Second Life Herald

Minnu Model Skins PhotoSourced from Renderosity???

Metaverse shocker -- pirated skins being sold in SL!!!

by Tenshi Vielle, fabulous fashionista - courtesy of shoppingcartdisco

Do you remember a while back, when we were talking about "what ifs" regarding stolen content across virtual worlds?

I think the best case has to be Renderosity.com artists' work being bought then redistributed without their permission (and against their own TOS) within Second Life. And of course, the general community in Second Life is mostly ignorant about what goes on at art sites like Renderosity - or, at least, doesn't think to check there first to see if the content they just purchased in SL is stolen.

One sharp-eyed Second Life community member did notice that a skin she purchased recently appeared to be stolen from Renderosity.com - and emailed the creator, which in turn caused the creator to email me to ask for help and find out how stolen things were handled in Second Life. I guided her towards a DCMA, but I would like to share her email and accompanying screenshots with all of you.

Do you recognize this skin? It's actually from Renderosity.com, Danae's Manhattan collection. It's been warped to fit the templates in Second Life… by none other than Minnu Pallen, the "great" skin creator.

More info below the cut, including Danae's original email to me:

Fashion Advice for the Penniless Girl

by Lavinia Carver

Noobs. Everyone’s been there at least once in their second life. And we all know that when we start, you have NOTHING. Unless you are extremely happy with the noob look, then you’re both broke and ugly. Fashion in SL can be such a delicate thing, what may look good in a picture, may not on you.

This skin is superb and is in a seven deadly sins set with makeup, freckles (if you want them), the whole shebang. (Gossip Girl, Calla)

For everyone who wants to look their best and not have to spend a penny, you’ve got a lot of work to do. This freebie fashion hunting requires long hours of going to what seems every single freebie place on the map. You also have to keep your patience. A good place to start is on Money Island. Past the bank that is set into a mountain there lies a massive market place is nothing but freebies. They actually have some pretty good things there. Another good place to go is Alady Island, if you’re a girl that is. They have everything from accessories to formal clothes to decent shoes. Now some places will charge you $1L to buy their “free stuff.” So if you really want it, go camp.

Another good idea, and I mean really good idea, is to go to the “main store” of places you like, like VictoriaV or Calla. They’ll usually have a pretty good freebie section with one or two really good outfits. Another approach is to go to specialized places that have markets like the Bellagio or Gossip Girl. They will usually have freebies that are special to that area. I know that Gossip Girl has some of the best freebies. I got my skin from Calla there. Finally, there’s the web. Shop.Onrez.com is one of the best places to find really good clothes. Just sign up for an account and start shopping! They will deliver everything that you order straight to your avatar within seconds. So if you’re at a party and you discover that someone has the same exact dress as you (extremely frustrating, I must tell you) and you need something quick, Onrez is the place for you.

SL Fashion - Copying or Inspiration?

by Tenshi Vielle

I've noticed a lot of confusion about copying and inspiration from other designers, whether it be in real life or in a virtual world. Let’s look at the subject and "where the line is" -- it might help all of everyone clarify where they stand.

Maximilian Milos had an experience last year with Herman Miller. Maximilian really enjoyed the HM designs, and wished to bring them in world. He did what few other designers do - he contacted Herman Miller for permission. HM granted Max permission to replicate their designs.

"Bulletproof Babyphat 2" on sale at SLExchange

However, after a bit, HM began looking into Second Life and around the time that Armani was moving in, HM contracted Rivers Run Red to replicate their products for Second Life. Max was a little concerned, so he contacted HM again and was assured that he was fine, and not to worry.

Max did stop selling his HM recreations after finding out that Rivers Run Red would be doing direct work with the company. He exercised caution - something other people might not have time to do.

Two weeks later, Max logged in to discover that all of his HM creations were missing from his sim - the Lindens had deleted them. Whether this was action from Herman Miller or Rivers Run Red, Maximilian isn't positive. He never received a cease and desist letter -- his items were simply gone. Maximilian wasn't trying to pass the items off as his own designs; he takes care to always clearly credit the original designer. HM wanted it gone, and thus it was so - the Lindens made sure of it. You can read Maximilian's reaction at SLNN

Dolphins with Breasts -- Newest SL Fashion Trend

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

The Daily Show's coverage of the recent congressional hearings on Second Life has had a surprising side effect on the 3D walled garden of cyber delights - skyrocketing demand for aquatic mammal avatars with D-cup breasts.

Virtual correspondent Beowolf Porpoiseburg started the trend in the video clip below, and most observers agree - fishy tatas have taken the fashion world by storm.

SLEXchange DMCA Takedown Leads to Stalking

Skin designer's DMCA complaint outs identity, leads to RL harassment

by Tenshi Vielle, fabulous fashionista

Stephanie Misfit dropped me a very particular link this morning. PXL Creations was forced to file a DCMA with SLExchange against a skin stealer. Well, it appears that when the thief recieves the documentation, they now have access to your RL name, phone number(s), email address… you name it, if it was on the DCMA, they now have it. Linden Lab has not ordered SLExchange to cover up that highly sensitive information.

PXL Creations is facing RL harassment from this thief now instead of just harassment within Second Life. The person in question calls PXL Creations owners at work now instead of just within Second Life.

the other thing that remains is that Hart (Larsson) is now being stalked in RL by the person we have filed against and he is currently investgating what can be done to stop this person. He will have to report it to the police, summon the phone company to trace the origin of the calls and have taps installed on his phoneline. These are things to consider.

Don’t you think SLEX would bother to cover up that information, or attempt to, in accordance with LL’s TOS? Obviously the person PXL Creations is dealing with isn’t sane.

[this article is courtesy Shopping Cart Disco]

Fighting the SL Way - Copy & Resell For Free

Content theft in Second Life on the rise
Don't like someone? destroy their business

by Tenshi Vielle, fabulous fashionista

Resident content theft runs wild while Philip and Robin Linden have gone missing

Content theft has been absolutely rampant in Second Life lately. It's like scabies - once you think it's gone, a whole new bunch of the little jerks pop up.

First we had Nicky Ree's dresses stolen by ADiva, shoes by Enkythings primjacked, then there were a bunch more smaller ...ALLEGED... thefts - a Brasilian user ripped RaC, Redgrave, and a host of other skins, cackling the whole way that no one could stop him. Designers chased him around the grid in a desperate attempt to squash him down, protesting and contacting sim owners to get him shut down. The problem was, he moved around faster than the designers could count and tended to be hard to track.

Op/Ed: So Long - Thanks For All The Fish

by Ms. Penance Sautereau

So here it is, my last article. It's due today, and I still can't really think of a particular subject to cover. I've been sitting here staring at the edit page for an hour now I think. A few ideas have popped into my head, but most I dismissed.

I pondered writing about the good things Prok has done on SL as a follow-up on my last article. I decided against it. My little Anti-Fan Club here would just accuse me of pretending to care about her sanity to serve my own interests. (Though I really can't imagine what self-interest I serve by trying to help someone so universally loathed on the Herald.)

I considered maybe writing a third Religion in SL article. I never did get to finish my series. But the research was draining and I can't be bothered to write one knowing  the Herald loudmouths will just dissect it as an attempt to ignite debate. The point of that series was to try and showcase spiritual diversity and foster more tolerance. It was a point no one seemed to get, so it isn't worth a third attempt.

I thought of just asking Pixeleen to post that last fluffy "How-To" piece I submitted in November as my last article. But it'd be frilly and pointless, and I feel like I owe the whole whopping 4 people who like my stuff better than a canned fluff piece as a goodbye.

So I sat here. I pondered. I looked over my past submissions and read the reactions to them. I self-analyzed how I reacted to trolls, evolving from the angry bawing they wanted to just mocking how sad they are. I smiled at the 15% of comments that were nice, appreciative, and supportive. I laughed seeing old comments from people like Candy Lemmon telling outright obsessive lies about non-existent in-world harassment supposedly happening well after she was muted and forgotten. I grumbled at the Effite Diction robot's obsession with trying to fix my writing and ignoring the point of what I'd written. I smiled sadly reading comments from Artemis and D3adlyCod3c, wondering how different things might be if not for initial misunderstandings (Artemis) or if cooler heads had prevailed much sooner (Cod3c).

Pixel Clothes, Virtual Fashion Summit, IMVU, and HiPiHi

The Celebrity Trollop interview

by Pixeleen Mistral, fashionable reporter

IMVU fashionista

Recently, Celebrity Trollop took time from her busy schedule for an interview about the pixel clothes scene in SL, IMVU, HiPiHi and elsewhere. Celebrity also mentioned what promises to be a very interesting event - The Virtual Fashion Summit - a conference for virtual fashion designers, texture artists, prim sculptors, committed virtual fashion watchers and shoppers this coming June.

Pixeleen Mistral: Celebrity, you have been a huge figure in the SL fashion scene - where do you see that going? what is next?
Celebrity Trollop: I think Havok4 and Windlight are going to be the next major technical things coming down the pipe from Linden Lab. A lot of content creators are going to have to adjust to those differences between the SL of now and the SL of 3-4 months in the future.

Pixeleen Mistral: is this going to help the fashion scene or hurt it?
Celebrity Trollop: In general I think it'll be huge leap forward in terms of framerates, avatar appearance and general grid stability. But on the other hand, most fashionistas have a pretty huge wishlist of flaws they wish would be addressed.

Pixeleen Mistral: *nods* how are you spending your time lately? is SL your main thing?
Celebrity Trollop: Mostly I've been running around IRL looking for a new job; but when I've been in SL its been mostly on Second Style business. I do spend most of my time in SL, but I also like checking out some of the other VWs - IMVU, or the really rudimentary fashions in places like hiphiphi

Pixeleen Mistral: tell me about the fashion scene in IMVU
Celebrity Trollop: It's pretty active. One big difference between SL and IMVU is that in IMVU you can use some other's creators work as a basis for your own extension. This is called a "derivation" and when you sell a work like that both you and the original creator get some of the fake money they use.

Designers Running AttackAlts? - Fashionista Shock!!!

Why the Brutal Honesty blog cannot keep their mains clean
Ana Boogiewoogie sez: Amelia Abernathy = Tina Travanti & Elexor Matador = Lothian Utorid

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

I’ve been having a hard time writing this story - probably because it bothers me to see SL society descend to a level of nastiness that exceeds an overflowing cat litter box left fermenting in the sun next to a dumpster serving a French Quarter Gorean slave whore house. Should the payback for writing a story questioning the originality of an SL jewelry design be months of Brutal DisHonesty blog taunting capped off with a call for stalking? Apparently so, for anyone who frequents the SL fashion scene.

Maybe my problem is that I find it hard to justify supposedly upstanding, faux-friendly designers using internet sock puppets and secondlife-swiftboat blogs under alt accounts, when what is at stake is selling the pretend jewelry and clothes we dress our avatar dolls up with. The griefers keep reminding me that SL is serious business - enter at your own risk or GTFO. After over a year on the goon and griefer beat for the Herald, nothing really surprises me anymore - but I still get disgusted.

So - cut to the chase - earlier this week, the SL Herald’s iMojo wire was delivering a steady and credible stream of chatlogs from Ana Boogiewoogie suggesting that prim jewelry designers Amelia Abernathy and Elexor Matado are the “brains” running the über nasty Brutal Honesty blog as a beatdown vehicle to payback whomever they want to go after - while keeping their main accounts pristine, fresh, and clean. When contacted for comments prim jewelry designer Mr. Elexor Matador said, “Well, I'm not going to address it, to be honest. I've had enough drama over it for the last few days”.

Brutal Dishonesty Blog Stiffs Herald Paparazzi

SLebrity Tenshi Vielle hopes to donate prize money to charity

by Pixeleen Mistral, fake fur fashionista

One of Second Life’s famous fashionistas - Tenshi Vielle - still holds out hope that Brutal Dishonesty blogger Tina Travanti will make good on her promise of big prize money for anyone who produces “a real picture” of Tenshi. Ms. Vielle has pledged to donate the prize money to the Make A Wish Foundation in Iris (98, 89, 22), and challenged Tina to match her contribution -- assuming Tina will play by the rules she set Sunday.

This may be a problem. While Tenshi took a real picture of herself to end the sick game - Tina Travanti was changing the rules and is now claiming that inciting RL stalking of the Tenshi was just a joke. Riiiiiight.

Too bad Tina’s trustworthiness is in question - after talking smack on Tenshi for months, Tina the terrible quietly removed her over-the-line odious challenge and buried a retraction in her blog’s comments -- something like a cat scratching to cover up something stinky in the litterbox while poop is still stuck on her fur.

Brutally Pathetic Starfucking Cyberstalkers

Herald Paparazzi scores coveted shots of SL Fashionista, demands immediate payment

by Pixeleen Mistral, new media critic

Leading the race for dumbest fashionista in the metaverse is the Brutal Honesty blog, where "clever" Tina Travanti put a bounty out for anyone who produces “a real picture” of Tina’s favorite target to hate on - SL Herald staffer Tenshi Vielle. That was a really smart idea, Tina. Advocating cyberstalking inside SL - a TOS violation - or real life stalking - is your best shot at getting some fame. Try to be careful about the trail of slime you are trailing so you don't slide backwards. Fashion climbing by celebrity starfucking and cyberstalkering is a tricky path to the top.

Of course, Tina has reason to be desperate about her place in the blog-o-sphere - currently ranked 5,594,681 according to alexa.com. We’ll make it easy for you this time Tina - take a look at this real picture of Tenshi - and pay up now. You wouldn’t want to get a reputation as someone who does not keep her word, would you? We kept the screenshots of your blog - in case you are tempted to change your mind. If you are having problems understanding any of this, get someone to explain in small words how Tenshi is the one person who can get a real picture of Tenshi - without being a total creep.

Tenshi stalkers herself, takes her own picture, wins lame contest

The Babyfur Fashion Scene

Fashion-forward babyfurs love loose, kicky dresses, holiday highlights!

[the Herald's babyfur week continues with a look at the babyfur fashion scene]

by Pixeleen Mistral, fake fur fashionista

In-world security can look great

The Holidays are just around the corner - what a perfect excuse to spend a little me-time shopping to dress-for-SL-success! Just look at these young and restless babyfurs, modeling the latest looks in fun and funky virtual fashions.

Petite wardrobes can be a challenge in SL, especially when you factor in the hooves, ears, paws, pacifiers, and furry fluff that defines the basic babyfur avatar - so looking stunning can be a real challenge.

But this challenge is one that Relena Resistance breezes through modeling two outfits - a white blouse and red skirt, and a red blouse and white polkadot skirt. Just the thing for the babyfur security officer on watch. While checking to see if I was really a reporter, Relena and I chatted about keeping the cubs safe and today’s “take a babyfur to lunch” event. To keep the troublemakers away, Relena has eject and ban powers for the Cub Conclave sim, so its important to project a businesslike, yet feminine image.

Professional Avatar Makeovers - Only L$4000/hour

Advice from designer Joel Eilde

by Wendell Holmer

It’s a good thing you can’t sweat in Second Life, or I wouldn’t have any friends. I go a month without changing my clothes. Eventually, someone says it’s time to burn my outfit and takes me shopping.

It never occurred to me that you could design a look the way an architect designs a house. But I finally met someone who does just that, and I was blown away. Makeover artist Joel Eilde deconstructed my avatar, piece by piece. He shared his likes and dislikes and his favorite resources. If you want your av to look like a real person, you’ll be interested in what he had to say.

I was visiting a fashion writer named Harper Beresford when Joel dropped by. Harper is so put-together, so classy and precise, I had an impulse to take her down a peg. I challenged Joel to evaluate Harper’s look. Here’s what she looked like that day.

Does Harper Beresford need a makeover?

Lindens Boot Dueling DMCA Claims To RL Court

Can you copyright prim arrangements on virtual footwear?

by Jessica Holyoke

Coen boots - with three strands wrapping below the knee

A few weeks back, I was asked by a friend of mine to report on behalf of Panjomy Ames. The Avastar partially covered the story of Panjomy Ames and her dispute with Bax Coen. Both Ames and Coen are accusing each other of copying their boots. Specifically, the three strands wrapping below the knee on the boot upper.

If you look at Ames’ boot and Coen’s boot, they look nothing alike. The textures are completely different and the foot portion of the boots are completely different. The calf portion of the boots as bare prims look exactly alike. The nine prims of Ames’ boot look exactly like Coen’s. The reason for the similarity is that Ames’ purchased a demo of Coen’s boot and started selling her new boots the same day of purchase. When asked about this, Ames’ reply is that she came up with the boot upper design first, but Coen was able to get a perfected version of the boots to market first.

Hey Girlfriend! - Avatar Of The Month Calendar Contest

Baby unicorns, furries, neko, robots, elves, gorean slaves, drow, and human girls will compete to be avatar of the month

Monday night was the kickoff for the 12avatars.com contest - where a printed calendar will feature a sexy female avatar for every month. Founder Monkeyface Wooget and Fallon Winnfield arrived by helicopter - no, I'm not joking - along with Callie Cline's entourage.

Arriving by helicopter... just like RL celebrities! Wait... where's Brangelina?

The whole concept seemed a bit new and exciting to me, so after hanging around the party for a while I grabbed an interview with co-founder Fallon Winnfield the next morning.

Celebrity Trollop - Post 6 Grrrl

[Note from Justine- This week it is with great pleasure I bring you one of the great fashionistas of Second Life, Celebrity Trollop. Celebrity is the owner and publisher of Second Style Magazine and Second Style Fashionista Blog, two of the most widely read publications in Second Life - that also makes her my boss, so I hope this goes well! Celebrity has forgotten more about SL photography than I've yet to learn, so I doubly appreciate that she took the time to model for a noob like me!]

Sometimes one just has to take a break from work and have a little fun, right? All work and no play makes Jane a dull avatar. I was both surprised and flattered to be one of the Second Life Herald's famous Post 6 Grrrls. It's definitely one of the high achievements that any resident could hope for. I just hope that in my role as this week's Post 6 Grrrl that I can save baby seals, end global warming and stop that cheesy gunk from snack chips accumulating on one's finger. It's a tall order, I know, but I feel confident that my fellow residents will support all of these efforts. Together I know we can do it!