Virtual Worlds – Page 114

November 4, 2014

Ebay Founder Pierre Omidyar’s Second Life Alter Ego

New York Magazine has published an article on Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar : The Pierre Omidyay Insurgency. The article is long and interesting, it deals largely with how the Snowden leaks gave him a cause, as the tag line for the article points out :

The eBay founder was a mild-mannered Obama supporter looking for a way to spend his time and fortune. The Snowden leaks gave him a cause — and an enemy.

Andrew Rice’s article paints a picture of Pierre that took me by surprise, I didn’t realise he was such a philanthropist, I also didn’t realise he had immersed himself with Second Life so much and it’s that information that drew me to the article :

Though he continued to be eBay’s board chairman and largest shareholder, Omidyar receded from view in Silicon Valley. “Pierre has been such a reclusive guy for the past few years,” says Philip Rosedale, who founded the technology firm Linden Lab, developer of the animated interactive world Second Life. During the mid-2000s, Omidyar immersed himself in the Second Life community, adopting a secret identity: a tattooed black man named Kitto Mandala. Even after Omidyar became a Linden Lab investor, Rosedale primarily interacted with his animated avatar. Mandala rode a Segway and wore a T-shirt that said KISS ME I’M LAWFUL EVIL. He could fly, and hardly anyone knew he was really a billionaire.

I’m not really sure why I’m surprised that someone who invested in Second Life was also immersed with the platform. Gawker point to a Flickr profile which appears to be that of Kitto, although the last picture is from 2007, it is actually of a discussion about eBay in Second Life.

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November 3, 2014

The Meauxle Bureaux – Home Of The Moles

In her regular update on the number of sims on the grid, Tyche Shepherd pointed out that Linden Lab had added a couple of sims this week, one of which is named Meauxle Bureaux, home of the Moles, the busy bees of the Linden Department Of Public Works. Now if you’re wondering who the Moles are or what the LDPW is, let’s just take a quote from the wiki page :

The Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW) is a program focused on improvements related to the experience of living on, or visiting the Linden Mainland. The LDPW will organize teams of Resident builders, artists, and scripters (the Moles!) to create new content on Linden Lab’s behalf and to the benefit of all. Rather than divert company resources from areas of development that contribute to important issues like stability and usability, Linden Lab is choosing to go to the experts…

The experts being residents. So I set off to explore this brave new world and found it’s an oldie but a goodie.

The sim may look familiar, indeed it will look very familiar to anyone who roamed the Lumenaria sim at Fantasy Faire 2013 because that’s where most of the build is from. However that was an impressive build and I’m pleased to see it given a second life by the Moles… second life, get it? Haha ok ok I’ll stop.

On the sim itself you will find buildings with a sign indicating which mole occupies the building. They may be moles, but they don’t seem to live in holes. Michael Linden also has a place there as well as a central building which has posters for attractions in Second Life such as portal park.

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November 2, 2014

Capital Exchange Suspends Activity Until Further Notice Due To Skill Gaming Policy

SL Capital Exchange have announced that are suspending activity until further notice as they await approval on their application to be an approved skill gaming operator. The announcement states :

On July 16, 2014, I filled out the first form for the Skill Gaming Application for Capital Exchange Stock Market Simulation Game. From that point until today, there have been numerous correspondences between me, my law firm, and Linden Lab. As of today we still do not have an official determination, positive or negative, on our application.

I was hoping that because much of the delay has been on the part of Linden Lab, that we would be allowed to operate past the November 1, 2014 deadline set forth in a recent post by Linden Lab. Unfortunately I was informed by Rowan Linden that we cannot. So therefore effective immediately, I am suspending all trading at Capital Exchange until our application is approved or denied by Linden Lab.

I do not know how long this might take, because honestly I thought this would all have been resolved already, however I hear there is a backlog of applications and Linden Lab needs the proper time to review them all thoroughly. So we need to be patient, and wait for Linden Lab’s counsel to do their job.

I’m a bit bemused as to just why CapEx are having such difficulty in getting a reply on approval, I’m also a bit bemused as to why they are seeking approval in the first place but more on that later. CapEx, for those who don’t know, is a fictional stock exchange where Second Life business owners list their business on the stock exchange and the value of shares rise and fall. I’ve engaged with this in the distant past by buying and selling shares and have never had bad experiences with it. I would imagine there have been issues when a Second Life business ceases to be, but I haven’t fell victim to that.

The suspension is due to the Skill Gaming Policy from Linden Lab which had a deadline of November 1st for people to cease activities even if they had an application pending, as explained in a blog post from Linden Lab at the end of September :

Beginning November 1, 2014, the enforcement of our Policy will apply to all Residents, including those with pending Skill Gaming applications that await Linden Lab review and approval. As of that date, any objects or regions found in violation of our Policy will be taken down.We strongly encourage all applicants to submit any outstanding materials for our review as soon as possible so that their applications may be processed before the deadline.

Whereas I have sympathies for both Linden Lab and applicants during this process, as new issues arise during the process, it seems a bit off that a venture that applied as far back as July are still left dangling in the wind in November.

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November 1, 2014

Exploring The Dwarven Mines of Marathon Caye

The Dwarven Mines Of Marathon Caye are the stuff of legend in Dwarven folklore. Rumour has it there’s gold in the mines, along with ale, great feasts and more importantly, feisty Dwarven ladies. However you know what legends are like, they don’t really exist.

However I was out with a witch by the name of Strawberry Singh, who told me that the mines really do exist and after getting fed up of me trying to get her to go dancing, she teleported to me to the mines! My first idea was to ride the train throughout the whole mine, do the tourist thing, you know how it goes, however halfway around I noticed a sign for The Dire Weasel Tavern and promptly ditched my ride.

The rumours you see, are true, there’s gold in that mine and plenty of it. However I wasn’t sure whether others in the vicinity were merely enjoying the tavern or whether the gold was for use by everyone. Chancing my arm I dipped into the gold, entered the tavern and engaged in an ale, or two, or three. The Dwarven ladies seemed a bit the worse for wear and I should warn you, you don’t want to try and chat up a Dwarven female after a few ales, they can be rather vicious. Instead I engaged in some polite conversation with the male Dwarves, who were still very much in Halloween party mood.

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October 31, 2014

Horror In Raglan Shire!

One of Second Life’s more serene locations is Raglan Shire. Home of the tinies, a place where you imagine birds singing, workers singing, animals singing, sun shining, a place of general happiness. However not during October, during October Raglan Shire celebrates Shocktober and a shocking experience it is indeed.

We’re talking zombies roaming the streets here, yes, in Raglan Shire! You still spot a few tinies around, and they do seem to be merry, but there are strange happenings afoot here with ghosts floating around and a very worrying fog enveloping you.

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