Power to the SLitizens!: Here Come the SL Anarchists!
by Alphaville Herald on 25/03/07 at 1:07 pm
The Second Life Anarchists, also known as the Durruti Group (after Spanish anarchist Buenaventura Durruti) have a cause and they have a manifesto (reprinted below the fold). But my favorite part of the manifesto is the following parenthetical remark:
While we laud LL for their foresight, and technical achievement in bringing SL to be, and find it hard to fault their stewardship of this world to date, we would argue that their management and interference in the goings on here are no longer appropriate nor required. We are sure that they’re now able to retire to their virtual beach huts and mansions in the knowledge that their technical and managerial skills have allowed them to turn a hobby and a dream into a reality for millions with the potential to expand in directions and to extremes barely imagined by it’s creators. These skills and the reputation that they were the creators of a whole world, no less, will also, we believe, enable them to live the rest of their lives at a level of opulence unknowable to 95% of this worlds inhabitants. Well done LL, you are free to retire now.
We look forward to covering the future manifestos and adventures of this group in the august pages of the ever vigilant Herald.
–Uri
The SLA Manifesto
Who we are…
This is an open manifesto, meaning it is open to editing by all and any of the SLA’s members with agreement from two others.
(This document was last altered on Feb 26th 2007 by Hanako Nakamura)
SLanarchy (The Durruti Group) is a loose federation of sovereign individuals who share some of their many and various beliefs.
We have come into being as a result of a number of events and situations. Some of us came here from the Do not Buy Land Campaign, others from one or other of the ‘established’ Left wing groups, yet others from other Anarchy groups, the anti FNSL movement and some who just walked in off the street. The feeling amongst us is that we are approaching a critical point here in SL which will soon define its social direction and fabric. We’d like to have some say about that, and feel that we need to do so with some urgency.
Some of the ideas that we hold in common are listed below. There are probably others, but we’ll stick to these for now.
We, the members of SLanarchy, believe that while SL should not be mistaken for reality, there are similarities which can be drawn. We also believe that some of these similarities should be adopted for use here and others rejected. Let’s put it this way: This is Second Life…, not Real Life 2.
While we are happy to see that many aspects of SL are extremely anarchistic, we believe in a social system with even more minimal (note we didn’t say ‘zero’) rules or restrictions. Were this RL, we would probably be arguing for a total ban on money and personal property. However, as SL has to exist within RL (like it or not) we see that for some strange reason, many require an incentive to create and expand this, our world, and that the opportunity to obtain such ‘rewards’ must be offered. It’s a human thing.
We at SLanarchy therefore support the existence of L$, it’s exchange and accumulation. We would, however, like to see this ‘money’ to be based on value added rather than opportunistic speculation which inherently implies the abuse of a privileged position to deprive a fellow SLitizen of the opportunity to purchase at the same price as the speculator paid. Call it “supply and demand” or” luck and determined effort” if you like. We call it ripping people off.
We also believe that supply and demand need not be a factor in a virtual economy, and that supply should never be outstripped by demand as the whole darned thing is virtual, for goodness sakes. Restricted supply is meaningless here. If something is wanted (even if not sometimes), it will be created somewhere. Once created, no more expense is required to knock off another 10 or another million.
The economy here runs like that already in all respects but one. That one is the most crucial of all. Land.
Land is restricted because LL declared it to be so.
Excuse us this digression:
While we laud LL for their foresight, and technical achievement in bringing SL to be, and find it hard to fault their stewardship of this world to date, we would argue that their management and interference in the goings on here are no longer appropriate nor required. We are sure that they’re now able to retire to their virtual beach huts and mansions in the knowledge that their technical and managerial skills have allowed them to turn a hobby and a dream into a reality for millions with the potential to expand in directions and to extremes barely imagined by it’s creators. These skills and the reputation that they were the creators of a whole world, no less, will also, we believe, enable them to live the rest of their lives at a level of opulence unknowable to 95% of this worlds inhabitants. Well done LL, you are free to retire now.
As we were saying:
LL has declared land to be in restricted supply. We at SLanarchy despise this and can’t help but think that whatever they were taking when they made this decision was indeed some bad, bad shit indeed. As discussed a few sentences earlier, we see no need for this artificial lack of ‘supply’. SLanarchy would like to propose that SLitizens are smart enough to create and manage their own worlds now, and call for LL to set free the tools required to embark on this unprecedented opportunity to enable every man, woman and child on the planet, to create their own parcel on this, the next digital frontier. Open the source code for the servers LL. Let us, the Slitizens, take on the burden of responsibility for our own future and the creation there of.
We have other areas of agreement too.
We believe that a certain amount of respect is due the people behind AVs here. Each and every one of them is a human being with a heart, a brain and feelings. We call for recognition of this in people’s behaviour here for all it’s faults. Let’s take a couple of examples for sake of… examples.
Let’s imagine a right-wing racial supremacist decides to expound his ideas here. Well, he should certainly be able to do so. On the other hand, if one were to think that the only way to challenge this person were to spread virtual shit all over their dwelling, we’d support that. You sir, have pissed of your fellow SLitizens. You really should know what the results of your actions are likely to lead to. Self responsibility. No need for regulation here.
SLanarchy believe that what ever forms of protest take place here, whether in the form of “armed” insurrection, metaphorical acts designed to impart an opinion or indeed acts of vandalism, such acts can never be categorised more seriously than graffiti would be in RL. No-one is hurt, no physical property is damaged. The worst that can be said to have happened is that an ego can be bruised.
SLanarchy. Free Land. Free SLife. Freedom of expression.
Power to the SLitizens!
Trevor F. Smith
Mar 25th, 2007
I can just see the signs now: “Linden Lab out of Second Life!”
Nacon
Mar 25th, 2007
finally.. a news to read from.
Inigo Chamerberlin
Mar 25th, 2007
Anarchist’s in SL? News?
But, but, but – some of my best friends here are anarchists…
Wait! Sorry, just realised. These are ORGANISED anarchists! ROTFLMAO! ‘Anarchists’ like Phil’s a ‘Liberal’
They should get on like a house on fire – smoke, flames, screams, people running away…
FlipperPA Peregrine
Mar 25th, 2007
POSSESSION IS THEFT! Or something. Wasn’t there are rather large anarchists group founded already during the great governmental discussions of SL forum life in early 2004? I believe it was quite a big deal and it is still around.
Regards,
-Flip
Nacon
Mar 25th, 2007
oh yeah… this IS old news… my bad.
new flag I guess? bah!
Inigo Chamerberlin
Mar 25th, 2007
PROPERTY is theft Flip
Provoky Never
Mar 25th, 2007
These anarchists are to be roundly condemned!
It’s enablers like Flip and Aimee who are to blame for the existence of nihilistic fucktardery like this in SL.
I mean, just the other day, Aimee bought a package of number 2 pencils at Walgreens and Flipper rode in a car!
Assholes!
Kahni Poitier
Mar 25th, 2007
While I applaud their want to have it all for free, no. I think that land has to be finite, or else it loses all value.
I’m also a believer that there has to be a central core for SL. More to keep a standard than anything. With no standards, and no value to the land, there would be no reason to want to invest anything anymore, and everyone would get on the “I want it free” bandwagon. Which would kill of SL as we know it. It would become a freeware game engine to be based off of, not a place to go anymore.
Why not take it one step further, and make your own little 2nd life. It wouldn’t even have to connect to the first one. and you could compete against it for loggers and money.
We don’t need to fractionalist SL any further. In fact, it’s already feeling strains. Can you imagine the server strains with hundreds of more places all wanting to connect in, and interact with servers that may have entirely different rules or economies.
No way.
Economic Mip
Mar 25th, 2007
You mean if I had written up that notecard when I received it the day after publication (from its creator at the SLLA base camp) I could have gotten into the Herald? I guess I should have taken it more seriously…
Prokofy Neva
Mar 26th, 2007
>These are ORGANISED anarchists!
Only in the chaos and insanity of SL, could you have to stipulate that these are *organized* anarchists ROFL. And everyone will know EXACTLY what you mean!
Anarcho-syndicalists can sometimes be a good thing in RL social movements. Nowadays, some of them still hark back to communist memes, which are anything but anarchic OR syndacalist, and turn violent in anti-globalization demonstrations. While people think of the red and the black as being the most progressive and hardest left, in fact they are profoundly conservative, resisting the tide of democracy and free enterprise and globalization around the world in favour of pastoral and utopian controlled worlds where the “anarcy” is only people’s personal hedonism.
Linden Lab doesn’t need to be turfed out of their own world. But they do need to become more accountable. We tier-payers (not sandboxing anarchists) pay 80 percent of their bottom line. That’s why we need a collective seat on their board, just like venture capitalists.
I was at this very turgid and difficult meeting that the authoritarian Ashcroft staged in Wantfrieswiththat, the socialist sim. An anarchist jumped up on the table, but only after some W-hat griefer jumped up on the table, he missed his cue. He waved his flag around and shouted and most people muted him.
During the period of social awakening in 2004 when the Linden Entity was first challenged by the land baron class and other running dogs of capitalism, and reactionary forces like Lordfly’s Concerned Citizens, anarcho elements were present, but not influential and did not self-organize.
From the ANON ONE
Mar 26th, 2007
**coughs** none of this is real. Wake up NEO!
Lucy Tornado
Mar 26th, 2007
What does “fucktardery” mean? I love the sound of it. If I use it 3 times it will be mine. (at no charge) Stuff in SL is kind of like words…you know?
Inigo Chamerberlin
Mar 26th, 2007
I think you’ll find ‘fucktardry’ is a word used to describe the day to day activities of fucktards…
Therefore the inescapable conclusion is that those guilty of fucktardry are fucktards – simple really.
NOW all we need is a finely tuned descriptive term for those to blame for ‘enabling’ fucktards…
Suggestions here please, there may be a small and utterly useless prize for the winner.
Provoky Never
Mar 26th, 2007
Listen bolshevik, _I_ will define what it means, and it means anything I don;t like or pretend to not like in an attempt to further glorify my name.
I have got to get a wiki entry like Urizenus that portrays me as “one of the 10 most influential gamers of all time”!
So you are condemned! I am not sure exactly what it is you’re condemned to, as I have absolutely zero power over you and LL barely tolerates me, but it makes me sound really tough, kind of like an articulate pro wrestler, so get used to it you pernicious FUCKTARDS! CRIMINALS! THESE ARE REAL CRIMES! You are to be CONDEMNED!
Inigo Chamerberlin
Mar 27th, 2007
Inigo quickly crafts Prok a wiki entry slightly like Uri’s, slips a couple of pills in Prok’s coffee and runs for it
Jesper W.
Mar 27th, 2007
Second Life is not at game. It is, in fact, a simulation. Simulators are operating to provide a realm in which to be, but infinitely more importantly, the users are simulating being, well, people, for better or worse.
Among the things simulated are the mistakes of old and not-so-old, anarchy being one of them – to begin with, what the hey is “organized anarchy”? – and why is it that anarchy only emerges in a system which provides enough backing for the anarchists to exist as such in the first place? (meaning, if all the non-anarchists were not there, the anarchists would not be there either, as there would be no “there”)
Anarchy is a case of sawing off the branch one is sitting upon – this is true in RL, and since SL is a simulation of RL, no less true there. If there were no private property and the other rules anarchy hates, they would be created – if not by a game god, then by the users. Such is mankind, too.
Oh, I live in Copenhagen, Denmark, we just had half the city torn apart by a bunch of anarchists demanding that the society they so don’t want to be a part of GIVE them stuff, or else they would continue to wreak havoc on the property of the same indiviuals whose taxes would be paying for said stuff. Pardon me if I don’t have much patience for this ilk of thinking…
Regarding LL retiring, I’m gonna go ahead and jump on the same band wagon Gwyneth is on (imagine this said in George C. McGinley’s voice) – do you really think the Lindens just flicked a switch and SL was on, and now they’re only fiddling with it to annoy people?
Those guys and girls are working their collective behinds off just to make SL work for another week, all the while taking what I believe is an unfair amount of flak – no, make that flame, about pretty much every aspect of functionality anyone can think of.
I for one would like to see SL still exist in some form this time next year but if LL throw in the towel, or even take a week off, that’ll be all she wrote…I mean, who is going to scale the system to accomodate another 10.000 users pr. day, you? Fat chance.
I’m just sayin’
Jj
Inigo Chamerberlin
Mar 27th, 2007
Dunno Jesper. Seems to me I heard King Philip declare that ‘SL is infinitely scaleable’ in which case there AREN’T any scaling problems with SL. Are there? Or are you daring to suggest our beloved leader is a liar?
Anything any of us perceive that APPEARS to be a problem, you know, like outages, lag, missing items (ah yes, I need to find out WHERE that L$3500 Royal Dragon’s gone – thank you for reminding me), broken TP’s, etc, et-bloody-cetra, must be some wild hallucination generated by out overheated imaginations? Right?
Suggest you continue studying your Danish Anarchists and leave those of us who’ve been here a few more years than you sound like you have to remark on those lovely ‘guys and girls’ (always a risky division to make in SL!)you are gushing on about
Inigo passes Jesper a poorly photocopied and slightly crumpled Linden FanBoyz Club application form.
Jesper W.
Mar 27th, 2007
/me thanks Inigo for the application form, though not for the sandbox tone-of-voice
Of course SL is infinitely scaleable, it’s just code – but the code has to run on something, and, like everything else, computer-related and not, needs steps of implementation as well as maintenance. I bet you’ve defragged or something like that a few times on your, what, 10 computers ever? – well, SL runs on thousands of machines, need I rub this in any more…?
Besides, saying it is scaleable doesn’t mean it scales itself.
I never said there isn’t probs, I have lost inventory and L$ too – what I said was, hold the flak, meaning keep the crits constructive as opposed to the usual 30-odd-something or (many!) more responses to every grid status annoucement, saying “SL SUCKS AND LL ARE ALL LAZY MALICIOUS IDIOTS” or words to that effect.
But I guess you still think they flipped that red switch back in ’03 and, since then, just annoy the users for the hell of it.
Oh, and I don’t really need your permission to have an opinion, oh Obi-Wan – I am left wondering what you’re still doing here after all those years you’re talking about if SL is a piece of crap run by a bunch of incompetents.
Who is the more foolish, the fool or the guy who keeps following him?
Jj
Inigo Chamerberlin
Mar 28th, 2007
You really don’t LISTEN do you…
Never mind.
Trevor F. Smith
Mar 29th, 2007
What if they really did just flip a switch in ’03 and now they’re just switchig things on and off to watch us react? Now that would be a good story for the SLH.