Ciaran Laval

January 27, 2008January 12, 2014

Batten Down The Hatches

They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity and this will be tested with regards to Second Life this week when the BBC2 documentaty “Virtual Adultery and cyberspace love” is aired.

The Beeb is of course the bastion of no advertising (Other than its own stuff) and worth every single penny of the licence fee to stop it denigrating into the awful crap that is aired on its main commercial rival ITV. However sometimes they can’t avoid giving a backward plug to the product and no matter how bad this documentary is, someone is going to take a peek into Second Life on the back of it.

The premise of the documentary is regarding people spending too much time online and falling in love with people they’ve never met, even though they themselves are married. People who spend upto eighteen hours a day online will be featured and a woman who travels thousands of miles to meet her Second Life partner, leaving behind her existing family. Continue reading “Batten Down The Hatches”

January 24, 2008January 12, 2014

Sherriff Fatman

There’s something unhealthy in the land market within Second Life, most notably the private market. A bustling trade in ripping people off, signed, sealed and delivered with the “We don’t get involved in resident to resident disputes” motto.

I’m trying to get my head around why an honest purchaser would fail to ask what happens to existing tenants when they take over an estate. There seems to be a philosophy that the purchaser can’t possibly be in the wrong, yet to me, this is a case of see no evil, hear no evil yadda yadda yadda.

Time and again I see complaints from evicted residents. Sometimes you see counter claims from landlords and yet, underneath it all, people shrug their shoulders and mutter: “There’s nothing you can do about it.” This is fundamentally wrong. Continue reading “Sherriff Fatman”

January 18, 2008January 12, 2014

The Taxman’s Taken All My Dough

There are those who fear the arrival of the taxman into virtual worlds. There is of course already a presence, income tax, capital gains tax, VAT, take your pick. However some of us feel they might want an even bigger slice of the cake and start looking at inworld currencies.

However I’m here to temporarily alleviate your fears, because at the moment the taxman doesn’t appear to know his arse from his elbow when it comes to virtual worlds.

In early October I started a dialogue (a slow, long, painful, dialogue) with HMRC (The UK taxman). My point being, why the heck am I paying VAT for tier on virtual world land? The problems seem to arise via laws, laws that were implemented without consideration of virtual worlds such as Second Life and inworld currencies. Continue reading “The Taxman’s Taken All My Dough”

January 8, 2008January 12, 2014

It’s a Wonderful Life

Panic on the streets of Ambleside, panic on the streets of Sanshillyong, I wonder to myself, could life ever be sane again?

LL’s new policy on banking has certainly caused a storm, and more than just one in a teacup it would seem.

“Please read this if you operate, or have transferred L$ to, an in-world “bank” or financial company.

As of January 22, 2008, it will be prohibited to offer interest or any direct return on an investment (whether in L$ or other currency) from any object, such as an ATM, located in Second Life, without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter. We’re implementing this policy after reviewing Resident complaints, banking activities, and the law, and we’re doing it to protect our Residents and the integrity of our economy.” Continue reading “It’s a Wonderful Life”

December 8, 2007January 12, 2014

To PG or Not PG

That is the question. Sometimes I wonder what the point of PG land is. This struck me recently when I was pondering whether to AR a gentleman’s club in a PG sim. I’m not generally a tell-tale twit but I put in my notecards on PG land “No adult sales please, this is a PG sim”.

Now this parcel was right next to my parcel, it was only whilst I was pondering that I realised that the club in question wasn’t on the same sim and was indeed in an adult sim.

It’s a jump to the left
then a step to the right
with your hands on your hips
you bring your knees in tight
but it’s the pelvic thrust
that really drives you insane Continue reading “To PG or Not PG”