SLchan.com -- W-Hat.com’s Bratty Little Brother?

New media watch

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Our attention was recently drawn to www.SLchan.com - an image-driven site catering to the tastes of Second Life’s /b/tard community - mixing the ironic hypercute, the profane, and a smattering of iconic griefers as the community collectively defines an internet subculture with random pictures and short comments.

While the SLchan site mimics the 4chan approach with primarily anonymous posting, the focus is on Second Life and maintaining the memes that define the group zeitgeist.

Presumably the SLchan organizers hope to grow their community by recruiting at the site.

Until recently, SLchan.com incorporated a Second Life account sign-up page. Will more accounts please the Lab as the /b/ work to improve the human condition using Second Life? Or is there some other agenda at work?  Images on the site are a very mixed bag - anyone easily offended will want to give SLchan.com and 4chan a miss.

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While the SLchan site is a recent development, the W-Hat goons' www.w-hat.com site is the elder statesmen of un-serious Second Life business. W-hat.com has been a fixture in the Second Life blogosphere since 2007, and it shows. The look is slick and professional, illustrating a basic tension between the /b/tards and the goons.

Sandbox bully in its natural habitat - a W-Hat postcard

The W-Hat goons draw their membership from the Something Awful forums, scorn the memes  the /b/tards love and and pride themselves on seldom repeating the same joke - an elitist approach that contrasts with the more populist /b/.

Relations between the /b/tards and goons are sometimes less than cordial, but a certain mutual respect can be seen. As goon Dano Plisskin once said of the /b/tards, “never underestimate the power of retard in large numbers”.

The goon emphasis on quality over quantity caries over to the web site design and search functions - the W-Hat site makes it easy to locate images by Second Life sim or by author. Perhaps the Lab will consider retaining the goons to assist with the SL 2.0 client design - the recent leaks were less than impressive.

W-Hat commentary on Lab customer service?

Both the /b/tards and the goons have been keeping a relatively low profile of late, but the lull in the lulz may be a temporary situation - unless Second Life is losing some of its charm for the court jesters of the metaverse. 

Comments

[At0m0 Beerbaum]

I'd say SL is losing it's charm ;O

[derpderpaherp]

How does this relate to the jews doing wtc?

[MaStEr HaCkEr]

from wht i can rember w-hat was a yiffy happy bunch of fags

[Two Worlds]

Neither the PN nor W-hat NEEDS to be in the spotlight now--the Lindens are shitting it up for themselves just fine. Many of us have moved on, just because the SL hype has died down enough to leave only the hardcore Residents, and only the ones who are obsessively maintaining their own little niche of the grid--whatever pointless bullshit it is.
It is, however, important for both the PN and W-hat to realize that we have a common enemy in the Lindens and pubbies. The enemy of my enemy, after all, is my friend. These Internet tribes must put aside their rivalries and squabbles for when the time of tribulation is truly at hand. Both sides have extremely talented and intelligent group members, and together we are many magnitudes more powerful than by ourselves.

[anon]

LOL

[I want sprinkles on that]

I'd actually love to see the W-hat crew do a few builds, pick up where the Electric Sheep left off.

Sponsor a few of their builds. W-hat has a style that while it can be offensive, does come off as the work of artists, and not griefers. I love visiting their builds.

I expect the /b/ group to fade out rather quickly.

[General Drama]

"I expect the /b/ group to fade out rather quickly."

Posted by: I want sprinkles on that | June 15, 2009 at 03:14 AM

Funny, but wrong. /b/ in SL is funded by the corporate/university conspiracy of IntLibber and Woodbury University (prok sez so). /b/ has three sims at WU (4 sims if you count the idiots of Digital Worlds), w-hat has barely more than 1 . Woodbury has way more active members than w-hat does.

All w-hat has going for it is arrogance and rudeness. Hey, worked for LL, eh?

[ressurection]

From Woodbury to Ravenglass
Second Life is Fading Fast,
/b/tards welcome each Darkening Dawn
and the weeds sprouting on your E-lawn,
Nigras tweek their obscurated files
Cleaning Teeth for their Patriotic Smile,
But Tizzers oh Tizzers where have you gone
The Lulz have been fading for so long,
I hear the Furries Yiff
then the Baby Furs cry
but no Jello Spam appears in the sky,
To take up arms again
at this time in this place
Would it bring about a final grace?,
Could they do it all again
and bring about a final end?,
A little tear comes into my eye
to nevermore see the lolicubes fly,
But I know the griefers are not done
Even under this shrinking sun,
Because there is still just too much fun
Keeping those Russians on the Run...
:)

[Jenkem Bohemian]

Hey thanks for posting our pics on your website. You know, without our permission and all. Shows that the Herald is totally a serious e-newspaper and not just a crappy journalist rp blog.

[IMHO]

the sim should be shut down,because it's a known fact that the PN uses copybot and likes to grief furries,both of which are against the TOS.

[Jumanji :D]

"Neither the PN nor W-hat NEEDS to be in the spotlight now--the Lindens are shitting it up for themselves just fine. Many of us have moved on, just because the SL hype has died down enough to leave only the hardcore Residents, and only the ones who are obsessively maintaining their own little niche of the grid--whatever pointless bullshit it is.
It is, however, important for both the PN and W-hat to realize that we have a common enemy in the Lindens and pubbies. The enemy of my enemy, after all, is my friend. These Internet tribes must put aside their rivalries and squabbles for when the time of tribulation is truly at hand. Both sides have extremely talented and intelligent group members, and together we are many magnitudes more powerful than by ourselves." -Two Worlds

On the other hand, some people leave because they get banned for being creepy. Like you.

[anon]

YOU DID PERMISSIONS EXPLOIT ON W-HAT PICTURE

[Alyx Stoklitsky]

HAHAHAH, THERE'S A BNT HOLDINGS AD AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.

[At0m0 Beerbaum]

"Neither the PN nor W-hat NEEDS to be in the spotlight now"

Who the hell was talking about the PN?

[At0m0 Beerbaum]

@IMHO

cool troll bro. 2/10

[George Zimmer, Founder and CEO of Men's Warehouse]

It's not really all that surprising that within minutes of this article being posted, the furries proved how pathetic, immature and butthurt they are by trying to flood the site with their filth.

Hopefully now you see what we've been saying all along about them, that they're all a bunch of spoiled manchildren.

[Zeorge Gimmer]

"It's not really all that surprising that within minutes of this article being posted, the furries proved how pathetic, immature and butthurt they are by trying to flood the site with their filth."

In other words: furries started trolling slchan, and you're bawwwwing about it here at the herald.

[Simeon Beresford]

those Kittens are for it