Category: General

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The Drax Files Radio Hour Extends The Conversation, Linden Lab Should Take Note

I was going to do a review of the second episode of The Drax Files Radio Hour but to be honest, Inara Pey has already done a smashing job there. I’ve also briefly talked of some of the issues in a previous blog post. Instead I’ll talk about the show in general and why Linden Lab should take note of how the conversation can be extended.

The show is worth listening to, so if you have a free hour of time, really, this is good stuff and this week’s show has a lot about that late Osprey Therian in it, interesting stuff too. The show starts with Strawberry Singh’s introduction, which I could listen to over and over and over again. Strawberry has a very charming voice, really really charming …. anyway! I’m pretty sure Strawberry pronounces Jo properly.

There are also interviews with Marianne McCann, the artist formerly known as Babbage Linden and clips from Philip Rosedale and Judy L Tyrer amongst others. We also should not forget the fact that Jo Yardley of 1920’s Berlin fame is the assistant.

These contributions, interviews and discussion topics make a show that extend the conversation. Draxtor is quick to point out that they are not the BBC, they are not investigative journalists, they have a small budget but the fact that people who listen to the show join in the conversation on other blogs and platforms shows the power of a show like this. This isn’t the first show of this type, more on that in another post. However Draxtor manages to get plenty of people to talk and is a very friendly host, as is Jo, although she does call Draxtor “A big girl’s blouse” at one point, there’s something very funny to me in hearing two continental Europeans engaging in a conversation like that.

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Catch Up With Season 2 Of The Blackened Mirror

Blackened Mirror poster should be here
The Blackened Mirror Poster

Season 2 of The Blackened Mirror is currently taking a mid season break, which is good because it gives people time to catch up with the series before the next episode is aired.  So far three episodes have been aired, a further three episodes are scheduled to start from Sunday January 26th.

For those of you who don’t know, The Blackened Mirror is a machinima based series filmed in Second Life. The show is written by Da5id Abbott and directed by Saffia Widdershins of Prim Perfect fame. treet.tv also happily put their name on the credits.

I’m a big fan of storytelling in many forms and The Blackened Mirror certainly uses the Second Life well as a means of telling a story, but credit has to go to Da5id Abbott for scripting that story.

To get the best from the show you really need to visit the website. The news section in particular is an excellent resource as it gives you background and information on the episodes. The episodes themselves can also be viewed from the episodes page, there you will get a little bit of blurb about each episode. I’ll embed the first three episodes below the cut.

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ID Still A Big Challenge In The Digital Age

Another confusing issue with providing information to Linden Lab has reared its head this week, this time in the shape and form of a forum post from a resident who was confused as to why she had received an email from Linden Lab asking for account information and ID.

The reason was soon explained by Linden Lab in the form of a blog post : Required Account Documentation in which Linden Lab announced:

“In addition to required tax documentation (which we blogged about in November 2013), US law separately requires that institutions such as Linden Lab obtain, verify, and record information confirming the identification of account holders who submit a certain volume and/or amount of Process Credit Requests.

We have recently begun emailing users who need to submit this information. If you receive such a notice from us, you will need to follow the instructions and provide the required documentation within thirty (30) days.”

Now ignoring the usual issues such as people finding out and being confused about matters before people have been informed about said issue by Linden Lab, this raises another issue, that of ID in the digital age. The email the user was sent asks for the same forms to be filled in as in the case of those being asked for tax documentation, but the required account information also asks for the following in this particular case:

“In addition to the form itself, we are required to obtain a copy of your government-issued photo identification (ID). The information on the ID must be current (i.e. not expired) and must match the information you submitted on the form.

Please attach a copy of your identification to this Case. The copy must be clearly legible (full color, no smudges or blurs) and must be fully intact (no cut-off portions, no redacted information).

The following are acceptable forms of photo ID:

• Driver’s license
• Military ID card
• Passport
• Any other form of government-issued photo ID

If your photo ID does not display your address, you must also provide us with a copy of a current utility or telephone bill. The name and address to which the bill is addressed must match the photo ID.

In the meantime, it is necessary for us to place a hold on any and all Process Credit Requests for your account until we receive your form and supporting documentation.”

This therefore goes further than the required tax documentation. Why some people are being asked for this is a little cloudy, but it appears to be due to the amount of money or number of times they process credit. This is required by US law so Linden Lab must comply, so Linden Lab are doing their job here. However why do so many different companies need the same information to be submitted over and over and over again in this day and age? This should be less complicated but there are large hurdles in the way.

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2013 – The Meme Version

When I was a lad and I used to play on Livejournal we’d do an end of year post where you’d take the first few lines or paragraph of the first post of each month and that would be your review of the year. I’ll do proper reviews of the year over the next few days or so but for now I’ll turn back to that old Livejournal meme. This won’t make that much sense but it is a bit of fun.

January

I’m about to embark on a series of posts about accounts, Linden Lab and their forthcoming interactive story of Versu. Inara Pey, with her eye firmly on the ball has noticed that websites have appeared for Dio and Versu. I’m not so much interested in Dio, although I might be once it gets going. However Versu is something I like the look of and I’ve been digging around the website for Versu. At first glance it seems bereft of information, but a closer look reveals that Versu has a cut down version of the Second Life terms and conditions, a  DMCA link and a very handy FAQ.

February

Ok so I’m enjoying playing around with dio and The Search For Hod Rumble (see previous post for details) is well under way, whether it ever goes from private to public is another matter. My intention with this project is largely to play around with the features and get a good understanding of the platform whilst having fun at the expense of Rod Humble. However, even though I’m only at the start of my project, I have picked up some tips.

*NOTE* – The search for Hod Rumble remains unpublished.

March

Draxtor Despres, of Metareality Podcast, Superflufee machinima and other stuff I don’t know about but probably should fame, has today launched a new monthly show titled: “The Drax Files“.

April

Back on March 12th Linden Lab blogged about advertising on Second Life properties. There has been no further update but the people behind Fennux breedables have managed to take advantage of Google advertising by getting an advert for their product and website onto the Second Life website, well the forums in my case, that’s where I saw the advert.

An image should be here
Fennux Advert

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The Tech Companies, Not The Security Services, Should Take The Heat For The Spying Game

The recent fuss about The NSA and GCHQ allegedly spying on Second Life users largely made me go “meh”. I mean this is what I expect those agencies to do and I really can’t see any way of stopping them doing it. However there is a level whereby I feel protestations about intrusive behaviour could work, that’s at levels way below the security agencies, it’s with tech companies.

AT&T are, according to Gigaom, rolling out a new gigabit service in Austin in two flavours. Premier, for USD$70 a month and Standard, for USD$99 a month. The terminology sounds odd, with premier being the cheaper option. However here’s the catch, the cheaper option means you need to agree to being part of AT&T preferences, which is targeted advertising, or as AT&T themselves explain:

“U-verse with GigaPower Premier offer is available with your agreement to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences. AT&T may use your Web browsing information, like the search terms you enter and the Web pages you visit, to provide you relevant offers and ads tailored to your interests. ”

So basically for the cheaper option, you sell your browsing habits it seems. This idea isn’t new, websites with advertising will often have the option to turn off the adverts for a fee. However it’s still very creepy.

When the recent hoo-ha broke about the spies it wasn’t the NSA or GCHQ involvement I found creepy, nor was it Linden Lab talking to the NSA about virtual worlds. The NY Times article claims that Cory Ondrejka was the senior Linden exec involved and reports:

“In 2007, as the N.S.A. and other intelligence agencies were beginning to explore virtual games, N.S.A. officials met with the chief technology officer for the manufacturer of Second Life, the San Francisco-based Linden Lab. The executive, Cory Ondrejka, was a former Navy officer who had worked at the N.S.A. with a top-secret security clearance.

He visited the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., in May 2007 to speak to staff members over a brown bag lunch, according to an internal agency announcement. “Second Life has proven that virtual worlds of social networking are a reality: come hear Cory tell you why!” said the announcement.”

That all sounds very reasonable to me, Cory seems to be using his knowledge of his old industry and showing them the power of virtual worlds, it’s the next part of the article where it all goes a bit tits up:

“It added that virtual worlds gave the government the opportunity “to understand the motivation, context and consequent behaviors of non-Americans through observation, without leaving U.S. soil.””

That’s where it all gets a bit creepy.

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