PostHeaderIcon Linden Lab Give Euros Some Love

Okay, I didn't know they even had one for the united States and Canada, but they over at Linden lab have hired a marketing director whose charge is Europa at large.

She starts today and what good timing. She can begin with a baptism by fire as she tackles the hoopla over the tier rate increases on Openspace sims.
News: Second Life appoints new Euro chief to boost business - Marketing Week: "Second Life, the virtual world, has appointed Clare Rees to the new role of European marketing director.

Rees will be responsible for boosting activity on the online platform, including adding more members and encouraging more businesses to use the virtual world as a promotional tool. She joins on October 31"

courtesy of Marketing Week

PostHeaderIcon "M": BOO! Happy Holloween

Cool BuildsWagner James Au over at GigaOM got what could be the typical PR response from Mark Kingdon - "M" Linden about the Openspace SNAFU:
Virtual Protest Threatens Linden Lab’s Profitability - GigaOM: "I contacted freshly minted Linden CEO Mark Kingdon for his comments about the protest. In a statement provided by his publicist, Kingdon told me, ‘We understand that this price adjustment will affect businesses and other projects of some our Second Life Residents,’ and emphasized the cost increases were only directed at select landowners, who have until January 2009 to adjust themselves to the new rates.

‘To be clear,’ Kingdon continued, ‘this price adjustment affects only a portion of land in Second Life; it does not apply to private islands or regular mainland property. We made this change to ensure an optimal Second Life experience for all Residents.’"


Is "M" Linden really that stupid?
Hello, M Linden. There was never a question as to which part of the different "types" of virtual land that was affected with this announcement. You sound like Barac Obama or John McCain.

Either you are really effing stupid (we know better) or this is the dumbest dumbass spin of giving and answer without giving an answer I (we all) have ever seen (you know better).

So I'm afraid Mr. Kingdon, I am forced to say it:

Dumbass.

If you really want to know what I think of the "Openspace sim" controversy, visit my other blog Socially Mundane. Specific articles are here, here, here and here.

courtesy of GigaOM

PostHeaderIcon "M" in M Linden Means "Malarkey"

Tech Central isn't as much "mainstream" as they come. But it is the first salvo of the Public Relations jolt Linden Lab will face in the "rest" of the real world as news of their Openspace Tier-hike makes its rounds through the 'standard' media.

And, since we know that often, even though news like this Openspace tier issue spreads like wildfire, the burning embers keep burning as people still talk about and report on the "bank closures" in Second Life.

And Mark Kingdon's spin is called-out into the open.

/me rubs index fingers together as though trying to start a fire...at "M" Lindon, wondering if "M" really stands for 'Malarkey'.
Tech Central - Times Online - WBLG: Second Life needs a bailout after all: "Last week, when I spoke to Mark Kingdon, the chief executive of Linden Lab, the company that runs Second Life, he was keen to tell me that his virtual world wasn't suffering thanks to the credit crunch. In fact, he claimed that it was thriving.

So it's a tad shocking that the company was forced to create a bailout plan of its own this week - jacking up the price of the cheapest Second Life land by $50 - a 66 per cent increase. The resulting outcry has been predictable."

courtesy of Tech Central

PostHeaderIcon My Evil Linden Fanboy Lovefest...?

No, I haven't received any comments accusing me of this and I certainly wouldn't proclaim it. I am far from a "Linden fanboy" - however I do try to see the logical common sense in things, though I expect to start receiving them soon enough.

The comments over at gigaOM under the article I posted about yesterday are all over the place, but all say the same basic things. So I posted my own feedback reply there:
Virtual Protest Threatens Linden Lab’s Profitability - Ari Blackthorne: "I don’t like it any better than anyone else.
I hate that Linden does this.
But - in a BUSINESS SENSE, it’s pure genius."

It's a bit of a long post in the talk-back area of another blog. And since I was more or less speaking to all the other talkback participants and not the article author (James Hamlet Au) - I figured I'd repeat my talkback post here. because of the way the loudmouths are acting, I simply had to classify this as 'Embarrassing".

To all of you naughty, ridiculous, emotionally shrill people:


I'll be the bad guy. I'll take all the flame posts and be your sacrificial barbecue at the stake:

http://sociallymundane.com/2008/10/openspaces-communication-opened-again.html

I don't like it any better than anyone else.
I hate that Linden does this.
But - in a BUSINESS SENSE, it's pure genius.

No, I am not referring to PR-wise. But that problem will blow-over quickly because people have short memories. Remember the KinderPorn hoopla? The Gambling-Ban-fiasco? All those other reasons for people to scream in shrill voices?

I am not saying they (the screamers) are wrong or without merit.
What I /am/ saying is this: what can you do about it?

The smart thing to do is simple: we have 60-days to choose. So, use that sixty days to first discover if you will be able to raise the funding to maintain the Openspace sim. If not, decide how much into the hole you are willing to go.

If that's a no-go, sit and wait to see if Linden Lab adjusts these price changes in a way that is more digestible for most people, say for example a ranked system or a "use-tier' rate based on how your OS sim is used.

Then finally, when the time to pay the new tier fee is near, if all else fails then - and only then - submit your ticket of abandonment. You, we, all who own OS sims (or rather, lease) don't have to act in such a knee-jerk way. If you are shrill about it, who will listen to you other than those in your camp?

But if you are calm and collected and reenforce your argument, instead of raising your voice, you are more likely to open a real dialog and possible actual results may come of it.

FailureAs for all of you "threatening" to bail to OpenSim grids: good riddance. Take your dramafest with you. And when you go, you also take with you comeptition, drama, and bandwidth. In short, you make the grid better for those of us with a calm and collected mind [who remain behind].

A more stable grid, less competition in business (whatever that business might be) and less nonsense drama for a more peaceful existence. Unfortunately, 99% of the "I'm done with SL" crowd are all bark and no bite. Just like all those whom have made that same threat day-in and day-out throughout Second Life's history and you know a few already.

Either they just can't leave, or they leave and return, or the find some 'positive' reason that 'placates' them into returning or they create more alts.

I have had accounts on six or seven OpenSim grids. They are Second Life back in 2004. The reason people stay with second Life even through these infuriating scenarios is simple: Second Life is /established/. And so are you. Both financially and through "sweat equity."

So my suggestion is simply: stop the rhetoric, calm down, put your thinking caps on and let's open a civilized, calm, progressive dialog with Linden Lab - and not as much with Jack Linden, but rather to the top-shop: Robin and "M" Linden.

Shit. I should have just made all this a post on my own blog LOL
meh, think I will.
courtesy of GigaOM

PostHeaderIcon New Euro Marketer for SL

Okay, I didn't know they even had one for the united States and Canada, but they over at Linden lab have hired a marketing director whose charge is Europa at large.

She starts today and what good timing. She can begin with a baptism by fire as she tackles the hoopla over the tier rate increases on Openspace sims.
News: Second Life appoints new Euro chief to boost business - Marketing Week: "Second Life, the virtual world, has appointed Clare Rees to the new role of European marketing director.

Rees will be responsible for boosting activity on the online platform, including adding more members and encouraging more businesses to use the virtual world as a promotional tool. She joins on October 31"

courtesy of Marketing Week

PostHeaderIcon Openspaces Communication Opened. Again

The Infant FingerI like Jack. Jack Linden is an up-front guy, doesn't pull any punches and says it like it is. Way to go Jack. I really mean that.

As I've said in my previous posts, Jack is certainly not the main or final decision maker in these matters. And no doubt everything he spoke of in the original Second Life blog post is true, it's not the whole explanation.

I ran into another blog posting on the subject regarding the price changes themselves and it was such an epiphany for me, All I could say was "ditto" and link back.

As for the reason of the price change: I feel Jack is upfront, honest and truthful about it all. As for the price-points chosen - this is not Jack's domain. This part falls to other powers that be, including the Chief Financial Officer, Zee Linden - or whatever the hell his name is. And besides, Linden Lab, on an official basis, steadfastly proclaims Linden Dollars (L$) as nothing more than in-game tokens and have no monetary value whatsoever. (I looked for Tateru's article on this - from way-back-days - but couldn't find it to link to it.)


So, if the tier goes up by $20 or $100 difference, it doesn't matter. A lot of people will abandon their Openspace sims. So, analyze the situation, project how many will likely bail an then build that loss into the amount of price change.

Since the increase is about 67% as proclaimed by so many with better math than I have, then it can be assumed that LindenLab is projects approximate 40% bail-rate.

This is genius as business sense goes.

Raise the tier, absorb such a high rate of loss (assume 40%,) maintain the same or near same income. Additionally, freeing up 40% of all the resources being used by these Openspaces, and now having the additional cost of continuing sales of these Openspace sim and resource requirement costs built-in hence forth - and make a little more profit in the mean time as those resources (hardware, etc.) can be recycled - thus saving more money.

Genius.

The only issue I see with it is this: There are those who use Openspace sims for their intended purpose: simple 'builds" and literally "open space" - water or prairie or whatever. These people are getting 'ripped' at the high cost of leasing hosting for these sims. It's like paying your web hot provider to host a web page that is basically plank. or shows a picture or two. No other real content.

But there also are those who do use these Openspace sims for more. I do, I have a sparsely built "residential" area between two of my own sims. However, except for prim use, there's practically no load and it is rare anyone ever spends any real time there, and it is tightly managed. It is a static area.

Then there are those who try to use an Openspace sim the same way as a "full" sim is used: as a destination - with shopping, gathering, role-playing - whatever. Intended to be like a main destination sim, intending to draw people, intending to be a hang-out gathering place.

So, there's three "tiers of use" right there.

Perhaps a good idea for Linden Lab (Are you paying attention Robin, and Jack and Zee-oo-whatever your name is?)

Personally, I would suggest the Openspace sims being used as actual "Open Spaces" remain at the original tier level. Perhaps 30% increase in cost for "medium-use" - like I have it. And the full 60% increase (an additional 30%) for those who are pushing the limits.

Certainly the Grid system is robust and flexible enough to automate the checking-of-use on these sims and the billing process can be automated.

I, for one, am totally willing to pay for the way I use my Openspace sim according to the way I use it on a "use-tier" system. I don't resell or lease land on mine. It's already built. If you rent a house on my Openspace sim, you are allowed a limited number of prims to set out. The rest I control.

But those using an Openspace sim the same way as a full sim (including tricking people to think it's a full-sim) should pay accordingly.

Well, there's my two Linden Dollars worth of feedback.

And no, I choose not to use the forums. Though I might pop in there to post a link to here. I know Lindens Peruse my rhetoric at least sometimes. I don't expect any feedback from them and neither should I. I am one of the rare Second Life residents who is not with an entitlement attitude.

As for whatever happens in Second Life: it is Linden Lab's right to dictate what, when, who and how. Even where, within the virtual world.

Me? I actually support them. Why? Because I enjoy Second Life and it is Linden Lab who provides it. And Linden lab must do what Linden Lab must do to remain a viable and going-concern. If that means they have to raise their usage fees, then so be it.

You, just like me, have to evaluate the cost-to-benefit ratio. When you've made that evaluation, make your decision, act on it. For me, I plan to see further what actual plan Linden Lab comes up with.

If they do choose to go with a "use-tier" billing method, I'll keep my Openspace sim. If they do not and the increase remains as originally posted - well, they gave 60-days notice, just like they promise. And I will likely abandon the Openspace and just keep my two full class-fives, nless I can find a way to subsidize the additional cost, which I won't hold my breath on.

There's no reason to get bent out of shape on the ordeal. I don't like it, but I do understand it and thus, I throw my support into it.

Update regarding the Openspaces announcement « Jack Linden: "We are saying that the use has changed, and continues to do so as people find more creative ways to use them. So the revised pricing is about recognising that change of use and the additional costs and value associated with it.

"Over the next few days we will be continuing to review the feedback and keep the dialogue flowing with as many of you as we can. If you have something to say, the forum is the best place to say it. It is clear that some Openspaces are being used as they were intended originally, so we recognise that there are different levels of usage that we need to account for."

courtesy of Second Life Blog

PostHeaderIcon "M" Linden Speaks on Openspace Controversy

Wagner James Au over at GigaOM got what could be the typical PR response from Mark Kingdon - "M" Linden about the Openspace SNAFU:

Virtual Protest Threatens Linden Lab’s Profitability - GigaOM: "I contacted freshly minted Linden CEO Mark Kingdon for his comments about the protest. In a statement provided by his publicist, Kingdon told me, ‘We understand that this price adjustment will affect businesses and other projects of some our Second Life Residents,’ and emphasized the cost increases were only directed at select landowners, who have until January 2009 to adjust themselves to the new rates. ‘To be clear,’ Kingdon continued, ‘this price adjustment affects only a portion of land in Second Life; it does not apply to private islands or regular mainland property. We made this change to ensure an optimal Second Life experience for all Residents.’"

Is "M" Linden really that stupid?
Hello, M Linden. There was never a question as to which part of the different "types" of virtual land that was affected with this announcement. You sound like Barac Obama or John McCain.

Either you are really effing stupid (we know better) or this is the dumbest dumbass spin of giving and answer without giving an answer I (we all) have ever seen (you know better).

So I'm afraid Mr. Kingdon, I am forced to say it:

Dumbass.

If you really want to know what I think of the "Openspace sim" controversy, visit my other blog Socially Mundane. Specific articles are here, here, here and here.

courtesy of GigaOM

PostHeaderIcon OPEN SPACE SNAFU: DITTO

SNAFU.
OPEN SPACE BAIT AND SWITCH: "Such degradation is NOT due, however, to people improperly using Open Space Sims. To be blunt, that's just more of the corporate propaganda smoke screen they've employed for the last five years: blame the customers for their problems. To put it simply: Linden Lab sold more resources than they had to offer.

Their soluttion therefore, is to reduce the number of Open Space sims. But how can they do so without reducing profits? They can't just close the sims, because that will cost them some $1.2 million a month in revenues, plus make them liable for setup fees. However, they CAN increase Open Space sim prices so ludicrously that people are forced to shut down their sims.

How will that not cost Linden Lab profits? Because at an 67% price hike, Linden Lab can afford to lose some 40% of their Open Space Sim customers and still break even. However, isn't that unfair to their customers? Of course it is. But after the last five years of history, is there anyone out here who really expects them to care about the welfare or wishes of their customers? Their history in such things is pretty established."


Ditto.

courtesy of

PostHeaderIcon Ummm, Is THAT Copyrighted, Too?

Internet MapIf you have followed this blog for any length of time whatsoever, you already know I try to be as balanced as I can, with common sense. By that I mean, I will defend Linden Lab and the Linden employees where they are unfairly, unscrupulously and just plain wrongly abused and attacked with shrill vitriolic nonsense.

However, I am not a "fanboy" of Linden lab, either. I will chastise Linden Lab and Second Life "residents" in a heartbeat with all I've got if I think it's warranted. Again, this all being based on common sense.

I won't bother linking to the mountains of blog posts and talkbacks all over the SLOgosphere (I forget who coined that term, but I'm hijacking it) - including my own posts here and on my other blog. But suffice it to say I can drop a pretty good hammer.

I always have proclaimed and tried to beat into the heads of the shrill idiots out there that Linden Lab doesn't like instability or bugs any more than we do. That they really are trying to work on this stuff and we all are simply experiencing the never-ending growing pains that come with such technology.

As for Jack Linden's post about 'Open Space' costs and tiers going up in January, do you really think he made that decision all on his own? Grow the f*ck-up, will you? No one and Linden Lab is an island. Nothing is done or decided on without great thought and consideration for the welfare of the business, then the welfare of the users.

He is simply the messenger. For crying out loud.

So FJ Linden drops a post in to the Second Life blog - one of his monthly grid updates. And it's good news. It is confirmation of what we have always wanted: a serious effort at fixing grid and system stability, and also the knowing that perviously mentioned ideas are now going to be implemented.

But also, for all you screaming whiners who don't have a single positive thing to say about Linden Lab and the Linden employees:
"I’m happy to report that we have an approved plan to move away from VPN reliance. We’ve finalized a design and chosen facility and equipment partners to build and deploy a private fiber optic ring to interconnect our datacenters."

The emphasis is mine. Remember, not everyone at Linden Lab, or any other company for that matter can run around doing whatever the hell they want willy-nilly. So, when you see an announcement on the Second Life blog - for example, Jack Linden's announcement that tiers are going up for the Open Space sims - go ahead and give your disgruntled feedback. But don't kill the messenger as so many of you choose to do. It's unlikely Jack or any other single person came-up with this idea and decided to implement it all on their own lonesome whim.

So do try to remember, these men and women working for Linden Lab ore - as a rule - doing what they are told to do, under direction of superiors. If you want to lambast anyone in-particular, chew on "M" Lindens ass. It's what he is there for, these kind of decisions must be approved by him, and he is the one sole individual responsible for anything and everything Linden Lab does or does not do.

As for the good news:
Ongoing Updates from the Grid from FJ Linden: "‘LLnet’ will be the designation of our private network and we have established an aggressive timeframe to activate it. I’m pushing hard to bring LLnet online by the end of this year (’08), and begin a phased migration off of the VPN’s immediately after. Given the amount of traffic to move, I would estimate completion of this project by February or March of ‘09 at the latest. So we have a light at the end of the tunnel on one of our biggest stability issues"

So my question for Robin Linden and the legal department: is "LLnet" a registered trademark, too?

courtesy of Official Second Life Blog

PostHeaderIcon Role-play: Hypocrite by Another Name?

Trespassing PermittedThe premise of Second Life is that in-world you are experiencing a... well, second life. Certainly there are those, usually the younger crowd who look upon their experience in-world as simply an extension of themselves, much like your typical other social tools like iChat, Yahoo! Messenger or even Facebook or MySpace.

However, in Second Life, you are for the most part completely anonymous with regard to your real life. All that is known about the real you is whatever you are willing to share.

Thus, most, if not all of your persona in-world is basically role-playing to some degree. At the very least, your look, meaning your avatar shape, skin, hair - your entire 'look' in SL is a role-play of some sort, as it is assumed and most likely not anywhere near what you look like in person.

And that's okay.

There are those, including myself, who enjoy really living a completely different existence in SL: being someone you aren't or, in my case, being somewhere that simply doesn't exist in the real world. We build characters and 'live' by the rules of the environment we choose.


Like a 'stage-play' where we are the characters acting out our fictional stories in the fictional environment that interests us. And in SL, there are many: science fiction in Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica; the Romanum Imperium (Roman Empire if you haven't figured that one out,) the planet of Gor (which is radically misunderstood by practically everyone not in it); Medieval fantasy - with or without Elves, Wizards and Dragons.

Along with these themed environments are the actors: all manner of citizens: Roman Centurians and ladies; Elves and Humans; Humans and Klingons; Masters and Slaves and Panther Girls (yes, proper term is "Panther Girls" - not "Panthers" as that is an animal last time I checked and National Geographic Society backs me up on that.)

So in my role-playing environment, it is considered uncouth to gleam information from another's profile. Whether it be the main page or something in their "Picks". For instance, if I run across a Panther Girl and read her profile and learn she is a member of the Kuka-monga Tribe, it is inappropriate for me to simple start using that information in my role-play.
"You are of the Kuka-monga Tribe, who captured my brother so I will kill you in revenge! Aaaarrrgghhhh!!!!"
Okay, I agree, that's just stupid. Not my example above, but the idea that I would know such information and suddenly start using it in role play. It's totally implausible.

It doesn't matter which role-play environment we are speaking of, I'm sure this is an issue in all of SL's role-play 'cultures' - whether in space, on Gor, in Elvenwoodlandplace, or in Shangri-la.

So my question to all you role players whose role-play is ruined by being on the receiving end of such a person with 'magical knowledge' about you is this:

Why is that information in your profile to begin with?

If it is such taboo to read name tags, (to see your name and tribe or whatever,) and horrible role-play to read your profile and whatever back-story you have placed in there and use that information in role-play interaction with you - then why the hell is that information in there to begin with?

Can anyone tell me the meaning of "oxymoron"?
Or, more appropriately: "hypocrite"?


So with regard to most players, in the Gorean communities anyway, profiles often include "rules" such as the following:
"I am the member of such and such a city or tribe and I am a warrior/huntress/slave with or of so-and-so and I am of this heritage and this is my caste/place/dities.

"Read LIMITS IN PICKS!!!

"DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION IN IN CHARACTER OR ROLE-PLAY IS INVALID"
And of course, in their picks they have a bunch of stupid crap like:
RP LIMITS:
No cutting hair
No killing
No raping
No capturing
No punishing
No this
No that
No RP in 5-Minutes and I TP out
Okay - if I am not to read your name tag or profile in role-play, then how the hell am I supposed to know what your ridiculous limits are? If I am not supposed to know what you put in your profile regarding your back-story in-character; who you are; what your status or whatever is - why is that information in your profile to begin with?

As for "limits" - this is Gor. No such thing as limits.

My profile does not include anything regarding my role-play except one. All that is there is information how to contact me and work with me if you need assistance with one of my creations you have purchased. That's it.

In my pick, the only thing that is there is there for the profile-whores who simply cannot resist. And all that is there is to reinforce my belief about the role-play in Gor:
Role-play Limits:

The world is a mirror and YOU are the mirror. Therefor, your limits are the same as mine;

Limits:
None.
Done.
I only wish I could put the same emphasis formatting in my profile.

If you simply must read my profile to learn as much about my 'character' as you can before you interact with me in-character, you won't get much as you can see. Even my tag is blank so you cannot easily see what my caste is. About the only thing you can learn is my city as I obviously have that in there to help with SL ranking.

When someone comes to me and suddenly blurts my name and caste, I don't go stupid on them and proclaim "how could you know that? You are reading profiles - RP is invalid!!!"

I simply assume they have learned via role-play through other means: such as someone else pointing to me and saying "That's Ari, the city slaver." Is that not plausible?

So all of you with all that information in your profile: I don't read profiles. Which also means your "role-play limits" are completely moot. If we interact and you proclaim some dumb-ass role-play limit - then I will make it known far and wide what a crappy, whiney-assed role-player you are and put you on my 'do-not-role-play-with' list. That will be in my picks.

If by chance I am curious enough (or someone tells me) to read your profile - all the information there is fair-game. I see it as you with a 'scroll' pinned on your forehead for everyone to see and read. If you don't like it - then remove that information.

It's a lot like when dumb-ass slaves or free women (and yes, sometimes men) emote "thoughts" as a way to insult someone without in-character repercussion. If you emote a thought in my presence, I will react to it and treat it as you "thinking aloud" and I guarantee you might not like the result.

My answer to any proclamation of "((that was a thought, you can't hear it))" - is this:
"Then you really must be more careful to keep your thoughts to yourself and not absentmindedly think-out-loud."
So, what's your opinion on "role-play information" in profiles, and at the same time that information being off-limits in-character, unless you 'learn' it through role-play?

PostHeaderIcon Openspace Pricing Not So Open

Last night at the Second Life blog, Jack Linden made the post we all knew were coming. All of it is plausible:
Openspace Pricing and Policy Changes « Official Second Life Blog: "Beginning 1st January 2009 We will increase the monthly maintenance fee from USD$75 to USD$125 per month. This price increase will apply to all owners of Openspaces on January 1st as well as new purchases after that date. There will be no grandfathering of Openspace maintenance pricing.
"For anyone owning class 4 Openspaces on January 1st, they will be upgraded to class 5 by end of January, to further improve the experience people have on those regions.
"At the same time, we will be increasing the upfront fee for brand new Openspaces from USD$250 to USD$375."

if you go over there to read the entire entry, you will learn that a large part of the reason for this increase has to do with how "Open Space" sims are being used. The original intent was to allow estate owners - those who already 'lease' a private region - to purchase at steep discount another private region that is intentionally 'weaker' in terms of abilities and prims alloted.


These were supposed to allow region owners to be able to add additional 'low use' regions, primarily intended for mostly water to 'barren' lands. A way to expand your existing sim at lower cost.

Though Linden Lab had to have known that people were going to use these the way they are now: in the same manner as full sims. Selling the land or renting it for residential space, business space, dance clubs and so on.

FailureNot only is the prim usage being pushed to the hilt, but the numbers of people coming through simultaneously is putting huge stress on the server hardware hosting these things. Unfortunately, since so many Open Space sims share the same server hardware, when on Open Space region brings the server to a crawl, it affects the other nine - whether there are people there or not.

I do not doubt this is the real reason for this policy and pricing change. However, the "whew" factor also has to do with what Open Space sims did to the economy and land pricing. People flocked to these things, abandoning mainland and private estate leasing for their own little Open Space privacy.

Personally, I am happy for this policy change and the rate increases. Good move Linden Lab. What the hell took you so goddamnedlong?

courtesy of Seconf Life Blog

PostHeaderIcon SL/RL Economy in Knots

EconomyLillie Yiyuan over at SecondSex (Yes, interesting blog title, but not the main subject there) has written a very good, insightful article about the Second Life economy and how the real life word-wide economy pains are sneaking there way into the in-world economy.

And I concur completely.

I've written about the SL economy and how the real life economy relates to it. The fact of the matter is the SL economy relies on the RL economy because as Linden Dollars (L$) fly around in circles in-world, a lot of it is lost through sinks and fees.

A sink is simply where you spend L$ for many "services" where the "tokens" (according to Linden lab) are not given to another resident, but rather to the Grid system - back to Linden Lab. That money (tokens) is removed from the Second Life economy. This happens in micro-micro payments every time you upload a snapshot or sound, place a classified ad, or allow your groups to be searchable. Little fees here and there.

Also via land tier. Many will pay their tiers with a credit card or through a PayPal account with real legal tender. Others, especially sim-owners will look to raise enough Linden Dollars in-world to convert into a credit on their account. Linden Lab will take any moneys owed first from any credits owed, before they turn to whatever payment information is on file.

Thus, by earning L$ in-world and converting into a credit - Second Life supports itself. It's roughly L$80,000 to pay the tier on a full sim. Anything over and above that is profit and could be "cashed-out".

The point is: there is a lot of Linden Dollars leaving the in-world economy. Thus, it is the Linden Dollars purchased directly that feeds the economy. If the real-world economy starts to tank and people start feeling the pinch and decide to start tightening the belt on "discretionary" spending, well... is Second Life really a 'need' to most residents? Especially those who purchase their Linden Dollars directly?

I propose Second Life will be on that short-list of belt-tightening with regard to spending real money in most real life budgets.

Thus, land prices crash. In-world business is down. People are spending less and now that a larger portion of the population actually understand the Linden Dollar and it's conversion rate - they are better able to understand how much real money L$1000 really is - and they are scrutinizing their purchases more and waiting longer - shopping more carefully - ensuring that when they do buy something, it is of good quality and worth the price.

So, as the real world reels, it's economy will effect the Second Life economy - but on a considerably delayed time-scale.

But you knew that already.
The Second Life Economy: "People in second life have to realize something that you can learn from studying history: periods of economic downturn are not necessarily bad for creativity, in fact, they often unleash it. Some of the greatest works of art and music occured during wars, periods of financial and economic instability. Letters from great artists are sprinkled with references to how hard it was for them to make ends meet."

My reply to Lillie's post at her blog:
Excellent insight.

On top of the usual slow Summer periods, this is going to be an unusually slower-than-normal Winter season as well, in my estimation.

The real-world economy does affect the in-worl one. It does so because it costs real world money to really enjoy Second Life. Even though there are builders and scripters and all manner of 'business' in SL where people can use Second Life Linden Dollars to actuallt pay for all their Second Life expenses, there are still a lot of people who buy Linden Dollars directly, rather than "earning" in-world.

If the real life budget starts needing a tighter 'pinching' - then discretionary spending is cut back.

The business-owner to business-owner exconomy will continue. However, all the "sinks" to Linden Lab - where the Linden Dollar leaves the world in tiers, upload fees, group maintenance fees and so on - more L$ will have to be purchased directly in order to keep the number of L$ circulating in-world.

Those who have business will recycle some of it through in-world purchases, but tier fees suck it back out again.

Thus, the economy really does rely (from my simple perspective) on those to actually purchase linden Dollars.

And when they decide the descretionary part of the budget needs tightening and they start hacking and whacking away at just what they spend those funds on... I am pretty sure Second Life Linden Dollars are on that list.

Thank you for a very insightful article.


courtesy of 2nd Sex

PostHeaderIcon When is It "Stoic" and When Is It "Shrill"?

I don't know you, Bob. And I won't judge you.

However, in response to your blog post, I must say that I have to side with Prospero Linden on this one. The problem with a lot of people in Second Life - especially those who've been in world a long time (and I include myself in this) - they tend to come-off a lot harsher and vitriolic than perhaps they intended.

The source of the problem is the lack of all the visual and audible cues people rely on when receiving communication from another person.

So, for my readers: I ask you to read these three questions directed at the Lindens, specifically Prospero Linden, and give your own feedback on the tone you take from them:
Bob Bunderfeldsez: "In the Original Beta we were more then happy to help Linden Lab find and squash as many bugs as we could in the time we had, now you are asking for an Open Ended commitment from us? Will you be paying us? Will you be offering LifeTime Accts to those that attend regularly and jump through the PJIRA hoops?
"So just exactly what are you offering? Are you going to LISTEN and COMMUNICATE with those that participate, or just do your usual brush off routine?
"Will you treat these BETA testers better then you did your OPEN SOURCE developers? Many of whom have abandoned the project because Linden Lab Employee's openly trashed their coding. Will you be any more 'Professional' this time around, or act the same way?"

Okay, okay... as someone who knows he himself is rather cynical and stoic even in real life, I'll be the first to say that I understand these questions are simply posed "matter-of-factly'. Unfortunately, the receiving end of them might tend to take them as being rather harsh. As though you are talking-down with disgust. As though your disdain is complete for all things Linden.

The 3D FingerThat's how it comes-off, anyway.

So, in retrospect, your blog post is a good one and makes some good points, I agree. However, the source material of your blog post is the storm you have called down upon yourself, in my opinion. It does seem as though the way you phrased your questions that you did intend them to be at least slightly offensive in nature and to at least ruffle a few feathers. Certainly the exact same questions could have been phrased better to illicit a genuine and complete response, even if that response is just spin.

No offense intended at all, here. I dont think the frictional nature of phrasing was fully intentional (but definitely partially intentional at best,) but rather a simple matter of fact way of putting things.

So, fine readers of mine - all five of you - what do you think?
courtesy of Inside Second Life

PostHeaderIcon Warning: Second Life Economy Tied To Real Life

EconomyLillie Yiyuan over at SecondSex (Yes, interesting blog title, but not the main subject there) has written a very good, insightful article about the Second Life economy and how the real life word-wide economy pains are sneaking there way into the in-world economy.

And I concur completely.

I've written about the SL economy and how the real life economy relates to it. The fact of the matter is the SL economy relies on the RL economy because as Linden Dollars (L$) fly around in circles in-world, a lot of it is lost through sinks and fees.

A sink is simply where you spend L$ for many "services" where the "tokens" (according to Linden lab) are not given to another resident, but rather to the Grid system - back to Linden Lab. That money (tokens) is removed from the Second Life economy. This happens in micro-micro payments every time you upload a snapshot or sound, place a classified ad, or allow your groups to be searchable. Little fees here and there.

Also via land tier. Many will pay their tiers with a credit card or through a PayPal account with real legal tender. Others, especially sim-owners will look to raise enough Linden Dollars in-world to convert into a credit on their account. Linden Lab will take any moneys owed first from any credits owed, before they turn to whatever payment information is on file.

Thus, by earning L$ in-world and converting into a credit - Second Life supports itself. It's roughly L$80,000 to pay the tier on a full sim. Anything over and above that is profit and could be "cashed-out".

The point is: there is a lot of Linden Dollars leaving the in-world economy. Thus, it is the Linden Dollars purchased directly that feeds the economy. If the real-world economy starts to tank and people start feeling the pinch and decide to start tightening the belt on "discretionary" spending, well... is Second Life really a 'need' to most residents? Especially those who purchase their Linden Dollars directly?

I propose Second Life will be on that short-list of belt-tightening with regard to spending real money in most real life budgets.

Thus, land prices crash. In-world business is down. People are spending less and now that a larger portion of the population actually understand the Linden Dollar and it's conversion rate - they are better able to understand how much real money L$1000 really is - and they are scrutinizing their purchases more and waiting longer - shopping more carefully - ensuring that when they do buy something, it is of good quality and worth the price.

So, as the real world reels, it's economy will effect the Second Life economy - but on a considerably delayed time-scale.

But you knew that already.
The Second Life Economy: "People in second life have to realize something that you can learn from studying history: periods of economic downturn are not necessarily bad for creativity, in fact, they often unleash it. Some of the greatest works of art and music occured during wars, periods of financial and economic instability. Letters from great artists are sprinkled with references to how hard it was for them to make ends meet."

My reply to Lillie's post at her blog:
Excellent insight.

On top of the usual slow Summer periods, this is going to be an unusually slower-than-normal Winter season as well, in my estimation.

The real-world economy does affect the in-worl one. It does so because it costs real world money to really enjoy Second Life. Even though there are builders and scripters and all manner of 'business' in SL where people can use Second Life Linden Dollars to actuallt pay for all their Second Life expenses, there are still a lot of people who buy Linden Dollars directly, rather than "earning" in-world.

If the real life budget starts needing a tighter 'pinching' - then discretionary spending is cut back.

The business-owner to business-owner exconomy will continue. However, all the "sinks" to Linden Lab - where the Linden Dollar leaves the world in tiers, upload fees, group maintenance fees and so on - more L$ will have to be purchased directly in order to keep the number of L$ circulating in-world.

Those who have business will recycle some of it through in-world purchases, but tier fees suck it back out again.

Thus, the economy really does rely (from my simple perspective) on those to actually purchase linden Dollars.

And when they decide the descretionary part of the budget needs tightening and they start hacking and whacking away at just what they spend those funds on... I am pretty sure Second Life Linden Dollars are on that list.

Thank you for a very insightful article.


courtesy of 2nd Sex

PostHeaderIcon "Shitzu" Does Not Require Toilet-paper. Really.

What a hoot.

The Second Life Herald is really losing it, lately. Most of what they publish over there makes it look they are are really reaching, nay grasping at straws, for anything half-way interesting to print in order to keep readership up.

If you've never read the Second Life Herald blog, it's a lot like the "National Enquirer" or another other ridiculously over-the-top tabloid. Most of the stories they publish there are ridiculous stupid crap with a seriously alarmist spin put on it. Mostly aimed at either the griefer, hacker crowd or the uninitiated easily-influenced crowd.

However, going in there realizing this provides for some fun reading once in a while. I honestly can't remember the last fun story published there. I think it's been at least a few weeks.


Internet MapHowever, this morning there is a gem. Just a simple blurb about being banned because the one doing the banning has no command of the English language or, at the very least, no patience to at least make an attempt to educate themselves. And this, at an alleged house of education. Now the whole premise of the story: being banned for no real reason other than a lack of any decent education on the part of the one doing the banning.

By the way, the oh-so-offensive word?
Shitzu.

In the end, it makes me really wonder about the intellectual fortitude, or lack thereof of those who populate Universities these days. At least in the United States. It's seems to all be about knee-jerk emotions rather than common sense reasoning.
Second Life Herald: Herald Reporter Banned from Woodbury: "[5:56]  Kris Electricteeth: tell him I was refering to the food and the dog
[5:56]  Kris Electricteeth: not to him being a piece of shit"

I like to lurk over there and rarely reply to the posts. But I simply couldn't resist on this one, so my reply to the post was this:
"Wow.

I sould write a blog article on this and how socially f*cked-up it is.
Not the banning - that's the funny part.

But on how someone in some kind of authority at a university sim, supposedly a house of knowledge and education, is so stupid to not know what a Shitzu is - and instantly taking offence at a word they don't know, rather than looking it up.

How NIGGARDLY of them.

(@Phr0zen Katsu: SOO YORE SKEWL. THEY FAYLD. YOO R STOOPID.)



PostHeaderIcon She's Alive!

(Meh. Wanted to post this to THIS blog - not Common Sensible. LOL)

As in the words of the "Wierd Science" geeks: "She's Alive!"

Robin Linden speaks again with another update on the Linden Lab Blob. I mean Blog. yes, that which used to team and thrive with life and has all but withered away into a yawn-fest news-release outlet.

As suspected, a strong hint of the reason to move everything to the forums had a lot to do with anonymous idiots posting stupid, worthless garbage in response to Linden posts. Hence the 'ability' to add "authentication" top this process.

Wordpress always has had the ability to require authentication of some sort. And yes, I know Robin is likely referring to requiring your Second Life account name just like the rest of the web site.

Just as well. The Second Life blog has been a real yawner as of late. Hell, I am beginning to think that if I count all of my readers of this blog - the three regulars and the two that read once a month when there is a worldwide news blackout and they just can't sleep - I have at least one more that the Linden Lab blog.

Gosh-golly-gee-whillickers! I feel so special!

Update on Linden Lab Blog Revamp « Robin Linden: "I’m happy to report that we have some great things ahead for the Linden Lab Blog. We are on track with a multi-stage process of upgrading our Web presence, including both the Blog and the Forums. Our goal? To improve the information you get about Second Life and enhance our dialogue with you.

"We’ve put a lot of thought into how best to expand the usefulness of the blog and forums without slowing down the efforts of those working on grid stability and reliability.  And, we’re making great progress with the project. One foundational change we are making is adding in authentication so it’s there for the blog as well as forums. This is valuable because it adds better security and uses Second Life names in a consistent way."

PostHeaderIcon Presidential Campaign Rhetoric In-world ~/Me Yawns~

I find it interesting that the U.S. Presidential campaign will find it's way into second Life. it's inevitable, of course and I am not really laughing at any of it. But rather more like wondering 'why?'
The Associated Press:: "John McCain supporters and Barack Obama supporters — more accurately, the personas they have created — meet regularly in Second Life, described on its Web site as 'an online, 3D virtual world imagined and created by its residents.'

Why do I ask why?

Because I don't like either of them. In fact, I'm not happy with the Democrats or the Republicans. They both work real hard to f*ck-up the country and do nothing about it but blame each-other.

The main difference I see is that most liberals are serious hypocrites. They proclaim peace and ke-se-ra, se-ra and all that, but will haul-off and smack you down first. They shout to the bible-thumpers to not shove their ideas down their throats, but yet demand all gun-owners give-up their second amendment rights.

As for the conservatives, they tend to be holier-than-thou, against abortion and the whole woman's 'right to choose' business and simply refuse to really look into alternative energy and all that.

So, this year, as much as last time, the real vote decision-makers will be the fence-sitters. The ones who will wait until the last minute to make that most important decision - because anything can happen to change one's mind. That's where I am. I like Obama's ideas about a lot of things. Most of it, in fact. But when I saw his financial plan, the hair on the back of my neck stood-up. I don't play the spin-game. I judge things for myself. Every indication is that the country will go further deficit and Social Security will die a faster, painful death. (There are no capitol gains left, Mr. Obama. Those were wiped out which the Stock Market dive, remember?)

I like that McCain won't take shit from anyone looking to hurt us on the security front, but what is he going to do about alternative energy and fuel prices and the the internal economy at home - screw the rest of the world? Fuel prices are killing everyone. (Mr. McCain, why is Brazil not feeling the hurt we are? Because they actually have smartcars!)

My political views are not important, much less even interesting to you. My point here is all those people in Second Life having their rallies and parties and all that stuff are only preaching to the choir.

The conservatives preaches to other conservatives and the libs to other libs. The group both camps need to go after are the fence-sitters and I suspect most of them are going to be damned hard to find in Second Life.

Why?

In this age of 15-alts per person, deceit and scamming and I.P. Plagiarism and griefers, I suspect when you finally do feel good about yourself having 'convinced' someone to vote for your guy, you aren't getting the entire picture.

Were you just brushed-off? Duped? Griefed even? 90% liklihood your time was completely wasted. But what the hell, if it's all fun for you, drive-on.

Meh. Who knows.

I like to get my political news from more genuine sources... like the real world. I come into second Life to actually escape all that crap.
They watch the presidential debates together. They make T-shirts, banners and yard signs. They hold voter registration drives and rally on Capitol Hill.Second Life is an Internet-based interactive world with an economy and cultures developed by its users, who create avatars — their personas in the virtual world — representing themselves in whatever form they want. More than 14 million users from around the world participate.Two men orchestrate the major presidential politicking in Second Life: Keith Mandell, 36, with the Obama camp, and Gordon Olivant, 43, with the McCainites. Neither has any connection to the real presidential campaigns."

But, more importantly, who cares?

PostHeaderIcon The Second Life Copybot That Just Wouldn't Die

Real Life CloneI remember back in Fall, 2006 the absolute hysteria that broke-out when "Copybot" first appeared on the scene. If you've never seen wide-spread frenzied freaked-out tizzy among the populace at-large, that was it.

I remember seeing whole parcels - some as large as a quarter sim or larger - suddenly with ban-lines up, surrounding entire shopping malls. About one in five retailers had either ban-lines surrounding their parcel or turned-off, sometimes even removed their vendors.

The sheer panic was ridiculous and it was half-impossible to purchase anything. That on top of the griefer attacks that were prevalent at the time and those of you who were around then will remember the infamous "grey-goo" attack that shut the grid down for most of a three-day weekend.

Back then, no one really understood what copybot was and is. It was thought that copybot would 'rip' entire creations, including scripts, textures and basically create a full-permissions, fully functioning copy of whatever it was, including fully-functioning copies of whatever was in the contents of other prims - such as sales vendors.

Then some rumor started spread that a particular phrase spoken in open chat would disable the copybot - so everywhere you went, open chat was spamming the entire parcel, driving everyone up the wall. And it never would have (nor does it now) worked anyway. Sometimes you still run into a location with this silly thing going. And going. And going. And...
The shopping experience in those days was a tooth-grinder at best.
Then, not all that long ago, over at alarmist tabloid Second Life Herald more stories about "Copybot 2.0" were written - it typical alarmist fashion, obviously hoping to incite more alarm and possible panic. A video was included showing the alleged copybot recreating a prim airplane from a no-copy, no-modify original. [And yes, I think to them because, as long as you remember they are an over-the-top tabloid, the writing is actually quite funny.]

Of course what you don't see in the video is the thing actually working or moving or doing anything at all. That's because the copybot that really does exist, basically copies prims. Not scripts or other contents within prims. The resulting copies are hollow.

There are actually builder's tools that already do this in-world, called "prim-duplicators." They copy prims, including textures, and scripts within. However, the copied scripts are broken and don't work. They must be recompiled, which you can't do unless you have modify permissions anyway.

The difference with copybot is that it also will grab whatever textures are visible on your screen because it uses a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) that is freely available on the internet. So what?

My point is that copybot is not what it's cracked-up to be and the fact of the matter is: if you can see it, you can copy it. This is true for movies and music (RIAA and MPAA might want to take this to heart.)
Besides that, if Linden Lab discovers you using the copybot, you'll be banned. That is a permanent eviction from Second Life, you account(s) deleted. So, for all you merchants and creators out there: take heart. With such a high risk of getting a permanent boot from Second Life, anyone using this toll will use it carefully. In otherword, your creations must be of a popularity and quality to be worth the risk of copying.

Personally, I don't have such an ego to think my products are even worth notice from primthieves, much less worth the risk of using copybot on them. And even if they did, sales are definitely worth sneezing at, so other copies out in the wild really wouldn't bother me much anyway.
However, just to prove that copybot does, in fact exist:
"Tutorial How to use Copybot:
You should know what a copybot is. If not, gtfo. 
Basic Setup 1. Open up the Copybot GUI. If using the stable sauce, you will get errors. Continue to the next step anyway. 2. Register a new account with copybot by clicking the New Account button (The (+) button in the toolbar). 1. Fill in the account details. 2. Add in the IRC channel you wish to connect to."

So why do I link to here? Because, first of all, I'm not too worried about it. My products isn't worth copying. And if someone does copy them, all they'll get are the prims. The scripts are where the value is. And second: why the hell not? You will see for yourself the complicated set-up and use. Yes, it's a lot easier to use than it has been in the past. But it is still quite a hurdle for any casual user. And those that would actually use this already know where this is as well as what an anonymous remailer is, and what spoofing is, and what all that hacker nonsense is already anyway.

So, now that I've made publicly available the location and instruction how to use the copybot, are you peeing your pants thinking you'll suddenly get ripped-off in SL now? Conceited enough to believe your creations are actually good enough for a user of the copybot to actually take notice of and then takes the risks in using it on your stuff?

And for those who wonder how I found this? It's simple. In the statistics of this block, there is metadata that shows me how people got here. A few of the locations game from this other web site, so I investigated. And that's how I found it.
/me yawns.

PostHeaderIcon Typical Dip-shit 'Business' News

As is your typical dip-shit "breaking news" report about Second Life, the news-starved amateurs over at Silicon Alley lap-up the latest Linden Lab press-release spin, hook, line and sinker:
Second Life Offers Business Teleconferencing, Now Penis-Free: "Linden Lab has a new pitch for Second Life: it wants to be a 3D teleconferencing platform for enterprise customers. Today the company announced a new product called 'Immersive Workspaces,' an area in Second Life set aside for corporate meetings. Of course, you could already do that years ago, but this new product is 'a completely exclusive and secure experience, with no connectivity to the Second Life mainland.'

Of course, anyone even paying the slightest attention to anything like this will easily notice between yawns that this is version 2.0.
In the so-called 'real world' that would basically mean (in any form of english, bastardized or not - well, hell - in any language) that this is not a "new pitch" as you so ignorantly put it.

And of course your spin on their spin just makes anyone with half a brain just want to puke. "3D Teleconferencing" has been going on in Second Life for more than a year now.

As for 'Immersive Spaces' being a 'new product', I refer you back to my first rebuttal of this sloppy reporting on your behalf. How funny that half-way through this paragraph you seem to have an epiphany about how new it is.

Oh and for any readers (especially the knuckle-heads I'm writing about) who have a problem with my rude, crude, uncalled-for comments about Silicon Alley or this reporter (Eric Krangel,) I refer you to the headline of this trash and also the very next sentence in his so-called 'news article':
In other words, business users can be confident no one will crash their event with a barrage of flying penises."


Bonehead.

PostHeaderIcon Leaving Lessons:SL Break-ups Civil? ...Or Not?

Scenery

So, as I poke around my usual news-feeds - like most other bloggers who report on things they see about Second Life (as opposed to those who just write about their experience in Second Life) - I came across an interesting article in The Australian. I read it. it's an interesting take on breaking-up from your spouse, girl-friend, boy-friend, whatever.

The article isn't about Second Life specifically. Even though SL does get an honorable mention - nothing bad or good, just a passing reference - the article does touch on the idea of monogamy versus polyamorous relationships, which both seem to be quite common in-world, though some "poly" relationships unfortunately occur secretively across alt-accounts, I suspect.

I've been in-world long enough to experience a few 'relationships' and have run the gambit of break-ups just like everyone else who's been in SL as long (or longer) than I have. Of course the the wicked, nasty, she-will-haunt-you-for-a-year break-up; there's the "I lied to you, I'm really married" routine, there's even the 'poof'-where-did-they-go-to-hope-everything-is-okay disappearance. Are we not all adults here?

I know this is going to come-out wrong, but: the 'best' break-up I ever had was when we both discussed our wants and needs and decided as adults to remain close, dear friends, and really - from our hearts - wish happiness for the other. The is a "good break-up".

Unfortunately, the one I am referring to in my personal experience hasn't been in-world for awhile, but I really do wish her the best. Find a good man, have fun. The point is this: as we go through relationships, why do so many have to be the nasty, wicked, painful nuclear war?

Don't get any ideas, you.Land of Hope Nothing happening with me right now in this context at-all, no, no, no. I just came across this article and thought it a really good, informative read. Perhaps required reading for all SL residents who 'hook-up' with other SL residents?

Leaving lessons | The Australian: "Love has become a many-partnered thing for many Australian adults – and the advent of online dating and other forms of virtual pairing, from Second Life to mobile-phone speed dating, have fuelled the trend further. But there’s a B-side as well. For every attraction we experience there is an equal and opposite reaction: and every new partner implies a previous break-up, whether barbarous, civilised or somewhere in between."


Source

PostHeaderIcon Role-play: Hypocrite by Another Name?

Trespassing PermittedThe premise of Second Life is that in-world you are experiencing a... well, second life. Certainly there are those, usually the younger crowd who look upon their experience in-world as simply an extension of themselves, much like your typical other social tools like iChat, Yahoo! Messenger or even Facebook or MySpace.

However, in Second Life, you are for the most part completely anonymous with regard to your real life. All that is known about the real you is whatever you are willing to share.

Thus, most, if not all of your persona in-world is basically role-playing to some degree. At the very least, your look, meaning your avatar shape, skin, hair - your entire 'look' in SL is a role-play of some sort, as it is assumed and most likely not anywhere near what you look like in person.

And that's okay.

There are those, including myself, who enjoy really living a completely different existence in SL: being someone you aren't or, in my case, being somewhere that simply doesn't exist in the real world. We build characters and 'live' by the rules of the environment we choose.


Like a 'stage-play' where we are the characters acting out our fictional stories in the fictional environment that interests us. And in SL, there are many: science fiction in Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica; the Romanum Imperium (Roman Empire if you haven't figured that one out,) the planet of Gor (which is radically misunderstood by practically everyone not in it); Medieval fantasy - with or without Elves, Wizards and Dragons.

Along with these themed environments are the actors: all manner of citizens: Roman Centurians and ladies; Elves and Humans; Humans and Klingons; Masters and Slaves and Panther Girls (yes, proper term is "Panther Girls" - not "Panthers" as that is an animal last time I checked and National Geographic Society backs me up on that.)

So in my role-playing environment, it is considered uncouth to gleam information from another's profile. Whether it be the main page or something in their "Picks". For instance, if I run across a Panther Girl and read her profile and learn she is a member of the Kuka-monga Tribe, it is inappropriate for me to simple start using that information in my role-play.
"You are of the Kuka-monga Tribe, who captured my brother so I will kill you in revenge! Aaaarrrgghhhh!!!!"
Okay, I agree, that's just stupid. Not my example above, but the idea that I would know such information and suddenly start using it in role play. It's totally implausible.

It doesn't matter which role-play environment we are speaking of, I'm sure this is an issue in all of SL's role-play 'cultures' - whether in space, on Gor, in Elvenwoodlandplace, or in Shangri-la.

So my question to all you role players whose role-play is ruined by being on the receiving end of such a person with 'magical knowledge' about you is this:

Why is that information in your profile to begin with?

If it is such taboo to read name tags, (to see your name and tribe or whatever,) and horrible role-play to read your profile and whatever back-story you have placed in there and use that information in role-play interaction with you - then why the hell is that information in there to begin with?

Can anyone tell me the meaning of "oxymoron"?
Or, more appropriately: "hypocrite"?


So with regard to most players, in the Gorean communities anyway, profiles often include "rules" such as the following:
"I am the member of such and such a city or tribe and I am a warrior/huntress/slave with or of so-and-so and I am of this heritage and this is my caste/place/dities.

"Read LIMITS IN PICKS!!!

"DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION IN IN CHARACTER OR ROLE-PLAY IS INVALID"
And of course, in their picks they have a bunch of stupid crap like:
RP LIMITS:
No cutting hair
No killing
No raping
No capturing
No punishing
No this
No that
No RP in 5-Minutes and I TP out
Okay - if I am not to read your name tag or profile in role-play, then how the hell am I supposed to know what your ridiculous limits are? If I am not supposed to know what you put in your profile regarding your back-story in-character; who you are; what your status or whatever is - why is that information in your profile to begin with?

As for "limits" - this is Gor. No such thing as limits.

My profile does not include anything regarding my role-play except one. All that is there is information how to contact me and work with me if you need assistance with one of my creations you have purchased. That's it.

In my pick, the only thing that is there is there for the profile-whores who simply cannot resist. And all that is there is to reinforce my belief about the role-play in Gor:
Role-play Limits:

The world is a mirror and YOU are the mirror. Therefor, your limits are the same as mine;

Limits:
None.
Done.
I only wish I could put the same emphasis formatting in my profile.

If you simply must read my profile to learn as much about my 'character' as you can before you interact with me in-character, you won't get much as you can see. Even my tag is blank so you cannot easily see what my caste is. About the only thing you can learn is my city as I obviously have that in there to help with SL ranking.

When someone comes to me and suddenly blurts my name and caste, I don't go stupid on them and proclaim "how could you know that? You are reading profiles - RP is invalid!!!"

I simply assume they have learned via role-play through other means: such as someone else pointing to me and saying "That's Ari, the city slaver." Is that not plausible?

So all of you with all that information in your profile: I don't read profiles. Which also means your "role-play limits" are completely moot. If we interact and you proclaim some dumb-ass role-play limit - then I will make it known far and wide what a crappy, whiney-assed role-player you are and put you on my 'do-not-role-play-with' list. That will be in my picks.

If by chance I am curious enough (or someone tells me) to read your profile - all the information there is fair-game. I see it as you with a 'scroll' pinned on your forehead for everyone to see and read. If you don't like it - then remove that information.

It's a lot like when dumb-ass slaves or free women (and yes, sometimes men) emote "thoughts" as a way to insult someone without in-character repercussion. If you emote a thought in my presence, I will react to it and treat it as you "thinking aloud" and I guarantee you might not like the result.

My answer to any proclamation of "((that was a thought, you can't hear it))" - is this:
"Then you really must be more careful to keep your thoughts to yourself and not absentmindedly think-out-loud."
So, what's your opinion on "role-play information" in profiles, and at the same time that information being off-limits in-character, unless you 'learn' it through role-play?

PostHeaderIcon Linden Lab: "Blizzard Entertainment" By Another Name

Yes, "Blizzard" - meaning to me, intense cold storm:

bliz·zard - [bliz-erd]
–noun
1. Meteorology.
a. a storm with dry, driving snow, strong winds, and intense cold.
b. a heavy and prolonged snowstorm covering a wide area.

2. an inordinately large amount all at one time; avalanche: a blizzard of Christmas cards.

–verb (used without object)
3. to snow as a blizzard: Looks as though it's going to blizzard tonight.

When I say "blizzard entertainment", I'm not referring to the company of the same name, creators of World of Warcraft. I'm referring to the entertaining way Linden Lab slowly freezes over. And though it might seem like hell to some, I don't mean in a way 'hell freezes over' - as in something accepted as an impossibility has come to pass in reality.


The Infant FingerI'm referring to the way Linden Lab sucks itself into it's tortoise shell, becoming colder and a lot quieter toward anything and everything outside it's physical walls in freaky San Francisco.

With regard to Second Life, Linden Lab has been through an on-going learning process. How to manage the virtual world without putting a hand into it. Just allowing it to grow on it's own toward whatever direction it leads.

There always has been passionate friction between LL and residents. The vocal minority was indeed very vocal. When the rate increase for the initial cost of and recurring tier for private estates was doubled, the outcry was shrill. However, when the alertist news media went over the top regarding avatar 'age-play' and claims there were 'real life pedophiliac pictures being passed around' - which they allegedly were never able to produce - that's when things started getting really bad. The downward sprial began to spin quickly.

LL intended many new policies regarding resident conduct, the residents had knee-jerk panic reactions. But through it all, Linden Lab still maintained an open channel directly with the users of Second Life. office hours in-world and the now-deceased Second Life blog.

The big blow came when Linden Lab outlawed any and all gambling or game-of-chance that involved the trading currency "Linden Dollars". This is a sticky issue anyway because high-ranking employees of Linden Lab have proclaimed L$ to be worthless tokens. I won't bother to link to these other references, all of this was big news at the time they came to light, so they are easy enough to find.

The immediate and complete outlawing of 'casinos' - the term most used to lump all 'games of chance' into a single phrase - caused the Second Life economy to take a nose dive. People panicked and made a run on the in-world bank called Ginko. Why in the hell anyone would put their L$ into an in-world bank other than for pure greed (ridiculously high interest rates) is completely beyond me.

Ginko folded under the crush. Of course a lot of bonehead fools lost money. What did you expect? Of course, the outcry was shrill and loud. Linden Lab put a stop to all 'banks' or any 'play' with Linden Dollars that promised any kind of additional return, unless licensed and verified to be registered to be certified in the real world.

All the other banks went bust. That left the stock markets. They, too are all but bust, if not already.

This leaves land-flipping as a means to make money with "worthless tokens" called Linden Dollars. Even the land barons were definitely busy long before the other issues really broke into the scene, but it became the forefront 'problem.

The 'legitimate' efforts were made through private estate land-leasing: owning a sim and selling or renting the land on it. Make enough to pay the tier and pocket the difference as profit. Anshe Chung did this from the beginning.

Then LL introduced and started selling "open space" sims. Only a about a quarter of the prims allotted on the same 'size' area (generalization here.) Why pay tier on the mainland and be surrounded by horrible builds and ridiculous lag when you can simply own from LL or rent from another resident a full open space sim and have complete privacy?

The land business doesn't go bust, but it slows way down.

There are a lot more little scenarios mixed in there that I've skipped over. But speaking of skipping, let's skip forward to right now.

All of this put Linden Lab and Second Life in the real life news. Most of it was bad public relations.

As open a dialog Linden Lad have had with the outside world and residents, those days are gone. LL is turning a cold shoulder to us and everyone else. All communication about Second Life will from now on be entirely on there terms. And than means even more spin than before, and a lot less often, and usually about boring subjects they thing is newsworthy information that casts them in a positive light.

Fair enough.

The Second Life blog is dead. The Second Life forums have been revived, but fewer people bother participating in the forums than the throngs at the blog.

Barely a peep out of Robin Linden, we never hear from Torley Linden and Katt Linden - the official voice of LL is a ghost. Things are changing drastically in-world, too.

The exciting, vibrant landscape has been quieting down, the bright colors are fading, everything is becoming mundane. It's like the grand block-party is finally starting to wind down.

One of the staples of in-world entertainment and news, The Avastar is even shutting down:

The AvaStar: The AvaStar says goodbye: "The AvaStar has now completed its virtual mission – and would like to thank all its readers for their contribution and support. The experience has been both fascinating and rewarding for The AvaStar and its parent company BILD.de, which will continue to track the development of Second Life and other virtual worlds."


Let's face it, it takes money and effort to run such an operation. To me, it's a sign that the money is drying-up. Only a year ago is cost me $150 worth of Linden Dollars to put in a full-page advertisement for a few issues.

But the money dries-up all over the grid. Fewer people are advertising - for whatever reason. They obviously can't raise enough funding to support their operation.

Will the boom-town go bust? No. It's like the frontier town of Tombstone: the town that refused to die. The exciting 'wild west' is gone as mundane lifestyle moves it.

The government (Linden Lab) slides quietly into the dark shadows to be out of sight, where they can legislate our knowledge or notice. Policies will be forced onto us a little at a time, slowly but surely. And we are the frog in the pot.

I know you may likely disagree with me. Well, this is from my own perspective and maybe it's really all an illusion because i've been in SL for so long. The magic is gone and it may be simply because I am so accustomed to it and nothing is new anymore. And I must be one of the only premium account holders left. Even Linden Lab knows there is zero incentive to hold a premium account.

I have no idea why I have any hope whatsoever that Linden Lab will change that - add something, anything as a value-add for premium account holders. The truth is they don't care about premium accounts. They make their money in hosting sims.

I really need to get my head out of my rectum and cancel that 'membership." Not to send any kind of message to LL. They wouldn't even notice, much less give a care. But for my own wallet, I guess.

Perhaps I'm getting tired of Second Life? I don't think so. We always look fondly on our memories of activities and events gone past. The now is always now. and the future always will be unpredictable. As most people would agree, I just wish things are now the way they were then. But back then was the now and we were wishing things were then the way they were before then. And the cycle goes on.

As for Linden Lab's cold shoulder...
They are only doing what 'grown-up' business do. Dictate from behind closed doors. If you don't like it, leave.

There are simply too many others who are happy to take your place.

Source

PostHeaderIcon Tower of Babel, In Reverse

I see Robin Linden is still at Linden Lab. Good. I didn't have any doubt, of course. But we never seem to hear from her. Ever. Out in the real world, anyway.

It's the Second Life blog. All but dead. No one even bothers to read it anymore. The passion is gone, the only things ever posted there are boring snippets of what is happening behind the scenes that Linden lab is hopeful will be newsworthy enough to be printed somewhere.

In my case, right now - I couldn't care any less about the conversion and trans-coding of languages with respect to second Life. Yes, it is a good thing. Congratulations Linden {yawn} Lab.

The news here, to me, is that Robin speaks:
Second Life: Coming Soon in Ten Languages: "There’s been a quiet revolution going on, as international Second Life Residents and a small number of Lindens work together to translate tens of thousands of text strings and critical web pages into nine key languages."

Source-

PostHeaderIcon Second Life: Coming Soon in Ten Languages

I see Robin Linden is still at Linden Lab. Good. I didn't have any doubt, of course. But we never seem to hear from her. Ever. Out in the real world, anyway.

It's the Second Life blog. All but dead. No one even bothers to read it anymore. The passion is gone, the only things ever posted there are boring snippets of what is happening behind the scenes that Linden lab is hopeful will be newsworthy enough to be printed somewhere.

In my case, right now - I couldn't care any less about the conversion and transcoding of languages with respect to second Life. Yes, it is a good thing. Congratulations Linden {yawn} Lab.

The news here, to me, is that Robin speaks:
Second Life: Coming Soon in Ten Languages: "There’s been a quiet revolution going on, as international Second Life Residents and a small number of Lindens work together to translate tens of thousands of text strings and critical web pages into nine key languages."

Source

PostHeaderIcon Second Life for Microsoft Windows XP

Meaning of Vista


Classified under "Socially Embarrassing (for Microsoft, as usual)"

When Microsoft unleashed Windows Vista, they were doing the typical Microsoft: unleashing a pile of crap onto the population at large. However, after a butt-load of patches and updates and service pack, Microsoft Windows Vista is:

Still a piece of crappola.

I say "a year" because that's how long (almost) I have tortured myself using it. It was last December when I decided to make the plunge in buying a new Intel PC. I knew I wanted a machine that was fully capable... nay, optimized to properly run Windows Vista. I had never used or really seen it before, but I also know how Microsoft bullshits the public about the 'minimum requirements' routine. Yeah, right.

After some shopping around, I finally found the perfect 'screamin-demon' from Velocity Micro. It came with Windows Vista "Home Premium", (as opposed to what? For Christ's sakes, Microsoft, what's with the fukin' thousand and one choices for a damned operating system?)

The first thing I noticed was how Microsoft changed the interface. Again.

Okay, note to Microsoft: stop changing the goddammed interface. Stop trying to appease so-called 'new users'. The fact of the matter is Windows is the prevalent OS, (even though OX-X is a lot more pleasurable to use and considerably faster and more stable - is statistically gaining market share while Windows loses it to OS-X and Linux,) so that means as screwed-up as the interface might be, everyone already knows how to use it. As for the new computer buyers, well, they (gasp) grew-up using and learning that screwed-up interface.

So, Microsoft, when you go around changing it, you screw-up everyone.

But alas, a different interface is shiny and new. So it compels people to overspend their hard-earned buck to upgrade, not knowing what a pile of crap they're jumping into. I understand boxed upgrades to Vista are abysmal. That the main adoption of Windows Vista is through attrition: new computer sales - and even then the wise buyers are still asking for XP.

The next thing I noticed about Windows Vista was that the funky 'new' graphics engine is compatible with about 10% of my software. Even Photoshop was acting screwy in certain aspects. So I spend a good 30-minutes figuring how to turn that crap off (and I am, and have been an I.T. professional since 1992.) When I did that, suddenly things worked as they should. All those shareware applications that say they don't work all the great on Vista and need to be upgraded? - Pffft. Turn off that eye-candy, serves-no-purpose graphics engine and they'll suddenly work.

So along I chug. Learning the interface (which is absolutely horrid in my opinion.) Screaming along on a kick-ass Vista machine. One does not need much power to word-process or do what most people do on computers. Unless you are into the graphic-intensive gaming. This is why I purchased a "gaming" machine.

I still do all my video and photo-editing and real work on my MacBook Pro. It's simply far better suited to any kind of pleasurable experience than any version of Windows ever will be. So the PC is basically a 'gaming' machine. The primary entertainment: Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Second Life. They totally F*cked-up Flight Simulator, too. Century of Flight (the previous version) is definitely way better.

But, I digress.

FSX operated pretty well. Averaging about 20 frames per second in some instances which is fine. Second Life hums along sweetly. The graphics are stunning and I average between 20 to 30 FPS pretty much everywhere. The only issue is the memory leaks I seem to get is I sit in once place too long. But overall, the Velocity Micro machine I have works as advertised.

So here it is almost a year later. For some reason, my sound driver broke. I started to goof with it, downloading the latest drivers and all that nonsense.

Okay, Macintosh users: skip over this part because these events and tasks are totally alien to you because the need to accomplish these tasks is totally unheard-of in your world.

I figure out the manufacturer name of the audio device and which chip-set it uses. I hunt down the appropriate web-site -- (that was a good 30-minutes all by itself) -- and proceed to do all the things Windows PC users are simply required to do to make things work.

Fail.

So I decide 'meh... it's time to rebuild the machine anyway'. It's overdue as I usually rebuild every three-months anyway, (Windows really does need that, you know.) As I'm holding the Windows Vista CD that came with the system, I happen to glance over at the Windows XP disc I have sitting there in my back-up CD stack.

It was an epiphany.

I decide to bail on Vista and throw XP onto the system. A system optimized for Windows Vista. An absolutely kick-ass gaming machine.

XP installed flawlessly. Except, it didn't see the network. Or have any sound. And the video defaulted to that stupid VGS mode. Typical stupid Intel PC.

So I dig-up the network card and sound drivers: install.

Network is hot - at twice the bandwidth!?! Was Vista throttling my bandwidth? I really don't know and choose not to linger on that subject.

I go to the nVidia site to grab the latest video drivers.
Installed sweetly.

Then... oh wait, what happened to my sound?
I reinstall the networking/sound drivers

The network stops working and the sound still isn't there.

Hit system restore point: Network back-up. Hit Windows Update. Spend literally 3-hours downloading and installing Windows XP updates, patches and service packs. All set. Reinstall only the latest sound driver.

We have sound.

Download and install the current Second Life viewer.
Double-click to run the viewer.
Hold breath.

screw-me where the sun-don'tshine, Batman!

Windows XP blazes faster than I have ever seen anything from Microsoft blaze before. And in my year of using Winblows Vista, I've lost perspective on several things about the difference between XP and Vista - other than the screwed-up interface Microsoft put onto it.

They force crap down our throats and unleash genuine pieces of crap on the population of the world at large. Vista is the buggiest piece of garbage to come from Microsoft since Windows Millennium Edition, but don't get me started on that turd. It took another look at XP immediately after using Vista for so long to see it.

Hell, it slapped me in the face and it stung hard.

One of the most annoying bugs in Vista for me is the 'file-selection-shift' bug. At least, that's what I call it.

The average size of files I work with is about 2 to 6 gigabytes. Because of this, I receive a lot of files in 'segmented' or 'split' format. After joining the split files to recreate the one large file (which usually appears in the file list directly above the first split file, shifting them down by one) - I simply shift-click the last of the split files to select them all. Hit the delete key to dump them as I now have the reassembled full file.

Dumbass bug still exists in Vista after all these patches and even service packs: the first file that was selected is no longer selected, the same position of the selection remains - which is now the reassembled final file.

What does this mean?

I shift-click the last segmented file and all the files between the first and last clicks are selected. This incorrectly includes the new reassembled file. Hit delete and go back and...

Where the hell is my new reassembled file? Dumbass stupid-crap dickwad Microsoft idiots.

Oh, and why the hell does it take 3-minutes to delete 5-GB of files in Vista? That ugly progress bar (a.k.a. 'thermometer') just sits there bouncing around like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica while these files are 'moved' to the trash. Then when you go to empty the trash - the same goddamned thing all over again.

But in Windows XP... that dangerous file-selection bug doesn't exist. (it never did) and when I select 10-gigabytes of files and hit the delete key... instantaneously gone. Faster than the blink of an eye.

I've always known that Windows Vista is a resource pig. But after dropping back to Windows XP... holy smackers! It's like going from a bicycle to the a 1500cc crotch-rocket street bike. XP feels like a lean, mean fighting machine in comparison.

So, I fire up Second Life and...and...

Wow.

I am averaging 45 frames per second. It's like watching a movie. Perfectly smooth camera movement and animation and the best part is: I have graphic preferences maximized: every single slider is full to the right. View distance is 512. Avatar impostors are off. Water effects to full. Screen size set to full HD: 1920 x 1440 - cinematic widescreen splendor.

Stunning.

Second Life screams on my machine like some old retro PC game you dig off the shelf after ten years that was written to run respectably on hardware ten years ago.

Thus, want your Second Life experience to utterly wow you? Dump the piece of filth called Windows Vista off your machine and replace it with Windows XP. How, you say? Check eBay and other places for people selling their old copies. They can be found.

If your machine runs Vista respectably, dropping XP in it's place will have you believing your computer is a cutting-edge, top-of-the-line gaming machine built for blazing speed. You'll have to pick your jaw up off the floor.

No shit.

If you simply can't get Microsoft Windows XP anywhere, no matter how hard you look, you can always step-up to a decent Macintosh (no, not the new sub-$800 notebook or the Mac Mini.) But I figure many of you won't. Which is why I suggest the next best thing: Windows XP in place of Windows Vista.

Go ahead, give your Windows XP a second Life and your Second Life will wow you.

Yes, yes, of course this is all my own opinion.
But I'm not the only one who has seen the light and realized just what a piece of garbage Microsoft Windows Vista really is.

Blackthorne™ ≠ inSL

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