Friends Facing Difficulty's in Second life

[Layla1 Aura]

Hello,
        my name is Layla and I would like to discuss or open a topic that is usually not discussed or brought up in these forums.. Which is getting banned or having your account on hold. I personally have not had that happen to myself, but I am more of in a advantage then my friends. The first reason why I decided to join second like is because of its international community. Most of my friends are from different country's that don't speak English. I find myself usually listing to my friends talking about the taboo, which is having there account on hold or someone being banned.  The reason why I am bringing this subject up is because I have the advantage of the English language and I am sure all of the readers has had a friend that was banned or account on hold. I think this happens because of the language barrier that is between second life and the users, especially the Arabic speaking users. In addition to the language barrier there is also the different format each country uses for DOB and just the regular calendar system. Please respond if your account is on hold or have friends that have had the same issue. I hope second life will recognize these issues and try to fix it or take care of it in a manner that is not hurtful. 
                                                                                                                                    Thank you,                                                                                                                                                                                                           Layla1 Aura

Please post your comments or reply's in English and no spamming. (My previous post about this matter was removed do to the reply's that were in the Arabic language and spamming)

[3zo0ozll]

There is a campaign is known are caused by the Arabs in particular. Is there a reason does not have a reason for that? I want an answer from anyone here

[Storm Clarence]

I do not spend my day speaking with others in SL about who got banned and why.  I don't 'know' any individuals that have been banned - I don't asssociate with people that got banned.  

Insofar as language being the culprit of banning - I seriously doubt it; griefing yes, content theft yes, As-Salamu Alaykum NO!

[Layla1 Aura]

I am sorry that you feel that way... I am not just talking about getting banned I am also talking about accounts being on hold, or difficulty's because of language barriers, and not because there are a few individuals who do a bad thing all should suffer.. We are in one world in SL or RL it does not matter about religion or race we just need to learn how to respect and get along with each other. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to the thread I like hearing different views about this subject.

[Griffin Ceawlin]

That's what I was thinking.

As far as calendar systems and DOBs... Last I checked, most of the world knew that July was July and not Sha'aban and that it's 2011 AD (or CE) and not 1432 AH.

[Sammantha Koppel]

I don't think people get banned because they don't speak English.  If they are going about their SL without griefing or causing other problems, it doesn't become an issue.  However, I do think that language barriers may become a factor if someone is attempting to get an account reinstated after a ban.  I'm quite sure that LL is not targeting any particular race. 

[Venus Petrov]

I have DJ'ed for three years in SL and I have yet to hear about anyone in a club being banned because they were not native speakers of English.  Many in SL tend to gravitate to sims where there are those of 'like' language, customs, etc but that is only preference.  Others like to visit different places.  Your world. Your imagination.

If you have a friend whose account has been put on hold and they do not speak English, you can try to help insofar as crafting support tickets in English but LL Support will not deal with anyone directly other than the person on hold.  This is to protect the account from hackers or others who might wish to cause havoc with the account.

Yes, SL is a wonderful place to meet others from around the world.  But, as with RL travel, one needs to be aware of the customs of different areas (in this case, LL ToS and Community Guidelines).

Good luck.

[Void Singer]

unfortunately I doubt it's the language barrier (although that can make things take longer to get sorted out if it was a mistake)....

the problem most often is content theft... not always the fault of the user, but there is a large amount of theft traffic in the Egyptian community that often ends up in freebies and BIAB packages that users get banned because of, sometimes not knowing that the content was stolen. this is a problem in a few other foreign language communities due to lack of familiarity with the content and poor policing by LL that lets it become common in those communities... the Brazilian community has the same problem as do the French, German, and Italian communities to a lesser degree thanks to those languages being more common for the people that do content policing.

unfortunately there is also a cultural disconnect in those communities that places no value on virtual goods that hampers things as well and tends to give those communities a bad name.

that is not to say that all the people in those language communities are to blame, guilty, or even aware of the large flow of stolen goods being passed around. I'd say the majority have a very low awareness of the problem. unfortunately the ones that associate with other communities are the most likely to be banned, because other language communities tend to have a higher awareness of the stolen content and can spot it more easily.

[Blueray Darkes]

Break the ToS in anyway you get banned, period.

[Layla1 Aura]

True But you just stated the clear in MOST of the world.... not all

[Griffin Ceawlin]

OK. Well... I don't think the year 14XX is even an option on registering an account, and because of the differing formats used in different countries (month first vs. day of month first, etc.)... Is it '7' on the signup form, or is it 'July'?

ETA: Anyone who was expecting to find the year 14XX on the signup form, upon not finding it, might (and probably should) expect that further date details were requested in 'Western' formats.

[mansour Riler]

 I also have a problem ..
Which is that my partner in Second Life has A Arab land. real estate and trade's in horses and we have a group where there is more than 1,400 members, that did not matter her account was put on hold along with 150 other members of our group and 4 owners. I had to even have someone translate what I want to say to even reply to the thread. Why is the Arabic language not recognized by lindon labs? and most other major languages recognized.

[Void Singer]

---

mansour Riler wrote:

[...]

Why is the Arabic language not recognized by lindon labs? and most other major languages recognized.

---

because LL do not have anyone that speaks Arabic, or can translate it, working for them?

because more than one arabic nation blocks access to SL reducing the number of people who speak it in SL?

because it is technically difficult to support languages that do not have well developed translation services or require special formatting considerations?

 

do not look at it as a problem, it is an opportunity for someone that can translate to make money providing services.

[Marigold Devin]

---

Layla1 Aura wrote:

Hello,

        my name is Layla and I would like to discuss or open a topic that is usually not discussed or brought up in these forums.. Which is getting banned or having your account on hold. I personally have not had that happen to myself, but I am more of in a advantage then my friends. The first reason why I decided to join second like is because of its international community. Most of my friends are from different country's that don't speak English. I find myself usually listing to my friends talking about the taboo, which is having there account on hold or someone being banned.  The reason why I am bringing this subject up is because I have the advantage of the English language and I am sure all of the readers has had a friend that was banned or account on hold. I think this happens because of the language barrier that is between second life and the users, especially the Arabic speaking users. In addition to the language barrier there is also the different format each country uses for DOB and just the regular calendar system. Please respond if your account is on hold or have friends that have had the same issue. I hope second life will recognize these issues and try to fix it or take care of it in a manner that is not hurtful. 

                                                                                                                                    Thank you,                                                                                                                                                                                                           Layla1 Aura

Please post your comments or reply's in English and no spamming. (My previous post about this matter was removed do to the reply's that were in the Arabic language and spamming)

---

As I said in the post I made yesterday on the thread that apparently got removed, I have known a lot of people have their account suspended or terminated, and always for a reason. Linden Lab get no pleasure out of banning or suspending for no reason, and often I have known them err on the side of caution. 

It is just unfortunate that not all languages are translated - or it is unfortunate that we all have not learned to speak the universal language, Esperanto.

However, it is wonderful that you are able to translate Arabic-English. Although you cannot approach Linden Lab on behalf of a friend who might have had their account put on hold, you can help with the translation for them.

As I said in my previous post, just remember that although people may be your friends in Second Life, you do not really know them 100%, and Linden Lab can see more than we can see. I do not believe that Linden Lab are racist; quite the opposite.  The company is an American company, set up for everybody who can access it to enjoy and use, and anyone - regardless of race, or spoken language, or colour, or religious beliefs - is welcomed into Second Life unless or until they cause a breach of Terms of Service.

[Marigold Devin]

---

3zo0ozll wrote:

There is a campaign

is

known

are caused by

the Arabs

in particular.

Is there a reason

does not have

a reason for that

?

I want

an answer

from anyone

here

---

 

There is no such campaign.

We have also had a Spanish man claiming that Linden Lab are anti-Spain to.

It is NONSENSE!

And I for one would prefer all the real life war-mongers to leave that side of themselves outside the door and just come and enjoy this wonderful alternative life.  (That's why it is called Second Life, after all)

[Griffin Ceawlin]

Esperanto? Ni Usonanoj ne povas eĉ mastro la Metra Sistemo...

[Dresden Ceriano]

Okay, let's try this again.

I don't know anyone that's been banned (that I'm aware of) but I do know people that have gotten their account blocked for a period of time; in fact it happened to me. I signed onto my boyfriend's account for like ten minutes once (to adjust a top hat the fool couldn't figure out how to fix) and when he got blocked for a payment issue, I got block as well because our accounts were linked when I signed on as him. Though I had nothing to do with the reason I got blocked, what I did (signing onto another person's account) was against TOS.

There's always a reason a person is blocked or banned which has nothing to do with where you are from or what language you speak. Luckily I was unblocked rather quickly after proving I was not connected to his account. I can see the difficulty of not being able to speak English when trying to figure out why it happened and what to do. Sometimes you have to jump through hoops to get things cleared up.

While it's not possible for you to help every Arabic speaking person in SL individually, there are some things that you could do to help. Here's a couple of suggestions:

You could suggest the creation of an Arabic speaking subsection in the International forum. Add it to the agenda of the Community Tools User Group (link) then go to the meeting and advocate it to the Lindens in person. You could also, create a thread in the Forum Feedback forum (link) to try and garner more support for the addition.

If you are good at translating into Arabic, you could volunteer to translate some Knowledge Base articles. Here's the link for the Community Translation User Group or you might want to contact Rand Linden directly.

Hope this helps... Dres

 

[Peggy Paperdoll]

I'm wondering how you arrived at the highlighted part of you statement in this 2nd thread that was removed. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,
        my name is Layla and I would like to discuss or open a topic that is usually not discussed or brought up in these forums.. Which is getting banned or having your account on hold. I personally have not had that happen to myself, but I am more of in a advantage then my friends. The first reason why I decided to join second like is because of its international community. Most of my friends are from different country's that don't speak English. I find myself usually listing to my friends talking about the taboo, which is having there account on hold or someone being banned.  The reason why I am bringing this subject up is because I have the advantage of the English language and I am sure all of the readers has had a friend that was banned or account on hold. I think this happens because of the language barrier that is between second life and the users, especially the Arabic speaking users. In addition to the language barrier there is also the different format each country uses for DOB and just the regular calendar system. Please respond if your account is on hold or have friends that have had the same issue. I hope second life will recognize these issues and try to fix it or take care of it in a manner that is not hurtful.
                                                                                                                                    Thank you,                                                                                                                                                                                                           Layla1 Aura

Please post your comments or reply's in English and no spamming. (My previous post about this matter was removed do to the reply's that were in the Arabic language and spamming)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's possible the thread was removed for spamming (though I did not see anything that would constitute what I would define as spam..........what was posted in Arabic could have been spam and only people who could read and understand what was posted would know that).  I do not believe, for one moment, the thread was removed due to any response posted in Arabic.  That's pure speculation on your part and has no basis in fact.  Unless, of course, you were told by the moderator or Linden who removed the thread............and that brings up something else:

 

The "Community Guidelines" for this forum (blog, whatever it is) prohibits reposting of threads that were removed, locked or otherwise restricted by a moderator:

Abuse of
Moderation or Moderators: Please honor
our moderation process and the decisions that come out of it; they are being
made in order to provide you with a productive environment for conversations
about Second Life. We prohibit abuse of our moderation process, including the
following:

• Posts that
  discuss or re-post material that has been removed or locked by a
  moderator
• Posts questioning
  a moderator’s decision
• Posts that
  discuss the status of any Resident account (e.g., on hold, suspended,
  etc.)
• Frivolous or
  malicious use of the abuse report feature

 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_OffiDiscussion_guidelinescial:

 

 



[Griffin Ceawlin]

I didn't respond or subscribe to the original, so I didn't get e-mail notifications, but I did open the thread a few times and notice that a number of people simply copied and pasted Layla1's original post. This may be the "spam."

[Pussycat Catnap]

---

Storm Clarence wrote:

I do not spend my day speaking with others in SL about who got banned and why.  I don't 'know' any individuals that have been banned - I don't asssociate with people that got banned.  

---

Yeah this. Though one very popular third party forum has a notable portion of its membership composed of people no longer in SL for having been banned. I don't know anyone who's been banned other than having formerly read that forum - where it can become quickly obvious for several of them as to why they are in that camp (a good half of them will admit what they did).

Language would be a culprit only in a secondary way. SL has a number of somewhat bigotted users who will blame certain forms of griefing on 'those other people of a certain nationality' and then start ARing people from those communities as they go 'looking for trouble' among the 'foreigner ranks'.

- Brazilians and other Portuguese are the most popular targets of this, with quite a few English language users perfectly happy to post on forums that 'all those Brazilians are a pack of copybotters' - they then go out of their way to find ToS violators among that community, while failing to put the same effort into finding ToS violators among their own linguistic community.

 

As a result it ends up 'appearing' that they're correct... But frankly... if you look behind your fridge and see a lot of dirt, does that mean its clean behind the stove? Or just that you failed to look there?

- So I would not be surprised if a few users have started 'assuming' that Arab speakers are up to no good, and so are now spending all their time looking behind just the fridge and ignoring the stove.

 

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Yeah, I suppose that's possible.  I, personally, would not define that as spam.  But that's not my point.  My point is that the stating that the thread was removed for the reason that posts a few posts were in Arabic is not backed up with any facts.  All that statement does is stir up animosity among those to don't agree with the OP about Arabs being "discriminated" against because of their language (which what I read as the main focus of the OP).

 

Plus the re-posting of the thread is a clear violation of the guidelines.  If (or when) this thread gets taken down I know what the reason will be..........and it will have nothing to do with any "discrimination" or bias against any person or group.  It will be for a clear violation of the written guidelines that every poster here should have read.  And if the OP finds herself in trouble with LL it won't be for any other reason than a blatant violation of the forum guidelines.  Will she accept that gracefully?  Maybe, maybe not.

 

And for the record, I didn't get any notification about posts being removed and I did post in the original thread......maybe more than one time (I can't remember).  The thread is gone though............I looked for it after Layla stated it was removed.

[Layla1 Aura]

I am not stating that you should sign up in that fashion.... but it wouldn't hurt for a Arabic forum.. That would help with adjusting the differences and bringing it all together

[Layla1 Aura]

Thanks :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2: I am trying to bring this matter up ( creating a arabic forum) I have no clue were to start or even who to ask about this matter.

[Griffin Ceawlin]

@Peggy: Agreed.

P.S. I haven't gotten notification of any of my posts having been removed since the migration to Lithium, except for one, which came with a warning (and there have certainly been more than that one removed). This, despite the fact that it was stated that we would be notified.

[Void Singer]

I'll hope that wasn't directed at me, as I have friends in all the communities that I mentioned. The communities are not to blame, the language barrier and awareness of the problem are. it just happens that the larger the language barrier the more entrenched the problem is, and the more unaware people are caught in the fallout when they come into contact with people that are aware.