Scylla Rhiadra

Tank, this thread is probably not the best place to put these posts. A serious suggestion -- if you post it here somewhere in Commerce, or even at SLU, I'm sure you will find people happy to suggest alternate ways of arranging security for your sim, including the use of land tools and orbs.

Josephina Bonetto wrote: I won't use Red Zone and understand the frustration about it but I certainly don't feel you should be hung, drawn and quartered for using it either. Enough has been said about what it does and does not do - I am profoundly disgusted I have been scanned against my will by others and entered into the database but I think your approach is polite and pragmatic. Certainly undeserving of a preach speech. It is for you to make your own, educated, decision. I'm certainly going to be able to forgive someone who has used it, but has, when given the appropriate information, removed it. I am frankly less charitably inclined toward someone who continues to use it even after it has been made clear to him or her that it is a violation of the privacy rights of others. Suggesting that its employment should, in the face of the evidence of the harm it can cause, be left to the individual user's decision is a bit like saying that the wisdom of firing a gun in a crowded place should be left to the discretion of the gun-owner.

Hi Ags. I'm not sure what to tell you. I don't want to sound like a speciesist . . . I mean, some of my best friends have fur, really . . . but I once had a very bad experience with a bunny. It wasn't all his fault, I think . . . it was his extended family. I just couldn't integrate myself properly because there were far too many cultural differences. And having them over for dinner was a nightmare; do you know how long it takes to cook for 576 picky vegetarians? Or how few really interesting recipes there are involving nothing more than carrots, cabbage, and lettuce? Anyway, it was all a bit of a heartbreak, and so . . . once nibbled on, twice shy, I guess. I do have a nice keepsake from the relationship, though, and it even brings me good luck!

Venus Petrov wrote: Putting aside your personal comment re: Prokofy, my perspective is that LL has every right to project the image they, as a business entity, choose to project. They have control of this 'venue' and it is their right to control it as they see fit. Since Day 1 of the rollout last week, many asked for the return of a 'GD-like' environment. They listened to the comments and provided this subforum. This is just another area for residents to express themselves to each other. LL is not obligated to open this particular subforum to those outside LL. There are many places residents can post opinion and commentary. This is but one. And I'm not denying that this is LL's right. I'm just not entirely sure that I want to be a party to it.

I think that the recent controversy over these kinds of devices highlights what is going to become an absolutely central issue in Second Life. That issue is only peripherally about security. It's not that security, an end to copybotting and griefing, etc., is not important: it's just that the sorts of technical options employed by these devices (alt matching and IP bans) are notoriously ineffective, unreliable, and easily sidestepped by anyone with even a minimal background in computers and online technology. This is not to say, then, that security isn't an important concern, but it's one that, at the most fundamental level, has to be dealt with by LL, and not by third party content providers,who don't really have the proper tools to do the job right. The real issue to arise from this, and the one that isn't going to go away anytime soon, relates to privacy and datascraping. The newest generation of "security" devices -- and there is more than the one out there that does this -- have opened a Pandora's box by revealing a security hole in SL's media and music streaming, and by showing that large scale datamining are feasible (and, in one case at least, very lucrative) in Second Life. What makes this worrisome, in a sense, is not merely that third-party scriptors are likely to continue to exploit this, but also that LL may be reluctant to move aggressively against their methods because they too may be interested in looking at datascraping, a la Twitter and Facebook, as a lucrative thing to exploit in SL in the future. As for businesses looking for security devices, they need, as a group, to start looking to different kinds of solutions than those provided by this recent generation of "solutions." Putting pressure on LL would help: increasing the size of parcel ban lists, for instance, would be a major step in the right direction. But as privacy becomes more and more of an issue in SL -- as I am sure it is going to now -- merchants are going to need to recognize that this IS a concern of their customers, and that security methods that undercut that are going to backfire. Increasingly, consumers in RL are looking for "ethical" products and businesses. The same is, self-evidently, becoming true in Second Life. Those businesses that acknowledge this, and that don't treat their customers as potential criminals from the moment they enter the sim, are the ones who will prosper in the long term.

Prokofy Neva wrote: I think what you're finding is that the Lindens now are prepared to moderate the forums fairly and not allow any one clique to seize the mindshare or the marketshare by keeping their personal threads in the top view. I hope so, anyway. Anyone who is unhappy with this forum of course has a wide selection of offworld forums now. Anyone else noticed that Prok is sounding more and more like Cato? NOTHING I've seen about these forums so far suggests that LL has any other interest than turning them into a gleaming spanky-clean PR showcase and techie sweatshot for LL. Even the fact that this vaunted new Off Topic forum is out of the public eye reinforces that. Congrats! We've been Zindra-ed!

Well, I missed everyone a great deal. That said . . . I suppose I should say "Never say never." And maybe there will be some sort of positive announcement in the next day or so about a new GD, or an equivalent. But as things stand here, I can't see myself coming back as a regular poster. It's not merely the lack of a GD forum; it seems that it is going to be pretty much impossible to have an open and serious discussion about anything here that isn't fluffy and bunny-like. And if that's the case, I really can't be bothered. I'll keep an eye out here . . . but I'm not very hopeful. :smileysad:

...I hang out at one of the three land marks that every noob (new account) gets in their inventory. And the rudeness there on the part of some of the regular scares away one day old newbies just starting out. I have IM from people who have been treated rudely and say they are done with second life. All because of the welcome areas, help areas and orientation areas that are landmarks in the folders of people starting out. All you need is a LL staff person to randomly drop into those areas with an alt, identify who is beind rude, and then have them punished appropriately. You don't need someone there full time, just often enough, and unpredictably enough to scare away the idiots. The unpredictable part is important, the rude people should have no idea who might be a Linden alt, and when they might show up. Interestingly, I had a thread on the General Discussions forum, about the Ahern Welcome Area, that suggested pretty much exactly this. It was (*ahem*) deleted by the forum moderators. /me shrugs. Still seems to me a good idea. I still can't believe that the issue of "first experience" and retention shouldn't be more of a priority.

Welcome Rodvik! This post is a really positive sign, and I'm delighted to join with the others here in praising you for jumping in feet first, and getting a first-hand feel for Second Life, the old-fashioned way. I do think, though, that if you are doing anything like a walking tour of SL, you need to ensure that you are taking in the full diversity of what it has to offer. The vast majority of that is positive and enriching, and should leave you feeling pretty good about this new responsibility that you have shouldered. But I want to join with Ceera, above, in suggesting that you need to take a look at the more problematic elements, and the darker side of Second Life as well. Visit Zindra, and really look around: ask yourself whether an adult ghetto that encompasses and forcibly lumps together simulations of loving and consensual sexuality with rape, Dolcett, and snuff role play really serves the community well. Give some thought, maybe, to the message that it sends when SL equates sex and violence in that kind of way. And maybe even consider allowing sex back into Mature areas, reserving "Adult" for the really violent simulations. We are your "customers," but you now find yourself not merely a CEO, but de facto the benevolent (we hope) dictator of a kind of micro-society, with its own diverse culture. Your task isn't merely to make this a better product, as important as that is: it is also to give some thought to the governance of this virtual world. Part of that will necessarily involve listening to its "citizens," and part in making tough decisions that will impact upon not merely our experience of Second Life, but how it is perceived by others. Try to avoid the easy and cheap route of opting for a "Disneyfied" SL: diversity is never a bad thing, per se. But remember, too, that the decisions that you make have political, cultural, and ideological implications. It's hard to be both corporate boss and Solon the Lawmaker simultaneously, I know. But if you pay attention to the dialogues and discussions already underway between residents, you may find that course a little easier to steer than it otherwise would be.

Madelaine McMasters wrote: Nathaniel Scorpio wrote: Madelaine McMasters wrote: You didn't have hands free to swat them? I can neither confirm nor deny the status of my hands at that time. Oh, Scyllllllllaaaaaaa??? I am sooooooooo staying out of this!

Nathaniel Scorpio wrote: Well, once the flies started appearing, she stopped licking. EW! EW! EW! EW . . . !

Argus Collingwood wrote: I have a Stripper Cake we can take to Jail on a visit.And Nat volunteers to jump out of it! I myself am fashioning an old silver spoon into a digging impliment for her. That's the way the Count of Monte Cristo escaped, I seem to recall. Of course, it took him . . . what, 14 years?

It's easy to agree, especially in hindsight, that creating such a display name was not a wise move. The results speak for themselves, and are hardly contestable: this was a bad thing to do. That said, I'm going to cavil a bit with those who are suggesting that Keli "got what she deserved." There was clearly no intent to deceive nor malice here. It was a joke, albeit an ill-advised and, yeah, maybe even foolish one. But, again, it was just foolish, not malicious. And I don't think she deserves to have the full weight of the law thrown at her. I very very much hope that she can sort this out, and that LL proves itself flexible and reasonable enough to make the penalty here match the fairly benign nature of the "crime." And yes, I do get that LL should act against impersonation of Lindens. But justice should always be meted out intelligently, thoughtfully, and with more than a modicum of mercy.

Tolya Ugajin wrote: Is that a new sig? I just bundled up all of your favourite things, and put 'em together in a single descriptive epithet. Pretty cool, no? I knew you'd approve!

Kwant Capalini wrote: if it is her are you so really very surprised? When I saw her asking for an invite to the party I thought it just like old times when a Linden would join in and ask for an invite to a party being discussed it did used to happen. I checked her profile and found out she was not one, but I did have to check to find out. I guess. I confess it never occurred to me that anyone might misread it that way.

Now, please tell me that Kelilinden did not actually get nailed for impersonation.

Very cool indeed! Welcome Rod! Your appointment is, perhaps, one of the most hopeful signs I've seen for SL in at least half a year or more, and I'm confident that you will live up to a very promising resume, and vision. You will find -- indeed, can see in evidence here in these comments -- that SL is an enormously diverse (and sometimes divisive) community, with many different expectations. It is also a community that has been, of late, beset with worry if not outright fear for the future. Appreciating that new growth is absolutely imperative for SL, remember that there is not much point in inviting others on to the cart until the wheels have been fixed, and it's moving again! Please make it a priority to not merely remedy what is broken, but, perhaps most importantly, rebuild our confidence in SL, which has been much shaken. And the best way to do that is to give heed to the communities at work and play here. Please listen to us, talk to us, and even join us in-world, for just as you represent for us a new hope for SL, so too are are we your future.

Oh gosh, I'm always late to the party . . . Hi Kim, and welcome!! I think you'll like it here! SL is not the software, or the grid: it is instead an enormously diverse, talented, creative, and committed community -- or communities -- of residents. And that is where the "X Factor" lies: within that community, among the creators, the entertainers, the educators, and the "citizenry" at large. This is why I like this so much: I’m excited about the prospect of helping to build a product that really empowers people to express what they’re about, and that can make a real difference in their lives. I think we’ve only just started to see what can be done here, and I can’t wait to see where we and our Residents can take things from here. I think this represents exactly the right kind of thinking: empower the residents to make SL even more exciting and enticing than it already is! Help us create the environment and content that will attract new people; help us get the word out about why people should be wanting to come here. Whether it's building a new gaming system for in-world, or helping to create stronger and more exciting communities of like-minded individuals, the focus should very much be upon "empowering" and "enabling." That's why I also want to emphasize and repeat what some others above have said: please come in-world, and into the forums, and interact with us. Learn about us, and learn what we are capable of: all of the potential for what SL can eventually become is here, among those posting here, or in the forums and blogs, or doing things in-world. Move among us, talk to us, and I think you will see potentialities that perhaps are not yet apparent even to ourselves.