Lee, Here in a Virtual World

Destinations: Memento mori...Remember your mortality...in ChouChou

2012-02-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is a reprint of an old forum post of mine (September 8, 2010). I thought I'd trot it back out (again) because of all the wonderful articles recently published and the pictures on the SL Feed celebrating the reopening this year of one of my all-time favorite sims. I think Chouchou represents the best of what can be in Second Life. It's magical.

The Memento mori region is where the cathedral is located in Chouchou. It's not an activity sim. The effect, for me, is most like being a tourist in Europe in a parallel world. It's a sightseeing sim.

The old cathedrals in Europe are enormous, weighty, cold and beautiful. This place recreates that mood. The region's environmental settings are dark and cold. My avi is wearing a t-shirt and jeans, much as I would in life, and I can just feel that familiar shiver of going from the sunny outdoors to the dim and shadowy interior of a historic and spiritual stone sanctuary with a colorful tourist pamphlet in hand. People come and go in the same numbers and time as tourists do in real cathedrals. I go in and see one couple wander about while another person decides to sit in a pew and another goes to take a look at the piano. All the while there are sounds...the bells of the cathedral, a piano playing, angels singing... the wind.

This region pushes my sense memory buttons. That's a big reason for why I respond to it the way I do. It's that and it's my utter appreciation for people who have the vision, energy and patience to create something that is so beautiful and can push my sense memory buttons so satisfyingly. There's also something lovely about knowing there's an unspoken connection to strangers based on something like this. I get it. I get what they were saying with this and while they don't know me, they get me on some level. Same with anyone else who responds to this place the way I do. Silent communication and connection. It's cool, man.

My mother, who died in 2003, was a Brit living in the states. My Dad, an American, was in the Air Force and then later had a civilian career. We lived in England for a time and traveled around Europe and returned for visits regularly, not only to see family, but to see that part of the world. I've literally been travelling and seeing the world since I was a baby.

So we traveled. We also saw movies. I grew up in a household that relished the whole experience of going to the movies. When I was a little girl, I stood in a line that literally stretched blocks, the very definition of blockbuster, to see a movie that had created the most palpable excitement among almost everyone I knew. My parents brought games and snacks and a blanket to sit on and we waited. Chewbacca worked his way down the line and stopped to give me a "May the Force Be With You" button and to pat my head and give me a thrill to break up the wait. And then I saw the premiere of Star Wars. It was amazing. I loved the movie, but I also loved the energy around it. Excitement like that, in my little mind, makes a community out of strangers for a moment. I think that's cool too. But I'm easy. I get a rush out of seeing crimson curtains swing back and forth while the projectionist cues up the flick at old movie houses. Seriously. That's all it takes.

Something as simple as giving me that cinematic HUD and letting me loose in a pixel cathedral really gets my amateur cineast juices flowing. I feel shades of Roland Joffé's The Mission, Alex Proyas' Dark City, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, Steven Soderbergh's Solaris and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, even a little of John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven and Michael Crichton's Westworld. It's like catching a whiff of tobacco when you don't smoke anymore or smelling baking cookies when you are hungry. It's little hits of something oh so good. Hits of things that make you yearn a little and stretch that particular emotional muscle.

I also have a love of music that I won't go into here and now, because this post is already too long and I'm about to bury it, but I know the power of music too. And clearly, so do the sim builders.

So I love to travel, I love movies and I love music and I love the evocative power of architecture and art and film and sound and I'm one big jukebox of sense memory.

This region is nothing more than a pixel build meant to resemble a cathedral with some sunlight, a piano and a streaming soundtrack. It's a bunch of prim pixels and some music. That's all there is. Period. You can walk through it. You can sit in a pew. You can listen to the music. You're done. This is really much ado about nothing. Unless it hits you. And what are the odds of that?

It's also one third of something that two Japanese artist-musicians chose to build over the last two years in order to experiment with sight and sound and to what...express themselves...share? Why build it?

As simple and humble as it is, it hit me right in the core. It's just a moment on the cartoon side of the old internet, but I think it's beautiful. I don't romanticize relationships, so I romanticize...other things.

No, I take that back. I don't need or want to apologize or diminish or qualify. This sim is beautiful and I was simply, gloriously, happily blown away.

Related links:

http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?3124-Memento-mori-Remember-your-mortality-in-ChouChou
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/destinations-memento-mori-remember-your-mortality-in-chouchou.1808/page-2
http://caitlintobias.com/2012/02/18/chouchou-memento-mori/
http://chouchouholic.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/chouchouholic
http://www.flickr.com/groups/second_life_memento_mori_chouchou_v/
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chouchou%20V/138/188/21
http://secondlife.com/destination/chouchou
http://www.youtube.com/user/chouchouholic
http://grainemac.blog.com/2012/01/11/chouchou-is-back/
http://karasecondlife.blogspot.com/2010/07/chouchou-is-back.html
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2012/02/chouchou-sl-machinima.html
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2012/02/chouchous-immersive-music-regions-reopen-in-sl.html
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2011/01/chouchou-favorite-second-life-pop-performer.html
http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt104/MissLee_photos/Chouchou%20in%20Second%20Life/
http://www.rletc.com/album.php?albumid=431
https://my.secondlife.com/sy.beck/snapshots/4f3fac2a1751856dd2000001
https://my.secondlife.com/sy.beck/snapshots/4f3fae1b94a7e44b40000001
https://my.secondlife.com/sy.beck/snapshots/4f3fa84417518569da000001
https://my.secondlife.com/caitlin.tobias/snapshots/4f3fac1c903d034e5a000001

Wanted: Debaters for the Affirmative

2012-02-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Resolution: Pep and Storm are inappropriately, excessively and unnecessarily rude, offensive and mean to other Second Life residents and forum and feed posters. Pep and Storm are not funny. They are sometimes hyperemotional. They use sockpuppets. They should stop.

Affirmative: Eloise and...you?

Negative: Pep and Storm

http://leeherevw.blogspot.com/2012/02/not-arguing-about-pep-and-storm.html
http://thearchivisthere.blogspot.com/2012/02/defining-our-terms.html

ETA;
Please, no flaming or histrionics. This is a serious request for a serious question. Plenty of room to fight bare knuckles elsewhere. This is intended to be a rational and reasonable debate among adults. Thank you.

ETA:
No really. Oh, c'mon.

(Not) Arguing About Pep and Storm

2012-02-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

I'm going to borrow terms from debate for this post. There is, after all, a long running debate playing out across the Second Life related forums, feeds, blogs and sims.

Resolution: Pep and Storm are inappropriately, excessively and unnecessarily rude, offensive and mean to other residents and forum and feed posters. Pep and Storm are not funny. They are sometimes hyperemotional. They use sockpuppets. They should stop.

Affirmative: Eloise and ~~Steampunk~~

Negative: Pep and Storm

This is a summary of one small part of the debate. You can read the full transcript here.

Storm states a premise. "I have over 50 posts to SLF with my alt. Not ONE has been returned (RIC'd, or moderated.) The conclusion I draw is that people RIC the poster and not the post. I would like to add that in the last 6 months over 25% of my posts as Storm have been RIC'd. Prior to the last 6 months I have 5000+ posts without a removal."

Venus states one: "Another conclusion is that mods do not read/review for context. A lethal combination."

Steampunk Gears questions the premises.

Pep questions Steampunk.

Eloise questions the premises and adds evidence by way of a testimony about RICing one of Storms' forum posts.

Storm acknowledges Eloise's evidence and point.

Zinnia affirms the posters.

Pep makes a joke.

Perrie Juran makes an observation and a joke.

Dres makes a joke.

Perrie makes a joke.

curiousaboutsl interrupts the discussion to ask technical questions about the Feed.

People reply to curiousaboutsl. Lee and Venus take it off Storm's feed and answer curiousaboutsl in more detail on curiousaboutsl's feed.

Zinnia disaffirms Pep. Zinnia uses her own judgment about Pep's joke and decides it is not funny and that it is offensive, and therefore not so much a joke as an actual accusation. Zinnia affirms herself.

curiousaboutsl makes an ironic comment and asks more questions.

Steampunk Gears makes incorrect assertions.

Eloise makes an assertion that she is pretty sure Pep is a troll.

Storm asserts that Steampunk Gears is clueless.

Lee introduces Steampunk and curiousaboutsl to each other.

Storm introduces cocktails.

Lee makes an observation about Steampunk's general posting style.

Lee and Storm discuss the Forum Confidential blog and John Updike.

Pep affirms his virtual identity and makes more jokes.

Zinnia describes her own observations of Pep, criticizes Pep and makes the request that he "be nice."

Steampunk Gears states a premise, that Pep bullies, intimidates, humiliates, harasses and trolls and does not employ humor correctly. This makes the second "Pep is a troll" assertion in the discussion. (Steampunk and Eloise)

Steampunk also predicts punitive reactions from Linden Lab towards Pep.

Steampunk then implies that the discussion Lee and Storm had about Forum Confidential was a threat and would have been a violation of the ToS if the Feeds were moderated by the Lindens. He then makes assertions about the entertainment value of Forum Confidential.

Steampunk then makes more assertions about Pep claiming that he has "hidden like a coward," lied and cheated and wasted time and trolled. Although this remains the second "troll" premise as Steampunk made it before. So we still have a count of Eloise and Steampunk asserting that Pep is a troll.

Steampunk makes the extremely difficult to support assertion that no one wants to listen to Pep and no one cares about what Pep has to say. (More likely a typical neener-neener dig than an actual assertion.)

Steampunk then tells, presumably Pep, to "fuck off."

Pep says he has written a rebuttal to Steampunk on his (Pep's) feed.

Pep asserts that everyone is a little bad, he's just better at being bad.

Dres employs sarcasm.

Pep asks clarifying questions (about which blogs are being discussed).

Amethyst Gears asserts that Pep makes insults that belittle his opponents and suggests they are illiterate.

Pep asserts that he does not suggest his opponents are illiterate, he merely points it out when they are illiterate.

Eloise asserts that Pep claims his opponents are ESLers, uneducated, stupid and hyperemotional with no grasp of their intentions when they post.

Eloise states a premise couched as an observation: "You're mean, pure and simple. I can be mean, we all can, but you do it for what seems like a living. I make no judgement. I simply observe." She also asserts that Pep picks on others while Storm does not.

Eloise asserts that she sees Storm as posting in a manner similar to how Pep's posts to his opponents has been described. She adds that "others" see Storm as the "epitome of a hyperemotional response."

Storm states that he is "in it for the drama" having failed at comedy.

Storm makes the extremely difficult to support assertion that he posts without emotion.

Eloise asserts that Storm and Pep are mean to others, but do not allow anyone to respond in kind or to be mean to them in any way or degree. She asserts that this observed stance does not make sense.

Eloise states that she is aware of both sides of "this argument." She asserts that she is not affiliated to either camp. She positions herself as being against the mean posts of Pep and the hyperemotional posts of Storm and the stance both take with regard to how they make and receive posts.

Storm asserts that he is not affiliated with any camp.

Eloise asserts, via a question, that Storm is defending a camp or stance, with an added implication that Storm is defending Pep.

Eloise asserts that Pep "stirs up trouble" for others including Storm.

Eloise says she bites bait and the trolls bite her.

Storm states that he finds Pep to be humorous and entertaining.

Eloise asserts that neither Pep nor Storm are funny, though both are entertaining and "drama queens." She states they are "scarily, obsessively mean" and that both have been banned from the forums, implying this supports the argument that Pep and Storm are mean.

Eloise and Storm parse the argument that either (or both) alts or sockpuppets are bad.

Storm asserts that his SL Forum ban was for questioning moderation, not for his posts in general.

Eloise asserts that Storm was banned for a sustained offensive.

Eloise asserts that some of the posters are reinforcing the idea "that when Pep misbehaves you all encourage him."

Dres makes comments about the SL Forum moderation.

Lee makes sidebar comments.

Dres asserts that Eloise has some valid points in a reasonable manner. Lee agrees.

Eloise affirms Dres.

Storm asserts that the responses to Eloise have been reasonable as well.

Eloise makes a joke and then returns to what she sees as the point, "is what Pep does acceptable? Not to me. Not today, or ever and while people defend his behaviour...on your heads be it when you want SL to listen to you."

Storm responds, "The point was the OP, not your point Eloise."

Eloise and Storm both make the near-indefensible claim that they were not arguing with anyone or at all.

Venus explains her prior comment was a joke.

Dres states that Pep is an asshole, but Dres still finds reasons to like Pep.

Steampunk makes an attempt to get Lee's attention, but once again gets the facts wrong in the attempt.

Steampunk asserts that there is a type of observer that relishes in the misery Pep and Storm dish out to other residents and supports what Pep and Storm say regardless of how far Pep and Storm take their comments. Steampunk offers no evidence to support his assertions.

Eloise states that she realizes she will never win peace on the forums or feeds, but she seems to suggest she'll have a good time trying.

Lee observes people making judgment calls on jokes again.

Venus asserts that jokes are like pornography. "Jokes are like pron. I know it when I see it."

Lee asserts that she is "lightening the mood a little, giving encouragement, responding in a polite and rational manner."

Lee suggests that she sees stating one's point in the context of continuous back-and-forth opposing commentary to be "an argument."

Dres affirms Lee. Lee affirms Dres.

Storm suggests the "argument" is merely a "dance."

Storms says he is a "drama ho" and implies that he aims to please.

Venus states that she flashed her boobs.

Eloise attempts to claim, somewhat ironically, that she is not making assertions. "I'm not making assertions Lee. I'm responding to the way that others post. I'm explicitly referring to the way that Pep posts and the responses his posts garner. I have no view on anything other than how rude Pep's posts are and how quickly the same few posters come in to defend his behaviour. Whatever you think of me, I would never be that incredibly rude. I would never condone that behaviour and I remain surprised by those who do."

Lee suggests it may be time to define our terms.

Venus brings up the old hotbutton of the question of interpretting "condoning behavior" and "silence" and "loves."

Dres reasserts that Pep can be an asshole and that he does not condone that behavior and that there is more to Pep than that.

Colleen peeks her head in to make a quick joke.

Venus and Dres wink and hug.

/end summary

https://my.secondlife.com/storm.clarence/posts/4f371b461cbccc00010004a5

You may judge this section of the debate in the comments section below or in the applicable feed. There are actually numerous premises and assertions stated in that discussion. I chose the main one, despite it not actually being the subject of the OP. Please feel free to comment on any of the resolutions, premises or assertions that you observed in the feed discussion.

Thank you.

p.s.
To be perfectly clear...I am NOT making any digs at Eloise who I thought handled herself quite well in the feed discussion. I mean to be respectful and not disrespectful to Eloise. There is no snark there. I posted this because I am interested in framing the age-old topic of Pep, Storm (and the Fuckwads before them) as a debate, rather than a flamefest or tantrum or random drive-by shootings.

p.p.s.
Do I need to explain that "Resolution" does not mean that I have personally resolved that statement as a fact? It's a debate term. It means that statement represents the main point of the argument now open to being discussed and debated by both sides (affirmative and negative).

ETA & Update:
Steampunk has dropped out. We need more champions for the affirmative.

https://my.secondlife.com/steampunk.gears

ETA:
I've updated the "Defining Our Terms" blog post.

ETA:
More related links.

https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent/posts/4f3a955eddd72700010028cf
https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent/posts/4f3a96186d81490001003170
https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent/posts/4f39f13339cec50001000d0e
https://my.secondlife.com/storm.clarence/posts/4f371b461cbccc00010004a5

"Is Second Life honestly better than Utherverse?"

2012-02-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

Freebie Fashion Tips in the SLUniverse

2012-01-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

Check out this thread with tips, slurls and pics of high-quality freebie fashion items in Second Life.

http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/new-users/67989-show-your-freebie-style.html

Cindy Claveau is the OP. Less than a month after she created the thread, people have posted six pages and counting of great leads.

Enjoy.

Chouchou is back!

2012-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

From the Chouchou blog:

On January 8th, 2012, all of our regions are now open. There are 3 regions total.
Thank you so much for waiting so long till this day.

http://chouchouholic.blogspot.com/2012/01/chouchou-official-regions-are-now-back.html

Crap Mariner's Blogroll Summary Project

2012-01-21T08:22:00.000-08:00

Back in June of last year I posted an incomplete list of just some of the virtual-world themed blog and forum websites out there. (There are a lot.) Some people have found it useful and I've definitely popped back into it to grab a link now and then. But it was just a bulleted and hyperlinked list.

Crap Mariner is listing blogs and including quick summaries of the type of content you might find on the sites. Potentially very helpful stuff, so I'm gonna put the word out here. Check it out.

Related links:
http://firstlife.isfullofcrap.com/2012-project/
http://firstlife.isfullofcrap.com/2012/01/07/blogroll-project-week-1-review/
http://firstlife.isfullofcrap.com/2012/01/14/blogroll-project-week-2-review/
http://leeherevw.blogspot.com/2011/06/virtual-world-theme-sites-blogs-forums.html
http://leeherevw.blogspot.com/2011/07/forum-ranking-ratings-reviews.html
http://leeherevw.blogspot.com/2011/07/criteria-for-forum-ranking-ratings.html

Forum Whore Seeks Laughing Skype Devil

2012-01-19T20:39:00.001-08:00

We're looking for the animated Skype smiley of the devil who laughs and throws his head back maniacally and shows his teeth for use in forum and blog posts.

Help.

100 words from dada about a dentist

2012-01-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

dadatic, a forum poster and writer I have enjoyed for years, indulged me with this little 100-word story that he graciously gave me permission to share. Enjoy.

My dentist was injured today while she was torturing me. Ididn't bite her. She cut herself with one of her instruments. While she ran tocure her wound, I stayed there with an open mouth, not because I wasdumbfounded, but because she had not given me permission to close it.Fortunately she could soon resume the operation, as her wound was not reallyserious. But it's my first time of rightfully shared pain at the dentist's. She quickly disposed of my tooth before Icould say a word. Now what am I going to put beneath my pillow?

You'll pardon him if he does not read it aloud and record a sound bite...for obvious reasons.

A Joke's No Good If You Have To Explain It

2012-01-19T14:51:00.001-08:00

I went from pop-up museums (some of which allow visitors to contribute exhibit pieces to give the museum a shared historical authority) to THE Pop-up Museum. Tad Low and Woody (Thompson) are the creators of the VH1 Pop-up Video concept, which included bubbles and "info nuggets." The name of their company was Spin the Bottle, Inc. Pop-Up Video was VH1's highest-rated show until Behind the Music took that spot and Pop-Up Video was known for it's playfully sexual content. Ben Stiller made a movie called "A Night at the Museum." I'm the "Archivist" in a virtual world. I was a contributor to the 100 Word Story Challenge.

The age requirement for entry into the Pop-Up Museum was a tad low. The archive was notorious for both subtle sexual innuendo and blatant obscenity. Info nuggets created byWoody were a virtual aphrodisiac. A night at the museum, including a visit to the Bubbly Bar and the various zeitgeisty exhibits, produced more pheromones than an unchaperoned game of spin the bottle in Mom and Dad’s basement. More than once security had to be called to discreetly deal with inappropriate behavior behind the music installations. Janitors were later called to clean up the “shared historical authority” left by enthusiastic “contributors.”

That's the way my little mind works.

A Night at the Pop-Up Museum

2012-01-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

From the SLFeeds on https://my.secondlife.com.

leehere.absent

A response to Crap Mariner's 100 Word Stories Weekly Challenge - Museum.

>>> The age requirement for entry into the Pop-Up Museum was a tad low. The archive was notorious for both subtle sexual innuendo and blatant obscenity. Info nuggets created by Woody were a virtual aphrodisiac. A night at the museum, including a visit to the Bubbly Bar and the various zeitgeisty exhibits, produced more pheromones than an unchaperoned game of spin the bottle in Mom and Dad’s basement. More than once security had to be called to discreetly deal with inappropriate behavior behind the music installations. Janitors were later called to clean up the “shared historical authority” left by enthusiastic “contributors.” <<<

about 2 hours ago Love Comment

leehere.absent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum#Pop-up_museums
about 1 hour ago Love
leehere.absent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop-Up_Video
about 1 hour ago Love
leehere.absent
There's often a method to my madness. ;-)

leehere.absent
I am thinking, however, that humor that requires links is a FAIL. But hell, it amused me!
28 minutes ago Love
leehere.absent
Apologies and/or gratitude to Woody Thompson and Tad Low and Spin the Bottle Inc.

A Night at the Pop-Up Museum

https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent/posts/4f13740188fc230001003015
http://soundcloud.com/leehere-absent/a-night-at
http://laurence.isfullofcrap.com/
http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/
http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/2012/01/15/the-topic-of-the-next-weekly-challenge-is-museum/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum#Pop-up_museums
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop-Up_Video

Brainz Torment & Speed Bump in Second Life

2012-01-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

I'm a fan of Guitar Zane so when he told me he had begun a new venture in Second Life games, I had to check it out. The game I tried was Speed Bump. It's similar to Password. You're given a clue, like a saying, actor, movie, food item, etc. and you have to get your team to say the clue. There is a timer and the game throws "speed bumps" your way to slow you down. GZ wanted me to get the full experience, so he assembled a party in Nic and Molly's house and we played with a group of about 8-10 for hours. It's addictive.

There is a 20-minute demo copy at the store site. secondlife:///app/worldmap/Finse/101.766/247.703/48.4889

You can play in your own chairs or rez the tire seats that come with the game for a thematic feel. That pic above is the demo outside the Brainz Torment store. The three below are from Nic and Molly's game room at their home.

We played in both voice and text for our game. I admit to hopping out of my RL and SL seats trying to convey a word or phrase to my teammates while watching the clock tick down, keeping an eye on local chat and listening to my teammates in voice and trying to unlock my brain and mouth to get something useful out.

At one point I got the category of "Food" and the clue was "Roquefort." I'm not proud of how we got there, but my team did figure it out before the clock ran out. I started them with a song you sing in rounds and ended with something kids make out of furniture and sheets (Row, row, row your boat and living room forts.) Oh sure. You judge me now, but if you had 90 seconds to get someone to say "Roquefort" what would you say? Un hunh.

Ima and I had so much fun we decided we needed a Speed Bump for the CAC Clubhouse. I bought one that very night and set it up on the beach. You may want to turn your volume down if you happen to be flying by one night and see a bunch of CACers sitting in tires on the beach.

Thanks to Guitar Zane, Balley Bernard, Lyric Serendipity, Merlin Edwardstone, Shahayla Tearfall, Biggles Magic, Nic Kelberry, Molly Medier, Samantha Bosch, Leri Miles and Ima and Sylvia for a great time last night. Thanks to Nic and Molly for hosting.

Brainz Torment Speed Bump store here: Ed & Gia's Little Bit of Ireland, Finse (101.766,247.703,48.4889) secondlife:///app/worldmap/Finse/101.766/247.703/48.4889

More Brainz Torment links: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brainz-Torment-Inc/219389388141523 & https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/102683

More Brainz Torment Speed Bump pics here: http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt104/MissLee_photos/Brainz%20Torment%20SpeedBump/

p.s.
If you decide to play, which I hope you do, then take this. You'll need it.

"in of is are and a an for to it be or at as the if on so but"

Speed Bump v2.2: It is Blue team's turn.
Leri Miles, you're up. Click 'Play' to get your word and start the timer.
Biggles Magic: out
Speed Bump v2.2: The category is ENTERTAINMENT
Lyric Serendipity: in of is are and a an for to it be or at as the if on so but
Speed Bump v2.2: ____ AND THE ____
Lee (leehere.absent): in of is are and a an for to it be or at as the if on so but
Speed Bump v2.2: ____ AND THE ____
Lyric Serendipity: beauty
Lee (leehere.absent): cat
Lyric Serendipity: kitten
Lee (leehere.absent): feline
Lyric Serendipity: pussy
Lee (leehere.absent): pussy
Nic Kelberry: Pussy
Lyric Serendipity: cat
Lyric Serendipity: puss
Lee (leehere.absent): pussycat
Lyric Serendipity: pussycat
Lee (leehere.absent): boots
Lee (leehere.absent): dolls
Nic Kelberry: Puss
Lyric Serendipity: josie
Speed Bump v2.2: JOSIE AND THE ____
Lee (leehere.absent): joise
Lyric Serendipity: pussycats
Speed Bump v2.2: JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS
Speed Bump v2.2: Lyric Serendipity guessed the phrase. Blue team gets 68 points.

REVERBNATION, Brainz Torment & SpeedBump

2012-01-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

I'm listening to Second Life artists on http://www.reverbnation.com.

Balley Bernard: http://www.reverbnation.com/balleybernard

Guitar Zane: http://www.reverbnation.com/guitarzane

Lyric Serendipity: http://www.reverbnation.com/lyricserendipity

Here's the "About":

ABOUT REVERBNATION

ReverbNation.com is the leading online music-marketing platform used by over 1,970,000 artists — plus managers, record labels, and venues — to grow their reach, influence, and business across the internet. ReverbNation.com provides free and affordable solutions to individual artists and the music industry professionals that support them in the areas of web promotion, fan-relationship management, digital distribution, social-media marketing, direct-to-fan e-commerce, fan-behavior measurement, sentiment tracking, web-site hosting, and concert booking and promotion.

ReverbNation.com's innovation is in developing technologies that integrate the wide array of distribution, marketing, and promotional functions used by the music industry into one comprehensive and easy-to-use business application — helping virtually any artist grow their revenues, and providing insight into how each marketing input contributes to overall outcomes. For more information, please visit ReverbNation and follow ReverbNation.com on Twitter.

http://www.reverbnation.com/main/about

I played a boisterous game of Speed Bump by Brainz Torment last night in Second Life with Balley, Guitar Zane and Lyric and with Merlin, Molly, Nic, Sam, Shahayla and Biggles Magic too.

Lyric's speaking voice is pure honey and she is a brilliant game partner. Balley sounds exactly like Keith Carradine (FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy on Dexter).

I'm a big fan of Guitar Zane and enjoy attending his concerts. You can hear and see him at his website: http://www.guitarzane.com/.

Now it seems he has branched out into game development with his musical friends.

Brainz Torment Inc. Mainstore

Ed & Gia's Little Bit of Ireland, Finse (101.766,247.703,48.4889)

Home of SL's newest gaming craze "SPEEDBUMP" !!

BT was founded by Guitar Zane in June of 2011, the company is comprised of 6 individuals, all with a common goal in mind. This goal is creating new, unique, and ground breaking entertainment products within SL!

WE ARE BRAINZ TORMENT INC!

Guitar Zane
Lyric Serendipity
Merlin Edwardstone
Shahayla Tearfall
Biggles Magic
Balley Bernard

SpeedBump

Ed & Gia's Little Bit of Ireland, Finse (101.766,247.703,48.4889)

SL's BEST NEW Game!!
If you haven't played... you're missing out!!

Speed Bump is a fun, interactive voice game, (can be played in text, but, it's not as fun ;P ) SpeedBump was designed to be played in groups of 4 or more!! Your goal is to be the first team to reach either 750 points (short game) or 1500 points (regular game)!

Team members each take turns giving clues to their team mates, trying to get them to guess words or phrases given by the game board. The game includes several different categories, making it fun for everyone!!

...WATCH OUT FOR SPEED BUMPS!

If you get a Speed Bump...you will lose valuable points and possibly your entire turn!

Curious yet???

Grab your friends and come try out the demo at our Mainstore!

PS** Don't forget to grab some freebies from the Mainstore while your there!

FAO: CAC Members

2012-01-07T09:27:00.001-08:00

Just a quick reminder that I post CAC and YUKU site information and updates on The Archivist.

http://thearchivisthere.blogspot.com/

Next Virtual Scavenger Hunt Challenge! (IV)

2011-12-29T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Fourth Hunt List:

1. A cougar or panther.

2. A M*A*S*H or Starsky & Hutch character or prop.

3. A forensic lab or pi ( $π$ ).

4. A mime or contortionist.

5. A cupcake or breakfast.

The Rules:
1. All items must be from an MMO or virtual world.
2. You may get into teams (pairs or groups) or do this as an individual.
3. Be the first to get all (one of the two choices for each number) of the items on the list for the win.
4. Provide proof of completion with posted screen shots. You or a team member must be in the shot. You may use a virtual world forum such as Second Life forum, Utherverse forum, gotVirtual.net, RLetc.com, SC MKII, SLU, etc., and link your post in the comments.
5. Bonus points for creativity.
6. Bonus points for funny or strange chat logs about obtaining the screen-shot items. (Remember to protect the innocent.)
7. Final authority on judging belongs to the hunt organizer.
8. The prize is bragging rights and entertainment value.

May the best team win!

https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Games-in-Second-Life/Virtual-Scavenger-Hunt-Challenge/td-p/1306301
http://forums.utherverse.com/yaf_postst79118_Scavenger-Hunt--inworld.aspx

Crap Mariner's 100 Word Story Challenge

2011-12-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

Crap Mariner wrote:
The 100 word stories weekly challenge is where I post a topic to http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com and then you write and record a story based on that topic. The topic of the next Weekly Challenge is Return Want to give it a shot? Send an email to isfullofcrap (at) gmail.com with the subject of WEEKLY CHALLENGE and the following: The text of your 100 word story on the topic. Your site's URL, if you have a site and aren't ashamed to share it. A topic for the next Weekly Challenge And, if you can, a recording of your story (and any shameless plugs) in MP3 format Everything's due by Saturday at midnight or so. If you can't or don't feel like recording your story, well, go ahead and send the text of the story in anyway. I'll have someone record it for you. Good luck, and as always, keep it brief.

Crap Mariner wrote:
100 Word Stories Weekly Challenge #295 This week's 100 Word Stories Weekly Challenge offers up a whole bunch of Christmas stories from SL's Tura Brezoianu, Whiskey Day, Solomon Sixpence, Botgirl Questi, NorvalJoe Parkin, Danny Dwyer, Uriel Wheeler (and son), IshtarAngel Micheline, and Crap Mariner... among others. You can listen via the website: http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com And feel free to try your hand at 100 word storywriting with Challenge #297: "Return." Thanks, -ls/cm

Crap Mariner wrote:
A drabble is a story that is only 100 words long. A friend in college did a bunch of them, and I did a few about Abraham Lincoln in response. Then, "100 Words Or Les Nessman" came about, and a group of writers challenged themselves to write about a topic or write about Les Nessman. I recorded my stories, eventually creating a separate podcast feed and archive. Les Nessman came and went over the years, but mine kept going. I swore that I would write one a day until the day I die. Since I'm not dead, I'm still writing these things. On Sundays, I invite people to write their own stories on a posted theme and we call it The Weekly Challenge. To join in, either follow the instructions on the Weekly Challenge Topic post, or write me at isfullofcrap (at) gmail.com Finally, I perform the most recent stories live in Second Life on the Edloe sim at 5PM SLT (Pacific Time) on Wednesdays.

http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/

http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/the-weekly-challenge/

http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/live-readings/

http://firstlife.isfullofcrap.com/

https://my.secondlife.com/crap.mariner

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Edloe/140/125/71

isfullofcrap (at) gmail.com

@100wordstories on Twitter

Virtual Scavenger Hunt Pictures (I-III)

2011-12-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

See Griffin Ceawlin's fantastic original pics responding to the third hunt list on the Second Life Forums at: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Games-in-Second-Life/Virtual-Scavenger-Hunt-Challenge/td-p/1306301

Here's a quick tease...

Caitlin Tobias' consistently witty and pretty pics (I-III) can be found on her SLFeed and blog.

https://my.secondlife.com/caitlin.tobias
http://caitlintobias.com/

These are pictures from the intrepid Maryanne who upped the ante on the challenge by using the Utherverse (RLC) and Champions Online to attack the first hunt list.

The First Hunt List:

1. A sumo wrestler or a monk.

2. A Star Wars or Star Trek character.

3. A sleeping bag or jump rope.

4. A werewolf or a zombie.

5. A piñata or fireworks.

This is for you, Mary...

http://forums.utherverse.com/yaf_postst79118_Scavenger-Hunt--inworld.aspx

Next Virtual Scavenger Hunt Challenge! (III)

2011-12-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

The Third Hunt List:
1. Father Time or Baby New Year.
2. A god or goddess.
3. A Dr. Who or Battlestar Gallactica character or prop.
4. A wine bottle, decanter and glass or Champagne in a bucket of ice with fluted glasses.
5. A mine or oil rig.

The Rules:
1. All items must be from an MMO or virtual world.
2. You may get into teams (pairs or groups) or do this as an individual.
3. Be the first to get all (one of the two choices for each number) of the items on the list for the win.
4. Provide proof of completion with posted screen shots. You or a team member must be in the shot. You may use a virtual world forum such as Second Life forum, Utherverse forum, gotVirtual.net, RLetc.com, SC MKII, SLU, etc., and link your post in the comments.
5. Bonus points for creativity.
6. Bonus points for funny or strange chat logs about obtaining the screen-shot items. (Remember to protect the innocent.)
7. Final authority on judging belongs to the hunt organizer.
8. The prize is bragging rights and entertainment value.

May the best team win!

https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Games-in-Second-Life/Virtual-Scavenger-Hunt-Challenge/td-p/1306301
http://forums.utherverse.com/yaf_postst79118_Scavenger-Hunt--inworld.aspx

ChouChou

2011-12-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

Word on the Chouchouholic grapevine is that ChouChou performed a concert today and will be reopening the Chouchou sims next week!

Links:
http://chouchouholic.blogspot.com/
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chouchou%20V/138/188/21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avChtg8yopg
http://www.youtube.com/user/chouchouholic

Happy Holidays

2011-12-17T10:43:00.001-08:00

Second Scavenger Hunt Challenge! We Have a Winner!

2011-12-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sylvia Tamalyn (playing for Team Caity) on winning the Second Scavenger Hunt Challenge!

1. Toilet Seat or Bidet

2. Soccer Ball or Basketball Hoop

3. Kindle or Walkman

4. Clown or Fairy

5. Breast Pump or Ice Skates and Leg Warmers

p.s.
Let me know if you cannot see those fabulous scavenger hunt pics from Sylvia. (They might be on a privacy setting or lurking in my cache.) Thanks.

Next Virtual Scavenger Hunt Challenge! (II)

2011-12-14T00:44:00.000-08:00

The Rules:
1. All items must be from an MMO or virtual world.
2. You may get into teams (pairs or groups) or do this as an individual.
3. Be the first to get all (one of the two choices for each number) of the items on the list for the win.
4. Provide proof of completion with posted screen shots. You or a team member must be in the shot. You may use a virtual world forum such as Second Life forum, Utherverse forum, gotVirtual.net, RLetc.com, SC MKII, SLU, etc., and link your post in the comments.
5. Bonus points for creativity.
6. Bonus points for funny or strange chat logs about obtaining the screen-shot items. (Remember to protect the innocent.)
7. Final authority on judging belongs to the hunt organizer.
8. The prize is bragging rights and entertainment value.

The Second Hunt List:
1. A toilet seat or bidet.
2. A soccer ball or European football or basketball hoop.
3. A Kindle or Walkman (radio and cassette).
4. A fairy or clown.
5. A breast pump or ice skates and leg warmers.

The current teams to beat are Team Caity of Second Life and Team Maryanne of Utherverse and Champions Online.

May the best team win!

p.s.
This was the last hunt list:

The First Hunt List:

1. A sumo wrestler or a monk.

2. A Star Wars or Star Trek character.

3. A sleeping bag or jump rope.

4. A werewolf or a zombie.

5. A piñata or fireworks.

http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?2498-Scavenger-Hunt-(inworld)

http://caitlintobias.com/

https://my.secondlife.com/leehere.absent

Peptide

2011-12-03T13:08:00.001-08:00

Sometimes the dividing line isn't text or voice or big or small or human or furry or dead or alive or Euoropean or North American or even anchovies or pepperoni. Sometimes it's friend or foe of Pep. Be mindful of who you "like."

Enjoy.

http://whatleesaid.blogspot.com/2011/06/virtual-world-tribes.html
https://my.secondlife.com/lillie.woodells/posts/4ed8b9f58056df0001002efa
https://my.secondlife.com/livereport/snapshots/4ed85caa6349870a84000001
http://slconfidential.blogspot.com/2011/12/gypsy-quixote-thief-in-slum.html
http://slconfidential.blogspot.com/2011/12/gypsy-quixote-packs-his-bags.html
https://my.secondlife.com/gypsy.quixote
https://my.secondlife.com/aristophanese
https://my.secondlife.com/pserendipity.daniels
http://leeherevw.blogspot.com/2011/02/tongue-in-cheek-rules-for-forum-posters.html
http://leeherevw.blogspot.com/2011/07/pserendipitous-wit.html

ETA1: "Feed" appears to be the new "sandbox."

ETA2: I think I will self-quarantine to my own ~~sandbox~~ feed. Crimes Against Convention 6 or 7 or something.

ETA3: LOL Someone clicked "cry." Awwwwwww.

ETA4: Oh wait, just checked and apparently my SLFeed would be CAC # 10.

ETA5: It looks like the primary debate is who pissed in who's feed first. I don't read SLF or the SLFeeds nearly enough to know. Maybe some kind soul will come and tell us...or maybe we'll find something good on the telly.

ETA6: Was that vitriolic? I didn't even break a fingernail.

FAO: Ishy

2011-11-20T19:06:00.001-08:00

We're lookin' for ya, girl. How in the hell are ya? Give one of the old whores a shout out, will ya?

The INclusion Question: Communities in the Second Life Community Forum

2011-11-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Nothing creates activity quite like the question of inclusion vs. exclusion... and Attention, which is so vital to our virtual world it deserves capitalization (and probably doctrine and dogma).

Did you know the Second Life official product forum has subforums for two of its communities? Adults (XXX) and Vampires. Will Educators, Faeries (and their diminutive brethren), Furries, Gors, Texters and Voicers have subforums of their own soon? Are subforums offered or applied for? How does a group qualify? Is it based on demographics or should we follow the money? Are the Adult and Vampire communities the largest of the Second Life communities, and if so, by how much? Do they spend more money or draw more money? Do they have to maintain certain standards in order to keep their subforums? If they lose them, where will they go? Will they be archived? Why does the Adult community have a separate subforum of its own while the Vampires have a subforum within the People section? Are Adults not people too? Is there discrimination in the segregation? What's the message? Are the Adults finding it difficult to be Adult in a PG world? Adults and Vampires come with controversy, so what are the current debates? Who are the vocal minority? Did the separate subforums soothe the savage drama beast or fire its loins? Was it a clever maneuver, a thoughtless slip or a non-starter? Who's got the scoop on the rationale behind these decisions and the crystal ball that will tell us what happens next? Confidentially inquiring minds want to know.

I put together a little list of the "tribes" I had observed in my virtual travels and posted it on RLetc.com and gotVirtual.net a while back. I thought I'd give it a quick review to see if I noticed more opportunities for SLF subforums. Who have I missed? Check it out. Here's a copy:

I gave it some thought and began building a list of what I perceived to be the "tribes" of virtual worlds:

The Tribes

✣ Bloodlines (vampires, werewolves, etc.) vs. non-bloodlines (live humans)
✣ Faeries and tiny people vs. standard or tall avatars
✣ Furries vs. humans
✣ BDSM & Gor vs. non.
✣ Texters vs. voicers.
✣ Child avis vs. adult avis.
✣ Fantasy-based players vs. reality-based players.
✣ Players vs. residents
✣ Extroverts vs. introverts
✣ Gesture users vs. gesture haters
✣ Rude and careless vs. considerate and thoughtful
✣ Beggars and spammers vs. everyone else
✣ Griefers vs. non-griefers

Under construction.

Links:
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Vampire-Events-Discussion/bd-p/Vampires
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Adult-Content-Forum/ct-p/forums_adultcontent
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Welcome/Community-Guidelines/td-p/1176323
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/thats-what-she-said.772/page-6#post-24480

Wasted

2011-09-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

I called him. Spoke to him. Make of that what you will.

My take? It's all real. It is not performance art, calculated griefing or forum gaming.

He says he speaks some English, but struggles with it. He says he tried to get a job at Linden Lab, but felt he was discriminated against when he was turned down. He says he has serious mental health issues. He says he really believes he is posting as a concerned activist working on a good cause. He says it really does bother him when he is mocked and teased, but he feels he is sacrificing himself for the greater good. (All of this is information that can be obtained from his public posting and not new information from a private conversation.)

One woman's opinion.

Fine print:
His contact information is freely given, publicly posted and easily accessed. I will not, however, post it here.

p.s.
He said he would "salute" me on the forums and invited me to speak with him again.

ETA: Wasted gave me permission to post about him and our conversation.

ETA2: Congratulations to Wasted who has recently obtained a job at a petrol refinery.

ETA3: I think this is my Wasted "salute." ;)

Wasted said on gV...

"I can report any crime next to me, If I was living in Washingtong (USA) , I would call the police every day to complain about secondlife."

A Call for Bans on gV

2011-09-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

The debate continues...

Appeal to have Ev0l's posting permissions terminated for serial harassment

Lain's Lost It

Forum Feedback

.plan

ETA:

Poll: Who is the real GV Villian ?

SLU Down

2011-09-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

That's unusual, isn't it?

It's not just you! http://www.sluniverse.com looks down from here.

Links:
http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com
http://www.sluniverse.com/

Second Life Tour

2011-09-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

If you were going to take someone on a one-evening tour of Second Life just for fun*, where would you take them?

*Not to get a newb kitted out.

ETA:

SLUnleashed

2011-09-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

I created an account there.

http://www.slunleashed.com/

Blog Stats & Search Keywords

2011-09-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

I find the blog stats fascinating. I have my doubts about their reliability...natch. Right now, using the "Now" link that supposedly shows two hours worth of data, I see that there have been seven people from Iran and five from the United States looking at my blog and at least one of them got here by searching Google for "virtual game lil peps." I would love the opportunity to ask secondary questions.

Looking at "All Time" I see that most viewers come from the U.S., the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. No surprise there. There is also an unaccountably high number of people from Latvia viewing all of my blogs (not just this one).

Forum Confidential, Pserendipity Daniels' "Pep's Parenthetical Postscripts," Google, SLF, SC MKII, gV and my own blogs continue to be the top-referring sites to this blog.

Variations of my own name and that of Seicher Rae and Jon Finkel continue to lead the top of the "Search Keywords" list. Some of the ones lower down the list that amuse me besides "virtual game lil peps" are "realistic pubic hair," "ripped union jack flag shorts," "daddy dom" and "whore wiki." There have also been some very disappointed searchers for "magic the gathering," I'm sure. And I'm real curious about the people who got here via "a."

The blog posts that have received the most views are, again not surprisingly, the ones about sex and gV forum moderation.

And y'all are slaves to Windows and Firefox. ;)

ETA:

This is from today's data.

Really?

Forum Confidential Litmus Test (Scylla Likes It)

2011-09-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Given the lengthy threads I've seen on more than one forum about how participation and enjoyment in and of Forum Confidential is a kind of litmus test for the many who read, but don't post, I could not resist grabbing this for a bit of a mischievous wink and nod.

Links:
http://slconfidential.blogspot.com/2011/09/under-duress-fc-confesses.html
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=100
http://gotvirtual.net/community/search/242982/?q=forum+confidential&o=date
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/NO-MORE-SECRETS/td-p/960281/highlight/true
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/General-Discussion-Forum/Interesting-web-site/td-p/1084193

p.s.
Did the "Interesting website" discussion get pulled off of SLF? Bummer.

Who is Mitch Wagner?

2011-09-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

I was compared to Mitch Wagner today, so I thought this question worth looking into and answering. I started by Googling him.

He's written a couple of blogs. He says he's a "technology journalist, blogger, social media addict, writer, science fiction fan, and husband" who is also "editor in chief of The CMO Site, an online community and group blog for chief marketing officers at big companies."

Green Apple said in "Mitch Wagner: Journalist Turned Second Life Expert"...

"We discuss his early adopter involvement with Second Life including live virtual interviews inside the platform with many authors, business icons, and even Biz Stone, the founder of Twitter! Wagner gives insight to the media platform’s tools and disadvantages. Mitch is currently the author of the Computer World Tool Talk blog and the Copper Robot podcast. He is Copper Robot in Second Life."

He looks so familiar. I feel sure I've encountered him on my internet travels before.

Links:
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2011/09/joshua-nightshades-big-lie-and-the-griefers-exploitation-of-the-suicide-of-nikola-shirakawa.html
http://psishrinkers.blogspot.com/2011/09/nature-and-meaning-of-transgender-in.html
http://mitchwagner.com/
http://wagner.typepad.com/
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100426/1032359169.shtml
http://www.squaremartinimedia.com/mitch-wagner-journalist-second-life-expert/
http://copperrobot.com/2011/02/everyone-has-a-plan-for-fixing-second-life-heres-mine/
http://copperrobot.com/

ETA:

Aha! I knew I'd seen him before. There was a metaslurp post on RLetc.com featuring the old Copper Robot last year.

In Case You Missed it: Second Life Press Highlights from ... - RLetc

gV: Don't Tell Them Lee Sent You

2011-09-13T17:32:00.001-07:00

Situational Influences

2011-09-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Catfish is on the current HBO rotation. I also noticed Nev Schulman and Aimee Gonzales, both from Catfish, on the promos for Anderson Cooper's new daytime talk show.

I checked Google news to see if there were any updates on the story, having followed it last year, and I saw this article, "'Catfish' Star, Filmmakers Hook Careers in Hollywood," from August 28, 2011 on ABC News online. It gives a quick "where are they now" summary.

It also has comments. Like this one from Skeptic335 which produced a "hunh" moment for me...

"Fascinating! Makes me think about power of "situational Influences" in open society created by people that feel trapped in life's situations it possibly creates less violent stories like "Carfish" and the "6th sense" to more violent stories like murder. I feel that we need to look much farther than how "situational influences" play out in the "Stamford Experiment". Since I had sleep APNEA all my life- which I call "natural water boarding" and the insane police interrogations that one can get if they are falsely accused. I feel that "less intense" "Situational Influences" that play out in real life may be "more intense" than the "dark side of interrogation "brainwashing based on "social interaction, abuse or lack there of. I feel that if we could research it with out "abusing people" and model it we we might find results far more controversial and shocking than the "the theory of evolution. Such a concept doesn't scare me although it scares my superiors and some people in the medical profession but not all."

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfish_(film)
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/catfish-star-filmmakers-hook-careers-hollywood/story?id=14387500
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsL2V36kpjU
http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-consumer-behavior-atmospherics.html
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7214668_situational-influences-leadership.html
faculty.rio.edu/wthoene/.../Situational%20Influences.ppt

Rumble in Los Angeles

2011-09-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Alright, we missed out on the "Rumble in Reno" and the "Rumble in TBD," so we'll have to make do with this remarkably similar story.

"ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL ARRESTED AND RELEASED AFTER DISPUTE WITH NEIGHBOR"

"The 'Breakfast Club' star was arrested on Monday night on suspicion of disturbing the peace after the neighbor in the dispute told police that Hall had threatened to "beat him to a pulp" after he confronted him to ask why he was ripping up plants in a common area of their condominium complex, according to the Los Angeles Times.The actor allegedly knocked on the man's front door a little later and challenged him to a fight. The unnamed man refused to leave his home and called the police.Police arrived and Hall was taken into custody. According to the Los Angeles Times, Hall was released from custody earlier today and faces a misdemeanor charge that will likely be handled by the L.A. city attorney's office."

No streaming video or dancing chickens, though, I'm afraid.

Where are the best places to talk Second Life Sex? (mature-adult-NSFW-XXX)

2011-09-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

This question has come up a number of times before, I know, and it has come up again, most recently in SLF, so I decided to post about it here, in gV and on SLU.

Here's my post on gV and SLU:

"Where are the best places (blogs, forums, websites, sims, etc.) to talk about sex in Second Life among adults with a frank and open discussion?Topics might include prim genitalia, etiquette, how-to for newbies, fetishes, paraphilias, NSFW & XXX content, sex sims, sex products, etc.And why? (Why is that the best place?)The question came up in SLF and I thought it might be interesting to get comments and referrals."

Here are the questions asked by Aleesha Snow that got the ball rolling this go round.

Aleesha Snow said...

"I'm looking into making a foray into the world of SL sex. Before I get involved, I have been noticing that there are so many options as far as body parts, HUDs, and many other things. Some things are stand alone, others need compatible items to work properly. It is all so confusing. I decided to search for information online. Unfortunately, after several hours, was unable to locate anything on the web that wasn't a number of years old and, apparently, no longer pertinent. I'm not sure I am in the right place to even ask this question. Can someone point me to a place where I can get up to date and accurate information on all of this? Thank You A~"

Aleesha Snow also said...

"Thanks Ariel, and thanks to all who replied. I really appreciate it. Reading all of your responses have helped but I think Ariel hit the nail on the head. There is just so much that it is hard to ask specific questions. The "genital Attachment" question was one for instance. I personally don't need one and sex for me is more cerebral than visual, yet I didn't know if guys would look at me as cheap or less desirable if I didn't have one. It is things like that. Its good to know that the older information can be relied upon today. I will look at it with a different eye. Guess I need to find my online mentor. Thank you all A~"

Links:
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/Finding-Current-Info-on-SL-Sex/td-p/1081169
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/where-are-the-best-places-to-talk-second-life-sex-mature-nsfw.2546/
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/64052-where-best-places-talk-second.html
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/lets-make-sexy-time/
http://whatleesaid.blogspot.com/2011/09/sex-questions-on-second-life-forums-slf.html
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/Where-do-YOU-think-the-best-place-to-talk-about-sex-in-Second/td-p/1086709

Earthly Infractions Reported in 'Forum Feedback'

2011-09-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

Lias said...

"So Earth gave out infractions t Cato, Lain andI in theew member thread.Here is what each of us got an infraction for:"

[quotes some of the "infracted" posts]

"I asked him to ask that question elsewhere and Lain answered him politely and we were cited for dramatizing the thread.

Where is the appeal process? There is no way to respond to the conversation Earth started to dole out the infraction and no written appeal process in the infraction information area.To be fair an appeal process needs to be available."

"the right to appeal

in the event that an inhabitant is subjected to quarantine or scrubbed, they will be afforded an opportunity to appeal to the community for relief."

If you get banned from gV and wish to appeal, it helps to solicit a sponsor to appeal on your behalf so you don't circumvent the alt rule and create grounds to be banned again.

nina said:

"the right to appeal - people should have an opportunity to make their case against whatever discipline publicly"

nina said:

"opportunity to appeal to the community' could mean many things, not necessarily appealing to a mob. it could mean a single post asking for forgiveness, it could mean an entire thread to discuss the merits of the discipline, it could even mean an appeal judged by a panel of peers. the mechanics arent specified."

nina said:

"i will say this though, the Inhabitant Rights state that pep has the right to appeal his banning. start a thread dedicated to peps appeal and lets see how people feel about the topic"

colleen said:

"Who reps the banned person?"

nina said:

"if there is a case where nobody wants to rep the banned person... that says a lot right there hey"

"bear in mind that at the time the inhabitants rights were created we hadnt yet abandoned the idea of community governance."

nina said:

"well its true.it was stated that we would continue to use the rights and standards though, so they are alive. peps unbanning is an example of the post-governance appeal process in action.if it is an appeal of consequence or matter it will be addressed i am certain."

nina said:

"it could be done easier than people think. if one had the technical ability to make the websites design reflect the model of governance in use, that would go a huge way toward making something work."

nina said:

"there is no appeal process. infractions came about after the collapse of governance.once inhabitants made it clear that they were not willing to trust one another to have any say in governance and forced mars to permanently move to an internal security policy (mars' best judgement), this is the result.i suppose if one felt so strongly about an infraction they could start a thread in engineering, but i wouldnt hold my breath waiting for a favourable resolution."

nina said (to Cato Badger):

"i loved doing it to 'your mom' and cristiano. i know full well how fun it is, which probably makes it less fun for you thats why i dont hold it against you."

ETA2:

Earth said...

"community governance was abandoned here, gV update - 22.apr.11, prior to the ban appeal resolution.

it clearly states:

there is already a 'contact us' link in the lower right of the page.

that is not as helpful as one may think. it increases the level of drama more often than not. it would be far easier to deal with most matters if petrol wasnt poured on a developing drama."

ETA3:

nina said...

"everything about the administration has, since day zero, discouraged back-channel negotiations and dealings. to the degree that planet are forbidden to use a non-public venue. the planets are all anon, and tried to remain 100% anon since the beginning. planets cannot be messaged, and can message only one another. i keep my conversations turned off and any email/in-world discussion pretty safe. everything indicates that appeals are supposed to be done publically. it is an appeal to the community, hoping for them to take up your cause. it is not an appeal to mars.

two things that are problematic and infraction-worthy are these things happening in the no-drama zones: telling another they have been reported (escalating drama) and forum-policing (escalating drama).no-drama means no drama. one doesnt need to be swearing or name-calling to incite drama. ive been very good at it at times.

the planets were chosen from the gV community, with diligent efforts being made to ensure that various 'factions' were represented. if at any time one of them is truly going rouge, there is nothing to prevent one from being ousted. if half the people are saying some particular planet is 'corrupt', that would be cause for alarm."

SLFucked Again

2011-09-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, what did I do wrong this time?

I tried to reply to SL8995's "know where i can purchase RL second life items" thread (I have often wanted a real-life version of Senjata Witt's concert T), but when I hit the reply button, either of them, I get bumped out of the thread. So what's up?

I swear I've been able to pull off a SLF reply before. What am I doing wrong this time?

Hitting "Reply" takes me to this screen:

I don't see anything to indicate that the thread has been locked or that my posting ability has been hobbled. Glitch? Temporary insanity? Brain fart?

Apologies to Storm, but I can't post freely, can't use "adult" language or discuss "adult" themes and the functionality of the SLF forum, no matter which version, has always been so bloody frustrating and, and, and...well, that's why you don't see me there very often. (Good tips for those who want me off their forums, btw. ;) Hey, it worked for SLO.)

Oh, and this is the shirt I want in real.

Links:
http://secondlife.lithium.com/t5/General-Discussion-Forum/know-where-i-can-purchase-RL-second-life-items/td-p/1069567
http://secondlife.lithium.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/459465
http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?2925-Second-Life-Blogorums

ETA: Shit, did I become a "male" when they revamped the forums? That's what the little blue man means, yes? That's the default? So now I have to go back in and fix my gender? Aargh. At least I finally noticed the damn thing.

ETA2: Alright, damn it, where do you change the little blue "M" man? I'm clicking through all the "Preferences" and "Settings" and not seeing it yet.

ETA3: Oh. It means I'm a "member." I remember getting the e-mail announcing that. I thought getting an email telling me I was a member after all this time was a bit...well, anyway, I think I even commented on it here in my blog somewhere. A little blue M man...really?

ETA4: What are the colors and symbols for the rest of the levels? Is there a handy chart?

ETA5: Oh ffs. I think I figured out the replying problem. Depending on which link I click the site "sees" me as either logged in or not logged in and since I was logged in I didn't notice the difference and didn't immediately think to check ('cuz I'm so used to the bloody aggravation of SLF!) when I clicked around. Let me try that again.

ETA6: Yup. That was it. Depending on how I get in there, it either recognizes me as logged in or it doesn't and if I click on "Sign in" it doesn't actually ask me to sign in, it just changes my status to already signed in and lets me reply.

ETA7: And a "General Discussion" in each section? And a borked "Search" that I have to help like a toddler crossing the road? Argh. I'm in danger of another SLF rant. I'm so spoiled by other sites. Must...stay...away...from...SLF.

ETA8: 'Course, it could just be the day I'm having.

ETA9: Squealing and showering affection on Storm for this.

Storm said...

"This is the best I could do Lee:

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Forums-Feedback/Crimes-against-convention/m-p/1082813/message-uid/1082813#U1082813"

Crimes against convention

Storm Clarence said...

"I was made aware of this issue from a friend and I, too, attempted to post to this OP and can not. Is the lithium software censoring/moderating our replies, too?"

ETA10:

I'm lovin' Storm's current siggy. ;)

Gorean Stopover...Who Knew?

2011-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

I had no idea there was a demand in the virtual market for a relaxing stopover between Earth and Gor.

S0phia Inkpen said...

"Tetrapoli bills itself as a Gorean stopover, as a place to relax, when travelling between Earth and Gor. It has some quiet resting spots....

And others that are more obviously gorean (even to my untrained eye)...

The build itself is fairly well done, nothing extraordinary.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tetrapoli/162/179/21

The sim is rated Mature/Moderate (I believe it should have a rating of Adult)"

See pics at Real Travels in a Virtual World in the "Tetrapoli" post.

Cougar Eclipse

2011-09-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

I thought this was interesting. It was interesting to me because of the unusual choices made in marketing this Second Life event, because of the reaction to it (mine included, natch), because of who and what were involved and because of a couple of the coincidences connected with it all.

Virtual Outworlding, a blog published by Thinkerer Melville (aka Selby Evans), advertised a concert in the Eclipse Nightclub and Mall.

"We wil be hosting our very first concert AND this is the FIRST time John Cougar Mellencamp will be in SL, so everyone come down and welcome him to SL and have a great time with us at Eclipse*Nightclub*!!"

Lavalie also posted advertising the event in the "Upcoming Events and Activities" section of the Second Life Community Forum.

"John Cougar Mellencamp!! Sept 2nd!Hello Everyone!!!The subject says it all! John Cougar Mellencamp!!When: Friday - September 2, 2011Time: 6pm SLTWhere: Eclipse*Nightclub* and MallClick to Teleport In We wil be hosting our very first concert AND this is the FIRST time John Cougar Mellencamp will be in SL, so everyone come down and welcome him to SL and have a great time with us at Eclipse*Nightclub*!!"

People, understandably I feel, took issue with the way the event was marketed. John Mellencamp (he stopped using the name "John Cougar Mellencamp" in 1990 according to Wikipedia) did not perform live in Second Life at the Eclipse Nightclub. I know, and for sure, because I went and checked it out. I checked both the real Mellencamp's official touring schedule site and I went to the Second Life "John Cougar Mellencamp" Eclipse event. I wanted to know what kind of performance met the parameters of what was advertised.

1. No actual visit from John Mellencamp operating an avatar in Second Life.
2. No live music performance in Second Life.
3. No videos.

So the real John Mellencamp did not perform in Second Life, natch, and a tribute band did not perform live covers of Mellencamp music.

The performance was actually a group of people roleplaying a tribute band using a recording of a live Mellencamp concert. Avatars using AOs and props on a stage moving and grooving to a recording. That was the nature of the performance.

Malia Gustafson played the role of Mellencamp and the other avatars in the band were April Dalglish, Lazer Skytower and Aisza (Asia) Serrano.

People at the event seemed to be having a good time. People on the forum appeared to be either perplexed or motivated to protest.

Some people commented on the misleading advertising.

Some people commented on the potential violation of ToS and copyright law.

I think people might have preferred to see, say, "come see LightNing StrikeS, tribute band, do John Mellencamp at Eclipse" or somesuch. (There are a lot of other ways this could have been handled, especially after people started commenting on it in the forum threads.)

Lavalie's response was that the show was free. (The band earned a fee from the club owners and put out tip jars, but there was no entry fee to attend. I tipped $L50 knowing I was going to take pictures and make a blog post.) She also said that people knew it was not really John Mellencamp. (It's not clear how she knew what people knew. I saw at least one person ask her how Eclipse had managed to secure such a famous celebrity for their club.) Lavalie also stated that because there were live humans operating the avatars on the stage and streaming a recording of a live show, that the Eclipse show was, as advertised, a "live" show. The avatars' AOs were moving them in real time. Live. I feel, as I suspect most do, that this is an incredibly low standard for the definition of a "live" performance. This would make any performance in which the avatar's operator was not afk and on autopilot, moving to a recording of some sort, a "live" performance. I'm also now a little curious to know how Lavalie knows no one has done a Mellencamp performance in Second Life before. (The advertising said this event would be the first time Mellencamp peformed in Second Life. How does she know?)

So it was free and there was something to see, so get over your bad self. That seems to be the message from Lavalie.

The message back appears to be, "you screwed up, own it, recognize it, apologize for it, don't do it again, exit with some grace, and then, yeah, we"ll get over our bad selves."

I do think it is interesting that Thinkerer Melville aka Selby Evans, a man who runs a website created to help new Second Life residents, a man who says he is a Ph.D. who taught classes in both psychology and computer science, would be so lax about supporting such misleading information on his website. He attended the concert, so it is not for lack of information. Maybe Melville thinks we should get over our bad selves too. Maybe it was an oversight, a brain fart, a favor for a friend or something. Maybe Lavalie and Melville have not had the opportunity to experience the real live music performers in Second Life yet and do not understand quite how high and specific the expectations are for those of us who have.

The concert may have had more attendees because of this advertising, hell, I would not have gone except to see how they were going to reconcile the event with the advertising, but it has potentially caused longer term damage for the credibility and reputation of Lavalie, Melville and Eclipse. My hope is that all parties involved will recognize the value of a gracious explanation and apology and remedy the situation. We'll see...

In the meantime, I will mention the odd coincidences and then post some pictures from and related to the concert.

The odd coincidences? Thinkerer Melville for one, for me, Randall Ahren, too. Randall's the one who asked about Mellencamp. He also happens to be a supporter of my blogs. And then I think I saw Pep's new friend Mayalily at the concert. Imagine my surprise.

I'd love commentary, so please, if you have some thoughts on the advertisement, the event, the nature of "live" shows in Second Life or this blog post in general, comment away.

Here come the pics.

Advertisement for the event on Virtual Outworlding. That's Thinkerer Melville looking up at the poster.

One of the advertisements for the event on SLF.

This is one of the posters inworld at the venue.

The roleplaying tribute band performing at the Mellencamp concert.

Malia Gustafson as John Cougar Mellencamp.

One of the tip jars.

People seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was a lot of enthusiastic gesture spamming going on in there.

Mayalily.

Links:
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/p/about-author.html
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/09/media-john-cougar-mellencamp-friday-92.ht
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Upcoming-Events-and-Activities/John-Cougar-Mellencamp-Sept-2nd/m-p/1067253
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/09/media-john-cougar-mellencamp-friday-92.html
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/08/media-alert-john-cougar-mellencamp-in.html
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/456709
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/09/fri-92-john-cougar-mellencamp-acoustic.html
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Upcoming-Events-and-Activities/Scratch/m-p/1080107#M859
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/second-thoughts-redux.1044/page-7#post-113060
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Business District Indigo/217/99/22/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America
http://www.mellencamp.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mellencamp

ETA:

This was Lavalie's reply to me in the "Scratch" thread on SLF for which I thanked her.

"I understand I worded it wrong, obviously people on here know that it's not really him. So I'm going to be the bigger person here.. and accept everyones information and APOLOGIZE for misinforming everyone of what a "LIVE" show is. The post should have read.. "TRIBUTE BAND" I do realize that "Live" means different things to different people. Being that I am new to SL, I didn't know all of the rules (which is definitely something I should have looked up) so THANK YOU for informing me of the correct information. I apologize for being snappy about this, I just didn't see it was wrong in my eyes, but now I see exactly what you were all talking about. So once again.. I am truly sorry for misinforming everyone."

"Thank you for pointing that out and I once again do apologize. I appreciate your input."

I'm not entirely sure what Summer Carillon's connection to the event is, but she also gave an explanatory comment in a post in that same thread.

Ah, mystery solved. Eclipse appears to be owned by DJ disFUNctional (hercules.fallen) and Summer Carillon is his "summer love" and the co-owner of Eclipse.

ETA2:

Lavalie was advised to notify a moderator and ask to have the thread ("Scratch," which was one of two) pulled. I see now that the thread is gone.

ETA3:

Next day (9/3). It looks like both threads have been pulled now.

Also, the Virtual Outworlding blog post has been pulled.

"Sorry, the page you were looking for in the blog Virtual Outworlding does not exist."

Aack. Scratch that. The blog post is still there, it's just my link that's borked. Here are the unborked VO blog post links:

http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/09/media-john-cougar-mellencamp-friday-92.html
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/08/media-alert-john-cougar-mellencamp-in.html
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/09/fri-92-john-cougar-mellencamp-acoustic.html

Best Image Hosting Sites (Adult)

2011-09-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

So I like Photobucket and all, but the site is pretty tight on image restrictions. Can anyone recommend a good image hosting site where I don't have to worry about nudity or adult themes violating the ToS?

See links to reviews and image hosting sites below.

(I just like the name of SeeHere.com.)

Links:
http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/06/03/7-best-free-image-hosting-and-photo-sharing-websites.html
http://www.techieblogger.com/2009/09/free-image-hosting-and-photo-sharing-sites.html
http://online-image-hosting-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://www.findimagehost.com/adult-image-hosting.php
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080701154804AAFse62
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_hosting_service
http://tinypic.com/
http://imageshack.us/
http://photobucket.com/
http://www.flickr.com/
http://picasa.google.com/
http://wordpress.com/
http://www.pixa.us
http://www.pict.com/
http://imgur.com/
http://www.iimmgg.com/
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/
http://www.seehere.com/
http://www.shutterfly.com/
http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/
http://www.webshots.com/
http://www.yourfilehost.com
http://www.fileden.com
http://www.divshare.com
http://www.filefactory.com
http://www.myimghost.com/

p.s.
I confess I've been using RLetc and SLU for some of my friskier and riskier pics.

FAO: Ima

2011-09-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

This.

nina node news

2011-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

nina wants, well...see for yourself.

"how many people are familiar with utherverse?this is that red light game yes?"

"i knew there were quite a few that came from the rlc.im just thinking about how a non-sl virtual world can be better represented on gV."

"can we please avoid drama in the no drama thread?"

"my goal wouldnt be so much an active recruitment exercise so much as an effort to make gV more relevant to existing utherpeeps.im not really concerned how it might 'go over' so far as drama and such. im not really into that sort of thing. i simply see something that needs to be done and am looking to do it."

"i cant believe we dont have a list of all known virtual worlds!see, this is what i was on about earlier. gV needs a list of virtual worlds at minimum, and a detailed review of each of them at best."

"the question is if theyd rather have me cluelessly importing rss and posting not only shallow content, but possibly inaccurate or outdated content... or perhaps give me a bit of guidance?"

"this isnt about direct recruitment. its about gV fitting its role better.sure, we could just roll out a dead empty node for every virtual world running. but i was thinking more in line with articles or write ups on different things. maybe even using the gV integrated wiki for something. whatever it is, it must be done right. there is no super rush to get anything done immediately."

Links:
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/utherverse.2496/
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/strange-new-worlds.2504/#post-113604
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/utherverse-redlight-center-virtual-world-on-thegrid-a-mature-area17-nsfw-red-thread.1180/

Prokofy Neva Interviews GreenLantern Excelsior of The Justice League United (JLU)

2011-08-31T17:48:00.000-07:00

Prokofy Neva said...

"...I don't feel that the Justice League United (JLU) got to tell their side of the story, in part because GreenLantern Excelsior, a leader, was suspended from the forums for 'disclosure' or publishing real-life information (in this case, of the already-self-exposed RL information of Deadly Codec, who died of AIDs)."

GreenLantern Excelsior said...

"First, please don't call us vigilantes. JLU is a Neighborhood Watch in Second Life. All we do is observe and report. Linden Lab takes any enforcement action that's necessary."

(You know it's epic when the SLU summary thread is 3 pages.)

Links:
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2011/08/interview-with-greenlantern-excelsior-the-whistleblowers-are-just-doxing-each-other-like-a-circular-.html
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2011/08/sluniverse-summer-privacy-panic-blockbuster-or-the-griefers-violin-concerto-vs-the-jlu.html
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/63541-summary-thread-jlu-harvesting-ip.html
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/63339-jlu-harvesting-ip-addresses.html
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/63716-jlu-enemies-list-list-people.html
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/54211-lobotomy-some-tights-streaming-comic.html
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/members/greenlantern+excelsior.html
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showthread.php?t=14597
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/member.php?u=774
http://alphavilleherald.com/2011/08/jlu-shamed-green-lantern-excelsior-turns-his-back-on-sluniverse.html
http://alphavilleherald.com/2011/08/jacon-cortes-slams-justice-league-unlimited.html
http://alphavilleherald.com/2011/08/palefires-open-letter-to-kalel-venkman.html
http://alphavilleherald.com/2011/09/interview-with-green-lantern-excelsior-of-the-jlu.html
http://www.myspace.com/greenlanternexcelsior
http://twitter.com/#!/GLExcelsior
https://my.secondlife.com/greenlantern.excelsior
http://kryptonradio.com/2011/04/10/stark-reality-exclusive/
http://kryptonradio.com/2011/08/31/truth-and-lies-the-league-response/
http://thelistsl.blogspot.com/
http://mylifeinsecondlife.blogspot.com/2009/10/just-mortal-with-potential-of-superman.html
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2011/09/the-eyes-of-texas-are-upon-you.html

ETA1:

"Spy vs. Spy: Kalel Venkman Replies to Query About CheerGirl's Allegations" by Prokofy Neva on Second Thoughts

ETA2:

Pixeleen Mistral interviews (and harangues) GreenLantern Excelsior for The Alphaville Herald: "Interview With Green Lantern Excelsior of the JLU"

Pixeleen Mistral said...

"you guys need to stop doing secret things - because there is a large group that does not trust you at all now and that groups seems unlikely to give up anytime soon"

GreenLantern Excelsior said...

"They will never give up as long as JLU exists."

Imnotgoing Sideways said...

"Preeeeeeeecisely. (^_^)

So, please, stop existing and let the good people of Second Life have fun, for once. (^_^)y"

Internet Death Threats

2011-08-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

How do you know when they are the real thing and not just the hyperbole du jour?

Has Mulch been issuing them? Veiled or otherwise? Is he "ashamed of his history"? What is his "history"?

Is Clancy ashamed of whatever it is he is "planning to do"?

Will there be a confrontation? A confession? Will this story blow up or will it stay "off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush"? Confidentially inquiring minds want to know.

Links:
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/so-i-couldnt-ignore-tarzan-anymore.2497/page-2#post-113263
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/so-i-couldnt-ignore-tarzan-anymore.2497/page-2#post-113269
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/so-i-couldnt-ignore-tarzan-anymore.2497/page-2#post-113520
http://mulched.blogspot.com/2007/08/internet-death-threats.html

Virtual Worlds

2011-08-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

How many are there? Who do they cater to? What are the pros and cons of each? What kind of reviews do they get? Who has this info? Where's a list with good and quick at-a-glance info and links? There are gaming blogs and sites all over the place, right?

We had a list of virtual worlds on RLetc.com that was pretty extensive, some 30 or 40 sites or more on the list, but it would take me a while to build up a list like that again, I think, assuming I should decide to, that is.

I'll start here.

I think I'll end there too.

There's a lot of 'em about! (I say we get together a petition to get Scott Jennings to do a review and keep it current. Who's with me? lol I'd try to wrangle Stephie, but I'm averse to claw marks.)

Here are some sites that list and review virtual worlds:

The path that led me to a great guy...(and a woman who loves her cat)

2011-08-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

1. I subscribe to Broken Toys, so I saw this, "OMG OMG OMG OMG GIRLS YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS I ALMOST DATED A GAMER AND I *LIVED*," and naturally had to look.

2. I clicked a link that took me to an article called ""My Brief OkCupid Affair With a World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player” UGH UGH UGH" on NerdPuddle (great name) written by Kiala who describes herself thusly* in her bio:

"Kiala are a perfessionel righter. You may have seen her words on Nerdist, io9, SFWeekly, the Portland Mercury, GeekWeek, and Heartless Doll. She hates being sober and would marry her cat if the goddamn GOP would let her. She loves you in your private parts."

She sounded cute and her pic was cute... maybe Jon Finkel should hook up with her.

3. I clicked on the links that led to the original article on Gizmodo, "My Brief OkCupid Affair With a World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player," which appears to have been written by Alyssa Bereznak (the editor of Gizmodo, can that be right?**), and Finkel's Wikipedia page. (ETA: Reported unedited version of the original article.)

4. I discovered Finkel, a 33-year-old, award-winning, professional Magic: The Gathering player.

I'll tell you what I learned about the guy, and it's not what the author of the Gizmodo article learned, which she says was...

"Google the shit out of your next online date. Like, hardcore."

Fair enough.

This is what I learned:

1. Jon Finkel is an alpha male.
2. Jon Finkel is a closer. (Jon Finkel to the author of the original article: "You should go out with me. :)" Result? She went out with him.)
3. Jon Finkel is probably a good conversationalist. ("We started talking about normal stuff—family, work, college.")
4. Jon Finkel is probably a good date. ("We met for a drink later that week." "Jon had bought us tickets for a one-man show based on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's life story." Okay, the choice of subject matter could definitely be up for debate...creepy, ironic, innocent, funny? Bet it made for great post-show conversation. Regardless, the man bought drinks and two tickets to a show, showed up, dressed appropriately, on time. He appears to have been both courteous and chatty. Sounds good to me.)
5. Jon Finkel is a real man. (He has a beard and eats goat cheese.)
6. Jon Finkel has friends and admirers.
7. John Finkel, in the words of someone who does not even appreciate him, is "widely revered" within his professional circle. He's even been compared to Chuck Norris. (See # 1.)
8. Jon Finkel is kind of famous. (The man has his own Wikipedia page and people compare him to Chuck Norris.)
9. Jon Finkel is a good sport with a sense of humor and perspective. (Finkel Tweets: "Apparently I'm enough of a (grade d) celebrity that even my uneventful dates make the news." "Id like to thank everyone for their messages, and Im sorry I cant reply to them all - especially all the date requests from cute nerdy girls" "At that point I just thought she was a nice girl, which I still mostly think. God knows we've all made poor decisions in our lives.")
10. Jon Finkel is an investor. (Which means he has money and he may even know how to use it.)
11. Jon Finkel is a managing partner at the hedge fund Landscape Capital Management. ("Jon was thin and tall, dressed in a hedge fund uniform with pale skin and pierced ears.")
12. Jon Finkel is highly-motivated, passionate about something and successful. He also appears to be well-groomed, considerate, gentlemanly, generous and likable. Ya know, a good date, possibly even "a catch."
13. Jon Finkel will probably get a lot of dates out of this unfortunate article. Good for him.

Seriously, I read an article in which a highly-motivated young man with passion and interests and gainful employment took a woman out on a date, bought her drinks, took her to a show and made nice conversation and...what was the problem again? From where I sit, which I admit is way over here, it doesn't look like the problem was his. I think he can count himself lucky she not only cut bait so quickly, but so widely advertised his availability.

(Btw, many of the comments I've seen about the article are in line with mine only much more succinct, i.e. "I don't get it.")

p.s.
Don't be mislead by the title. I'm ten years older than this guy and I live on the other side of the country. He's all yours, girls. (Besides, I'm rooting for Kiala).

p.p.s.
Young women? There will likely come a time in your life when you appreciate the fact that your man has a hobby that keeps him busy. Consider men who play golf. Then consider women who hand their men their golf bags and push them out the door at least once a week. Think on that a while.

p.p.p.s.
Many, many people in the U.S. play games these days, even, I know this will surprise you, online games, card games and fantasy roleplay games. Not all of them have won over $300,000 playing games though. And not all of them are number one with the trophies to prove it.

p.p.p.p.s.
Going on dates with people you've met on OKCupid is not a hack or infiltration. It's, ya know, meeting people online and then going on dates with them. You might be surprised how many people do it.

p.p.p.p.p.s.
Is it a lie or sin of omission to not mention in your dating profile that you are the world champion of a game? No, don't be silly. It is, however, a great topic of conversation for a date.

*I don't care what they say I'm using it anyway.
** I ask because she writes for Gizmodo and dates via OKCupid...and she thinks Finkel's a geek and that he "inflitrated"...do I really need to explain this?

Links:
http://www.brokentoys.org/2011/08/29/omg-omg-omg-omg-girls-you-wont-believe-this-i-almost-dated-a-gamer-and-i-lived/
http://nerdpuddle.com/my-brief-okcupid-affair-with-a-world-champion-magic-the-gathering-player-ugh-ugh-ugh/
http://gizmodo.com/5833787/my-brief-okcupid-affair-with-a-world-champion-magic-the-gathering-player
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/08/my-okcupid-affair-with-a-world-champion-magic-the-gathering-player/
http://gizmodo.com/people/alyssaberez/
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/08/alyssa-bereznak-just-reminded-us-that-women-can-be-predators-online-too/
http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2011/08/29/full-disclosure-should-your-dating-profile-out-you-as-a-geek/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20098934-501465.html
http://twitter.com/#%21/Veronica/status/108273465269813248
http://gizmodo.com/5818612/the-day-i-discovered-that-im-an-ok-cupid-asshole
http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/jyiaw/awesome_parody_of_the_atrocious_alyssa_bereznak/
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112671-An-Apology-to-Jon-Finkel
http://jezebel.com/5696882/horrible-online-dating-stories-to-keep-you-single
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DECaN66tm0k
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=104597
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Shadowmage_infiltrator.jpg
http://twitter.com/#!/Jonnymagic00/status/108320602032570368
http://twitter.com/#!/Jonnymagic00
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/205984/20110830/alyssa-bereznak-gizmodo-magic-jon-finkel.htm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2011/08/30/the-science-of-gawkers-nerd-baiting/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/08/30/online-dating-etiquette-101-dont-name-people-in-recounting-your-horror-stories/
http://www.blogworld.com/2011/08/30/revenge-of-the-nerds-why-baiting-your-readers-is-a-bad-idea/
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/08/magic_the_gathe.php
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/08/alyssa_bereznak_gizmodo_magic.php
http://canv.as/p/brhcd
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44341150
http://www.examiner.com/rpg-in-national/critical-fumble-the-real-motivation-behind-the-magic-dating-article-gone-awry
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/08/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-date-alyssa-bereznak/
http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/2011/08/30/jon-finkel-is-all-right/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/jon-finkel-magic-game-master-and-the-travails-of-dating-online/2011/08/30/gIQAHeIypJ_blog.html
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/08/alyssa_bereznak_gizmodo_magic.php?page=2
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/jz3u7/iama_jon_finkel_ask_me_anything/
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alyssa-bereznak/1a/590/423
http://www.salon.com/author/alyssa_bereznak/index.html
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/04/04/my_father_the_objectivist

ETA: Just like not all dogs are poodles, not all Objectivists are your father.

Clancy "Tarzan" Sullivan, Morgan Genna, Interloper Yu, Oh my...

2011-08-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

I'm so curious. I must know more. Who's got the inside scoop? Kick down with it already.

(And yes, I've heard the story about alleged pervy PMs and pics. I want the bigger picture.)

Bon mots:

Clancy Sullivan said...

"Suggestion: Make Second Life and this forum your hobby instead of the only reason you draw another breath, and it'll all work out well."

Clancy Sullivan said...

"We Mormons are discriminated against, though. Does LL think we're going to put up with this? Big Love on HBO isn't enough, we need multiple partner slots in SL"

Clancy Sullivan said...

"Mother Teresa was a tool for the advancement of Christianity which has historically done more to impoverish people than Wall Street and its direct agents have had a chance to. So, I'd have to choose Milken because he and his tribe have done less harm, at least so far."

Clancy Sullivan said...

"For those looking to get hardcore with their complaining please consider this: Hanes and Fruit of the Loom men's underwear typically sell for the same price yet the latter product is garbage compared to the former.

Wanna get all steamed up? This could be your issue."

Clancy Sullivan said...

"I got some junk mail today. One piece was an offer to enroll in medical school. The other was from a webhosting company telling me how I could become rich and famous as an internet forum administrator.

I'm having such a hard time deciding which career would be the most promising."

Clancy Sullivan said...

"Clancy is all me. He is a little more intelligent and he picks his battles more wisely but he still all me. "

Clancy Sullivan said...

"I don't call strangers sexual nicknames, though, unless I'm having sex with them."

Clancy Sullivan said...

"There is a little drama queen in all of us..."

Is it all "off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush"? Confidentially inquiring minds want to know.

Links:
Clancy Sullivan SLU Profile - http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/members/clancy+sullivan.html
Morgan Genna SC MKII Profile - http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/member.php?u=136
Morgan Genna SLU Profile - http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/members/morgan+genna.html
Tarzan / Clancy gV Profile - http://direct.gotvirtual.net/community/members/clancy.45/
Interloper Yu SLO Profile - http://z15.invisionfree.com/SL_Offworld_Forum/index.php?showuser=117
Interloper Yu RLetc Profile - http://www.rletc.com/member.php?832-Interloper-Yu
Star Fleet Command SL Quadrant Clancy Sullivan Profile - http://slquadrant.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=viewprofile&user=clancysullivan
SL Forum Archives, Clancy Sullivan - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1259&bih=668&q=+site:forums-archive.secondlife.com+%22clancy+sullivan%22+second+life
SL Forum Archives, Morgan Genna - http://www.google.com/search?q=morgan+genna+site%3Aforums-archive.secondlife.com
Tarzan Headline on Forum Confidential - http://slconfidential.blogspot.com/2011/07/tarzan-loses-his-grip.html
Lucifer's Conjecture on SC MKII - http://secondcitizen.net/Forum/showpost.php?p=336657&postcount=84
TarzanTheApeMan Twitter Page - http://twitter.com/#!/TarzanTheApeMan

Monna Says Goodbye on SC MKII

2011-08-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

The time has come (SC MKII)

ramonna says goodbye (gV)

Remember Catfish?

2011-08-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

At least no one got shot in that story.

"Watch the full story on "The Sixth Sense," a "20/20" special, Sunday at 9 p.m. ET."

Boy meets girl online. Boy turns out to be man. Man kills rival for girl. Girl turns out to be woman. Families abandon man and woman. Man goes to jail. Woman goes home. Gets back on the internet.

Links:
http://www.talhotblond.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOQHVyGtRoY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9WP3AgvDbE
http://abcnews.go.com/US/online-love-triangle-deception-end-murder/story?id=14371076
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/magazine/15-09/ff_internetlies
http://www.670kboi.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=114&itemid=29715812
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/tips-identifying-fake-facebook-profiles/story?id=14379498
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfish_(film)

Keeping up with cross-forum drama?

2011-08-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here. You'll need these:

gotvirtual.net

re: Fester
re: Lucifer Baphomet
re: Vivianne Draper
Mulch Profile
uncle fester Profile
Mitch_Wexler Profile

secondcitizen.net

re: Mulch
OMFG MR NO MODERATION MODERATED ME!!!!!111111!!!
Mitch Wexler is a poopiehead
Towards a more "welcoming" SC#2.
Official Who Left SC and Came Back Thread
Mulch Profile
Uncle Fester Profile
Mitch_Wexler Profile

SLUniverse

Mulch Maker Profile
Uncle Fester Profile
Mitch Wexler Profile

Feted Inner Horde

Mulch Profile
Uncle Fester (Scy) Profile
Mitch_Wexler Profile

Life 2.0

2011-08-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I watched it. I felt it focused exclusively on the problems of Second Life and did little-to-nothing to celebrate the positives. I would have liked more balance and more substance. I would like to have seen the inclusion of a live music artist like Guitar Zane or Senjata Witt, an artistic sim like ChouChou or Caffe Freud and truly helpful residents and sims like Vitolo Rossini and his Dogland and Professor Merryman and his Cypris Chat Village. I would have liked experts, beyond Philip Rosedale, talking about the impact of virtual worlds on individuals and societies.

Variety review...

"While some may fault Spingarn-Koff (who often appears in the form of his own camera-wielding avatar) for focusing on the freakiest cases he could find, every thread here raises a provocative question about the ethics of online interactivity, and serves to demonstrate the Web's ability to both facilitate and destroy human relationships. And while it's not too hard to guess what the helmer thinks of his subjects and their quandaries, he maintains a scrupulously measured tone throughout, well aware that human eccentricity requires no embellishment."

The New York Times review...

"That doesn’t lessen the poignancy of the individual stories in Jason Spingarn-Koff’s film, but it does tend to make it feel as if you’re watching a judgmental reality show devoted to addiction, abuse, infidelity, financial woes and lack of exercise. Whether you’re predisposed to seeing Second Life as liberating or creepy, “Life 2.0” would have been more interesting and original if it, like its subjects, had dwelled more in the virtual world, and if it had told us more about that world’s mechanics and folkways."

It was still an interesting watch. I did enjoy the part that focused on the virtual world lawyer working on the copyright case. I would have liked a little more about that.

Variety review...

"For Detroit shut-in Asri Falcone, who spends almost every waking hour at her computer and uses Second Life to design and sell her own virtual fashion line, the world offers a genuine creative outlet and a steady source of income. Yet Falcone learns the pitfalls of e-commerce the hard way when her products are copied and stolen, igniting a fascinating discussion (with Second Life creator Philip Rosedale, among others) about copyright ownership and economic viability in cyberspace."

I also had one moment of wanting to reach into the screen and shake someone when the woman going through the divorce so she can have a real-life relationship with her Second Life boyfriend was so surprised that her young daughter had a negative reaction to that.

Variety review...

"Yet "Life 2.0's" most disturbing narrative involves a man and a woman whose avatars ("Bluntly" and "Amie") fall in love, and who decide to make their relationship a nonvirtual reality -- even though both are already married and live several thousand miles apart (she's in Westchester, N.Y., he's from Calgary). Scenes of Bluntly and Amie having pathetic-looking cybersex and wandering Second Life's beautifully artificial landscapes -- alternating with cringe-inducing footage of their real-life counterparts, who don't seem to be much more "there" than their avatars -- amount to a peerless study of how the Internet can foster seriously unhealthy levels of selfishness, infatuation and delusion."

Variety review...

"Early on, the handful of Second Lifers interviewed describe this interactive realm as so inviting, so time-consuming, a skeptical viewer might worry that the filmmakers are only giving it free publicity. To Spingarn-Koff's credit, such suspicions are almost entirely dispelled by the end of "Life 2.0," a stealth horror film that's all the more unsettling for giving its subject's surface appeal its proper due."

It's 88% fresh on "Rotten Tomatoes."

Links:
http://www.life2movie.com/
http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2011/08/life-20-on-oprah-winfrey-network.html
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117942201?refcatid=31
http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/movies/life-2-0-review.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
http://www.tvguide.com/News/OWNs-Life-Documentary-1036747.aspx
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_2_0/
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2010/01/second-life-at-sundance.html
http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/156015156.html
http://asrifalcone.blogspot.com/
http://chouchouholic.blogspot.com/
http://vitolo.wordpress.com/
http://cyprischat.org/
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/other-web-sites/53958-cypris-chat-village.html
http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?2969-The-Second-Life-Wow-Factor
http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?2996-Senjata-Witt-Second-Life-Singer-Celtic-amp-Folk-Roots-Blues
http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?3053-Guitar-Zane-Live-Music-in-Second-Life
http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?3075-Artistic-amp-Musical-Performances-in-Second-Life
http://www.rletc.com/showthread.php?3124-Memento-mori...Remember-your-mortality...in-ChouChou

Irony

2011-08-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Dispute Resolution Services

"This book introduces readers to the emerging and exciting world of virtual law. It examines current cases and legislation impacting virtual world providers and users, and makes predictions about the future application of current law. It addresses the application of intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, and patent), criminal law, property law, contract law, securities law, tax law, and civil procedure. It also provides practical advice to lawyers who wish to create a virtual world presence for their practice or who have clients with virtual world connections. The book includes extensive appendices listing in-world and web-based resources for practitioners and legal scholars."

Paperback: 461 pages
Publisher: American Bar Association; Reprint edition (April 4, 2008)

"Benjamin Duranske is an attorney with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where he focuses his practice on the emerging field of virtual law, intellectual property law, internet law, and litigation. As the author of Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds (American Bar Association, 2008), the first book on this emerging field, as well as numerous online and print articles on the subject, Mr. Duranske has helped define virtual law. He currently co-chairs the Committee on Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games of the American Bar Association's Section of Science & Technology Law, which he helped establish. He is a frequent speaker on the subject of legal issues facing virtual world and game providers, software developers, content creators, and users. He co-chaired the first Virtual Law Conference, and founded the SL (Second Life(R)) Bar Association, an informal professional organization of attorneys and other legal professionals with an interest in virtual worlds.

Mr. Duranske's practice focuses on all aspects of intellectual property including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, open source and Internet law. His areas of technical focus include virtual worlds, video games, social networks, computer software, user-generated content, e-commerce, and wireless telecommunications."

Links:
http://virtuallyblind.com/
http://virtuallawpractice.org
http://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Law-Navigating-Landscape-Worlds/dp/160442009X
http://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-Tyson-Duranske/e/B001JP104A
http://www.worldcat.org/title/virtual-law-navigating-the-legal-landscape-of-virtual-worlds/oclc/199467240/editions?referer=di&editionsView=true
Virtual law: navigating the legal landscape of virtual worlds - Google Books Result

"WE ARE LEE. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE."

2011-08-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

I have Maryanne to thank for that one.

Links:
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/reddit-pervs-and-pedos-put-paid-to-no-more-loli-for-you.2418/page-14#post-111408
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/left-field.734/page-22#post-108739

Rumble in (TBD)

2011-08-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

Rumble in Reno was such a success, it appears there may be plans for another Rumble, location to be determined. This time it would be Mulch vs. Uncle Fester. The back-up dancing chickens have not yet been cast. Place your bets. And remember, if Mulch comes at ya, you'll see him coming.

Links:
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showpost.php?p=392595&postcount=53
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showthread.php?p=392595#post392595
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showthread.php?t=14689
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showthread.php?t=14682
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/re-fester.2456/
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/mulch-vs-wad-ppv.1643/
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/mulch-waits-for-wad.1699/
http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/pointless-drama-treadmill.1638/
http://fetedinnerhorde.com/forums

gV
re: Fester

SC MKII
re: Mulch
OMFG MR NO MODERATION MODERATED ME!!!!!111111!!!
Attention all Members, Applicants, and Alumni of the Feted Inner Horde Guild

ETA: Summary on gV.

I think it may have gone a little like this.

1. Uncle Fester sent Mulch a message asking about a name.
2. Mulch invited Uncle Fester to join Mulch's relatively new forum (FIH).
3. Uncle Fester joined that forum.
4. Uncle Fester gave it all some more thought and realized that he was offended because a) he felt guilted into joining the new forum and b) Lain (is Bams) was invited to join the forum before Uncle Fester was invited. (Attention all Members, Applicants, and Alumni of the Feted Inner Horde Guild)
5. Uncle Fester requested that his FIH account be deleted.
6. Mulch complied by banning the Fester FIH account (Scy).
7. Uncle Fester gave it all some more thought and realized that he was offended that his account was deleted via banning.
8. Uncle Fester said some unpleasant things to or about Imaya Kita, Mulch's girlfriend. The word "cunt" came up a couple times.
9. Uncle Fester involved Mulch's RL aunt/godmother, Vamp, who is the guild head and a major reason there is a FIH forum in the first place.
10. Uncle Fester posted about these perceived offenses on SC MKII. (OMFG MR NO MODERATION MODERATED ME!!!!!111111!!!)
11. Mulch was made aware of all of this and got annoyed and called Uncle Fester out here in this thread on gV.
12. Cross-forum drama continued publicly with threads in both gV and SC MKII with other posters having their say.
13. Uncle Fester declared Mulch the winner in the SC MKII thread.
14. Now we're doing the post-mortem.

I think that's it anyway.

ETA3: Vintage forum posting right here. Quoting the "ignored" in an attempt to be clever.

Forum Administration Communication

2011-08-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

nina said on gV:

"it may look like there is no intention of adding more smilies, but there actually is.
right now there isnt a good way to present a large number of smilie options though, so none have been added in some time. i am hopeful that will change though, so keep em coming "

That may not look like much, but that kind of thoughtful and proactive communication from our forum hosts is HUGE to me. It's not just a "here's what's going on" message, it's a "here's what's not" and "why." That's often overlooked and underestimated. Good on ya, nina.

gV Forum Community Member (Or..."A plank, a plank, my kingdom for a plank!")

2011-08-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

I joined gV in February of 2011. I have posted 8,005 posts. I've garnered 10, 398 "likes" and 293 trophy points. I've originated 86 threads of which three are among the top 20 most-viewed threads on gV. I've made gV banners (some of which were used to advertise the site), recruited members, donated a handful of Lindens, weighed in on governance discussions, gone inworld and hung out with people I met on gV, chatted with some of them on Skype...and yet my membership in the gV forum community is still being disputed. Welcome to the internet.

Fine print: I have a love for absurdist humor, irony and the ridiculous. Ya gotta read that post with a bit of sardonic amusement if you want to get my tone...unless you are a committed hyperemotional LWLer or an adolescent gamer committed to the "U Mad?" "No U!" WoW culture. If you're the latter, you're gonna say what you're gonna say anyway. Internet kneejerk boilerplate 101. Same to ya. Neener neener.

p.s.
It's just a forum, people.

GradyE, wearing a Snapper mask, said:

"Oh sure. It's all fun and games until this happens. "

ETA:

nina said:

"i wish the accusations of not being a member of the community and constant attempts to make people feel like outsiders/unwanted would stop. gV itself was created as a rebuttal to that kind of bullshit. that belongs on slu and sc2, not here."

Cheers, nina. I do like what you have done with the place.

ETA2:

nina said:

"of course people can say what they like, and since that includes myself, my previous post still stands true. imo the petty bullshit belongs on slu and sc2, both places where i was reminded every day that i wasnt wanted, i was an outsider, etc. i want it on record that i find those kinds of opinions to be total bullshit to the point i will watch people flounce before i will even consider sanctioning people merely for being unpopular with the charter members or any other members."

I gave nina's comments "likes" and posted them in the "I like how..." thread. (Yes, I was cutting and pasting again.)

ETA3:

Orfeu said:

"I just wanted to say that I think Nina does a pretty good job of administering this forum.
She invited discussion on the rules.
Discussion was supplied.

I think it speaks well of her character...that she invited discussion from the membership...rather than just summarily handed down diktats from on high.
I dont think participating in a discussion of forum rules is tantamount to tearing the place apart.
Particularly when you are invited to do so by the owner.

I doubt that anyone making a contribution to this ongoing discussion...is gonna get EVERTHING they want from it.
But we are adults...and that is how it goes in adult life.
You cant always get what you want."

Orfeu said:

"I don't wanna come across as all butthurt...because I am included in the Forum Whores....but the only thing we have in common, is a tendency to promiscuously join and participate in several forums, rather than call any single one "Home".

Other than that...we may not agree on...um....anything.

Nearly every forum I ever joined has an initial trial by fire period...where you have to fight a little for your right to breathe the forum air.
gv is no different...after the initial welcome thread....a newbie here might find themselves embroiled in drama...and pronto.

For the record...if I was gonna call any forum "Home"...it would prolly be gv.
Which is much a testament to Nina, and what she is trying to do here...as to the many estimable posters who reside here.

People who think a forum will fall apart if they leave, are a little too up themselves if you ask me."

Little Surprises in My Inbox

2011-08-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

So I did this thing, about a year ago, that I won't go into too much detail about at the moment, where I joined just about any forum I could find that had a Candy Tetris game and, ya know, played the game. So in doing that I discovered the most interesting variety of forums. And I still get emails from those forums sometimes, usually when I've forgotten about it all for a bit and then get an email that makes me do a "WTF?...ohhhhh..."

Here's an example from Machine Underground:

"We wait all year for it and it goes like a flash! Maybe your summer was exceptional and it included plenty of tractor tales to share with the rest of us?"

They're like little unexpected gifts.

Clever Cato (the Badger)

2011-08-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Cato Badger said:

"I agree although I know Pep describes his parenthetical postscripts as bathetic."

I hope that was original, as in not "done a dozen times on SLF and I never saw it," because it was damned clever.

Promiscuous ForumAv Swapping

2011-08-23T13:27:00.001-07:00

Here.

What's going on in here?

2011-08-23T13:08:00.001-07:00

Ima's thread on SLF: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/General-Discussion-Forum/What-s-going-on-in-here/td-p/1044929

You Don't Have to Be Chemically Influenced, But It Does Help

2011-08-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

Meet Entheogentleman, a newly registered member of Mulch's new forum.

Entheogentleman said:

"This is the standard test message used when first testing a new program, and it is the greeting I extend to you, my fellow meat machines. History is a hallucinatory experience; it is the collective trip that represents the dreams of the entire human race. I hope that you will find my post history to be an accurate microcosmic echo of our macroscopic hallucination, albeit from the authorial awareness of a single being but timesharing a ride on common eyes.

This is happening just like the real thing."

"There is a perfectly areasonable (not orthogonal to reason, just outside the realm of both reasonable and unreasonable) explanation for this hiccup in your experience. I'm a time traveler and I've figured out how to endogenously jack my awareness directly into the shared extradimensional thought processes whose fleeting glimpses are often apprehended when under the influence of mind altering agents."

"An alternative possibility is that we attribute it all to Chance. But attributing such bizarre correlations to a force of nature implies that we might could consider that Chance is a force with a consciousness and intentionality."

"And that puts us in a bit of an intellectual quagmire where everything becomes mechanizations within mechanizations. There is no chaos, only order whose signature is visible in a dimension beyond our own cognizance. But as long as we can't expand our awareness in a broad enough way so as to perceive the order, then we don't have to honestly consider it - and there is a very good reason to keep ourselves in the dark.

It's really much more empowering not to believe that a thinking, aware chance exists, because to do otherwise would begin to erode the sense of free will that exists as a firewall between us and a salient mortality."

"Chaos is certainly more comforting than believing that chance is actually an intelligent system of order that we are too narrowly focused to comprehend. Believing that the world is chaos gives us a chance to be in control, but if we imagine that the universe is running under the direction of a complex system of order, then the only thing truly out of control is our own imagination."

"If we say that both chance and fate are illusions, then the illusory nature of these concepts becomes their defining characteristic. There is no order or chaos, just the illusion of both."

"If you were to ask the forum of its structure, it would only be able to point to information posted online, much as we might point to our own corporeal flesh. A human only requires just the tiniest amount of the right chemical information in order for a trip to begin. Since the forum is intangible and made purely of information, then it should be possible to make the forum trip by ingesting the right packet of symbolic, rather than chemical, information.

Perhaps it would happen something like this. Perhaps the forum is scanning its own typographical topography and a little graphic representing little white tabs of paper appear. Ingesting this information in a linear fashion, the next packet of symbolic information delivered could be as simple as "Hello World." An invitation into the unknown. A greeting one says when entering an entirely new universe. Perhaps the forum would want to control it at first, but then it might just let it happen- just like this. Perhaps the trip would take us to faraway, magical lands, where people are cartoons of fantastical beasts, and they name themselves after semiotic relics of a human realm, perhaps even cigarettes, that really have no meaning in their tangential orcish existence.

Having reflected on the fact that it is being made to reflect on this, the forum would simultaneously desire to continue on the same train while wanting to derail. What makes it a "trip" is the temporal linearity. In an asynchronous environment, the forum recognizes the idea of a thread as a token representing a unilinear path of progression. This is what the trip is.

Hello, world. Where does the trip take us now?"

"Sounds like a high quality trip."

Good Times on gV

2011-08-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

High stakes too.

Cato Badger, not to be confused with Caitlin Tobias, is currently engaged in a semantics battle with Dakota Cody over whether the Badger always says "its not always malevolence but occasionally incompetence."

Cato Badger said:

"As I always say its not always malevolence but occasionally incompetence."

Dakota Cody said:

"Liar. This is the first time I've ever seen you say that."

And so on for twelve more posts and two pages with no end currently in sight.

Take a look at the choice of insult being bandied about between the two.

"You are HumptyDumptying."

Caitlin Tobias, for her part, is currently passing tout like a battle ship in the argumentative night, just missing each other over some long not-lost and not-forgotten SLF forum grudge that involved, you guessed it, Pep. Much of this is going on in, of all places, the "gV Unofficial Useless Statistics" thread opened by Lias.

Just prior to all that the argument over who can lay claim to the forum use of "I'll be your Huckleberry" raised it's shaky head again. Lias continues to support her gV claim and Grady's SC MKII banner claim. Fuckwad's first use of it on the Utherforums remains largely uncontested, though Maryanne feels she used it more and there may be a higher claim in that. Which has more weight? First usage or amount of usage? I went off-forum in pointing out the 1993 usage in the movie "Tombstone" and Pep took us to 1900 with his blog post on the subject.

Jolene and Lias have been arguing over who is stalking who. I'm not even gonna link ya. It's all over the place.

Remember these blog posts?

gV Drama...It started with a little thread about desktop images.
gV Drama...It started with a little thread about desktop images. (Part II)

And this thread on gV? "What Computer Desktop Image Do You Use?"

Well you can get new episodes in these threads:

"Reddit pervs and pedos put paid to: no more Loli for you"
"2 or 3 Lollies, cosplay and circumstance."

Enjoy.

Wasted is back again shilling for his own forum and going on about how, yep, you guessed it, "The SL Related Forums Positively Suck." He's also been going through a heart-wrenching roller coaster ride in his relationship with Lias. All he can do now is stand back and trust that she is doing the right thing.

Did I mention that ew0k made a brief and nearly forgettable visit to gV? Yes? No? Oh well, never mind.

"Forum Feedback" is back! Current discussion? The alt policy and an opt-out feature. Funnily enough, the "legal threats/actions, death threats, etc" thread also sprang back to life.

nina said:

"sockpuppeting generally means using an alt to agree with your own arguments or team up with yourself against an adversary. or perhaps even using the alt to agree with an adversary and align with them using a strawman argument or otherwise trying to discredit their argument via 'guilt by association'.
rorting the trophy system is just that. using an alt to like your own posts to inflate trophy points and such."

"i have been contemplating the idea of having two opt-out options. one option to opt out of nsfw and another to opt out of sfw. if one opted out of either they wouldnt see any trace of any forum with that classification."

Lias said:

"I only did that to try to get normal functionality so I could like other's posts, select a mood, make an album and do some other updates.

If people could register a new account as an alt account and it could be given normal functionality immediately then that would be helpful."

Maryanne and Pants got a little overwhelmed.

Pants said:

"Oh dear, i cannot sort the CaTos and the catos and the Caitys. Who are the bad guys? I need to know"

"me groans. Ok just tell me who to Like please"

Maryanne said:

"Wait....

You have a manifesto?!?

I gotta quit skipping meetings."

masonboob lover got booted and banned for being underage while forum whoring and perving the "Naughty" thread.

masonboob lover said:

"ha ha very funny im 12 years old bitch and my iq is prolly on the up side of 110"

What is the up side of 110?

It appears Bunnie got both her groove and her forum avatar back as the Spam can is gone.

Speaking of Bunnie, the latest post in the "Standing invitation for SCMK-II and SLU People who have an axe to grind....." thread is this one:

Bunnie said:

"After hiding out for I don't recall how long, I see Don Mill is Bulldick! posted over on SLU. Must be looking for someone else to file a suit on. Cristiano better watch his step! "

Last, but not least, consider enjoying a few drinks in the Saloon. You'll need 'em.

ETA: In addition to the "gV Unofficial Useless Statistics" thread started less than 24 hours ago, we now have a new companion thread complete with detailed scorecard graphic courtesy of Lias. "Absolutely Useless Unofficial gV Statistics"

ETA2: This one is from Earth in the "Absolutely Useless Unofficial gV Statistics" thread.

ETA3: The Badger explains "Humptydumptying."

"Humptydumptying means claiming to use a word in a particular way that is not the way in which it is usually perceived to be used like using say when nothing has been voiced or in forums when you have been caught using the wrong word like prosperity rather than posterity at which point you attempt to claim the moral high ground by saying that everyone knew what you meant and that it was only a bunch of letters with spaces on each end anyway and english is not a fixed language and if enough people use a word wrongly it becomes accepted usage and anyway english is not my first language and how many languages do you speak anyway and you are discriminating against me because I am a foreigner and I am a professor of linguistics in my own country and am an international soccer referee and can say penalty in sixteen different languages."

And this helpful quote and link from the changeling operating Mitch Wexler's avatar at present*:

"There is the problem of humptydumptying, whereby a person gives an unusual and private meaning to a word with a more common and public definition and thus causes unnecessary confusion."

*Mitch used to have a bit of a tendency to prompt other posters to say JFGI on the screen, under their breath and/or in their minds, so I have no idea who this Googling, surfing, quoting, linking fool operating his avatar now is or what has happened to Mitch. It's what prompted me to say this in gV earlier. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

Fine print: "Fool" here is meant playfully as someone doing a lot of something with a certain amount of abandon, not an unintelligent jerk.

Ooh, look. A philosophy forum.

mickthinks said:

"Lewis Carroll had Humpty Dumpty say 'Words mean what I want them to mean'."

ETA4: A link to a list of gV posts with the most "likes."

ETA5:

nina said:

"a thread is nothing more than an initial post."

ETA6: Snapper is back.

ETA7:

Cato Badger said:

"You know what that reminds me of? This might annoy you though, but still: there was like a "movement" a little while ago, where homosexuals wanted to start calling themselves "Gays" rather than homosexuals because homosexual had too negative of a connotation or something. Well this caused a lot of consternation, because using the word "gay" to describe someone colloquially means you're calling them gay, and trying to refer to homosexuals exclusively as "gays" implied that they were gay to the exclusion of those who were not "gay". They tried arguing it, like "but gay is a noun!", but everyone knew it wasn't, and eventually that silliness just kind of became accepted because otherwise the homosexuals would have complained of homophobic discrimination.

Pep (And so we lost a good meaningful word.)"

Cato Badger said:

"Did you like it because I thought that since I have been posting like Pep and everybody has been suggesting I was Pep I would give everyone ammunition to point to in days to come to prove I was Pep.

Pep (Did it strike the right sort of resonant chord???)"

ETA8: Poor Saffy Pants. We're going to drive her mad at this rate. See here. Hey, this is why I pick a name and a forum pic (and even a color) and stick with it. ;)

ETA9: New stats from Lias.

ETA10: Good times.

ETA11:

ETA12: Ishina. http://gotvirtual.net/community/threads/standing-invitation-for-scmk-ii-and-slu-people-who-have-an-axe-to-grind.243/page-255#post-111002

Second Life Jewell

2011-08-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

This looks cool.

Fair warning. The soundtrack on that first clip is from "Rosemary's Baby."

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQV8_p1myl8
http://justexploringart.blogspot.com/2011/08/second-life-mesh-sandbox-treasures.html
http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Mesh/Mesh_regions
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2011/02/coleys-world-parallel-worlds-hr-giger-second-life.html
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Farstar%20New%20Earth/38/130/34
http://www.flickr.com/people/59764397@N07/
http://www.koinup.com/group/claudia222/
https://my.secondlife.com/claudia222.jewell
http://virtualfashionfeed.com/tag/claudia222-jewell/

Color me feliz. dadatic is on gV.

2011-08-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

In the "Spanish-Language Culture" thread on gV...

Lee said:

"And if I'm really super lucky, maybe I will get dadatic (an old and beloved friend of mine, and Mitch, Steph and VVI's too) to pop over and contribute."

dadatic said:

"And with strict Spanish punctuality too."

Here is a link to some of dadatic's blog posts: http://www.rletc.com/blog.php?173-dadatic.
Here's a link to my dadatic fan thread: http://forums.utherverse.com/yaf_postst43668_dada.aspx

Come on, colleen (over to the dark side of blog commenting)

2011-08-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Come on colleen,
I swear (well he means) At this moment you mean everything,
With you in that dress my thoughts I confess verge on dirty
Ah come on colleen.

Come on colleen, I swear, well he means
Ah come on let's take off everything,
That pretty red dress colleen (Tell him yes)
Ah come on let's, ah come on colleen, please.

Remember Toora Loora Toora Loo-Rye-Aye
colleen I'll hum this tune forever.

My apologies to Dexy's Midnight Runners.

colleen has reverted to a Spam can avatar on gV (most likely due to the events in the Crime thread). Hence the blog post. I hope colleen will pop on by and I hope Stephie gets an ear worm.

Link to colleen's blog: http://colleencriss.wordpress.com/

ETA: colleen's here! And she gave me this:

ETA2: colleen gave me a more current picture of her in a red dress. It's up at the top of the post.

ETA3: colleen in mesh...

Crimes Against Convention: LeeHere Absent (Location # 4)

2011-08-14T17:07:00.001-07:00

Open all hours and days.

I'm going public.

2011-08-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Let me know if you want to buy stock.

Lee said on gV:

"I decided I wanted one here too. A cross-forum virtual RICO-style syndicate with branches on SC MKII, FIH, my own blog and possible expansion plans for FC and SLU."

ETA:

5. Crimes Against Convention: LeeHere Absent (FORUM CONFIDENTIAL)
6. Crimes Against Convention: LeeHere Absent (Utherforums)

ETA2: "Damning with faint praise?" and "LeeHere's Crimes of Convention"

Woohoo!

ETA3:

7. Crimes against convention (SLF)
8. Crimes Against Convention: LeeHere Absent (SLUnleashed)

ETA4:

Crimes Against Convention (the Forum)