has to do with the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" (UIGEA) - which is just as stupid and damaging as the "Digital Millenium Copyright Act" (DMCA). The problem is that the U.S. Congress tries too hard to placate the loudest whiners (can you say music and movie industries?)

Unfortunately, with such overbearing and complicated laws, there always are too many loopholes and there will be those who game the laws in real life. Example: music industry suing a 12-year-old girl for having a half-dozen MP3 files in the sharing folder of her computer.

So, in the interest of protecting us from ourselves, (yes that is really the whole reason and purpose as insinuated ,) we now have the UIGEA. The problem is that because internet gambling sites are usually based outside the United States and untouchable by U.S. laws, the UIGEA goes after U.S. financial institutions directly if they transfer money to these site or for these purposes.

It's as though it is illegal for you to buy candy, but if I give you money and you choose to spend it on candy, I get arrested for providing you the money you use to break the law. Or better yet: the gun manufacturer should be tossed into prison because you aimed it at a human being instead of a bear or dear or duck, regardless if you pulled the trigger or not.

There is real money involved, so these financial institutions will overreact to leave absolutely nothing to chance. Even if there is the slightest fraction of a percent that they could be fined for being on the wrong side of this law, they will move quickly to avoid it - proactively. It is far easier to punish the majority because there is the slightest chance the minority could cause trouble - no matter how realistically unlikely it might be.

So, the fear is that the UIGEA is not completely worded properly and thus there is an "emergency" session by Congressional committee to 'fix' it. Okay, Tateru: I'm not so sure the word 'emergency' really applies here.

I won't go into how all this applies to Second Life because Tateru has done an outstanding job:
Tateru nino of Massively sez: "Most obviously affected are some fantasy sports activities, and assorted fictional stock-exchanges, various other online games (backgammon, bridge, and poker -- ostensibly primarily a game of skill), and quite possibly any number of otherwise legitimate business activities in virtual environments from land speculation and rentals, to the manufacture and sale of clothing.It all depends on exactly what the wording says. Certainly it is causing a stir among some Second Life and Entropia Universe users who are concerned that this will break their respective digital economies."

Because this is a huge political season, there are those who will proclaim this as the Bush Administration attacking or otherwise looking to quash Second Life - which I quickly put the querbash on at my other blog (warning if you go there - it's far edgier and quite uncouth - I don't hold my opinions back!) For the record, the Presidential Administration has nothing to do with U.S. law other than to enforce it. It is the Democratic Congress that is behind this S.N.A.F.U.

The fact of the matter is this: the chance that Second Life's virtual economy or that of Entropia or any other virtual economy will be affected by anything like this at all is next to nil and here's why: in the case of Second Life - all legal tender is traded with Linden Lab - not the other individuals in-world.

Thus, it can easily be argued that any money you earn through Second Life is simply money that the company Linden Lab owes you. It is a credit, rather than a debit. No difference than a cash rebate one might get from buying a car or new television or a new bed or whatever.

Once in-world, all 'trading' is done by the digital equivalent of plastic tokens. A lot like the arcade place in the local shopping mall: you buy the tokens and then the tokens are used to play games or buy trinkets or whatever. The main difference is with Linden Lab, you are allowed to get a refund on any remaining tokens. Yes, this is over-simplifying the way all this works, but you get the idea.

Even if this argument doesn't fly with the overly nervous and on-the-verge-of-panic financial institutions, I still wouldn't worry and here's why: Congress, and the states are watching all that money being thrown around through Linden Lab and others. They are so itchy to get their hands into that pot that it's secretly driving them crazy with greed.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Congress is dreaming-up some kind of legislation to accomplish this goal. There is no way in hell that they will allow the Second Life or other virtual economies falter. There is simply too much money at stake. Especially with the huge numbers LL throws around with regard to the number of people and amounts of 'profit' being made in their spinning of public press releases.

At the very least, I see legislation whereas Linden lab will be required to report to the Internal Revenue Service the names and amounts earned of people who ever cash-out their credit from Linden Lab. Especially with all those shrill whiners and critics of LL who constantly proclaim proudly how they are making a living through Second Life and how it's their primary or sole income. I'll bet a penny to a dollar not a single one of them have voluntarily paid the taxes due.

Be careful what you say. Be careful what you wish for. Be very careful, people.

Congress already has had a 'virtual meeting' session inside Second Life. The whole secondary premise of the UIGEA and real purpose in my own suspicion is this: It provides a means to require all financial institutions to monitor all monies coming and going through the internet, from and where to and by whom, especially institutions like Linden Research and Second Life.

This is a prerequisite to getting the needed data in order to track you, specifically for the purpose of taxing you later. I would not be surprised to see in the news how some Second Life resident is being sued by the I.R.S. for tax evasion because they did not report the income received from Linden Lab, which they did not first put-into Linden Lab: a.k.a. profit.

Mark my words.
It's coming.

And when it does, it will be a bittersweet vindication for me, as I'll be just as frustrated, angry and completely pissed-off as all the rest of you. The difference with me is that I never cash-out my Linden Lab credit. That money sits there, paying my tier fees. The question is whether the greedy politicians will find a way to call that income, even though I never received it, but solely because it's in my name.

I await the day that the law will require Linden Lab to report all legal tender credit they owe you to the I.R.S. When that happens, 'big brother' will be a step closer to the big brother of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Tateru's Report

This subject as referenced at:
Socially Mundane blog (Warning - vitriolic ranting here)

PostHeaderIcon Bush Administration Moving to Block Second Life: Dipshit.

No, the Bush Administration isn't the dipshit. The author of this piece, Howard Hugh Tate, is the dispshit. Dumbfuck. Bonehead. Ignorant snot. whatever expletive you want to throw in their direction, it will pretty much apply based on this 'article'.

Obviously some far-left whacko hell-bent on scaring people to vote against Republicans or some stupid shit like like that. Yo, dipshit, anyone with an ounce of intellect ~at~ ~all~ will not vote against someone, as they will be getting a complete unknown in whomever wins the race, but rather will vote for someone who actually makes it known what their policies are and will be.

As for any presidential administration making such a law or rule or executive order or any kind of anything that will cause Second Life or WoW or any online entertainment company to shut-down or shutter its doors is laughable and ludicrous. It shows what a paranoid dumbfuck you are.

There is no such thing as 'real estate' in Second Life. I can prove it: nothing in Second Life is "real". Idiot.

So, shrill rants like yours only serve to show how screwed-up you are intellectually:
"Ground-breaking sites like Second Life will likely fall victim to this expanded reach. Second Life has a successful in-world economy that involves, in part, trading and developing real estate with other community members. The Second Life economic system has hundreds of thousands of users trading 5.3 billion "Liden dollars" which are freely convertible to U.S. dollars.Liden Research has already moved to ban games of chance within Second Life, but the new regulations pose a threat to the fundamental economy of the site.Given the new risks and burdens the proposed regulations places on the U.S. banking system, there is little difference between trading real estate in Second Life and other “games of skill” that the regulations target."
Source

And, to show this buffoon can't even write for himself, he finally divulges the original source from where he copied it from. In a second post, of course. And, judging from the 'original' source, it becomes obvious this author is nothing more than a stupid lemming who can't think for himself as his gullibility falls right into the target audience of the seriously insane whacko mentality of the original web site.

My only fear? This bonehead is in Second Life and I might run into him. That will confirm the downfall into the slums for all residents of SL.

PostHeaderIcon A Real Virtual Emergency

So you've been to the Gorean City sims, the Bondage Ranch where the hypocritical comments about Goreans are thrown around, Neva's Naughty Newbie Orgy-fest and all the other 'dark, moist' areas of Second Life.

You've undoubtedly heard about the furry communities, science fiction communities, melitia communities, childrens communities, griefer communities, educational communities, philanthropic communities and a host of so many others.

We've even heard about how Second Life helps those who are handicapped in one way or another. How Sl is great for corporate meetings or educational lessons and even scientific study.

And we've heard how terrorists are training and practicing in SL and how the fire department, paramedics, police, F. B. I. and a host of other public service agencies all the wy to the C. I. A. are using Second life to study whatever it is that blows-up their respective skirts.

In the Seattle area, not all that long ago, and rather often as feasible, they exercised an emergency situation. Real Life role-play of some catastrophic event in order to give emergency services the opportunity to test their emergency plans and theories, enact a massive rescue and recovery effort and basically go all-out in terms of training and assistance.

The problem is which scenario do you practice? Earthquake (yes, seattle area does get those, too)? Terrorist bomb explosion? Poisoned or otherwise tainted water supply? Volcano eruption? The practice is far too expensive and time-consuming to do this kind of thing once a year, much less once a month or week.

Enter Second Life.
Really. Literally.

I've heard of Electric Sheep, Millions of Us, Rivers Run Red and a few other virtual world aftermarket consultants, but I've not heard of Centrax. Makes me wonder if they specialize in Second Life or virtual worlds in  general or if they simply specialize in this kind of practice: recreating the real world in a virtual way in order to make as real as possible some kind of massive training event.

Children's Memorial Hospital (not specified where, but assuming Chicago as the story is in the Chicago Sun Times,) has hired Centrax for this very purpose. Create some kind of emergency where aid services are needed en-masse at the hospital.

One of of the questions has to do with peripheral effect: what happens to the traffic around the hospital, for example? How will that affect the surrouding areas? Will it prevent additional emergency services from getting in? Evacuations from getting out? How will the 'world' of the hospital and the emmidiate area... and by extention, the rest of the city be affected?

The cost, time and effort in role-playing such a thing is prohibitive. not to mention actually causing the problems that could occur if it were all real.

I repeat: enter Second Life.

Second Life is called and known as, by many, a 'game'.
Second life is know as 'social experiment'. It's known as an MMORPG Role-Playing environment. A 'virtual world', a scientific laboratory, and artists canvass and so on.

Now add "tactical training simulator' to the mix.
Okay, uncle Phil: yes, SL constantly suffers growing pains. yes, Linden Lab has received some bad press, most of it undeserved, yes, there are some pretty raunchy parts of SL you'd really rather not be the focus of what goes on in here.

And yes, your vision, whatever it really was in the begining, grows on it's own. Unfortuantely, bad news is sensational and grabs the attention of the throngs. The whole 'fashionista' scene proves that daily with ridiculous drama and the wave-makers.

But sometimes, the good news slides-in quietly.
Sandra Guy quotes Judi Smith: "Someone will find the backpack in the virtual hospital. He or she will pick up the phone to call security. A command team forms and decides to call the fire department," Smith said."You cannot play this out on a tabletop, not from the context of walking down Orchard Street, seeing 10 ambulances sitting there and realizing they are blocking traffic," she said.Mock accident drills are not as effective as virtual world immersions because they are expensive, one-time efforts that cannot be repeated or broken into segments, Smith said.
Source

PostHeaderIcon A Psycho Bitch Always Will Be A Psycho Bitch

I always have believed that online, people tend to not really be themselves. The basic anonymity tend to magnify our own personalities. Those personalities at first were made-up, fictional opposites in most cases, at least in the beginning. Then we tended to lean more toward ourselves. But either way, our interaction with other people have always been far more intense than it could be or will be in real life face-to-face.

With the advent of Second Life, this is truer than ever before - and the magnification and intensity of what we feel has gone up exponentially. It doesn't matter whether it's the good, the bad or the ugly. I've already written about this here on this blog. In that case, it was a socially awesome situation. Of course, with the news of the whacked-out stalker/kidnapper that has been all over the news recently, this is a socially f'ked-up situation.

Isadora of Isadora's Doorway blog focused on this a bit:
Isadora of Isadora's Doorway sez: "I tend to agree that SL has become too open for everyone, including those who can be sick in the head, to come in. In a way, I also agree that Second Life also empowers, enables and feeds to their deluded mind, in a way that is different to us.
I know what you are communicating here, Isadora. But you are wrong. Second Life affects them the same way it affects us. The difference is that they already are fucked-up in the head and have serious societal issues.

I know many people who come into SL and experience things in a far more intensive way than normal. No matter if it's love, hate or everything else in-between.

Isadora continues: "True, Second Life affect all of us in one way or another, and such changes that SL has injected into our real lives impacts us in ways we don’t really understand. We hear of stories about how people with disabilities turn to Second Life and feel that they are equal to us abled bodied people in the grid, that people are able to unleash their inner creativity, find true love, learn to actualize their great SL to their FL, and change for the better." [sic]
Actually, we do understand it. In fact, that's part of the blessing or shame of it. The fact that we do understand it, what it does to us, to our minds, our real lives are definitely affected by it whether we want to admit it or not. it's why there is so much real, good work being done and 'miracles' being accomplished. it's why education is so successful. Because the Second Life experience is intensified to the Nth degree.

What happens in second Life is far more intense, mentally and emotionally than the exact same activity in real life, save some of the wilder things such as flying or teleporting, et cetera.
Isadora also says: "However, it doesn’t impact us in a way that makes us want to hurt people and animals"
Wanna bet?

Obviously, you are mistaken here, otherwise the story you are reporting on - the stalker/kidnapper scenario, never would have occurred. Your article is a good one. And much of what you say is spot-on. Except that your readers, if they don't already, should understand this:

Whatever your mindset is, when you enter Second Life and spend some time in-world, your mentality, emotion, intellect, all of it will be fine-tuned to what is going on on-screen. There are no distractions such as smell, the need to eat or sleep, the temperature around you, the weather. Additionally, practically everyone in Second Life is the perfect, beautiful looker.

All that is left is the mind and personality. Thus, we focus on that. it is the only real thing that comes through in our interractions. Thus, those interractions with regard to emotion are incredibly acute, fierce, extreme ... pick your word. They all apply.

Thus, someone looking or a relationship will find one. Even those not looking for one tend to faqll into one. The level of that relationship will intensify whether we want it to or not. There are many whose best freinds are met through second Life.

The thing is, whatever your persona, wonderful, friendly, always upbeat and happy-go-lucky or mentally fucked-up - whatever it is, it will become magnified. and, because we are not dealing with computer-generated characters, but rather with real people...

See where this is going?

A psycho bitch always will be a psycho bitch. Second Life simply brings it out of her into the open.

Source

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