Second Life Herald

Op/Ed: New 'Corporate SL' - Ominous Sign of Things to Come?

Losing faith in Second Life

by d3adlyc0d3c, ex-griefer

I was recently banned from Second Life (again) where I had an account as Adromor Wierwight for a period of 3 months. During this time I established a company called 'Pomilio Enterprises' where I saw some success as an SL business person raking in over 34k Lindens in the first month of operation without paying a single dime out of pocket. When I was banned I had four stores across the grid and had all of my products listed on OnRez and Apez.

I made some friends of former enemies, established valuable business contacts, befriended employees of Linden Lab and of course made a few new enemies. A few weeks ago that ended when Harry Linden was assigned the task of processing a frivolous AR that had been filed on me. When he discovered my identity (presumably from chat logs on the server) I was immediately perma-banned.

I had correspondence with some LL executives and I promised that as much as I hated this I would keep secret some of the controversial things that happened during my short time as 'CEO' of 'Pomilio Enterprises' and that I wouldn't be bothering to return to SL after having spent so much time developing my inventory just to be banned as soon as business began picking up. I promised them this and I pleaded for them to listen to reason to prevent the stagnation of this platform.

I still feel a bit nostalgic when I read the Herald or think about SL. I like Second Life a lot but I hate what is happening here. I have heard the cries of the 'end is near' for a good while now and never paid them much attention. I had always thought that it was coming from people who just didn't understand how complex a platform like Second Life would be to perfect.

Op/Ed: The Point of View Inside SLLU

by Plot Tracer

What sort of world would we live in if place names were trademarked? What sort of world would we live in where we could be banned for saying the wrong thing - for speaking against the government, or be banned for whatever takes the whim of those who wield power? The world George Orwell predicted in 1984 where even the language of oppression has been changed to the language of freedom. Freedom is Slavery. Your world, your imagination – when it isn't – really.

A world were what we do is for the self aggrandizement of those who sit on committees and reap all the benefits of those who are artistic/productive/trusting. Apartheid South Africa? Nope. The US? Hopefully not. Think of a world were we readily give our personal details and preferences and sexual mores to those in authority without question. Think of a world with an unelected clique controlling it. Think of a world in which the "owners" are always right and can terminate the existence of people identified as unpersons.

What sort of world has principles claiming it is "based on a belief that innovative success stems from self-directed creation, collaboration, and openness. Like the Second Life world, Linden Lab is built on a non-hierarchical system which fosters and rewards creativity, individual initiative, and interactive participation." and "Never act to advance your own interests or someone else's interests at the expense of the interests of the company. This is the one principle, outside of violations of law, for which violation will likely result in immediate termination."

Op/Ed: d3adlyc0d3c for CEO of Linden Labs

A perma-banned griefer's perspective on Labs leadership changes

by d3adlyc0d3c, ex-griefer

As many of you are aware CEO Philip Rosedale has just announced his intention to step down as CEO of Linden Lab. This is big news for all of us. Admittedly, upon hearing the news I expected to see widespread panic and predictions of economic collapse. Though it may still be too early to tell, I am pleasantly surprised that instead of the usual chicken little cries that 'the sky is falling' I am actually seeing a lot of optimism.

Personally, I am in agreement with most of these reports. Mr. Rosedale's stepping down does indeed seem to open many doors for the company and the platform it has created. Mr. Rosedale is a visionary to be sure and a very talented engineer.

Despite what critics may say he has succeeded where many individuals have failed. Sure there are problems, this happens, and in a world as expansive as Second Life its insane to think it would be any other way. I'm positive that at some point LL can and will improve stability. I know it has likely been very difficult for Mr Rosedale, a man seeing that his creation, his vision, his dream that is so very important to him needs the management of someone else in order to continue to survive.

How many here would trust their dreams and their life's work to another? Are we really justified in stamping our feet so impatiently thinking that this should have been done so long ago? Is this a reasonable expectation?

Op/Ed: Linden Empire in Jeopardy???

by Barbie Starr, SL and RL Dominatrix

Build an empire. They will follow. Lead the lost souls to the light. A Master's dream to have his harem at his feet doing his bidding.The goals, the dreams, the future. Then - LIGHTS OUT - The Master is gone!

Philip Linden, the King of Linden Lab, a God in the eyes of many in our small, yet very large, metaverse, is now coming down to earth and taking a seat next to everyone else. No one can replace anyone in this world. Not in any walk of life. We are all individuals. The Founder of Second Life will always be the founder, and in many hearts and minds he cannot be replaced by another. Let's talk seriously about this.

Take a look at anyone who is in a leadership position. God/Goddess, Kings/Queens, Master/Mistress, Boss, Religions Leaders… they all have followers. What happens when one of these people die? Everyone MOURNS. What happens when a King goes to battle with his Gladiator slaves? The King is protected, sure, but what if they fail to protect him? He dies! Do these people feel grief? Yes. So much that it could kill any faith or hope inside them to continue with anything that that King may have wanted to pursue.

Will Philip give up his bear to a new Governor? Or will he stay Governor Linden?

Op/Ed: A Year In the PN Without Breaking the ToS

Griefers are better than cybersex addicts

by Alyx Stoklitsky, ex-PN member

TL;DR version: Yes, that's right – I was a member of the Patriotic Nigras for over a year. Sure, I was only along for the ride – little more than a spectator and cheerleader for them - never an active nigra as I never did any griefing that broke ToS (hence my 2+ year old account), but I was there.

If you're surprised by any of this, you shouldn't be: I've been “hiding in plain sight”: I have never actually denied my PN membership, and indeed, have openly admitted it to various Lindens - who told me that being a member of the Patriotic Nigras was fine so long as I didn't break ToS.

I had to give a hearty guffaw at that one, indeed.

Even though the PN seem to think I'd honestly betray them and turn furfag after all this time (lol, the usual witch hunt), I view them in a favourable light: they are as much a part of the internet and SL as anyone else.

Op/Ed: The Problem with China

by Jessica Holyoke

I was reading on the BLT, the Blog of the Legal Times, about a mainland Chinese human rights lawyer who was beaten by police due to his advocacy for residents campaigning against a high tech railroad that would cut through middle class areas. In reading about Zheng Enchong, I was reminded about the ongoing struggles around me regarding what to do to help Chinese dissidents.

Back in August, Prokofy Neva reported in these pages that he attempted to persuade Phillip Rosedale to never turn over dissident information. Rosedale waffled on that point and did not make a commitment. There was an ensuing forum war mostly between myself and Prokofy regarding what should a corporation do in case of being requested to turn over dissident information.

The most public example of an internet company turning over dissident information is Yahoo in the case of Xiaoning et al v. Yahoo! Inc. et al. . Filed in Federal court in the Northern District of California, Wang Xiaoning, his wife and another journalist sued Yahoo because the Yahoo subsidiary based in Hong Kong turned over that information. After court documents were filed and Congressional hearings were held in Washington, D.C., where Yahoo's President and General Counsel were made to apologize to the Plaintiffs, Yahoo settled the case. But after all that happened, only 20% of Yahoo's shareholders voted to change Yahoo's policy so that this never happens again.

Op/Ed: Why Releasing Server Code is A Terrible Idea

by d3adlyc0d3c, ex-griefer

For awhile now rumors have been circulating that Linden Labs has been considering open sourcing their server/grid code, a welcome idea for many. While some residents see this as an opportunity for freedom, to break away from the 'establishment', I see this very differently.

Releasing the server code will result in a final blow to the in-world economy. This act will lead to certain individuals finding even more ways to circumvent digital rights management and permissions system including stealing scripts - something residents have not had to worry about for the most part.

Individuals could log conversations of enemies that are connected to their server and use this information against them. This is a grave threat to privacy and security across the metaverse.

Had it not been for the fact that the client code was released I would never have found the security holes that I found shortly after leaving the PN. I fear that many people will find similar holes, some of even greater magnitude, if the server code is made public.

Op/Ed: I Hate It Here - Get Off My e-Lawn!

by Splatter Gomorrah, reasonable resident

Today I went for a little walk on the mainland. I stumbled on large herds of new users fresh from their education, newbie skin shining in the sunlight which glinted off their system hair as they tried to walk. Clean and fresh-faced, they were; just like the Mormons who try to sell me Watchtowers on a weekly basis.

The new generation, I thought, I must reach out and impart my great knowledge about this new world.

“Hello, new users! I have been here for many years and can teach you all about the amazing things you can do with Second Life. I will answer all of your questions and help you begin creative and fulfilling Second Lives!” I then began locating helpful notecards in my inventory.

My generous offer was greeted with five requests for sex, seven requests for money and three requests for information on where to get free money. One of them simply drooled on my shoe.

Is this the future of Second Life? THIS? People who care only about quick cash and cyber-rutting? Have we suddenly become a culture of lazy, drunken frat boys with one hand on our dicks and the other held out for Daddy’s money?

Op/Ed: SL- What Went Wrong & How Do We Fix It?

2007 was a difficult year for Second Life. 2008’s not looking much better.

by Deltango Vale

The establishment of anonymous accounts in June 2006 opened the doors to underage players. This resulted in international legal scrutiny, increased exposure to legal liability and damaging media coverage. Linden Lab responded by intruding into residents’ sexual relationships and expelling two consenting adults for underage roleplay - even though no underage players were involved. Refusal to close the anonymous accounts and dogged insistence on an ineffective and unsound ID-based age verification system cost Linden Lab considerable political capital with no benefit. ID-based age verification is no better at screening underage players than credit-card verification, nor is it more ‘fair’. It rarely works for residents outside their home jurisdictions and, in many countries, it may not even be legal.

While anonymous accounts may have launched Second Life’s dramatic growth phase (October 2006 to June 2007), failure to formulate a land management strategy resulted in a speculative bubble as Linden Lab first starved and then flooded the mainland market. Islands ceased to be an attractive alternative when LL raised tier charges from $195 to $295 early in the cycle. Worst affected were the very residents who comprised the growth phase. The unexpected policy reversal on gambling in July further undermined Linden Lab’s credibility. Growth stopped. Premium accounts and total hours remained flat throughout the second half of 2007.

The overnight imposition of VAT (15-25% sales tax) on European residents (40% of SL’s population) in September not only trashed European landowners, but it caused considerable friction between European and North American residents as Linden Lab, a supposedly global company, began charging based on regional factor prices. It also led to the crazy situation whereby European landowners (some owning dozens of islands) who shifted their tier to North American business partners lost access to Live Chat support.

Op/Ed: Standing United in the Virtual War On Griefer Terrorism!

Residents way of life, under attack by virtual terrorist acts

by Maximilian Proto, concerned resident

Good evening.

Our fellow residents, our way of life, our very freedom are under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims are in clubs, or in their houses; dancers, content creators, businessmen and women; family, friends and neighbors. Thousands of second lives are thrown in peril by evil, despicable acts of terror.

The pictures of Super Mario particles flying all over sims, lolcubes bouncing, avatars orbiting, huge megaprims blocking our land, are filling us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass griefing are intended to frighten our virtual world into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our world is strong.

Great residents are moving to defend our great world. Griefing attacks can shake the foundations of our most popular regions, but they cannot touch the foundation of Second Life. These acts shattered prims, but they cannot dent the grid of residents’ resolve.

Second Life is targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity for all virtual worlds. And no one will keep that light from shining.

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).

Op/Ed: Exposed & Shamed, SL Banking Silently Slinks Away

by Victoria Wheeler

invest make believe money in make believe hot companies?

Without much fanfare, Linden Labs announced on January 8, 2008 that any Second Life banking and investment business which might, "offer interest or any direct return on an investment" in ANY currency, would be prohibited from doing so as of January 22, unless these activities were performed by an organization with, "proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter". This policy decision followed the past few years maelstrom of SL bank closings about which most of us have heard, and through which many SL residents have suffered.

The sad fact is virtually all such SL financial 'institutions' were ineptly run at best, Ponzi schemes at worst, and largely the worst case. Although some SL banks being run by financiers with real world creds, and tossing out enough jargon to impress a B-school grad, the bottom line is - Second Life financial trading and banking in particular, has been a bad investment.

One wonders what was behind some of the banks that went under, and I'd like to offer some small insight from personal experience.

Last year this time, I was hired as a freelance writer by a person who owned a reasonably successful SL bank, as they began to launch SL real estate ventures, primarily 'planned residential communities'. They intended to 'go public', which means to offer shares in their firm for investment by any interested parties. This is done through one of the SL stock exchanges. A company publishes it's business plan (called a prospectus), offers a number of shares for sale, then sits back while the shares are purchased by investors, or not.

Op/Ed: The Herald's PN (Prokofy Neva) Outreach Program

by Ms. Sautereau

No, you read that right. It's not sarcasm or a joke. This is legitimate, Though I don't expect much.

I'll be honest, I don't like Prok. He's everything I almost was when I started here, and am still often accused of. Looking at Prok is an uncomfortable mirror of what I could have been if I hadn't had a number of things to divert me from his path. Plus he thinks everything anyone does on SL is calculated to affect him and him alone, bullies anyone who points out his issues, and is so exceedingly paranoid he makes Kal look more Scully than Mulder.

But not everyone hates Prok. I'm told he was once respected, maybe even looked up to. He has his defenders, few though they are. Granted most people think those are just aliases of his, but on that I'll give him the benefit of the doubt since I know how it feels to be accused of having alts to defend you like sheep.

However, more telling is that even among those who "Poke Prok" as the term seems to have become, there are those who do still care about him and want him to get help. Someone actually IM'd me in-world Monday asking me to make a Poke Prok teeshirt with the picture of his RL typist from WIRED magazine on the back. I declined

Op/Ed: Privacy Please

by Jessica Holyoke

When talking about avatar or human rights, one right that is often ignored is the right to privacy. While this right led to reproductive rights in the US, its erosion in the virtual world needs to be halted.

Privacy policies usually revolve around the use and sale of personal information. And Linden Lab has such a policy where they will not sell your personal information unless they go bankrupt. Then your information is an asset to be sold. http://secondlife.com/corporate/privacy.php

But this is not the main assault on privacy. The privacy of our electronic communications is not protected. In the US, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Stored Communications Act both protect privacy, but that protection can be waived.  Second Life, There, World of Warcraft and certain aspects of Yahoo all ask that this protection is waived.  The businesses mentioned retain the right to monitor and record communications for law enforcement requests, business reasons, fraud prevention, abuse report follow-up and other reasons.  Red Light Center goes one better and says that no communication is private, but that they will not go through what is recorded without good reason. 

Op/Ed: Religion In Second Life -- A Quick Aside

Is virgins recruiting at the Little Red Mosque and slaughtering lambs in the bathtub SL hate speech?

by Ms. Sautereau

the Little Red Mosque

While I haven't gotten enough time with Muslim SL'ers to write a full article on Islam, I did, in my searches, stumble across what could be construed as proof that Linden Labs doesn't particularly care about enforcing it's own rules. I'm pretty sure there's something in the TOS against blatant hate speech, or suchlike. Yet the first entry that came up when I searched for Mosque disturbed me.

Tucked away beside a store that sells grotesquely deformed celebrity caricature avatars in the CARICAVATARS sim is a place called the Little Red Mosque, and it's purpose seems solely to attack the Muslim religion. It seems to focus on the fanaticism of a few terrorists and extremists and judge the entire faith based on said few nutjobs. Like most hate speech, it judges a whole group on the merits of a small percentage of it's members.

Op/Ed: Pumping Up Supply Linden

GOM Part II

by Jessica Holyoke

Substantial Risks to the SL Economy.  That's the reason Ken D Linden gave when he wrote the blog post banning interest and rate of return investing in SL. But banks and stock exchanges pump money through an economy.  By allowing people to invest in these two services, the economy grows, either through new businesses started or land being purchased.  Perhaps the SL Economy is not what we think it is, but what Linden Lab needs it to be.

A few weeks back, I wrote an article about microeconomics in MMO's.  Most of the responses showed interest in SL on a macroeconomic scale.   Some commenter's also pointed out that in the real world, printing up currency is an inflationary move.  More dollars or deutsch marks in circulation means that they are worth less than before.   Supply Linden does not work the same way.  He does not print up Lindens out of whole cloth, he sells them.   By doing so, Supply Linden creates a deflationary pressure on the economy.  By keeping the market flooded with Lindens, the value of the Linden dollar does not rise over a certain point when there are more buyers of Lindens then there are sellers.  If the exchange rate is 269L per dollar, then a scarcity of Lindens could mean an exchange rate of 250L per dollar.  This effectively raises prices for US residents and lowers in-world wages for everyone.  Additionally, Supply Linden generates revenue.  Each purchase of Linden dollars is straight revenue. Higher prices may discourage purchasing on the Grid and users purchasing Lindens.

Op/Ed: Financial Myth Busting Edition

by Jessica Holyoke

In my time at the Herald, I've seen bank failures, aborted mergers, strange actions by the stock exchanges and company failures.   I've also experienced first-hand what happens when residents believe that we're in a "virtual economy" or "fictional economy."  Residents subscribe to a number of myths that affect how they view everything around them.

It's a Virtual Economy

Many residents view the in-world economy as a virtual one.  A fictional economy is what the WSE describes what we are doing, most likely for legal reasons in Australia.  Just calling our economy fictional or virtual does not make it so.  We, as residents, buy and sell real things.  It is just that these real things are represented more by electrons then atoms.  These items we buy and sell are as real as software, pictures, stock options or futures.  I really own a SexGen bed.  I really own various dance programs.  I really paid someone to have a logo made in SL.  I don't fictionally own objects and items.

When Ted Castronova wanted to study a virtual economy, he decided against using Second Life.  A number of people thought that was foolish because SL already has an economy.  But SL is not like other MMO economies for two reasons; the LindeX makes asset prediction impossible and residents do not make predictable economic choices. 

Op/Ed: Why I'm not looking forward to OpenSim

by Jessica Holyoke

I was sitting in Robin's office hours and looking around. I came to the realization that I am not looking forward to OpenSim. 

OpenSim is the eventual program where the Grid All Hail the Mighty Grid exists as a centralized land.  Instead of everyone coming into Linden Lab's jurisdiction, residents can host their own servers/land that are branches off of the Grid.  Supporters of the idea argue that if a resident does not like Linden Lab policy, wait to host your own land and you can do what you want.  So if you like gambling, build a server that's not hosted in the United States. (Even though that does not take care of the payment issues that was part of the reasoning behind the gambling ban.  The Credit Card companies had as much an impact on the Lab banning gambling as US law.) 

But instead of opening up our shared internet experience, OpenSim promises to sequester us more.  The Goreans will be on their own servers.  The Furries will have their own lands, which may be separate from the Babyfurs.  The business people, the fashionistas, the licentious, the educators can all be sectored off in their own areas.

In many ways, SL is already sequestered, even if you don't fall into one of the sub-cultures mentioned above.  If you don't make the effort, you can see the same people day in and day out.  You don't know about the Turk that's studying astronomy in Greece.  You don't discover the Spaniard that's lost his way in a house store.  You don't find out about the people who decided to create a motorcycle gang in a land where you don't need motorcycles.  The people that go to technical office hours, hang out at Bondage Playground or want to recreate a caliphate are hidden if you stay on your own little plot of land, which can be good or bad depending on your point of view. 

Open Letter To SL from Morden Winkler

To: Second Life
From: An Angry Canadian SL user
Re: Age Verification

For ALL Canadians, the proposed new age-verification system for Second Life is a complete failure and possibly ILLEGAL under Canadian law. Here's why:

Integrity CANNOT VERIFY YOUR AGE using your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or your passport number, and in fact, it is probably illegal for them to do so under Canada's privacy act. Canadians can actually make a formal complaint to the federal government about companies asking for these numbers, and I'm sure you'll be getting a few of those.

Check for yourself if you don't believe me:

SIN: 1-800-206-7218 (Option 3 for SIN)
Passport Canada: 1-800-567-6868

Op/Ed: Babyfurs - Gross Anarchy With Diapers

by Righteous Yaffle, disgusted resident and reformed griefer

You can do pretty much anything you want in Second Life - the only limit is your imagination, but it is time someone spoke out about an issue that affects all of us - ageplay - and something far worse: babyfurs.

In case you're new to the internet, you might not know what a babyfur is. These are not just furries, which are bad enough, but they also role play underage fur sex. What kind of sick person wants to be a babyfur?

For some reason, babyfurs seem exempt to the ageplay rules of Second Life. Why is that though? Does it have to do with the fact that those who come to Second Life to live out their wildest fantasies and spend upwards of thousands of dollars (seriously) receive immunity from the Lindens? It looks to me like large landowners are paying the Lab off by way of their land purchases.

Op/Ed: Feted, Fussing, and Fuming

LL shows how not to run a press conference - and co-opt a noisy critic

by Jessica Holyoke, post-Prokofy FIC watch bureau

On Monday, the Lindens held their first in-world press conference and the Herald, being at the forefront of Metaverse media coverage was there to cover it all.   Except we weren't.

The Saga for me started at the Robin Linden Office hours of November 20th.  Its been some time since I had a chance to go to one of these meetings.  I sat down and Robin asked if anyone was from the Press.  I took it as nothing significant because Robin once told Eric Reuters from Reuters at an office hour that these events were *not* a press conference and the hard hitting questions would not be answered.  But the office hour is when Robin revealed that there would be in-world press conferences with the SL media invited.  I asked if Prokofy was invited and was told yes.  I asked if the Herald was invited and was told yes, they were.  Too bad the Herald editors - Urizenus Sklar, Walker Spaight, and Pixeleen Mistral - couldn't find any invitations 

The Lindens have decided to restrict in-world press access to either Lewis PR or these upcoming press conferences.  I found this out by reading Prokofy Neva's personal e-mail - posted on his newspaper, the Second Life Record.  The post in question is called "Lindens are Circling the Wagons."  (Protip: if Prokofy talks to you in any way or form, or if you e-mail him, he'll keep an SL Record of it, so that he can quote you out of context at a later date.)

Op/Ed: Defensiveness, Insecurity, and Walking Away

by Penance Sautereau

In my short time here on the Herald I've seemingly become a very polarizing issue. With one exception, all the articles I've posted so far have gotten very passionate replies. Some praised my opinions, and/or I myself. Some found my stances intriguing and posted alternate stances, debating me intelligently. Some disagreed with me rudely, offering their opposing views aggressively, and some trolled me outright solely to grief.

At first I tried to ignore hurtful comments. I failed. I've never been very good at it. But every defense got accused of bashing anyone who disagreed with me. Eventually, as RL concerns already have me terribly stressed, (And no I'm not going to share), I decided since I'm not as good at ignoring idiots as I'd like to be, I'd just end the loop. So I deleted all comments on most of my articles. All so as not to play favorites or paint a skewed image. Even the positive comments are gone now.

One of those who had defended me in one column IM'd me on SL and suggested that having done so would just be construed as practically admitting my troll following was right about me. Nice of him to give me the heads up, but they're trolls, they'd think themselves right about me if they claimed I had three eyes and four asses, even if I posted clear close-ups proving them wrong. You can show a net-troll a clear photo of freshly fallen white snow, they'll still insist snow is black.

Op/Ed: Rape is NOT sexy

Second Life is slowly being corrupted by the worst in human nature

by Penance Sautereau

Well I can see I'm never going to run out of things to write about here. After reading "Someone's Killing Mum by Katrina Eales" a few minutes ago I'm horrified by what she endured. I'm an RL Rape Survivor and I don't doubt for a minute her virtual assault will leave very real scars. But sadly Second Life is teeming with sick fucks who are more than happy to use it to vent all the horrible urges they hopefully lack the guts to attempt in real life.

A couple months ago I was feeling triggery, and as my wife was asleep, and no one in my friend's list was online, I decided to see what SL had to offer by way of a friendly ear to listen. I was disappointed in the few counselling centres I found, since they all charge and work by appointment only. Which meant if you're poor or need immediate venting, you're screwed. It'd cost me an entire column's salary to see someone there.

Op/Ed: Someone's Killing Mum in SL

by Katrina Eales

IF Second Life was the real world my lifeless body would now be in the possession of the coroner.

On October 28, for the first time, I saw the dark and sinister side of Second Life in a very personal way. I was attacked by a man who wanted to wield power over me and dominate me - to take me and use me for his own perverted ends. I escaped for a time. But later I looked into his avatar's evil eyes as he pointed his virtual gun at me and squeezed the trigger time and time again.

I heard the gun before I saw him standing in my own lounge room in Stormhold, Caledon. Boom, boom, boom - it was loud. So loud in fact that it brought my three children aged 10, eight, and six running across our real world lounge room to see what was happening on the computer screen.

Just as they arrived I turned and saw my attacker and so did the kids. My first instinct was to protect them so in RL I hugged them close while in SL I stared at him as he shot me again and again. My six year old daughter screamed out "someone's killing Mum" but my sons said nothing and stood watching with the impotence of young male anger, fists clenched.

Op/Ed: The 10 Worst SL Train Wrecks - So Far

by Casey Jones, railroad expert

10. Any announcement by Robin Linden on a Friday
Announce the bad news then head for the hills - the classic Linden strategy. Robin depends on the idea that any resistance is futile since most residents don't have a week to fight against Lunatic Lab’s latest moves, and at least half the residents are probably ill-informed, so the other half can spend their time arguing with them. While the SL residents spend most of their time backbiting, Robin has proved herself to be a master at putting the worst possible spin on whatever bad news the Lab has cooked up. This makes us wonder - is Robin Linden really a griefer at heart?

9. SL Next Top Model
This competition has been a long standing joke in the Second Life fashion world. Several months ago we watched the stolen idea war between Jada Hoyer and BooBooKitty Haight, Then there is a minor issue - Miss Hoyer never received written permission from Bankable Productions to reproduce the contest in Second Life - but with the amount of press Jada insists on receiving in-world, she might soon find a big, fat, life-sized lawsuit on her hands. But look on the bright side: if you suck up to Jada right you might win the competition! Next Top Model, please!

8. The Rag SL
A small unknown blog popped up a few months ago and seems to have a penchant for calling out people for their indiscretions - and doing that with a bite of humour. Only problem is they seem bent on publishing full chat logs - could this be their undoing? Oh wait - we do that here at the Herald too. Oops! Recent Rag SL complaints include the Face of Style contest and the Minnu Skins vs. Suite 17 debacle.

7. Woodbury University Closing
Good job there Lindens! While Provokey Evah “hits back hard” when asking the Linden game gods to keep their fingers off the scales of justice, that hobgoblin of small minds - consistency - is not a problem when P. Evah’s has unilaterally convicted virtual miscreants. Whenever the ever omniscient one has determined guilt - it is time to ban the whole lot of ‘em - and take their land too. But what on earth was the Lab thinking? With all the pushing they do to get educational backing, they choose to shut down an edu-Sim? Sad, really.

Op/Ed: The Free Fandom Project

Mighty morphin without space bucks

by Nikola Shirakawa

Popular books and films naturally create fanboys and fangirls, and these subcultures have taken to heart the Second Life mantra - your world, your imagination. How can we improve Second Life for these players? We need to nurture true fandom.

The fanboy title is all-encompassing, whether it is the gadget producing Stargate fans, the role-playing Starfleet Command, to the anti-griefing Justice League Unlimited and their rivals, the anime-loving Patriotic Nigras. Open up your friends list. I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that, providing you've been on for more than a week, at least fifty-percent who could be considered a major fan of a work of art in some way.

Some on Second Life even go so far as to build entire sims around their fandom. Look at the well-built Gotham City or Wizard's Alley. Why have those places have spread like wildfire? They are free and open to everyone. It doesn't matter whether you have voice or not, whether you derive your income from stipends or camping, everyone gets a chance to indulge in their fandom, without being drained financially to do it.

Very few of us started out with pocketfuls of L$ space bucks The first two weeks of a good many avatar's second lives are spent on camping chairs just to buy basic clothes for their fandom. Sadly, a good number of people obviously get bored of this, and quit long before they get a chance to get into it.

The Free Fandom Project was established with this problem in mind. Our goal is simple. We want to provide everything you need to indulge in your fandom, whether it is props, avatars, or what, not to make a few L$s, but for the love of the media - and the role play. Our goal is to provide as full an assortment of fan-based products as possible, help others in creating their own, and honing our own crafts in the process.

Op/Ed: Moving Beyond Shouting Matches

by Jessica Holyoke

Prior to malpractice insurance being required for physicians, some doctors would protect themselves by having all of their assets in their spouse’s name. If a patient ever sued the doctor for malpractice, the patient could win, but there would be no money to compensate the patient. In this way, the physician was said to be judgment proof. Preventing defendants from seizing your assets was an important way for people to protect themselves from lawsuits. Judgment proof can be expanded to cover the many ways that prevent a real life suit from being pursued against a Second Life resident.

The main way metaverse residents are judgment proof is the value placed on non-disclosure of personal information.

From the Linden’s point of view, disclosure of identifying information is a personal decision, whether from the Community Standards or the “voluntary” identification system, our personal privacy is an important part of a one’s Second Life. Oftentimes though, the Lindens point to a resident’s local court systems as a means of settling any dispute between residents. So if two designers are fighting over a copyright of a design, the Lindens will direct them to a real life court. But one of the first things a resident would need to do in filing a real world court case is reveal personal identifying information. Therefore, if your pseudonymity was important to you, that would be gone if you decide to sue someone over a dispute in Second Life.

Op/Ed: The VAT Tax Man Cometh

by Inigo Chamerberlin

Yet another missive from those lovely folks at Linden Lab. On a Friday, as usual. I’m coming to actively dislike Friday eMails from Linden Lab.

What now? Well, all us lucky EU residents are now going to be charged VAT (Value Added Tax to the rest of you) on ‘all payments to Linden Lab such as land sales, monthly maintenance fees and Premium subscription fees’. Quite where that leaves Lindex purchases isn’t made clear – but whatever is by Linden Lab. You can be pretty sure those transactions will be included though.

The only way to ‘avoid’ this is to have your in-world business registered for VAT, with all the lovely complex paperwork that entails. It would almost be worth it to be able to demand correctly formatted VAT invoices from Linden Lab – except they have come up with a wheeze to get around that – or so they seem to think.

You see, IF you are registered for VAT you are issued a ‘VAT number’ by your local government tax authorities (its ONLY use is to identify you as being entitled to charge VAT by being printed on your receipts and invoices, and to assist filing and tracking. I wonder what Linden Lab’s VAT registration number is?)

Linden Lab is neatly sidestepping the EU legal requirement to provide VAT registered companies with VAT compliant invoicing and receipts by telling you that IF you provide them with your VAT number they won’t bother charging you VAT.

Sound good to you? Well it appears to be unlawful.

It’s NOT how EU VAT works. VAT is collected from the non-VAT registered at the point of sale. It’s also collected from the registered, those with a VAT number, in the same way. Then, every three months they get to wade through the paperwork, claim back the VAT paid for deductible purchases, and pay the balance to the VAT tax collection agency.

Op/Ed: PN Leader N3X15 Is the Worst Sort of Furry

[G-Boy Anonymous tells the story of how he outgrew griefing - then learned the current leader of the PN has shocking furry sympathies. When I questioned GBoy's motivations for coming forward, he told me while he dislikes furries, he despises hypocrites. After trying to go straight, GBoy finds living a peaceful life is difficult, because “a majority of the sims I've been in have been griefed”. GBoy claims that the problem is “nexis and PN are filled with fucking idiots and 14 year old kids who got banned from gaiaonline.com and just now found out about 4chan”. And so, one avatars struggles to move on to a new life. This is his story - in his own words. -- the Editrix]

by G-Boy Anonymous

There comes a time in a greifers life when greifing is no longer the norm and no longer fun, there’s only so much lulz to be had when greifing furnation or baku or whatever - you know?

Almost a year ago I started playing second life. I was a /b/tard, scum of the internet - amirite? I played for about a week, I hung out in baku since that was the very first place I visited.

Being a /b/tard on the internet means you have ties to the internets strongest internet hate machine, you have access to scripts, programs and so called "rape machines" that would make most hackers and trolls scratch their heads or suck your dick - and this is about the time I became part of the PN, “patriotic nigras”, or what was known as second life’s internet jihad, the biggest and baddest.

Or you know, until now, when this story gets published.

Op/Ed: What to do about Griefers?

Hit them where it hurts - right in the computer

by Danielle Anders, frustrated resident

Everywhere I turn lately, griefing is on the rise. This could be solely a reporting bias - more people means more griefing targets and more griefing reports. But let’s take a look at the problem a little more realistically.

The first strategy suggested against griefers is always tools. The grey-goo fence is often mentioned as a potential defense as well as a faster auto return, no-build becoming the default or more thorough banning. However, with any tool based dispute, the conflict becomes an arms race. It becomes a challenge to circumvent the tool, whatever it is, and the griefer’s delight is heightened by being successful in spite of defenses.

A second approach suggests using social methods - and there are two fronts to this. The first is the engagement crowd. Those seeking to find out why griefers grief and what to do about it. Enlisting them in talks, turning them around to a socially beneficial way of interacting. This is counter to what we know about griefers. The griefer’s stated motive is that SL is taken too seriously so their attacks are all for the lulz, defined as defeating those who take SL too seriously with the furries generally hardest hit. It is unlikely to be be easy to reform a griefer who is hooked on furry lulz.

Another social strategy is banning of groups - or guilt by association. For some reason, this is seen as striking a blow to the griefers. The only way it would work as intended is if all groups are closely monitored to see who is joining them as day old alts and attacking the grid. You might be able to shut down the Prok Fan club, but then you would see the Prokofy Free Love Club or another group spring up in its place. Attacking their tribalism will not work.

Op/Ed: LL Selling Residents’ Souls To Data Miners?

ANYTHING goes in Linden Lab’s headlong drive to get the corporates on board

by Inigo Chamerberlin

Linden Lab may have found a way of dangling a tasty carrot in front of the corporates – a way of connecting a Second Life resident identity with a RL identity - and this may explain the Linden's fascination with pursuing an identity verification relationship with Integrity-Aristotle to build resident “trust” relationships - which residents deeply dis-trust. The hook-up with Integrity-Aristotle, which I really couldn’t see the sense in, given their established track record of online age verification failure and selling identity data to absolutely anyone (see this May 2007 article for details), now makes a lot more sense.

I came to this conclusion after the recent article concerning the latest on the Age Verification system caused some very interesting comments, several raising issues which I hadn’t even considered. Subsequent in-world conversations with various residents also brought to light some interesting thoughts. For instance, Victorria Paine makes a very interesting point regarding Age Verification as it applies to the continuing Linden Lab obsession with corporatising Second Life. This raises a possibility I missed completely in an earlier article in which I attempted to examine the future of ‘Corporate Second Life’.

Linden Lab may well NOT keep your personal data – if you can trust them – but Integrity-Aristotle have made it quite clear that they WILL. Now it really shouldn’t be necessary to draw a diagram showing how that works, should it?

Linden Lab can take refuge in their usual ‘implausible deniability™’, while gaining the advantage of being able to point their precious corporate customers in the direction of Integrity-Aristotle, or Aristotle Inc, the data trading part of the Aristotle group, or maybe some less obviously titled subsidiary - and then the corporates can tie a Second Life avatar's interest in their offerings to a RL identity. For example:

Op/Ed: Romance me, damn it!

By Linda Loveless

I'll come right out and say it; I'm tired of men always gaming for my crotch! I used to give them the benefit of the doubt -- giving them first, second, and third chances to show they were after something more. I *still* give them too many chances... my real life boyfriend fails to deliver romance every day, and I still haven't dumped his sorry ass.

After my RLBF failed me the 50th time, I decided to check out the SL dating scene, and two months into the experience I have to say I'm extremely disappointed. Maybe I'm a magnet for assholes, I don't know, but the guys I run into all claim they're Teh Romeo I've been pining for and... well, they're not. Not by a long shot. They suck.

Op/Ed: Linden Lab's Weasel Worded Quasi-Assurances

Concierge customers: boycott Linden Lab's ‘test’ of the Age Verification system

by Inigo Chamerberlin

Linden Lab and Aristotle's Integrity - trustworthy

Earlier today I received an eMail from Linden Lab – the text is reproduced below the fold. After reading the eMail all I could say was - excuse me? Am I missing something here? It seems to me that remaining anonymous is a much better method of ‘building trust-based relationships’ – as in ‘No, you can’t have my RL details, you’ll just have to trust me’.

‘Trust’ actually flies out the window when your RL details are revealed.

‘Trust’ is something that depends on not knowing for sure, and trusting the individual concerned regardless.

I have no idea what idiot wrote this eMail, but I can say with some confidence that logical argument is definitely not their forte. As for ‘We see this tool as critical to supporting Residents in shedding anonymity’! Oh yes! I’m sure we have all noted the relentless clamour of residents DEMANDING the ability to ‘shed anonymity’? Just begging for Linden support?

Like the residents are too dumb to figure out that they are perfectly at liberty to place any and all RL details about themselves in their profiles?

I note the eMail is also well larded with weasel worded quasi-assurances as to the (cough) ‘integrity’ of Integrity Aristotle – a company with a fine track record of disclosing information to anyone with the money, or political influence, to make it worth their while. And a company who’s sole previous attempt at providing effective age verification failed miserably…

Op/Ed: Second Life Ethics

Gambling, sex, gender-bending, financial fraud: does real life morality apply in SL?

by Victorria Paine

A recurring theme in debates between SL's denizens about any number of the "hot topics" that divide the community (gambling, sex, gender-bending, financial fraud, you name it) is a fundamental disagreement about what "rules" should apply to any of these activities when they take place on the grid. Typically this difference in perspectives remains unstated, with the various players largely talking past each other, more intent on scoring "points" in the debate by deploying clever witticisms or other rhetorical devices in place of addressing the real underlying issues.

People dance around the main disagreement, choosing instead to bolster their argument with this or that standard of "morality" or "ethics" cribbed from a meatspace context, without realizing that it is this issue in itself that is the thorniest one what moral rules, if any, are appropriate to the kind of reality experienced in SL, and why?

Second Life Corporate Hype Bubble Deflates - Now What?

Riding a DotCom non-strategy into the ground?

by Inigo Chamerberlin

Recent articles have focused on various issues affecting Second Life of late. But they have simply reported issues and, sometimes, commented on the issues as isolated events. I think it’s about time the causes were discussed, the likely outcomes and potential future moves.

Most of Second Life's troubles - other than the ever present infrastructure ones which I don’t propose to even attempt to tackle here - can actually be traced to the decision - and it was a decision by Linden Lab, not something that 'just happened' - to court corporate America.

Inasmuch as there is no real evidence of a 'game-plan' to the development of Second Life, not initially, not even now really, I don't believe that 'corporatisation' was envisaged from the start. Which has led directly to the current situation. It's a perfect example of 'if I were planning on doing THAT, I definitely wouldn't start from THERE'.

An interesting question is: Would Second Life even have got off the ground if one of the original goals had been the wooing of corporate interests? Somehow I rather doubt that. Initially the 'plan' was pretty much, 'I wonder if we could do 'this'?' - with a side order of 'Hey! Wouldn't it be cool if...'

Would the initial investors been willing to stump up for a 'corporatised' Second Life? Reading comments from the parties involved, I somehow doubt it. It was all very idealistic and creative – initially. However, it's a great pity they didn't demand a more detailed/structured development map at that point. Indeed, it's amazing that they didn't. You'd think they'd have learned more from the antics of startups during the DotCom era.

Of course, several had actually been involved with successful startups, so I guess there was an understandable temptation to reflect on their own success, rather than the fate of the majority. Anyway, here we are. In the present. Things were done that can't be undone easily. And the fallout of these decisions are becoming very visible to everyone.

'Hey! Wouldn't it be cool... to set up a casino?'

Op/Ed: The Avatar's Dilemma - Trust

What do unconscionable contract provisions say about contract creators?

by Jessica Holyoke

Residents are talking about trust more on the grid. And that trust expresses itself in many forms. Some of the trust deals with the SL financial sector. In a world of anonymous avatars and few accountants, it is hard to know what to invest in, banks, bonds or stocks. Now some may say that investing in SL is a fool’s game. But I would say that investing in any of the above is reinvesting into and building up the SL economy without depending on the Lindens.

And we almost have to trust the Lindens. Some of the financial sector’s trust was diminished by the gambling ban put in place by the Lindens. Intellectually, I know that the Linden’s had to comply with various US laws and regulations and they could not give a bigger warning to the casino owners without looking like they support internet gambling. But it would be difficult to invest in a platform if the owners could wipe out your business with a blog post.

Then you look closely and realize the Linden’s are not very transparent and getting information from them is difficult. The Lindens have the blog and the knowledge base, and they do have office hours. But those office hours are not press conferences - they are informal discussions with residents. I realize that the Lindens do not have time for all of the teeming masses, but being able to ask questions and disseminate the information is important to the community as a whole.

The Linden Business Plan?: Pwning the Metaverse the Chef Cantu Way

by Urizenus Sklar, food critic

Chef Cantu at Work.

Since I am the ultimate metaverse insider with a profound grasp of new media and the economics thereof, it is natural that when Media Playahs and Venture Capital Guys and Grrls meet me they want the 411 on Second Life. “Uri”, they ask me “exactly what is the Second Life business plan anyway?” And who can blame them for asking? The money isn’t coming from subscriptions, or sales of Linden dollars, or virtual property sales, nor will enough revenue ever come from those sources, so what in Sam Hades is the plan?

And the craziest thing is that instead of securing the platform and working to make it better, Linden Lab keeps adding more and more bells and whistles and gizmos and gadgets – stuff that no one asked for or ordered or for that matter really even wants. 5000 users have vented against the strategy in a sharply worded open letter, but… News Flash:.. the petition fell on deaf ears. Why treat your customers that way? And why keep adding new crap to a platform that needs to be gutted and rebuilt from the ground up?

I too puzzled over these questio