Scylla Rhiadra

I haven't been able to find any information specific to "SDR," but it's possible that these bots -- and they are almost certainly bots -- belong to one of the "families" or "cohorts" identified by Lou Netizen: https://www.lounetizen.com/botdata/cohorts/ Unfortunately, Netizen doesn't give identifying information about any of these, except the BonnieBots, so you'll need to see if his description of any of these cohorts matches known characteristics of the ones you're talking about. If they have to be banned by name, then it's possible that they are unregistered bots -- they haven't gone through the proper process of registering with Linden Lab -- because registered bots can be easily banned en masse using estate tools. If they are unregistered, they can also have abuse reports filed against them. LL doesn't provide residents with any means of actually identifying registered bots, so you should, if you like, AR them anyway . . . although I wouldn't count on LL doing anything about them, to be honest.

ACTUAL FOOTAGE from TikTok of Olaf Haraldsson on his way home after once again demonstrating that Aethelred was Unready.

The Vikings sold bits as souvenirs!?!?!?!? (So long as we are being pedantic, there is apparently a great deal of doubt as to whether Olaf Haraldsson's Vikings actually tore down the bridge. Which is most disappointing, because I had a picture book history of London when I was a child, and I LOVED the image of Viking ships pulling it down!)

Over my morning coffee, I've been looking over some of the Second Pride events, and thinking about what I might like to visit tonight. I'm not gay, but I'll be welcomed -- because events like this don't divide -- they bring us together. "Only connect," in the words of E. M. Forster. And then I'll have a bit of a chat with the lovely women, some of my closest friends in SL, with whom I share a Discord channel, and who are all fellow contributors to "Yes Her," our own small-scale celebration of womanhood. I am bowing out of this thread -- at least a little gracefully, I hope -- because I want instead to focus my relatively precious time upon those whose "lifestyle choices" reflect positivity and hope, who chose to be flowers rather than weeds. As Auden put it, "We must love one another or die": Defenceless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages: May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair, Show an affirming flame.

From the Community Standards Document: "Intolerance Linden Lab encourages social interactions between users across multiple countries. The use of derogatory or demeaning language or images based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation is prohibited. Actions that marginalize, belittle, or defame users or groups are similarly prohibited." And frankly, I don't care if you, or even someone in authority at LL, has "decided" that a snuff porn sim, or a group that advocates for the enslavement of women, "abides" by the ToS and Community Standards. These things are appalling.

Yep.

There are dozens of questions I'd like to hear answered, but . . . the problem with Lab Gab, of course, is that the questions are vetted. If they don't want to answer something, they simply won't. I suspect any question about social casinos will fall into that category. But this seems a pretty good one: If you think it will encourage them to address it, I'll ask a version of it myself as well.

There are times I've certainly just felt something approaching despair over what I've seen here, and what is permitted. There do seem to be lines that one can't cross in SL with regard to thinks like racism and homophobia. I note, for instance, that a Waffen-SS group that I ARed months ago seems to have finally disappeared -- although there are others still in existence. But in nearly 15 years of monitoring this in SL, I have literally never seen an item or group removed, or an account sanctioned, because of misogyny, regardless how hateful, vile, or violent. Not once. Not ever. LL really doesn't care. (ETA: an exception, but a pretty recent one, is here on the forum. But that's got less to do with misogyny than with ensuring people play nicely. Also, we have mods who actually seem to care; governance in-world sure as hell doesn't seem to.)

I don't think the forum community is very representative. My experience of in-world events and such is that there is an interest in, and even in enthusiasm for, women's issues and events that are women-centered. I've held three exhibitions that were focused upon women's issues in the last 4 years or so, and all were quite successful, and got reasonably good notice off-platform as well. They were admittedly relatively modest: one "educational" exhibition and two art exhibitions -- but people unquestionably responded well to their themes. And, although OBR in SL didn't run this year, it's generally quite high profile, and well attended. That said, LL undoubtedly does NOT hold the enthusiasm for women's issues that it does for LGBTQ+ issues. I think in part that's for reasons that Qie already cited: there is a lot more money to be made in LGBT events and advocacy here, for a number of reasons. LL also, frankly, has a crappy record of upholding ToS violations and such against women: even the quickest scan of in search of groups will demonstrate how utterly indifferent they are to misogyny. One other point: there is a great deal of overlap between women's issues and LGBTQ+ issues, and has been since at least the late 60s. Right now, in the feminist community, there are two issues preoccupying everyone. One of those is reproductive rights, which are obviously under severe threat in the US. But the second one is trans rights, which the vast majority of those working on women's issues strongly support. (There are, obviously, exceptions.) So, to a very great degree, advocating for LGBTQ+ IS a feminist issue.

What's wrong with purple? Now . . . PINK! That will peeve people! I can hardly wait to try!

Yes, I'm afraid I really am not. You seem to think that the point of this would be to showcase everything that women have achieved? Including especially the dullest things we can imagine reproducing in SL? I think Fauve's suggestion of tableau is brilliant, and more or less in line with the sort of thing I'm thinking of. Now, what if women also had the opportunity to "put themselves" in paintings that focused upon men? That would be kind of interestingly subversive in a different way. I rather like the idea of Fauve heroically riding her rearing horse across the Alps, while the armies of the Italian city states scatter before La Grande Armée. Anyway, we'll leave it, but I'm pretty confident that a bit of time and imagination could produce no shortage of really fun and cool things to do around IWD.

I am pretty sure Southeast Asians do "everything under the sun" as well, but the festival of which you speak obviously chose particular themes upon which to focus. I don't see why an event celebrating women should be any different: it would be impossible to cover all facets of womenhood and femininity. To reiterate: women make music. They make art. They design clothing. They engage in performance. All of these things they do in both RL and SL. I really don't see why representing women's achievements in these fields (and others, such as science, exploration, engineering and architecture) wouldn't be feasible AND entertaining. Possibly you think that these achievements are less "distinctive" than the differences between, say, Western and Southeast Asian culture? Speaking as a teacher of women's literature, and someone who is reasonably well versed in things like women artists, musicians, etc., I'd have to disagree. But it may also just be that none of these things are your idea of fun, which is of course fine.

Music, focusing on work by women musicians? Dance? Art by women? Fashion by women designers? Games? I can't think of many "fun" activities in SL, outside of Adult ones, that wouldn't be appropriate, given the right spin?

I don't see why not? Women aren't fun? There's a conception that IWD is about being angry, chronicling social injustice, etc. And I suppose there should be an element of that sort of activism? But we have other occasions (there's OBR and the 16 Days of Activism I mentioned above) to get into those issues. For me anyway, IWD is a celebration of women. I think we need a day of joyous celebration and, yes, fun. For one day of the year, maybe, we can talk about the positives of womanhood? And that can, and should, feature a "fun factor."

Well, yes. Except . . . https://www.history.com/news/how-london-bridge-ended-up-in-arizona

in 2010, I was one of three people organizing and running a 16 day event -- 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. There were, about 4 or 5 largish in-world groups / organizations involved (and quite a few smaller ones), but I don't think it ever even occurred to us to seek sponsorship from LL. I'm not quite sure what they could have contributed, as we had venues already. Publicity, I suppose, would have been nice, although most of our events were fairly well attended anyway -- the advantage of networked activist groups working together. But that was then: SL is a very different place now, and that sort of grass-roots thing doesn't fly anymore mostly. If there isn't a hop-and-shop attached, it's not a "real" event. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to bring out about 70 people for an exhibition opening of feminist art -- but that was a two hour event, involving no more than a DJ and a gallery full of pics. I know almost nothing about how Second Pride works, but I know that OBR in SL has, usually, a pretty large board, and a lot of sponsorships. I am not at all sure that LL is itself involved -- the only official LL participation I've noticed was one session of "Lab Gab" that featured an interview with some of the organizers. Possibly they provide the four sims that host the event for the few days it's on? I have more than a few reservations about One Billion Rising -- not the SL event as such, but about the overarching premise of the RL event, and with some of the dangerous pitfalls of SL activism generally. (I blogged about it many years ago, actually.) That notwithstanding, I'd happily get involved in something like this again were I approached. But I don't think I would be, except in some capacity as a volunteer, because these people are mostly "big players" these days -- as I say, there's not a lot of room for grass-roots organizations anymore. In fairness, though, smaller organizations aren't really well-equipped to do this sort of thing. The 16 Days event nearly killed me -- well, certainly burned me out to the degree that I was out of SL six months after, for an extended time. Even in 2010, it was a lot of work. These days, you NEED a huge organization involved.

I'm not sure about the exact dynamics of the relationship between the event, and LL and Second Pride, but LL has certainly been promoting it quite strenuously. They also, of course, have a "Community Page" dedicated to the LGBT community. Which, yay them! BTW, it's always nice to see you popping in, Fauve!

I am a woman, but I'm also, in almost every other way, a member of a highly privileged group. I'm a white cishet person who lives in one of the most prosperous and (according to studies) happiest countries of the world. I will celebrate Pride regardless of whether or not International Women's Day is promoted, and despite the fact that I am not gay. I will celebrate Juneteenth despite the fact that I am white, and not an American. I observe Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation despite the fact that I am not First Nations. etc. Observing things like this doesn't require reciprocity: I don't need to be told that I, too, get a day to celebrate "me" or some aspect of my identity, to understand why it is important to recognize these days celebrating or acknowledging others who have faced, and continue to struggle with, social, political, and legal disadvantages. I lose nothing by being an ally -- and maybe, just maybe, I get to participate a tiny little bit in making the world a more just place.

The post in which I offer you an apology has been removed -- I'm not sure why, but that's fine. I do however want to apologize for sounding harsh in my response to you. It was not my intention to be unkind, and I unreservedly apologize for coming across that way.

I'm done with this. I refuse to allow myself to get dragged into another s**tshow in which the mere fact of wanting to celebrate people becomes an opportunity to attack others for who they are, or question the validity of celebrating them. Want to celebrate Men's Day? Go for it! I'll be there, genuinely, in a positive spirit. I'll even contribute. positively and without reservation, if you ask me to. But the fact that men aren't celebrating themselves shouldn't be an excuse not to celebrate others. We NEED Pride. We NEED International Women's Day. We NEED Juneteenth. But more to the point, why can we not just take one frickin' day a year to highlight and show our love and respect for others who may be different from us?

Indeed! Here's me with an exhibition (that I badly need to update) that I drag out most International Women's Days.

Why, in god's name, does every single thread that is about celebrating a disadvantaged group -- LGTBQ+, trans people, women, POC -- need to turn into an opportunity to crap on that group or someone else? How the hell does International Women's Day become an opportunity for a transphobic screed? I love men . . . my feminism is very much about helping men overcome the barriers and disadvantages they face too. Does the fact that these barriers and disadvantages exist justify an attack on a day celebrating women? Over and over again! I am so tired of it. For god's sake, can't we just be a little positive here occasionally, and maybe just be happy that we're celebrating diversity?

In answer to your question, and as someone who has observed International Women's Day in SL with exhibits and such, as well as here on the forum -- the answer is no. SL doesn't do anything at all formal to recognize March 8. At least, not that I've ever seen, and I've looked. The sole exception is that they will sometimes feature a "Picture of the Day" that commemorates it. And I think this year there was a short blog post about a featured woman artist. In that instance, though, the only connection I could see with International Women's Day was the mere fact that she was a woman. There was nothing about her art or in the blog post that had anything otherwise to do with the day. Essentially, it was "Happy International Women's Day! Look . . here's a woman!" 😏

While I understand and agree with the sentiment, Paul, I should remind you that a really hefty proportion of SL residents, non-Americans, barely know what Memorial Day is. I mean, I'm a next door neighbour, living a couple of hours drive from the US border, and I couldn't tell you when it was celebrated. A better option would be some kind of commemoration that is observed more globally.

I suppose it's a good thing in its own right, to occasionally, as you say, leave the comfort zone. I almost never interact with others in that context, though -- the exception being my alt Laskya, who is essentially just another version of me (she was my main avi for a few years here). I sometimes use male alts for pics. I can barely imagine interacting with anyone in that form -- I think I have once or twice as a joke. But even talking to someone far away in IM when I'm wearing a male shape and clothes feels just bizarrely wrong somehow. It makes me terribly uncomfortable -- like hearing my own voice emanating from an entirely alien face. I am well aware that there are lots of people who radically switch their looks around a lot, or have very different alts they use a lot. And more power to them: I just can't do it. It's just a different way of thinking about your relationship to your avi. I can't tell if you're serious or not (which is a good thing: I enjoy your sense of humour and irony!), but one of the advantages of not being drop-dead gorgeous or what Danielle has called "glam" is that I can go to a busy club and NOT get immediately dinged by four guys asking if I voice. When I do get an IM, it's almost always from a guy who's read my profile or scanned my Flickr, and has something to say about it. Now, I say that, and it's true . . . but of course there's also another part of me that wants men falling, panting, at my feet. I just don't want to have to deal with them after they've done that. I want to live in a world where men are agog at my insane beauty and glamour, but don't want to take it further than idolizing me from a polite distance. Is that so much to ask? IS IT? 😀