Voleur part 2: Interview with Voleur/Evangeline
by Alphaville Herald on 24/11/03 at 3:19 pm
Urizenus: Let’s start with whether you have anything to say about the article [“‘Voleur’means thief” published in the aphaville herald].
Evangeline: i dont like the whole situation with granny, fruitcake lady etc. why do people think i am them?
Urizenus: they are friends of yours?
Evangeline: they are friends but so are many others
Urizenus: do you have any other sims?
Evangeline: -snowhite and i swear that is it… thats all…it think its very silly how if someone does something wrong right away they think its me
Evangeline: but i would like to get the truth out that i dont have other sims
Urizenus: another question is whether there is only one typist for Evangeline
Evangeline: u mean one person behind the sim
Urizenus: yes
Evangeline: yes only lil old me
Urizenus: and you used to be Voleur
Evangeline: yes
Urizenus: anyone before that?
Evangeline: look up merrill…u will see my founder account Roxy merrill, tori merrill and possibly dorian
Evangeline: they are all expired play test
Urizenus: ic
Evangeline: i dont have any real account ecept for snowhite and Van
Urizenus: Van?
Evangeline: Evangeline
Evangeline: i dont like evan or Eva
Urizenus: understandable
Urizenus: you are a guy in rl no?
Evangeline: well as for r/l i would like to say that anything i put on realsims is a lie..i dont like to get involved with real life because i feel it takes away from my sim character
Urizenus: so this is r/p for you
Evangeline: i believe all we should be treated by is sims life not by real life
Evangeline: i could be sick (god forbid) and then people would treat me differently in tso
Evangeline: thats just an example
Urizenus: ic, do you like being the villain in alpha?
Evangeline: in r/l there will always be a villain and im glad i can fulfill that in TSO
Urizenus: let me put it this way…
Urizenus: a lot of MMORPGs have dragons and things to generate conflict. tso has precious little of that. Do you see yourself as adding that kind of service to the game?
Evangeline: yes…without me in the game i think it would grow old…now players can feel like they have some sort of “mission” rather than to just skill…
Urizenus: but it might be objected that you are principally creating problems for newbies who may not want that kind of game
Urizenus: or I should say “taking advantage of” newbies
Evangeline: i dont pay 10$ a month to care about others..theres a sucker born every minute
Urizenus: it is worth pointing out I suppose, that newbies get a much rougher time of if in EQ
Evangeline: EQ?
Urizenus: EverQuest
Evangeline: yes…sometimes you gotta learn…i use to have to work hard..i opened the first cyber sex in TSO oct.11, 2002 and my girls and i worked hard to make money..we didnt even have love beds back then but i still went to number 1
Evangeline: back then 200k was alot
Urizenus: Do you make a significant amount of simoleans by scamming newbies? or is it just for the game.
Evangeline: im very rich and it tends to get boring..thats why i enjoy refurnishing my home or redecorating..i hope user created objects will come out soon
Urizenus: agreed on that last point. That would really save the game.
Urizenus: or help
Urizenus: but how much can you make by scamming?
Evangeline: the most ive made out of 1 deal,and thats just 1 is about 1 mill i think 500k
Evangeline: dont get me wrong..the funny thing is you can come to my property and recieve money
Evangeline: if you really do what u must do without asking questions or complaining you will get money
Evangeline: i hate people who pm [personal message] me
Evangeline: and dont read signs
Urizenus: so let’s talk in the abstract a sec…
Urizenus: if someone set up a dedicated newbie scamming operation. How much income could they get per week?
Evangeline: oh wow
Evangeline: hmmmmmm
Evangeline: well depending on the number of roomies
Urizenus: yah
Evangeline: between money trades,10k’s and other things
Urizenus: and mushy pumpkins…
Evangeline: you could easily get in 500k-1mil at the lowest…
Urizenus: per week
Evangeline: per day 500k but it depends on how long ur on
Urizenus: How much do you think *you* and your roomies make per week in scams
Evangeline: sometimes roomies do money trades and can easily make at least 2 mil a week if we all combined our money
Evangeline: money trades we usually get 400k or 500k trades
Urizenus: by money trades what do you mean here?
Evangeline: i would like this ON the record that i do not work alone…i have followers and not other sims..
Evangeline: there was a house in TC started because of me, many people thought it was me but i did not know anything about it
Urizenus: ok, but are we talking trading scams?
Evangeline: i dont like to use the word scam but i will say that somehow the money never makes it to the owner
Urizenus: You seem to be concerned that your associates get their share of credit…
Urizenus: you wanna name them or leave them anonymous for now
Evangeline: my associates change identities many times..i for one dont like that, i stick to 1 sim thats it. no recreating constantly
Urizenus: ic, it helps with the visitor bonus on your property too I expect
Evangeline: but yes i think people should be more open to the idea that there are many people out there who admire me and like that perspective of the game and want a part in it
Evangeline: visitor bonus is all from angry people loitering and screaming on my lot
Evangeline: not from new visitors but old ones
Urizenus: and you like that?
Evangeline: i ask myself this question,”why r they here if they hate you?”
Evangeline: they answer “to warn others” lol
Urizenus: And you are laughing your way to the simbank.
Evangeline: do i like it? it doesnt bother me, im the baddest bitch and if they want to stand on my lot and the longer they stay the bigger the bank the bigger the pay
Urizenus: let’s talk about maxis a sec…
Urizenus: I know people are always filing complaints about you with Maxis. what does maxis say to you?
Evangeline: maxis obviously knows who i am since I was mentioned on CNN
Evangeline: the merrill name is a founding family in tso..
Evangeline: maxis has nothing to say
Urizenus: Have they ever warned you?
Urizenus: or suspended you?
Evangeline: if anything they advertise my lot on the news boards when they had them at tso.com
Urizenus: so you have never been suspended or even warned?
Evangeline: for cursing,yes. but thats it ..thats why when you get to my lot i never curse..ive learned to say meaner things like “ugly” “wart” “pissworm”
Urizenus: lol
Evangeline: i guess since im smart with not using foul language i get mistaken as a 12 yr old
Urizenus: why are you banning “ugly sims” and what could that possibly mean?
Evangeline: ugly sims are disgusting..have you seen these faces in TSO..i hate ugly,serious people. If you are ugly or serious you get booted as soon as you walk in…if you are ugly you must wear a helmet from the hat rack. I have pictures of sims in helmets in my office..do u want to use the pictures for ur article?
Urizenus: naw, we are trying to go picture free for now. It’s part of my campaign against eye candy
Evangeline: ok but as i said i get the occasional “image whores” at my lot
Evangeline: i find it disgusting when fat faces or those bears come to my lot
Evangeline: why would anyone chose to be a bear
Urizenus: I see what you mean about the bears
Evangeline: they have no clothes or anything
Urizenus: yah, get them some bear clothes…
Evangeline: also hats and glasses are so ugly..you cant take them off when u sleep or swim..you look like an asshole
Urizenus: yes, some people keep two sims for that. One hatted and one unhatted
Evangeline: thats why theres a board that says whats ugly and not. Its my home and i can allow who i want in it
Urizenus: but is this part of the game or do you genuinely have issues with hats and bear heads?
Evangeline: i think they’re ugly in general..i wear hats and can take them off in r/l if thats what u mean
Evangeline: i used hotel erotica as a stepping stone, i used to be a no one in this game but i worked my way to the top
Evangeline: my girls worked hard..i only hired real cyber sex girls..none of that “oh baby” crap
Urizenus: “real cyber sex girls” You mean with experience in other domains?
Evangeline: cyber girls who are descriptive
Evangeline: and sell their pussy in the open not in a PM
Evangeline: and as far as mia wallace..ssg has nothing on me after i wiped out the bitch and exposed them on my website www.geocities.com/tsofgp
Urizenus: who’s mia wallace?
Evangeline: mia wallace is history now
Evangeline: and so is SSG..they tore down my hotel a while back last year
Evangeline: biggest mistake
Urizenus: so much going on here…
Urizenus: um let’s do ssg and then cybersex
Urizenus: (you got time for this?)
Evangeline: yes
Urizenus: ok, what’s your take on ssg?
Evangeline: ssg started because of myself….mia wallace was on number 1 romance lot but when hotel erotica made it to the top and stayed she began pming me and talking shit. I would not do what she wanted so she had people tear down my home. thats when the ssg started because i came after everyone and they wanted to form a group against me.
Evangeline: i got mia wallace back left her homeless and deadbroke
Urizenus: how did they tear down your place? You let one in as a roomie?
Evangeline: yes undercover she was
Evangeline: and back then there were no build permissions
Urizenus: who was the mole
Evangeline: she doesnt play now i don’t think. neither does mia wallace and the ssg has basically fallen apart
Urizenus: I dunno, it seems pretty big to me.
Urizenus: Radio station, a couple communities and all
Evangeline: what i mean is no power
Evangeline: what can they do
Urizenus: tag
Evangeline: basically its a group of losers
Evangeline: *yawn*
Urizenus: does anyone have power?
Evangeline: no and they think they do
Evangeline: no one has power in this game
Urizenus: what about the charges that you hacked mia wallaces account
Evangeline: i thought u didnt know who mia wallace was?
Urizenus: I didn’t (I have an ssg person in another window)
Evangeline: as far as that goes i played her…she contacted me out of game and i fed her a story about how i was a young kid..
Evangeline: HE fell for it
Evangeline: found about them and the password was the name of the hotel where they worked
Urizenus: ah ic
Evangeline: its their mistake for contacting me out of game
Urizenus: so did you trash her hotel
Evangeline: i fucked them both in the face
Urizenus: I’ll take that as a yes.
Evangeline: trash them?
Evangeline: nah not my style
Urizenus: so what did you do specifically?
Evangeline: THEY HAD NO HOME TOOK ALL THERE MONEY LEFT THEM WITH A 1 SQUARE LOT AND DODGED THAT BITCH
Urizenus: where is mia now?
Evangeline: left the bitch unretired so she could suffer
Evangeline: off to the “starwars galaxy”
Urizenus: ic, and she opened an SSG chapter there?
Evangeline: haha yes
Evangeline: couldnt take it here so HE ran to another galaxy
Evangeline: it was a husband wife duo
Evangeline: but as far as my game im happy in it
Evangeline: im popular, rich and a number 1 lot in a category
Urizenus: how about we wrap it there for the day
Urizenus: we can do more interviews in the future
Urizenus: like on the love hotel stuff
Evangeline: please correct the problems with me being other sims in this article
Urizenus: will do
Evangeline: have fun and remember im the baddest bitch
Candace
Nov 24th, 2003
What can a person say after reading this (and of course seeking medical attention for anything vital that ruptured as a result of profuse laughter)? I guess most people want a shot at their 15 minutes of fame, however they can get it. My first take on it is that whoever is behind “Evangeline” doesn’t take this seriously (rather unfortunate for people who do and might run into her, perhaps). Scamming people is his/her racket and if Maxis is indifferent (I’m not sure they have a pulse), then little can be done. You know, while being amusing, it’s very hard to make any assessment based on this (because of my assumption that Evangeline is not taking this seriously)— yet, that fact (that no real assessment can be made) is in itself important. I think this takes us to something bigger than you, me or “Evangeline”…
Part of the deal w/ any game (in some situations, an immense difficulty) is that we don’t know who is behind the character and what r/l goals they have. Not knowing those facts, how do we balance (or even get a proper view of) the relationship between a r/l person and his/her character? “Evangeline” could be someone outrageously seeking attention, as it comes off above, but whomever it really is has a real motivation. (In that sense, it’s not really correct to assume Evangeline doesn’t take this seriously; in fact, given the amount of time he or she devoted to creating this character, I assume the r/l person behind “Evangeline” has some motivation, deep or frivolous as it may be, that is important to the individual). Is Evangeline created for the purpose of furthering any or none of the following r/l reasons: 1.) the attention itself is really important to this person and that’s it, 2.) acting what would be deemed in r/l “immoral” fulfills some need or is in line w/ his/her real views, 3.) to identify as many “suckers” as possible because that in itself is gratifying or maybe because he/she wants to research that in this environment, or most paradoxically, consider 4.) to actually irritate people in the game to such an extent that Maxis is forced to change it’s policy and make such actions less likely to occur. Who is to say? What a funky bit this interview is…nice job Uri.
Stormy@CC
Nov 24th, 2003
im from CC but I do visit diffrent cities from time to time. When visiting this sims home i was smacked for having a “fat face”…in this sims own words “i hate serious people”
urizenus
Nov 24th, 2003
I have to say that Evangeline reminds me A LOT of Mr. Bungle, in the old days on LambdaMOO. See Julian Dibbell’s classic essay on that event:
http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle.html
Candace
Nov 25th, 2003
Oh yeah, anyone interested in this issue should check out Dibbell’s article: it’s a classic. Mr. Bungle used a little known feature (what was it, some so-called “voodoo” thing?)to control other characters in vulgar and graphic sexual ways. (Incidentally, I remember that the student behind this resurfaced too as another character but was only mildly annoying).
What strikes me, though, between the two is that the LambdaMOO though much older than something like TSO was in a way far more progressive. They decided to hold a community meeting to decide what to do w/ the notorious Mr. Bungle. Later I think they instituted some voting measures. It was handled in a majority democractic fashion. Is that a good thing? Should communities such as TSO have guidelines that the community could vote that an individual such as “Evangeline” be terminated? That leads to some crazy thought. Such a proposal doesn’t appeal to me as an individual. I don’t want a majority reigning the minority (and of course, given that TSO is a game people pay to play, I wouldn’t think the parent company would be interested in losing members this way unless they could compensate for it by drawing together a large, faithful growing community). It’s a trippy thought though, and there is an interesting parallel between the cases nonetheless.
Peter Ludlow
Nov 25th, 2003
Candace, the only thing that made LambdaMOO progressive was the fact that a system of petitions and grievances was instituted by wizzardly fiat (by Haakkon). It is also worth noting that the experiment in democracy did not last and Lambda returned to a system of wizzardly fiat (see the discussion and documents in my Crypto Anarcy, Cyberstates, and Pirate Utopias). To effect the same thing here we would need Maxis to institute some structural changes. That isn’t likely to happen and I’m not sure that’s the best route in any case. I think indigenous movements like Sims Shadow Government have a much better chance of being effective even if they are not democratic. (SSG is more like an aristocracy, which, in the short run, may be a necessary first step towards something more democratic.)
Candace
Nov 25th, 2003
I certainly agree that Maxis shows a lack of capacity to even communicate, let alone create such a structure. The larger issue is interesting though. I agree that I wouldn’t like such a system (my worry is majority dominance). Yet, what can groups like SSG do? Tag People…is that a big deal? I’ve never understood that. I’m sure some people would simply pride themselves on the number of enemies they’ve made. Talking about booting someone out of the entire community seems a much more serious idea (though not, as I’ve stated, necessarily the best route). I’ve heard the name SSG thrown about but I don’t see their power. Maybe someone can tell me what the do? (Or perhaps this would violate their “shadowy” element……all the same, I don’t see how it works).
Peter Ludlow
Nov 25th, 2003
ok, here’s the idea, which really only came to me when Clay Shirkey was talking at The State of Play. Because common areas don’t exist on TSO, it is possible for users to band together and ban troublesome users from every meaninful location in TSO. That is, a small group of people located in key properties could ensure that a user is banned from all the main skill properties, all the main money properties, all the main entertainment properties etc. Now of course this doesn’t ban the person from the game but it banishes them to the margins of sim society. Living there you can still intercept newbies, but only if you can find a way to keep your property highly ranked in the Welcome category (ala Evangeline). So a group like SSG is potentially very powerful, even without applying a single tag.
Candace
Nov 25th, 2003
Wow; yeah….that’s a simple one that I didn’t get. I see how that could work through group effort; it’s the collective power of “ban.” Gotcha, and thank you for turning the light bulb on in my tiny little cranium.
Peter Ludlow
Nov 26th, 2003
Wait ’til you see my interview with Snow White (I’ll post it later today). Ban is used a couple times a week already. SSG already does (or does claim to) have control over the main skill and money houses, so that a troublesome user can be banned to the periphery with one word from snow.