Prokofy Neva

April 15

3 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

Oh yeah, now I remember that thread. I remember trying very hard to behave myself even though I'd hate for such a system to become commonplace. It's really a way to use a "blacklist" named-ban script to get around the height limit of "whitelist" access control, but it's gussied-up as a way for orbs to avoid ejecting people from parcels by pre-banning them.

So that script would indeed ban everybody upon entering the region unless they were excepted, perhaps in an owner-supplied list, or by having an owner-favored Group active, or whatever. That all would be working as designed, though, so the "scripting error" here would be… something else?

There are many things I didn't like about that entire enterprise in that thread, but I'm puzzled why, if the goal is to avoid a "teleport home" -- wasn't that the goal? -- that you couldn't just select "eject" rather than "teleport home" as the optioni. The security system called LazyGuy has that option and no doubt others do (the Linden-created one offered in Bellisseria to comply with their regulations that it *not* teleport home.)

"Teleport home" is a throwback to gaming mechanics where, if you fail to beat the boss, you "die" and have to go back home or back to some spawn point or something. It's super annoying.

But are you saying that merely being bounced a bit under an "eject" is the issue, so that they want not even ejecting (which can force you on to another parcel, sometimes farther away than just a mere bounce).

I fail to see why this "good" would override the senselessness of banning everyone who came on a parcel. The chief problem with this is that it bans a lot of your fellow tenants in a rental system -- where they, too, have ban powers and can merely reach into the parcel menu and unban themselves then. I do find some tenants come on a rental and sit and ban everyone they see on the sim because they fear all of them are bent on invading their privacy. "Avatars can see me" UNCHECKED never seems to be good enough for them, in combination with a normal white-listed ban system.

I think "avatars can't see me" was a brilliant invention of the Lindens but there isn't the social trust in it that there should be.

April 14

On 4/9/2024 at 1:47 PM, Sid Nagy said:

And yet again, I can save me the money easily.

I thought some of these were great in time for Fantasy Faire. It's just an expense I can't bear now.

I wouldn't take "Ravenwood" because I like to be able to go on saying that none of my accounts/alts use anything resembling my business name, so that when griefers do this and harass groups on day-old accounts, it is easy to disavow them.

April 14

17 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said:

It's a good question why a public venue would ever resort to scripted access control at all. An explanation for that might be pretty hilarious.

But program bugs can be arbitrarily nonsensical. It's perfectly possible to keep a list of special accounts intended to populate the land access list and instead a bug adds them all to the land ban list. That's not to suggest anything like that is happening here, just an example of nonsense a buggy script can get up to. It's essentially unprovable that a particular outcome wasn't a bug but was how the script was intended to work. So I don't think any technical analysis of this situation could have a definitive result.

I can't for the life of me imagine any possible scenario where a script would have a bug of some kind, and it would then ban a specific avatar by name accidentally.

Your scenario would make sense if, say, all the group land owners or members or some known quantity like that accidentally all got banned by some mechanism from their own land. But an outsider? Coming for the first time? That is simply not possible UNLESS you are using that script that bans everyone as they come on the sim. I will find the link to that discussion and return.

UPDATE: This operates by first banning everyone who comes on a sim, then deleting them as there isn't a space to hold them all.

April 14

There's a certain person who claims he banned me "by accident due to a scripting error". Let us look at this generically.

I'm not a scripter, but I know enough about scripts and their uses and misuses, and how to do a bit of editing on them, to know that this story does not hold up.

First, there's the issue that if you are running a public venue, open to the public, i.e. not your private skybox, in my view, you shouldn't have a banning system in place of this nature in the first place. That's my default. I don't use them; I don't allow ban lines or orbs of any kind on the ground in my rentals, full stop. They can be used in skyboxes only.

So, there are only certain ways that someone can end up in a ban list:

1. The land owner manually enters you into the ban list.

2. The land owner has a ban system that uses a stock list of shared names to ban which are used communally. This was long ago proposed by the operator of the Shelter, and I vehemently opposed it back then, because I thought it would be misused, and of course it was. I don't know if shared ban lists as an automated feature still exists, but of course some owners do share ban lists anyway, manually, and possibly automatically.

3. The land owner used an open source list being touted here on the forums that functions by first banning everyone on the sim, then letting them out of the list after X amount of time. This might make sense if you are trying to keep your private home, especially a skybox, free of bots or intruders, although I think it sounds like a riotous public nuisance.

4. You use a certain product that has me in the ban list as a "sample griefer".

5. You turn on a ban system that automatically closes your lot and keeps everyone out who isn't whitelisted.

So, no. 5 does not seem to be the case, as other people would come and go from this venue. I tested an alt who was also banned, so I had to conclude that either I was unlawfully banned by IP address using systems still available on the MP, or again, manually banned, and someone who knew my alts added them.

No. 3 is a possibility, but it doesn't make sense to me to use this kind of overkill for -- again -- a public venue on the mainland that isn't a club.

What's most likely is the shared banning system or a manual ban.

It's not the case that this "scripting error" banned everybody because not only did other people go there when I was there -- no one else complained that they couldn't get into the site, i.e. the land wasn't put with ban *lines* -- that would be different like "group only". This was a ban with *my name in the ban list*.

So my attitude towards this phenomenon is:

1. Anyone who uses any ban system of any kind on an open mainland vanue expecting high public traffic is a control freak and doesn't understand what "open to the public means". Again this isn't a club, where trouble can happen, drama, griefing, fights, etc.; it's just a sight-seeing transportation hub sort of deal where no one stays for long.

2. It's possible to put in bans manually when griefing occurs, and not use automated shared lists or anything automated. This is not a griefable area (like a club). So again, the "scripting error" alibi is nonsense, the sort of thing people say when they imagine you will be baffled by some tech reference.

What I see here is not a scripting error, but an error in judgement, using an automated banning system of any kind (especially the "shared list" type or the "ban on entry to sim temporarily" type) or using a product that has a "sample list of griefers" with actual residents' names in it, without recourse.

So, my attitude towards this incident is that this person should be manually banned from my venues and should admit they are prevaricating.

Technical assessment welcome.

April 14

On 4/7/2024 at 2:32 PM, JustOKGamers said:

Hello Folks!

I'm finally ready financially to start a project that I've been considering for a few years now: I want to create a residential community centered around Korean architecture & culture reminiscent to that of Busan, South Korea. This sim will have parcels for rent with a 주택 (house) and surrounded by a rather rural landscaping of "magical forest."

I would like to start small and limit myself to up to 8 parcels initially. Depending on interest and feedback from residents, I would love to expand this to be a larger community.

I don't intend for this sim to be a money-maker & am planning to pay the costs to build and operate out of my own pocket; I'd be asking below-market rates on every parcel, with additional donations welcome but not expected.

Being new to this whole thing, I have many questions. Some agents I've talked to in-world have given me mixed information.

This is my main question: I am debating between a Full Homestead, 1/4 Region or 1/2 Region. Which type would be best considering I'd start with up to 8 parcels of varying size?

I'd like a Full Homestead for its size, but the fact that SL limits them to 5,000 prims is a huge drawback, as I have a lot of high-prim inventory for the project.

I see some 1/4 full regions with 7500 prims listed at L$4499/week - this is very budget-friendly, but it doesn't seem like I would have enough physical space to spread the parcels.

1/2 full regions are quite expensive to operate, which is my biggest reservation considering this is all out of pocket, but I'm not ruling this option out.

Thank you in advance for any advice and tips! Once I have a solid understanding of this and get the land, I'll be posting to the Commerce forum, as I will be hiring a landscaper and interior designer.

Cheers,

Sung-kyu Kim~

I would love to see a community like this as I am interested in Korean culture and architecture.

I would say off the bat that it sounds like you are renting a homestead rather than getting one yourself, which I would urge you to do, because then you can have complete control over it.

I have one homestead (grandfathered) with only three tenants on it -- I would never attempt 8, it is just too few prims and too much lag. In fact 3 works because I'm one of them who is never there, with a venue with only a few visitors a day, and only one other tenant regularly builds -- if all three of us were there every night building and having visitors, we would feel it. I used to have six -- that was trouble enough, which is why I cut it into thirds, with the middle third a public area with the Belarus installation.

Half region would be better -- and there I should you should buy mainland -- find an abandoned area which you can purchase from the Lindens for $1/m. You can find mature, flat pretty land and even waterfront (look on the auctions as well although I personally avoid them because land barons bid up the prices).

To re-rent from someone means you are paying more most likely.

I think it's important especially if you are going to try to put that many people even on a half region that you have a commons area for a landing which is open and spacious which helps make the whole area feel less crowded.

You could decide whether or not to allow pets and animesh like toddlers that collide, as collisions will really lag out a homestead.

April 14

On 4/5/2024 at 12:49 PM, Abnor Mole said:

It is not broken...

Polenth is correct.

?

Well, at least this is good exercise for the Fantasy Faire hunt coming up which is always nearly impossible...

Still looking for no. 1...

April 14

On 4/5/2024 at 8:05 AM, Indy Melody said:

I would like to offer a tip on the Bellisseria 5th Swaginator Hunt. To do the hunt, in the SSPBA 4 regions, find the bus benchs. On them you will find a picture of places in Bellisseria that are teleporters to those locations. Some are interesting places, but others will take you to where the Swaginator Prize givers are.

So...thanks for this tip but it didn't work for me yet.

I first accidentally stumbled on *one* of the Swaginators -- I think it was no. 2 -- but couldn't find it again.

I then went looking in search of the first one using the HUD clue, first using the map where I thought it would be, trying different things, then abandoning that and using your bus stop clue.

First of all, not all bus stops even have pictures. Some do, some don't. Those that do may have Swaginators, but after spending about 45 minutes going to maybe 6 of them, I got nothing.

Maybe I'm not seeing them, I'm on a lousy computer, but they are pretty gigantic and I think I'd see them.

So at this point I'm giving up until I hear another relevant clue.

April 14

An article about the SWAGINATOR in SL Newser

https://slnewser.blogspot.com/2024/04/announcement-bellisseria-swagginator.html

April 14

8 hours ago, Ina Fairport said:

The invisible band !
I used to go there many years ago 2010/12

Alazarin still has her show three times a week in Crescent and also streams to YouTube and Facebook. There's been a bunch of new songs since then!

WTF at 4 pm SLT

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crescent/90/91/52

April 13

Are you going to any venue like a live music performance that has a Shoutcast server? These can be used to pick up your IP address. But it would have to be him with access to that Shoutcast AFAIK. Is there any situation that is like this?

I think it's good you are determined to have a Second Life and be rid of this creep. I have a really creepy former tenant who was evicted for putting multiple alts into a one-per-person rental who has stalked me for 4 years and said the craziest, insane stuff, and no amount of abuse reporting cures this so basically I just keep blocking and banning as the alts turn up and go on my way. The best thing to do with griefers is log off, don't engage with them, even 10 minutes will help break the vicious circle.

April 13

April 8

1 hour ago, Zalificent Corvinus said:

Make sure you tell the US Military, they apparently could spend upto $800 million on these.

Except the *relief corps* of a state's military including the US *are* allowed to use the symbol for the narrow purpose of relief. Read up on it.

Red Cross Emblem Symbolizes Neutrality, Impartiality

Those entities using it have to be neutral and deliver aid only. That's all. It's not that they can't be part of the military.

Russia uses the red cross to move armaments into Ukraine, and not only their dead soldiers *out*, but entire factories they are stealing.

April 8

6 hours ago, Hitomi Copperfield said:

Regarding the use of the Red Cross mark

Red cross mark;

Many people think that this is a hospital mark, an ambulance mark, a nurse's mark, etc.

Unfortunately, I see this red cross mark being used in various places in Second Life.

This red cross on a white background is a mark that can only be used for activities related to the Red Cross, the world's largest humanitarian aid NGO.

This is strictly stipulated by the Geneva Convention and the laws of each country.

Therefore, if this mark is displayed on nurses' uniforms or on signs of non-Red Cross hospitals or clinics, it is a violation of the Geneva Convention.

In Islamic countries, it is called the Red Crescent, and the mark is a red crescent moon on a white background, and this mark is treated in exactly the same way as the Red Cross.

The Red Cross symbol is internationally protected.

It is necessary to prohibit unauthorized use of the Red Cross mark by third parties other than the International Red Cross or the American Red Cross.

The official name of the "Red Cross" is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which I saw in action in my many years at the UN in various NGOs.

In addition to the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, there is the Magen David Adom, the Israeli branch which uses the Jewish symbol of the Star of David -- this took a certain fight to get approved years ago.

You're right that the symbol cannot be used unless authorized by the bearers of the Geneva Convention which is the ICRC (which themselves tilt towards the anti-Israel faction prevalent in the world with their public denunciations of Israel and their silence on abuses by countries such as Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran, etc.) This is the way of the UN.

The Russians constantly misuses this symbol by letting combatants use it for all kinds of illegitimate purposes unrelated to first aid.

So technically you are correct. Except this is a virtual world run by a private company with no outlet in the real world involved in real crisis zones where something might be misconstrued. The ICRC has not come chasing down some little RP group in SL with 117 members who wants to do play-cop and play-nurse. The point about international law is that it is not enforceable, the ICRC obviously doesn't have an army. It has publicity and moral persuasion only as its "armaments".

So while you are part of the "moral majority" here doing what the "moral majority" does best -- denounce other people -- you should spend your efforts on things like the suffering of the people of Gaza and the trouble relief workers have reaching them -- Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Star of David, notwithstanding.

April 4

Has anyone found this to be a big deal yet?

Or even something of a deal?

I haven't, but maybe I don't know where to look?

It seems that to offset the increased land impact of PBR (who knew!), they lowered the weight of mesh uploads.

So...

April 4

14 hours ago, Porky Gorky said:

In 2005 I bought my first mainland plot and put down a house. On the 1st day of ownership I returned home after a shopping expedition and found a fox humping a squirrel in the middle of my living room. That was pretty f’ing weird.

That reminds me of the time that this much-vaunted "Democracy Island" was started by this famous (in small circles) professor who went on to become an advisor to the Obama campaign and got herself a tech job in the White House as well. Well, like a lot of projects, it was started with much fanfare and then...languished.

And it was not long before someone described to me the scene of an empty Democracy, with just some dragons fornicating.... I thought that was fitting. "Scalies"....

March 25

On 3/5/2024 at 2:16 AM, Island Granville said:

Hi,

If you were to go about building a large RL landmark in SL, would you keep it true m/m, or would you upsize in SL to make it feel the same size as RL?

For all the years I've been around here, I've never really had to figure this out. I just have a general notion that dimensions feel smaller in SL than RL, so need to be exaggerated to maintain realism. Some of us have seen over-compensation of this in-world, sitting on gargantuan chairs with our feet dangling miles above the floor. My AV is 6"3, but I feel like a toddler in SL sometimes. I built a m/m scale of my RL home in SL, and every room felt like a freakin closet.

So, if you were to build a 13 acre park in SL, to recreate a 13 acre RL park, could you actually do it realistically in 52609.1m? What would that feel like? I'd be tempted to bump it up to 65k just for convenience, but would that be too much?

I did a fruitless search for this, but if there's a thread on SL/RL scale please point me there.

Thanks! Love you all

There's no question that the dimensions work differently if for no other reason than that avatars are avian creatures.

So you can't be content, like a RL builder, with a user that will stay on the ground or merely go docilely into an elevator or TP. And if anything, you want to capitalize on this affordance by never turning off fly on your venue (I'm looking at you GBTH), making it possible for avatars to perch easily with varied seating, and making it easy to fly in and out of buildings without banging your head.

I used to call the Lindens' telehub at Waterhead "the Headbangers' Ball" because it was impossible to fly out of it.

Venue operators that think they need to ground avatars to "prevent griefing" or force visitors to see the details of their fabulous works deserve less traffic.

March 24

On 3/23/2024 at 6:20 AM, Love Zhaoying said:

Is PIOF essentially a form of "Age Verification"?

I'm just looking for yes/no/why discussions.

If you derail onto a side topic, that's on you.

Thanks in advance!

ETA: Changed "Effectively" to "essentially", which is more what I meant. Added "form of".

No, it's a verification of whether you come from the First World or Second or even Third World, i.e. it's proof of the ease with which you can obtain a credit card in your particular country.

March 24

20 hours ago, PrudenceAnton said:

Hello everyone.

The Bellisseria 5th Anniversary Planning Committee thanks you for your interest in this event. Over the past year the Committee, along with various Bellisseria groups, and residents have worked tirelessly towards planning this event. It has been a labor of love for the residents of Second Life and the Bellisseria community.

We had planned to make the official announcement next week through various groups, media, and the forums.

The Planning Committee consists of a team of residents that have hosted many events over the last 5 years within Bellisseria. The planning of this event has been an inclusive collaboration of many Bellisseria groups, individuals, and performers to come together and put on this month-long event. It is not one person, or one group but the involvement of many, working together in order to celebrate the milestone event of Bellisseria turning 5 years old this April.

We are thankful to the BBB and all the other Bellisseria groups, and individuals, who participated to help organize some of the events for the celebration, at the Planning Committee's request.

We are also thankful to the Lab for their involvement in this event. We appreciate the time and hard work that the Moles and Lindens have given towards its completion. We hope that the residents of Second Life and Bellisseria will join us in this milestone celebration and come together in kindness, friendship, and commemorate that we the residents of Bellisseria have built an amazing and vibrant community.

The Bellisseria 5th Anniversary Planning Committee
Prudence Anton
Cian Wycliffe
Riot Hax
Kalia Cherry Anatine-Hax
Stephanie Gardner
Krys Calamity
Varistentia Varriale

One of the things that is gratifying to me in my old age (20 years in SL!) is that all the theories I expounded in my youth which people dismissed as crazy, conspiratorial, rooted in jealousy, etc. etc. are now simply accepted everywhere as the Facts of Second Life. Not everyone gets to see their life's work come to fruition in their lifetime!

March 24

19 hours ago, Feorie Frimon said:

Thanks for responding, Prudence. So to be clear; you've been planning this Bellisseria specific event - with at least four regions for you and your planning commitee to decorate- for the past year? I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding this.

Interesting.

I think many of us would be SUPER interested in being part of any team of people that 'have hosted many events over the years' - especially those that have Linden Lab support, marketing, and future 'event hosting oppertunities'. Can you help me (and anyone else interested) understand how we get the oppertunity to do those things? It seems like all of these oppertunities keep being offered to the same people - the people in the groups that you mentioned in your 'statement' above.

Who made the committee? Who approved it on the Linden side?

It's my understanding that there are designers on these regions that are giving out 'freebies' for their brands - who decided who those designers would be?

And if it's true that there are desginers, was there an oppertunity for all of the Second Life designers to put up their items with a freebie - or just the ones that your Planning Committee selected?

I thought you had left Second Life and all these exasperations behind?

I think the problem with your playing of the game of Second Life is that you want to figure out how to get into the FIC, now that you really understand they exist, and they won't let you in.

To get into the FIC, you can't just ingratiate yourself and write off-key love songs to the Moles. You have to be able to say "how high?" when the Lindens say "Jump!". Yet you must be enough of a go-getter to even ask them the question -- at the right time and place, perhaps at an event where they are being dunked.

Then...you have to have a certain amount of self-activation, but you can't be saying -- when the Lindens say "Jump!" - "I think we should hop instead." Or "I've found I can jump higher if you change this aspect or that aspect of what you're doing."

The Lindens need a funny combination of initiative and subordination, bland homogenity yet enthusiastic cheer-leading. The Komsomol can serve as a role model.

You also have to be able to accept imponderables and contradictions, like being told you are disqualified from an event because you supposedly "sell traffic," but somebody else gets in fact to sell highly-priced real-estate in their select region with the Linden love shower such events get, or somebody else essentially sells their brand with Bellisseria groups and events because the links are obvious.

I personally find that you are happier in SL, the less you require any Linden involvement for your business. If you are dependent on them in any way, you don't have a business, you have a cult. Of course we're all dependent on them ultimately but still, you can keep this to a minimum.

The most successful businesses in SL, if anything, have the Lindens chasing after them trying to figure out how to copy or co-opt them.

That elusive combination of self-effacement and shining enthusiasm is a difficult pas de deux, Feorie

March 22

21 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

Why is it so difficult in Second Life?

It's because, as in the movie Chinatown -- remember? -- *Slap* "She's my daughter AND my sister."

The residents become Lindens.

The residents become Moles.

The residents become Lindens and Moles and marry each other in RL.

March 21

17 hours ago, Kathlen Onyx said:

Ah ok. I think having a fresh set of numbers everyday is coming very close to the line. If they changed every hour that would be better but to have to wait a whole day is a bit much. I'd probably forget about it by then. LOL

I personally criticize the high prices of Arcade and think they helped ruin gatcha culture, despite originally starting off well with 25L gatchas. $100L gatchas destroys the point. In fairness, the HUD system they have devised is really the only way you can go with this sort of new restriction.

It enables multiple people to play the same machine. And yes, it shows what the next one is, in compliance with the rules, and also shows a line-up of what is coming next, so you can decide whether to keep playing a few rounds to get the rare for certain -- or not.

I don't see how else they could solve the problem of a crowded venue and the new rules without the HUDs.

March 21

1 hour ago, Craig Warrhol said:

it may be an unpopular opinion but I don't think it would hurt the community too much to remove child avatars from this mature platform.

I think everyone should ask themselves "Why do we have children in SL?" and also "Why do we need children in SL?"

The answers will be different for different people. I personally don't have positive answers for these questions which can't be argued freely and in good faith on the forums in any event.

The wrangles about short anime types or fears of vast multitudes of sims like a ride at the county fair ("You must be THIS tall!") are a distraction. It's not about the avatars. It's about the content and what they do with it, and where it is -- adult in G -- or, in a new twist, G in adult.

Lindens police A in G assiduously, usually with the help of people with rivalries or revenge-seekers looking for an easy way to AR someone they don't like for some fairly innocuous crime like swearing or putting out a classical painting.

But this story is about G in A, pretty much (read my blogs).

Back in the day, certain famous child avatars fought a war upon the creation of Zindra to allow child avatars there. Many people thought this was counterproductive, asking for trouble, and special pleading. Yes, I recognize they were fighting more about the principle of allowing "G in A even if A not in G" rather than yearning to sit bored in a strip bar with a bunch of AFK avatars and pretend it was fun. I thought it was an easy call for the Lindens to say "no," but they didn't say "no" and left it up to individual venue owners and private properties to file ARs if they didn't like the child avatar or what she was doing on their lawn in Zindra. I think generally, child avatars haven't been much of an issue in Zindra -- it's more in G and M.

But it is time to bring up the issue of "G in A" regarding content of this nature. Certain interest groups imagine that the effort to define the problem of "G in A" bogs down on the judgement call "but this is just a short anime avatar". But I'm sure the Linden lawyers will "know it when they see it."

March 21

When you have disorders and conflicts like this in an organization fraught with "Founders' Syndrome" (which has good or bad elements in my view), more than even finding facts and resolving conflicts this one time, you need to have a conflict management sytem in place in general.

So like the states of Minnesota or Alaska, or Russia under Yeltsin, or the New York Times, Linden Lab should put in the office of an ombudsperson. This person hears complaints and then negotiates around them and sometimes makes public judgement calls, sometimes not. It could be less grand, and merely be a complaints procedure with some reliable trusted staff person or even outside figure or company.

The situation appears to have arisen because some staff or contractors couldn't make known their concerns in a safe manner without jeopardizing their jobs. Even if their claims of retaliation or threats are exaggerated or untrue, they still to have a place to go with complaints. This is very basic in labour relations. The entire thing has the feel of an obscure furry vendetta precisely because there were not channels for safe and reliable resolution of conflict except 'taking it to Twitter".

So I hope some process like this will happen and a person is put into place. For extra credit, customers could also come to this ombud, but that's a separate opera.

March 20

4 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

but he doesn't say thát.

Actually, he said exactly that, and I quote, emphasis added:

" While early preliminary internal investigations suggest that some of the accusations are unfounded, I want to make sure that we get additional investigative support externally to ensure that the process is fair and thorough."

March 20

It's a good statement, and checks all the boxes. It's good to say right off both that allegations are unfounded (they were very poorly sourced and sketchily linked) AND that the investigation still continues with outside firms, although we don't know their quality/track record.

My one objection is the use of the common euphemism. It should be spelled out for the violation it is of standards in RL law, even if not in the US, but in EU/Asian/etc countries.

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