Alphaville Herald

Op/Ed: The Positive Feminist

by Meleth Oakleaf

This isn't an article about a role-play sim, this is an article in which one reporter tackles a delicate topic and probably pisses off a few readers. Hopefully, beyond just pissing off a few people, I can make people think about an often underrepresented feminist view.

I spoke to Pixeleen today about beginning another article series, in which I interview a number of people in SL about the job they hold. I'm excited about this topic, because just like role-playing sims there are a wide variety of professions available in SL and a lot of them are unique things you'd never really think about in your day to day explorations of SL. The other side of the coin is, just like role-playing sims, a lot of SL professions have a sexual component.

In my covering of role-playing sims, I've elected not to cover sex dominated sims. There are many reasons that contribute to this decision and I may re-evaluate it later, but the largest reason for this decision is that my goal in this article series is to expose opportunities for role-play in SL that you might not otherwise be aware of, and sex-based role-playing in SL is easier to find than a virgin in a Star Trek convention.

It Has To Be Said: What's in a Name?

by Jessica Holyoke

One reason why I am not too worried about people outing my identity is that I have a fairly common real life name.   Pretending my real life name is "Stacey Fox,"  if you Google it, you will find many other people who share my name, some sharing my real life location, some sharing my real life profession.  In fact, Googling that name will not easily reveal my real life identity, you have to dig through many results, and many hypothetical Stacey Foxes, in order to get to the real me.  

On the other hand, there is only one Jessica Holyoke when it comes to editorializing about the virtual worlds we take part in.  There is only one Jessica Holyoke who mentions how the Second Life in-world economy is doing.  

So when people talk about 'fake avatars' on Avatars United, there comes that issue of who is actually fake.

It Has To Be Said: Why does Second Life Need Social Media?

Please define your virtual social graph to help the Lab gain ad revenue

by Jessica Holyoke

When the Lindens talk about expanding residents' presence with Social Media, I have to really ask why?  At my closely guarded age, I use Facebook a good deal.  It helps keep me connected with classmates who have moved great distances and we can share pictures of children and activities easily.  It also provides a simple way to update our friends on what we are doing, with the status update.

On Second Life, we can share our lives through our profiles.  We can form groups so we can send out notices to update our friends.  We can chat anytime, anywhere.  If I want to visit someone, I can just teleport to them - so Social Media makes less sense for the user. 

But it makes great sense for the Lab.  Directed advertising is the new advertising. Facebook gives me hourly ads targeted to my carefully guarded age.  It tells me how people are selling things that would go great with my hobbies.   It tells me which products my friends like.

And that is why the Lab is pushing for social media.  It wants that directed  advertising revenue even though it adds nothing to a resident's Second Life.  Which means that the future Second Life 2.0 will be paid for because I might click on some ad that one of my friends likes for the Black Eyed Peas.

It Has to Be Said: It Has to Be Said

by Jessica Holyoke

Over the months that I have written editorials in the Herald, I have typically labelled the Op/Ed.  Traditionally, Op/Ed means Opposing Editorial.  Someone writes something in opposition to the stated views of the Editorial Board.  However, the Herald does not use an Editorial Board to provide a view point to the community, such as endorsing candidates.  

At the same time, I do news reporting.  And just like Fox News, I am the hottie that lets the news go down so smooth.  And there has to be a way to differentiate my news reporting from my editorializing.  Therefore, It Has to Be Said is a way to set off my news and my editorializing for ease and convenience.  And let me start off with this;

It has to be said that as we are developing as a community, we also have to be developing community mores.

One thing I have noticed is that people go back and forth between how they address people.  The best example is when you find out that the resident you know and love is of the opposite gender.  Suddenly, every one changes their pronouns.  And sometimes that is appropriate when you are talking about a real life law suit and the people involved will not be operating under their avatar names. 

Op-Ed: Avatars United – A Social Network Too Far?

by Sigmund Leominster

If you’re becoming jaded by the tales of the inconsequential status and activity of the Justice League Unlimited, which, as a group, must now hold some sort of record in terms of column inches in the Herald (inversely proportional to the inches of their primmy penises), and fapping to Post 6 Grrrlz no longer holds any thrill, then maybe you’re ready to join the In-Crowd on Avatars United.

Yes, in the latest attempt to improve the whole Second Life virtual world experience, Linden Lab has bought a virtual world-based social networking site called Avatars United, which describes itself as “a community website bringing virtual characters from all online worlds together. The project is built in recognition of the fact that strong bonds and close friendships actually can be tied within virtual spaces.” According to the “About Us” section of the website, “Avatars United (AU) is a community for your virtual avatars. Register your avatar, upload your profile picture, write your biography and share some of your exploits in virtual worlds through pictures, videos, blogs and much more.”

Brilliant! Not only can I now waste hours in Second Life but waste even more interacting with the same folks on a social networking site. Wait, didn’t we once hear Linden Lab describe Second Life as a social networking site already? If so, why the need for an ersatz Facebook?

Op/Ed: Second Life Resident Comments on JLU Superpowers

Have you taken a look in a mirror lately? You're a walking infringement...

AnnOTooleInSL's  Xtranormal.com video commentary on the Second Life Justice League Unlimited situation:

Op/Ed: Facebook, IslandLife, Second Life, Lively, Metaplace - Why Worlds Fail

by Jessica Holyoke

As previously reported, IslandLife, which looks a lot like Metaplace, has opened on Facebook.  Metaplace is a virtual world that closed at the end of 2009.  Metaplace looked a lot like Google's Lively, which also closed. What does IslandLife in Facebook and the failure of Lively and Metaplace mean? Consider one world that hasn't closed, despite its flaws: Second Life has adapted in order to make money, and continues to adapt. 

When a Gaming Open Market - a real money trade currency exchange appeared and showed how the Lindens could coin more money, the Lab appropriated it.  With Google Search being bandied about as a possible option for Second Life search for the last 18 months or so, rest assured it is all about AdWords dollars.  Residents might have noticed AdWord-like advertisements already alongside Group Search -- just beware of click fraud entering the griefer's vocabulary.

The Lindens are all about making money.

Op/Ed: It's the Avatar, Stupid.

Magic ingredients for a compelling metaverse

by Tizzers Foxchase

Since the dawn of online gaming, the driving force which has kept players glued to their computer for hours has been the advancement of one's character by means of levels and better items. Many of you can probably the recall the satisfying feeling of accomplishment when your character looted that awesome rare item, dinged a certain level, or received a fancy new skill. That feeling of instant satisfaction glee is the magic sauce which leads to addiction because we fall in love with the pleasure of success, brought to you compliments of dopamine.

Time moves much faster in pixel land. Ever notice how a month in Second Life can seem like a year in real life? This time compression allows us to experience more satisfying adventures in a very short period. No wonder we have an entire generation of WoW addicted ADD kids! To them real life becomes bland because the time invested vs satisfaction ratio can simply not compete with the fast-paced release of dopamine offered by virtual worlds and games.

With this in mind, it is easy to see why other virtual worlds such as Lively and Metaplace failed to gain traction. A lack of satisfying experiences simply equates to a boring experience. The avatar and the ability to project oneself in a digital format fulfills a fundamental human need to express individuality. All of this boils down to one thing: "Does this virtual world make me feel good?"

Opinion: Public Spaces

by Jessica Holyoke

The Swiss recently passed a referendum that banned the building of minarets in their country.  As discussed on Slate, part of this is because the Swiss, like most European countries, are worried about Islamic extremism.  Especially as Muslims in Europe do not integrate to the same extent as Muslims in the United States.  Although you do still see burqas on the streets of major cities in the States. 

While traveling those same streets in the United States, there used to be an ad campaign about spotting people who are being trafficked as sex slaves.  One of the reasons I support at least stopping prosecution of prostitutes is that women and children who are trafficked into foreign countries would not be afraid to seek help from the police. 

By now, you may be wondering what this has to do with Second Life. 

After the Hard Alley protest of a few weeks back, a few comments were made somewhere else about whether or not depictions of slavery, such as by followers of BDSM or Gor, should be allowed in public spaces and reserved only for private spheres.  The fear articulated is similar to the fear articulated by the Swiss, the fact that Goreans or BDSM'ers are in your face or forcing their roleplay onto an unwilling or unsuspecting bystander, even if it is simply the interactions between the Dominant and the Submissive amongst themselves. 

Opinion: I'm a PG

by Jessica Holyoke

When the creation of an Adult Content policy first started being discussed by the Lindens, a campaign started saying "I am Adult Content."  Residents were up in arms about losing their access to Adult Content.  And it has happened more than once since I have become a resident here.  But if everyone is Adult Content, are we losing out on being PG?

There are a large number of adult experiences on SL, most of which you have read about in the Herald.  But there are also a large number of PG experiences on SL.  One of my favorites is going to a church service with a vampire.  But having a policy come down from the Lab changes things. 

What I see now are people making stringent rulings on their land on what is or is not PG.  

Bikinis are not allowed in a sandbox, people are upset over a bit of tush sticking out from under a skirt, ads for bikinis are being torn down.  And what's worse is I've seen this as a complaint:  a person has a pick or a classified ad in their profile for Adult or Mature content.  If they go to a PG sim, some are saying that should not be allowed because they are bringing adult or mature content into a PG sim because its in their profile. 

Op/Ed: What Does Winning Look Like for Eros?

The real point of the class-action complaint against Linden Research

by Jessica Holyoke

Linden Research is due shortly to file something in response to Eros, LLC v. Linden Research.  It could be an answer where the Lab states their response to the claims made by Stroker as a class representative or it could be preliminary objections to how the complaint is written.   But on commenting on the case, the question for the rest of us is what does winning look like for Stroker and the others?

If this were simply a case of economic damages, the prediction would be easy; they want money.  And with the copyright infringement claims, they could get money.  But it would be the last money they would ever get from Linden Lab. Why would the Lab allow someone on the Grid when they can allege copyright infringement in the future?  The only goal that makes sense is to strengthen the Lab's intellectual property protection. 

The basic assumption is to strengthen the current Digital Rights Management system the Lab currently uses.  There are problems with this approach, mostly lying with the Client Viewer software.   The first part is that while the old maxim is "anything that is seen can be copied," the true statement is "anything that is seen is a copy."  In order to use the Second Life (TM) grid, your computer has to create a digital copy of everything it sees, from avatars to buildings to animations.   So any new Digital Rights Management system would have to work with the existing framework of constantly making copies in order to use the service.

Op/Ed: Virtual Pirate Faces Real Life - The Next Level

by Kris Dibou

For years now, I have enjoyed a virtual life in paradise.  I have been the poet, the pirate, the writer, the builder, graphic artist, programmer, cowboy, musician, editor, and game designer of sorts.  All this and more; yet, in the outside world (which we refer to as 'rl') I have not been successful at any of that.

I did not finish college and I am over-sensitive; the songs I write are good (most common comment 'you have a way with words') but not hit material.  I am a square peg pretending to fit in the round hole.

So what has this virtual pirate learned that could help him out?  Was my trip through the metaverse a long diversion, or were there lessons being learned?

The main asset I developed was a harder shell.  Being submerged in a world full of diverse personalities and griefers enabled me to survive an hour and a half 'butt-chewing' at the office that I could not have gotten through before.  I even stayed and worked for the rest of the day afterward, which is super-human for a lot of people. 

Op/Ed: Property Rights, Advertising, and Freedom in Second Life

by IntLibber Brautigan

Advertising is a necessary part of Second Life, just like it is a necessary part of the internet. Advertising monetizes (i.e. makes profitable) an investment in a website or sim parcel that otherwise could not be. Why else does Linden Lab charge us to list classified ads in search? Why else do we pay LL to list our parcels in search? Advertising is worth money and is a necessary part of any economy.

Some people will say with a straight face, "But I don’t like advertising” as if saying so makes it a natural law. Most people don't like advertising, because most advertising is badly done, banal, or ugly, or they just don’t like feeling like they should be buying something because they know they are very suggestible people who are easy to lead around by the nose, even for non-profitable 'community' causes.

I don't like advertising for the most part from an aesthetic view, but some advertising, both print, online and television, can be entertaining, thought provoking, or even positively motivating. The Discovery Channel's "Boom-di-yada" tv ad of last year I found to be very string pulling, as one example.

Op/Ed: Second Life Needs Ad Farmers

Falling land prices  - Donut & Reverse Donut Hole Traps - The Arbor Project  - ROBO Marx permaban

by IntLibber Brautigan

For years there has been an ongoing conflict between two mainland commercial forces: the landbot runner and the ad farmer. The land bot runner makes his money by hedging low land prices and selling to market prices, profiting a few percent or more on large volume of millions of square meters of churn per month. The landbotter will grab up parcels as cheaply as possible, frequently stealing land mistakenly priced low by mistake or which was intended to be a friendly transaction between friends. For many SL users, the user name lookup dialog freezes their SL client for up to a minute due to LL laziness/asset server scalability issues, so they sell  their parcel to "anybody" thinking that nobody else in the sim means no bots will steal the land.

The landbotter is a drag on market prices, driving the average price paid per parcel down, like any Bernie Madoff doing large scale naked shorting of a stock. It is thus the natural outcome that large scale land bot operations tank real estate prices. Normal land sellers see the LL published average market prices, which average all land sales, and try to underbid the average. Landbotters constantly seeking to underbid the average, and drag the average down with them.

There is also a non-market drag on prices: low priced transfers between friends. If you sell to a friend for a few L or a few hundred L, your sale is registered and the price paid drags down the average. This is why, at the present time, the published market average for mainland says the price is 1.6 L$ per square meter but the lowest price you can find land for sale in search on the mainland is 2.1, with the average ranging above 3.0 L$ per square meter, almost twice the LL published average. The typical user sells their land below the low false average, and their land quickly gets bought up by land bots and set for sale at a higher price.

Op/Ed: But What About The Children?

by Jessica Holyoke

In the U.S., the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the re-hearing of a man who was convicted for e-mailing child sexual fantasies that he had.  Dwight Whorely is currently serving 20 years in prison for 74 counts of child pornography and obscenity, including 20 counts of obscenity involving writing about his fantasies with no pictures. 

When discussing the issue about sexualized underaged ageplay content, usually the U.S. is held up as the beacon of tolerance.  However, Dwight Whorely's case demonstrates how the Lab was right to ban sexualized underaged ageplay content.  But the reason why it is relevent now to our community is what is happening to SL child avatar resident, Marianne McCann.

The Lab invited residents to preview the upcoming Adult Continent, Zindra.  As one of many residents to attend the opening, was Marianne McCann.  Also present at the time she was was a number of Lindens and a resident who donned a giant prim penis avatar.   And all the parties involved started dancing and photographs were taken. 

Op/Ed: Prokofy the Communist?

 Diversionary tactics nurture collectivism

by Matt Cvetic

Recently introduced to the celebrity Prokofy Neva's blog, a great curiosity arose in me. For the uninitiated, Prokofy is a prolific and controversial Second Life blogger. Her contribution to the public discourse is to claim anyone and everyone who captures her notice is a communist, a collectivist, a left-bent hippie, or any of a thousand entries from her well-worn Red Thesaurus.

Prokofy bears no burden of proof. Instead, it's up to the accused to prove otherwise. Anyone who attempts self-defense or disagrees is a crypto-communist or a hypocritical communist. Evidence contradicting Prokofy's assertions doesn't weaken the assertion. Instead, it impunes the character of the accused.

Prokofy delivers it all in a loquacious stream of consciousness. Judging by the caustic nastiness that comes with it, this stream wends its way through sewage and brine. For one example of many, visit her blog and read her mockery of the physical appearance of a popular SL fashionista blogger. In Prokofy's mind, once her argument has lost all merit, personal insult remains on the table.

The question that tickled the back of my mind was: why? What would drive Prokofy to raise such a stink? Why is she constantly on the attack? Could she really see such a thick march of furred hats and pointed beards? Was Second Life already lost to the reds? Had a New Kremlin somehow escaped all others' notice? It's silly on the face of it, and yet she continues to obsess. Maybe this was a diversionary tactic. Was there something we weren't meant to see?

Op/Ed: The Dangers Of Dealing With Private Estate Landowners

by Johanna Renfold

Residents need to be aware of the dangers of dealing with private estate owners in Second Life and the fact that there is no in-world recourse for fraud, theft, etc. - yet too many residents are unaware of the inherent risks. While most estate owners are honest, some resort to questionable practices like non-transferable tier if you sell your land to a third party. Some, like Belle Terre Estates, maximize this confiscation of funds by requiring monthly, instead of weekly tier payments. They receive a nice cash bonus with land turnover, and can ban you and take your land for any reason at all. Belle Terre Estates does not inform you of their tier policy before you purchase land - this is only mentioned when you try to sell your land based on my recent experience.

On or about 14th March 2009, my partner (Heather Frimon) and I bought an island parcel at Sottomarina, part of the Belle Terre Estate.  Immediately after the purchase, the parcel was deeded to the group Girls Tropical Paradise, of which Heather and I are the sole and joint owners.  Approximately six weeks later, around end of April, we placed the parcel up for sale to anyone and with the tier paid up until 14th May, at the rate of L$17,000 per month, and advertised it as such.

I was visiting our island at Sottomarina and noticed some people on an adjacent island that was also for sale.  I approached them and asked if they were looking to purchase an island.  The subsequent converstation is shown below as "Stormi Capalini #1".

After being ejected, without just cause or warning, I returned to my own parcel nearby.  After about one minute, also without just cause or warning, I was banned from the whole estate.  I then sent a message, shown below as "Stormi Capalini #2".

Op/Ed: Looking in the Mirror

by Jessica Holyoke

I had a break up last week with someone on SL and I found myself with a great deal of time on my hands.  Until I find my next new thing, possibly having Jimbo's love child, I decided to make use of my gym tax and go take yoga.

I used to go to yoga regularly, but had gotten out of the habit.  And let me tell you, going to a class for the first time in years reminded me of all sorts of forgotten muscles and everything I used to be able to do but couldn't anymore. 

Daily, I would look at my body on SL and see someone that has the look of a person that would go to yoga and work out regularly. 

Oddly enough, there are a number of animations stands that make it look like you are working out.   Its not like the Sims where you need to work out to keep your avatar in shape.  There are working out animations simply to make it look like your avatar is working out.   Even when I role played on Gor, I worked in exercising into my daily routine.   But exercise has nothing to do with how you look in SL, although it would be funny if it did.

Body image on SL has been discussed from how skinny female avatars that look like Barbie(r) might induce anorexia problems in women, to how women that are plus sized or not cover model ready are making a bold statement or griefing.  However, its almost a truism that no one is as skinny as their avatar.  And frequently, we as a community make fun of the fact that the 120 lb woman in SL is really twice that in RL. 

Op/Ed: Asking for it

by Jessica Holyoke

A friend of mine used to joke that you can't rape the willing.  It was a silly statement that is fundamentally true.  You can't rape the willing.  The act and crime involves a lack of consent for sex.  That consent can be either taken by force, induced chemically or statutorily unable to be given. So the words "consentual rape" is an oxymoron that confuses people. 

On Second Life, we have consentual rape and slavery, especially on Gor.   And people have asked me how I can take part in a role playing game that features both.  I have even read blog posts linking the ideas of Gorean slavery with real life slavery. 

Besides the many different issues involved between the two concepts, Gorean role play slavery is not an economically exploitive one for example, (and I have spoken out and tried to correct Gorean exploitive slavery before) the main difference between the two is consent.  Even real life Gorean relationships where the woman calls herself a slave at least starts with her consenting to enter the relationship and is absolutely not the same thing as someone enslaved anywhere else on our real world.

Opinion. Finally! PETA Joins PETSA Crusade Against Killing Virtual Animals

by Mrs. President Chomsky

Faithful readers of the Herald will recall the dark days of the pet culling operations in The Sims Online.  Those events led St. Frank of Alphaville and me to form PETSA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Simulated Animals).  While those pet culling operations and TSO have thankfully gone offline, a new menace has descended upon the metaverse -- the killing of baby seals inside of World of Warcraft.  But there is good news!  PETA has taken up our cause and will be staging a protest inside WOW against these sick killings next Saturday.  They have also released a video which aptly illustrates just how boorish these virtual animal killers are (not surprisingly, they have southern accents -- nothing says thugish neanderthal virtual pet killer like a southern accent!).

Op/Ed: Second Life Smut Must Be Purged!

End Linden orgies for a better, more decent world

by Miss Petunia Amaryllis Courtney Taliaferro, Second Life League of Decency

Linden Lab has decided to uproot the nefarious weeds sown by  Second Life’s salacious Sybarites. My sisters and brothers in the League of Decency will assist in the painful process of purging perversion from our presence.

Caveat Lector: Dear reader, if you don’t have reading skills to fathom my brilliance, you should either get yourself a copy of Webster’s New Collegiate or go play some children’s game with simpler words. 

Now on to my story.

I risked health and maidenly honour at an free-sex “club,” where I did some first-hand research. Even that notorious deviant Oscar Wilde would blanche at the offenses to good taste and decency that I saw on display. I have recovered enough from the vapors that nearly overcame me to call you to arms!

Here are the first targets for SLOD’s righteous rage:

Talking Nether Regions: Well, I never. Why on earth would you want THAT to talk? Surely this is a sign of moral, if not mental, weakness. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would want (to use a coarse term) his manly pointer to SAY things to a lady about the ever-changing state of his Xcitement. Worse still, why would anyone wish for a lady’s (oh, I must be bold) tunnel of love to answer?

Commie Award Winners: At0m0 Beerbaum and Orion

[A note from the Editrix:
At the Herald, the real story is often found in the comments - and we occasionally recognize outstanding contributions with the “commie” or comment-of-the-week award. Today, for the first time ever this award is presented to two commenters - Orion and At0m0 Beerbaum for their responses to “Op/Ed: Catering to Corporations, Running Over Residents?”. Their world-class comments are reproduced below]

Orion's comment:

Speaking of this immersive spaces crap, get a load of RRR's project list:

1 - A tabloid news company that publishes staged stories about pedophilia in Second Life
http://riversrunred.com/immersive-brandspaces/sky-news/
2 - Prim shoes that have been around since late 2006 (my first n00B pair btw)
http://riversrunred.com/immersive-brandspaces/adidas/
3 - The biggest noobie club festival since the creation of man erhm avatar kind
http://riversrunred.com/immersive-brandspaces/intel-guardian/
4 - A virtual cell phone that lets you text your friends from in-world while you're busy yiffing away in the sex sims
http://riversrunred.com/immersive-brandspaces/vodafone/
5 - Virtual models of office chairs where /your avatar/ can judge the comfort and functionality of each
http://riversrunred.com/immersive-brandspaces/herman-miller/

At0m0 Beerbaum's comment:

@ Orion
Finally a comment with some insight.

RRR has a lot of feel good "immersive" crap. But at the end of the day, much of it is useless.

I work for a growing company and their immersive business solution is a joke.

Have you seen what it takes to run SecondLife these days? The hardware requirements are going up every release, albeit unofficially, watch as each release makes your brand new top of the line video card seem out of date, with NO improvements to the graphics; which haven't changed other than windlight, which was botched in the end.

Linden Lab Discriminates against Snails

by Happy Trails, Snail Activist

Now I'm not one to complain, but this is about as much as I can stand. 

Linden Lab does not cater to snails; there are no snail sims, there are no snail clothing stores, very few snail skin makers, and no snail sex ball makers.  There is one lousy snail animation that came with my avi, and that's it!  How can I entwine in slime with my righteous babe-snail?

And when is the last time you saw a snail apartment building in SL?  Shouldn't snails have a right to affordable housing just like everyone else?

Ok, I don't mean to be tacky, but this whole virtual world thing is one sticky wicket.  I'm making a line in the sand and I dare anyone to step over it.  Give me liberty or give me salt!

Op/Ed: Catering to Corporations, Running Over Residents?

by Tenshi Vielle

It's not like the support quality of Second Life has gone down any further. It's stayed at rock bottom since last year's great insurgency of newbies thanks to Linden Lab's draw of corporations and those corporations' subsequent advertising measures. Some residents are fairly convinced that Linden Lab is losing its focus, and grabbing for money more than the grassroots participation of the residents.

Why, when big-name corporations are turning their attention away from the virtual world of Second Life (Electric Sheep Company's projects have majorly all pulled out, and other corporate projects have shut down their islands in recent months) is Linden Lab still focusing on the corporations instead of turning inward and paying the residents a bit more attention? Turning to the residents and thanking them for their years of dedication would be a bittersweet move.

Of course, the Linden method of kissing corporate ass is nothing new. On October 20, 2008, the Lindens announce they are partnering with Rivers Run Red, to (assuming) drive more corps to SL via the “Immersive Workspaces” project. On October 27th, the Lindens not-so-strangely announce that Open Sim prices will be driven up 200% - from $75/mo to $125/mo with no grandfathering for residents. This absolutely enraged the Open Sim owners, and caused quite the stir at many Second Life forums. One should note that it clearly says “residents” on the blog, in an exclusive sort of manner, and blames the Residents for this, saying the workload became too much for the servers and OpenSpaces were never meant to be used by the residents for actual, you know – digital residing. To quote Jack Linden:

Op/Ed: Linden Lab - Play Fair and Stop Spamming Us!

by Sitearm Madonna

The spam ads sent to the [email protected] Email List are an outrage.

Linden Lab just sold its avatar accounts confidential email list to a commercial retail sales organization without asking our permission or giving us an option to Opt Out. The fact that the commercial retail sales organization is NOW owned by Linden Lab makes no difference. Confidential email lists are just that, confidential.

By giving away confidential email lists, Linden Lab has given an explicit commercial advantage to retailers who belong to XStreet and pay Linden Lab a commission on each sale. Now, retailers who decline to use Linden Lab XStreet and pay Linden Lab a commission are at an unfair market disadvantage.

At the least, Linden Lab should re-level the playing field by either putting ALL SL Retailers on XStreet automatically and immediately, or some other step to restore fairness such as ONLY sending emails to avatar accounts which already registered on XStreet.

Op/Ed: You Can't Fix Stupid

Why are so many SL men total idiots?

by Steve01 Denimore

The comedian, Ron White, once said: "You can't fix stupid." He is right. Stupid is what many males in SL are. I know this because I have many female friends who tell me about the idiot behavior they encounter from SL males.

I have also seen some of this behavior first hand. For example, I was at the Bimbo Ranch recently chatting with Cheergirl Allen when this male avatar walks up and say's to her: "Cheer girl u want me to hump u." She ignored him and his disgusting comments. But she should not have had to endure such abuse.

I took a date the other day to the Vegas sim. We were outside the Bimbo Ranch. This male avatar walked right up to her and started to check her out (the day previous she had been verbally abused by 2 males she thought were her friends). I told the guy to back off. An ugly scene ensued. People should not have to suffer abuse just because so many SL males carry their pea sized brains below the waist. What we need in SL is a police force to deal with the problem of male verbal abuse. A police force that would have the power of scripts to eject people who insist on practicing their stupidity on others.

Op/Ed: Get A Life! Any Ideas Which One?

by Sigmund Leominster

It’s incredibly easy to trawl through the Internet to find stories about virtual worlds and the Second Life experience. And the stories are typically centered on a pretty well focused set of topics: sex; sex with children; infidelity (sex with someone else’s partner); bestiality (sex with someone else’s pet); and general corruption aligned with moral turpitude. For every column inch regarding a charity event in Second Life that raises money for autism, there are ninety-nine others about perverts yiffing themselves to hell and practicing unspeakable acts of depravity beyond the imagination of the Marquis de Sade – or at least members of the Moral Majority.

So when something happens in the virtual world, the commonest response is for people to “Get a Life!” A quick Google search for the words “Get a Life” paired with “Second Life” pulls up 41,400 instances – which is presumably now 41,401 since you are reading this as a published article. You’ll also find members of the “Get A Life” brigade posting responses and comments to articles and blogs, offering their sage advice to go and “do something real” while simultaneously mocking and berating anyone who sets an avatarian foot into a virtual world.  

Whether it’s Second Life, Entropia, Kaneva, World of Warcraft, on any flavor of virtual life, the typical resident is clearly a loser, has no friends, can’t get a partner, and has no social skills whatsoever. The answer is obvious – uninstall the software and “Get a Life!”

Op/Ed: US$2,356,250 Reasons For LL's OpenSpace Policy

Open Space sims and how Linden Lab got it right - for themselves

by Maximilian Proto, Department of Random Guy Posting

After Linden Lab introduced a new pricing policy for its highly popular Open Space (OS) sim product, residents joined to celebrate the cherished tradition of feverishly complaining about price increases ("they're making it too expensive"), price decreases ("they're devaluating my investments"), new product introductions ("they're hurting mainland owners with those islands"), product changes ("they're are hurting island owners with those OS sims") or even when Linden Lab doesn't do anything at all ("they're not doing anything at all").

But why did Linden Lab decide to respond with such a steep price increase for a highly successful product risking alienating their customer base (further)? In particular when the RL economy is on the brink of a recession? And wouldn't Linden Lab suffer considerable losses if estate owners would really abandon their OS sims as a reaction?

Unfortunately, the idea that JIRA issues or threats of abandoning sims will change Linden Lab's pricing plans is futile. In fact, Linden Lab's move makes a lot of economic sense for the company, and even large scale abandoning of OS sims will likely have little to no impact on Linden Lab's financial performance.

And this is why:

Op/Ed: Island Owners to LL: New Continent and Tier Payments Are Killing Us!!!

An open letter to Linden Lab

by PonygirlSarah Clapper, Island Owners Association

M Linden,

Congratulations on becoming the CEO of Linden Labs. Unfortunately, those of us who have invested heavily into SL have seen our investments fall into worthlessness thanks to decisions made by someone in the company. Let me explain, if I may. First off, there is the costs associated with Island ownerships and tier fees. I have done a notecard, to explain the basic logic all of the island owners have to use, to try to justify their pricing to potential new renters.

As pointed out in the notecard, there is a fundamental pricing difference all the island owners have to pay, just to maintain a presence on the grid. In my own example, the bill I am paying breaks down like this:

Full sim island 1: $1250 setup, $195 tier
Full Sim Island 2: $1675 setup, $295 tier
Open space islands: 6 x $250, 6 x $75 tier = $1500 setup, $450 tier
Paid by other Open space islands: 2 x $250, 2 x $75 = $500 setup, $150 tier
Total bill each month: $1090 tier each month.

The setup fees for all but 2 open space properties total $4425, of which i've made back $0. The monthly Tier fee collections are 99.95% funded thru rental properties and subdivided zones on these sims.

With the release of more of the Mainland Continents, the overall value of land has dropped to a level where the comparable price of ML vs Island properties is so out of reach that most new members to the SL grid won't be able to afford the cost of ownership of any Island properties. And with the real world economy falling rapidly, brought on by a similar situation in which there is too much supply, and too little demand, the actions of LL of opening a new continent of ML properties seem to me and other Island owners to be marking a point in which LL seems to be trying to kill off private island ownerships, and the talented builds many of them have created. I have spoken to over 1000 different island owners, in similar situations, and overwhelmingly, they have threatened to pull out of SL all together, despite their investments in what they thought would be a good company.

Op/Ed: Sarah Palin: The View From Gor

Gorean slave masters expected to vote for Palin

by Jessica Holyoke

Now that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is running for Vice President on the Republican ticket, many groups are asking what will this mean for them: the liberals, the feminists, the inside the beltway crowd, and the business as usual oil fat cat crowd.  But a key demographic has not yet made up it's mind - and the Gorean vote may be crucial in this election.  So allow me to break down the positions for our Gorean friends and neighbors.

Foreign Policy:  As the Priest Kings have decreed, the sea west of the Thassa is unknown and uncharted territory, much like the other side of the Bering Straight. We all agree that any Goreans who have been near the sea are certainly foreign policy experts, like Sarah, so there is a natural sympathy that should help Ms. Palin in her quest for the Gorean vote. 

While Gorean slavers might like to obtain Earth women as their slaves, many of them don't like going to Earth and only recently obtained passports - if they leave their home world at all - another parallel.  Will the barbarians of Washington be too much for the Proud Alaskan?  What about the foreign world that is Canada? Again, Gorean foreign policy and experience is similar to Sarah Palin's impressive qualifications in this area.  Russia is a next door neighbor to Palin's Alaska, but no one NO ONE mentions Canada as another bordering country, with two distinct foreign languages. Doesn't that make Palin a double expert? What's that aboot, eh?

Op/Ed: Repression, Tyranny and Corruption = Economic Stagnation

by IntLibber Brautigan

KREMER, SL - The recent LL blog announcement by Jack Linden that LL is holding off any new mainland land sales indefinitely, due to flat land prices, indicates that there is little new interest in land buying by the general public. This means literally zero economic growth in SL for the past two months. The game gods have succeeded in killing an economy that previously had grown at rates of over 400% annually.

While many could explain it as a reflection of RL economic circumstances impacting individuals disposable income, there are other factors at work here. It is a proven fact that tyranny begets reduced economic activity. Former users of SL have either left SL, or reduced their usage to the status of free accounts with no land not just due to real life circumstances, as many are well paid professionals in RL who have plenty of disposable income. The reason they are ceasing contributing to the SL economy is they are sick and tired of the creeping fascism in SL.

Lets face it, the casinos, the ad farming, the banking, was all a sign of a healthy, growing, vibrant economy. People joined SL because they liked the idea of earning at least a part of their living in SL, and they were willing to invest their savings and free time here to make that possible. Linden Lab even promoted SL for this very purpose. Unfortunately, people from economically repressive states and countries also joined SL, brought their ranting demagogery with them, and have succeeded in destroying the economy and driving away capital, much as is the case in their real life nations.

In the real world, cultures that ban economic activity such as these wind up in the economic dustbin. The muslim world, many argue, is underdeveloped specifically because the islamic prohibitions on charging and paying interest on loans or deposits makes obtaining capital difficult, even in supposedly oil rich countries. If islam dropped the prohibition on interest, those nations would flower economically, their middle classes would grow with industry, and the supply of disenchanted underemployed individuals to islamist jihadist organizations would dry up because they would be too busy working.

Op/Ed: Tortured Thoughts

by Jessica Holyoke, Gorean kajira

Torture has been on my mind lately, not only due to my Gorean excursions, but also in real life as well.

Back in June, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was on the U.S. news magazine show "60 Minutes."  He was asked why is the U.S. government allowed to torture....I mean, use high end interrogation, in light of the Eighth Amendment prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment." Justice Scalia's response was that torture was not punishment.  He did not go into it much more than that.

Justice Scalia's views usually match a line of thought that says the Executive, in our case the President, can do no illegal act.  But when you look at torture, it is an illegal act.  Not just due to international convention, but rather due to the fact that it has been determined over centuries that a person has a right to bodily integrity and there is a prohibition against battery.  So in looking at torture as a government policy, you also have to look at what gives the government the right to do so.

This of course leads back to the question of the Chinese dissident and the corporate position.  My position on that is the Chinese dissident is one question, one part of the problem.  A policy of torture, or a policy of suppression of speech of any form, is wrong. What a corporation does about it is another question, a different problem.  Did anyone notice that international journalists are not getting unfettered internet access in Beijing and the IOC knows about that?

Op/Ed: Google Whacks LL's Ad Options

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

unemployed bots forced to seek Lively jobs as chat session miners and ad customizers?

The Herald newsroom was quiet - staff writer Idoru Wellman had headed out muttering something about “Ginger & Jack, and four or five Feminax”. After the door closed, I stopped sorting through pictures of the W-Hat spiders at the Neva Naughty noobie orgy room and the unemployed bot flock who were heading over to Google’s Lively world, and considered rewriting the story that had gone *poof* when Second Life froze my MacBook Pro -again- but decided that story could wait.

Running SL while writing was a lame move - but I’ve been trying to stay positive and made a silly mistake. The first rule of SL journalism for Mac users is save early and often. For well over a year, I’ve known the odds of crashing rise quickly after 20 minutes in-world. These sorts of challenges may account for the less than stellar quality of metaverse journalism - along with excessive Linden Kool-Aid consumption on the part of certain members of the fourth estate.

Still, even generally reliable friends of the Lab seem to be dropping not-so veiled hints lately. Ex-Linden staffer Hamlet Au interrupts his latest ode to the transcendent wonders of virtuality in New World Notes to observe his pleasure was curtailed by a crash. Imagine that! Meanwhile, Tateru Nino at Massively connects the dots and notices how the Linden Lab PR machine flew into turbo-assisted overdrive in response to Google’s announcement of Lively - an avatar-based chat embedded in web pages.

What does it all mean? Nothing good for the Lab - that seems clear. Google’s desire to own all advertising revenue on the Internet is no secret, and this places them in conflict with Linden Lab in a struggle to define the next new media.

Op/Ed: The Great Watermelon Strikes Back

Banned for abuse of support staff by vandalizing Torely Linden's SL Wiki page?

by Jumpman Lane

No one labors under the impression that the kindly game gods of Linden Lab who traipse around the grid in (as) who-knows-wtf-that-avi-is-supposed-to-be avatars are anything but human on the meat side. However, some mistake the sudden appearance of a Linden-last-name tag as just that: a god descending from the heavens to bless us for a few moments with an aspect of the sublime, with the grace of the empyrean. Imagine my surprise upon discovering that Torley Linden has the soul of a watermelon colored turd.

I am not a saint. I swagger through the metaverse yapping with hotties, talking smack to tards, snapping snaps, and writing funny little things in forums, on blogs, and in my little porno rag...er mag: Slut Magazine. My few run-ins with Lindens have been limited to chummy convos at official lab office hours and a few electronic epistles decrying the fact that unfortunately once again, it has come to the game god’s attention that I have allegedly violated the community standards or terms of service.

Most metaverse residents have not had the benefit of such contact, so some long term residents ask, "Who are Lindens?". Hoping to improve Second Life, we decided to start a column in Slut Magazine called "Lindens! Who are these Wackjobs Anyways?" The first one was on then Linden Labs CEO Philip Linden entitled "Ol' Dirt Face Phil: Mustache like Mud." We ran it. Nothing happened. Emboldened, we decided to turn our attention to the most famous Linden of them all: Torley.

Op/Ed: Whose Product Is It?

by Jessica Holyoke

As reported in a few other metaverse news outlets, the fifth Second Life Birthday celebration has come under fire from residents based on certain policies.  In prior years, the SLB celebration has featured content that was labeled Mature.  This year, the celebration is being zoned PG and initially no builds that are related to BDSM, Gor or children were going to be allowed.  After some protest, children related builds and child avatars would be allowed to submit applications for builds to be exhibited at the celebration. 

In response, some editorialists are saying that this is a good thing.  First, because the Lindens are governing and chosing what to promote and what not to.  Second, because those who practice Gor and BDSM are extremists and while they are allowed to speak, they are not allowed to speak in public places. 

Other editorialists are suggesting that because of the increased attention paid to virtual worlds, and their potential for perpetrating crimes against real children, if the Lindens did not have these policies in place, Second Life might be shut down due to laws that might require more stringent identity requirements.

Looking beyond how many residents and internet companies would fight such a law the second it came out of committee in the US, and going beyond the concept of saying you have the freedom to speak so long as no one can hear it, the question in my mind is whose product is this again?

Metaverse SHOCKER!!! -- Free SL Accounts Locked Out?

Why are free accounts sometimes disabled to make room for paying customers?

by Avil Creeggan

---

Dear Linden Lab,

I am a free account. I have been a free account for the past two years. During that time, I've dealt with a lot of stuff that, frankly, shouldn't be happening; flagrant asset loss and dehabilitation, incompetent customer service representatives, seemingly-random suspensions and bans for which there is no notification, having to provide my identification on multiple occasions... But it's been pretty much okay.

You see this dialog box?

This changes everything. You know why?

Forget the fact that you didn't tell me this was coming, at all. Forget the fact that, not only can I not login, neither can my friends. Realize that you consider me to "just" be a free account, now, and nothing else. You are completely wrong.

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: 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: 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: 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.