PostHeaderIcon Is First Life Really "Real Life"?

Snapshot_019My mind is always cranking hard. Ideas, thoughts, musings, ideas, to-dos, reasoning things, analyzing things... just a flood of a mish-mash of things. I enjoy learning new things all the time. my mind never stops trying to figure how thing works. What makes things happen the way they do? Why do people say or believe the things they say or believe and so on.

Once of those thoughts kind of stuck with me and that's the whole "Real Life" reference we see thrown about so often. The term, and why it's used so often has been pinging around in my head for months. Like so many who blog, I decided to write my thoughts about it and maybe make a little sense of it. At least from my perspective.

Everywhere you go, the term 'Real Life"; truncated to "RL" is thrown around at every single reference to our "First Lives". It's as though there is "Real Life" and then there is ... what... a cartoon? A video game? If that's the case, why refer to First Life as "Real Life" in the first place? (no pun intended.) Wouldn't it just be "Life" versus "Video Game"? But heated arguments have evolved out of the whole 'SL is a game" (or not) business.

Snapshot_025.pngIs your Second Life any less "real" than your First Life? If it is, then I suppose "Real Life" is a good reference for the physical world and everything you think of, do and feel in Second Life is false.

However, based on that other word thrown around so often in SL, "Drama", which suggests Second Life is "Real Life", then why use the term "RL" to separate the two?

Well, I wrote a lot more than that. But did it over at my 'personal' blog. No, I don't consider Common Sensible to be my 'personal' blog. I don't know why. I think it's because I'm actually hoping to invite other writers to contribute.

But, like I said, my mind is always blazing at a million miles an hour, a huge "things to do" list in the back of my head and the list grows faster than I can accomplish the items on it. Inviting others to write here is one of those items.

I'll get to it one of these days.
In the mean time, if you'd like to give it a go, email me at pixietale [at] gmail.com. I'll let you have a go if you like and no, you don't have to write something every day and it certainly doesn't need to be the long-winded rhetoric like I write about.

So, I'm curious what you think of my ranting about whether "real life" is really real life or not. Well, that's not the real question, but you get the idea. Take a peek over there and shout me down in comments if you are so inclined.

PostHeaderIcon Trademark Award is "Groundbreaking"

Facelight-8This made news a long time ago, when an application for trademark registration for the look of a Second Life avatar was submitted by Second Life resident Aimee Weber.

It's no surprise as she has been highly successful in the SL environment since early on. The world always hears about Anshe Chung and Stroker Serpentine, but there are many more who've turned their activity in an MMO into a real business. And now, her Second Life "look" is now a legally registered trademark:
USPTO Grants Protection to an Avatar: "The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) approved a trademark registration filed by a person seeking to protect her avatar image, which represents the content services provided by the avatar’s creator in the Second Life virtual world. Commentators have noted that this decision is groundbreaking as it opens doors for further real life trademark protection for images used in virtual worlds."


More than the actual news about this particular case, what can be conceived here is that the United States Patent and Trademark Office will in fact recognize creations that are technically only available inside a virtual environment.

Obviously the image of Amimee's avatar can be screen-captured and printed and otherwise placed into many different forms of media. But it still is something created from scratch entirely within the virtual environment and it thereby, for all practical intent's and purposes: intangible.

AriProfileHmmm... I already have a lock on my SL account name, including ariblackthorne.com and .net and .org and .info.... Maybe I should copyright me, too?

via "Internet Business Law"



PostHeaderIcon Camping Bots - It's About Time

Jack posted a late-nighter about bots:
Much Ado About Bots - Land and Sea - Second Life Blogs:
"Now some uses of Bots have a positive effect on the experience inworld and some have a negative impact. They can be used to provide fun interactions such as a robot bartender or an NPC in a roleplay situation. They can also perform useful actions like land management. As with the scripting language which can be used for bad as well as good, Bots are not the problem but rather the way they are sometimes used"

I concur.

I use a bot myself. One, single, solitary bot to automatically manage my merchant group (auto-invite and eject based on when a merchant leases space in my market.)

However, when I go sim-hopping, I've discovered that the map is useful: if there are a lot of green dots - don't bother. They're camping bots. In fact, I am of the absolutely solid impression that one of every 8 or 9 dots on the entire grid map is really a human.

The rest...

Well, you get the idea.
courtesy of

PostHeaderIcon Will the Confusion Never End?

Monopoly GameIn one of the surprisingly rare instances that the Alphaville a.k.a Second Life Herald actually makes some sense, it is clearly explained how the uber-succssessful bazillionaires making money hand-over-fist at Second Life - but not actually be "making: any money at all.

We've all heard of Anshe Chung and the rest. Yes, they make good money dinking within the virtual landscape, but certainly their profits - even if you consider them at 100% in terms of material things hardly comes close to a million dollars. Hell, $100,000 would be hard to swallow as "fact" if you ssk me.

I was going to write a follow-on to my post about "how is business" where I intended to explain the exact same thing explained over at the Herald:
Alphaville Herald : Will the Confusion Never End?:
"We can illustrate in the following way.  Some land owners are known to hold as many as 700 sims.  Suppose they bought them back in the day and the tier is grandfathered in at $190/month.

"Let's make that $200/month to make the math easy.  700 simulators X 12 months X $200 = $1,680,000/year that they have to pay the Lindens just for tier.    If they are cashing out to pay them in US dollars, then they are cashing out just enough to pay tier.  This has nothing to do with earnings.  For all we know the business in question is losing money"


The fact of the matter is, I "cash-out" almost $750 a month. Does that make me a high-roller as SL residents go?

Pffft.
Hardly.

This is why you shouldn't take all news shoveled at you at face value. because it is far too easily to manipulate people. And when the people, especially masses at large are manipulated, we end up with a president who will literally bankrupt the country.

Oops, other subject, but same premise.

via "Will the Confusion Never End?"



PostHeaderIcon Camping Bots - It's About Time

Jack posted a late-nighter about bots:
Much Ado About Bots - Land and Sea - Second Life Blogs:
"Now some uses of Bots have a positive effect on the experience inworld and some have a negative impact. They can be used to provide fun interactions such as a robot bartender or an NPC in a roleplay situation. They can also perform useful actions like land management. As with the scripting language which can be used for bad as well as good, Bots are not the problem but rather the way they are sometimes used"

I concur.

I use a bot myself. One, single, solitary bot to automatically manage my merchant group (auto-invite and eject based on when a merchant leases space in my market.)

However, when I go sim-hopping, I've discovered that the map is useful: if there are a lot of green dots - don't bother. They're camping bots. In fact, I am of the absolutely solid impression that one of every 8 or 9 dots on the entire grid map is really a human.

The rest...

Well, you get the idea.
courtesy of

PostHeaderIcon Will the Confusion Never End?

Monopoly GameIn one of the surprisingly rare instances that the Alphaville a.k.a Second Life Herald actually makes some sense, it is clearly explained how the uber-succssessful bazillionaires making money hand-over-fist at Second Life - but not actually be "making: any money at all.

We've all heard of Anshe Chung and the rest. Yes, they make good money dinking within the virtual landscape, but certainly their profits - even if you consider them at 100% in terms of material things hardly comes close to a million dollars. Hell, $100,000 would be hard to swallow as "fact" if you ssk me.

I was going to write a follow-on to my post about "how is business" where I intended to explain the exact same thing explained over at the Herald:
Alphaville Herald : Will the Confusion Never End?:
"We can illustrate in the following way.  Some land owners are known to hold as many as 700 sims.  Suppose they bought them back in the day and the tier is grandfathered in at $190/month.

"Let's make that $200/month to make the math easy.  700 simulators X 12 months X $200 = $1,680,000/year that they have to pay the Lindens just for tier.    If they are cashing out to pay them in US dollars, then they are cashing out just enough to pay tier.  This has nothing to do with earnings.  For all we know the business in question is losing money"


The fact of the matter is, I "cash-out" almost $750 a month. Does that make me a high-roller as SL residents go?

Pffft.
Hardly.

This is why you shouldn't take all news shoveled at you at face value. because it is far too easily to manipulate people. And when the people, especially masses at large are manipulated, we end up with a president who will literally bankrupt the country.

Oops, other subject, but same premise.

via "Will the Confusion Never End?"



PostHeaderIcon Sell it and they will buy!... WRONG.

EconomyThe problem most people who start or try to maintain a business in Second Life have is that it's business. Don't get me wrong here, in a departure from my usual in-your-face-truth-hurts ways, I am actually stressing that I do not want to insult anyone or their intellect when I say that those so-called business people really just don't know business.

And even if they do: they still don't know business. At least, not SL business. Friend acquaintance and fellow bloggerPeter Stindberg Im'd in-world and asked me "Hippo or Apez?" (And go read and subscribe to his blog - it's all good stuff.)

He's referring to the web-enabled networked vending systems available in Second Life. It is no secret I have used both for more than a year (Hippo since it was first released) and lean toward Apez because of what are to me amazing management abilities. Ironically, only last week my new book was published on Amazon and available in-world at SLX (sorry, it always will be SLX to me.)

There are some basic facts about business that must be understood if that business is going to survive and thrive: What are your products, who are your customers and where is the money?

What is your product? Meaning that you really need to understand your product and become a salesmen (sorry, women, this statement includes you, too.) You really need to make it clear to your potential customer not only exactly what your product is, but why should they buy it from you to begin with, and then why should they buy yours instead of the others.

Know your customer: Who exactly is your target? Where are they coming from? How are they finding you? What do they want in terms of design and features in your product?

Know your money: When your products are purchased, which vendor locations? Which products? If you have multiple lines, which product line makes the most money? Which product in each line? and so on.

Yes you can do all this with the standard "Transactions" report Linden Lab gives you, fire-up a spreadsheet like Numbers or Excel and build a table to calculate all this stuff. Suffice it to say the Apez handles most of this automatically. However, this isn't intended to be an article touting Apez, the Hippo system is very good, too, just a lot more limited.

The problem with "business" in SL is the management side of it. But also there are a lot of "business rules" that are turned inside-out and upside down. And a lot of people actually make wrong assumptions.

For instance: in first life the shopping mall is good. Allows the money-spenders an easy way to do the most shopping in the most convenient way in the least time. As a business retailer, you want that traffic. The more eyes that see your stuff, the more sales you'll make.

However, in SL, you want the opposite! You do not want a lot of traffic. If you judge a potential location based on traffic, lower is better - unless it is a location that you will treat as an advertising space rather than the main outlet.

A mall in SL is useless, other than a single purpose: having several lessees helps the land-owner pay their tier. For the merchant, it's only a place to drop and maintain prims. If that place is treated by the merchant as an advertising opportunity, then good. But too many actually expect sales from SL mall spaces. Mistake.

Why do you want low-traffic? Why don't bother with "malls" except as 'advertising' space? Why is the Apez system better than Hippo, business-management-wise? Read the book.

And the SL economy goes through wild seasonal swings: specifically the intensely scary dip every summer. People are out in the sun (except maybe our friends down under perhaps) - so there are fewer people in-world at any one time spending real money (it seems only the freebie-entitlement-attitude types remain.) And with the real worldwide recession sweeping the globe, I suspect this year will be worse than those in the past.

My point in all this is that most SL "business people" think they are that simply because they've created something and plop it into some prim and mark it for-sale. But that doesn't make them a "business person," it makes them a "merchant" and not all merchants are "business" people.

ThroneHome[Shameless plug: go in-world to my showroom and buy everything there, now, please.]

Real business people owe Linden Lab a big chunk of First Life Legal Tender every month - but never spend a dime. I owe Linden Lab an average of $600 U.S. First Life Legal Tender Real Money - every month. Yet, not one red cent comes from any of my first life bank accounts or wallet. My Second Life pays for itself. If I really wanted to, I can easily turn enough profit right now, right this second to pay for my monthly groceries or pay my monthly gasoline (petrol for you Euros) bill, and I use a lot of gasoline every month (/me is dumb American who loves his SUV.) (I know, I know... my answer is: read the book.)

New World notes just happened to post a story about "real business people" (my words) in Second Life - those who do turn a huge profit and actually cash it out. These are "business people," not simple "merchants.'

So, my questions to you are: do you consider yourself a real "business person" inside Second Life or not? And if you are honest with yourself and choose the 'not' answer, do you want or plan to be?

I don't know which vendor system Peter will go with. He's the one who must live with the system, how it works, it's bugs and idiosyncrasies every day, not the customer. And they both (well, all vendor systems) have 'idiosyncrasies'.

So, one more question: if you do consider yourself a bona-fide "business person" in Second Life... how's business?


PostHeaderIcon Real banking coming... really?

Monopoly Game
Yes, this really is news. To anyone who wasn't around during the Second Life banking collapse of 2007, any.

Well, a long-story-made-short for those not in the know...

Among the absolutely most popular activities in SL was in the "game of chance" arena. Probably the most popular was the game of "Tringo" - those machines were all over the grid and more prevalent that casinos - and every casino have a rack of them.

Unfortunately, because Linden Dollars, the Second Life in-game "trading token" can actually be exchanged for First Life legal tender in U.S. Dollars, U.S. Banks became increasingly nervous and jittery due to a law that proclaimed transferring money through the Internet for gambling purposes will get you closed down. Well, it wouldn't be very good if Chase Manhattan and Bank of America and the rest were shut-down because of the LindeX, never-mind the greedy mess they have gotten us into currently.

So, to avoid the banks shutting Linden Lab out, LL put the kerbosh on all "games of chance" on the entire grid. They wracked hell with the in-world economy. If you think the First Life world is in a recession now, you should have been here for that when the SL economy nearly crashed.

There were several reputable in-world "banks" and "stock exchanges" - many over-promising dividend returns. Because of the casino/gambling ban by LL, a run was made on the bank called Ginko. Because the Ginko assets were invested in First Life portfolios - they couldn't be retrieved so quickly. A mob ensued with hoopla and shrill voices. it was more or less a banking 'meltdown" across the Grid.

Within months, Linden Lab proclaimed no banking on the grid unless the proprietors or group can show First Life legal documentation to the effect they know what the hell they're doing.

Which brings us to where we are now. So, along comes this 'news' - which is news for all those not 'in the know':
Real banking coming to virtual worlds: "MindArk PE AB, the company behind sci-fi MMO Entropia Universe will apparently be able to let players conduct real-world banking from within its online game. Of course, Entropia Universe actually features a cash-based economy already, where players can exchange real money for game currency at an exchange rate of 10:1 (ten in-game dollars to one U.S. dollar) and then buy in-game items with the money; the game itself has proven to be incredibly successful, having generated over $420 million last year."


Why do I say it's not news to anyone in "the know"? Because the Grid already has the "MetaCard" and several other means of currency exchange. But, before even the MetaCard and all the rest, there already was a real world bank moving into Second Life: the Danish online investment bank Saxo.

I've never trusted the in-world banks. Way too risky and no fun in it like the "games of chance". Hopefully, that dumb-ass law created and passed by the U.S. Congress to keep us from harming ourselves, which is technically a God-given right if you ask me, might be repealed?

We can only hope and pray, but I wouldn't recommend holding one's breath over it.

via "Real banking coming to virtual worlds - Ars Technica"



PostHeaderIcon Second Life Legitimized by Governments?

Cool BuildsIt's no secret that Linden Lab';s Second Life turns-out to be a platform for all kinds of nonsense... and sensical things, too. Mark Kingdon, Philip Rosedale and all the rest at Linden Lab should be proud of what Second Life is turning into and rightly so. It's 'growing-up'.

There have been the trials by business to make something of Second Life and though several have failed, they have paved the way for hundreds more who consider it a success, some commercially so.

The education industry has really wrapped their arms around SL. Well, anyone in the education business, including local and national government agencies, as Second Life really does provide an optimal long-distance learning environment.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, like most government agencies on the United States and abroad offer educational programs geared toward their functions. The problem with this is in the difficulty for citizens to actually participate. Though the access is open, the access can be difficult. I'd love to spend a day in the U.S. National Archives, but that's on the other side of the country from me as I'm in the other Washington.
Snapshot_012.jpgBesides, it would be more fun to stalk Torley Linden and maybe torment him when he leaves the house. Problem with that is he might find me and egg mine.

So governments, or rather divisions within governments are embracing Second Life for some very good reasons:
Living NOAA's Second Life: "NOAA is testing virtual worlds for use in educational outreach, data visualization and other applications. We are using Second Life as a platform because it caters to a worldwide audience and provides access to people who could never visit our real-life offices.
"Ideally, we can show students parts of our world they otherwise would not see, like the bottom of the ocean or the northern lights. Much of the data that NOAA produces is inherently 3-D, and Second Life provides unique opportunities for visualization."


Another example in the news is how a government agency is actually defending their use against a public backlash. Okay, wrong choice of words... I should say defending against a shrill vocal minority as is usually the case. Such as accusation of the U.K. Department of Works and Pension being accused of wasting tax-payer money:

UK Government Defends Use Of Second Life: “We are currently exploring the potential of use Second Life and have active interest from a number of Government departments," said a DWP spokesperson in a written statement. "Our new innovation centre in Second Life is a virtual area where both Government and private companies can showcase technological innovations, such as low carbon footprint technology."

Again, it comes down to physical location in First Live, the reality of travel and time expense:
UK Government Defends Use Of Second Life continued: "The DWP claims the innovation centre is currently only a pilot project and has been developed to support the activities of a real-life innovation centre. The department claims the site will actually save taxpayers money by allowing staff to explore new technologies online without having to visit other departments or companies in person."

Case in fact: there are many examples of universities and colleges using Second Life for the same reasons and to great success. There also are tax payer-funded efforts from organizations in the likes of NASA (and there are several more - search NASA,) and even media companies, such as the Discovery Channel (also with several entries.)

I say "Bravo" and "Drive-on".

via "Federal Computer Week"
and "eWeek Europe"


PostHeaderIcon LL to Residents: Duck! BIG Hammer Drops.

The 3D FingerI could swear I've blogged about this too many times to count, so I won't bother going into this blog's history to link back to all those posts, except for the one where I actually predicted this exact policy action.

Needless to say that the Linden Mainland will will become PG from east to west, north to south. At least in those public areas that can be seen when dropping-in from the sky out of a teleport from somewhere else, or while going on one of those always sunny, beautiful, perfect sunsets we never get tired of.

As I've said before, M Linden and Linden Lab by extension will take the tact of Disneyland and Disney World and EuroDisney and all the other Disney theme parks across the planet: "This is the happiest place on earth. Whether you goddamned like it or not."

I mentioned way back when that the hammer was dropping:
Amazing Fortune-teller Ari said:"Rather, by overhaul, I'm referring to Linden Lab's 'interference' with the residents of Second Life - how things are done, what is and is not allowed. In other words: governance. Thing will be tightening up, I have no doubt. The proverbial noose is slipping tighter as it were."

Now comes the blow:
Upcoming Changes for Adult Content: "At the same time, we must ensure that all Residents can enjoy the virtual world. In particular, it has become clear that some Residents are interested in pursuing certain ‘Adult’ activities in Second Life that others would rather not casually encounter. 

"To address this, over the next few months, we will need to implement some changes around Adult content to ultimately give all Residents more control over their Second Life experiences.  We believe we can implement a better system than we have now for managing this content -- one that is respectful of everyone’s personal preferences, yet does not detract from the creativity and passion that define Second Life"


Good thing I own a private sim - they won't dare tell the privates what they can and can't do. Else the Openspace abandonment bail-out exodus wave won't hold a candle to the numbers of jumpers in that case.

Read my original prediction, made seven months ago.
(And I did mention the whole frog in a pot of water scenario.)

Now - because too many take me more seriously than I take myself: this new whatever they are doing thing is a good thing. Hence, this one goes into the "Promising" category. To fully understand what Linden Lab®©℗™℠ is intending to do, read their blog entry in full and actually try to understand what they are saying, instead of reacting in a knee-jerk way, like a drooling childish idiot.

via Official Second Life Blog: "Upcoming Changes for Adult Content"



PostHeaderIcon Political Science for Dummies

Sim-HoppingSorry, folks... I couldn't refuse.

DEMOCRAT
  • You have two cows.
    • Your neighbor has none.
    • You feel guilty for being successful.
    • You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.
    REPUBLICAN
  • You have two cows.
    • Your neighbor has none.
    • So?
    SOCIALIST
  • You have two cows.
    • The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
    • You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
    COMMUNIST
  • You have two cows.
    • The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
    • You wait in line for hours to get it.
    • It is expensive and sour.
    CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
  • You have two cows.
    • You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
    BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
  • You have two cows.
    • Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
    AMERICAN CORPORATION
  • You have two cows.
    • You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.
    • You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows.
    • You are surprised when one cow drops dead.
    • You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.
    • Your stock goes up.
    FRENCH CORPORATION
  • You have two cows.
    • You go on strike because you want three cows.
    • You go to lunch and drink wine.
    JAPANESE CORPORATION
  • You have two cows.
    • You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
    • They learn to travel.
    • Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
    GERMAN CORPORATION
  • You have two cows.
    • You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.
    • Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
    ITALIAN CORPORATION
  • You have two cows
    • ...but you don't know where they are.
    • You break for lunch.
    • Life is good.
    RUSSIAN CORPORATION
  • You have two cows.
    • You have some vodka.
    • You count them and learn you have five cows.
    • You have some more vodka.
    • You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
    • The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
    TALIBAN CORPORATION
  • You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.
    • You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
    • You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
    IRAQI CORPORATION
  • You have two cows.
    • They go into hiding.
    • They send radio tapes of their mooing.
    POLISH CORPORATION
  • You have two bulls.
    • Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
    BELGIAN CORPORATION
  • You have one cow.
    • The cow is schizophrenic.
    • Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.
    • The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.
    • The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.
    • The cow asks permission to be cut in half.
    • The cow dies happy.
    FLORIDA CORPORATION
  • You have a black cow and a brown cow.
    • Everyone votes for the best looking cow.
    • Some of the people who actually like the brown cow best accidentally vote for the black cow.
    • Some people vote for both.
    • Some people vote for neither.
    • Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.
    • Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which you think is the best-looking cow.
    CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
  • You have millions of cows.
    • They make real California cheese.
    • Only five speak English.
    • Most are illegal.
    • Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.
    SECOND LIFE CORPORATION
  • You have one copyable cow.
    • You sell copies of the cow for L$5,000 as full perms.
    • You change the textures on the same cow and sell it again as a different, new cow.
    • You change the textures again on the same cow and sell it as a different, new updated cow for 15% more than the first cow.
    • You see the same cows for sale all over the grid for L$99 by people you've never heard of.
    • You bitch and whine that it is a copybot version cow...
    • You bitch and whine that you are losing money because of copybot cow thieves
    • ...who are Brazilian...
    • ...even though you spent no money creating, duplicating, storing or distributing any of the cows.
    • You finally throw your hands-up and blow a gasket.
    • You get pissed-off and "leave SL for good!"
    • ...which lasts about three full days.
    • You create another cow, rinse and repeat.



    PostHeaderIcon Casinos Return to Second Life... ?

    Cool BuildsThe problem with the "gambling over the Internet" policy and law from the united States dip-shi... er... Government, had to do with all the unintended effects.

    As the United States creeps sorrily toward the nanny-state — a socialist world where the government knows better how to spend your money than you do — the economy tanks, and all because of rules and laws these knuckleheads create and pass in the interest of 'protecting' us from ourselves.

    Linden Lab banned not only casinos in Second Life, but any kind of 'game of chance' where the player anted up to play. There really was nothing illegal in these games, especially since Linden Lab has proclaimed the Linden Dollar as a "game token for trading purposes only".

    However, because the LindeX (Linden Dollar Exchange, where you can trade Linden Dollars for real life legal tender) exists, there could technically be trouble in all of this.

    I do not proclaim to be 'in the know' with regard to what exactly happened and the "who said what about why complained for threats". It is my (very fuzzy) understanding that banks, either locally in the United States or abroad, expressed serious concerns with regard to the gambling allowed in-world and the way Linden Dollars can be sold and purchased. Though a long stretch, pure logic explains that technically, if you buy Linden Dollars through the LindeX with your credit card, and then play these games of chance, then the bank is outside the law (as the law applies to the banks, not the patrons.)

    When the casinos (the word I will use to encompass the whole of 'games of chance') were banished, and with extreme prejudice by the way, the Second Life economy tanked. It dropped like a rock over night. Which caused a run on the in-world bank called "Ginko" - which I understood was an actual legitimate effort - but the run sucked the enterprise dry, which brought shrill complaints to Linden Lab about banks in general - causing further decline when all banks were effectively banned - unless they could show legal documentation in real life.

    Whew.

    The ironic thing is this: the SL economy becoming twisted tighter than all these bank's panties all pulled into a wad, is mirrored in the real world. Real life banks are having hard times because of this 'gambling via the internet' law. To the point that one dimwit finally sees the light and will attempt to repeal the law altogether:
    Frank to Push to Repeal U.S. Online Gambling Ban: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Democratic lawmaker said on Thursday he would push to pass legislation to repeal a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling that has hurt trade ties with European Union.

    'I'm going to be pushing it,' House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank told reporters at a press conference to lay out his agenda for reforming U.S. financial regulation"


    It's rare that any law is repealed. Even when it doesn't work, because when diapers are outlawed, only outlaws will wear diapers. I suspect it's a taxing issue: tax revenues where hunky-dory before this law went into effect. The economy was strong. All was good.

    Now that the real world economy is taking a nose-dive (and based on what I see in the New York and other world Stock Exchanges' confidence in his new taxes and 'stimulus' bail-out spending) the prez called Obama is in the pilot seat steering the plane.

    Anyway, the promising news is this: if the law is repealed, hopefully an appeal will be made to Linden Lab to re-allow these "games of chance" and the SL economy will be kick-started with an infusion of adrenalin. All the lag in those sims was worth the strong economy, real humans in-world instead of only one-in-three green dots on the map (the others are bots or campers or worse: camper bots.)

    So, I suppose hell is freezing over right now as I am actually not only supporting proposed legislation (the repeal of this law, even though I never gamble myself) but I am awaiting with baited breath on the success of it and in turn, Linden Lab loosening that tight grip on what was arguably the most popular activity in Second Life.

    via "Wired: Tech Biz"




    PostHeaderIcon First SL Voice, Now Smell, Touch and Taste?

    Butchart Gardens 37 - HDR.jpgIn the days of my childhood and current real life hero John Henry "Doc" Holliday (oh, and those other guys...Wyatt Earp and brothers) - they simply couldn't have even imagined the Internet, what it is and what it does.

    In the same vein, neither can even we imagine what it will become in the next 20 or 30 years in terms of what it will become and be able to do for people, both in positive and negative terms.

    Think about virtual worlds, including Second Life. For those of us who've been in-world for more than a few years it has changed radically and drastically. Yes, there were a lot of negatives like 'land-bots' snarfing parcels from people who were not alert when transferring land to themselves or a friend for L$1, and not setting it to sell to a specific person. And the SL banking and stock exchange scenes.

    There also are those that are arguably a good riddance or sad one, depending on your perspective, such as the casinos that riddle the grid: a good riddance because of the massive lag they caused in any sim one was located in with all the scripts and user agents present - they were a scourge.

    But also, they contributed hugely to the in-world economy. The Linden Dollar was trading at an average of L$272 to $1 U.S. In the banishing of casinos, also were wipe clean from the grid were any and all games of chance such as massively popular tringo and it's alternatives. hell, I'm not even sure I remember correctly that that was the original name of that game.

    Is second life better? In some respects technologically, yes. Experience with regard to 'things to do'... I don't think so. It's become boring with regard to any activities available. The economy has fallen flat long before the real world economy, and now the real world financial issues will seep into to serious affect the in-world financial landscape even more than these bans and collapses have.

    Some of you were around to remember when Voice was first announced and then introduced. It was a hugely controversial issue for reasons I won;t go into here. A quick search for "voice" in this blog will allow you to see my opinions on that subject are quite clear.

    I suspect, somewhere in the back of all our minds, we've figured that in-world Voice abilities — microphone and speakers in order to actually talk to each other vocally — was just the beginning and perhaps even wondered what would be next. Well, researchers already are working hard on that:
    [Adding] Touch, Taste and Smell to Virtual Reality: "Virtual reality schemes have long tantalized geeks with unrealized visions of holodecks and long-distance cybersex.
    Now, a group of British researchers want to round out the experience with virtual touch, taste and smell. To simulate the real world, they argue, all five of your senses must be stimulated. Toward that end, they've mocked up a 'Virtual Cocoon' with a separate glove that — at least in theory — could tickle your tongue as it, uh, nukes your nose."


    I am not a fan of Wired magazine. It's too opinionated as rule for my tastes. However, along with all the painfully direction-leaning commentary comes technology news that is actually interesting to see every once in a while.

    I can see a use for these kind of technologies in World of Warcraft or that 'Heros" MMORPG and several others. Though I'm not sure what kind of purpose it could really serve in a place like SL — other than corporate use like those rocket scientists who use the grid for prototyping and experimenting and things.

    So, five or ten years from now, if Second Life still exists in any semblance of what it is now, how controversial will these new features be, I wonder?

    via "Wired Science from Wired.com"



    PostHeaderIcon Microsoft Vista: Plonk!

    Meaning of VistaDon't you just love the feeling of complete and total vindication and validation of that which in your own mind you absolutely swear is God's honest truth by experience?

    I swore up one side of the mountain and down the other that Microsoft Vista is a lot more painful for people than they realize. it's a pig. A resource hog. And just plain sluggish as hell in general computing tasks than anything Microsoft has ever released before.

    This creates huge issues in Second Life. Perceived "lag" is, contrary to popular belief, 95% your own damned computer or internet connection. I have said it time and again and again. And I absolutely hate it when people come to my sim and bitch and whine and moan about "lag".

    The next person that complains about lag in my sim, I will respond first with "Are you using Microsoft Vista?" If that answer is "yes" - I will recommend as strongly as I possibly can to upgrade to Windows XP.

    FailureSeriously. I have a machine that was built as a "gamer's" machine, decked-pout with the best graphics card, three whole gigabytes of RAM (No windows version other than 64-bit editions can see more than three gigabytes of RAM - and people wonder why I and millions of other smart people love the Macintosh so much.)

    However, don't just take my word that Windows Vista market share sucks. Don't just take my word that OS X is better than any version of Windows (had to throw that in there - sorry). But more importantly, don't take my word that Windows Vista is SNAFU:
    Vista voted top "Fiasco": Scientific American Blog: "It's official, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system gets the prize for being the most overhyped, underperforming information and communication technology (ICT) project. Windows Vista garnered 5,222 of 6,043 votes (86 percent) entered via the Web to snag top honors in the first-ever Fiasco Awards announced in Barcelona, Spain, today, beating out other contenders, including Google's Lively virtual world, the One Laptop per Child computer (developed by the Nicholas Negroponte-chaired One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc.) and Second Life."


    Sometimes truth not only hurts, it's unfuckingdeniable.
    via Scientific American


    PostHeaderIcon Second Life Hurts

    Landsend Korobase has written on her blog "Land’s Intersection" a stunning article that perhaps should be required reading on the one-month, six-month and annual anniversary of every Second Life user's first 'rez-day'.

    We've all seen it. We've all experienced it. We've all likely created it and we certainly don't like it: 'drama'. Take into account the article I pointed you to yesterday. The one about how social technology is actually ruining our communication and social skills as humans.

    Snapshot_054.pngNow, apply what you have gleemed from that article, put it into effect, then read Landsend's article and put 1 and 1 together. As for the first, I have been espousing this since my very first Second Life 'drama' experience within a few weeks of my first entry into the virtual world back in Summer, 2006. In fact, 'drama' is the reason I am on my second account now.

    I still can't avoid 'drama' sometimes no matter how hard I try. My activities in SL tend to drop me into the middle of drama in the sense that it always is hovering around me like buzzards circle a dying cow in the desert. Of course, one or two always venture to take a dive in to check the status of their target.

    In my case, I am the 'figure of authority' so sooner or later, one of the 'drama-queens' will bring me into the fray in an effort to get me to see their side of whatever trivial issue-made-into-a-mountain they are participants of.

    Unfortunately for most, I have have training and have practiced as a professional moderator in real life and have many times shown with fact (after a full, patient investigation of things) how they themselves are in the wrong.

    Of course, most often the fault can be shared by all parties. The reason? Miscommunication. Miscommunication that is derived on a txt-only method of communicating. No vocal inflection, facial expression, body language... none of it.

    I have broken this quote into smaller paragraphs from its original written form for ease of reading here:
    Landsend Korobase says: "Play is important for humans, we use it to relax and unwind, we find ways to play that make us laugh and maybe challenge us, but the point of play is that it is enjoyable. If you chose to partake in a form of play which ended up with you effectively cheating on your partner, or sitting in tears every time you did it, or making you feel suicidal, then any sane person would tell you to stop the activity and find some other way to play.

    "I have known people in Second Life who do those things and end up in those positions and even hate themselves for it, and yet they log in again and again. Just stop logging in damnit - find some way to play that doesn’t harm you - if you can’t play Second Life without ending up worse than where you started, then get another hobby.

    "If a friend loved playing hopscotch but every time they played it they scrapped their knees and ended up screaming at their fellow players, wouldn’t you tell them to stop playing the game?"

    What Landsend says here is profound and huge. The entire article is seriously worth a serious read, seriously.

    I've never known of her blog "Land’s Intersection", tagged as "Landsend Korobase’s Second Life Blog" - I like her writing style and I especially like those blogs that look at serious issues as well as the diatribe. I think I'll have to plop her into my NetNewsWire subscriptions manager.

    As for the article Landsend writes: Sometimes, truth hurts.

    It really does.

    via Land’s Intersection

    PostHeaderIcon Second Life Residents: You have Problems

    Larl on the RocksCynthia Meza has a very good, responsible article in the "Daily Titan" blog that examines the way technology itself is ruining the world's societies. She only mentions Second Life in passing, but the overall article is a very good one. Think of this as 'part one' and my next post - from blogger Landsend Korobase at Land’s Intersection as being a part two.

    Taking the words of both these article shouldn't be a rude-awakening, but I suspect for a lot of people: it really is. It's not to say that Second Life and social technology is evil per se, but that it can become addictive and once that, it can wreak havoc on societal social values in general.

    The first article I point your attention to, called "'Virtuality' causes marital and legal problems" looks to how social technology in general has really eroded our communicative 'morals' and 'values' as a whole.
    'Virtuality' causes marital and legal problems: "A phone conversation already limits the directness of a regular conversation. Text messaging makes people even more non-direct. You don't even get to hear the person's voice. You only see their words, and most of the time you don't even get their tone."

    The second article, specifically centered around Second Life could be taken as a whole in addition to the first: apply what Ms. Korobase says to everything: facebook, MySpace, Second Life...

    You get the idea.

    Ouch.

    via Daily Titan

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