Angelique LaFollette

Storm Clarence wrote: The U.S. has never defaulted; we have an impeccable credit rating. Ok, Two points here,, First it hasn't defaulted "YET", But if things continue unabated, it eventually and inevitably will. Second, it's "Impeccable credit rating" has already been downgraded once. Cracks are beginning to show. We are accountable to the world bank - who do you think funds this institution? Unemployment has been extended for years - people have been receiving checks for years for not working isn't that accountability? Well considering the Chinese hold between a quarter and a third of your national debt I'd say it's THEY who are funding that Institution indirectly by shoring up the US, and again, they have warned that it cannot continue indefinately. All the cheques written to cover these debts are being written with borrowed money. Eventually SOMEBODY is going to demand payback. What then? Will the US elect to submit to the same levels of foreign regulation and control the Greeks are being asked to accept? At present, i think not. No other world power has ever reached the 'development' point that the U.S. has attained in it's very very short history ergo the U.S. is setting the precedent. Let the U.S. not make the same mistakes that 3000 yr. old Greece are making. Immigration, education, innovation, and the defeat of terrorism is how the U.S. will survive over the next 50 years. On the contrary, EVERY empire in history has stretched the limits of territorial influence, and economic and technological innovation. And every empire in history, has eventually surpassed thier ability to cover this expansion with it's available resources. If you read documents from the Roman Senate on the subject of foreign aid, Infrastructure maintenance, government debt, insurgency, immigration, or ANY other problem faced by the United States today, you will be amazed at the similarity of the political concerns and responses. Same holds true for the parlimentary records of the British Empire as it approached the inevitable downturn facing it. The U.S. IS making the same mistakes the Greek empire made 3000 years ago, Only the Scale is larger, and the time frame shorter, as Each successive empire has gone from inception to peak to collapse in successively shorter intervals. You demonstrate a great deal of national pride, and well you should. America has reached peaks No other world body has attained before, BUT if they keep the course they are on, thier fall will be equally impressive. I Know it's a sore subject with a lot of people, but History is an unmerciful B*tch Those who forget the errors of the past are doomed to repeat them. Angel.

Whenever I Introduce anyone to SL, the first piece of advice I give them is to get away, and stay away from Ahern and ALL the other "Welcome" areas. I've been in SL for over six years now, and they haven't been fit for civilized interactions for at least five and a half of those years. They are now gathering places for Con Artists, Griefers, and the Socially Stunted of SL. It seems the Lindens have long since abandoned the welcome areas to these elements, and no longer know or care what first impressions these areas make on new SL residents. IMO the Lindens should either restore active policing of these areas, or dismantle them. Angel.

Deltango Vale wrote: I am perfectly willing to accept the possibility that I am insane, but, just out of curiosity, how does the Unites States plan to survive the next 50 years? The U.S. Government is working along the lines of one very simple premise; "Sure we Owe,, But who would dare forclose on us even if we default?" The Chinese, who hold the largest amount of the U.S.debt have already warned the American Government that their ways have to change if they expect to survive, a sentiment that has been so far sneered at and dismissed out of hand. They believe that they are a Law Unto Themselves, accountable to no one. Not thier creditors, Not the world banks, And certainly not thier citizens. Like so many other World Powers that have reached this point in thier developement, They won't change, and only History will demonstrate if they are right (And so far, Historical Precident is NOT on thier side). Angel.

The best way to test whether thier disclaimer has any validity or not is to wait until they quote your IM (Or do anything else that contravenes SL-TOS) and Respond by Filing an AR. When (And i mean when, not IF) Linden Lab sanctions them for violating TOS you will have your answer. Regardless of land ownership status, No party within SL may unilaterally exempt themselves from TOS, No matter how many "Disclaimers" they post. Angel.

Deltango Vale wrote: That the book ends in June 2007 is significant. The author missed the huge culture war resulting from Linden Lab's strategic, philosophical, and policy reversals of 2007-2010. Second Life 2003-2007 was a very different world from Second Life 2007-2011. Most interesting to me, therefore, is that the research was conducted precisely when Second Life was in its prime, when it was a model of free-flowing human interaction, unsullied by Linden Lab managers and RL reformers. For that reason alone, the book is probably worth reading. Deltango points out one of the most prevalent flaws in any study of this kind. At some point the anthropologist, or sociologist decides thier work is concluded, then publishes thier findings all the while neglecting the basic principle that human cultures are dynamic, and constantly evolving, and the conclusions they draw will become outdated over time as the culture they examine grows past thier observations. If one reads a sociological study of America written between 1950, and 1959 one does not gain an accurate portrait of American society in 2011. Of course we also have to accept that no culture exists in a vacume, there will always be outside influences effecting change. In this case, the LL Administration. In a nutshell, it's wrong for any study of mankind to be considered at any point concluded or complete. The kind of social and more accurately named "Cross Cultural" developements seen in SL are very new when viewed on the greater scale of human developement. Perhaps a decade old at best. On line interactions like SL, The Sims Online, World of Warcraft, and several others can best be viewd as "Emergent Cultures", A society, Or Societies in thier infancy which may, or may not grow into distinctive seperate cultures, growing in independence from the RL cultural frameworks of it's new citizens. Again this is where the various anthropological and socio-political studies being conducted in SL (And other venues) would best be served by NOT attempting to draw any "difinitive" conclusions, Rather they should record contemporary conditions and developements over a certain period of time, Then do no more than speculate on the possible futures based upon the current observations, and past trends. Angel.

Best way to find out is to read it yourself, and see what you get out of it. It's always better than waiting for the "Oprah Book Club" to make up your mind FOR you. "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend,,, Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read" >>Groucho Marx<< Angel.

Two points, #1, the Lindens Rarely if ever get involved in disputes of this kind, But try an AR. #2, you will want to Edit the name of the company you are having the dispute with from this thread, Naming Names in this way is against the Forum's rules. Good luck. Angel.

Linda Brynner wrote: Hi, I was wondering why so much in SL after all these years still is so aggressive like. As per example: Warning! You have entered private property, linda Brynner! You have 10 seconds to leave the area, or else you will be automatically forced to leave. This hard bold blunt language style we still see all around the grid. Why? Why not like: Hi Linda Brynner. Sorry, but you have entered a private area. Please do leave within 10 seconds to prevent you sending home. Sorry for the inconvenience. It seems a bit more elegant instead of thinking being in a police state LOL Mostly it's because in RL, people are being raised in an environment where less and less emphasis is being placed on the social graces. Simple human courtesy is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and respect is something to be demanded without any thought of returning same. Never mind SL, just study people on the bus, or in a restaurant or other public venue. It really is disheartening sometimes, But RL, or On-Line,, it's the world we live in. Angel.

I received it as well, Though i am of African Descent (And from the region of the Congo) my Family left Africa in the late 1700's for the West Indies By way of France (As free people of colour, we were never slaves). Our Family did not Adopt our French name until we reached France so there would be no relatives in the old country with that name (It's a fact supported by our geneology that no one from our family returned to the old country), And even IF by some dint of fate we missed a cousin somewhere who DID go back, It would have to have been at a time so far back in our family's history, that none of us would qualify as a close Heir. I am not sure which astounds me more, the fact that people still try this scam, or the Knowledge that some people are so credulous that they still fall for it. The essence of any Scam, Con, or Grift is the impulse in so many people to try to get something for nothing; In the words of the Immortal W.C. Fields: "You can't cheat an honest man" Angel.

Submitted for your appraisal without comment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Luddism Angel.

"Taken Seriously" By whom i wonder? In situations like this I'm reminded of something my Aunty always said to me; "Be Yourself, people who matter won't mind, and people who mind don't matter". SL is an environment where you will meet people (And animals, and robots, and aliens and conscious inanimate objects) of every possible size and description so this persons claim that wearing wings will somehow damage your credibility with people strikes me as rather spurious. Looking forward to seeing you soaring through the skies. Angel.

See, now i had no troubles understanding any of that, and i Rarely use net abbreviations. Someone else did a Thread here with half the letters in a post substituted with numbers, and marvelled at the human brain's capacity to find order in what at first seemed incomprehensible, Proving you CAN with a little effort understand posts so presented, so a few spelling and grammatical errors should be childs play to understand. I don't think any of us have been advocating all posts be written in this fashion, but IF one comes up in this forum, it's not as hard to understand as some would have us believe. Angel.

Storm Clarence wrote: Have you read: "The Awful German Language" Mark Twain. It is an outstanding read. I have not, But I'm looking it up Right now. I'm always looking to expand my literary horizons. I'm far from perfect when one discusses the rules of spelling, or grammar, But then, I never claimed to BE perfect. In these Forums people write as they speak, with a More conversational informality (And Oft times typed in great haste). Yes there are people who speak and write better than I, and just as many who are not as well spoken. It doesn't matter to me. Just as it is rude, and insulting in a spoken conversation to continuously correct anothers speech, I find it equally rude and insulting to highjack a conversation by correcting another's posting, Or worse, express that it is of no value because it's written form is not "Up to your Standards". MAYBE i find the posts of some others difficult to follow, That does not stop me from making the effort. Knowledge or wisdom can be found in almost any form, and i'm not doing myself any favours at all if i take the easy route and ignore everything else. IRL i know a great many people who speak very well. Pity that despite thier verbal excellence, they don't really have anything to say. Angel.

Dogboat Taurog wrote: Ariel Vuissent wrote: Failing to use proper grammar and spelling does tend to make people seem less intelligent. Therefore, the opinion of someone who does not use proper grammar and spelling may be less respected than the opinion of someone who does use proper grammar and spelling. There is a difference between a typo (of which I have made several while typing this, but quickly correctly those I spotted) and truly poor spelling and grammar. Just because I understand what someone is saying doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer to see the same thing written correctly - and I would probably take the opinion more seriously. I never make fun of people for poor spelling. I might, however, point out to someone that their opinion is of little to no value to me because it is garbled and poorly written. After one or two exchanges with someone's whose grammar and spelling are poor and who refuses to even consider another point of view, I don't blame people for finally saying "Your grammar and spelling suck, and I don't respect what you're saying, so I'm done talking to you." Naturally, it's important to consider that the person typing may not be a native English speaker, though. but if they have a valid view and their "spelling and grammar sucks" what then? you seem to regard the spelling and grammar more than the validity of the point itself. but you are not alone, evidently. by the way "i'm done with you" maybe north american grammar but its not english grammar. how far do you want to go? My point exactly. This is the kind of person who would spend all day arguing whether "Two and two IS five" or Two and two ARE five" and completely dismiss the person who is trying to tell them two and two make FOUR. her point is clear enough due to her presentation, but all she clearly expressed is a closed mindedness that does her no credit. From one of America's Greatest thinkers: "I never let my schooling interfere with my education" Samuel Langhorne Clemens A.K.A Mark Twain I don't expect some of you to be familiar with this quote, as Mr. Twain's grammar isn't perfect. :matte-motes-big-grin: Angel

Ian Undercroft wrote: Making due and proper allowance for those who don't have English as their first language, >>you're kidding yourself if you're suggesting that a person's grammar and spelling doesn't, as a general rule, also say a lot about their intelliegence.<< I might accept this as a trueism were it not far more common for the person LOSING the debate (Despite proper grammar and spelling) to critisize the presentation of the one who is giving them a logical lambasting. IRL these would be the same sort of person who would resort to mocking a persons accent or pronunciation rather than address a point or points for which they have no supportable answer. It's a cheap and unworthy form of obfuscation, and one i tend to ignore. As for those of you like myself (Self educated, dyslexic, AND Not originally of English speaking origins) Don't let people who do this intimidate you into silence (For that is indeed their Intent). Even if your form isn't perfect, you still have something of value to contribute. Angel.