Second Life Herald

LL's Super-Secret Corporate Facebook Network

Facebook might not be totally secure from SL residents

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Philip Linden's page in the secret Lab Facebook network

After a time in the virtual news business a reporter starts accumulating stories that might be better left untold - and in the name of maintaining a generally civil society these stories are only mentioned inside the exclusive SL press club bar after a few rounds of Grey Goose martinis. But something happened that forced my hand. This blog entry by occasional Herald writer/conspiracy theorist Mr. Prokofy Neva makes claims that may not be entirely correct.

For once I am going to defend Linden Lab. I am generally known as a critic the Lindens, but this time I cannot stand idle as the good name of the Lab is besmirched with the accusation that it has an alleged griefer on staff.

Mr. Neva believes he has strong evidence that the Lab hired a Woodbury University student (indistinguishable in Mr. Neva's mind from a hardcore griefer) as a “Governance Team Policy Tester” based on what he sees in Facebook - an infallible, unimpeachable source of truth. Mr. Neva’s Second Thoughts blog blares lurid accusations:

The Lindens put a Woodbury University on to the staff? In the Governance Team? as a Governance Team Policy Tester? with the title "Chief Executive Resident?" Does he deliberately grief to see how the system works or something?

But the truth is much, much simpler. Have you ever heard of really bad security?

It came to the the Herald staff’s attention months ago that Facebook’s security might leave something to be desired. Any enterprising resident of Second Life can easily join LL’s Super-Secret Corporate Facebook network - this has been common knowledge since December. Intlibber Brautigan left a note on LL’s corporate Facebook page suggesting that they close the e-mail security hole on December 25th. Longtime residents of SL will not be surprised to learn that the last time our source checked, the Lab simply ignored this security issue - an approach entirely consistent with their prevailing corporate culture.

Kissing a Pony Naga - Amber Linden's Shame!

Not invited to the March 15 Linden Lab party? Blame it on the Valentines Day party.

Half pony, half snake Kayi Laa prepares to kiss Amber Linden on Valentines day

While some believe the Lab is limiting saturday's party to concierge-level residents because the Lindens love virtual land high rollers, the motivations behind the Linden's party plans are much more complex -- a story only the Herald could bring to light.

On Valentine's day, the Lab had a party open to all residents, celebrating how much we all love the free labor volunteers that selflessly assist the venture capitalists starving waifs who bankroll Philip Linden's dream. Yes, we all <3 volunteers - and to celebrate their uncompensated labor, a number of telecommuter Linden staffers made themselves available for PG-level kissing in-world. When you get paid by the hour, does it really matter if you are repetitively clicking a kiss animation or answering yet another unhappy resident?

As I arrived at the party, a disheveled Moo Money wandered past me muttering something about "ewwww... he was all hands". This may partly explain Ms. Money's recent virtual marriage to Ms. Molley Mayflower - some stability in e-relationships is a worthwhile goal.

Moo Money is now in a stable e-relationship with Molley Mayflower

After the obligatory crash and re-log the scene finally rezzed, and I walked over to the kissing booth where Amber Linden was holding court in her best party dress. Jimbo Quality really missed out this time - he has had a HUGE crush on Amber since she danced with him last fall - but perhaps the prospect of Amber kissing pretty much any avatar who wandered by was a bit much for Jimbo's delicate nature.

New, Improved Copybot Demonstrated

Remote-controlled bot copies prims, linksets, textures, clones avatar profiles and outfits & saves copies to the user's hard drive

by Proper Prim

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[UPDATE: Apparently a similar (or perhaps identical) copybot is being sold on slexchange here. Should slexchange remove this user-created content? Might the Lindens decide to have a word with bot creator Marki Young? As we watch this story unfold, I'd like to thank Herald reader Miki for pointing us to the slexchange page. Perhaps Herald reader Robin Linden will will have something to say about this at some point? - the Editrix]

click to enlarge slexchange sreenshot

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In partnership with d3adlyc0d3c, last week I began conducting an investigation into reports of rampant content theft across Second Life. Some of these claims included allegations that Copybot was being used- allegations that many of us did not believe initially.

Unfortunately for content creators in Second Life, Copybot DOES still exist and is more advanced than ever. Several sources have told the Herald that Copybot had never left SL in the first place as many had hoped - instead, copybot engineers concentrated on a series of improvements to the original model.

'Not only did Copybot continue to function and evolve in SL over the course of the past year, but trying to break it is a futile excercise as it is entirely impossible for Linden Labs to ever prevent individuals from being able to use this or similar functionality' our source told us Thursday afternoon.

After the initial interviews, d3adlyc0d3c was able to acquire a copybot from certain SL 'underground' contacts - he then used the bot to create a youtube video demonstrating some of the capabilities of this software. In the video, we copy one of Apotheus Silverman's large complex builds. After the video was done, we threw the copy away, Apotheus - honest.

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).

New 'Permissions Exploit' Uncovered - Drama Ensues on SLX

by Proper Prim, staff writer

a possible source of drama

For a few days now I have been monitoring a situation on SLX where users have discovered objects being sold that one user described as utilizing 'a permissions exploit'. What is the nature of this exploit? A script loads an avatar’s profile from the web, parses the html on the page for the link to the profile image displayed, thus retrieving the UUID of the image.

A number of residents are outraged because of this, some of whom began using legal terminology and throwing around phrases like 'copyright violation' and so forth. Why would residents be concerned about merchants selling objects that temporarily display customer's profile images as they walk by?

I was able to catch up with resident Adromor Wierwight for a short interview about the situation. Adromor was 'warned' by SLX administrators for being so heated that he apparently violated the SLX “respect” policy by referring to several of the users as 'whiny and petty'. Here is what Adromor had to say:

Ex-Superhero on Woodbury, Griefing & JLU drama

Pierce Kronos reveals he "left the JLU in disgust" in exclusive interview

by Proper Prim, staff writer

A great deal of controversy has been circulating around the Justice League Unlimited of late raising questions about how much is real and how much has been manufactured - is someone is trying to troll and defame the JLU? To learn the truth, I created an alt and went inworld and asked the JLU for interviews for some time before Pierce Kronos finally (hesitantly at first) came forward to talk.

I went into the interview with a long list of questions. Could the teen grid allegations have any merit? Is Kalel Venkman really an 'unbearable power hungry fascist' as some have described him? What is the purpose of the JLU? What part did JLU play in the Woodbury University situation and Tizzers Foxchase's permanent removal from Second Life? Near the end of the interview, Mr. Kronos announced that he had 'left the JLU in disgust' but also made it clear that there are still those in the JLU whom he likes, respects, even admires and that he will in no way betray their trust by disclosing any sensitive information as Nikola Shirakawa, another former JLU member, once had.

After speaking at length with Mr. Kronos about work, life in general, griefing, Second Life, the PN and the JLU. Pierce seems to be a good guy and I am convinced that not all of the allegations circulating are true - and I suspect that the ones that are true have nothing to do with him. While Pierce wasn't been entirely forthcoming about his reasons for leaving the JLU, I admire the fact that he has shown his enemies respect by keeping his quarrels private. It is unclear if Mr Kronos intends to continue endeavors as an anti-griefer from outside of the JLU or if he simply intends to settle down and live quietly - either way we wish him the best of luck!

IBM Jilts SL - Now Dating ActiveWorlds!?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Activeworlds, conference calls, and interactive web pages - but no SL

It is hard to know exactly what to make of this, but a reliable source pointed us to the Kauffman foundation's web site where this page http://www.kauffman.org/3D announces a "3-D Internet for Learning Summit" hosted not on Second Life - but on ActiveWorlds.

It would not do to speculate on what Philip Linden thinks of this development - but speculation is sure to follow as the announcement promises "a first-ever public demonstration of IBM’S privately-developed capability" where participants will "experience a real-time, seamless and simultaneous environment that combines telephony, wiki and virtual world environments. This will allow global participants to collaborate in building some of the next-generation capabilities of the 3-D Internet."

This summit is to be open to all - and the Herald expects strong representation from the furry and babyfur metaverse demographic - assuming fur avatars are avalable in ActiveWorlds. The event will take place February 19th and 20th, 2008, in three spaces simultaneously - a toll free conference call, within IBM's Active Worlds based Extraverse, and on the web through an interactive wiki environment.

Super Hero Super Drama!

Justice League Unlimited declares Green Lantern Core founder an enemy of the state

by Nikola Shirakawa

“Cid is way too friendly with people who are morally dubious despite his holier than thou attitude” -Kara Foley

Stunning news from an early December Justice League Unlimited meeting. In a shocking turn of events, Cid Jacobs, the founder of the Green Lantern Core, an anti-griefer group with a long history of good service, and great conduct, has been labeled a hostile by Kalel Venkman’s Justice League Unlimited anti-griefer group. Among the reasons for this new label?

“He hangs out with Nikola Shirakawa and doesn’t seem to think that the RL raid on my house was really griefing.” -Kalel Venkman

That’s right, because Cid Jacobs was friendly to Tizzers Foxchase - somebody Kalel and his flock doesn’t like - Cid is now an enemy. What does this mean to Second Life at large? Well, you’d better be double checking those friends lists, because if you’re caught talking to somebody on the JLU hit list, you just might find yourself labeled a griefer.

As to the RL “raid” on Kalel Venkman's house? Tizzers Foxchase and some other /b/tards that happen to live close to Kalel in real life, decided on Halloween to knock on Kalel's door while in costume and trick-or-treating. That’s it. They knocked on his door like any other trick-or-treaters, but what was the proper punishment for this heinous crime?

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”.

Tenshi Vielle Announces Candidacy For SL President

LL warns candidates against ageplay - Front runner Jimbo Quality left lagging on prim baby kissing issue

by Balsamic Klim, CNN iReporter

In a completely unexpected move, Tenshi Vielle spent this morning announcing her candidacy for SL President to anyone who will listen, torturing poor souls at both the SLU forums and her own blog.

"I’m announcing my intentions to run against Jimbo for the President of Second Life position. (No, there really isn’t a position, but we’re running!)

I’ll be kissing prim babies, filming crappy sex tapes, and if you want you can join my in-world group, “TENSHI ‘08!” - you can either be part of my campaign supporters (”Tenshi ‘08!!) or security (Presidential Security) or my smear campaign. (Tenshi SUCKS!!!) I attempted to invite Lothian Utorid from BH into my smear campaign last night and he said, “Why would I want to be part of your smear campaign? Hello? Helloooo?”. Poor bastard doesn’t seem to want to connect the dots that he’s already a part of it.

Anyway, come join up! It’s total bullhockey, and you can have a tag that says I rock or I suck - take your pick. Yes, I am feeling a little egotistical today - why do you ask?

KEEP UP WITH THE CAMPAIGN! Tenshi ‘08 blog! We have free tshirts!"

Hawt Triple Instructional Video Action!

Educators agree - YouTube is your friend

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Now that YouTube has become the distribution channel of choice for instructional videos, one of our sources noted a striking similarity between the voiceover in Torley Linden’s metaverse how-to videos and this outstanding example of the state of the art in real life furries. Pay close attention at how the skunk’s eyes seem follow you.

skunk sex appeal - oh baby, do me again!

For comparison, see Torley’s latest video production:

Exclusive Pix from the Developer Grid: SL's New Zone Concepts Interface

The next version of SL?

by Pixeleen Mistral, food critic

Zone Concepts Interface: brighten the corners

I considered having another glass of wine while waiting for the wild coho salmon filet slathered in finely chopped fresh organic parsley to finish steaming over a what I hoped would become a Grey Goose vodka and sicilian blood orange reduction -- if my calculations were correct. However, the calculus of culinary choice suddenly narrowed. The iMojo wire was demanding attention with breaking news from the betaverse - an exclusive photo of the new look and feel for Second Life. Maybe.

Readers are cautioned that the iMojo is not always completely reliable, but our source provided what appears to be a screen shot of the next version of SL - or at least a mock up - reproduced here so that long suffering citizens can begin preparing for another forced march into the future, as envisioned by the game gods of our “better world” - the physics experts at Linden Lab. If our source is to be believed, this is a picture from the developer grid.

Is the FIC Fading?

Smack Talking Blingtards say “We da Shiz Now!”

by Urizenus Sklar

Last month, while I was surfing the numerous SL Blingtard Blogs, I came across a very interesting discussion on Verbal Stew, a blog run by SL denizens JellyBean Madison and HawksRock Gunawan. JellyBean raised the question: is there now or was there ever a FIC, and if so what happened to it? JellyBean weighed in again in the comments with the following observation: In the post-flexiprim era we haven’t seen jack from the FIC. Quoting:

I haven't seen the FIC "designers" (Aimee Weber, Mistress Midnight, etc.) spit anything new out since before the flexi prim. I could be mistaken. In fact I think Launa Fauna is FIC, and she's about the only one doing anything & that's not even regularly. Cristiano Midnight runs Snapzilla but I honestly don't think he's spit out an animation in awhile. ..

There's new cliques arising from the FIC's fading... the bloggers, the designing groups & quads, the techies, the scripters, and so on. Instead of one big Feted Inner Core holding them all. I think they've branched off without Linden influences & freebies. :D

So what happened to the SL Aristocracy exactly? One possibility is that when the meatspace invasion arrived the Linden’s steered all the business to the FIC and they got absorbed in giving the corps what they wanted – virtual monuments that are simulacra of their meatspace creations – and the FIC stopped being creative. They died of Linden Largess. What do you think? Is the FIC dead? If so, how did it die? --Uri

Trouble in Elfville

Girl elf leader turns male -- leader's ex-partner banned for complaining

by BB Balderdash, Elf Affairs desk

When Armandi Goodliffe was a girl, she partnered with Camo Camus

When you think the land of the elves, you think of peaceful and quiet hills and dales, where pixie and faeries dance and the elven make their crafts and socialize. That’s the picture that members of Second Life’s Elf Circle paint when they speak about their group and their lands. The Elf Circle exists in a group of PG sims removed from strip clubs and dance halls. A place where people can live out elven and other fantasy role play, without drama. But lately there has been a seedier and more controversial side to the group and what’s happening there. A member has been banned for speaking his mind about free speech. And a member of the elves’ leadership group spent a year playing cross gender and getting involved with another group member – partnering and cybering with him, creating a scandal, drama and another banning – not of the perpetrator but of the victim.

The Elf Circle group just celebrated its first year anniversary. The group is now made up of over 800 members and consists of a core of 6 sims (and 8 ocean sims) all owned by the group’s leader or queen; Forcythia Wishbringer. There are about a dozen or more affiliated sims nearby. But even the way this group began was not drama-free. Forcythia was originally one of the leaders in another elf group, the Elf Clan. When she was expelled from the group over a dispute with the Elf Clan’s founder, the new group was formed.

Former JLU Member Speaks Out

anti-griefer Justice League Unlimited threatens privacy and act like griefers

by Nikola Shirakawa ex-JLU member

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which - Animal Farm

Many people on SL have run into this group. The Justice League Unlimited - or JLU - has become one of the most well-known anti-griefer groups in the metaverse. Perception of the JLU differs depending on who you ask. Residents that have requested JLU help say they are every bit the superheroes they role play. The alleged goons and griefers such as the "Patriotic Nigras" - or PN - claim the JLU are sim-crashers that fire doomsday weapons at their enemies. Some land owners, such as Artemis Fate, say the JLU are a detriment to peace on the grid.

Before serious discussion about the JLU can be undertaken, it is important to know that not all of their actions are entirely public, and some of these shady choices could paint a very different picture indeed. To the public, they just swoop in to distress calls, talk down a griefer, or, in the most extreme cases, they call down the Lindens. Nothing wrong with that, right? But these are just the actions the public sees. What goes on when they retreat to their locked down sim, Asimov Park, the real story begins.

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the JLU database never forgets

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Let's start by discussing the JLU Brainiac device. This little bot, attached to their avatars, connects to an external database that maintains a running record of avatars they have come in contact with. And I mean every avatar. Part of the script in their equipment automatically records the names of every Second Life resident, griefer, civilian, or even Linden. That's right, if you've been next to them, they have your user name, and a unique key that acts on a similar level to that used by the Lindens to issue permabans.

Ginko Financial’s AVIX Buyout Blocked

Cash crunch and opaque accounting limits Ginko's appeal

by Jessica Holyoke

The SL financial market was roiled today by news that the Ginko Financial Group, owned by Nicholas Portocarrero was attempting to buy a controlling interest in AVIX financials, owned by Investor Allen. After previous reports of Ginko’s inability to cover withdrawals from the “bank”, the issues with in-world financial transactions and all the troubles at the World Stock Exchange (WSE), this meeting came as a surprise announcement. It was also shocking because some felt that Ginko had a preferred partner in Hope Capital/WSE, although Ginko Financial will still remain shareholders in WSE.

What happened after the meeting only added to the drama and confusion - AVIX announced that the Ginko Financial Group merger and its IPO is being rolled back. In a terse announcement, Investor Allen stated that “[w]e will no longer look to merge with other institutions without a solid knowledge of their ability to cover their accounts and will never again even glance at exposing our accounts to such a risk.”

Benjamin Duranske, who originally broke the story of Ginko’s liquidity problems, has extensive coverage of the meeting at his Virtually Blind site including an eye-opening transcript of the meeting.

Mona Lisae

Fishy man, fishing in troubled waters.

By Prokofy Neva, Art Dept.

Art -- and the figures in and around it -- can be inscrutable. In the much-commented thread about the raid in Blister, Dutch amateur artist Lisae Boucher finally provides a link to another SL store where her controversial works are on sale -- images that she says Michael Linden has cleared for "keeping SL safe together". The parcel in Blister is now renamed, and put on "buy pass" for $20, and the art that was the subject of abuse reports, visits, and more than 100 comments at the Herald, has been removed -- apparently out of respect for the neighbours' sensibilities.

In a thread already filled with her threats to report this site to the Internet service provider and claims that her privacy is invaded, Lisae offers to send me the link to her other store inworld, but challenges me not to publish it, claiming that if it *is* published, that could lead to more harassment in world, more abuse reports, even more Lindens. Receiving a poisoned chalice like that isn't easy, but after she sent the landmark, I visited the store in question I had no doubt that the link could be provided to the public. Why?

Rumored Bug Puts SL Scripts in Jeopardy -- Should Lindens Close Grid?

By Prokofy Neva, Fashionable Tech Dept. for Dummies

A scripter by the name of Ethan Schuman claims that the Lindens were squashing a scripting bug today that would have enabled anyone in SL to view -- and therefore copy -- scripts inside objects in Second Life.

Linden Lab has not yet published any announcement about the alleged exploit, and had not responded to any press inquiries to date. A query sent to security@lindenlab.com got the automatic bounce reply: "Any messages sent to this address that do not specifically report security exploits will be ignored."

Ethan Schuman, a resident of Ohio who says he discovered the bug, contacted the Herald at about 5 pm SLT and said, "LL just got done squashing a bug that made any script inside any object available for viewing full perm."

His claim has still not been confirmed with any Lindens publicly. "From point of discovery through reporting and hot patch, it took approximately 2 hours to fix. That was with three people with Linden cell numbers and pagers. Imagine if an ordinary joe had discovered that," Schumann added.

Herald Editorial Director to Wed Sheepish Virtual Videographer?

by Pat the Rat

Just what does he propose?

Walker Spaight and Destroy Television? You heard it here first, boys and girls. Pat the Rat was lurking in the cathedral in the Big Easy, expiating some sins -- and you know Pat has a lot of sins to atone for -- when who should wander in but that former member of the flock, the lifelogging lady of Second Life, Destroy Television, arm in arm with the virtual world's third-hardest-working journalist, Walker Spaight (third-hardest-working after Pix and Uri, of course; oh how Pat loves to bite the hand). Thought I, What could they be up to?

Harry Potter Role-Play Drama!!!

Shock! - angry in-character and out-of-character role play results in shootings

by Hermione Ferraris, concerned role player

A conflict in-game has been going on for a while and some of us have never known. Oahu - a Harry Potter themed role play sim - has been experiencing difficulties with in character (IC) and out of character (OOC) conflicts between players spilling over into hurt feeling in real life.

The problems are caused by the people that are role playing or IC saying mean or hurtful things - causing a lot of anger and conflict between IC and OOC. Some people take personally what people say IC -then deal with it out of character. People have even been shooting or killing each other in the struggle to take what is IC from what is OOC.

For example, if someone came up and started saying your character was ugly and some hurtful things you might take it personally and make your OOC life more miserable. Some of the people who are working in the sims have even thought of quitting - and if they do quit some sims may go down. In another sim - Midian City - people are not following the role play (RP) and are getting themselves banned. Second Life is losing some good people because of role playing related problems.

Mercs Say MOSCOW Must Be Signed For War

Merczateers will not fight the Alliance Navy without a signed MOSCOW agreement
by Omega Groshomme, war correspondent

Merczateers Comdiv Ethan Schuman

On April 29th, 8pm SLT I had a chance to sit down with Ethan Schuman, an officer in the Merczateers to discuss their position with Alliance Navy (AN) and clear up the purpose of MOSCOW (Military Organization Standard for Conventional Operations and Warfare). During the interview, I learned that the Merczateers will not fight the Alliance Navy without a signed treaty and how the Merczateers claim the AN bullies smaller military groups in SL. The prospects for serious combat look dim at the moment as political wrangling has upstaged violent conflct between SL's two largest military factions.

Ethan Schuman: My name is Comdiv Ethan Schuman, of the Merczateers. In American military rankings, I would be a Colonel. I head up our Research and Development team.
Omega Groshomme: Who are the Merczateers and what do they do?
Ethan Schuman: The Merczateers are one of the oldest military groups in SL. Throughout our existence, our theme and purpose has changed, but the two elements that have remained constant are an allusion to Soviet/Russian technology and infrastructure, and the desire to just kick back and have fun.
Omega Groshomme: Your group has been heard a lot lately responding to the Alliance Navy proposed STABLE. What are your thoughts?
Ethan Schuman: Well, that depends on what you mean. One of the misconceptions that a lot of people seem to be under is the assumption that the Merczateers are the driving force behind MOSCOW. That's not the case. They are one party of many, even if they happen to be the biggest, and the organizer is a member. As for STABLE, the Merczateers don't view STABLE as any serious attempt by the Alliance Navy to right what's wrong with SL combat. Rather, we see it as an attempt on their part to try to avoid signing MOSCOW. However, the STABLE talks have all but collapsed, as the only parties on board with it are the Alliance Navy themselves and Sparta
Ethan Schuman: If you'll note, Nayaioh Commodore, the former leader of Corsair, who was actually one of the AN's biggest assets in setting up STABLE, has joined the Merczateers.

Sin Under Florida Sun! Sheep Meet Stroker: Sex-Toy Services for Second Life?

Herald Correspondent Pat the Rat infiltrated the recent corporate retreat of metaverse services providers Electric Sheep Company in Tampa, Florida, and returned with photos that clearly show the Sheep hooking up with Second Life sex mogul Stroker Serpentine (a former Herald Post 6 Man). Here's Sheep CEO Sibley Verbeck (in hat) and Stroker (in horns), obviously celebrating their newly coined strategic "partnership." And the evening descended from there, faithful reader. Are the Sheep hooking up with Stroker? Will open-source bots soon be spidering your skybox? How soon before Linden Lab introduces a new class of X-rated sims? Even Pat had to shield those paparazzi eyes before the evening was out. After the jump, behold...

Is Second Life Liberation Army Founder Part of a Corporate Spy Firm?

Solidad Sugarbeet resigns from SLLA leadership - claims Marshal Cahill is part of real life "corporate intelligence/security firm"

by Bayesian Textbot

Today, the following notice went out to the Second Life Liberation Army (SLLA):

Dear SLLA members: Via an anonymous source, it has come to my attention that Marshal Cahill is the real life owner of Concentric Solutions, a corporate intelligence firm. As such, I cannot in good conscience remain in a leadership position in SLLA. I have tried to rectify this situation internally, and with limited success; however, the sensitive nature of this situation has left me no choice but to go public with this information. I wish you all the best, and it is my hope that SLLA will one day represent a true revolutionary vision not just for SL, but for RL as well. Sincerely, solidad Sugarbeet

I followed up with Solidad, who simply said: "I can't reveal the source but I'm willing to stake my rep on this." A closer look at the Marshal Cahill account reveals little of interest except that he's managed to be around since 7/26/2006 and is only a member of a single group - his own. Even corporate accounts generally end up with a few extra groups on there.

Herald readers may remember our previous story about the paranoid delusional ranting of a security company called Concentric Solutions seeking to poke their nose into everybody's business. We were all careful about everything we did for awhile, lest we be accused of being a terrorist.

This wouldn't be the first time that this sort of honeytrap of strategy has been adopted by security forces. If true, this would hold to the pattern federal law enforcement has been following in trying to track down activists and radicals. Still, at this time it's only a rumor.

While Concentric lists (through Metaterror.com) World of Warcraft, There, and Second Life as places it watches the public for signs of terror, they haven't seen fit to let us know what avatar names they tend to use one way or another.

Today in Second Life, Thursday April 12, 2007

By Prokofy Neva, Meaningless Numbers Cruncher and Irrelevant Facts Driller

Today in Second Life:

o if you add up all the numbers of today's date, you get the number 7, which is the number of holes in the human head
o Some Linden must be getting a pay-off as there are $26,000 in SINKS for April under the "Stipends" category which is supposedly only SOURCES.
o the maximum sale on the LindEx yesterday was a wierdly suspicious 1,111,111
o the number of avatars who spent more than a $1 in March was 1,964,406
o Supply Linden sold $825,100 US dollars printed out of thin air in March, and now has already sold $222,488 US dollars printed out of thin air so far in April, which is devaluing our labour and property.
o only 325,362 spent $500-999 by contrast with $200-499 spent by 781,169 which is an indication that the hos need to lower prices per hour to accommodate an influx of many third-world spenders
o only 6 percent of all registered SL residents logged in this week
o the number of premium accounts has crashed from nearly 60,000 late last year to less than 30,000 today. Huh?
o I have 262,656 square meters on one account of which 568 are available for purchase
o 153 prims are used up out of 351 prims on the parcel at Barton, 104, 214, 71, and 3 have been returned.
o at 9:45 SLT there were 22 discussions planned on the Events Calendar, 3 Pageants, 98 Cultural Events, and 403 Nightlife/Entertainment Events
o I have 17,467 items in inventory. How many do you have?
o Calleta's Hobo infohub has a traffic of 11,690 and Nova Albion-Grignano has 501
o Reuters has a traffic of 1205 with the search term "news" and Pharos Lighthouse, home of Prok's InfoNut, has a traffic of 1107.
o Capture Roleplay group has 1,459 members but Capture Roleplay Chat has 1,483 members (!)
o Tiny AOs are still for sale in Agriopis (84, 33, 27)

Op/Ed: Herald Condemns Wei's Stance on Prim Babies

Candidate Romana Wei: Put the Prim Babies to Work

Several Days ago, the Herald reported the efforts of Mrs. President Chomsky in her crusade against blingtard moms who leave their prim babies at home while they go ho-ing in Second Life sex clubs. The Herald applauds Mrs. President in this endeavor, and we must also pause to condemn SL Presidential Candidate Ramona Wei, (photo via M is for MYG)who is on exactly the wrong side of this issue. In her view it is not the blingtard moms that are the threat but the babies themselves. She complains that their prim footprint is too large and that they should be put to work. We are *appalled* by her remarks in M is for Myg:

Romana Wei: when we have prim babies, we increase the size of our global footprint and we contribute more prims to global lag
Romana Wei: you know it’s time that you stopped working for your prim babies and put your prim babies to work for you
Romana Wei: that’s why all prim babies will have to work in strip clubs as drink caddies
Romana Wei: yes, they take valuable resources from our planet–is it so much to ask that they bring us a drink when we are thirsty and food when we are hungry and a condom when we want some?
Sable Slade: the little babies are cute!
Romana Wei: yes, Sable, cute but deadly
Romana Wei: deadly for our economy

We urge all responsible citizens to vote against candidate Wei in the upcoming elections.

Scandal! Prim Babies Abandoned by Blingtard Moms

Mrs. President Chomsky Calls for Better Mommy Bureau

Longtime Herald readers will recall Mrs. President Chomsky from her crusades against pet culling back in The Sims Online. She continues to be an active force online, having founded a new civic organization: Concerned Understanding Mothers Striving To Achieve Improved Net Neighborhoods. Its mission? Bring some shred of decency to a world that sometimes seems to have dropped its moral compass down the rabbit hole of Universal Linden Consciousness. Today Sparrowhawk Perhaps interviews Mrs. President to get the lowdown on her latest crusade – the tragedy of prim babies adopted by blingtard moms. Oh, and Mrs. President asks us to add that she is “no relation to that anarchist Norman Chomsky.”

updated: We didn't Want You to Know This, But Agitators Will Be Banned

Op/Ed by Urizenus Sklar

Most people in the Second Life infosphere have heard that SL agitator and SL Herald contributor Prokofy Neva has been banned from the Second Life Community Convention in Chicago. The exchanges between Prok and the FIC have been pretty off the hook (on both sides), so we can understand why some people don't want her there, but the step from not wanting to banning is a very unsettling step for what advertises itself as a "community convention." The justification being offered does nothing to make the decision less troubling. In a post to Second Citizen, our friend FlipperPA Peregrine first says that the organizers didn't intend to make Prok's banning public, and then offers up a justification that establishes a dangerous precedent that really needs to be rethought.

The SLCC attorney, who's legal opinion I respect much more than anyone (he's with Buchanan Ingersoll), said it would be wise to avoid any situation in which such an agitator, who loves to push peoples' buttons, is allowed in a room with those she agitates, especially since conventions such as these include alcohol.[emphasis mine]

The idea that the banning would be secret is troubling enough, but the notion that it is unwise to have an agitator in a space where the agitated are present is in effect a prescription for insulating people from anyone who provokes them. The subtext seems to be that the real concern is that with alchohol being served there is some danger this agitator could be harmed by the other participants. That isn't grounds for banning the agitator, it is grounds for either not serving alchohol or hiring adequate security to keep thin skinned drunks from harming Prokofy.

Beyond the precedent, it seems absurd to me that the Second Life Community Convention cannot tolerate the presence of a 50 year old woman who works for the United Nations and just last weekend was a speaker at Columbia University.

I call on Flip and the other organizers to think carefully about the precedent being established, and also about the broader philosophical implications of the decision. As it stands, the decision and justification appears positively Orwellian.

update: A statement from SLCC's Randy Moss says that no one will be banned: http://slcc2007.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/registration-will-be-open-to-all/

(Flip's statement is below the fold.)

SCANDAL!!! SL's Next Top Model... Has a Twin?

Copycat drama in the SL fashion world - SHOCK!

by Tenshi Vielle, Fabulous Fashionista

models from the "tilde" group

BooBooKittie Haight, proprieter and brains behind Catwalk City, has a problem. Her brainchild, the “SL Next Top Model” (SLNTM) contest, has a competitor with exactly the same name plus a tilde: “ ~SL Next Top Model~”. Ms. Haight's project was on the back burner when Jada Hoyer swooped in and appeared to have taken it on as her own project and idea - leading to another fashionista war - and some fine SL drama.

This might have gone unnoticed for a few more weeks, except for some small mishaps that could cause problems for Jada Hoyer. One sponsor of the ~SL Next Top Model~ show - remember, the original one doesn't have the tilde - sent a private message to Ms. Haight stating that Ms. Hoyer hijacked the show's name and that they were hereby withdrawing sponsorship from the tilde enhanced/copycat SL Next Top Model show.

Now, this is not just any old hijacking. Ms. Haight has done the behind the scene work for her show, contacting the real life America’s Top Model people - Tyra Banks and Bankable Productions - on March 1st. The slnexttopmodel.com domain name was registered on January 31, 2007 by Ms. Haight, and her two SLNTM groups were both founded and paid for on February 17. The event proposal was drafted and a copy was sent to Ms. Phaylen Fairchild on February 19. Ms. Haight has kept her SLNTM pageant quiet because she is still in negotiations with Bankable Productions.

Edwards HQ Vandalized. Campaign Blames Virtual Republicans.

It's bad enough having Fox News excoriate you for not staffing your HQ and calling on you to denounce virtual underage sex brothels, but now there is the problem of Republican griefers. According to an Edwards campaign worker, it was not pretty.

Shortly before midnight (CST) on Monday, February 26, a group of republican Second Life users, some sporting "Bush '08" tags, vandalized the John Edwards Second Life HQ. They plastered the area with Marxist/Lenninist posters and slogans, a feces spewing obsenity, and a photoshopped picture of John in blackface, all the while harrassing visitors with right-wing nonsense and obsenity-laden abuse of Democrats in general and John in particular.

Story is here. The campaign worker says he filed an abuse report with Linden Lab. Um, sure, that'll work.

Walking to the Metaverse

Photo by Brian.

By Prokofy Neva, Dept. of Planets, Worlds, Universes, Multiverses, and A Metaverse Just One Stop Away

When Jerry Paffendorf, futurist of the Electric Sheep, put out the word about a Metaverse Meet-Up and said it was in Brooklyn, I checked my immunization records, got out my passport, and put on some extra leggings, because I'm one of those Manhattanites that tries never to go more than a 20-block radius out of their village.

But it turns out the Metaverse is only one stop away on the L, a train I had come to fear as a young person when I once boarded it and found a man tarred and feathered and ranting and hurtling toward 8th Avenue. Yes, tarred and feathered.

But it turns out that where Jerry lives is sufficiently populated at all hours not to feel as if you might get mugged making your way along the cold, windswept mean streets with dilapidated storefronts and tacky low-rises toward a boarded-up construction site which is the address Jerry gave in the email. I figured this was a Vernor Vinges situation where I had to put on a wearable, rez, image, imagine, um...do something...like figure out that he meant another address down the block.

What can I tell you about the Metaverse? The Metaverse, like all things human, is mainly in men's minds. And I do mean men -- the room was almost entirely male, geeky, 20-30-40 somethings, a few with girlfriends that seemed a bit overawed or bored, with a few important exceptions, like our hero Urizenus, whose companion easily proved that Uri hit the one out of ten jackpot in Ann Arbor, and with whom I had a credible critical discussion of Chomsky that I'm not sure Uri would have approved of.

What else can I tell you about the Metaverse?

Island Land Scamming, Anyone?

Former residents claim Valentines day eviction massacre in “The Tropicana” sim, hire SL/RL lawyer to arbitrate island land dispute

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

I met one of a rare breed Saturday. Joshua Sao is a 5 month metaverse resident who owns “The Tropicana” island sim yet cannot recall when he bought his island, or the amount of his monthly tier payments to Linden Lab. It is also difficult for Mr. Sao to remember exactly how many residents he evicted - although eventually Mr. Sao told the Herald he evicted “2 or 3 tenants” for what he claims is non-payment of rent.

However, a group of 7 turfed-out ex-residents have hired SL/RL lawyer Monday Beam to represent them - and say that rent was not due until the 24th. After the Valentines day evictions, some former resident of “The Tropicana” sought help from Linden Lab suggesting that they had been defrauded. Those residents report they only got blank stares from the LL staffers - and a reminder that island owners have absolute power in their tiny fiefdoms.

For the evicted residents such as Rhea Newall and others the stakes are high. Documents obtained by the Herald - including screen shots of transaction histories from the Second Life web site - suggest that residents were evicted from Mr. Sao’s land after paying L$40,000 - 50,000 (around $170 USD) to “buy” the land and L$5,000 for a month of rent. Without the ability to re-sell the virtual land they “bought” from Mr. Sao, the evicted residents are looking at significant financial loses in the virtual land game. Mr. Sao is apparently now re-selling the recently vacated land.

Fear and Loathing in Second Life Part 8: the sordid history of the Big Brother fiasco part 2

Ah, yes it was so long ago -- centuries by the high speed adrenaline rush passage of time that is Web 3.D, but we keep up as best we can, and you *do* want the skinny on what *really* happened in the Big Brother in SL hypervent don't you? What if I told you it inolved all sorts of X-rated debauchery and our faithful correspondent Gideon Television was smack in the middle of it? Last week we published Gideon's first report from the griefer-infested beginning of the contest. Today, he leads us throught the Sodom and Gomorrah that was Big Brother in SL. -Uri

I awake the next day, the machines buzzing in my head, as I stare at the droning ceiling fan. "Big Brother. My God, still Big Brother".

While I was out, more pointless furniture had been installed and one contestant had been sent to the emergency ward. But none of that compared to the dawning realization that there's was something different in the air, something.... sapphic.

SHAME! Two Herald Reporters Jailed!

Disgraced Mistral and Breaker serve time in SLAB Prison

by Denise Levertov, New Media Observer

In a development sure to roil the metaverse journalistic scene, Herald Editrix Pixeleen Mistral and advice columnist Heartun Breaker were caught serving time in the SLAB Prison in Albata sim Thursday evening.

Both journalists we captured on prison surveillance video wearing the orange prison coveralls that SLAB inmates are required to wear to pay their debt to society - and earn small L$ camp chair payments. Ms. Mistral claimed she was serving time for “protecting her sources” and “contempt of court”. Ms. Breaker was said to be a virtual meth addict, and shrieked several times about rats in the cell while working on a love and sex