Skip Oceanlane
-
Posts
13 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Blogs
Knowledge Base
Posts posted by Skip Oceanlane
-
-
Send an IM to Glaznah Gassner. He should be able to assist you. Give a few days for him to reply as I don't think he signs on daily. Good luck.
Skip Oceanlane, CEO
Capital Exchange
-
Perrie:
I covered your answer in another thread:
Any questions, I'll be happy to answer. Thanks.
Skip
-
Dillon:
You are incorrect. These are not real life investments, and I'll point out that the Linden is not a government-issued currency. There is a distinct legal difference between using Lindens and using a government issued currency for what we do, like perhaps using the Euro or US Dollar. We are a game of skill operating within Second Life using Lindens. The object of the game is to get Lindens by playing the virtual stock market, and there are no real life legal entities listed. Simple as that.
When you buy our virtual stock, you're giving Lindens to a specific person - not to an actual company. If you disagree, that's your right to, but we know we are operating within US laws and Linden Lab's Terms of Service. Thanks.
Skip
-
Perrie:
The name "Moneyservers" belongs to the person behind the virtual company, who also owns the rights to the name in real life. The two entities are separate as I previously explained. I have no idea if there is an actual corporation in the home country the CEO resides of "Moneyserverz Inc" or an equivalent. Maybe it's a one-person operation like Capital Exchange is? You would have to ask the person of each listed company on our exchange. But again, the virtual stock listed is not part of any legal rl entity. Thanks.
Skip
-
Perrie:
You are not buying shares in a real life company. The companies that are listed are fictitious - Capital Exchange is just a game. Let me give you an example - Capital Exchange (CAPX) itself.
The software, website, etc. is owned by me personally. There is no real life corporation of "Capital Exchange" - that is just the name I use within SL for the game. Now, any Linden profits I withdraw and convert into US$ are listed under my own personal income taxes (IRS take notice!) but there is no rl corporation involved. It's up to each CEO how they wish to organize things in rl, and I do not know what real life legal entity, if any, exists for Moneyserverz. It doesn't really matter because the stock that is listed is fictitious and controlled by the person behind the avatar running the virtual company. Are there risks involved? Absolutely. But since I took over, things have been extremelt stable, and we take it all very seriously to try and block scammers however possible.
So that is why I consider Capital Exchange a game of skill. It's also a great way for people to learn how to trade stock for real life use. You can place a market or limit order, buy into Initial Public offerings (IPO's), etc. You should try it sometime :-)
Skip Oceanlane
CEO and Majority Shareholder
Capital Exchange
-
To All:
I am the CEO of Capital Exchange Stock Market Simulation Game (www.slcapex.com) and I'd like to respond to some things posted in this thread.
First, mischief Goldshark is correct to a certain point - Absolut Model Group (ABS) was halted because the CEO left SL and is not responding to anyone anymore. After being in SL since 2007 and running an active and perceived successful modeling group, she had some rl issues and apparantly closed down the company. Unfortunately this was only about 45 days after listing at Capital Exchange. Remaining assets are going to be liquidated, and shareholders will receive something back. I don't generally like to discuss peoples accounts because of confidentiality, but it's important to note that mischief Goldshark invested only 20 Lindens in ABS. It's unfortunate that mischief and others lost much of what they invested, but only in a few circumstances was the lost more than a few US$ in Lindens - and people will receive something back once we liquidate remaining assets. I invite mischief to come back and give the market a second chance - you just got a little unlucky at your first stock buy and I apologize for that.
In the 15 months since I have taken over Capital Exchange, this is the only virtual company that has failed that started with us. With almost 60 listed companies now, I think that is a good track record. Just like in real life, companies are going to fail for various reasons. We do our best to only allow in companies that we feel will follow all the rules and not scam. Will more companies fail in the future? Probably. Just like in real life, sometimes ventures fail. It's beyond our control.
Let me be clear: we are a game and not real life investments. We use Lindens and not rl currency, and the stock being purchased is not legal stock. However with that being said, I take it all very seriously because of the amount of Lindens involved. In 2011, we traded over L$100,000,000 in virtual stock at Capital Exchange. I established a regulatory board, re-wrote an extensive rules section, and have banned avatars for trading violations and other TOS issues. Many risks are still there, and people should only invest what they can afford to lose - however many people are making a great Linden profit and it's a fun way to learn how a stock market operates.
If anyone has any questions about Capital Exchange, please feel free to contact me. Thanks.
Skip Oceanlane
CEO and Majority Shareholder
Capital Exchange
-
It should be noted that here we are 14 months after I took over Capital Exchange and it's going stronger than ever. I listened to the concerns of many about the lack of regulation, and created the Capital Exchange Regulatory Commission (CERC). This 11-person volunteer Board that is appointed by me has substantially helped create a regulatory environment to ensure exchanges rules are being followed. This Board, combined with our more conservative policy and rules of what virtual company can list has resulted in an extreme reduction in the number of companies that have failed from before January 2011 when I took over.
As we approach 60 listed companies, many of which (but not all) pay a dividend, there is now a solid track record of performance and trust established by Capital Exchange. There are still risks of course, and companies will still fail now and then - but nothing like the 80%+ failure rate of listed companies from 2007-2008. Only one company failed that started at Capital Exchange in the last 14 months - a big turnaround from the past. So I invite everyone to come check us out and ask questions. Thanks.
Skip Oceanlane
CEO and Majority Shareholder
Capital Exchange
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
Flickr
Skill Gaming Policy Thread
in General Discussion Forum
Posted
Since 2011, I ran Capital Exchange Stock Market Simulation Game (CapEx) at slcapex.com (now at onlinecapex.com). It's a game of skill that used to use L$ to play. I was one of the affected operations with the new skill gaming requirements, and I applied as an Operator, as well as for the Game itself. Technically my application is still active, but I chose to move the game outside of Second Life for now because of their unreasonable skill gaming application process.
After applying for a license and 3 months of basically hearing nothing from Linden Lab, I was finally contacted by an attorney representing Linden Lab requesting detailed information about CapEx. Through my attorney, I provided exhaustive legal opinions complete with a step by step process on how each part of the game requires skill, and how it does not meet the definition of gambling (or even a "real life" investment, stock exchange or security). Each time I provided information, the attorney representing Linden Lab requested more information. Each time, my attorney replied. This went on for another 3 months.
The attorney representing Linden Lab was in agreement that my game was a game of skill, and wasn't a place that qualified as place of investment. But the problem was that the LL attorney wanted a 40-state review, state by state, on how my game qualified as a game of skill in each specific jurisdiction relating to each states specific laws. The attorney representing me said their firm was unable to give legal opinions on state laws outside of the states they were qualified to practice in. This meant that I would have had to hire multiple law firms to give a detailed breakdown state by state. The estimated cost for me to do this was about US$100,000 - clearly unreasonable. What was clear is that Linden Lab was deliberately making the skill gaming application process so difficult, that no one could get approved after their "favorites" were initially approved in mid/late 2014. I find it odd that some applicants were approved even before I was contacted by the attorney representing Linden Lab.
After losing thousands of US$ while the game was suspended and with legal bills piling up, combined with not being able to find a law firm that was even willing to take on the job because other applications they helped represent went nowhere even after submitting valid information, I decided to take the game out of Second Life. It was a difficult decision, but as many of you that read this thread can agree, it was the only option.
Technically my application is still open. I am still trying to find a law firm able to take on my application, but so far none are willing to even do it because they say it's impossible to get approved, and it would be a further waste of money for me to even try. So for now, the website offers PayPal to cash in and out, and CapEx uses its own virtual currency(CapEx Dollars). I don't use Linden Dollars anymore for the game, however I still maintain a presence and land within Second Life in the Foxglove Region. Perhaps one day my skill gaming application will be approved. But until then, I'll just operate on the internet. Luckily, I had that option while most other skill gaming operators that were shut out had nowhere else to go.
I wish all the former skill game operators that were shut down the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Skip Oceanlane, CEO
Capital Exchange
www.onlinecapex.com