Socially|Mundane

Why do we not take blogs and so-called "media" like Gawker and GigaOm very seriously at all any more? Because they write crap. Sometimes it's outright bullshit sewage, other times it's pretty plain the author carries an agenda and yet, other times it's plain gullibility, which is what appears the be the proper category for one Matthew Ingram over at GigOm.

Matthew write a rather sympathetic story about developers of a iOS app by the name of "iFlowReader" -  and carries the diatribe of the developer with apparent concern and an evil eye toward Apple for allowing this struggling company to actually make a living... or whatever.

I encourage you to read the artic... er, bleeding-heart diatribe here:
http://gigaom.com/2011/05/11/the-danger-of-playing-in-apples-walled-garden/

Even the headline of the trash-piece is designed to make Apple the eeeviiil entity here: "The Danger of Playing in Apple’s Walled Garden". What laughable garbage.

I posted a rather pointed comment there. However, since comments there are moderated and I certainly don't expect to see my words being allowed through to public consumption, I've reiterated them here:

/me groans.

Okay, fair warning here: anyone who really knows me knows I don't like to beat around the bush or soften things up for anyone. I actually do try hard to say what I mean and mean what I say and sometimes truth just plain hurts. So, I'm getting ready to offend a lot of people and you could be among them.

First I want to say I am sick and tired of the "you are intolerant' crowd because to use the very word is to proclaim yourself intolerant. The word itself is an oxymoron when used as an accusation. And only morons will ever throw it around that way.

With that said, I will boldly proclaim myself more tolerant than anyone else I know. I see something I don't agree with, I might whine and bitch about it but that's more or less the end of it. I won't demand you change whatever it is I think you are wrong about. For example: Linden Lab proclaiming the letters S and L as a trademark. I proclaimed that I will not recognize "SL" as a trademark of Linden Lab, but I haven't demanded they stop using it.

See? I'm "tolerant".

Driving in to work this morning listening to the radio as most people do and I heard an ad from the "Advertising Council" (Ad Council), a massively influential not-for-profit organization and leader of PSA (Public Service Announcements) production in the United States. The advertisement is part of a campaign called "think before you speak" - good advice to be sure, and is running on radio and print.

The specific advert I heard was called "Gay". Here is the exact quote1:

"there once was a time when "gay" meant happy. then it meant "homosexual." now people are saying "that's so gay" to mean dumb and stupid. which is pretty insulting to gay people (and we don't mean the "happy" people). 2. so please knock it off. 3. go to [redacted because I don't want to advertise for them].com"

Wow. Talking about a massive partisan agenda. You know what? Feck those gay people who are offended. And feck you Ad Council for this dumb-ass advertisement. There is no "right", Constitutional or otherwise to "not be offended". Talk about hypocritical on a biblical proportion! You are so effing gay. Our language evolves. Word definitions change constantly.

Copybot.

It's a loaded word the very mention of tends to generate some serious paranoia if used in the context of being applied against someone.

In the Second Life vernacular the word "copybot" conjures utter fear among creators - and perhaps it gives a little insight to how musicians and book authors and movie producers feel with regard to the whole file-sharing of their works.

However, it is a statistical fact that the anything that has been "copybotted" - an umbrella term to represent copybot proper along with all other methods of "ripping" prims and textures to create full-permission copies (it doesn't work with scripts) - is most often not resold or given away, but rather users "stealing" for themselves.

It also is a statistical fact that all copybot activity across the grid amounts to a fraction of a fraction of overall grid business activity to begin with. I am not trying to minimize the effect and devastating circumstances the use of copybot against a creator can have. I am only saying that Second Life and its economy is so large that copybot activity is barely a noticeable drop of water in a swimming pool when viewed in context of the "big picture" - though it really is a terrible tool that can wreak havoc on a creator's business. But that's not what I am really writing about here.

What I am writing about here has been going on ever since copybot first existed back in 2006. It simply is a lot more prevalent now and is a way that the very word "copybot" is misused and abused in a far more insidious way. As a competition-killer and nothing more than that.

Sure, big to-do when Rezzable announced they were leaving the Second Life grid for their own private corner of paradise. Hip-hoorah and big whoop. I posted my thoughts on the subject and also posted to the Rezzable blog about it my thought's on the subject.

In those comments are wondered if it were a good "riddance" or not. Certainly the loss of such art is not a good riddance (and Bryn Oh is headed over there as well - I don't know if she plans to keep one foot in Agni or not - but if not - well, good luck with that, sweetheart.)

So one comment on the rezzable blog.

That's it. My only contact whatsoever with rezzable.

At.

All.

And now, those bastards are spamming me out of nowhere. At least with Linden Lab I actively turned-on the spamming button in my account settings page. But with Rezzable all I have done was to make a comment on one single post at their blog.

So who are they to think they have any right to sign me up to email spam simply because I made a comment on his blog? (all blogs of note do require an email address for verification purposes to help fight spam.)

Yo: Rezzable and whom-ever the hell is in charge over there: In Washington State, where I live, it is illegal to send me marketing email without my explicit consent and on a Federal Offense on the national level, I happen to be in a mood for litigation. (I learned that from bone-head Stroker Serpentine, "Queen Dramatic" of Second Life.) So, Mr. RightAsRain Rimrod or whatever, remove me from your stupid marketing list because not only have you not and neither will you ever make any money from me, but quite the opposite. Rather than supporting you, I shall now proclaim from the mountain tops to throngs at-large who will listen to stay away from any and all things "Rezzable" - because Rezzable will stoop to such low form as you hijack email addresses for spamming purposes.

Now remove me from all your spam garbage machines now! Do not force me to go in and change "preferences" - you "auto-subscribed" me so now "auto-unsubscribe" me. Else you'll be receiving a legal cease and desist letter along with a bill for surcharges of $150.00 U.S. legal tender per email for "management and maintenance effort along with handling fees." (The cost to you for me to hit the delete button.)

The Rezzable juggernaut that-was-but-isn't-now is resorting to spam email because they are getting ten-times less traffic now than they ever did when on the SL Agni grid. And on top of it, they are using another name in all; either a subsidiary or parent company - it doesn't matter. I am receiving garbage because of a one-time post to Rezzable's blog. The first time I figured "meh". But the second time within 10-days? Uh-uh.

There is a definite reason why I only use "plain text" email:

**********
HERITAGE KEY NEWS - NOVEMBER 2009

If you can't read this email, please go to
http://heritage-key.com/news/2009/heritage-key-is-full-of-bullshit.screw-u

{Yeah, I changed the URL - why should they be rewarded if you choose to go look?}

Visit Heritage Key to unlock the marvels of the ancient world, as your
next great adventure starts online. Join the action and try-out our
incredible 3D-online virtual experience. Your journey discovering
[http://heritage-key.com/you-are-a-sucker/] the treasures of King Tut
Virtual is just a few clicks away.

{Yeah, ummm, well I can actually do that *now*. it's called Second Life and believe it or not, rezzable was not and is not the end-all, beat-all of virtual art. And on the SL Grid: it was only *one* click away.}

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: REPATRIATION

{So we can add you to our spam-machine and hijack your email address also, wait until you see all the people we sold it to because it's the only way we apparently can make any money!}

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/jon-himoff/unesco-heritage-sites-every-reasonable-person-who-are-all-suckers]
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/jon-himoff/unesco-heritage-sites-versus-museums-survey-results-it-is-worht-any-backlash]
'Artefacts Abroad' - The Survey Results

Heritage Key users responded to our online survey seeking opinions on the difficult topic of artefacts repatriation from museums back to their home countries. Are Museum's losses humanity's gain?

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/jon-himoff/unesco-heritage-sites-versus-museums-we-only-had-ten-participants]
GET THE RESULTS

- [http://heritage-key.com/bitch-at-us] The 'Discuss' page on heritage-key.com
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/brian-dolan/controversy-present-and-absent-let-us-rape-your-email-address-for-spamming]
Controversy Present and Absent: Dimitrios Pandermalis, Director of the New Acropolis Museum
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/egyptian-nonsense-that-sounds-important]
The Egyptian People have the Right to See the Real Rosetta Stone

[http://heritage-key.com/virtual-penage-please-bend-over]
[http://heritage-key.com/virtual-dong-in-ur-caboose] King Tut Virtual - Astonishing Artefacts

King Tut Virtual is the greatest discovery you can make online. Zoom-in
and get up-close -and-personal to some of the most amazing artefacts ever found. Wander the banks of Nile and enjoy a feeling of life in ancient times. The details and realism of King Tut's treasures will astound you.

{Huh. I always thought Discovery Channel web site had the "greatest discoveries" I can make online. I wonder how they feel about your claim?}
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/owenjarus/where-can-you-get-duped-by-rezzable-blogs]
Where can you find King Tut objects that are not on display in Toronto?

- [http://heritage-key.com/king-tut-3d-is-better-than-real-life-because-we-badly-need-traffic] Why go Virtual? It's fun, high-quality, educational, innovative and free!
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/pavig-lok/reason-why-we-spam-you-so -we-can-claim-real-interest-even-though-we-screwed-up-leaving-SL]
A Reason for Rezzing: How and Why We Build King Tut Virtual

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/secret-voyage-into-loathsome-activity]

Upcoming lecture:

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/secret-voyage-not-only-do-we-spamyou-in-email-we-spam-the-email-withlinks]
Dr. Zahi Hawass in London

Have you always wanted to meet Dr. Hawass in person? Now is your chance!
The famous Egyptologist visits London in December and Heritage World Press invites you to a special lecture - and maybe dinner. Dr. Hawass will also introduce his two new books: 'Inside the Egyptian Museum' and 'A Secret Voyage.'

{ZOMG!!!!11ONE1 Why yes! I *have* always wanted to meet... meet... wait, who is that again?}

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/malcolmj/preserving-king-tuts-guts-make-spam]

Video:

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/malcolmj/preserving-king-tuts-guts-so-we-can-spam-the-hell-out-of-you.]
Preserving King Tut's Guts {to make SPAM!}

The Canopic Shrine was the ornate container in which Tutankhamun's viscera - his internal organs - were sealed during mummification. Egyptologist Dr Janice Kamrin tells us all about it in the first part of Heritage Key's new video series, 'Tut's Treasures'.

{Wait a minute... Yo, Rezzable, Dudes... are you actually tying to proclaim you have any shine whatsoever in comparison to National Geographic, Nova, Dicsovery Channel and the likes of those? Buahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!}

{Oh, I am *so* sorry! I meant ....buahahahahahahahahahah!!!!}

DISCOVER FABULOUS IMAGES

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/images/sandro-vanninis-photography-thatlooks-like-nationalgeographic]
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/images/sandro-vanninis-photography-photography-thatlooks-like-nationalgeographic]
Sandro Vannini's Photos: The Tomb of Montuemhat (TT34) at Thebes

The excavations at TT34 were photographed by Sandro as the archaeological team set about documenting finds and detailing the tomb walls. The search for the sarcophagus of Montuemhat continues, as Dr Gomaa's team progress deeper into the tomb. Watch the Slideshow of Sandro documenting the search!
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/images/sandro-vanninis-photography-this-isjust-,ore-BS]
Watch the slideshow.

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/images/satellite-image-holyshit-weput-alotof-bullshit-inour-spam]
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/images/satellite-image-holyshit-weput-alotof-bullshit-inour-spam]
Satellite Image: The Roman Ruins of Leptis Magna

Leptis Magna is a hidden treasure that has
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/bija-knowles/north-africa-will-heritage-sites-benefit-tourist-ripoffs] only just opened up to the world, having recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Several new discoveries have been made here in the past decade, and it's one of the most [http://heritage-key.com/publication/north-africa-roman-coast] important Roman sites in the [http://heritage-key.com/blogs/lyn/top-10-roman-spamsubjects] North African region. A personal favourite of the
[http://heritage-key.com/let-us-spam-u] writer Ethel Davies, it boasts
several key structures that were crucial to Roman society.
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/images/satellite-dildos]
Have a look from above.

[http://heritage-key.com/fakeurls] Looking for a good Christmas gift?
Our latest reviews of Books & DVDs:

{Wait - you mean that my "looking for Christmas gifts" means I have to BUY them? What kind of a gift is that?}

[http://heritage-key.com/review/usborne-official-roman-warriorfood-called-spam]

[http://heritage-key.com/review/usborne-official-roman-soldierfullof-spam]
The Usborne Official Roman Soldier's Handbook

[http://heritage-key.com/review/penguin-willnot-eat-spam]
[http://heritage-key.com/review/penguin-book-classical-spam-recipes] The Penguin
Book of Classical Myths

[http://heritage-key.com/review/incas-history-and-treasures-of-emailspam]

[http://heritage-key.com/review/incas-history-and-treasures-ancient-smam]
The Incas: History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization

[http://heritage-key.com/review/warrior-rome-king-of-spam]
[http://heritage-key.com/review/warrior-rome-king-of-spam] Warrior of
Rome II: King of Kings {who loved email spam}

THE TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

{okay... hell, even I'm getting tired of reading all this crap, much less intentionally breaking the links. Rezzable: you fail.}

{Boneheads}

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/graecyn/LetUsSpamU]
PHOTO PREVIEW:
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
Terra Cotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC

'Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor', opened to the
public on 19th November, 2009, at the National Geographic Museum in
Washington, DC. The museum is the final venue for the exhibition's
four-city U.S. tour. Graecyn visited the preview event and returned with a
ton of amazing images.

Discuss:

- [http://heritage-key.com/LetUsSpamU] The latest news and
in-depth articles on the Terracotta Army on our dedicated overview

-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
Top Sites at the First Qin Emperor's Tomb Complex

-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
Hidden Xi'am: Must-see Sites off the Tourist Trail

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
PHOTO
CONTEST

We want to see your best high resolution photos taken in King Tut Virtual,
and will reward the most sublime shots with non-virtual cash. We are
offering 100$ for the most fabulous high resolution shots taken in King Tut
Virtual.
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
Participate.

Is Venice turning into a Museum City?
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
Lord Norwich: "Tourism in Venice is reaching Meltdown"

Spotting Synagogues amongst the Minarets:
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
A Grand Tour of Jewish Heritage in Istanbul.

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/LetUsSpamU]
Virtual Roman Leicester: A Digital Recreation of 'Ratae Corieltauvorum' at
210 AD

GO VISIT

ON HERITAGE KEY:

Share your opinion...

{Oh hell, you idiots better be careful what you wish for, 'cause here I come!}

[http://heritage-key.com/GetSpammed] http://heritage-key.com/GetSpammed

[http://heritage-key.com/GetSpammed]

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Hidden Treasures from Afghanistan in Ottawa

-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]Iraq's Ancient Past at the Penn

-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
King Tut in Toronto
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Framing the Archaeologist: Portraits and Excavation at the Petrie Museum
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
'World of the Pharaohs' in Arkansas
-
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Terra Cotta Warriors, Washington DCYour event listed? Let us know what,
how, who and where via email (info@heritage-key.com) or on Twitter
(@heritagekey).

{Okay - all of you reading this: SPAM this email address!}

HERITAGE KEY ON THE (SOCIAL) WEB

- The latest news? [http://heritage-key.com/rss-feeds] Free email
subscriptions to make sure you don't miss out!
([http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] We do RSS too.)
- [http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] Heritage Key on the 'social
web'? YouBet!
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] Become a
fan on Facebook, tweet us using [http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]Twitter,
browse [http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] our Flickr Groups
and [http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] follow us on YouTube.

CONTRIBUTE

- [http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] Are
You a Heritage Expert? Claim Your Profile! - We'll cherish, promote,
publish, interview and maybe even pay you.
- Interested in blogging at or writing for HK?
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] Choose 'Blogs & Bloggers'!
- We are still looking for correspondents in Paris, Athens, San Francisco,
Berlin, Israel and Japan.

Latest News

{Wait... you mean this dump-truck of garbage above wasn't the "news" you wanted to share???}

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Google to digitise Iraq's National Museum Archives

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Hadrian's Wall to get Spectacular Light Show

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Taking photos in the Valley of the Kings is allowed

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]

Watch
Heritage Key
Videos

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Drilling under the Sphinx

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
The Hunt for the Lost Pharaoh Userkare

HK Selected Book

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] The
Lost Tombs
of Thebes:
Life in Paradise

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]

by Zahi Hawass and
Sandro Vannini

Keep an Eye Out for...

Ruthless Romans

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Horrible Histories on your Nintendo and Wii

Meet the Expert

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] BOB BRIER
[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]

Bob “Mr Mummy” Brier - an American Egyptologist and the world’s
leading authority on mummies - has investigated some of the most famous
embalmed corpses in history.

In 1994, he carried out the first mummification in 2,000 years achieved
exclusively by use of Egyptian tools and techniques.

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care] READ
THE INTERVIEW

Who makes HK?

Visit us at

[http://rezzable.letus-spam-u]

Popular on Heritage Key this week:

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
Hieroglyphs on your iPhone

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
The Sims 3
World Adventures

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-dont-care]
VIDEO: Digging for Cleopatra's Tomb at Taposiris Magna

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-hate-usnow]
King Tut in 3D - David Cheney's Anaglyph Machinima

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-hate-usnow]
VIDEO: How did King Tut Die? Cause of death established

[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/We-know-you-hate-usnow] Pyramids around the
World

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[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ur-effing-kidding-right???]
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[http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ur-effing-kidding-right???]
Stonehenge
Replicas
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Holy shinola, Batman: the riddance was good, if only they'd actually allow us to be rid of them. Yo, Rezzable and "Heritage Key": go away and die already.

What do Barrack Serpentine and Stroker Obama have in common? Practically everything:

• They both love attention and will make over-the-top alarmist accusations and statements to get it.
• They both have practically no skills whatsoever, so they shovel shinola.
• Both will do whatever they can to rile-up their own constituents and slam-down anyone and everyone who disagrees, no matter their religion, national origin, race, color, or sex. Especially if your political affiliation is Republican or your surname is "Linden".

We've all heard of and know about copybot and ripping viewers and all that nonsense. In fact, it's old news now. However, Mr. Stroker Serpentine still jumps up on his estrogen-filled hysterically-emotional soap-box to shout rhetoric and diatribe to his faithful worshipers.

Over at SL-Universe (which is really just a drama-filled gathering place for the mostly loud-mouthed unreasonably hysterical,) Mr. Serpentine has gone for too long without any attention so he turns on the purple-blooded-bleeding-heart violin fodder:

My day just went to shit. If you are a Content Creator and faint of heart, I suggest you read no further.

First of all, are we supposed to care?
As for reading further, are you serious? You should really write for the National Enquirer. No, wait, better yet: the Alphaville Herald. Seriously, dude, you need to GTFU (Grow The Eff Up) and take charge of your own destiny rather than whine about crap you have no control over - oh but wait, you do have control over it all but you choose not to take that control. I'll get into that a bit later.

Mr. Dramatic goes on to say:

This afternoon I was IM'd by a friend who alerted me to receiving a full perm copy of one of my SexGen Beds. A model that is only 3 months old. I immediately teleported to the site and found that indeed inside a "Gold Nugget" hunt object was one of my beds FULL perm.

Wait, a "model" only three months old? Are you referring to the prim-work? Because the only thing worth a single Linden Dollar I have personally seen come from your company was the scripting and animations - and even those have fallen way behind the competition over the last couple years. In my own personal opinion, your prim-work looks like it was all created by two-week-old n00bs.

To be fair: I am referring to what I have personally seen, which was two years ago, and it was such overpriced junk I never returned since. I am of the opinion SexGen anything is way over-rated and the actual quality-to-price ratio is a bit out of whack. But that's my own opinion.

Anyway, my own deductive reasoning suggests what Stroker-who-strokes-flames is referring to is very likely the same bootleg box contents that was thrown around the grid and earned about 50 account bans from the grid. In other words: it really is old news. Get out much at all, Mr. Serpentine?

I looked up the profile of the owner and he was PIOF and 6 weeks new. He even had his RL pic in his profile. I assumed he was unaware of what he had done. I contacted him and he was very apologetic. He told me he had received a "package" at BURNING MAN that was named "LOADS OF SHITS".

So far all hearsay and we won't get into how first life pictures may or may not be. However, this all seems pretty legitimate. Okay, so submit an Abuse Report and let Linden Lab check their logs. I suspect your estrogen-infused and unstable thought-process has you all seeing pink... er, I mean red. So you feel the uncontrollable urge to begin your witch-hunt.

Ironic that Halloween is just around the corner, so why not?

He sent me a copy of it and I immediately AR'd the creator. I had also AR'd the original nugget owner before IM'ing him. I do not believe he was complicit.This box and all of the boxes inside of boxes are copyable.

That was bright. A.R. yourself? Or do you mean the creator of the box?

The object was *CREATED* by Damen Hax.

Perhaps I should go to your point of sale in-world and grab whatever I can - you know, informational notecards, any kind of box (freebie or whatever) and so on. Then, put some of my stuff in it and pass a copy to an alt or a friend... then have it passed it around the grid. And when I "discover" my stuff has been stolen (ZOMG!!!) and I get all emotionally unstable and vitriolic, I'll pull the creator from that box (Oh, gee! It's Stroker Serpentine: the thief!) and Abuse Report him immediately, and... and... and file a ticket! And... and... and... you know, file a lawsuit! And then I'll go to SLU forums and spew bullshit so I can start a witch-hunt against that box creator!

Remember the hassles Gwyneth Lewellyn had to deal with because someone used (re-purposed) a notecard she created? Get a clue, knuckle-head. You know very well the only way to find-out who did what is through Linden Lab log files.

Yes, you keep-on stroking the flames, Stroker. All you are doing is showing your amateur, adolescently emotional thought-process. You're supposed to be this "big player" in Second Life, right?

Then instead of suing Linden Lab and flaming the fire by riling-up the throngs with pitchforks and torches, how about you actually invest some of this 'big money' you're making into a system that actually protects your crap. Er, I mean your 'quality' items that you broke sweat over in the creation of.

The concept is damned simple and is actually done already in SL for XPose scripts and other higher-quality things:

Someone actually purchases your junk.. I mean high-quality product. That avatar name and UUID is logged into a database. The scripts inside simply check the database for "authenticity" when rezzed and perhaps once every week. If not "authenticated" then the scripts go dormant, defunct, delete themselves, whatever. As for gifting: simple, there are tracker scripts available (I use them myself) that will report a transfer along with the name and UUID of the previous owner and new owner. There is even a script that will protect the contents of no-copy prims by deleting all those contents as soon as the first attempt is made to copy the first item out of said prim into inventory.

GTFU. Get a clue. Stop relying on Linden Lab to secure your own junk - a job you should be doing for yourself. Put your tons of funny-money cash where your vitriolic loud-mouth is, Stroker, and actually try to be proactive instead of reactive like a whiny, crybaby three-year-old who can't have his cookie and eat it, too.

As for sales slumps: There is the 'down' economy, meaning people are a bit more discriminating in their purchases and your stuff certainly isn't the best that can be had for the price. It comes down to simple competition. Back 'in the day' you were one of the very few. Sales were good as there wasn't really anyone else selling what you sell. Now that there is competition, you are having difficulty holding your own because there is a lot of better, less-expensive stuff out there. So how about you take the idea I just gave you, and market it. Subscription-based security for any serious creator. You'd make a killing and people would actually consider you smart and innovative again, instead of the whiny, crybaby you've turned into.

Of course, that would only work if those who subscribe to the idea were utterly stupid enough to take me up on my offer.

I know there will be many who will shout-out "but this hasn't happened to you, dimwit!" Actually it has. There are bootlegged, full-perm copies of some of my best products. Does it hurt? Absolutely. Have I filed tickets and abuse reports and all that stuff? Yeppers.

But rather than try to start a stupid trolling firestorm, I've taken that experience and adapted how I do things to help beef-up the security in my products, double-check everything before packaging and test, test, test. Even all that only goes so far.

The difference is I don't take anything Second Life so seriously as to be ulcer-inducing. I'm not that stupid.

Strokers violin-fodder is here: The Thieves Motherload - SLUniverse Forums

If someone is murdered, which did the murdering: the gun that shot the bullet, or the person pulling the trigger?

A gun is just a tool. A means to an end. The fact is if someone is intent on the end and one means is removed, for example the gun, they will find another means to that same end. Thus, in this context the gun is no more dangerous than a steak-knife, a hammer or even a fist-size rock.

Fortunately, Linden Lab always errs on the side of caution. Yes, even an "under-age" abuse report causing an immediate ban is erring on the side of caution. Granted, there should be some kind of "flag" in the system that once the accused verifies themselves, all subsequent 'under-age' A.R.'s are automatically moot and tossed aside. Hopefully Linden Lab will get to working on a feature such as this. But I digress.

I am going to tell you a tale of two... er, tales. However, the two thus will merge into the point that the Neillife viewer can be detected on the grid (albeit in an inconvenient and rather sloppy way that still leaves some doubt.) I discovered this through a rather frustrating process, accidentally - and through continuing tests, is an accurate method of "detection".

However, speaking to one of the development team for the GreenLife Emerald viewer proper early this morning, I now have an understanding of why this happens and how the Neillife viewer is being "detected", thus it is an unfortunately trivial effort to "fix" the viewer.

Also please note: most of this is written before I spoke with the member of the Emerald developer team (early this morning) and so I want to be clear: because I now know the Emerald viewer proper does include the creator tools I speak-of in the Neallife viewer, (but wasn't aware because I'm on an older version,) there is no reason or purpose for using the Neillife viewer except for thieving. Most of this post is written before I was made aware of the newer Emerald features.

It gives me pause as to whether I should make my findings public or not, as the author of the Neillife viewer will know instantly what to change to cause this 'detection' to fail. But I've decided it is better to simply tell-all because the benefit to you, dear reader at large is the greater and better of the consequence, even if only temporary.



I won't force you to read my entire diatribe (some would think I'm that evil, but I am in a good mood with news that Emerald proper will be all I need, so here is the answer): Place any physics-based vehicle... sailboat, motorcycle, car, whatever and try to drive it. If it refuses to budge and just won't go, it is extremely likely someone on your simulator is using, (not necessarily abusing,) the Neillife viewer. I explain how I found this below.

The problem, I fear, is that you might instantly accuse someone of abusing the abilities of the Neil viewer to steal content from you or others when they may not be doing that at all. I know, I know: that viewer is eeeeveeeellll. Well, not really. The human being using it might be evil. But they also could be someone like myself who simply enjoys the abilities of this viewer as it relates to the ease and reliability of backing-up my own creations to my own computer for safe-keeping and archiving.

But I'm one of the honest ones (and too much to risk by being dishonest as well.) Unfortunately the viewer makes it far too easy to steal other content right off other avatars - literally the shirt off your back. This is enough to turn most honest people dishonest if even only for a fleeting moment. That is why this viewer should not get mass distribution - but it will become distributed - it's just way too easy to find. Until development stops and the grid technology changes enough to break it, it always will be here. So get used to it.

Added: I won't redact the above because it adds context to the rest of my story and my own mindset when I wrote it. But I will say that the 'need' for Neillife as I describe it as a creator's tool is now moot as I was just this morning enlightened about the current version of Emerald proper. Thus, there is no "need" for Neillife whatsoever by any ethical person. When inquiring about these creator tools being implemented into Emerald, I am told it's already there. /me groans... (face-palms himself.) Please keep this paragraph in mind as you read-on.

Part one: I have recently downloaded every 'alternate' grid viewer I could find for the purpose of finding the "better viewer" as it relates to performance-to-features ratio and posted my findings previously (I won't bother to link as it's mostly out-of-date by now.) This includes Kirsten's, Greenlife Emerald, Cool Viewer, Meerkat, and a bunch of others, including those from Linden Lab. I have more than a half-dozen grid viewers on my system and I haven't bothered "uninstalling" them. I decide to cruise the grid alternating between Snowglobe and the GreenLife Emerald for the last couple months.

Now with the current hysterical paranoia spreading through the SLogosphere like a plague about the "new copybot viewers', I decided (after yawning and rolling my eyes) to research these for the purpose of blog-fodder.

Among those I have played with is the Neillife viewer and I must admit the "tools" to "rip" content are a stunning Godsend with regard to being a creator and being able to easily and conveniently backup my own creations - all of them to my local hard disk and also reliably restore them to the grid when desired or needed (I have problems getting Meerkat to restore reliably). Yes, I said stunning.

Added: reminder that as of this morning I am now enlightened that the current version of Emerald proper has this - so Neillife will be chucked as soon as I get home. Yes. Really. Not worth the risk of some false abuse report if I were to accidentally fire it up. Accidentally? Yes, please indulge me here.

Thus, knowing that Linden Lab does not drop the hammer on people based on the software they are using, but rather on the activity they are engaging in, I decided to also leave it on my hard disk drive with the intent to spend a few hours one weekend backing-up all my stuff. However, as an all-time-use viewer, it has some quirks that annoy me and the performance isn't what I have become accustomed to with Snowglobe and Emerald proper.

Why am I referring to GreenLife Emerald as "proper"?

When I first downloaded the Neil viewer and fired it up, there was something wrong. The desktop shortcut I created kept opening the Emerald viewer instead. So I went directly to the .EXE file and still the Emerald viewer came-up. I whacked that folder from my computer and re-downloaded. But the same thing kept happening. I finally decided screw-it and logged into the grid.

After sim-hopping for a half-hour or so whatever wasn't right was really bothering me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me: there is an additional menu in the menu-bar called Neillife...something. Then the epiphany and light-bulbs went-off like camera flash units.

I was actually using the Neillife viewer, but in every single way it was the Emerald viewer, except for the one extra menu. It's a 'hacked' version of the Emerald proper.

I won't go into detail, but needless to say after experimenting on my (Group-manager bot) alt account, I have discovered what this thing is capable of. As a creator with regard to my own creations: I was stunned and thrilled at the same time. However, in a moral and ethical sense - (20-years in the military can do that to you) - I also was taken aback at how this thing can so easily be abused to steal content.

Since I am so well established in SL, lots of real money invested, a highly successful business and respected as a creator (even if not on a personal level - LOL) - I decided this is great tool but should only be used when the tools are desired. It's way too much risk to go around using this thing all the time, no matter how much Linden Lab errs on the "safe side". So thus I tucked it away and went back to my alternating use of Snowglobe and Emerald proper.

Shifting gears now...

Three years on the grid has rubbed the shininess of it down to a dull drab. I am not one for poseball-bumping and "clubs" just don't do it for me as I keep music streams and voice turned-off because I don't want to waste the bandwidth. So I run around to role-playing sims which offer a bit more variety in activities.

Tried the fantasy thing - you know: medieval with fae and dragons and goblins and all that...shiny wore down eventually. Did the Gorean thing off-and-on and most recently for a full continuous year. But again, drama of it has worn me down. The Kingdom-of-Sand sim is exciting, but it's all World-of-Warcraft-like. Role-play is practically non-existent, though you simply must visit the sim for the build alone: it is awe-striking.(Adult-rated SLURL)

The grid goes dim and dull for me. First life becomes busier and I find I am spending less and less time in-world. I might even just fade-away quietly and no one would be the wiser. (I mention this so you know why I have become complacent in keeping my viewers up-to-date - SL has become seriously ho-hum for me - so no reason to update viewers every month.)

Then I discover a newer role-play sim called the "Barbary Coast - Port of Korat" (yes, that Barbary Coast, as in real world history - hence: seriously adult-themes if you choose to check-it-out (Adult-rated SLURL), and if you are inclined to "Kingdom-of-Sand meets Gor" - it's a must-visit.)



Something interesting for me again, so I sign-up to be a pirate. Yes, one of those pirates, as in 16th to 17th century historical earth pirate. I do some shopping to gear-up. You know, the whole cliche pirate outfit and accoutrements, but, I also need a pirate ship. One I can actually drive around. yes, I know: "landlubber, it's called sail about". I've known SL sailing is among the most popular activities on the grid, but I have never done it myself.

The grid is exciting for me again!

I go shopping for a pirate ship and find awesome builds from TSS (have a look here at XSL) created by Martina Lewsey . These are beautiful builds and I have a hard time deciding on which ship or boat to go with! (The captain of the Lady Washington told me she is a "boat" for having only two masts and tall-ships must have three or more to be considered a "ship" - there's some useless information for you.)

Picture: the Lady Washington, an historical tall-boat based in Washington State that is a kick-ass ride.

So I eagerly un-box my new TSS Shebec boat (two masts, woot!) and plop her into the nearest Linden sea. Raise them sails and brace myself for an exciting new SL experience. And... away we go!

Away!

...Go...

GO, dammit!

The damned thing won't budge.

I double-check all the notecards, reread everything, do the trouble-shooting, blah, blah. Those goddamned Lindens went and changed the simulator server code and broke something, dammit!

So I send an offline IM to Martina.

Martina is gracious, kind and incredibly accommodating, teleports me to her and we spend a couple hours trouble-shooting. This time is involves her rezzing her own copies of different ships, even a land trike - the vehicles aren't working. Nothing is moving. We sim-hop to other places on the grid. All broken. Other sailing buddies of Martina's show-up to help-out... they aren't moving either. Linden Lab must have done something big to beak all these vehicle scripts. Ships and vehicles from other creators are tried - all broken.

I am in SL three years. I'm patient. I can wait until the problem is solved, no big deal. Martina and friends continue as I logout to first life work. Then there's an offline from Martina - which was peculiar. She said that after I left and they continued to trouble-shoot... everything started working again.

This is what I call a "whoa!" moment.

I was quickly able to reason that my viewer was causing the problem. But when did Emerald ever start doing this? How bizarre is this? Well, I haven't sailed before - so I guess sailing will have to be done in Snowglobe. But it still doesn't make sense. What about everyone else who sails?

I get home, check my system... the mess of viewers scattered on my hard disk, all the shortcuts (aliases) on the desktop... then it hit me: there are two icons that look identical: the GreenLife Emerald proper and the Neillife.

I fire-up the Emerald proper and plunk my boat into the water... and she is quickly under way and I am enjoying it with a serious sh*t-eating grin. Yes, SL is exciting again!

So I force myself to stop sailing, fire-up the Neillife and plop another pirate boat, weigh anchor and raise sails and... plonk. Turns out I was in the Neillife viewer during all the hullabaloo and didn't even realize it.

I confirm that the Neillife viewer "breaks" the sim's physical vehicle attributes in the Havok engine as it pertains to vehicle movement scripts - everything else works fine.

I have continued discussions with Martina (wonderfully sweet lady, by the way - go buy all her stuff, right now,) and asked her if she could find a way to convert or adapt her sailboat scripts into some kind of "detector" that would indicate when this was happening, thus indicate if someone on the sim is using this viewer.

She believes she could, but (we both agree) it is such a simple "fix" to the viewer that as soon as the author gets wind of this, it will likely be "corrected". Even so, most who use it might be like me: complacent in maintaining the latest updates, thus continuing to use the older version that will cause this issue.

Unfortunately it might be kind of an inconvenience to "check" for this on your sim.

But if you drop a physics-based vehicle and it doesn't budge when you try to drive it: chances are ridiculously high that someone on the sim is using the Neillife viewer. It doesn't mean they are abusing it per-se, but they are using it.

So, if you are one of those paranoid types and get overly suspicious as you watch people on your sim like a hawk while they meander about, drop your tricycle and try going for a spin. If the squeaky wheels turn regardless if you can pull 'wheelies' or not, the coast is all clear.

Otherwise, hit the eject-all, ban-hammer switch, restart the sim and run quickly to your medicine cabinet to get a double-dose of that Pepto-Bismol stuff.

How long will this "test" keep working? Probably not long as I'm sure the Neillife author will "fix" his viewer. But for now, for today, it's a little something you can count-on.

And as a footnote, I (along with all ethical people) utterly cheer Linden Lab on for their sting-operation regarding confirmed abusers of the Neillife viewer!

art: Pytnik; Deby Dixon

Here we go again.

The horrible Second Life Grid, owned and operated by the evil Linden Lab is not good enough because they actually expect you to follow reasonable rules on an "unstable" (should have been here in 2006 and prior) grid and allow Intellectual Property plagiarism (no such thing as theft if it's a copy) to run rampant (admittedly, it's a real bitch to apply a DMCA charge against someone - especially at Xstreet SL) and expect you to spend real money for the privilege (damned entitlement attitudes where the world owes you everything for nothing - you bee-ahch) - so all those who are fed-up and tired of it are (and have been at least since 2006) looking for that elusive Second Life alternative.

Many like myself really wish you'd find it already because your whining and bitching and "threatening" us is getting tiresome, so your leaving would be a really good riddance for the rest of us.

A frequent complaint I recall is...

"ZOMG! I'd leave so fast if only there were an alternative. I only stay because I don't have a choice. Dammit."

Many think Open Sim is the answer... but it's not. Not yet, anyway. OpenSim is still in it's infancy; it's Second Life circa 2004. There are many other "alternatives" based on OpenSim and even some proprietary technologies. I've personally highlighted TribalNet and Mycosm (which I really am interested in seeing - but it's development seems to have floundered.) Even the Sim City Societies was going to become a viable alternative to Second Life ... had it lasted for more than a few months.

Re the title of this post...

Huh.

Your call.

With regard to the whole Zindra Adult Continent and all "adult-rated, sexually-oriented" objects and violence and hoopla, the entire search engine in-world will be overhauled to match these restrictions.

Either way, I understand the search system was scheduled to be overhauled since at least a year ago anyway, long before the segregation fences were ever (publicly) mentioned. The idea to be fine-tuning results to return more accurate and relevant listings.

Think about it: have you ever searched for oh, say a "Magick Healing Staff" that works on the "Spellfire" meter system. Good effing luck. Even on X-treet SL (XSL for short) - the web-based shopping mall - the results are a nightmare to sift through.

Ironically, Linden Lab is sending emails to users asking them to take a survey on the very subject of search and how it relates to shopping - and your experience with XSL. The most efficient way to shop for myself is to search XSL, sift through the results, copy the creator name, search for them in-world, check picks, go to their shop and then buy. Yes, I know I am missing some damned good products where the creator is too lazy to set-up on XSL, but it's their loss, not mine.

That's how messed-up the search system is in SL.

It's that day. The anniversary.

Warning: long post.

I'll call it "5/11" - the date that will live in infamy. For me, at least as it is the day I published my "Hornet's Nest" story. May 11th, 2008. It's the day ending an adventure of mine that exposed me to the vitriolic, slanderous, vicious, lie-infested, better-than-thau "fashion industry".

And I'm speaking about the Second Life fashion industry.

In truth I'm speaking about some of the most vicious people I've ever met my entire life. In my opinion: real low-lifers. I am talking about people who will spread rumor, falsehoods, innuendo and spin it all to appear like 'shocking news'. And it's all lies, half-truths or extremely limited information all to make you form the opinion they want you to form - and usually about specific people. People against which there is some negative agenda. And also to elevate one's self to popularity (amongst gullible sheep and lemmings) and make money by creating "hits" on their blog so the advertising revenue comes pouring in while building an army to bring numbers to their evil ideas of crushing another person - wrongly.

So, I had been thinking for the last month to "republish" this exposé in order that those of you who've seen it before never forget what some people are really like and those of you whom haven't seen it, do.

Some people are simply evil.

In my mind, Tenshi Vielle and her lackeys are some of those people.

It's ironic that  I have come across a post by another blogger, about a similar scenario - similar in the alleged slander and libel anyway. EnCore Mayne wrote in her blog, entitled Mayne Line Exposé (and how ironic is that?)]:

...of course, as always, the little coward pulled her post within hours of making her defamatory statements. (does anyone else think her "best" investigative journalism work looks suspiciously like an unnamed Alphaville scribe?) all that remains on misanthrope Vielle's site (and feeds), since her "Update" totally erased every libelous statement was what i could find from technorati. anyone having the entire cache of the original post please hold on to that copy. jail time doesn't seem all that far fetched (again).

[From Mayne Line Exposé: Fool Me Once]

I have decided to link to her article, because it simply reenforces and validates what I have written a year ago. And I have decided to go ahead with this republish.

Because I want no detail left out, I am copying the complete text of "Part 3" here - with {insert-edits} only where some clarification might be needed, so the comments section will be refreshed with new perspectives - if that's even possible.

Intellectual 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]

In 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?"

Don'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.

Seriously. 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

Stroker Serpentine is a name that has been around in Second Life for quite some time.He also is a rather controversial figure and as is typical of those who are celebrities in their own mind, their view of the world that revolves around themselves tends to warp slowly over time. So slowly most people don't really notice it, especially they themselves, until something snaps.

Stroker is the majority owner of "Eros, LLC." and made his name selling sex beds under the moniker "SexGen" (Yes, I refuse to put a copyright symbol.)

I have been to his shop in-world looking around and my first impressions were no better or worse than most other places. I personally believe his stuff is over-priced and, in my own opinion only, that his prim builds are actually not all the great.

In truth and fairness, my last visit was a year ago, plus or minus a couple months. But I was so unimpressed, I never returned.

Stroker blew a gasket yesterday. I'll give the benefit of doubt and assume it was just a rant in drunken stupor or something because what he promises to do won't happen.

I dare you, Stroker, to follow through on all your 'threats'. But we all know you won't. or if you do, it will be for a day or two at most. At least you wised-up and left yourself an 'out' at the end of your tirade.

I have nothing against Stroker at all. Many drool over him because he is a so-called 'big name' in Second Life and that was true a couple years ago. Not any longer. Perhaps one-whole-percent of the SL population has ever heard of him and even less care. And that's true for all of us.

So Ol' Stroker blows a gasket over camper and traffic bots, ripped content that is resold, freebies that are resold as commercial and also the proliferation of freebies in general and so on and so on.

Sroker: I agree with you in all of it. Your whole rant is fully legitimate. In fact, there is a large chunk of the population that agrees 1000% with you. However, with your arguments regarding Linden Lab's reaction and inaction, you seriously must look at it from a business standpoint.

You are a businessman after all, aren't you? Linden lab is in business for Linden lab. Not you, me or anyone else. You are getting so much more than LL has ever promised to you. You are nothing but a paying customer. So learn to know your place in the Second Life universe.

I have.

In these rants, Stroker 'threatens' to set all his stuff to full permissions and release them for free into the wild:

Stroker sez on the SLUniverse Forums: "2. I am going to FULL PERM SexGen. I will flood the grid with it. Just as the MLP system that contains the animations that were never intended to be resold has flooded the grid. SL Forums However, I am going to license EVERY SINGLE copy. I am going to dedicate a team of employees to scour the grid for illegal copies. Since we have a trademark and the DMCA is our last great hope, I will have Linden Lab track down and remove every single UUID that violates our license. I have that right? Yes? Again..BAN ME!"

I won't hold my breath.

And even if he did such, I'd only be interested in the animation files themselves. Not the scripts because there are better scripts out there. Definitely not the primwork because I can do better - I just don;t have the time. Even the animations — as good as they are — aren't worth it to me to go out of my way to obtain, because there are a lot of really good animations by other creators.

A large part of the rant is how business is way down. Stroker isn't making the money he used to. Traffic is down in his shop(s). The unfair competition is sucking people away.

Here's a clue for Stroker and anyone else who is a SLebrity and all-mighty in their own minds:

Business is down everywhere. Back when the population of SL was around 8000 concurrency, you stood out as a creator and name. Your products were top-of-the-line and there simply weren't anything else that compared. People had nowhere else to go so they went to you.

Fast forward to today: concurrency is ten-times that now. The number of genuine quality creators is easily 20 or 30-times the number then. There are 50-times as many shops, malls, sex-things and a lot of open-source scripts and animations available so that non-scripters, non-animators and often even non-builders can create their own stuff and sell them and no, I am not referring to the thieves and plagiarists.

They make a fraction of a dent in the economy as a whole.

The fact of the matter is there are a few reasons why your business is down: the market to cater to is seriously diluted. You are just a pebble in the lake. Your waves don't go as far as they did back then.

That, along with a real world economy in the tank, the freebie accounts who won't spend a single real life penny for 200-times that amount in Linden Dollars, and on top of all that, the entitlement attitude that everyone owes them everything for nothing.

Additionally, it's a fact that these people, who are a massive majority of the Second Life population just don't care about quality. All they want to see is pixel-pose-ball-humping. A 10-frame loop of hips gyrating and they are content with 'ooh' and 'aahhh'.

Your stuff, my stuff and the stuff by any other creator, especially the quality-concious just doesn't mean anything to them.

You need to understand as I do and other 'big name' creators must: you don't have a name anymore. The public at large doesn't know you and they care even less.

In closing, Stroker: I respect you as a person and a successful person in Second Life. I do not worship you and i will not trip all over myself in excitement should I meet you. You are a wise, successful business person and I respect that.

The rant is humorous and I take it with a grain of salt. Competition is a bitch. So adapt. Change direction. Diversify. Create something esle that is a compelling buy that doesn't have to do with pixel-sex and you will likely see business improve.

The problem is that you are catering to the seedier side of attitudes. And when in business, it helps to understand your customer. The problem is that your target market are often cheap, selfish, misers who really don't care for the quality of product, only that it gives them cheap thrills.

As for your complaints against Linden lab's actions, reactions, or inactions, how about you have 'your people' talk to 'their people' about it all since you are so powerful and well-known in the Second Life community and to Linden Lab?

Could it be that your entire business model in Second Life caters to an area that Linden Lab is publicly trying very hard to distance itself from?

Just a thought, friend.

As for your rant in the SL Universe forum: you raise your voice when you should be reinforcing your argument to rally people to your side.

via SL universe Forums

You may have gotten an email from Linden Lab which starts out like:

"On January 20, Linden Lab, creators of the Second Life virtual world, announced that we acquired both OnRez and Xstreet SL and revealed plans to merge the services together to create an official web-based marketplace for Second Life goods and services.

The F*CKED-UP Part of all this is:

"A byproduct of this decision is that the OnRez marketplace will cease operations on February 11, 2009 and all current users will need to move their assets, balances and account information over to Xstreet SL by that time."

Why is that Effed-up? Because SL Exchange, a.k.a. XStreetSL: Sucks.

It is a horrible web interface, the commissions taken are steep and as a merchant, product management is a nightmare with far too many clicks. Personally, as far as usability is concerned for both shoppers and merchants, OnRez is a far superior set-up.

Oh well, if the commissions remain, then my prices will continue to be higher there (as compared to purchasing in-world or at OnRez.) Merchant "stores" will go away (i.e. shop.onrez.com/Ari_Blackthorne.)

Finding what you really want on SL Exchange is slow, cumbersome and your personal preference settings are never saved ('show adult content?' YES! - end the session and return... it doesn't remember your preferences.)

This is Linden Lab taking control of anything "Second Life" that is outside of "Second Life". Linden Lab exercises control over that which plugs-into or otherwise has such a strong hold on in-world transactions.

So...

What do you think about the differences between OnRez and SL Exchange?
Even better, how do you feel about Linden Lab taking over both of these, shutting down the better of the two and pushing the lesser (usability-wise)?

And how do you feel overall about Linden Lab taking over such successful enterprises that are so integrated into Second Life - but owned and run by third-parties?