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:

Jenn Villota: The Artist as a Young Av

Interview with a new and upcoming artist

by Kris Dibou

When I saw the pics for Jenn Villota’s gallery opening, I could not turn my head, nor scroll away. The thought passed through my head that I was in Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, X-rated editor’s cut. Indeed, it appeared that there were demons here, now released to be diluted into the psyches of the metaversal residents. So when Pix said “Why don’t you interview her?” I took the assignment.

Jenn Villota outside her gallery, "Miso Horny"

I soon found myself in Devil’s Pocket, a fascinating group of sims reflecting the parts of a city most of us do not visit. At first I was perplexed as I gazed into an empty lot. Explains Jenn:

“Well originally my gallery was set up on a friends land he owned the plot but as time went on i think he grew tired of people asking him questions about me and my work. He is very supportive of my work but we had a miscommunication and he abandoned the land the night the Herald ad went up. next morning i freaked out and after IMing back and forth he was able to talk to the owner of the sim Nadir who sold it to me thank god. then i spent all morning …so its all good now i actually really like the crack den the feel of it seems perfect for my gallery.”

Another roadblock I ran into was when I tried the link Jenn's work which had disappeared from Flickr…

Reaction to Dissention Weekend Attacks

A sense of ennui

By Tillery Woodhen


Car stalls due to black cube rain

Sunday's attacks by DiSSENTiON knocked out many sims, often trapping residents in lagged sims, crashing neighborhoods and limiting teleports. But, in spot conversations with those affected, no one really got angry.

Annoyed, absolutely. But not raging. A few people, like one who's rezzer started autoreturning everything, including legit tenants, was very upset. But many simply waited for the individual sims to reboot.

Many people were simply enjoying themselves or doing basic work. This reporter was caught in the first attack while on a Sunday drive to a party. I was essentially trapped in Columbia sim, the car effectively useless. But the scenery was impressive.

Leveling Up In The Game of Second Life

Is Plexus Linden hoping for a new griefing flava while protecting SL residents from those who would do them harm?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

“SL combat groups fight each other in their bases...who does that? I want to design a combat system that will work in non-combat areas - real armies and groups fight in cities full of people who want no part of it” --Supercool Sautereau

The on-going asset server attacks, self-replicating prims with DDOS payloads, and mega-IM and e-mail spam all started making sense to me Saturday evening while I was talking to Supercool Sautereau. Comrade Sautereau is a fan of traditional SL warfare and - as far as I know - has nothing to do with grid crashing or this sort of thing, but as the Soviet Premier pondered how to take his in-world combat game to the next level by moving the battle beyond damage enabled combat sims, I started understanding what is going on with the griefers and the Linden Lab "governance team" -- everyone is trying to take their game to the next level. Too bad for the civilians caught in the crossfire.

For a griefer ready to level up, going from tweaking the noses of a few metaverse residents to virtual world-wide disruption is a natural move -- and eventually leads to the possibility of taking on the game gods themselves. This seems to be the case with the DiSSENTiON group - who occasionally regale the Herald staff with tales of their exploits -- such as taking advantage of borked SL features to create widespread IM spam.

However, all is not lulz and immersive gameplay in the big-time griefing arena - there is also the issue of respect. Sadly, if the chatlogs provided to the Herald are real, it appears that griefer/governance team relations have deteriorated to the point that the mutual respect that ought to characterize a friendly competition has gone out the window:

Slexchange ATM Script Cracked?

Secret requested when Secret is unknown

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

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UPDATE: According to über-scripter Day Oh, the bytecode/scripting exploit described in this story is real, but was fixed a month ago. Mr. Oh told the Herald that when crossing between regions, sometimes sims would randomly send sim-to-sim packets to clients. If scripts need to be handed between regions this makes a certain amount of sense - particularly if there were bugs in the server code that resulted in mis-directed messages going to clients -- a plausible explanation for how the server-side bytecode could leak. While it is comforting to hear that the problem has been fixed, the Herald suggests Linden Lab might want to clarify how long this exploit was active and why they have been less than forthcoming with news about this problem and its solution. Meanwhile, those with sensitive scripts might want to update them, on the chance that they have been a victim of server bytecode leakage.

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Friday, IntLibber Brautigan posted a warning of an exploit allowing technically savvy residents to “capture ATM scripts in bytecode format”. This is a significant development given the number of successful Second Life businesses that use LSL scripts to transfer goods and money -- an un-patched exploit could be a significant blow to the in-world economy.

Because the real wold dollar value of typical SL transactions is low, it is common to automate these transactions. However, automation generally means the scripted transactions are run with minimal human supervision and depend on secrecy for security. This may present a problem. As Mr. Brautigan told the Herald, “with the code obtained, one can make an SLX terminal give you ANY product listed on SLX for free in any quantity or clean out the avatar owning the ATM - all their money - these capabilities have been tested I am told”.

Some observers are concerned that this sort of exploit could destabilize the in-world economy, and Mr. Brautigan reports that his source “has already notified Soft Linden about this vulnerability - he also tried to notify SLX but they said ‘our system is uncrackable’". There we no Linden Lab staff online friday evening willing to speak with the Herald on the record.

While the game gods remained silent, the Herald was able to interview Second Life resident Uildiar Kuhn to learn more about the exploit.

Flagging Virtual World Provider Linden Lab Now to Flag Content

By Prokofy Neva, Kremlindenologist

Second Life residents in some select groups like SLDev were alarmed this morning to discover that in addition to nerfing traffic, and pitting residents against each other to police their "avatar rendering costs," the Lindens are planning on instituting a system to flag objectionable content on SL parcels via search results.

In a note to the SLDev list read mainly by scripters and developers of the open-sourced viewer, Jeska Linden informed select residents that they could expect soon a system to abuse-report undesirable or illegal content on parcels turning up under search results. Several list members objected, saying that such automatic systems would lead to abuse.

In a comment for the record on the LL Traffic Future list, prominent SL educator Fleep Tuque said, "I think my biggest concern is that, yes, the immediate take down can be used maliciously. There is an appeal process in the outline, but for time sensitive events, that wouldn't be adequate." Argent Stonecutter, a long-time RL network administrator and SL scripter, said that residents had asked for tools to report spam, not analyze content.

Below the fold, the full text of the communication.

State of the Economy

Lowest profit per capita growth ever in Q1 2008

by Jessica Holyoke

Zee Linden recently posted graphs reflecting the strength of the SL Economy here - and Zee is very happy to report that the SL Economy grew by 15%. However, the story is not that simple. By several other measures, the economy growing slowly if at all. For instance, the Quarterly Profit per Capita (QPC) shows an anemic growth rate of 0.18 for the first quarter of 2008, the lowest on record. This suggests that virtual economists may want to take a very careful look at Zee’s numbers.

Quarterly Profit Per Capita posts lowest growth rate on record

Zee’s first graph tracks User-to-User Transactions in SL It is an interesting graph because we’ve never seen user-to-user transactions before. The economic statistics page uses Resident transactions and counts. The raw data spreadsheet has L$ Supply and user-to-user transactions as a page, but only details the Money Supply on that page. The raw data used to create the first graph is not readily available. More importantly, the graph uses two specific terms, user and resident. In Second Life, a user is the typist, the person behind the screen. One user can control many residents’ user-to-user transactions - which would eliminate the transfer of money between alt accounts from the reckoning.

Club Owner Slain

Police search for suspects

by Femme Bleu

freereed Freenote found dead

Early the morning of Thursday April 17th, the body of club owner freereed Freenote was found dead in Birdland, Moondust. Although there were no signs of a struggle first responders on the scene said the cause of Ms. Freenote’s death is being ruled “foul play.”

Second Life Police questioned a despondent Wellington Bahram, last to see Ms. Freenote alive. “I don’t understand it,” said Mr. Bahram, a photographer with Metaverse Messenger. “She was fine when I last saw her. She said she had had a long day and was very tired. She lay down to sleep and I sat up with her. I thought she looked fine.” According to his statement Mr. Bahram left the sleeping Freenote around 9 PM SL time.

Medical Examiner Thomas Noguchi said it appears Ms. Freenote died from asphyxia somewhere between the hours of 10 PM and 2 AM SL time. “It appears,” said Dr. Noguchi, “that Ms. Freenote was suffocated in her sleep. She was in good health before the time of her slaying and death by overdose of prescription drugs has been ruled out”. Police were also quick to add that Mr. Bahram is not being considered a suspect. At the time of discovery, Mr. Bahram would not leave the body of his dead friend.

First In-World Sighting of M Linden

Exhausted emperor favors the simple look

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

ex-digital marketing agency CEO shows the metaverse how it is done - afk in t-shirt and jeans

Melanie Kidd took what is likely to be the paparazzi photo of the year - a candid shot of the new emperor/CEO of Linden Lab demonstrating his nearly total mastery of e-marketing with the new media.

While a few readers may mistake emperor M as a potential griefer given his understated appearance, most agree Linden Lab's new CEO is actually taking the "opportunity to connect with customers in new and meaningful ways" - an area of expertise claimed by his former e-advertizing agency's web site Organic.com. Going AFK in a noobie outfit is generally seen as a fast way to get a certain form of in-world street cred.

Clearly, the new emperor has a deep and nuanced understanding of Second Life, and the potential to "create digital experiences that bring consumers closer to brands, generate sales, and increase profitability". Even better, M Linden's bio at Organic.com tells us that he is a "frequent industry spokesman on trends in digital marketing, customer relationship management, social networking, and consumer empathy".

After the emperor has spent a bit more time in Second Life, perhaps he will enhance his image by securing a sequined codpiece than will put even Philip Linden to shame - what better way could there be to make the leadership hierarchy in the advertisland empire clear? But for now, the Herald suggests landowners take a go-slow approach in banning avatars in noobie clothes -- you wouldn't want to eject the emperor by mistake.

OFFICIAL: Second Life To Become Giant Advertisland

Unclear if Coke or Procter and Gamble will purchase avatar behavior patterns

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Any lingering doubts about the advertisland direction that Linden Lab has set for teh 3D Interwebs were erased last night when the new emperor of Second Life was named - Mr. Mark Kingdon, formerly of the e-vertising consulting firm Organic. The new emperor is to be referred to as “M Linden” - and is expected to rule Linden Lab and the virtual empire of “Second Life” with a firm yet benevolent hand starting May 15.

Mr. Kingdon’s qualifications appear to be related to pulling troubled media companies out of nearly fatal tailspins - if this this story from 2000 is any indication. Perhaps M Linden's tailspin reversal superpower has something to do with the Lab investor's enthusiasm. Outgoing king Philip Linden was effusive in his praise of the new emperor saying, “he will have an intense focus on improving the in-world experience and stability and reliability of Second Life”. A few older residents thought they might have heard that sort of promise nearly continuously for the last few years - but hope springs eternal.

However, Istar Writer raised questions about the gameplay in the new world order, saying, “So the head of a digital advertising agency will be the head of Linden Labs. Banner ads, targeted search, clickstream analysis, SL traffic analysis, are these coming to our SL world soon? (Cookies are already here unless you know to turn them off) Are my avatar’s behavior patterns going to be sold to Coke or Proctor and Gamble?”

Griefing Under the Old Regime

part 1: Reminiscing about days soon to be past

by d3adlyc0d3c, ex-griefer

Plastic Duck - a metaverse pioneer

I still stand by my belief that Philip cannot be blamed for all of the Chaos in Second Life. Linden Labs has had so much to do in the last few years trying to fix so many of the problems that naturally plague such a complex platform.

I think that any computer programmer can appreciate just how complex it would be to program an online world where millions of users can create content with a built in expansive and highly useful scripting language, a world where users can buy or rent land, sell items and have a permissions system, a world with decent graphics, so large that it runs on thousands of servers.

So here I'm not blaming Philip or the Lab for the griefing in Second Life. Here I am reminiscing about what it was like to grief in Second Life over the last few years, beginning with the history of the PN, W-hat, Plastic Duck and then ending with my own experiences. How griefing has evolved since Second Life was first established will be one of the main focuses of these pieces.

Because SL's history of griefing is so incredibly extensive we are introducing Griefing Under the Old Regime as a series instead of a single article.

There has been so many instances of griefing that one could write a book on the exploits of Plastic Duck alone, not to mention W-Hat as a whole, Woodbury University and The PN.

NASA Wants An MMO - For Free!

RFP asks developers to create a game for fun

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Friday, NASA released an RFP seeking a partner to help create a massively multiplayer online game to help teach science and engineering. The project has been seen as an exciting opportunity since it was initially announced in 2007 - a promised $3 million budget could have something to do that. The level of interest was such that rumors of over a hundred responses to an RFI issued in January of this year seem credible.

But joy in the metaverse development community was short-lived, after it was clear that NASA's MMO development partner is expected to create and maintain the MMO for free - or to use NASA's language a "non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement (defined as one with no exchange of funds)".

DiSSENTiON in SL

YouTube communique warns of asset server attacks and malicious code

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

A new griefing group - “DiSSENTiON” - released several YouTube videos over the last week illustrating new weapons testing on help island, and warning of “ushering a new era of chaos into the virtual world of Second Life as a result of Linden Lab's neglect towards it's customers”. This appears to be the same group that attacked the I-World island event for 30 minutes Saturday.

would you like some self replicating megacubes with your concert - or your Help island?

Hunter Talon Remembered

Our world loses a real superhero

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

I never knew Hunter Talon - a Justice League Unlimited (JLU) member who died last Thursday - but Tizzers Foxchase did, and took time from writing a farewell message for the JLU this evening to tell me about Hunter, and suggest that I talk to Fenix Harbinger. What I learned was that while SL has more than it’s share of faux drama, the impact of real life tragedy can put those petty concerns in perspective. Fenix Harbinger has been in contact with Hunter Talon’s sister who said,

“Hunter defied the odds and lived nearly 25 years with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare medical condition, when doctors predicted he wouldn't live past age 2. He lived each day with enthusiasm and accomplished so much in life, always with the desire to help others. In death he chose to donate his body for medical research with the hope that something might be learned about his disease. We would like to continue Hunter’s wish of helping others and have created a memorial fund for those that would like to contribute in Hunter’s name.”

Fenix Harbinger paused, then told me "there is more from her”

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

Peace March Saturday

straight talk about violence

by Jessica Holyoke

Drive By Agony along with The Blue Angel Police and Firefighters Memorial, victims of crime and concerned SL citizens, will hold a March for Peace  in SL April 19th at 1pm by marching on the Virtual Capitol Hill   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Capitol%20Hill%201/129/1/32 .  In conjunction with the march, a live music festival for peace will be held from Noon to 6pm SLT.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oleander/197/230/22

Carmen Gray organized Drive by Agony, an anti-violence group that started in the 1990's in Los Angeles.  Drive By Agony is a RL non-profit organization, that has helped over 75,000 youth since 1988.  Having offered anti-violence training to over 50,000 LA youth alone, she is fighting for Congressional Legislation to expand anti-violence training nationwide and worldwide, starting in SL.

Carmen Gray decided to bring her passion of educating the public about the affects violence has on communities, the health care system and victims of crime, and also to allow people that have been a victim or lost someone to violence the opportunity to talk about their feelings and share in a safe and friendly atmosphere and share with others that have gone through the same thing.  Many people have lost children in America to gun and other types of violence and this is also a way in which they can honor their child's memory.  I had two innocent son's murdered one in 1988 and another in 1992. Her real life name is Lorna Hawkins and her story has appeared in many media outlets.  She hopes to bring awareness about HR 3826 sponsored by Congressman Robert (Bobby) Scott from Virginia. The Youth Promise Act looks to reduce crime before it happens by investing in research based programs in the United States.  By holding the March for Peace in the Second Life world, she hopes to encourage people to write and call their Representatives in support of this bill.

SL Military : Divided

by Proteus Hand, war correspondent

Proteus Hand

For those of you who don't keep up with their events, there exist two treaties, the Ascendant Initiative, and the Iron Symphony. Most people will argue against this claim, but from what everyone seems to understand, the initial catalyst started when the Merczateers scripted together a riot shield. Upon testing it in the Alliance Navy headquarters, Dorien, without really any warning, the Alliance Navy considered it a shield, and sent a notice to the Mercz labeling them as a griefer military, and they had cleared tactics otherwise considered cheap and deplorable to be used against them.

Vehemently outraged by the insult, the Ordo Imperialis, Militant Collective, and Merczateers convened to collectively ban every member of the Alliance Navy, and let them fight either their allies, or smaller, less organized groups. Their intention was simply to never have to deal with the Alliance Navy's pomp and circumstance, and overwhelming firepower, but as a plus, many of them hope that the AN will atrophy into disarray and die.

Yet the Iron Symphony was countered by a similar move, hoping to solidify the current treaty which had been written by Alliance Navy personnel, STABLE, which was made in response to the failed Merczateer treaty, MOSCOW. (Past references from last year may be found on the Herald.) Flanking the Alliance Navy in friendship are the 39th and Sparta, among other small military groups who come and go.

I fumbled my trusty pen as my communicator flashed, and the shadowy face of Jim Herbst's gas-mask appeared before me. The wall behind him was a sandy brown, with caramel trim about the ceiling, floor, and his hair, a similar color, smoothly lined his well groomed head from underneath his cap of Admiralty. He nodded to me, tested his voice, which sounded oddly clear from behind a mask, and my interview with the Admiral began.

The Other World Kingdom

Be a pony slave to the ladies!

by Jessica Holyoke

What if I told you of a place where men are lead about on leashes, women are fully in charge and there is a local made up currency to use?  Now imagine that it is now in Second Life.

The Other World Kingdom, OWK, has been known in bondage/fetish circles for a number of years.  Started on June 1, 1996 in the Czech Republic, it is a resort, if you are into that type of thing, for those who believe in female supremacy and male submissiveness.   Male submissives and dominant women both go to enjoy a D/s life style in Real Life.  As part of the experience of being in a absolute monarchy and matriarchy with state slaves, the OWK uses the Dom as a currency, usable on the grounds and in the gift shop.

The OWK in SL started in the beginning of this year. The main difference between the RL and SL versions of the OWK is that female submissives are allowed on the Sim.  There are other differences such as a voted upon Queen with a three month term and a prison available to anyone, not just to OWK members.

Woodbury University Returns to SL!!!

Exclusive interview with Tizzers Foxchase

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Woodbury 3.0

Last July, Woodbury University’s educational sim was deleted from the metaverse in a controversial move by the Linden Lab governance team, and early this year Woodbury land group administrator Tizzers Foxchase was perma-banned from Second Life. However, Woodbury University is far from dead in Second Life - and today I visited “Woodbury 3.0” in IntLibber Brautigan's Friedman sim.

The new Woodbury site -- a quarter of the Friedman sim -- houses a virtual worlds class being held as part of the real life Woodbury’s course offerings. Breaking from the tradition of large, imposing pseudo-gorean university builds dominated by ivy covered clock towers, the bulk of the Woodbury building is actually underground with a meeting space, creatively decorated student dorm rooms, and some surprising /b/tard paraphernalia.

While taking pictures and exploring the educational space, I marveled at the sim's continuous soundtrack - you just can't hear "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley too many times. Discussion among the local residents centered around concerns about the serious business direction of Second Life.

Lab Discovers Secret to Stable Software - Unit Testing!

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Today, a reader pointed out an amazing innovation in software development being pioneered by the our friends in Linden Lab - the unit test. After years of something less than total grid stability, long term residents of the metaverse may have trouble believing that the game gods have an interest in fixing problems in the game - but based on a new series of avatar names released today it appears that the Lab is actually going to test the game a bit before inflicting it on the residents. Could this mean that someday MacBook Pros will not freeze every 20 minutes? Have the adults finally seized control inside the Lab?

http://www.slnamewatch.com/ tell an amazing tale of über hawt, sexy new last name options for SL residents, including UnitTestBribery, UnitTestParamilita, UnitTestMain, UnitTestWaffled, UnitTestComer, UnitTestCataloguin, UnitTestTopologica, UnitTestDisobliged, UnitTestBuckler. Perhaps the Lab has decided that fixing problems is more important than bright, shiny new features. On the other hand, the leakage of the internal test names suggests that the Lab might need to do a bit of unit testing on the avatar naming system itself, but the Herald is more than willing to put those concerns aside for now in the interest of getting former cheerleaders like Reuters to stop talking smack on SL stability.

UnitTest me baby!

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.

Second Life Sky Navy Sinking Fast

Fox Mainline destroys main SLSN group - Ethan Schuman currently sole leader of the resurrected SLSN
by Proteus Hand - War Correspondant

Mere fortnights ago, the Second Life Sky Navy met a disaster of proportions not seen in military scandals before. I logged on one morning, with an invitation to serve as OWNER of the SLSN, and was later notified that the leader, Steve319 Cao, had his account hacked, and his group destroyed before his very eyes. Many who found themselves calling this military home, as soldiers often do, watched in unfathomable horror as their exclusive equipment was wantonly distributed among the masses, by their gleefully saboteurs.

I was able to establish contact with a very old cohort of mine, Ethan Schuman, who seemed to be deeply involved with the SLSN cataclysm. It went rather well, interview is as follows :

LL Slashes Land Prices -- Landowners Scream In Pain

Early adopters may have difficulty recovering investments

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Buy now before the price drop! USD$1650 sims to be USD$1000 by the end of the month.

Today, Jack Linden announced significant price cuts in new virtual land created by Linden Lab as part of it’s Second Life entertainment product. Previously, a simulated region of 65,535 m2 of mainland was offered at auction starting at USD $1250, but going forward, one sim of imaginary land assets will be placed on auction starting at USD $750 - a price drop of 40%. As of the end of this month, new islands will be available at the Linden Land Store for USD$1000 - currently islands are priced at $1675.

While initial purchase prices were slashed, the ongoing fees to retain “ownership” of the e-land are not affected - leading observers to speculate that Linden Lab is forgoing some immediate revenue to secure more monthly land tier payments.

Reaction to the move was swift, vigorous, and divided between the landless fanboi contingent and current landowners. Those who have purchased land are understandably concerned that a significant portion of their investment has been wiped out - literally overnight. A few residents suggested that this is another pre-IPO buff-’n-shine job similar to the notorious trademark controversy -- benefitting the Lab at the expense of it’s most loyal customers.

'Cos I Am Beautiful

How to win friends and influence avatars

by Aloe Stradling

Okay, you're new in SL, and hot to trot. You explored around a bit, mastered the controls, and are ready to find a date. Or maybe just a playmate. You wander from sim to sim, wading through crowds of people, until someone catches your eye. Gasp of shock and awe! He or she is beautiful! Perfect hair, sexy eyes, clad in a hot fashion, just generally gets the juices flowing, and the mind turning to thoughts of.... interaction.

Your approach is friendly and polite, not acting like an overeager horny noob, You tell them how attractive they are, make small talk, and move in for the kill.....only to be shot down. Maybe they're nice about it, maybe they're rude, but, the end result is the same -- rejection. They stroll off, possibly saying something like 'Not into noob look', leaving you hurt and neglected, and wondering what was up. You're smart, witty, friendly, and all around charismatic. You weren't rude or obnoxious, and your pickup lines were flawless. You've been snubbed, all because they had to be a self absorbed egotist! Lousy rotten vain shallow....

But wait! Hold it right there, new SL denizen! There is a double standard at work here. Settle down and think a moment, about why you approached that one in the first place. Yeah. Because they looked just right. Because they stood out in the sea of sameness. Remember. You are a special and unique individual with many shining qualities. You are spectacular, never forget that. But, to that person who was so blind to all your charms - well, you were just another noob in the starter T-shirt and jeans. Before you run off to cut yourself, listen to Linken Park, and write about that horrible person in your blog, stop and think. That person invested some time into looking the way they do. Can you really blame them for expecting the same in turn?

Firewalled Corporate SL Raises TOS Questions

Are we all playing by the same rules?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Last weekend while selling Sanchon and Jinsil sims and tiering down - a trademark protest - I accidentally dropped my iMojo wire on the marble floor. I’m afraid this means another trip to the Apple Genius Bar -- “hey genius, can you fix this?” But I must be lucky, because the iMojo’s insistence on displaying nothing but the Second Life Terms of Service document forced me to read the TOS carefully.

The TOS is an amazing document - granting the Lab a “worldwide, fully paid-up, transferable, irrevocable, royalty-free and perpetual License ... to use your Content for all purposes within the Service”. Of course, you still own your work - you just don’t have any control over how LL uses it - and use it they will.

Fascinating patterns emerge when you connect the dots between the TOS, bait and switch trademark policies, congressional cream puff hearings, and the announced IBM/LL corporate firewalled Second Life. Some might even suspect that IBM's lawyers and PR people are calling the shots now - or do the Lab's investors have enough pull to get congress to act like a lap dog?

While congress was supine, the media has little to brag about - overlooking the fact that the Lab can bundle any and all user-created content with their new corporate Second Life product - and owe the content creators nothing. Is this a selling point for the new firewalled SL?

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]

Inside "Your World, Your Imagination"

Congressional avatars -- shocking video tells the tale?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

A friend pointed out this video, and I can't help but wonder - could this be one of the members of congress who was lofting marshmallows to Philip Linden at the April 1st PR event U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing? From what I saw of the hearings, some congressmen who ought to know better may have started to go native. Thank goodness there aren't any serious real life problems for congress to address right now.

However - even if politics make strange bedfellows - this sort of thing might be better behind the corporate firewall. Just ask IBM.

You are teh sexx!

Enclosure of the Metaverse

Special rules for select corporate partners?

by Forelle Broek

Seconded Life foot-in-mouth disease

Linden Lab and IBM have reportedly entered into a joint venture "to create an enterprise-class version of Second Life behind a corporate firewall." The news comes on the heels of the latest in-world protests by IBM employees over the company's outsourcing of work. I have to wonder whether the ability to insulate IBM's Second Life presence from such activity is a motivating factor in the decision to create a walled-off environment.

Whatever the specific impetus, this move by Linden Lab and IBM illustrates an issue that SL Left Unity plan to highlight in the coming months: the corporate enclosure of cyberspace. Like the land enclosures in 15th-19th century England, the contemporary enclosures of virtual space constitute a massive transfer of common space from popular usage to private control, further enriching already powerful corporations at the expense of ordinary people.

Linden Lab's recent unilateral and controversial imposition of "branding" guidelines -- which enable Linden Lab to leverage their brand equity (to parrot the prevailing corporate jargon) at the expense of the SL residents whose activity has built that brand -- is but one instance of this broader process. In this regard, it is worth noting that IBM does not appear to be in compliance with Linden Lab's new guidelines. The IBM website, for example, invites "you to visit us in Second Life and to read more about our work in virtual worlds by downloading our brochure." Under the new guidelines, the invitation should be to "visit us in the Second Life® virtual world ...." I guess Linden Lab's corporate partners aren't bound by the same rules that apply to mere avatars.

Second Life’s Military Has One Epic Party

Militias turn off damage, perform Russian dances

by Vegna Fouroux, war correspondent

The epic begins with dancing to "In the Navy"

On one bright Sunday morning I was wandering round an empty Dismal Plunge, bored. I got a mysterious tp from a friend of mine, Darakon. He proclaimed that LawrenceJoseph Roffo was steadily building a massive russian dance-off. Now many of you may know LJ from his time in the Alliance Navy, the Merczateers or Vanguard armed forces. I accepted the tp for the sheer randomness of it all. When I arrived there was 5 guys kneeling down performing Russian dances to music coming from Lawrence's mic. After a while I left, a good time had by all.

About 4 hours later Sasuke Undercity a fellow soldier in the Militant Collective begin tp-ing us into a party. The same Russian dance. Lawrence and the fellow host Jumanji Hatfield had taken over 2142's base. LordBob Boa and James Benedek had been kind enough to turn off damage for the party. What had started as 3 guys messing around in some island (Xyekep, Lawrence Joseph and Jumanji) had developed into an epic military function; with AN, Mercz,The Fabled of Arkhein, MC, 2142 and even a few spartans were present. TP's were offered to Jim Herbst admiral of the Alliance Navy but they were declined.

At one point there must have been at least 40-50 people in Metropole Extreme North (videos of the party courtesy of Darakon Kayvon and eye korobasa).

Arkhein -- SL Combat's Breath Of Fresh Air

Darakon Kayvon not fighting A.I and Iron "Axis of Emo" Symphony factions - yet

by Vegna Fouroux, war correspondent

Arkhein's Xyekep Richez and Proteus Hand

For several months now combat in Second Life has been at a deadlock, with the militaries of the Iron Symphony slowly phasing out their fights with the militaries of Ascendant Initiative. Its been all very boring and sluggish with little fighting or as Christoph Naumova put it "leaders hiding behind their banlines."

Recently a friend of mine, Proteus Hand decided he was going to start his own military, The Fabled of Arkhein. A Norse-themed group, Arkhein has been growing steadily over the past month. I decided to stop by their sim Prometheus and talk to the lads who started it all.

I first talked with Darakon Kayvon, the man who used to head up arkhein's heavy support division; Biorn and now oversees Arkhein's general operation when Proteus or Avil Creegan (the other leader in the group, a former top man in the Alliance Navy and known sandwich enthusiast) aren't online.

Vegna Fouroux: So, firstly; why did you decide to join Arkhein?
Darakon Kayvon: Well, it was the time when i had joined forces with the Sky Raider's with Trazen Vendetta, and was crucified by Aduro Nightfire AKA Jasyn Shepherd. Proteus came into the Sky Raider's as a personnel as well as a big assistant. He told me of his Plans for the Arkhein, which matched my ideals very much. Proteus made me an Arkhein member since near enough the beginning of the re-creation of the Sky Raiders, now known as Hyperius Tactical Forces.

Vegna Fouroux: Ah yes, Trazen is banned now i believe, after hacking SLSN leader Steve319 Cao's account. I believe you've chosen to ally yourself with Vanguard Armed Forces. Now many would regard Vanguard with distaste to say the least. Can I ask you why you have done this?
Darakon Kayvon: Proteus presented the alliance to Christoph first. But what we do know is that Christoph has lived up to the Alliance as well as the rest of Vanguard. We find them as skilled fighters, led by a nutter of a leader thus they make good ally's rather than enemies. Vanguard have one of the best obstacle course's i've ever seen.

Beware of Uncontrolled Kiosks

Relay For Life in SL committee warns against scams

by Jessica Holyoke

The Relay For Life in SL committee is starting an awareness campaign regarding other kiosks being sold in SL that are not under the control of the RFL in SL committee. These vendors are promising a 5% cut to the purchaser of anything that is donated via the unofficial kiosk. By doing so, the unofficial kiosk is breaking US law regarding charitable donations.

While the American Cancer Society, the organization in charge of Relay for Life, and the Lindens are looking into the situation, the RFL in SL committee would like residents to keep the following in mind:

Anyone who wants to be involved with fundraising for the ACS and RFL in SL, must use the official scripted vendors. These vendors are scripted so that the monies never stay in them for more then 5 minutes, and 100% of the funds go directly to the ACS fund. Anyone wishing to verify deposits into the ACS funds can contact Fayandria Foley, Jade Lily, or RC Mars.

Jimbo "Hair" Quality and the *Lash All-Niter* Hair Story

How Bub Linden got free prim hair for the noobies

by Jimbo Quality

In fifty or sixty years, when the people living now are either dead or too daft to argue, historians will start chewing on this time period and work it up into a nice smooth bolus for mankind to digest. Whatever conclusions they draw, however, will be wrong, because one of the most important political developments of the year went unheralded. It also went un-Secondlifeheralded- that is, this paper didn't record it.

I speak of course of the demise of my campaign for president of Second Life. The Herald sent representatives to my press conference, but nary a peep has been published. [Jimbo's press conference was held at the Herald Office, we were already there, and he mostly spent the time comparing butts with Tenshi, but Tenshi won - the Editrix]. Take a look, I announced the end of my campaign months ago, and in the time since the American economy has tanked, crops have failed and locusts and tornadoes have sprung up. The Herald's much lauded political bureau missed the most important political story of the year, so I've come back to right a wrong.

Jimbo Quality walking the earth

I wandered the grid lo these many months, like that kick ass kung-fu guy in that show, only much tougher. In fact, I was thinking how much cooler I am than that guy, especially now that he's selling telephone books. I mean telephone books, WTF? Who couldn't sell them? They're free.

Second Life Ballet Leaders Reject New TOS

inSL™ logo program already helping simplify, stabilize virtual world

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

TOS and trademark controversy hit the arts in SL

As suggested earlier, the inSL™ logo and trademark program can simplify residents’ choices -- early signs are quite encouraging. For instance, Espresso and Inarra Saarinen decided for legal reasons that they cannot agree to the new Terms of Service for Second Life, and so will not log into the virtual world.

This reduces stress on Second Life’s infrastructure, and more importantly, keeps Second Life Ballet performances from creating any sort of lag or distraction. Without performances, Sidewinder Linden and Pathfinder Linden - two people I have run into at the ballet - will have more time for, well, something or other. Making plywood cubes, perhaps.

I conducted an e-mail interview with Espresso Saarinen to get a better sense of how the new trademark policy will affect the arts and “your world, your imagination” going forward. Espresso replied:

"Look at mixi (*the* social web site here in japan). They did an aggressive TOS/trademark thing. The users objected. Mixi heard their users and fixed it. Instead of making war with their user base, they made an alliance, and guess what, the user base became their ally and the community became larger and more vital."

"If Linden Lab really believes the smoke they blow about user-created content and so forth, perhaps this should ring a big red alarm. The trademark noise will blow back to the whole TOS mess, and the TOS is an amazing, and should be embarrassing, aggressive document, giving the users nothing - a one way deal."

LL Introduces “inSL”™

A striking new logo that supports the community and ensures platform stability

by Maximilian Proto, Department of Inner Beauty and Contemplation

Are you inSL™?

Long overdue and demanded by countless residents, Linden Lab introduced a new set of rules for residents and other people on the use of the company’s trademarks earlier this week. Much-lauded by numerous blogs, Linden Lab’s move highlights the company’s strong commitment to its customer base and is the latest in a series of strategic decisions to successfully ensure the future stagnation of its virtual world.

A cornerstone was the introduction of an astonishingly creative new logo that is already said to have a place among the masterpieces of commercial branding.

Replacing the iconic “eye-in-hand” that gained widespread recognition, the “inSL” logo consists in its basic form of an exciting mixture of white minuscule and majuscule letters forming the mysterious string “inSL” embraced by a puddle of vibrant teal.

The letters are complemented on the left by a dramatic angular white shape whose upper wing caressingly overarches the minuscule letters “in” – a careful arrangement that not only gives the sublime impression of a mother protecting its children but also serves as a playful yet archetypal reference to primitives, the building blocks of Second Life.

Pièce de résistance is the lower edge of the white area that impishly breaks the harmony of the rounded corner rectangle implying the power of imagination that is poised to leap beyond conventional boundaries into the unknown.

We Are Freak! We Buy Land!

Bots crush humans in land competition -- L$1 mainland gone in under 10 seconds

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

A friend has been holding one of the most inconvenient bits of virtual land imaginable - a 576 m2 diamond-shaped sliver of land on an extremely steep underwater hillside located in the Torch mainland sim. As part of the Second Life Herald's scientific study of metaverse economies, we decided to run a small experiment to see if automated land arbitrage was as brutally effective as say, snuffing out a candle with a hurricane. Good news - it is!

Less then 10 seconds after setting the land for sale at L$1, the Freak Bot Land group had taken possession. Studying the profiles of the new owners, I felt confident that would put this little slice of paradise to good use - perhaps a commercial ad farming operation would help grow the in-world economy? Clearly, this sort of market discipline is the future of the 3D Internet - never mind the humans residents.

Freak Bot Land group makes sure your L$1 land is gone in under 10 seconds

I wondered how long it would take for the robotic invisible hand of the market to improve the user experience in Torch - and the answer was quick to appear. In a few minutes the land was back on the market for L$9999. Certainly the dueling scripters are enjoying their landbot competition, but this sort of botplay might put off some would-be land owners. Could botplay account for the stagnant growth in premium accounts - the supposed stable middle class of the metaverse?