PostHeaderIcon Get Legal Advice In-World

Historic Henry County CourtroomAs I had reported a couple days ago about first life legal issues in Second Life (and practically most virtual worlds) - the news of legal-eagles taking the dive into what they are calling "virtual law" is on the upswing.


However, don't let the term "virtual law" fool you. It's simply a quick and easy way to refer to first life, also know as real life law as it applies to virtual worlds. In other words, just because the virtual world is a cartoon 'fantasy' that doesn't really exist, disputes that occur there are real. And any time there is money involved, beware.


And in Second Life, there is real money involved every day, and it touches everyone. The biggest lawsuit to date is Kevin Alderman's suit over allegedly stolen intellectual property, specifically computer code he created that was sold without permission.

PostHeaderIcon You Got Swine Flu (Wear Me) [Updated]

CDC


The big 'scary' headlines on the world news this week is the Swine Flu 'Pandemic". Yes it's official now I guess as this morning on my local news, anyway, they have started officially calling it a "pandemic".


Uh... all you journalists: I (and I'm sure most reasonable people) are so sick and tired of your sensationalism and alarmist reporting. It's not a pandemic yet. it is suspected it will become one, but it's not one yet. Sheesh.


The first "official United States death" caused by swine flu is a 24-month-old child. Visiting from Mexico. It's a sad thing to be sure. But to me, all swine flu deaths to date are native indigenous Mexicans. Everything I've heard thus far regarding Europeans and U.S. residents infected is that the flu, as hard-hitting as it might be is relatively mild in comparison to what's going on in Mexico.


No, I am not making light of the seriousness of swine flu. Real people die from an influenza infection every year - often very young children and elderly adults. And the swine flu packs a more powerful punch than the average strain.


But, can anyone say "regional, cultural and geographical influences regarding population health as a whole"?

PostHeaderIcon Forget Linden Lab, Call Your Lawyer

Court of Appeals, Texas State CapitolKevin Alderman (stroker serpentine) basically started the virtual sex industry in Second Life. Surely someone would have, it just turns-out to be him. He also more or less kick-started the practice of real life law as it pertains to virtual worlds. The ultimate in Intellectual Property paradigms and definition with regard to ownership and copyright.


He created a few scripts and three-dimensional descriptions that appear to the user in the Second Life environment, while using a Second Life "viewer"to be a bed (among other things) and the scripts allow users' avatars to appear to be... embracing in many different ways. Most of which in ways not fit for real life public display.


Because this is just computer code inside more computer code, the parent system (the Second Life Grid) was compromised in such a way as to allow others to make unlimited copies of the "SexGen Bed". Thereby, allowing them to resell the bed, keeping all the money earned.


This is not theft, but it is plagiarism. The original creator who's creativity and hours of work are going unrewarded. So Alderman sued. In real life.

PostHeaderIcon Sheeeee's Baaaaack!

Kirsten's Shadowdraft ViewerThe problem with dip-shit idiots is that they are dip-shit idiots. There are too many people who will spit into the soup just before they deliver it to your table for no reason other than to piss on your parade.


These people are everywhere. In the chat rooms and other social places they are known as trolls (in Second Life, we call them 'griefers' - but it's the same smelly pile of cow-shit.) They often also are 'flamers', but their main gig is to find people having a good time, enjoying whatever they are enjoying and then to do or say whatever the can to not only ruin the party, but actually destroy any progress made to whatever end.


So when KirstenLee Cinquetti gained fame through a featured mention on New World Notes, considered the premiere news aggregator for all things Second Life, the trolls came out of the woodwork.


The mention was not the first. Kirsten is a developer and takes the code released by Linden Lab and others and compiles it into her own SL Viewer. What makes her viewer so popular is that she is implementing 'disabled' code that allows the viewer - with the right computer hardware - to dynamically render 'live' shadows in your SL scene.

PostHeaderIcon Bots: It's About Damned Time

Sweet.



This time next week we will begin to routinely look at the Search results and where we find clear use of Bots to gain an unfair Search advantage we will be handling it as an abuse issue. We will not need you to abuse report this, instead we will monitor the Search results. To begin with we will message the land owner to issue a warning, but this will escalate to an account suspension or removal from Search if it persists. The usual Abuse-appeals process will be available for anyone that feels that the decision is unfair.[From Conclusion to the Blog Post on Bots - Land and Sea - Second Life Blogs]

Done.

PostHeaderIcon Common Sensibile's Choice Awards...

The Far AwayThe Second Life Resident Awards concluded recently. I find it interesting the number of comments I see all over the grid that basically repeat "awards? What awards? There was a vote or something?"

I thinks it's a great idea that Linden Lab is on to. It's their attempt to remain engaged with the residents. That's all a good thing. and I think it's a grand first-effort. The whole 'shoot from the hip', evaluate, debrief, adjust and correct, take better aim next time.

I agree with Prad Prathivi (Metaversally Speaking) and his comments that it might have been a bit better to have resident nominations first, then a list-vetting, and finally a finalists vote.

Like many, I have no idea who some of these winners are. Especially in certain categories such as "favorite creator" and the likes. Hmmm, let us take a look at this situation:

More than 6-million registered users. 5-million of which are inert "bots"; 500,000 are "alt account campers"; 75% of whom are barely active in-world at all, so that still leaves 125,000 residents, each and every single one with a different experience in SL, including their own favorite creators, among other things. </sarcasm off>

PostHeaderIcon "Adult Content" Policies - This is Actually a Good Thing

So now the timeline starts to form. Definitions are starting to firm-up. Answers to questions are within sight and some have arrived already. Key items are emphasized:



...we've published a working draft of the definitions for PG, Mature and Adult [below]. We want to continue the discussion about our definitions and then finalize them by the end of April.


The forums will stay up through the end of this process so we can continue to hear your feedback. Next week, we plan to release the Release Candidate (RC) for Viewer 1.23, which will be the first to include the new functionality related to this initiative. If you want to get an early look at setting maturity ratings and filtering search results, you'll be able to do both with the new RC.


Over the next few months, we'll be continuing to work on the main viewer, which we anticipate will be ready by the end of June. When Viewer 1.23 is final and ready to become the main Viewer (again, estimated to be by the end of June), the full implementation process will begin - all regions will need to be maturity-rated, search will be filtered for everyone, Adult content on the mainland will need to move to the new continent, and access to Adult regions and search results will be limited to Residents with verified accounts.[From Update - Upcoming Changes for Adult Content - Community - Second Life Blogs]
In a nutshell:Preview what the filtering controls will look and feel like next week via a release candidate version of an upcoming official viewer.
Plan on things going live by the end of June; where "adult-rated" must move to the new adult-rated continent Ursula. The search results will be filtered and available only to verified accounts.
The main question for me relates to verification. I already am verified via the current system and I simply am curious if this system will continue to be used, or if another more thorough/reliable/validated system will be in-place and if I have to verify again.

Caution... no, wait. That's wrong. I mean WARNING: The definition of Adult-Oriented is good, but the in-world criteria is a bit draconian to me. Just having naughty pose-balls in a secret back-room means AO!!! (Adult-Oriented)

Yes, get used to AO meaning "Adult-Oriented" rather than "Animation Overrider" I suppose. At least, that's how LL is handled it in the FAQs.
The big question for me that isn't answered in the FAQs is: how will land on the AO (Adult-Oriented continent) be sold by Linden Lab? I see one hell of a land-rush in the making. It's going to be brutal.
Related links you want to visit:
Adult-oriented content controls FAQMaturity Ratings Overview

PostHeaderIcon SPAM vs. spam; Xerox vs. xerox; Taser vs. Linden Lab?

Adam and his pig modelTateru scooped the legal complaint of Taser International, inc. against Linden Research. As always, Tateru does an outstanding job of explaining what's going on (as she understands it) and peppering with great insight.


She describes it, in part like so:



Basically a few people in Second Life make some digital replicas of Taser's products that do not have the same function as Taser's products, or props that have the Taser name, but do not have any functions or resemblance similar to Taser products.


Some of these content creators also manufacture/sell material that Taser describes as pornographic, or offensive, and they feel that their brand is being linked with these prurient materials, and that they're losing business and sales to Linden Lab.


[From Taser International vs Linden Lab: Crack Den crackdown - Massively]

In a nutshell, the Taser people do have a point. I'm not so sure I would enjoy my good name, commercial or otherwise, being associated with some "underworld" meme that I am not actually associated with.

PostHeaderIcon U.S. Navy to SL Creators: "We Feel Your Pain!"

IMG_5870Intellectual Property theft, a.k.a. "plagiarism' (my words as that's all it really is) is a highly volatile issue in Second Life and on the minds of practically most, if not all legitimate creators.


In many discussions about I.P. theft, it seems the Brazilian population comes-up as a discussion point a helluva lot more often than not. Is it true that the majority of I.P thieves are Brazilian? I have no idea. But they are are at the center of most spotlights on the subject, that's for certain


So much so that Prad Prathivi at Metaversally Speaking featured the very subject.


Well, accurate or not, truthful or not, for all you content creators who believe the Brazilians are 'raping' you blind by thieving your hard work... you're not alone. The United States Navy certainly feels your pain:



On the night of March 8, cruising 22,000 miles above the Earth, U.S. Navy communications satellite FLTSAT-8 suddenly erupted with illicit activity. Jubilant voices and anthems crowded the channel on a junkyard's worth of homemade gear from across vast and silent stretches of the Amazon: Ronaldo, a Brazilian soccer idol, had just scored his first goal with the Corinthians.


It was a party that won't soon be forgotten. Ten days later, Brazilian Federal Police swooped in on 39 suspects in six states in the largest crackdown to date on a growing problem here: illegal hijacking of U.S. military satellite transponders. [From The Great Brazilian Sat-Hack Crackdown]

PostHeaderIcon Second Life's Economy is All Spin

CIMG2725Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon's interview with C|Net news about his Linden Lab economic report has journalists all over the place all giddy and fuzzy-warm feeling.

However, just like the real world, reports of the virtual world's economy are spun to make it look better and stronger than it really is. No, I'm not slamming Mark ("M" Linden") because he's doing his job to run the company so it makes profit and is represented in a good light, especially when investors with venture capitol are looking for places to put all that money.

PostHeaderIcon SL Quickstart - Pushed to New Residents?

BEHOLDOur favorite Linden, Torley has posted links to the SL Quick-Start Guide, available in PDF format for download. Hurray for Torley, still at it with helpful tips and tutorials and all thing edification-wise regarding the gris, viewer and Second Life in general.

Now, I don't go around creating alts all over the place, so it's been quite some time since I've gone through the initial user experience. And frankly, that initial experience back in spring 2006 was just fine. The viewer, and Second Life in general is some seriously complicated stuff. I'm referring to the empowerment that is given to users, not the use of the system.

PostHeaderIcon SL Group Spam = Bad Word of Mouth

Primgraph Subscribe-o-MaticsFor quite some time there has been outcry to Linden Lab to raise the 25-Group limit. That would be the "system groups" - you know the ones. The groups that are used to primarily manage parcels and often used to idiotic tags over your name like "I AM A MASTER!!!" or some silly thing like that.


The main purpose for the outcry had to do with creators and merchants using the groups as "update" groups. At first, these were product updates. A newer version of a product your own is sent via this update group to you so you will have a current version of your sex bed, sex throne, sex rug, sex house, sex whatever.


Then, of course there is the ridiculously-famously competitive and vitriolic drama-infested "fashionista" culture of Second Life. They want to spam the hell out of their customers in order to stay competitive in an SL industry that is fraught with drama and a laughably seething amount of competition. They were the biggest whiners. The loudest minority of SL residents bitching at Linden Lab for that group limit to be raised. Though not all whiners are in this camp. They also are the ones crying for more attachment points so they can crank their Avatar Rendering Cost twice as high as it is already, making lag exponentially worse than it is sometimes right now.

PostHeaderIcon Hey Baby, What's YOUR Name, Good-Lookin'?

Ursula Info HubAccording to Tateru Nino over at Massively, It's "Ursula."

The push to add a third rating in Second Life is in full swing. In addition to "PG" and "Mature" we also will have "Adult". She also reports that "PG" might be renamed to something else (good - because why would adults - which you must be one to even use Second Life - need "Parental Guidance"?)

The new continent is in place. It's called Ursula and currently includes 153 sims, each named contiguously "Ursula 000" - as in Ursula 151, Ursula 152, Ursula 153.

For me, the real question will be in how that land will be sold by Linden lab. I don't personally care because even though my store and products might possibly be called "mature" by some people and I am on "PG" land, I ensure that I follow the Second Life Terms of Service and Community Standards in my implementation.

Ursula Continent

The new continent of "Ursula" containing 153 sims and still appears incomplete. For some reason the name "Ursula" is fitting. Perhaps a false 'Deja-Vu' but I seem to remember a naughty character in some story whose name is "Ursula" - so it conjures very adult-rated images in my head. Some building can be seen in the central north region of the Continent.

You have to actively choose to go into my store by action, and then once there, actively use the demonstration items on the showroom floor. So I'm in the clear right where I am and I am quite happy with it.

Ursula_001The Linden Info-Hub as it currently stands at Arapaima - the apparent access point into the Ursula Content.

So I popped over to Arapaima, which Tateru reports is the Linden Info Hub access point to Ursula continent. In typical Linden fashion, it's a smart, handsome build with a lot of room for the crowds who will no doubt gather there, most trying to get into the Ursula continent, I'm sure.

I tried. No-go. The entire continent is completely blocked, which makes sense as the Lindens are still hammering nails and running wire. It's likely the drywall isn't even up, yet.
Ursula Denied
Trying to pop-into Ursula from Arapaima is a no-go as all access is currently blocked. In fact, it will likely never have 'public' access as they test the code that will restrict unverified residents.

So, as I have mentioned, the real question is - since "Adult" content will be 'required' to be on this continent and not allowed (more or less) on any of the other mainland (Linden-owned) continent - how will they sell it?

If they go with status quo by auctioning off the entire sims, there will be a huge public backlash. The established and wanna-be land barons will jack the auction prices to ridiculous levels, then slice and dice and charge exorbitant prices for the parcels. Since this is basically a "compelled to be on" continent, a lot of arms will feel like they are being twisted.

Ouch.

If I were "M" - I would approach it this way: slice and dice the sims into parcels, sell the parcels directly, just like first land was sold back in the day (but for L$2 per square meter instead of L$1.)

Here is the reason why, and all you people who bitch and whine: please try not to take anything personal, it's purely a business decision...
Ursula_002
These icons likely appear at all Linden Info-hubs, but may start appearing all over the grid? (Just kidding.)

None of this applies to private estates. So sweep all of them completely off this table. You must be a premium account holder to purchase land on any Linden-own sim (unless you purchase for a group) - and you get 512 square meters tier-free. So technically, 4608 square meters still falls in the "4096" tier level (your first 512 is free) - but for the sake of simplicity, let's sweep that free first 512 off the table also.

The way the tier system works - the 'rent' you pay to Linden Lab for land - is like so: it's a flat fee when you own a certain amount of land, with 'bumps' and you are billed for the maximum amount of land you owned for the billing period.

Example: I have a 1024 parcel. I want to move to another 1024 parcel. If I buy the second parcel and then sell the first only one-second later, I owned 2048 square meters for one second (both parcels) - so I will be billed at the 2048 tier level for that billing period. The wise thing to do is to sell (or abandon) the first parcel, then after it sells, buy the second one. That way I never own more than 1024 at any single time and my tier will continue unchanged.
Ursula_003
In typical Linden style, the Info-hub is well done. Beautiful, even. These are pictures, not windows. A nice touch with detail.

This means everyone who will feel compelled (or simply want) to move to Ursula will go and snap-up that land at L$2 per square meter. At that price, they'll snatch a lot of it.

Most will not be thinking about what I explained above: selling their current holding first before the land-grab. Thus, their tiers will be bumped dramatically for at least one billing cycle. And, with the mass exodus from the current mainlands to Ursula, there is the possibility that bumped tier could last over a couple billing cycles as land in the old locations might sell slowly with such a glut appearing all of a sudden.

Of course, some also will make that decision consciously, feeling the temporary bump in tier is worth it to make the move easier, rather than tearing down and business being 'offline' during the moving process.

As a business decision, Linden Lab gets a nice infusion of cash and yes, I know many will simply cash-out Linden Dollars for credit - but you get the point.

There is not only the feeling of being compelled to buy land in Ursula, but it is a new digital wilderness as well. That always sells fast, not to mention the novelty of it. I admit it's kicking around in my head to maybe pick-up a small parcel there. Just so I can say I have one.


PostHeaderIcon SL: Shangri-La in Shambhala?

From Wiki: The phrase "Shangri-La" most probably comes from the Tibetan, "Shang" - a district of Tsang, north of Tashilhunpo", pronounced "ri", "Mountain" = "Shang Mountain", Mountain Pass, which suggests that the area is accessed to, or is named by, "Shang Mountain Pass".

Is that what second Life is? The 'utopia in the fictional, mystical 'Shambhala"?

In my previous post, I plopped-up a letter sent to me (with permission) because I wanted to allow this person a 'voice' in a prominent place, rather than buried in the comments section of some other blog article.

Trespassing PermittedIs it my intention to "show the fool by allowing him to have his way"? Absolutely not. I really am a firm believer that everyone has a right to voice their opinion, as long as at some point, all parties who disagree, agree to disagree.

In one of my replies to other talkbacks on that article, I mentioned "sometimes it's not what is said, but how it is said". because I, like many tried to be brief, my full and proper meaning hadn't come across. So I was asked about what I meant when I said that.

I've spoken on this very subject time and again on this blog.

Unfortunately, with any text-based communication (which Second Life primarily is, even with voicing capabilities) we tend to subconsciously add a voice to the word. Instant massagers, email, books, virtual worlds. Along with the voice in our head that we apply to those written words, there is the inflection and so on. So a statement can come-off sounding angry, when it is only meant to be stoic or even in jest. It happens to me often. In fact, my mouth (writing) gets me into more hot water than I care to admit.

I also do professional voice-overs and sound design and the like and I've discovered that voicing at the ADR microphone is incredibly different from "voicing" through the written word. Even the simple arrangement of the same words on the page can really turn a perceived meaning and "attitude" around in a way it wasn't intended by the 'speaker'.

There are many times I will write a phrase and it is taken as 'anger' inside me trying to get out, when in reality, I'm bemused with a light chuckle in my throat and a grin on my face - even if it is not 'in jest'. I am considerably lighter-going, relaxed and amiable than most people take me for. I simply try not to take too much too seriously, including myself.

What I was trying to convey in so few words in that reply is: "...he sounds angry. And the words come-off as angry, disillusioned, upset, whatever. But I don't think he's angry, he is simply phrasing his view in a firm sense."

Of course if we were all perfect writers, miscommunication would never happen, drama would not occur (in either 'life') and everyone would be in Shangri-La.

The whole of "miscommunication runs rampant" in text-based communication. And often, relationships fall apart, friendships end and disillusion with the medium sets-in.

Without the other critical forms of communication to go with text - vocal inflection, and then the secondaries: body language, facial expression and so on, misunderstandings happen a lot more often than not.

A good example is with a young lady I spoke with yesterday. We chatted for a few minutes, nothing special, just the casual stuff. We both are "oldbies' in SL. And I mentioned "...we both know better about relationships in SL". She went on to tell me how 'jaded' she had become. But how she also had a revelation. She was very happy. She mentioned that if she is 'lucky', "after tonight I won't be single anymore."

We continued chatting and after another ten minutes or so, I congratulated her and wished her the utmost happiness and said something about wedding bells.

She laughed! Humorously telling me not to be sending her down an aisle just yet! And there it was. Another simple miscommunication. We both laughed at it and I explained how my mind automatically connected the word "single" with spousal status (as in have and have not.)

We continued to chat a bit and grazed on this very subject. She mentioned that only a week ago an innocent miscommunication almost ended the very relationship she is most excited about right now.

Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Second Life can certainly feel a lot like Shambhala or Shangri-La, can't it? And my, how misleading that can really be. Time is compressed in Second Life. Many will equate a month of First Life time to a week in Second Life time.

However, when it comes to communication, perhaps it's best to slow down and think of the words we choose to communicate with and arrange them carefully.

PostHeaderIcon Second Life: Land of the WEAK home of the BROKEN

This is kind of a "guest article" by Charles.

Charles posted this as a reply to an article at Land's End (I wrote about it before) and Charles also forwarded this lengthy reply directly to me as well in email.

I offered to post it here. He okays it. Do I agree 100% with what Charles says? No. At least not in how it is said. But I get that a lot from others, too. It's not always what I say but how I say it.

The point is, Charles has some very good... well, points.
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First of all, I have been there, have done that. Had clubs, owned land, made friends, money, and fell in love. Second life on the surface, especially for the newbie and Entrepreneur/artist is a fun and cool place to make some friends, and make some money. It is looked at as a supercharged chat room, a video game. But the nature of its name is where the insidiousness is. As much of a second life (SL) as it might be, in order to operate you still have to use your Real Life (RL) abilities. You do not follow a different thought and emotional pattern when in SL. You can only use what you know in RL. But kidding yourself is one of the appeals of SL. You eventually get lost in it.

At first it is new and exciting. Like a new video game. Learning the functions that move your avatar around, visiting places and socializing with the natives. You are perfect, and you can fly. No sickness, no need for money (well not as much) and people don’t have bad breath and, as a “normal”, “intelligent” person, it is an interesting place to explore and learn. But it eventually becomes one of three things. 1. Boring, like a video game you have played over and over. 2. An environment to explore your creative ability to design and sell things. Or, 3 it consumes your psyche.

The first two are what they are; the third is the meat and potatoes of SL. This is the one that is more consistent. Do you really think the folks at Linden Labs are spending their free time on SL.? No, they are spending the money they are making in RL (SL is a business so it is RL for them) on RL things.

There comes a saturation point where you walk away or get sucked in. I will say this for the last time and it does not apply to you newbie’s, or the smart ones that are making money off the lonely. It is a place to hide from reality. It is a place where weak, lost souls go to escape from the depth and breadth of life. I will allow some latitude for you shut-ins. Some people have nothing else but the four walls of the room they are in. SL can provide a form of “human” entertainment that they otherwise would not be able to get. But, that just causes the shut-in to let go of their emotional self being even more. This is a hard pill to swallow, no one wants to take a good look at them selves and most do not. But the covert nature of SL allows you to cut loose. Sort of the absolute power corrupts absolutely theory. People that stay too long get lost in it. And yes, justifying all the way, that it is just a game. For the predator, and a predator is weak by nature, it is a place to be free of thought and persecution. To dominate the weak that makes SL their home. And, it is a place for the weak to not be judged, a place that they can feel and accept that who they are is ok, even if it is with the few. Some people can handle the trials and tribulations of life, some can’t and they end up in SL. You start to see a symbiotic circle of relationships in SL. For the people designing objects to sell, they may not interact totally and directly with the person/s and, their sales may come from across the board. The newbie that is playing the “game” to the obsessed, but, the obsessed is a long term customer. Theses business individuals usually get in, add new product, convert their lindens to dollars or pounds and get out.

The tragedy is the weak and broken. Don’t roll your eyes, In the Real World we are always conned with flashy marketing to get us to buy something or believe something in order to be more acceptable. Magic creams or potions. Don’t kid yourself; Second Life is about making money. Making money off of what? Our loneliness and our lack of self worth in the real world. HELLO, McFly!! It is called Second Life.

It might be simple, you build a club, people come and visit or create a group, and you solicit for members. People get together and boom, you feel wanted and needed. Building your dream home in the clouds and littering your lawn with cool things like jets and swimming pools. That can make you popular. Walking in a park with your perfect Avatar girlfriend/boyfriend, no RL issues so it is a perfect relationship. That leads to good puppet sex. Mmmm nice. All this is accomplished by tugging on your weakness, your emotional frailty. Either you are not getting it in RL or are too afraid to face the truth of how to exist in RL. You can’t handle the truth and if you are a long term SL puppet, you just can’t handle life, Real Life. Don’t get me wrong, we all like to escape from time to time.

In some places it is much darker, like I said before, predators hunting the weak. The Gorean Master and the slaves that he takes control of. This one is unusual, in that the Master has total control over the slave. The “slave” giving not only total control of their Avatar, and who can communicate to them, but also, control as to when they will or will not talk to what they can wear. Believe me this does carry over to real life. Imagine the fun of kneeling next to your Avatar Master and saying nothing. Second life being nothing more then a place to be told what to do, serving fake food and ale. You want to call it guided, or taught? Hey, what ever floats your boat? I know just a video game, right? This setup just allows the predator to get in that persons head and develop a false sense of security. Tell that to your husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend. Why you are glued to the PC instead of enjoying life, REAL LIFE. And, couples also get on there too, as couples, this is a nutty one. Worked hard all week, beautiful weekend, and, you both are on a computer, every free moment, building and designing that special home, having that child you never could have. (Yes, people do play the part of the child.) I find it unhealthy when instead of developing a better real life and real relationship in RL. You take that precious time and waste it. Yes, ok… You are free to do what you want. But there are plenty of damaged people on SL. And your fantasy could be causing them to loose sense of reality, along with your lost sense of reality. Their marriages, get funky, destroyed, their children get neglected. And you get a ridiculous God complex that makes you anti social in the Real World, which just plummets yourself deeper in to SL. Cha Ching! Sweet business you got Linden People.

You have the 50+ couple that spends every “free” moment in SL being the King and Queen. Oh, and so good to their obedient subjects. At their beckons call, at their total command. Or, the sexual perverts. Ok, my opinion….. That can now live out the fantasy of doing it with a farm animal. Or, kneeling down and being the public toilet. Sex is rampant in SL. The anonymous nature of your avatar is something too. You really do not know if the man is a woman or the woman is a man, plenty of men that are living out their desire to be a Transsexual, or a woman. Plenty of women that want to love another woman, so she hides in the body of a man. I guess what you don’t know won’t hurt you. Hey, no one is getting hurt, no aids. Nicey nice. The soul is willing but the flesh is weak. So, the wall that SL provides, allows for an easier transition to experiment. Sad part is as your getting deeper and deeper; you are getting more lost in fantasy then reality and they start to blend. Actually, you probably were lost between the two to begin with. Now you go out into the real world. Take a break; meet one of your SL friends. Break the rule, cross that line; remember SL and RL are supposed to be two different places. People meet up, some get married, the rare few. But mostly it is a letdown, disappointment, and harm to others. It is a dirty little secret. Who wants to tell people that you got into that trouble because you decided to meet your “make believe” friend?

Lips stay sealed, people get hurt. And in the end, the only place they feel right, the only place that people understand is right back on Second Life. CHA CHING!

PostHeaderIcon Call me: 123-555-1212. Sure, Go Ahead.

Sim-hopping from rhe mapSweet!

In Second Life, you often see in people's profiles the whole "RL is RL and SL is SL and never the two shall ever meet." Fair enough. I can understand that. Just like the real world there are a lot of weirdo-wacko's in SL.

There also are a lot of people who don't give it a second thought. They are comfortable with themselves and all that. Me personally? I give it a second thought.

Email is fair game, I have no issues with that. I'm willing to say I'm in Washington state. Even willing to say I'm within a 40-minute drive of Seattle on a good traffic day (and especially willing to say I hate going there. Seattle sucks.)

So now I can add another piece of information to my throwing about of "RL" contact information: my phone number. Go ahead, call me. My phone actually has great spam-filters, too.

I have been using "Grand Central" for quite some time now. It's been in beta for a year or more and I was actually thrilled when they sent an email to everyone saying Google bought them.

It was first invented because of the way cell phone carriers locked you into a phone number. Of course that is no longer the case as all phone numbers are required to be "portable" by law in the United States anyway - but the service is still a 'must-have', indispensable tool and it's free (so far).

Grand Central gives you a local phone number. This is the number I throw around. When you call, it forwards the ring to every phone I choose to set-up. Cell, home, office, best friend, worst enemy, anything. They all ring simultaneously and it even forwards caller ID - I just pick-up the closest ringing phone. I get a message that (your name) is calling, press any button to pick-up.

Or I can allow or send you to voicemail and listen as you leave your message and pick-up at any time. There are a lot of other features with it that I won't bore you with here, like custom greeting messages and rings based on your location or phone number and so on. Suffice it to say it is now (and has been) my permanent number. If I change my "real" numbers, I just reconfigure my GC account to point to them. You will never have to change your phone book again.

I am a heavy Google user. This blog is hosted on Google Blogger, I use Gmail, in fact I use a lot of Google services. Not because I have to, but rather because it's convenient - one login name and password and pop! There it all is. And Google is PC and Mac-friendly. Yes, Google gives the Macintosh more love than Microsoft ever will.

This morning, I got the following in email:

"Hello GrandCentral User,

We are happy to announce that GrandCentral has been upgraded and is relaunching as Google Voice. While not yet open to the public, we wanted to give you, our GrandCentral users, the first opportunity to start using Google Voice.

In addition to the GrandCentral features you already know, we've added voicemail transcription, SMS support, conference calling, Goog411, enhanced spam protection and low-priced international calling. We have also integrated GrandCentral with your Google Account and your Google Contacts list.

To upgrade your account to Google Voice, just log in to your GrandCentral account and follow the directions at the top of your inbox. Upon upgrading, your GrandCentral number, PIN, and forwarding phones will be moved to Google Voice.

Note that since Google Voice uses the Google address book, your GrandCentral contacts will not be imported automatically. You can import your GrandCentral address book with these instructions. You will also need to recreate any individual/group settings and greetings.

After you upgrade, all your new voicemails will be accessible at Google Voice, while all prior messages will remain available at GrandCentral.

Thanks for being a great GrandCentral user and we hope you enjoy Google Voice!

Best,

Craig, Vincent, and the Google Voice team"

Sweet! (again)

Now Grand Central folds into my existing Google login and sits side-by-side with all the other services I love. Google is like my whole office - in the cloud.

Grand Central is now Google Voice
The upgrade was simple and took only a few seconds. The new features Google has added, like transcribing voicemail and forward to email and the like is wonderful. Especially since I'm really not a phone kind of person - I prefer email. As bad a typist as I am, even.

[Checkout the screenshot above: my "welcome" voicemail is transcribed into text. How can you not love this?]

And they even gave me a free Dollar so I can try-out the "low cost" international service. I do know people in Europe and even way the hell off in Eastern Europe. But my Rusty is pretty Russkie.

I won't publicly list my "throw-around" number here. But if you ask, I'll have no reservation about giving it. :)

Of course, you could always try the number I gave above and see where it goes...
123-555-1212.

I really have no idea. Tell me if you choose to try it.

Thanks Google!

PostHeaderIcon Free SIM for a Year

Big Easter Bash from Linden Lab. Because I'm in a viral-marketing mood, I'm going to make you hop blogs all-over the interwebs...

PostHeaderIcon Linden Lab, Unnatural Mojo...

Sim-HoppingThe software industry gets away with murder. No, really. They do.

I only need point to Microsoft. For those of you who were 'here' when they released Windows Millennium Edition (a.k.a. Windows Me) - you know damned well what I'm speaking of.

A famous pair of quotes come from Microsoft founder and then CEO Bill Gates who said 'Cars should work like Windows...,' meaning they should be flexible, upgradable and so on.

To which the CEO of general Motors at the time replied with a quip to the effect of '...if cars worked like Microsoft Windows, you you'd have to upgrade your engine every six months, we'd have to send out updates and repairs every week, you can only drive on approved road and you'd crash every hour...'.

The point being that the buying consumerist public has long since become complacent. We buy software, it always is riddled with bugs. even though we bitch and whine about the bugs, lack of features and constant headaches, we become comfortable with these and lazy.

There are reports that many viable and even better alternatives to Microsoft Office exist today, but so many corporations are complacent in using MS Office, specifically MS Word that they don;t even bother shopping for a better, less expensive, higher return-on-investment alternative. They just deal with the headache.

The same is true with Linden Lab and Second Life. There are many alternatives and i don;t mean "OpenGrid". There obviously os World of Warcraft - yes, specifically designed and intended as a game, but other virtual social environment exist such as There, Twinity and many new worlds are in beta testing right now.

But we have become addicted to Second Life because Linden Lab has found that magic recipe that fits in the sweet-spot for all SL residents.

If you peruse the archives of this blog, you'll know I always have stood behind Linden Lab employees, a.k.a. "Lindens". My gripes have been with Linden Lab itself, as a whole... as a company with regard to many of their policies such as actually trying to register the letters S and L as a trademark, without any artistic representation. I disagree and will all the way to jail if it needs to go that far. The other trademarks I'm fine with.

Often, when linden lab comes out with a new or changes an existing policy, I step back, look at the positives and negatives and often come down on the side of Linden Lab, placing the views on the blog at odds with the majority of blogs that follow the Linden Lab virtual environment.

And today, I am using this space to proudly and openly thank Mark Kingdon for bringing order and meaning to Linden Lab where customer service is concerned.

I sincerely believe the attempt at good customer service always was there. The problem is too many of the wrong people (software engineers for example) were allowed to face the public. They are code-geeks for crying out loud and their personalities and candor is almost as bad as my own.

Would Linden Lab be where it is if not for Mark Kingdon? Yes. Well, no, not without someone in Mark Kingdon's position as a professional CEO. So yes, you could say Linden Lab would be where it is now no matter who it was that Philip Rosedale chose to bring in. Some things would be different, sure, but under the hood at Linden Research - the way things are run and the priorities placed on recognizing paying customers for what they really are: customers, would likely have improved exponentially they way they have any way.

I always have tooted my horn for the concierge teams. It's hard work. Not only are you dealing with technical things that are strictly logic-based, but also customer-facing things that are emotional-based. Wow.

The concierge people work long and hard. Every single time I have ever put in a ticket or chatted with them in the support portal or even in world, I am sure to go out of my way to thank them and tell them how much I appreciate them and the work they do. I always have.

I sold a region to someone. Put-in the ticket. Expected the usualy 5 to 10 business-day wait (up to 14 days) for the transfer to happen. I took my time returning prims and cleaning-up.

I was stunned when the transfer occurred within 5-hours. Okay, a pleasant fluke. It happens sometimes and it's always nice when it does. Just a case of the right accidental timing.

Just this weekend I allowed another region to attach to mine. I simply went into the land portal, authorized that resident to "neighbor" me. They put in the ticket and we both were stunned... within hours the attachment was made and ticket closed.

I am convinced that the logistical paradigms in-place at Linden Lab are definitely allowing and even creating a well-oiled, smooth and efficient workflow, unlike the chaotic 'who knows what's going to happen when" routine those of us in-world for at least a year are so familiar with.

So I state, as I always have and now very publicly: Concierge Lindens, thank you for all your hard work. I know it's not easy dealing with so many people, all of whom are usually emotionally-charged, whose issue or problem is the most important thing in the world.

I thank you for handling all those boring, mundane, repetitive 'menial' tasks like changing sim names and locations on the grid, performing hard restarts and rollbacks, and dealing with complaints about poor performance and lost or phantom prims.

I thank you for being so cordial and happy-sounding ever single time we have communicated, even though you are no-doubt seriously overwhelmed, your you always give me the strongest impression that your face is bright and smiling and I often feel like i am the sole reason and purpose of your undivided attention.

You work hard and I know it.

And to mark and the management team at Linden Lab and yes, you, too Robin - thank you for getting whatever chaos was happening there all cleaned-up and working smoothly.

And Microsoft: take lessons from Linden Lab because they simply blow your pants-off in comparison with regard to customer support - based on my own personal experience and perspective with you. And also the Second Life viewer has gone from a rocky, buggy, unstable, frustrating piece of software to a solid platform. Something you could really learn about and focus on instead of selling HP laptops by comparing them to Apple in your laughable television commercials.

It's not about the hardware. It's not always about the software.

It's about the user experience.

PostHeaderIcon NWN Silly Question: ...Vagabonds Banned to Adult Continent?

Random PortraitHamlet Au talks about the SL regular: strangers banging in your living room going at it when you show-up, like the three bears finding Goldilocks. I don;t care much about that particular article because it's been all said, hashed, rehashed and re-re-rehashed over and over again.

It's just a fact of Second Life: that or get some kind of security system that boots everyone out when you aren't there. The reason I'm quoting from this article Hamlet posted is a single sentence which goes to vindicate, verify, validate everything I ever been saying since I first read the Second Life Community Standards way the hell back in 2006:
What Should SL Landowners Do About Sexual Vagabonds?:
"Since the land is always there, who knows what's going on in the place you're paying for, when you're not logged in? It's also another reason why I think the Lindens' plans to segregate sexual content to an 'Adult Continent' will be extremely difficult to put in practice. The reason for doing so, the Lindens say, is to prevent Residents from encountering pornographic content they did not choose to see. At the same time, their lawyer says that this ban will not apply to sexual activity which happens on property out of public view on the main continent."

The emphasis is mine to highlight what I have been trying to explain to people for three long years: buy PG-rated mainland.
It's cheaper, usually surrounded by "homes" and "getaway" spots, rarely very much business-oriented kinds of things. Certainly not in a heavy sense.

More importantly, even though PG land on the mainland can still be strewn with litter like a garbage dump from about 300 meters on up, the builds on the ground are usually quite tolerable, and relativiely low-lag when compared to "Mature-rated" regions in the same class of parcel.

The sneaky little secret of parcels on the mainland is and always has been: you can do any damned thing you want on the mainland in PG-rated parcels that you can do ion mature-rated land. All you have to do is ensure it is not hanging out in "public view".

Once you make it so someone has to actively enter your establishment to see what's in there, you are technically and officially covered by the "Community Standards" and the "Terms of Service" both.

Duh.


via "New World Notes: What Should SL Landowners Do About Sexual Vagabonds?"


PostHeaderIcon And so it begins...

April 7, 2009 there will be a roiling (yes, roiling) restart across the grid as Linden Lab rolls-out new server code with enhancements to brea...er, sorry. Enhancements to...well, enhance the Second Life grid.

Top of the list of new 'features' (emphasis mine):
Release Notes/Second Life Server/1.26:
"1.26.0 (2009 April 7)

The largest change is the addition of the [Adults-only code]
Expanded the grid size for the land store and the map
Code merged for a change in the L$ API; code not yet active.
Code merged to allow server-specified changes of the voice server (used in the IBM regions)
Fixes to some problems with newly created or joined grops sometimes not appearing on the group list, and related agent communication issues."

yes, something is definitely 'up'.


via "Release Notes/Second Life Server/1.26 - Second Life Wiki"

PostHeaderIcon More on "Adult-Rated" Code...

Burning Man FestivalSo as I was reviewing the fixes, work-arounds and other release notes on the new server being rolled-out on April 7th, I also followed-up on the roll-out that just occurred (April 1) - and I was right - not complete, but what I surmised is more or less it.

Having a "mature" continent will basically prevent anyone who is not "verified" (or vetted as an adult in some way) from entering at all. The new code also adds a a few things I didn't think of, for example, when logging-in, if the intended region is not available, and you are "verified" - you should be routed to "mature" infohubs.

This does two things: first, it makes room for the 'non-verified' people to log-in and land at a "PG" rated info hub - but also, prevent them from seeing you in your glorious nakedness with BDSM gear wrapped all over you when you finally rez in-world.

Also, when shopping for land, if you aren't verified, Mature parcels for sale will not appear in the map (the bright yellow marks) or in the land for sale and so on.

Here's the list with my comments and assumptions (and all my comments are assumptions - based on what I'm seeing - I could be way off to the left on this):
    1.26.0.116361 on 2009 April 1

  • pre-1.23 viewers, residents with verified adult status should be redirected by default to Mature infohubs on login if their login location isn't available (meaning that viewer with the new code that knows whether you are verified will likely not be a mandatory update - but anything less will have 'limited' or 'disabled' features.)

  • Make sure access preferences get set properly when near the edge of a region (When you get close to the edge of a region, the system will already be checking to see if you are 'verified' and know by the time you reach that border, so there shouldn't be any way to "hack" your way into a mature region - even in extremely laggy situations.)

  • Fix "Kick User from Estate" (Finally! Kicking a use from an estate only bounced them in a corner somewhere. Hopefully this will actually remove them completely - anyone want to come to my sim so I can test-ban you?)

  • Fix duplicate notifications when adding or removing a user from the estate manager list (Minor annoyance fixed - super minor actually as it is pretty rare to add or remove people from that list.)

  • Make sure pre-1.23 viewers can see adult regions on the map, but don't see adult land for sale on the map (As stated - un-verified can see the whole map, but for-sale markers will not show the mature land as for-sale. I suspect "property owners" will be set this way, too (orange borders mean land owned, but for sale))

  • Make sure the parcel information is present in the "place information" floater (e.g. what you get when you click on a SLURL) (/me dunno)

  • Enable use of adult-only words in all classifieds during the transition period. (I replied to a question posted by CeNedra Rivera on her blog about how will profiles be policed-up. I mentioned how Linden Lab did a mass-wipe of classified that were "adult-rated" in words or "gambling-related" in words and so on - this all happened at the time of Casino-gate and Ageplay-gate back in '07. It looks like with the new "verified" control, they will be allowing this kind of language back in. But enabling it during the transition will allow them to beta-test and have the 'blocking' ability be vetted.)

  • SVC-4039[c] Fix so that ground textures and heightfields are preserved when the sim restarts (Holy crapola - ahow about when the entire region ground altitude jumps by 3 meters when editing terrain? What a joy to fix that.)

  • Remove "kittens" as an AO word (used during testing) (Okay, I wanna know. I wanna know!)

  • Some more crash fixes, and internal stats gathering fixes (Gotcha.)

Via Second Life Wiki - Server Updates Log

PostHeaderIcon Linden Lab is a Fraud

Naoki's ParkAccording to The Ranger, a college news rag, Linden Lab has nothing to do with the "Online Tutoring Social Network called Second Life."

It's just funny how another 'journalist' just plain gets it totally wrong and doesn't do any research whatsoever. Take a peek at the opening salvo:
Writing center adds Second Life for online tutoring for students - News:
"Director Frances Crawford said Second Life, the online tutoring social network, is another advantage offered to students and faculty and the latest addition to the writing center.

Second Life targets online students and those with a tight schedule; it is identical to face-to-face tutoring because of its abilities.

Adding to the assistance of the new writing center, such as help with essays, grammar, sentence structure and MLA, Second Life is a social network controlled by tutors from writing centers worldwide and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Crawford said all students need to download the program at esmgsl.com, which stands for education server management group in Second Life."
This is why I never give quotes or sound-bites to news journalists, as they invariably tend to completely muck things up. I have many ongoing arguments with those whom I'll call 'idiots' in a forum I frequent; where book quotes from 26 tomes are often thrown about for validation and vindication of knowledge of fictional fact.

However, even when you're right your wrong. You're wrong because the ones accusing you of being wrong are the simple minded who never learnt to actually comprehend what it is they are reading.

Case in point being the very news article which I am referring to here. Those simple-simons I frequently end-up in row with would read the above and laugh at the sheer stupidity and ignorance of the entire article.

However, after reading the article (and even if you only read the above quote) I was able to actually comprehend the true story of what is being said, even though the writing clearly demonstrates the author completely misunderstood what they were being told.

I know, "April's Fool", right?
I checked:
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: News

Originally published: 3/26/09 at 9:48 AM CST

Last update: 3/26/09 at 6:10 PM CST


Actual story: "Writing Centers" from around the world may (or should) add the online virtual world of Second Life to their arsenal of tutoring tools, which will create more convenience for both tutor and student whose time schedules are very tight and be highly effective because of the virtual world nature of the environment.

The group doing this has created an organization they are calling "Educational Support Management Group in Second Life" - which is an organized group within the virtual world of Second Life created for the purpose of helping to facilitate these writing centers and tutors in the use of Second Life as a tool to their intended ends.

Sheesh... and I constantly blast myself for not being a very good writer. Go figure.


via "Writing center adds Second Life for online tutoring for students"



PostHeaderIcon More on "Adult-Rated" Code...

Burning Man FestivalSo as I was reviewing the fixes, work-arounds and other release notes on the new server being rolled-out on April 7th, I also followed-up on the roll-out that just occurred (April 1) - and I was right - not complete, but what I surmised is more or less it.

Having a "mature" continent will basically prevent anyone who is not "verified" (or vetted as an adult in some way) from entering at all. The new code also adds a a few things I didn't think of, for example, when logging-in, if the intended region is not available, and you are "verified" - you should be routed to "mature" infohubs.

This does two things: first, it makes room for the 'non-verified' people to log-in and land at a "PG" rated info hub - but also, prevent them from seeing you in your glorious nakedness with BDSM gear wrapped all over you when you finally rez in-world.

Also, when shopping for land, if you aren't verified, Mature parcels for sale will not appear in the map (the bright yellow marks) or in the land for sale and so on.

Here's the list with my comments and assumptions (and all my comments are assumptions - based on what I'm seeing - I could be way off to the left on this):
    1.26.0.116361 on 2009 April 1

  • pre-1.23 viewers, residents with verified adult status should be redirected by default to Mature infohubs on login if their login location isn't available (meaning that viewer with the new code that knows whether you are verified will likely not be a mandatory update - but anything less will have 'limited' or 'disabled' features.)

  • Make sure access preferences get set properly when near the edge of a region (When you get close to the edge of a region, the system will already be checking to see if you are 'verified' and know by the time you reach that border, so there shouldn't be any way to "hack" your way into a mature region - even in extremely laggy situations.)

  • Fix "Kick User from Estate" (Finally! Kicking a use from an estate only bounced them in a corner somewhere. Hopefully this will actually remove them completely - anyone want to come to my sim so I can test-ban you?)

  • Fix duplicate notifications when adding or removing a user from the estate manager list (Minor annoyance fixed - super minor actually as it is pretty rare to add or remove people from that list.)

  • Make sure pre-1.23 viewers can see adult regions on the map, but don't see adult land for sale on the map (As stated - un-verified can see the whole map, but for-sale markers will not show the mature land as for-sale. I suspect "property owners" will be set this way, too (orange borders mean land owned, but for sale))

  • Make sure the parcel information is present in the "place information" floater (e.g. what you get when you click on a SLURL) (/me dunno)

  • Enable use of adult-only words in all classifieds during the transition period. (I replied to a question posted by CeNedra Rivera on her blog about how will profiles be policed-up. I mentioned how Linden Lab did a mass-wipe of classified that were "adult-rated" in words or "gambling-related" in words and so on - this all happened at the time of Casino-gate and Ageplay-gate back in '07. It looks like with the new "verified" control, they will be allowing this kind of language back in. But enabling it during the transition will allow them to beta-test and have the 'blocking' ability be vetted.)

  • SVC-4039[c] Fix so that ground textures and heightfields are preserved when the sim restarts (Holy crapola - ahow about when the entire region ground altitude jumps by 3 meters when editing terrain? What a joy to fix that.)

  • Remove "kittens" as an AO word (used during testing) (Okay, I wanna know. I wanna know!)

  • Some more crash fixes, and internal stats gathering fixes (Gotcha.)

Via Second Life Wiki - Server Updates Log

PostHeaderIcon Linden Lab is a Fraud

Naoki's ParkAccording to The Ranger, a college news rag, Linden Lab has nothing to do with the "Online Tutoring Social Network called Second Life."

It's just funny how another 'journalist' just plain gets it totally wrong and doesn't do any research whatsoever. Take a peek at the opening salvo:
Writing center adds Second Life for online tutoring for students - News:
"Director Frances Crawford said Second Life, the online tutoring social network, is another advantage offered to students and faculty and the latest addition to the writing center.

Second Life targets online students and those with a tight schedule; it is identical to face-to-face tutoring because of its abilities.

Adding to the assistance of the new writing center, such as help with essays, grammar, sentence structure and MLA, Second Life is a social network controlled by tutors from writing centers worldwide and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Crawford said all students need to download the program at esmgsl.com, which stands for education server management group in Second Life."
This is why I never give quotes or sound-bites to news journalists, as they invariably tend to completely muck things up. I have many ongoing arguments with those whom I'll call 'idiots' in a forum I frequent; where book quotes from 26 tomes are often thrown about for validation and vindication of knowledge of fictional fact.

However, even when you're right your wrong. You're wrong because the ones accusing you of being wrong are the simple minded who never learnt to actually comprehend what it is they are reading.

Case in point being the very news article which I am referring to here. Those simple-simons I frequently end-up in row with would read the above and laugh at the sheer stupidity and ignorance of the entire article.

However, after reading the article (and even if you only read the above quote) I was able to actually comprehend the true story of what is being said, even though the writing clearly demonstrates the author completely misunderstood what they were being told.

I know, "April's Fool", right?
I checked:
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: News

Originally published: 3/26/09 at 9:48 AM CST

Last update: 3/26/09 at 6:10 PM CST


Actual story: "Writing Centers" from around the world may (or should) add the online virtual world of Second Life to their arsenal of tutoring tools, which will create more convenience for both tutor and student whose time schedules are very tight and be highly effective because of the virtual world nature of the environment.

The group doing this has created an organization they are calling "Educational Support Management Group in Second Life" - which is an organized group within the virtual world of Second Life created for the purpose of helping to facilitate these writing centers and tutors in the use of Second Life as a tool to their intended ends.

Sheesh... and I constantly blast myself for not being a very good writer. Go figure.


via "Writing center adds Second Life for online tutoring for students"



PostHeaderIcon Adult-rated Continent: Epiphany

Sim-hopping from rhe mapEver try to teleport into a region (private island) and found you were banned? For whatever reason. Ever go zooming across a sim and run into those "No Entry" 'ban" lines only to bounce off to the other corner of the sim?

We've learned how to get around the no-entry lines: just fly above them. About 50-meters above the virtual dirt should do it and away you go. However, if you find you are banned from entering a private island... there is no other way, unless there is another attached island right next door and you are not banned from that.

You simply cannot teleport into a locked region (whether it's a mass lock or that you are on the specific ban list.)

The problem with adult content on on a parcel in the middle of a region that is built with 80% 'PG' creations is, anyone can easily review the 'adult' stuff. Even if you are banned from the parcel containing the adult stuff, you can walk right-up to the border, then 'cam' around. Even if you don't know how to turn off camera constraints, chances are you'll be able to see a majority of what's in there.

But a private island that denies you access is completely blocked-off. There is no way in hell that you're getting in there - other than via an alt account.

So, move all the 'adult' content over to an 'adult' continent on the grid. The entire rest of the grid must be "less-than-adult-rated' in nature. Open the grid to anyone and everyone from 3-years-old (according to some really stupid Microsoft TV commercials I've seen) to a 150-year-old who can drive a computer mouse.

Ban all of them from the "adult continent". Force them to ...verify... something. Age, Address, Gender, whatever. Rather than a "ban" list preventing people from accessing the 'adult continent' - create an 'access list' that allows people to access the continent.

Once 'verified' by whatever requisite criteria is accomplished, your account is now 'flagged' and that flag matches the access requirement - you can now teleport into the adult continent. If the entire continent is considered "adult-rated" and thus, the entire continent requires you be on the access list to get in...

It uses technology and paradigms already in-place. It's just a matter of tweaking and developing this 'verifiable/validatable criteria'.

S.

I.

M.

P.

L.

E.

So why are all the current work on viewers and features placed on the back-burner while this 'feature' code is placed into the just-short-of-show-stopper pile and moved to the top-priority burner?

And a question was asked by CeNedra Rivera at her blog:
"How are they going to monitor people's profiles?"

That's actually quite simple. They've already done it - back in 2007 during the whole "ageplay" fiasco and they quickly cleaned-up all the classified ads and profiles. As for imagery, anyone can report you. An abuse report for an "inappropriate" profiles image is always looked into, the same way as an abuse report accusing you of being underage. They always err on the safe side (that would be safe side for LL - as in CYA.)

(Read: "M" to ALL CODERS: DROP EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING AND DO THIS NOW")

To all you teens on the adult grid: sorry to break the news, but your pre-teen siblings sneaking onto the teen grid are going to be nagging you here, too.

Oh... and as they add the 'adult-rated-management' code, the "Group Proposal" - a.k.a. 'group voting' code is being liposuctioned out as well.

Blackthorne™ ≠ inSL

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