Alphaville Herald

Saints of Hell MC Implicated In Second Life Content Theft - Part 1

Motorcycle and parts theft copybot outrage!

by Coke Supply, Investigative Reporter

[In this multipart tale of dark dealings in the Second Life motorcycle and parts trade Coke Supply delves into the shady activities of Black Lisle, AKA Biack Lisle, of the Saints of Hell Motorbike Club to reveal an astonishing level of complicity amongst the group's leadership with regards to the apparent theft of the most famous and skilfully crafted  motorbikes ever created in Second Life. - the editrix]

Content creators Redtail Magic, Karyn Vaher, Trinity Hunghi, and Hiiigh Jinx collaborated over a period of four months to create the Lakhota Rocket, arguably the most highly detailed and realistic sculpted bobber motorcycle on the grid. It has won first place in almost every single competition that it has been entered into during 2009, making it one of the most well-known motorbikes ever created in Second Life. The trophies won from these competitions are shown in the image to the left, alongside the real-life version of the bike that it was modeled from.

As you can see from the image below, this motorbike is a true work of art, painstakingly sculpted and textured by its creators over a period of several months to create one of the finest rideable motorbikes that Second Life has to offer.

Pixeleen Mistral Files Legal Response to Venkman's DMCA Abuses

Herald news Idoru pseudonym sacrificed in free speech fight

by Peter Ludlow (aka Urizenus Sklar), Herald Founder

Sometimes we all have to take a stand.  In this case Herald Editrix Pixeleen Mistral, facing an outrageous abuse of the DMCA by Kalel Venkman, has, pursuant to Section 512(c)(1)(C) of the DMCA, filed documents disputing Venkman's claims of copyright infringement on screen shots and snippets of chat from the Justice League Unlimited wiki.  As reported earlier in the Herald, the JLU wiki amassed vast amounts of (often false) information on Second Life denizens, including massive chat logs that were in cases recorded without the consent of the parties involved.  In effect, the JLU was running an enormous surveillance program against Second Life users, and were using the DMCA to try and cover up those abuses to keep the public from understanding the full scope and frightening nature of the abuses.  More troubling still is that much of the material Venkman requested be taken down appeared to implicate the involvement of Linden Lab staff member Plexus Linden in the activities of the JLU.

This can only mean trouble for Venkman.  It is illegal under Title 17, United States Code Section 512(f) to knowingly send faulty DMCA notices, and doing so can result in serious legal liability.  For example, there is already established precedent in the Northern District of California (where YouTube is located) holding that when a company knew or should have known that use of copyrighted material is fair use (and therefore, non-infringing), it is a violation of Section 512(f) and the DMCA.  As a result of that violation, the company responsible paid over $100,000 to the parties affected.

Title 17, Section 107 explicitly says that "the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies... for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." As I said, Venkman is in trouble.

Techdirt Slams Typepad Takedown Of "Clear Cut Fair Use" JLU Coverage

Second Life vigilante gang's coverup tactics questioned

by Idoru Wellman, staff writer

Responding to a questionable copyright infringement claim, last night Typepad gutted the Herald's coverage of the Justice League Unlimited with takedowns of disputed content from six stories. Was this justified? 

Techdirt.com legal issues writer Mike Masnick questions Typepad's handling of the situation in  "Second Life Gang Using Copyright To Stop Discussion Of Its Tactics?"  saying, "Seeing as the publication of the contents was part of a journalistic effort, it seems like a pretty clear case of fair use, and it's a bit upsetting that Typepad automatically sided with those making the copyright claim". Masnick goes on to point out the the irony of the JLU throwing DMCA complaints "seeing as they appear to be infringing on the trademarks of various comic book publishers".

Taking time from blogging for Massively.com about possible slow L$ spacebux payments to Second Life players, writer Tatreu Nino asked "if the JLU weren't using names and images that are the trademarks of highly litigious corporations, there wouldn't even really be a story here, now would there?"

Alphaville Herald founder Urizenus Sklar, responded with a comment of his own:

The point of the Herald articles in question is to illustrate that this virtual vigilante group (calling itself the JLU) was amassing enormous amounts of real life and virtual life information on Second Life players, and apparently they were doing it with the blessing and participation of some employees of Linden Lab (the makers of Second Life). Among the examples that the Herald posted were screenshots of snippets of chat between SL users that had been recorded by the JLU and posted on their Wiki. The JLU did not author the chat logs, they apparently took them in violation of the Linden Lab terms of service and in violation of the privacy of the recorded parties and then posted the information on their wiki. An author of the wiki provided the information to the Herald. The Herald then provided a couple screenshots of bits of this material in order to document the practice and bring it to the attention of SL users.

There is no serious argument that this was not an example of fair use. The JLU is using the DMCA not to protect their intellectual property, but to attempt to cover up their activities.

Op-Ed: Avatars United – A Social Network Too Far?

by Sigmund Leominster

If you’re becoming jaded by the tales of the inconsequential status and activity of the Justice League Unlimited, which, as a group, must now hold some sort of record in terms of column inches in the Herald (inversely proportional to the inches of their primmy penises), and fapping to Post 6 Grrrlz no longer holds any thrill, then maybe you’re ready to join the In-Crowd on Avatars United.

Yes, in the latest attempt to improve the whole Second Life virtual world experience, Linden Lab has bought a virtual world-based social networking site called Avatars United, which describes itself as “a community website bringing virtual characters from all online worlds together. The project is built in recognition of the fact that strong bonds and close friendships actually can be tied within virtual spaces.” According to the “About Us” section of the website, “Avatars United (AU) is a community for your virtual avatars. Register your avatar, upload your profile picture, write your biography and share some of your exploits in virtual worlds through pictures, videos, blogs and much more.”

Brilliant! Not only can I now waste hours in Second Life but waste even more interacting with the same folks on a social networking site. Wait, didn’t we once hear Linden Lab describe Second Life as a social networking site already? If so, why the need for an ersatz Facebook?

Six Apart Seeks Safe Harbor From Justice League Unlimited DMCA Storm

Embarrassed Second Life role-play superhero police force swings mighty DMCA hammer again

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Herald coverage of the Justice League Unlimited has been edited by Six Apart staff to remove text and images which Six Apart has informed the Herald are subject to copyright infringement claims. This action came after the Herald declined to remove the disputed material, pointing out that the Copyright fair use doctrine clearly applies to reporting the abuses of the Justice League Unlimited - a group that has run an ongoing campaign of secret surveillance on members of the Second Life community and compiled a 1700 page wiki containing files about community members that were often false and potentially libelous.

In addition to portions of the Herald's coverage of the JLU activities, a reproduction of the e-mail sent by Six Apart to the Herald informing us of the copyright infringement claims was removed because, according to Six Apart staff, "it contained all the content which was required to be removed".

Six Apart's actions come under the DMCA "safe harbor" provisions for web hosting services. The Herald suggests chillingeffects.org to readers interested in more information about the use and abuse of the DMCA with respect to First Amendment and intellectual property rights.

Rhapsody Heartsdale -- Post 6 Grrrrl

(The Herald Editorial Staff wish to thank Daeynaries for the outstanding job she did as Post 6 Photographer during Timothy's vacation. We look forward to working with her again in the future).

(Rhapsody Heartsdale is probably one of the funnest people I've met in my travels through SL. Shes witty, full of life, and her av is amazingly dark. I hope you guys enjoy this nefarious tart. - Daeynaries Lane)

Hello, strange world! I'm a 20 year old, jack of all trades, profession of none. Allow me to introduce myself. I'd like you to get to know me a little bit better. A little about myself...I'm bluntly honest, to a fault. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and really couldn't care less about what anyone thinks. I strive for individuality, both in game and IRL. It makes for some interesting fashion styles ;) I've been role-playing for over 9 years. It all started with Neopets, believe it or not. Oh and that's another thing. I'm a huge dork, and proud.

Op/Ed: Second Life Resident Comments on JLU Superpowers

Have you taken a look in a mirror lately? You're a walking infringement...

AnnOTooleInSL's  Xtranormal.com video commentary on the Second Life Justice League Unlimited situation:

Second Life Economy: Weak Growth in Q4 2009

Q4 2009 - feeble growth after 2 quarters of economic decline

by Jessica Holyoke

Last week, Linden Lab released their fourth quarter 2009 and year-end results for the Second Life Economy.  A few weeks earlier, Linden Lab released their raw economic data for the previous year.

Included in the raw data numbers were the missing Positive Monthly Linden Flow (PMLF) numbers from previous quarters.  PMLF is the number of residents who experienced a profit before land costs are factored in. The PMLF figures are sometimes unavailable from the Lab - typically when those numbers turn negative.

But thanks to more complete raw economic statistic released by the Lab, the Herald Business Network anchors can report that Q2 2009 showed a 1.94% decrease in the number of people who experienced PMLF and a 0.37% decrease in the number of residents who experienced PMLF, showing two quarters of contraction.  Due to those numbers, the Lab has switched to a revenue reporting system, reporting how residents made $55 million in revenue, counted as the amount of money cashed out minus the amount of money cashed in.  The economics report however does not report if those numbers include currency exchanges in their calculations. 

The other part of Quarter Profit per Capita (QPC) is Total Hours Logged (THL).  This is the total number of hours residents spent logged in.  The Lab reported a decrease in THL over Q3 and Q4, a 6.35% decrease and a 4.24% decrease respectively by the Herald's figures. 

Class To Be Held…Inside a Facebook App???

by Idoru Wellman, Herald Education Desk

On January 28, in what may be the first instance of a university course held inside Facebook, Northwestern University Philosophy Professor Peter Ludlow (known to Herald readers as Urizenus Sklar) recently attempted to hold his class, Conceptual Issues in Virtual Worlds, inside the Island Life application on Facebook.  The results were mixed.

Island Life is a fantasy farming game inside Facebook that is somewhat similar to Farmville.  The twist is that that Island Life (currently in beta) is the creation of game developer legend Raph Koster (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies) and it allows people to visit each other and chat on their “islands”.  The game is a bit of a throwback to 2D graphical social platforms like The Sims Online and Habbo Hotel.

Koster’s most recent project had been Metaplace, an attempt to bring virtual world creation to the masses by providing a platform in which people could develop flash based virtual worlds.  The project recently closed down but the bulk of the development team moved with Koster to his Island Life project.

Reached for comment, Ludlow explained that his course is a freshman seminar designed to encourage writing skills, but as Ludlow explains “I couldn’t just assign papers to them; they need to become literate in new communications technologies. Hence, they will be called on to develop projects in virtual worlds, record those projects with machinima, blog about their experiences, give power point presentations about their projects, and write traditional papers.”

Typepad Threatens Takedown of Herald Justice League Unlimited Exposé

Will role-play superheros' copyright claims trump free speech?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affair desk

[UPDATE: portions of this story have been removed by SixApart staff in response to a DMCA copyright infringement claim - the editrix]

Typepad administrator Jen has given Herald a deadline of January 29th to gut our coverage of the Second Life Justice League Unlimited's wiki, citing a Typepad Terms of Service violation for "displaying copyrighted text and images without permission". The Herald has declined to remove the disputed materials, setting the stage for a new media showdown between the press and an embarrassed group of Second Life avatars brandishing copyright claims.

At issue is the Herald's exposé of the JLU, a group which has run a multi-year surveillance program on members of the Second Life community and compiled 1700 pages of files on other players - files containing often false and potentially libelous information.

To bring the excesses of the JLU to the public's attention, the Herald has quoted from the leaked JLU wiki under the doctrine of fair use. Meanwhile, the JLU has been running a vigorous program of copyright complaints, in hopes that site administrators will not notice the JLU is a group of avatars who wear super hero costumes that infringe on others' intellectual property.

Is Typepad aware of how ridiculous they will appear if they follow through on the threatened take downs [text after the jump] based on a frivolous copyright complaint from virtual spandex clad Second Life avatars? We may find out in the next few days, unless there is an outbreak of common sense at SixApart.

JLU Wiki Re-Indexed and Republished

Second Life Superman's Abuse Reports indexed and regions ranked

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

[UPDATE: portions of this story have been removed by SixApart staff in response to a DMCA copyright infringement claim - the editrix]

 

Sandbox superheros: Justice League Unlimited greatest hits for Abuse Reporting

Although Kalel Venkman has been playing copyright whack-a-mole to limit the spread of the leaked Justice League Unlimited wiki, interested parties continue to study the the Second Life vigilante group's internal database. A little birdy posting a comment on recent Herald coverage of the JLU  draws our attention to http://jlu.sl4.me/ where what appears to an indexed reorganized version of the raw pages of the leaked wiki is available. Of special interest is the index of the JLU's abuse report activites and top regions for AR trouble

With an uplifting mission statement, the site is sure to become popular - at least until the JLU attempts another copyright takedown - "This site is designed to demonstrate the sheer size of the JLU's little personal CIA database on every individual in Second Life, nothing more. It is to show how dangerous groups such as the JLU can be, despite their good intentions."

Shika Nakamura -- Post 6 Grrrrl

[Regular Post 6 Photographer Timothy Morpork continues to gorge himself on the lido deck buffet while Daeynaries Lane keeps us stocked with Post 6 Models.]

(So if you guys couldn't tell, I've been picking quite a few roleplayers from the Carp and Midian community. This is because well.. I know a buttload of girls who deserve recognition. Shika being one of the main ones. She has turned midian city into a playground of epic win and rainbows. I thought she deserved a little limelight and a soapbox for once. -Daeynaries Lane)



I came here from a game called TSO in 05.. so i know  Alphaville all too well, had an old friend there. Mr JC Soprano, let's say that I am currently in the mafia relocation program.  I was a very bad girl in TSO, and to be honest.. Im not sorry for it. It was a blast.

In trying to do something different, I started the first LaSombra group in sl.. yeah.. I did.  Along with  a few other amazing VtM players like Tyler Vox ( Brujah), Rain Williamson ( gangrel), Dominae Desmoulins, and  Gabriel Montagne ( torries).. so on we had a pretty good rp group.  But so many  branch out. and well.. I need rp

The Horror, The Horror: Prim-Baby Graveyard!!!

SLebrity Children Found - Satanic Plot Possible

by Pappy Enoch, Investigative Reporter

Baby Philip?

Now ya’ll thought—well, hoped—I might be dead, but I ain’t. I was just saving my strength and doing me some Woodward-and-Bumstead-style undercover reports on a terrible, awful thing. 

We all knows that Second Life’s fake world am full to the brim with floozy women, looser than outhouse doors after a hurricane, and lots of them is men in real life.  That explains to me why so many “gals” dumps fake babies as soon as some rascal knocks them up and their talkin’ tummies spits out the love-children.

Well, I been calculating where them poor babies goes to. I found out…and the truth (I never lie) ain’t pretty one damn bit. Don’t read no more if’n you got a weak stomach (talkin’ or otherwise) or likes them Lindens.

First, I started snoopin’ around some, and soon I come across a boy—looked like a real slick “player” to this-here ace reporter—who put me on the right track.

OpenSim Regions Predicted to Overtake Second Life in 2011

OpenSim growth rates shame Linden Lab

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Citing an annualized OpenSim growth rate of 177%, Maria Korolov predicts the OpenSim grids will overtake Second Life in early 2011 in an article in Hypergrid Business. Ms. Korolov made her prediction after comparing the 29% increase in OpenSim regions between September and December 2009 with an anemic 6% growth in Second Life resident-owned land in 2009. Are the projections sustainable - and believable?

The OpenSim grids claimed 7,246 regions in December 2009, up from 5,613 regions in September. In contrast, Second Life's 6% annual growth resulted in 23,900 regions at the end of 2009. Korolov's crystal ball tells her that if it might even be possible for OpenSim to overtake Second Life in 2010 if current trends accelerate - driven by low costs starting with free and very inexpensive.

Korolov points out that more control and backups are also appealing to land owners, noting that "OpenSim region owners can save backups of their entire region on their local hard drive. If they want to shut down a region — or keep a historical record of how a region evolves — they can do this, and restore the region later". But this sort of backup-on-demand function will be difficult for Linden Lab to match without nerfing the DRM system on which the in-world economy is based.

Op/Ed: Facebook, IslandLife, Second Life, Lively, Metaplace - Why Worlds Fail

by Jessica Holyoke

As previously reported, IslandLife, which looks a lot like Metaplace, has opened on Facebook.  Metaplace is a virtual world that closed at the end of 2009.  Metaplace looked a lot like Google's Lively, which also closed. What does IslandLife in Facebook and the failure of Lively and Metaplace mean? Consider one world that hasn't closed, despite its flaws: Second Life has adapted in order to make money, and continues to adapt. 

When a Gaming Open Market - a real money trade currency exchange appeared and showed how the Lindens could coin more money, the Lab appropriated it.  With Google Search being bandied about as a possible option for Second Life search for the last 18 months or so, rest assured it is all about AdWords dollars.  Residents might have noticed AdWord-like advertisements already alongside Group Search -- just beware of click fraud entering the griefer's vocabulary.

The Lindens are all about making money.

Second Life Sex Clubs Hide in Plain Sight

Linden Lab turns a blind eye toward furniture store n00b sex shops

by Senban Babii

Second Life sex club owners are now playing a meta-game using faux furniture stores to circumvent the Mature and Adult land zoning rules and run their sordid sex dens unimpeded - a situation first brought to our attention by Lillie Yifu in the 2nd Sex blog.

While investigating this issue, the Herald was contacted by a concerned citizen, who chose to adopt the codename "Deep Lag" to preserve their anonymity, so that they could discuss the issue openly.

new friends explore a mutual love of music - and furniture

Deep Lag first gave an introduction to the background to how these questionable sex clubs often operate; finding unlagged sims and buying small parcels to set up in.  The clubs then get swamped with visitors lagging the sim and using the sim's resources unfairly.  No doubt some unscrupulous club owners then sell their small part of the sim to the other residents for an extortionate fee which will be paid simply because other residents want to be able to enjoy their land in peace and without lag.  This variation on the donut hole strategy has no doubt been successful for many of these sex club owners.

Plexus Linden Gives Second Life Superman Copyright Dance Lessons?

Cozy, classified relationship and implausible deniability

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

[UPDATE: portions of this story have been removed by SixApart staff in response to a DMCA copyright infringement claim - the editrix]

Did Plexus Linden encourage Second Life's copyright-challenged Justice League Unlimited to tap dance around potential IP infringement issues with a wink and a nod, while promising the JLU in-game super powers? JLU leader Kalel Venkman's vigorous pursuit of whack-a-mole takedown actions against sites hosting the leaked JLU wiki are beginning to make sense, as a picture emerges of wannabe game cops desperate to gain favor with the Linden staff, and at least one Linden playing copyright favorites over the objections of his co-workers.

Readers are cautioned that it is possible the leaked chatlogs have been subject to tampering - or revisionist history and wishful thinking on the part of the JLU. There is certainly no lack of misinformation in the JLU’s formerly secret wiki. But Herald researchers point to troubling chatlog passages in several files (BrainiacWiki_Mal-W/default_260.html, BrainiacWiki_Mal-W/default_261.html, and BrainiacWiki_Mal-W/default_286.html) that suggest a cozy secret relationship between the volunteer virtual crime-fighters and the Lab staff charged with enforcing rules in-game.

The first clue that Plexus was deeply invested in the JLU’s existence, despite potential trademark and copyright problems, is found on the page where Kalel Venkman discusses the JLU’s copyright problems and possible solutions (Periwink-whatmall/default_475.html):

“We have been asked by Socrates Linden to take steps to comply with rules about trademark and/or copyright infringement. We have also been told by Plexus Linden to please continue just as we have been, explicitly with respect to our use of well-known characters, as it may be used as a way to get DC Comics and other publishers to take a positive business interest in Second Life. These are directly conflicting instructions.”

Why would Plexus advise the JLU to continue despite the Socrates' copyright concerns? Kalel Venkman mentions that “other GTeam members are taking notice of his 'use' of us and considering the same” suggesting that during the fall of 2007 Plexus Linden had hopes of forming an unpaid player-based junior GTeam to assist the Lab employees. But Plexus was aware that the Lindens should not be seen directly endorsing the JLU, based on both charges of player favoritism and copyright problems - so with a wink and a nod a thin gauze of plausible deniablility was to be constructed.

Rachael Fraisse -- Post 6 Grrrrrl

[Serious business guyths.. Rach has one of the only AV's I've stolen outfits from. She probably has one of the best if not THE best selection of clothing, accessories, hair, and av customization items of anyone I know. I HAD to shine alittle light on this lovely model. I hope you enjoy her as much as I do... *winks* -Daeynaries Lane

note: regular Post 6 Photographer Timothy Morpork continues to sun himself on vacation].

I was a WoW addict until I found SL, then my poor priest took an almost permanent back seat. What I loved about WoW, all those random little things that never got me leveled but would have me in stitches, were what drew me into SL. That, and shopping. I've found that a Second Life shopping spree will give me (almost!) the same satisfaction as a real life one - for far less money.

JLU Wiki Leak: Second Life Abuse Report Frenzy

Real and imagined offenses against the laws of the Metaverse?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

[UPDATE: portions of this story have been removed by SixApart staff in response to a DMCA copyright infringement claim - the editrix]

Resident conflict in Second Life is to be expected as quasi-anonymous avatars with different meta-games and loyalties play off each other, but detailed information about the extent of the problems have been hidden -- until now.

A partial snapshot of the leaked JLU's incident reporting system [after the jump] is fascinating reading - although some may question the standards of evidence and judgment the superhero paramilitary employs. Despite evident JLU bias, the volume of incidents lends some credibility to JLU claims that they file approximately 1/6 of all abuse reports. But does the Second Life community really want - or need - spandex tights clad role players filing complaints on their behalf and in secret?

The potential for mischief is worrying. Apparently I have been classified as a griefer by the JLU after placing flowers for banned accounts at a memorial for the dead as part of an story on crowdsourcing grief. Do all superheros suffer from a serious irony deficit?

Incidents in the JLU database range from reports of "particle emitting penis objects" in a sandbox to "taunting and harassing residents at a Linden Welcome area" to "Memmer of Woodbury U. Keeping an eye on him." For those that wish to play virtual cops fighting crime - or at least particle spam - membership in the JLU must be rewarding police play work.

Perhaps the most telling incident report is "Day old female av, demanded help rudely, showed very negative attitude, was verbally unpleasant but not obscene. Demanded a lesson in buying lindens so she could buy an airplane. Did not like answer, was abusive but not obscene, could not AR".

Don't you just hate it when you can't file an abuse report on a day old player?

Role-Play Superman Tries Coverup Of JLU Wiki Leak

Kalel Venkman claims dozens of copyright takedowns -- says Chan community corrupts minors

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

According to correspondence provided to the Herald, Kalel Venkman claims to have succeeded with copyright complaints to several dozen web sites redistributing the Justice League Unlimited “Brainiac Wiki”.

The secret wiki was leaked after Venkman’s JLU faction was infiltrated by a Second Life player with ties to a rival group which Venkman’s JLU role play superheros fight using a program of mass abuse reports and ongoing surveillance - including collection and correlating real life information on enemies.

However, not everyone is accepting Venkman's copyright claims at face value.

A Canadian web site administrator who prefers to be referred to simply as “Sean”, says Venkman has harassed his ISP for 48 hours with what Sean believes are baseless copyright claims being used to coverup the leak of JLU’s 1700 page wiki. After examining the wiki contents, Sean is  unimpressed, telling Venkman, "It looks like you're using scare tactics and some stupid misinformation to protect some stupid wiki about some inane online game that's chock full of information you will never legally own. this claim is completely and utterly illegitimate, I have nothing more to say to you, you don't own the content”

What upset Sean? Perhaps Venkman’s complaint to the ISP is a bit overplayed, since it goes well beyond copyright issues. The threat of harm to minors through Chan and Anonymous culture and fear of gang DDOS attacks on the site are given as reasons to remove not only the wiki, but the entire site, as Venkman's complaint says in part:

Starving Metaplace Game Gods Marooned In Facebook

Raph Koster's shipwrecked crew selling cabbage, farming supplies in FB avatar deathworld

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Raph Koster: "We're not talking about overall plans yet... first we learn"

Game god survivors of the Metaplace world's apocalyptic loss of traction - Raph Koster and Tami Baribeau (Cuppycake) - did not perish when the Metaplace world ended January 1st. After the shipwreck of the standalone Metaplace user generated virtual world dream, the MP game gods washed up on the beach in Facebook where they hope to feed themselves by selling cabbage and farming supplies to the 35 million FB players, despite the ever-present threat of avataricide. IslandLife is Raph's new Facebook-embedded game in beta test - but will it be redonkulous?

Hoping to locate the pink spaghetti strap top I bought in the final hours of Metaplace, I joined IslandLife and began farming.

Farming consists of picking the appropriate tool or crop seed, clicking on the ground and waiting to harvest the crops. It felt more like a waste of time anything else, but I'm willing to put up with a certain amount of grind to get the right clothes for my avatar. Perhaps Raph will add the old Metaplace New You clothes store soon?

Wallace Linden Outs His Alt Account -- Holy F.I.C. !!!

Alphaville Herald's Walker Spaight's secret alt is new Linden "Conversation Manager"

Special to the Herald by staff reporter Idoru Wellman

Wallace Linden shocked the metaverse with a tell-all Linden blog post acknowledging his close ties to the Alphaville Herald and his formerly secret alt account -- none other than Walker Spaight. The announcement sent shock waves through the blog-o-sphere as some worried that the Herald's well-know incisive analysis, independent voice, and cutting edge journalism might be compromised by association with the Linden game gods.

Asked to comment, Herald editrix Pixeleen Mistral said, "Maybe now there will finally be a Linden that will answer my calls - Plexus Linden seems a bit shy lately and M Linden has been almost completely hopeless since that unfortunate incident in the hot tub. Readers shouldn't worry though - there was a complex debt for equity swap that Urizenus and I executed a year ago which gave me the controlling interest in the Herald. But I do hope Walker Spaight will get around to interviewing Wallace Linden for the Herald at some point - maybe that will finally put those ugly F.I.C. rumors to rest - Walker should know exactly what to ask Wallace."

In addition to preceding Ms. Mistral at the helm of the Herald, Spaight also dabbled in writing from time to time in less prestigious venues including 3pointD.com, Wired, PC World, the Financial TImes, and the New York Times. With Herald founder Urizenus Sklar, Spaight also co-authored a must-read book about life in the metaverse: "The Second Life Herald - The Virtual Tabloid that Witnessed the Dawn of the Metaverse".

Orchid Dollinger -- Post 6 Grrrrl

[I came across Orchid's avatar in Midian city, and then again at CARP. I instantly fell in love with her av's face!! I love symmetrical faces and well designed shapes, and HERS fit right in with post 6! I kept the contrast to a minimum as requested.. and tried to show alittle of her submissive side with the poses and lighting. I hope you all enjoy!!  -Daeynaries Lane]



Let's start off with saying that I absolutely refuse to give away my age but I will offer a hint. I've been referred to as a MILF on more then one occasion. I'm a retired exotic dancer (No i'm not THAT OLD) and EMS worker.

Linden GTeam and JLU - Improper Conduct?

BrainiacWiki papers claim Lab staff leaks to role play game cops

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

[UPDATE: portions of this story have been removed by SixApart staff in response to a DMCA copyright infringement claim - the editrix]

A troubling pattern of what may be Linden governance team staff collusion with the Justice League Unlimited is beginning to emerge after the JLU's BrainiacWiki papers were leaked to the internet at large by the Wrong Hands infiltration group. Linden staff coaching on abuse reports, sharing alt account identities, apparently using JLU's database and avatar scanners - the list goes on and on. Perhaps most telling are claims that the JLU accounts for 1/6th of all abuse reports on a weekly bases as of the summer of 2009. Have some Linden GTeam members decided to take sides in the game - and keep the volume of abuse reports artificially high by indulging the JLU with special favors and special access? Fueling the faction wars between the JLU "superheros" and the supervillain griefers might be a form of game moderator job security after all.

Given the volume of the papers - imagine trying to report on an encyclopedia - it is likely to be some time before all of the gems have been uncovered. For readers without their own copy of the JLU BrainiacWiki papers here are some highlights:

Plexus Linden using JLU database and wearing JLU avatar key logger

Justice League Unlimited's BrainiacWiki Papers Coverup?

Kalel Venkman now playing whack-a-mole with file sharing sites

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

The leaked Justice League Unlimited "BrainiacWiki" papers have been yanked from 5 file sharing sites - an apparent coverup attempt by embattled JLU loyalists wielding copyright infringement claims - but it may be too late for this sort of damage control given how widely the wiki has spread. 

Kalel Venkman - an unhealthy interest in tights and surveillance?

The JLU is a spandex tights fetish and role play paramilitary organization which - if the leaked wiki is to be believed - compiles detailed dossiers on Second Life residents the JLU considers enemies. This is all part of the JLU's gameplay - a charming combination of ongoing surveillance of other players, a centralized database and enemies list, and a concerted effort at influencing Linden Lab staff and the in-game abuse report system into permanently banning other players.

Justice League Unlimited Secret Wiki Unmasked by The Wrong Hands

Roleplay police recruit copies, distributes 1700-page wiki  - JLU superhero threatens DMCA, legal action

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

[UPDATE: portions of this story have been removed by SixApart staff in response to a DMCA copyright infringement claim - the editrix]

The Justice League Unlimited's secret Brainiac wiki used to track suspected griefers, record JLU meeting chatlogs, and plot strategies to entice the Linden game gods into banning players was published to at least 5 public file sharing sites Friday. Based on what the Herald has seen of the 1700-page wiki's contents, this leak is a potentially crippling blow the the JLU, as the inner workings of the controversial anti-griefer group are on public display, along with significant amounts of misinformation and hints of what might be improper Linden Governance Team collusion with the JLU.

all ur JLU sekrets r belong to teh interwebs - thanks to Haruhi Thesbian and The Wrong Hands group

Word of the JLU papers' release has been circulating all weekend, but Justice League leader Kalel Venkman was unaware of this until Sunday when a new JLU recruit thanked the group for providing unfettered access to the gameplay superhero police manual. The recruit - Haruhi Thespian - tells the Herald that she was surprised to be allowed to join the JLU after a 4 day waiting period and then be given access to the Brainiac wiki - without a non-disclosure agreement.

Thespian says that this was part of what was apparently a planned operation by a group called "The Wrong Hands". Group infiltration followed by betrayal will be familiar to Herald readers as a standard part of virtual world gameplay.