Ciaran Laval

December 1, 2007January 12, 2014

You Have No Useful Privacy

The new search. My big fear is spam. All the useful information is available to spammers, my name, my avatar key. Free accounts available. I play world of warcraft when I have time. If you post on the forums, you’ll get spammed.

So why isn’t this a problem with SL? Well with SL you need to sign in to the forums to use them, this makes it a pain for those who want to collate names and spam people, until now that is.

The new search provides all the information spammers need. Free accounts mean they can sign up and have no worries and most ridiculous of all, if you opt out of profile search, any information that spammers need is readily available, any information that residents need … well that’s not available. Continue reading “You Have No Useful Privacy”

November 26, 2007January 12, 2014

Land Overhaul

I am amongst my SL sins, a land dealer. I rent mainland and estate and both of them could learn something from the other. I’d really like to see the land purchasing system overhauled.

In particular estate land. The interface for estate land should be different and to this end I’ve created a Jira proposal that proposes:

The estate land buying system is often confusing to residents. To this end it would be useful if the UI was different for estate land purchases.

1. Replace the window that states that your tier payments won’t increase with a warning box that says something like “Although you will not be billed by Linden Lab for owning this land, you may have to pay the estate owner, please carefully read the covenant”. Continue reading “Land Overhaul”

November 20, 2007January 12, 2014

Just Who Are The Second Life Press?

Coming to the second life press near you soon, a second life press conference with invited reporters from the second life press. Just who the second life press are is a mystery to me but it would appear that the Lindens have selected and nominated special representatives. Did Nobody Fugazi get an invite?

This does show that LL are willing to work on new ways of communication. Unfortunately it also undermines current means of communication, and if these press conferences are used to announce new features or reveal more information than is divulged at office hours, it pretty much makes office hours redundant for some LL management … maybe that’s the plan?

The new governance office hours have certainly taken the sting out of Robin Linden’s office hour and anyone who has attended a non technical office hour surely can’t have missed the fact that very little gets said during that hour. People typing away with different agendas, criss-crossing questions and very little time for a specific answer. Continue reading “Just Who Are The Second Life Press?”

November 9, 2007January 12, 2014

RL Store With SL Attitude

On a trip to Vegas I decided to buy the missus some lingerie from Victoria Secret to return home with as I hadn’t won the jackpot on the slots at MGM. The pleasant shop assistant tried to help me as we made gestures with our hands about the size and shape of the person whom I was buying for (in case sizes were different in America). The upshot being that we were both pointing at her breasts to try and come to an understanding. Ah, awkwardness.

There’s always awkwardness when I visit a RL lingerie store. You know, she goes to the changing room and I wait patiently, head down wishing for a sign above my head saying “My missus is in the changing room …honest!”. Sometimes another guy will be there, you pass the understanding nod at each other and keep your eyes on the ground, before the female other half appears and gives you the “Don’t be so silly” frown. Continue reading “RL Store With SL Attitude”

November 5, 2007January 12, 2014

Is Bad News The Only News Worth Reporting?

As the platform grows, then so does the attention drawn to scams, theft and dishonesty. The amateur hour, the wild west, is drawing to a close with closer scrutiny on all aspects of our presence here.

Ginko caused waves, other banks are bankrupt, people are out of pocket and the media are looking for muck to rake. At the same time, Linden Lab are looking at financial institutions in SL. They probably always are to be honest, but it would appear that the ability to open up your business and sell it as a bank, will in the future require some sort of RL liabilities and credentials.

This of course has implications for all aspects of business within Second Life, otherwise Wake Student Magazine may be looking to dish dirt on you. Continue reading “Is Bad News The Only News Worth Reporting?”