Cambot Races, Doo-Da, Doo-Da
by prokofy on 17/01/07 at 9:09 am
By Prokofy Neva, Dept. of Bot-Watchers and Alien Look-outs
Bots treading Linden water outside of Emerald Falls Casino, which has been forced to ban unverifieds.
With apologies to Stephen Foster.
Campbot zombies sing this song
Doo-da, doo-da
Libsl can do no wrong
Oh, de doo-da day
Gwine to run all night
Gwine to run all day
Bet my money on OS SL
Somebody bet on Croquet
Oh, the Lin-den staff and the script-kiddie sorts
Doo-da, doo-da
Come to a bug hole and they all file reports
Oh, de doo-da day
(chorus)
I went down there with W-hat breakin’ in,
Doo-da, doo-da
Came back home with a million Lin-dens
Oh, de doo-da day
(chorus)
The Campbots have seriously become a problem for SL’s booming casino business. We had reported late last year about the invasion of Emerald Falls Casino and Games in Pruni by a bunch of bots with Greek names — they appeared to subside.
But Emerald Falls co-owner Clarrice Cinquetti reports the bots are back in full force, arriving constantly in large batches. At least two other casino owners have reported to the Herald that they, too, have been invaded by massive numbers of bots, who respawn as soon as they are ejected and banned, forcing them to close their land to unverified accounts with “no payment on file”. The move has effectively cut cash-strapped newbies — the target audiences for casinos and their ubiquitous camp-chairs and dance-pads — from being able to go to venues willing to aid them and provide game help, socializing, and a chance to win on the slots.
Last Sunday, Clarrice teleported me to a disturbing tableau by the elaborate fantasy bridge and working railroad tracks she built in Pruni. Dozens of bots were rezzing on adjacent Linden land, unable to enter her property, which they had been programmed to invade, now that it was set to ban unverifieds. The zombies were falling into the water, flopping around, and then finally logging off — only to be replaced by new bots. Her efforts to stop the bot-bunching had led her to purchase some nearby land at an outrageously high price — but Linden land was still open to be exploited.
Efforts to communicate with the new arrivals falling into the water proved fruitless; although they were decked out in their finest party gear and had plenty of groups and activities on their profiles, not a single one of the dozens of new, unverified accounts responded to IMs.
I also checked the list of bots from her first invasion — they all appear to have “live people” running them now with elaborate profiles and picks and comments. When I wrote to some of them, they did not reply.
Many of the bots had a comment about being Belgian, and hoping to “get rich quick”. Most had a group title of some kind on their heads to make them look authentic — various Lucky Chair groups or favourite VPs in sex clubs and casinos.
Among the clump in Pruni is one avatar, Tester Anvil, who has been reported by several sources who have observed his profile over time to have been a member of libsecondlife. He was the only bot tied to the controversial group, which has been reverse-engineering the client with the Lindens’ approval, some of whose members have run away with files like the notorious CopyBot program, and the means to make mega prims.
Summoned to the scene by distraught casino owners, Harry Linden, the liaison on duty, appeared to eject some of the bots clumping up in piles on the Linden land, but then took no further action — the bots reappeared minutes later. When I asked Harry if he could explain what was going on, he said, “No Comment.”
Libsecondlife leaders, also asked repeatedly about the Campbot operations, have also not had any comment.
The bots are said to be draining casinos of millions of Lindens. That constitutes theft, say casino operators, who are angry that their businesses, tolerated within Second Life for years, are being shaken down now without any apparent action by LL.
There may simply not be any TOS violation as such that covers the creation and programming of bots to go and sit on camp chairs and drain out the cash intended to be spent elsewhere in SL. While loathed by a vocal segment of SL, the camp-chair establishments not only bring profits to casino owners, they feed vendors of skin, clothing, and furniture who take advantage of casino traffic to sell their wares. While the Lindens long ago abandoned their “starter fluid” concept for SL, where stipends of at least $50 used to be given even to free accounts, along with other subsidities like rating points, today only the camp-chair, dance-pad, and other pay-outs simulating house-painting, lawn-mowing, and gardening are providing the kickstart needed for many entering SL.
Linden liaisons come on to the scene
Doo-dah, doo-dah
“No Comment” — “No Action” is what they mean
Oh, de doo-dah day
Gwine to run all day
Gwine to run all night
Bet my money on OS SL
Somebody bet on Croquet
Liberated bots log on to the land
Doo-dah, doo-dah
Banning “no-payment” defeats their command
Oh, de doo-da day
(chorus)
See those bots steal casinos blind
Doo-da, doo-da
They do the crime but they don’t do the time,
Oh, de doo-da day.
(chorus)
I win my money on OS SL
Doo-dah, doo-dah
Who made the bots Lindens never do tell
Oh, de doo-dah day
(chorus)
Prokofy Neva
Jan 19th, 2007
Artemis, as I’ve written at length on my blog and on forums, the concept that the money tree is a clean way of helping newbies, but camping chairs are a dirty way, is one of those fallacies and fakes that the FIC reserve for their own use.
Money trees rez dollars on a schedule, and that means they force avatars to remain on a parcel to keep grabbing them. They are absolutely no different than any other camp-type object. They also force people to shop, as they collect dollars, fly around see games or vendors, and then pay into them some of their free dollars. So oldbies and FIC using these money trees is the fake notion that they are altruistic are absolutely no different than a camp chair owner. I use a money tree to be able to have a loss leader — to see the new names and new potential customers to whom I can send a rate card about my rentals. A percentage of those who get the cards, which they get not as “spam” but after they have fed off my money tree, then rent a parcel. Or they might fly around and buy from some of the people selling things in my mall. I don’t try to sugar coat what it is: a loss-leader. If it helps some newbies get started, fine, but I’ve reduced mine now down to one that I can keep an eye on because it is periodically invaded by bots and alts.
Macphisto, my, you *are* an ass. Just as you reserve the right to bang on me in forums all over, I reserve the right to answer back and cite you in an argument. When I saw you and your partner come in and rent a cheap stall in a place that didn’t really have any huge traffic *right around the time* that I was also invaded on several parcels by SC griefers who strew giant flexiprim dicks all around and other obscene penising objects, I naturally came to the justifiable conclusion that you, as an SC regular, are up to some kind of trouble as a scout or something. When I also saw that the objects in your rental were deliberately deeded to the group, which is the exploit that W-Hat uses to invade a group’s prims with the tubgirl scripts, I had to conclude that there really was something up.
If this is a false conclusion, shoot me, it’s a *justifiable* conclusion. I didn’t evict you. I asked you kindly to move on. There are a zillion rentals in SL with a zillion more high-trafficked places, so settling in on my little boardwalk is a red flag. If it’s just an accident or a coincidence, like I said, shoot me, and then run and tell all and whine and cry on SC as that apparently floats your boat.
Macphisto Angelus
Jan 19th, 2007
>>Macphisto, my, you *are* an ass. Just as you reserve the right to bang on me in forums all over, I reserve the right to answer back and cite you in an argument.< <
OK, since you were so blinded by your hate for a group that you were not listening to me as an individual yesterday I will put this here. This so that you may read it and hopefully understand it.
Nowhere have I banged on you in forums all over. You said to me yesterday I grief your events and hound you endlessly on forums.
Before yesterday I never had a single conversation with you at any length. I have never IMd you, emaild you from a blog link, PMd you or anything. Frankly Prok it is pretty silly that you think you are something I am interested in chasing on forums. Now.. why would I do the unthinkable and respond to ideas raised on a blog? Yeah, that is a sick thing to do. Prok.. in one blog post you talked about the Ashcroft legal stuff. This interested me from when he came to the forum I mod at (sl-forums.com) and now that he is thinking of influencing the grid with ideals I responded on your blog post that I didn't like the idea. Even offering a link to when he started talking about it. You responded there with a yeah, I saw that. Now when you post a blog ideal and leave comments I assume I am not talking to YOU Prok.. but a group of people that are reading the post and responding. That may be hard to understand since you have a fixation that everyone is preoccupied with you.
As for your inworld events you had a discussion on LL's new griefer tools I think it was listed so I went. There I joined your second thoughts group to be reminded of other discussions. I went to about three the last one being about the legal tools (again something I was keeping an eye on) I only went because it was topics of interest to me.. not because it was your event. Not one time at these events did I disrupt or even speak rudely to you or anyone. I offered very little comment even as I listening to learn as I usually do discussions. There was another event that was held about the IBM build. That was interesting to me and I went. I did not see you there, but there was a host that I can still point to the chat log about that seemed to single me out when all I was doing was telling some loud mouth that kept saying we should move that we should stay. This was to HELP the event host who was struggling with all the other stuff going on. But the host jumped on me (and I didn't even know the host was the host at this time.. I thought it was just a person trying to help). I said a few things back to him (you know.. push back and all) and after being told this was not the event for me I made a comment and left. Nothing overly rude and nothing griefing AT ALL. I later find out this person was YOU in an alt. Verified the next day with you cut and pasting most of the chat log on your own blog (someone linked it for me as I wasn't even a reader of your blog much then). Most of my conversation had been left out but no matter.. it was no big deal I just thought it was over the top to single me out.
This brings me to this thread. You brought up a subject I am concered with.. camp chairs. I had opinions on that and expressed them. You did not agree with my opinion so somewhere up there you jumped on it and said I was talking like a church lady and making all sorts of assumptions on me despising new players for using them. I answered back on that. Shortly after I get an IM out of the blue from you. It was very confusing, but I figured you were doing some ravenglass work so I told you what you wanted. The next thing I start getting told to leave the group, questioned on my motives for being there, etc etc etc.
>>When I saw you and your partner come in and rent a cheap stall in a place that didn’t really have any huge traffic *right around the time* that I was also invaded on several parcels by SC griefers who strew giant flexiprim dicks all around and other obscene penising objects, I naturally came to the justifiable conclusion that you, as an SC regular, are up to some kind of trouble as a scout or something. When I also saw that the objects in your rental were deliberately deeded to the group, which is the exploit that W-Hat uses to invade a group’s prims with the tubgirl scripts, I had to conclude that there really was something up.< <
OK, My partner is my real life wife. She did not mean to deed stuff to your group. She was surprised when you sent an IM for her to fix it and we went over and found that all her items she was selling were deeded. The only thing we could figure out was that she copy a rack from our home shope where the items were deeded to our business to her inventory.. then set them out on your prop with her ravenglass tag. I have NO idea if that will auto deed the stuff again to the ravenglass prop, but that was all we could come up with as a reason. So, it was fixed right away and I told her good thing you told her. Problem solved.
As for the timing of an attack.. I can see that as a red flag. You kept grilling me on why I took a small stall with low traffic and that it wasn't worth my time.. SL is huge after all. I tried to tell you my reasons, but you didn't as you said "buy it". We are a small business and I am putting vendors up around to promote sells for us. I went to the fishing contest place and looked up and noticed you had a rental stall free right across from it. I figured if I noticed the spot surely others would too. So I rented the spot. Especially since the fee was very very reasonable compared to what I was used to around. So there is your reason coupled with the fact I heard you were a great renter and figured you to run your place efficiently. A 40L or whatever it was a week fee was a good gamble.. and it worked. We sold about three things there that paid already for all your fees I paid up front. You saw it as a hole in the wall with low traffic.. from my view over at the fishing place and in evidence of our sells it was better then that for us. Unfortunate that an attack occured around that time.. but I had NOTHING to do with it. Your mindset is if someone is in X group then they are Y type person. That is your way.. but I can tell you right now it is not the fact. Live by the sword, die by the sword was pretty much the end of your comments to me in IM. That and that if one griefer attack happened you would evict me right then. Well who is gonna stay in a place where the owner is saying that? You made it clear my crime was being a Second Citizen forum regular.
>>If this is a false conclusion, shoot me, it’s a *justifiable* conclusion.< <
As I tried to tell you yesterday.. it is TOTALLY wrong. I even gave you a reference for someone I believe you respect to verify I am not a trouble maker or griefer. I agree that it is a *justifiable* conclusion as I told you yesterday you have been through a lot with griefers and I understood that.
>>I didn’t evict you. I asked you kindly to move on. There are a zillion rentals in SL with a zillion more high-trafficked places, so settling in on my little boardwalk is a red flag. < <
No, you didn't evict me. But the things you said to me and the way you accused me of stuff were far from kindly asking me to move on. Nobody in a right frame of mind would continue to rent from you with the things you said and especially the last comments about if ever there is a griefing. That just told me that if you AR people for a grief attack I would be on your list. Who needs that hassle?
>>If it’s just an accident or a coincidence, like I said, shoot me, and then run and tell all and whine and cry on SC as that apparently floats your boat.<<
It is accident, coincidence and you are totally wrong about all you said. But whatever.. I moved on and you won’t ever have to worry about me renting from you, responding on your blog posts (unless my name is there and I find it worth the effort) and I SURE AS HELL don’t find it worth the time to “whine and cry” on SC. Again.. you make an assumption that it would float my boat. There was ample oppurtunity if I were the type to post a chat log, start a thread and say nobody on SC should rent from Ravenglass because of this. I didn’t. The only reason I bring it up now is because you addressed it.
Macphisto Angelus
Jan 19th, 2007
Some of my post didnt make the transistion.
In the second or third paragraph it should say this:
I offered very little comment even as I was listening to learn, as I usually do in discussions.
Prokofy Neva
Jan 19th, 2007
Macphisto, take a chill pill, seriously.
Regarding the “event griefing,” on my alt, in another meeting, you were not helpful. You weren’t the main griefer of that event, but you were also obstructive. It’s not worth reciting the entire story here.
I don’t care that you make comments on my Herald stories. Make them all you want, write as viciously as you wish, it’s all allowed. My contacting you inworld is not *about* these comments, it’s about your renting from me out of the blue after arguing with me on forums AND also being an active member of SC. It’s a red flag given that my communities have been repeatedly, deliberately, and savagely attacked by a concerted griefing group of SC regs, and they join the group in order to perform these attacks. So if you are angry about being somehow “confused” with this griefing group, ask yourself WHY you continue to remain on SC. Suffer the consequences.
I did not accuse you of a goddamn thing. I said that renting from me after a series of attacks; deeding things to the group; and attacking me on forums — these all together form a pattern that’s legitimately suspicious to me. And I asked you nicely enough to move on. That’s not an accusation, as I explained my reasoning in full. It’s not like I’ve deprived you of an outlet for your wife’s items to be sold, she has a million more venues with way more sales.
My rentals are not holes in the wall. I said that in and of itself, the boardwalk didn’t have much traffic but it was being next to the fishing game that worked. Depends on the kind of thing you’re selling. But whatever sales you got that way, given that even the fishing game isn’t some stellar high traffic place, are dwarfed by the many other rentals out there.
It seems unfair to come under a cloud of suspicion, eh? Very unpleasant, I realize. But take the consequences of your actions. You’ve decided to be an active poster and join in the gang of griefers of Second Citizen. So accept the reality that you will be indeed tarred with the same brush.
Yes, your crime is being a member of SC. I’m sorry if you are in an accidental crossfire, but when there is a group of people actively, viciously, methodically, determined to grief me in SL and RL daily, in a hundred ways, I fight back. If you don’t like it, move on. SL is a big place.
People can’t join griefing forums filled with griefers and obscene assholes and then suddenly begin beating their breasts and saying, oh Prok, I’m so poetic and sensitive, please treat me as an individual.
Urizenus
Jan 19th, 2007
SC full of griefers? Prok, I think you are failing to distinguish griefers from loozahs and haters.
Prokofy Neva
Jan 19th, 2007
Urizenus, um, let me bring you up to speed, as you obviously never read SC anymore:
o SC is now filled with Gene Replacement and all the other banned W-Hats who yes, keep coming back on alts and yes, keep crashing the grid, spreading self-replicating objects, etc. etc. Hey, you had a chance to make a citizens’ arrest, and you didn’t.
o SC also got up a posse deliberately — the transcript was sent to me by someone within the group — to plan to deliberately go around to my rentals and grief me. Led by Lektor Hannibal and other SC regs, the group put giant, flexiprim penises around, along with all the other obscene pensing stuff, upsetting my tenants and causing one to move out and others to file abuse reports. Lektor did this apparently because I hadn’t banned him from my blog.
o Regularly, on SC, in about 3-4 threads, this gang of goons publish my RL address, phone number, speeches from my jobs, even ridiculous reports about claiming to see me on the streets of NY. This *is* griefing Uri. You may find it humorous; I don’t.
Urizenus
Jan 19th, 2007
I tried to arrest Mr. Replacement, but then, wouldn’t you know it, *I’m* the one who got in trouble; something about impersonating a Mountie. Freakin’ communists up there…
Just a thought
Jan 19th, 2007
:Yawn: More baseless accusations …..
Jesus Christ, if every single group and organization out there were judged with such broad sweeping generalizations why each and every one of them would be treated as utter trash: This includes all Government offices everywhere, the military force of every nation, each and every police force out there, every civilian office, group or other such, hell the whole of Humanity.
Hate to break it to you, but considering the fact that there aren’t that many people who see the world that way I’d say it’s about time you came out of the dark ages and realized that a Person is not to be judged by any group or other such they may be with but rather as an individual.
Quite frankly you’d flip out if someone flipped the coin the other way and started posting such vile crap about all the groups you have started or belong to. No matter who it is, doing such is just plain childish.
Harleen Gretzky
Jan 20th, 2007
BTW, there is not need for “anti-idlers” even for live avatars. Ever since the Debug menu was replaced by the Client and Server menus, there has been a Client menu option that completely turns off idle timeout, without the use of any scripts.
The latest Campbots I have seen are running a program called GhettoSL, they are grey and textureless, and commands are given to it from the command line on your PC. They also are able to set their home to anywhere, so if you TP them home, they pop right back up.
clarrice cinquetti
Jan 20th, 2007
ghettosl
C# console interface for SecondLife
This program utilizes libsecondlife for connecting to and performing several basic functions in SecondLife.
easy enough to google…
Artemis Fate
Jan 20th, 2007
Macphisto, don’t worry about it. Prok has mental problems, and has a hard time distinguishing people from groups of people. He often makes hasty generalizations about people based on groups they’re in or forums they frequent: As we see above, because Second Citizen has some W-hat members, he now characterizes the entire forum as a place for griefer discussion, and anyone who posts or a member of it an active griefer. It’s impossible to dissuade him otherwise (or for that matter, dissuade him of ANYTHING at all) because his mentally twisted conspiracy-filled world-view doesn’t allow for compromises.
It’s really fairly obvious, because you can never see Prokofy criticizing something he doesn’t like without connecting it to an imaginary FIC shadow government, a socialist plot, or an griefer group, even though no one else is able to see these connections.
Ordinal Malaprop
Jan 20th, 2007
Interesting. I see the ghettosl client even has a specific “camp” command, hah. I wish I had enough time to learn the language really.
It doesn’t change any of the conclusions I’ve come to though.
Ordinal Malaprop
Jan 20th, 2007
And can somebody in the Herald please fix this italic tag? Are you all bots?