New Neighbor is a bot farm, what can I do?

[Nikki Bergiere]

I have had a mainland plot for almost a year now. In April someone bought a neighboring plot in my region. Ever since, there have never been less than 35 avatars in the region (not counting immediately after restarts). I now frequently can't have friends to my land because they get the message that the region is full. Many times I can't get to my own land.

Watching the "Nearby" list, I see over 20 avatars that are logged on 24/7 in the same locations (except when they spawn on my land after a restart and I ban them) that are, as far as I can tell, bots. Because of these bots, the region is almost always full.

These bots don't seem to generate much traffic, they just stand there. Many are clustered around advertising kiosks for a company called "Smart Bots". This is another reason I think they just might be bots. Because of the fact they aren't doing any spamming, I am not sure they violate the TOS. Even if they did, I haven't found a mechanism to report them.

Is there anything I can do? Is there anywhere they can be reported? They are making it so that I frequently can't even visit the property I am paying tier for.

I have considered trying to move, but what if it happens again at the new location?

[Marianne Little]

Others may have better suggestions, but what I can suggest is filling a ticket for "Land & region" - "Region performance" and write that you can not teleport to your land or have friends over because of the bots that are placed out 24/7. Make sure you have the correct location and attach a screenshot or more. https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new

I think you have cause to complaint, because they negatively impact you.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Mainland_policies

Policy prohibiting the misuse of bots (scripted agents)

While we support the use of scripted agents ("bots") in Second Life, we draw the line when it comes to bots that cause an unreasonable load on our systems or on the regions in which they operate, or where their behavior negatively impacts other residents. Misuse of bots is a violation of this policy. Attempting to gain an unfair advantage in the Second Life search tools, including but not limited to the use of bots or camping for that purpose, is a violation of this policy and (for non-mainland estates) of the Terms of Service.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Marianne Little

[Marigold Devin]

I wouldn't even consider moving.

I would do as Marianne above suggests.

Submit an abuse report - it is an unfair use of region resources.

Also, at times when it becomes particularly busy in Second Life, all the bots that are logged in are preventing a genuine resident from being able to log in.

 

 

 

 

[ChinRey]

On 6/12/2020 at 3:52 PM, Nikki Bergiere said:

I am not sure they violate the TOS.

I can't find it right now but I think there is some clause in some rules about "excessive use of sim resoruces" that should fit.

Edited June 13, 2020 by ChinRey

[Nikki Bergiere]

Thank you for the recommendations. I reached out to Linden Support with a ticket, the told me it had to be done in world, on (or next to) the parcel with the bots, and with a screenshot, as Help > Report Abuse > Disturbing the Peace > Repetitive Spam as there is no option for bots. I am also reaching out to the staff of SmartBots to try to at least get the number of bots in the region cut down.

I appreciate the assistance, and the pointers to places in the policy I can quote to reinforce my complaint if asked.

Thanks all!