Codex Alpha

Nothing kills convo, and a well thought out and researched response, other than clicking 'post', it appears to be in the conversation, but then is nowhere to be found. Can you check Merchants->MP Integrity topic, I should have reply there at the end. If not, there are forum posting issues currently. Thanks.

Apparently I'm not allowed to post links to demonstrate examples of which I speak about, so you will have to use your imagination instead, or use the MP to search for the keywords I present to follow along. It seems copyright infringers are protected by the very system they are disregarding. Some big name merchants are involved in this reply, who frequently pay their mortgages and living expenses by profiting from copyright infringement. Keyword searches cannot determine whether a merchant has a valid copyright or license. How can a keyword search on [ SEARCH: 'Marshall Amps' ] determine this? All these products listed could be copyright infringement, and definitely breaking listing guidelines. Hundreds of items replicating the Marshall brand of guitar amps, many products sold by big name and established stores, that should know better. Can a keyword determine copyright infringement, when sometimes the listing is not using branded keywords in the title or its tags/keyword list? What about just a [ SEARCH: 'guitar amp' (non-brand generic search) ], Scroll down the page, and most are legit or knockoffs, but you will run into a couple who don't use the "Marshall" brand name in their keywords or title, but the texture on the model clearly does NOTE: I exclude knockoffs or inspired-by type models, since they do not use branding in keywords, text or images. Keyloggers use a lot of resources, both on the client and the server, since they are reading each and every character you type, and trying to update the search as you go. This could bog down performance on the SL Marketplace. Keyloggers are also regarded as malware - even though suddenly they are under massive use first with Chrome, now even in the Window 10 Operating System. In both of these cases, Linden Lab would also have to create, maintain and update a huge word database of every brand name, trademark, movie title, actor name, etc to check this against. This is simply not feasible, as the system cannot determine licensing just from word content. Therefore, unless a IP holder files a claim, Linden Lab would have to sift through thousands of listings, check their licenses and ownership, verify users are who they say they are, etc. An impossible and very expensive task. So Linden Lab should dedicate vast resources to chase down merchants who 1) upload copyrighted material 2) broke the Terms of Service immediately on doing so, just to make sure they're legit? Can't be done. We'd have to require an amazing surveillance and police system to do that - or many, many, many employees. AMC won't care about the occasional uploader that has a [ SEARCH: 'Breaking Bad' ] 'Heisenberg T-shirt, Disney won't spend time making a claim against some merchant who uploaded a [ SEARCH: 'Tie Fighter' ], nor will [ SEARCH: 'Nike' ].  Unfortunately, even with the mass and obvious IP infringement, a group of LL employees would have to painstakingly go through each and every listing and confirm the sellers have ownership or licenses.. but why should they have to? By agreeing to the Terms of Service, and passing the "Upload Mesh" test, the seller has affirmed multiple times that they own the item or have permission to sell it. Unless a copyright holder claims against it in opposition - we all have to assume these people are allowed. So, in the end... The integrity of the MP is really defined by the integrity of its merchants. As with many other commercial sites, selling popular works and brand names still remains profitable for many, and an unfair advantage - because people won't find your unique design through search - unless you use brand names yourself.

Amethyst Jetaime wrote: There really is no reason to be a premium member unless you own mainland or want a Linden home. Linden homes were not designed for luxury or as permanent homes. When LL first introduced them they said that the homes were meant to give people a taste of having a home with the thought they'd eventually want to have a better home and move on. It is therefore not surprising that LL has never upgraded them. LOL Amethyst, you're supposed to sell me on keeping it. Anyway, I do still use my Linden Home quite a bit; mainly as a starting base and 'lab' of sorts, where I may work on scripting, assembling prototypes and meshes, 'scenes' for product shots, fixups and improvements to existing products, listening to the music I want to, etc. I'm not a real estate or marketing mogul yet in Second Life, so the LH still has some good value in it. (but sucks if you want full household scene). I'm also cheap - I don't pay more for something than I have to, and only pay well for quality goods. Rufferta wrote: I pay a premium membership in Second Life for the same reason I pay my taxes in real life - it makes me feel as if I am supporting something in a small way, and I feel it gives me more right to complain. With each purchase you make, land rental, etc you're contributing anyway to Linden Labs, much like someone who may not vote, or extreme cases not pay income taxes - they still pay through usage fees and taxes - so always contribute anyway. Qie Niangao wrote: I have several Premium accounts myself, but only because they're old enough that their stipends (L$500 and in one case, L$400/wk) make an Annual membership ever so slightly profitable. If they were all L$300, I'd only have one and only because I still prefer owning Mainland to renting anywhere, and obviously YMMV. Yes, I get a $300L stipend or 'cash back' weekly, which pretty much amounts to money back (though the $L value is 12.5% lower than last year), which makes the Premium cheaper every month.

Drake1 Nightfire wrote: LL takes a cut of each sale.. There They are most definitely profiting from the sale of illegal goods. Just like if I sold knock off purses i bought from someone else, I could not claim "I didn't know they were illegal" I would still go to jail. Let's not criminalize Linden Labs for providing a hosting service and opportunity, in which participants agree to a TOS to even participate by stating legally they will only upload content they own or have the rights to. The responsibility for that sits squarely on the offending party, who has broken their contract with Linden Labs immediately on conducting such activity. There is no reasonable way Linden Labs can check each upload, or police each new listing, or to check copyright and license holders. The sheer number of merchant accounts does not allow that, and there is no automated system such as implemented by YouTube that would even apply to these kind of things. One could argue that YouTube is criminal too for 'allowing' copyright infringement to continue because they benefit financially as well - but they're not benefiting financially on purpose, nor in most cases even aware - so that is an important distinction to make. Don't let your frustrations at the eroding of the trust and integrity and value of the Marketplace be taken out on Linden Labs, as they have limited resources to process what might be hundreds of complaints daily. Linden Labs can't be aware of infringements unless they are reported. In order to have valid copyright infringement claims, and avoid abuse, they require the IP owner themselves to file for each infringement. They also can't be held responsible for accounts who break the TOS, or for the 5% commissions they make on each sale, since it is an automated system. The only time Linden Labs would get into any kind of trouble is if they are 'aware' of a IP-infringing listing, and do nothing about it. The flagging system has failed as well, as the sheer number of infractions must overwhelm Linden Labs, who probably have to check each and every complaint to ensure it is a valid one - or just ignore it. I know several merchants who I have flagged for various offenses - they are probably in the 100s now - their products remain unchanged. When a large number of users are simply unethical, and scumbaggery and dishonesty become the majority, there is nothing Linden Labs can really do at some point - they just don't have the resources to police anymore.

or Convince An Existing Premium Member to Continue Being A Premium Member Update: Consensus is no compelling reason to become or remain a Premium Member Hi, my premium account annual is coming due. However, since Linden Labs has done little to optimize or even improve their existing world, rationalizing a continued 'premium' account (which doesnt feel premium anymore), is suddenly on the table. I have the money to do it, it's just getting harder and harder every year to put it out, since nothing has changed. I use Second LIfe to; 1) Design and upload content for others to use in Second Life. 2) Explore cool sims other creators create. 3) Rent land from landowners for inworld stores, or creative photograph/machinima projects. The success of the Marketplace is eclipsing inworld purchases, so the need to have an inworld presence is minimal, if even needed at all, and public sandboxes fill in that gap. Premium is losing its lustre for me because; 1) Premium homes are getting old and outdated, and kinda ugly. Out of scale (I can fit an entire restaurant at scale in the living room), small allowance of LI, and no new designs/optimization is making my premium home boring. I've settled in them all at one point or another. 2) Premium sandboxes no longer needed if you rent land. They're nice and quiet, but with all the public sandboxes, why do we need them again? What's the benefit to a Premium member, if I can attend a much more active (and policed) public sandbox? 3) I don't buy or trade or sell Mainland. Never found a reason to. Seems landlords are renting out at the same prices they're putting in to pay the tier. Frankly, I've never understood how mainland owners even make money at it. 4) Premium account 'free monthly gifts" are not that good, or unrelated to my interests. 5) Live chat support has never been used, nor do I expect to use it anytime soon. 6) Already have attended vehicle, flying sims. Never anything new to keep my interests as a Premium member. This is probably just a symptom of Second LIfe getting a little long in the tooth, and there isn't much incentive for some of us to continue on - since nothing new and exciting has been added to Premium accounts - once you've visited all the Premium areas, what else is there other than just paying for the same old, same old? I believe there is a lot that can be done to improve the existing world of Second Life - most of which is creating engaging worlds and experiences, better UX/UI, better tutorials and "What Next?" or "What Do I Do Now" for new customers, optimizing texture use, scaling down stuff, etc, long before I don a 3d headset and swim around in Sansar. Thanks for your responses.

SOLUTION: Get payment information from any would-be marketplace merchant. They break the rules, get caught selling copyrighted or copybotted works? Ban the identifying information for life. Zero tolerance is the only way. Since Linden Labs actually requested and has my Government ID, they have more information on me than any other corporation I've dealt with - just for selling stuff on their Marketplace. So I'm sure it is in their power to investigate, require Government ID, for everyone who wants to be a merchant if they really wanted to. Charging innocent people more money won't do squat. Pamela Galli wrote: You have at least two kinds of sellers: those running a business and those role playing running a business. For the first group, twelve dollars is not a significant barrier, for the latter it is. Elitist statement, and does not address solutions.

After having many issues with accessing the Beta server, sometimes the land marks would change, or I found myself in the ocean, or w/e... I use an alternate method, which is much faster, I can upload models and leave them there. Run Open Sim on Localhost on Your Machine The only thing you can't check is your Land Impact, as there is none configured in OpenSim. However, with creating good LODs for your objects and Physics object, you'll have no problem once you put it into Second Life. You'll have unliimited LI and can leave your builds, test things out, all on your local computer, and you don't have to upload test meshes up into Linden Lab's databases.

MrMakelove wrote: " This is a band called "Second Life", and even they didn't even form until 1999. "SECOND LIFE is a three piece Modern Rock band based in Southwestern Idaho. Formed in March 1999, they are dedicated to writing and performing their own unique style of melodic high-energy music" My first virtual world was a very laggy "Active Worlds"? (with Power Ranger-looking avatars) on a modem. It was a mess and took forever to load up.

When I see a product inworld that I like, I will try to find it on the Marketplace, so that I can leave a review, or at least have the ability to have it serviced/redelivered. This is your best bet if you frequently leave reviews. As a merchant, I don't like the fact that I can't track purchases inworld - I can't offer service or refunds to people because I can't even find their transaction possibly - or it's a lot more work, and SL only allows me to go back over transactions of 30 days. So on some products, I will put the 'demo' version inworld, and script the object to open up the Marketplace product page, and the customer can purchase from there - dunno if that loses impulse sales inworld but I don't care. I care more about being able to track what is being bought. Other knick-knacks and random products that won't need a lot of servicing in the future (like tables, chairs, oddities, etc) I can freely sell inworld without tracking (though a universal 'tracking by product ID' would be nice inworld or not).

No problem. Just stating for the OP's benefit that Maya tutorials and instruction heavily use menus, options, panels, docks, windows, and toolboxes, and Blender tutorials don't - they teach shortcuts from day one.

Most of the joint floating will be exactly that - the joints were rotated from default. It's the only time it's happened to me, and occasionally I will have missed one joint, or it didn't take.

Bee Rentals Available, at the price point you wanted. Fast service, responds quickly, 5% discounts on monthly purchases, and most of all friendly (which we need more of in SL). I rent my store through Bee currently.

IvanBenjammin wrote: Then I guess you win whatever contest we were having... Technically, you made a challenge, so I answered it. Don't worry, Maya is clearly the industry standard, so you win by default. The op wants to use menus, well Maya is heavy on the use of them - she should explore Maya tutorials. The op doesn't want to learn shortcuts - then stay away from Blender tutorials - shortcuts are taught and used from day one. I knew I would temp debate by even mentioning the differences in using Maya vs Blender, but it was in the context of the desires of the OP.

I can do it in 1.5.

No. Blender tutorials are shortcut-key-centric and is far superior to using menus. However, if you want to use menus, Maya is possibly software you could consider. The software features 8-10 ways of doing the same thing, with multiple menus, docks, windows, panels, and toolboxes that allow you to do the simplest of things - but in 5 steps or more for each action. Most Maya tutorials are menu-centric - they seem to love opening up 5 options in order to do the simplest of actions. Compare how long it takes to add 3 loop cuts to a cube in Blender, vs 3 balanced loop cuts in Maya. Now add 1 loop cut and slide with it on a cube - but try to do the same in Maya without having to open up the options box and resetting it back to 1 and make sure the loop is centered too.

I thought there was no problem with this, as I've only changed it in the Merchant Home | Edit Store Information | Store Setup -> Link To Inworld Store and it already updates on each product page? Oh I see now, in the individual product listing: Saw that problem early in the game, and NEVER used it there.

Thousands of searchable streaming radio stations For Second Life

No matter what anyone says, an avatar is not a child. If two adults in SL want to 'age-play' or 'role-play' their first kiss using child avatars, that is up to them. No children are involved, only adults. An avatar cannot be a sexual object by itself, only the person wielding the avatar can do that. A picture of a child avatar in a bikini also is not child pornography. One cannot tell the intent, or even assume the use of, a child avatar in SL. THough it is not my cup of tea, unless you were to observe private SL users with child avatars and spy on them - there is no reason to suspect they are using the avatars in the parameters that a virtual world like SL allows. If you can't look at an innocent picture (or advertisement) of clothing for a child avatar - without sexualizing it - perhaps the issue is more in your mind than it is in the sellers'. Also, even if there were 'questionable' activity by consenting adults in SEcond Life, and whether or not I find the subject/action/fetish disgusting - I will defend any roleplay by any (ADULT VERIFIED ACCOUNT), do do what ever they please. - SECOND LIFE IS A VIRTUAL WORLD, NOT THE REAL WORLD. Addendum: Hopefully such questionable activities should be restricted to private sims only;. I don't believe the femboi-humping dude or the dog-humping dude observed in the Premium default user homes was appropriate...

Alwin Alcott wrote: what you forget is that escort work in SL often requires CAM work... and that IS seen as prostitution in many countries. This is a NEW argument, and essentially is moving the goal posts in a discussion/debate. It is a tactic frequently used when an argument has been counter-acted effectively, yet the arguing party wants to still win. The original post was about clothing for avatars, and imagined behaviour and roleplay between consenting adults who subscribe to the Second Life virtual world service. Alwin Alcott wrote: Next to that it's impossible to check if a employee is adult. But i'm sure you don't mind your 16 or 17 yr old daughter playing herself in front of a cam. Next to impossible for whom? Last time I checked, one needed to be 19-21 years of age in order to write contracts and be eligible for credit cards - which amounts to "payment on file" for the average Second Lifer. Linden Labs has access to all that information, the personal names of users. Should their job now be to peek into the activity of their subscribers and police their activities as well? If a child is participating in Second Life activities fit for the Adult category, and there is payment on file, then that has to do with the parent involved who put the credit card up, and therefore monitoring of their child's activities is their responsibility. Alwin Alcott wrote: But i'm sure you don't mind your 16 or 17 yr old daughter playing herself in front of a cam.  And that was a straight up, unfair and undeserved personal attack. Discuss the topic and points made, not the person.

Quinn Lysette wrote: prostitution is ilegal in rl it should be ilegal in sl Prokofy Neva wrote: If Linden Lab has a policy against ageplay -- which it does and should regardless of what people think regarding the application onf the First Amendment -- then it has to extend that to the props for this banned activity. It is not illegal to sell clothing. Also, just because it is made and advertised for the child avatar in mind, doesn't mean it is automatically sexual or related to child sex abuse, pornography, etc. In many countries around the world, you will see a variance of dress, regardless of age, even swimwear. What we may find shocking here, may be the norm elsewhere. Yes, there are young teenagers wearing thongs on public beaches, and others may even go topless. Your reaction to seeing it should be scrutinized more - rather than how someone chooses to remain cool and/or sunbathe. Your concern should even be less when it comes to an environment like Second Life - where you only see what you are seeking - and leave the rest for other members to deal with. Whether or not I find certain roleplay distasteful, it's not illegal, and never should be, not do RL rules or infractions be, unless someone is affected in RL. Or else, what you are calling for is 'thought crime", and frankly, that is more distasteful than letting consenting adults roleplay whatever they want, or buy whatever clothes they want for whatever avatar they want.

Persephone Emerald wrote: Whenever you buy something on MP, it's nice to leave an honest review. If the product is good, then a good review helps both the creator & those who might buy it. If the product is bad, a bad review may dissuade someone else from wasting their money & time on buying it. Even free items cost us the effort to delete them. Also, if you think a freebie is actually stolen from another creator or if a cheapie is elsewhere a full-perm freebie that's supposed to be free, then put that information in your review. Sorry I didn't respond to your post. I agree. Reviews are a double edged sword, and no product is above it. If you get the good, you get the bad as well. Anyone who has a problem with that can contact me inworld and I can show the products I have reviewed, both good and bad, and why, and we can have an adult discussion about it. I don't buy into the 'it's free, so be thankful and gracious' - irrelevant, if people want to leave a review, all power to them.

wherorangi wrote: what you know is what works for you, works for you. And you dunno why what works for you, doesnt work for everyone. Have you been drinking? Because that made no sense wherorangi wrote: And bc you dunno why then you see things that are not real and not true. And you wonder why nobody else sees what you see, things that are not real and not true Yep, seems like you have been drinking wherorangi wrote: you see the high & mighty say stuff like "they should be grateful for free stuff". Nobody else in all the threads where you have raised this topic, sees this. Only you If I thought you'd change your mind, I'd spend the time to dig it up, but I know it wouldn't, so I won't bother. Just stay in your fearful litte sock account troll bubble. wherorangi wrote: it isnt about being grateful. Is about being gracious Lol, just an excuse to put out crappy stuff. wherorangi wrote: what I, and pretty much everyone else, does get for free, we are pretty gracious about. Being gracious means dont complain after asking for and getting the stuff. Like to actual get free stuff we do ask for it, by click on it It's funny how you speak as if you are a spokesperson for many; you should instead focus on speaking for yourself. wherorangi wrote: to actual ask for free stuff, just so that we can critique it, is one of the weirdest things anyone can do. Is actual bananas Who's asking for free stuff? Who's complaining about free stuff? Who said 'leave scathing reviews' on freebies? It's very interesting to see such a resistance ( as usual ) over a simple little thing. Review and be reviewed, freebie or not. I will be reviewing regardless of your opinion. Anything I say can be turned on me as well. In fact, some sore loser already 1 starred one of my most popular freebies - go see it and learn how to address such reviews. I just used it as another opportunity to sell. It even helped me improve the product again - directly addressing the complaint and already updating it. So what's your problem? I sense fear.

I demand standards dammit. That being said, my shape and size is that of the default avatar size determined by SL itself. I design everything with that in mind. If I go to a real 5'8" size, then I look like a midget compared to all the super-villain, Minotaur-sized males and 16 foot Amazon women with 8 foot legs. I also hate most furniture made in the world, because they are generally too large and make people look like kiddies. Scale furniture and chairs look disturbingly small in SL. I can fit an entire bar and nightclub in a default premium SL house if I build to RL scale. Generally though, I'll build to scale then multiply x 1.2 to get close to average SL scale, or objects are too small. I wish they'd just scale to metric and RL size though, standards dammit Also there is a limit sliding the height scale down before your shape starts to look all stubby and stupid. and thats 5'8 and down.

Good article and a good blog.... there's even a good on on how to find some Freebies in Second Life. Good information for newbies to read - and some of us older members who are still relatively new to renting/owning land.

Yes, I understand. I consider a rental opt-in, as in I pay for 1-4 or 8 weeks, and at the end of that tenancy and I haven't renewed, the land owner can put it up immediately. That being said, I've discontinued rentals not because I didn't appreciate any help or favours, it was an economic one, and will/have returned to rent land from the same in the future. Inworld stores are iffy right now - I track visitors and at least at my level and number of items, its hard to warrant the expense for the minimal visitors - most of my customers come from the MP. So the last thing I want is to mess around after putting out up to a month in the past through a box, then left hanging there wondering what happened.