Evan Reuters Says “Linden Can’t Be Trusted With Your Credit Card” ?
by Alphaville Herald on 02/12/08 at 11:42 pm
Please cancel the “Reuters” surname. It’s not worth the hassle
by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk
Reuters names no longer worth $500 USD?
Reuters may no longer be reporting from Second Life, but Linden Lab does not seem willing to let go of one Reuters staff member’s billing information, and is now enhancing Evan Maloney’s real life by posting $500 USD charges to a credit card the Lab assured him last year would only to be used for verifying Evan Reuters’ virtual identity – if a series of e-mails posted to a Second Life developer mailing list can be believed.
This sad tale is detailed in the RegAPI mailing list archives today and last january where a plaintive Evan begs the Lab to stop charging his personal credit card for the exclusive rights to the Reuters surname in Second Life. What a terrible price to pay for a corporate vanity.
Evan appeared to take last year’s last name billing mishap in reasonably good humor, but today’s unauthorized charges seemed to leave him in a less pleasant mood, as he posted an e-mail titled “Linden can’t be trusted with your credit card information” to the RegAPI developer mailing list, and suggested the Lab cancel the Reuters surname [full text after the jump].
Despite the “no billing information on file” notation on Evan Reuters’ profile, the Lab is finding even more creative ways to enhances revenues – perhaps the 66% OpenSpace land price hikes weren’t enough to cover M Linden’s new staff salaries? How will a Reuters name deletion affect the fate of the 17 avatars in Second Life named Reuters – or Reuters position on the hand picked Second Life Showcase? We await Evan’s response to our inquiries, and wish him the best of luck in getting a credit posted to his credit card in time for the holidays.
LL’s billing department never forget credit card numbers – Evan Reuters begs for mercy
Forwarded message
Sue,
About a year ago, you helped me when I was erroneously billed $500 for
the “Reuters” surname. (For a further explanation, see below, where I
pasted the e-mail I sent to the RegAPI list last time this happened.)
Well, I have unfortunately been billed again this year for the
“Reuters” surname, despite assurances from Linden last year that you
have expunged my credit card information from your database.
Obviously, Linden still has my credit card and has not fixed the
billing problem.
I don’t know why this keeps happening, but last year it took many
weeks to get sorted out and required me to spend countless hours on
the phone with my credit card company. I’d like to avoid a similar
hassle this year, and am hoping Linden can get this resolved once and
for all.
I would also appreciate it if you could handle this matter quickly, as
your billing error is causing problems for my personal finances.
If it helps, please cancel the “Reuters” surname. It’s not worth the
hassle.
Thanks,
Evan
> I do not have a paid Second Life account. However, a while back, in
> order to access the Second Life forums, I had to create a verified
> account by giving Linden Lab my credit card information.
>
> Supposedly, that was only to be used for verifying my identity.
> However, it seems that Linden Lab may randomly bill you if they have
> your credit card.
>
> What does this have to do with the RegAPI?
>
> Well, I am a developer at Reuters, and we use the RegAPI for–among
> other things–registering users who have the Reuters surname.
>
> We bought the Reuters surname last year, and it recently came up for
> renewal. But rather than issue a bill to Reuters (or charge whoever
> paid for it last year), Linden apparently decided to select a random
> Reuters employee to bill. Unfortunately, that employee was me.
>
> That was at the end of November. I have now spent several days
> trying to get the charges reversed to no avail. (And, no, I can’t
> expense it at Reuters since I didn’t have authorization to make the
> purchase in the first place.) Everyone at Linden’s billing support
> line tells me to file a support ticket. Of course, the support
> website will not allow you to file a billing issue unless you have a
> paid account, which I don’t. So now I’m dealing with this no-mans-
> land of people on the phone who can’t tell me anything (other than
> to go to the site) and a website that won’t accept tickets for my
> problem.
>
> I finally decided to file a general ticket, and now it is “pending”,
> but nobody on the phone can even tell me if it will be resolved this
> MONTH. Needless to say, I am disputing the charge with my credit
> card issuer, but that process will take several months to complete.
> Hopefully someone at Linden can take the initiative to clear this
> up, because everyone on the billing issues support line has been
> completely unhelpful (or maybe I should just select a random Linden
> employee and send a $500 bill to them).
>
> I’m sure it will be resolved eventually, but let my tale serve as a
> warning: if you use the RegAPI and want to avoid a similar headache
> of your own, you may want to be sure that Linden Lab does not have
> your credit card information associated with your RegAPI-enabled
> account. Otherwise, they just may decide to bill you randomly like
> they did with me.
Reuters is still an SL Showcase Hot Spot on December 2, 2008
Eva Ryan
Dec 3rd, 2008
…and this is surprising in what way?
lol
Dec 3rd, 2008
Linden Lab is Noting but Identity theifs! I would NEVER EVER EVER give them access to any of my financial information. If that one day means I can no longer log into SL so be it!
to quote a friend
“FUCK YOU LINDEN LABS! YOU ARE WITHOUT A DOUBT THE WORST COMPANY IN BOTH THE REAL WORLD AND THE VIRTUAL WORLD!”
Anonymous
Dec 3rd, 2008
Let me be the first to say
Duh.
General Drama
Dec 3rd, 2008
Evidently its one more way for LL to get Reuters to publish some last piece on SL before the door hits them in the posterior.
General Drama
Dec 3rd, 2008
oh yea, one more thing: as any idiot who watched “The Firm” knows, this sort of shennanigan is known in legal circles as “WIRE FRAUD”. Hey M, looks like you’ll be spending some time at Club Fed pretty soon, enjoy….
AssClown Linden
Dec 3rd, 2008
@General Drama
“Evidently its one more way for LL to get Reuters to publish some last piece on SL before the door hits them in the posterior.”
I do not think it will be the kind of story the Dumb Fucks at Linden Lab were thinking. Like OMG, why not just call up CNN or FOX and say:
“Please do a 1 hour special about all the pedophiles, fraud, and cheep bastards that run loose on our service, we are trying to attract new customers with no real life who will masturbate on voice chat during Robin Linden’s office hours”
I am so looking foward to the next (maybe last) story Reuters does about Linden labs.
/me gives the lab a hammer and some nails to close that coffin lid tight
Ratcloner101 Stoop
Dec 3rd, 2008
I agree with Mr General. Wire Fraud. But of course, I am sure Linden Labs will have their asses covered. Mr Reuters will get his $500 back, and call it a mistake.
In any event, with the mass bannings of dopey Bellends (you know the people who willingly pay for SL) as of late, this ship is sinking lower and lower into a pit of it’s own excrement.
I think it’s safe to say now, Second Life is about to be put on Life Support. The American Sloth’s dream of turning virtual cocks into real big time cash is about over.
And people are starting to wake up to that.
Your virtual reality, is about to receive a rude awakening.
2 cents
Dec 3rd, 2008
The more leveled headed constituency of this RAG’S readership pity the fool or fools who have to deal with Linden Research and all their bullshit – - BUT – - any whining about “my personal finances” is a bit over the top – don’t cha think? Look folks – the reality is – any credit card company is going to SUSPEND the charge and investigate upon request. Granted it can take months to finalize the investigation (highly unlikely to take that long in this particular case) but personal finances are far from being in jeopardy in this situation. Let’s not confuse the issue on this. It is clear that Linden Research will continue to demonstrate “slop and awwww” in their business model but to think there’s anything else in this story, BEYOND a common sense approach to avoid associating a RegAPI to your SL account is just plain assclownery.
Second Life is no more than the “phone sex” industry of the nineties transformed into the 3D digital realms of the 21st century. Treat it as such and be the better for it folks…
Side Note:
Pixeleen?
Have you ever looked out past the artificial glow of your computer monitor to see where the f**k you’re gonna be in 10 years? 20 years?
You must be some truly repulsive meat-matter in real life…
2 cents
Dec 3rd, 2008
PROTIP:
Try cut and pasting someone else’s real life onto your own and see how that suits ya…
: )
On second thought – you’ve already tried that and massively failed – DAILY!
Maybe you should have spelled your name with a “lean” instead of the “leen” to more clearly counteract those deeply engraved inadequacies you feel when you look in the mirror…
Soto Hax
Dec 3rd, 2008
Just when I think they can’t sink any lower. Now they’re doing wire fraud? I just removed my payment information from my account and Linden Lab from my PayPal authorized accounts list. But I guess it wouldn’t really make a difference if something happened, as it seems they keep backup copies.
Listen. Linden Lab and Second Life aren’t going to last much longer. That business with the 66% rent increase was the death knell, especially given the economic downturn in real life. The future lies with the Open Simulator project (http://www.opensimulator.org/), which for those of you who don’t know is the open source version of the Second Life client and server software. Open Simulator can be used by anyone to make their own grid independent of the SL grid. In particular there seems to be a lot happening in OSGrid (http://www.osgrid.org/), where any user who can run a server can hook it up to OSGrid for free. The cost of running an independent server hosting several open sims is a hell of a lot cheaper than paying Linden Lab to host.
Furthermore, there’s an up and coming technology called “hypergrid”, which is similar in concept to a web page hyperlink. A sim can be designated as a portal that connects to another specified portal sim on a completely separate grid. When you teleport, all your user information, inventory, etc. are sent with you, thereby unshackling your identity from any one grid (http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Hypergrid). In other words, it does for the virtual metaverse what hyperlinks did for the world wide web.
Right now things are still in development, and you’ll notice right away if you visit OSGrid or any other grid that its full of bugs. But trust me, this is going to be the next big thing. With many Second Life residents reaching their breaking point with Linden Lab, I think you’re going to see the pace of development on the independent grids accelerate by several orders of magnitude. Linden Lab and Second Life have served their purpose.
Neo Citizen
Dec 3rd, 2008
What a bunch of whiney wankers you all are.
Look, what had to have happened is this: Linden Lab didn’t do this with criminal intent. HOWEVER, they are SO FUCKED UP that this sort of thing happens all the time. It just happened to have happened to this Reuters chap this time, so it’s the luck of the draw, not some big fucking conspiracy.
That said, the events of the last month or so have really underscored how badly Linden Lab is doing. We’ve seen a flurry of new hires in high positions, which means a great deal of time and energy is being spent reorganizing. Which in turn means that even Linden Lab is finally picking up on the fact that hey, wait a minute, SOMETHING’S WRONG.
Of course, what’s wrong is their total disregard for their own customer base. From the beginning, they’ve viewed this whole thing as a science experiment in sociology, not a community.
SLPD OFFICER
Dec 3rd, 2008
As Jack Lord as Steve Mcgarret in Hawaii Five-o said “Book em danno”
George Zimmer
Dec 3rd, 2008
Opensim is a Nigra’s dream come true. Spengbab DS: Now Portable for your convenience.
But seriously guys, you’re all sitting here bitching about LL’s evil ponzi scheme, and yet, LL already has all of your credit card data. You can’t really be angry at LL for fooling stupid schmucks like yourselves into giving away all of your personal information just so you could play with virtual penises.
Alyx Stoklitsky
Dec 3rd, 2008
@Soto Hax: “The future lies with the Open Simulator project”
Ha ha, no. The Open Sim project is like a harlequin baby – cracked and broken right from its conception.
Now, for the idiots squealing like pigs in a slaughterhouse about ‘wire fraud’, get real – This is clearly a mistake.
I’m usually one of the first to point out how awful LL are, but they’re far more stupid then they are criminal.
Neo Citizen
Dec 3rd, 2008
What Alyx said.
Oh, and OpenSim, yes, cracked and broken. Well – maybe, maybe not, but it places the barrier to entry pretty high. You have to have monster bandwidth, and you have to provide your own server. Who has that? Very few. So, certainly not a Nigra’s dream, since it’s all they can do to pay for burgers, generally, let alone hardware, since most of them just wash dogs for a living.
OpenLifeGrid, though, is another matter, since you don’t have to provide your own server to play there. Whether they can handle the influx of SL refugees or not remains to be seen as well, and frankly, I’m betting “no”.
Frank Humberts
Dec 4th, 2008
There will be quite a few closed grids that lease. or will lease service space as Linden does. Not all grids will be open host your own type grids. Don’t let it be a misnomer that those who provide a service are all geared towards the end user hooking up their own computer servers to the service. Not all are.
1 cent
Dec 5th, 2008
I’d give you my 2 cents worth but screw that, I’m stashing half of it for later – LMAO
///no better way to protect your credit card – look, listen & learn///
***
AP
Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years
Friday December 5, 10:41 am ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Employers ax 533,000 jobs in Nov., most in 34 years; unemployment rate rises to 6.7 percent
*Yahoo Finance
2 Million lost jobs in the U.S. of A. this year – in reach!
///job losses speak for themselves///
BRENT CRUDE FUTR (USD/bbl.) 39.660 -2.620 -6.20%
*Bloomberg
Filling up at the pump to be a heck of lot cheaper going into 2009 – but where you gonna be driving – to the unemployment offices? Plus shit, your SUV is gonna get repo’d any day now – so – so much for $1.05/gal gas huh?
///the value proposition of everything is getting turned upside down///
Retail bankruptcies on rise as consumer spending takes dive
By Mae Anderson
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.21.2008
*The Associated Press
And this was back in February. You still dumping spacebux into the Linden Research ass-trap when you could be storing up cash or paying for life’s “real” necessities?
///where’s your money going?///
AP
GM to lay off 2,000 more workers at 3 factories
Friday December 5, 11:28 am ET
AP
AT&T to cut 12,000 jobs, 4 percent of staff
Thursday December 4, 10:49 pm ET
AP
Factory orders drop more than expected in October
Thursday December 4, 10:37 am ET
Factory orders plunge bigger-than-expected 5.1 percent in October, sharpest drop in 8 years
Huge layoffs coming in City, County, State Governments in 2009-2010
city-data.com
///where’s your money coming from?///
***
///sorry to say your virtual escape doesn’t pay the bills///
If you’re a paid account holder you’d better ditch the credit card relationship before 12/31/08 and make sure you call “billing” to get a written confirmation of that closed account status! Then, call your credit card company and make sure to block “Linden Lab” from further transactions – it’s the only way to be sure ya know and only takes a few minutes on the phone.
Reliable inside sources state that “the cashflow crunch” for the Lab already started to get serious back in late September/early October…
Don’t get stuck with your ass hanging out!
Half a Cent
Dec 11th, 2008
Companies have eliminated a net total of 1.9 million jobs this year, and some economists project the total cuts could reach 3 million by the spring of 2010.
*
*
*
AP
New unemployment claims surge unexpectedly
Thursday December 11, 11:03 am ET
By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
New unemployment claims rise more than expected as layoffs continue amid recession
WASHINGTON (AP) — New claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, exceeding even gloomy expectations for an economy stuck in a recession that seems to be deepening.
*AP
*
*
*
And So the Yahoo Layoffs Finally Begin. But a New CEO? Not That Soon
Posted by: Rob Hof on December 10
In a blog post starkly titled “Tough times,” Yahoo cofounder and CEO Jerry Yang announced that the embattled Internet icon’s long-awaited layoffs have begun. Yang’s memo to the depleted troops follows after the jump. But by now, with the layoff already announced in October, there’s not much new to say, and while I’m sure he’s sincere, Yang’s farewell sounds pretty boilerplate. (UPDATE: Yahoos and others, let us know in comments below or email me what you’re hearing from the front.)
This morning, Yahoo folks who haven’t been called into individual meetings with managers are waiting tensely and hoping they’ll still have a job by this afternoon. Those with a morbid fascination with what really has been an inevitable cost-cutting move by Yahoo can catch up with anonymous Yahoos venting on Silicon Alley Insider. If their comments are to be believed (and I don’t question most of them), the 1,500 or so layoffs, about 10% of the workforce, are coming throughout the world, from Sunnyvale headquarters to Oregon to New York and Cambridge.
*Business Week
*
*
*
You dumbfucks still tossin’ money down the drain in this thing called Second Life?
You’d better heed the call!
You’d better review your finances!
You’d better wake the fuck up from your virtual ignorance!
You’d better snap yourself back into the realm of the REAL…
you dumbfucks!
NO U
Dec 12th, 2008
To 2cents NO U!
Archie Lukas
Dec 14th, 2008
Only one thing to say after my payment to Lindens labs also blocked my card as a class action by Mastercard against fraudulent use by Linden labs…….
Bastards
Thank you
Wiseguy Capra
Dec 15th, 2008
This is just another screw-up by LL besides their buggy age verification system that does not work half as good as it should. Over the last year I tried several times to verify my age, always failed. I than had been asked to scan several legal papers including ID and bills. Certainly wont do this and send them to some “unknown” person or 3rd. party to allow them to verify the age and at the same time take a copy for whatever purpose.
The whole billing, tier increase, age verification and even the SLim client are not even a joke but amateur services. One more reason to take the opensimulator more into account. Since OS has become more stable in the last releases and some of the grids are quite promising now. Legend City being one of them with working curency and permission system.
-Wise
I Want Your Cock In My Ass 01
Dec 22nd, 2008
I Want Your Cock In My Ass 01
Every drop counts; Anna hourglass body; Girls want. i want some more coments and suggestions. To