The long running war of words between Jumpman Lane and Stroker Serpentine took a bizarre turn over the last two days after a newly minted Twitter account named LabRatuOut first tweeted a series of warnings to Mr. Lane asking that he apologize to Serpentine by 9 am PDT Friday or face dire consequences.

The deadline passed, and LabRatuOut then tweeted claims of links between Linden Lab staff and an orchestrated smear campaign against Mr. Serpentine intended to drive him out of Second Life.

Stroker Serpentine recently walked away from his Second Life adult animation business. Jumpman Lane told me in an interview last week that his anti-Stroker campaign had been greenlighted by Linden Lab staff - although he was unable to produce evidence of this.

In response to Jumpman's prolific, profane, and controversial tweets,  LabRatuOut has produced 173 tweets in the last 2 days. At this point it is impossible to know if LabRatuOut's claims are true. However, given the volume of pictures and profiles presented, significant effort must have gone into the campaign.

"The Life Safety Check on Stroker came from SanFran" - LabRatuOut

Claims made include the real life identity of Jumpman Lane (allegedly Jimison Hutchinson),  the connection between Jumpman and Linden Lab product manager Esbee Linden (Sarah Kuehnle Hutchinson is claimed to be married to Jimison Hutchinson), and a claim the former Linden Lab staff member Blue Linden is actually Jumpman Lane.  There are also claims that Esbee Linden's twitter account @kidmarmite "liked" Jumpman's effigy of Stroker Serpentine.

did LabRatuOut reveal Jumpman's real life identity?

Jumpman responds with profanity and retweets of LabRatuOut

True or not, the allegations are sure to create a drama storm of epic proportions in the Second Life player community. 

have the subpoenas begun to fly?

Given the links to what are claimed to be real life identities of high visibility Linden Lab staff, it would not be a surprise if this war of the tweets ended in legal action, a possibility that LabRatuOut has points out frequently, while citing legal precedent that can make an employer liable for the actions of employees.

It is hard to see how this can end well for anyone involved.

Did Esbee Linden like Jumpman's Stroker effigy?

Esbee Linden's profile at Metanomics

The Twitter war is only the latest development in a conflict that began after Stroker Serpentine filed a lawsuit against Linden Lab. Shortly after the suit was filed, Jumpman Lane began a vigorous campaign against Serpentine - a campaign which recently gained new visibility with the departure of Serpentine from Second Life, followed a few days later by his departure from Twitter.

If all this is a bit hard to follow, LabRatuOut provided a narrative thread in the twitter stream Saturday which is reproduced in part, below:

Good morning Tweeples I have a story to tell for #secondlife A story of intrigue and deception pull up a pixel and follow along
There once was this company named Linden Lab. Not a bad company as companies go. Their popularity was astounding
Linden created this world named Secondlife. They wanted it to be free and open to all. A world for adults to enjoy
Then along came Stroker Serpentine. Not a particularly creative sort, but a master of marketing. CBS took notice
First thing you know Second Life was flooded with every imaginable activity one could imagine. Some not so savory
Before long the Lindens were flooded with governance issues beyond control. Pervs, Griefers and Scammers abound
Philip and crew were overwhelmed by their diversity and tenacity. Some were tolerable others not so much
Stroker was in their face, having a ball at SLCC and garnering all kinds of support. SL was changing into Westworld
Several of these Lindens befriended Stroker and was surprised to find that he wasn't exactly the stereotypical perv
In fact they were surprised to find that Stroker was actually a decent man. Dedicated to his family and friends
The problem was good ole Stroke was attracting a bad element with all of his publicity. Lechorous types abounded
These Lindens tried to insulate their pervy pal as best they could to stem the tide of treachory around him.
Ole Stroke was dug in pretty good and it would take some earnest effort to break him free. SLCC's came and went
Then along came M Linden and he made some deep cuts in payroll. Lindens were lost. Second Life waned
Of course all of these Lindens kept their alt accounts and hoped for better days. Second Life could be saved!
That damn Stroker just couldn't stay out of the limelight. He sued Linden Lab and started a landslide of lawsuits
That didn't trouble the ex-Lindens so much, they were pretty PO'd at the Lab anyways. Stroke knew many of them
Philip decided that Rodvik was the man for the job! He could turn SL into a gaming platform. Teens were the future!
But that Stroker was a bad element. He couldn't stay off the airwaves. His Linden buddies had a plan! Infiltrate!
he only way to get close was to pretend to be a competitor. Stroker never met an enemy in SL. He had to be pushed!
Then that nasty Taboo episode aired and it made Stroke look bad and the Lab. These Lindens were livid!
Add on top here was Stroke partying with Woodbury at SLCC 2011. The horror! Stroke was being indoctrinated ZOMG!
Jumpman was the answer. But someone AR'd Jumpy for being underage. He had to pony up his I.D. to stay on the grid
Stroke's Linden pals were nervous. Their infiltrator could be outed. Jump was no fool. He was a man of letters!
Stroker's pals knew he was close to his RL family so they focused on using that against him. Jumpy was in overdrive
Jumpman had skillz. He could whip up a website in minutes. He learned that where he met his wife.
Now that his wife was back at the Lab. He could use his psychology skillz to oust the ilk that plagues SL.
Just as he did before. Only he wasn't Jumpman Lane then. He was a Content Creator. He made "bits" just like Stroker
But he didn't really have the stomach for it. Being a family man and a Linden. Like other Lindens, adult was no-no
Not to mention Ole Stroke had his bits in a freebie pack at his shop. This was war now! Stroker had to be targeted
Stroker was confused. Who was this "Jumpman" and why was he after him? They had never met. Or, had they?
You see Tweeples, Jumpy and his pals were doing this for Stroker's "own good". He was insulated by fleas and ticks
The Taboo episode was the last straw. They made Stroker look bad. Second Life too. They were about ratings only
And think of the children! Look how distraught his wife was! It was time to double down. Jumpman was enlisted again
Stroker was confused and distraught. Why was this character after him with such tenacity? What had he done to him?
@JumpmanLane..Shhh Fleabite/Blue Linden, I'm telling a story here!
@JumpmanLane or "Mr.Tom" whatever you prefer
You see Tweeples ole Stroke HAD met "Mr.Tom" once. At an SLCC a while back.
Stroker noticed his ring, being an Army man himself. But, Stroker wasn't supposed to know "Blue Linden"
Oh, and that cane was certainly a giveaway. Stroker didn't push the issue. He was obviously trying to be "incognito", but why?
I wouldn't look well to have a Linden making fleabits. And who knew what Taco and his pals were up to anyways.
But what Stroke's Linden pals didn't know is that he was moving away from adult. He was sick and tired of if.
They didn't know he had spent his last monies on a comeback. Stroker was an entrepreneur. He knew to change.
What Stroke's pals saw in his wifes face was fear. Fear that the "comeback" wouldn't take, Taboo was a shot of hope
Sadly, Taboo twisted the interview to suit their agenda. The IM's Stroker was getting in world were overwhelming
Jumpy got the idea to use Taboo as his weapon. Being a military man and a father he knew a bit of psy-ops
Jumpman was careful not to use terms like "incest" or "molestation". These could be legally used against him.
Jumpy has had a bit of experience with the law fighting the government for his injury. He was also a psych major.
The Lindens circled their wagons. A to Z they knew what to do. Smear Stroker's family until he gave up and quit.
This was a Smackdown! From General to Colonel's were called to the task. Get rid of Serpentine!
After all it was for Stroker's "own good" and that of his poor wife and family.
They needed to be "pesky" Keep the mission covert. After all, it could mean their jobs if they got caught.
But Ole Stroke had done a bit of psy-ops in his day too..He knew how to flush guilded turds as well. He pushed back
Stroker knew he was being played, so he played back. One by one the turds lost their guilding.
These were a crafty bunch, they had to cover their asses well. This was their playground. They made the rules.
The Wounded Warrior and his Colonels didn't plan on they themselves being infiltrated. Their ranks weren't closed.
So all you Tweeples and Sheeples out there in LaLa Linden land should wait for the last chapter of Jumpy's book
Jumpman should call it the "Guilded Turd". It has a nice ring to it. The saga continues. Juro Katani FTW!
For the record. Ole Stroke isn't much of a writer. He prefers the media. And lawyers. Flush that turd "Mr. Tom"
If I were you, I would polish up my latin re: "respondeat superior". LL has some flushing to do too! See ya soon!

Where does this all end? The tension between Internet pseudonyms, free publication platforms such as Twitter, an Internet that never forgets thanks to Google et.al., and opaque agendas by the various players seems to have created a situation that will likely damage real life reputations no matter how the war of words is concluded.

Is this the sort of game you want to play?

Ponies and Pink Hands get funky at Herald birthday.

 Fabulous readers, what can I say except that this was the social event to end all social events on Second Life.  Pixelboys, blingtards, /b/tards, and ponies mingled with robots, giant vore crazy dragons and cute little teddy bears to make this the kind of social even you will tell your grandchildren you were at, even though you were probably in a skybox with a noobie filling it with your nasty effluvium.  Well, to help you spin your lies to future generations, I give you some snaps for the Mother of All Parties.

Denise Domela (center of the Mr. President sex scandal in TSO) seeks new victims.

Uri, Jumpman, and a bear on drugs.

Even Johm Ham was there!

When furries ask "wtf is this?" you know it is a good party!

Dragon providing contact highs

/b/tard meets blingtard

pony with a buzz on

She wore a Pink Hands beret...

Who watches the watchers who watch the watchers watching watchers?

More Ponies, because ponies ponies are awesome!!!!!!!

Pom poms and frilly skirts made of live fish were popular with fashionistas.

Pony or person?  Does it matter?  Not at the Herald Birthday Bash!

hmmm, vaguely familiar...

Herald staff confer - should we perform the BIMBO cheer? yes. yes we should.

Uri and Pixeleen cheer, Defne Demar dances, while a cherished bronie looks on

Spin Dash joins the stand on the table crowd

Chaos Mandelbrot (in penguin tuxedo ) looks for a saddle for Rodvik Linden's gift pony

as dawn approaches the party of the millenium rages on

Citing sources familiar with the plans, Kawamoto tells us

the new gaming platform (which some inside Linden Lab refer to as 2D) has already received the green light, and efforts are under way to develop the first version. The new product is being designed as a mobile gaming platform that would allow users to create or generate games on Apple's (AAPL) iPad or other iOS devices. More specifically, this browser-based design aims to allow users to create text adventure games, a type of genre that incorporates puzzle solving and exploration into a storyline

I can only hope Rod Humble is not totally bedazzled by the siren call of the iOS hordes and will spare a bit of time to address the issues of his current customers before giving in to his iPad ambitions.

Later in the article, Gartner analyst Brian Blau is quoted as saying "if Linden Lab gets into the user-generated games business -- turning Second Life players into game makers -- it would set the company apart" - something Blau has never seen before. Strangely enough, I think I have been watching Second Life players make games since I joined in 2005. Perhaps Gartner analysts don't get out much.

But how will this translate into revenue for the Lab?

Will it really be possible for Linden Lab to tax players' iPad games in light of the Lab's reputation for arbitrary action against the creator class? The Lab's less than stellar reputation for in-world governance may hurt them, and this points to the Lab's fundamental problem.

According to one of Ms. Kawamoto sources, "the company has seen a decline in the number of hobbyists and small businesses willing to pay a monthly subscription fee to rent server space to host their virtual world on the site" and Lewis Ward of IDC states, "the popularity of Second Life has been leveling off". 

Has the Second Life 3D cyber paradise been reduced to a cash cow being milked to fund development of a line of 2D text games for phones and tablets? This might explain the curiously detached attitude Linden Lab exhibits toward its current customers - and does align with comments Rod Humble made at the SLCC conference this August where he spoke of a new product and plans for a press tour this fall before he fled the conference a few minutes after his keynote address.

Going forward, look for a series of carefully orchestrated "leaks" to the mainstream media followed by a round of Rod Humble press events designed to hype the Lab's new venture and the possibility that this will lead to a rising tide of disenchantment among the Second Life players if the Lab is unwilling or unable to address both technical and political problems in the current cash cow platform.

The first indication I would be playing another round of Second Life as a real life alternative reality game came a few hours before the SLCC 2011 panel discussion on Avatar Identity: Privacy and Transparency in Social Media.

I was eating lunch, sitting next to Brent Baum and comparing notes on the SLCC experience. I'll have much more to say about Brent's surprising adventures soon - his impressive background in the entertainment business and abruptly terminated one year tenure in SL provide a fascinating perspective on Second Life. Our conversation was interrupted by news that there was a change in plans for the Avatar Identity panel discussion. Apparently the conference organizers had yielded to pressure by a party who they would not name. The panel discussion would not be streamed into Second Life as originally planned and there were issues with my biography, although it had been published at the SLCC site weeks ago.

Oh noes! More bad luck for the long-suffering SL players!!! Maybe Second Life isn't very good for attending meetings after all. Is this why Rod Humble can't seem to significantly improve player concurrency?

The bearer of bad tidings consoled me with the promise that the session would be taped and posted sometime after the conference. Last week, the discussion deemed potentially too controversial to air live in SL was made available here. 

Before I go on, I'd like to thank the conference organizers for running an interesting event overall. I'd like to think that despite the slightly surreal drama, the panel discussion is an example of how to make the SLCC a bit more than a fanboy convention. At the same time, I sincerely hope the SLCC leadership will take steps to insulate themselves from the pressure to produce a hopelessly gimped pablum program unable to discuss the real issues and concerns of the SL community for fear of controversy or offending the game gods. For starters, perhaps a blanket disclaimer stating any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the organizers is in order. 

Last minute revisions to the SLCC program

While the panel discussion spanned everything from google-bombing internet kooks, the notorious Evangeline from TSO, avatar identities, pseudonyms, brands, and business opportunities for enhanced online privacy, I didn't think to mention the need for secrecy for those filing complaints about speaker biographies during the discussion. I'll know better next time.

Despite publishing verbatim the biography I sent on the SLCC web site weeks earlier, by the day of the conference panel, a badly nerfed version was on display at the site. It also seemed that pages 25 and 26 had been cut out of the printed conference programs by hand, and an unbound page with a revised version of the nerfed pages inserted. How much did that cost?

What sort of horrific typo - or threat - could have led to the bowdlerization re-working of the conference program at the last minute? Here is my bio as originally posted:

Pixeleen Mistral is the managing editor of the Alphaville Herald (http://alphavilleherald.com/), where she covers online culture and governance, griefing, vigilantes, and hactivism. Ms. Mistral began writing for the Herald sports desk in 2006 and became managing editor late that year.

Pixeleen's real life typist has been involved in developing Internet technologies for over 20 years, including early e-mail clients, Internet Gopher - one of the first popular Internet information systems, the IETF standard for URLs, and Croquet - an open-source peer-to-peer virtual world. In February of 2010, Mark McCahill sacrificed his Pixeleen Mistral pseudonym to fight an outrageous takedown notice filed by 'Justice League Unlimited' vigilante Kalel Venkman - a move that thwarted Venkman's abuse of the DMCA process to remove Herald coverage of his gang's massive Second Life player surveillance database.

and here is the last-minute revision to my bio:

Pixeleen Mistral is the managing editor of the Alphaville Herald (http://alphavilleherald.com/), where she covers online culture and governance, griefing, vigilantes, and hactivism. Ms. Mistral began writing for the Herald sports desk in 2006 and became managing editor late that year.

Pixeleen's real life typist has been involved in developing Internet technologies for over 20 years, including early e-mail clients, Internet Gopher - one of the first popular Internet information systems, the IETF standard for URLs, and Croquet - an open-source peer-to-peer virtual world.
   

snip snip snip - someone had to cut page 25/26 out of each copy of the printed program

an unbound replacement page was inserted into the program for the missing pages 25 and 26

Has the JLU's game leveled up to more RL harassment?

Normally, I'd let this sort Internet ankle-biter harassment slide, but after the latest series of leaks from Kalel Venkman's JLU wiki, I'm starting to think the role-play super hero group is having an increasingly difficult time restraining their child-like excitement and are unable to keep the gameplay - or is it harassment? - inside Second Life. 

If we can believe the leaks the have emerged from the Justice League Unlimited's wiki over the last few weeks, it seems Kalel and the gang have been trolling Linden Lab's PR honcho Pete Linden with off-the-record chats, hoping to build a case that the Herald is a menace to Second Life society. To date, my attempts to solicit comment from Pete Linden on the matter have been met with silence - even after I sweetened the pot and offered Pete the opportunity to pose for the Herald's Post-6 feature. I assume Pete is still skin shopping and will let me know when he is ready.

Is JLU grooming Linden Lab public relations lead Pete Linden?

Second Life - where self-described "psychotic superhero bullies" ponder stalking your real life

Even stranger is news that Venkman's online militia was discussing contacting my workplace back in April with claims that I violated copyright laws in the Herald coverage of the JLU activities. As far as I know, the role play superheros never followed up on that discussion, or if they did the claims were greeted with a swift and well-deserved trip to the trash bin. 

This is just as well. The cognitive dissonance in the JLU players faux-copyright complaints are overwhelming. Last year - apparently ignorant of the copyright law fair use doctrine - JLU leader Kalel Venkman launched a Digital Millenium Copyright Act takedown against the Herald, but then failed to followup and file an actual copyright infringement complaint after he was given my real life contact information. In light of this I'm a bit surprised that Kalel's group wants to even discuss playing the copyright card again. Kalel Venkman has refused to respond to repeated attempts to contact him for an on-the-record conversation about these matters. The un-censored copy of the alleged leak I was provided with is a real eye-opener.

[17:35] Samantha Lowell: I can have a draft of a polite, oh so sweet letter of
concern to Duke as soon as possible
[17:36] GreenLantern Excelsior: Duke?
[17:36] Melanippe Karas: I thought we'd settled the idea of writing to Duke weeks
ago.
[17:36] Samantha Lowell: I thought we could write the adjunct in question,
explain that Alphavillle Hertald is using his name and asking if this is true
[17:36] Samantha Lowell: "Thank you so much for your time," etc etc
[17:36] Samantha Lowell: Very poite, brief and genteel
[17:37] Jeremiah Pintens: TD here is lower than I am used to
[17:37] Kalel Venkman: It would settle the issue - or give us ammunition, one of
the two.
[17:37] Samantha Lowell: Amen
[17:37] Kara Timtam: Or he could lie through his teeth
[17:37] Samantha Lowell: And , if it's NOT true, it would set him against Ludlow
[17:37] Kalel Venkman: If he lies, then we can take that letter and post it.
[17:37] BilliAnn Bravin: Either way sounds useful, though there is that.
[17:37] Samantha Lowell: Believe me, nobody does childish cat fighting like
academics
[17:37] Jeremiah Pintens: *laughs*
[17:37] Kalel Venkman: If it's the truth, then we can escalate to his employers.
[17:37] BilliAnn Bravin: Hee hee
[17:37] BilliAnn Bravin: They are terrible.
[17:38] Samantha Lowell: Amen, billi
[17:38] Kara Timtam: But busting a whopper like that could be important,
certainly if that guy has indeed been spoofed
[17:38] Kalel Venkman: One way or the other, it's ammunition.
[17:38] Melanippe Karas: Yes.
[17:38] Kalel Venkman: And we can use it.
[17:38] Kalel Venkman: No matter what he says.
[17:38] Samantha Lowell: I finished the textures for the poster vendor. I'd like
to set up my mini photo studio on the top floor of the adventurer's club, if it's
okay
[17:38] Kalel Venkman: And telling us nothing is nearly as useful, especially if
we send it registered mail.
[17:39] Samantha Lowell: Return receipt
[17:39] Kalel Venkman: Exactly.
[17:39] Melanippe Karas: Good idea.
[17:39] Kalel Venkman: We could actually get some mileage out of this.
[17:39] BilliAnn Bravin: Yes.
[17:39] Samantha Lowell: I need you to email me the full name, I believe I have
the correct address
[17:39] Jeremiah Pintens: I've a question actually - not related to the
discussion at hand
[17:39] Samantha Lowell: Send a copy to his dean , mayhap?
[17:40] Kalel Venkman: Michael P. McCahill. It should be send to the IT
department at Duke, which is where he works as a contracting consultant.
[17:40] Kalel Venkman: Sorry - that's Mark P. McCahill.
[17:40] Kalel Venkman: Sending a copy to the head of Duke University IT would
probably be a good idea too.
[17:40] Samantha Lowell: Yes indeed
[17:41] BilliAnn Bravin: Oh yes.
[17:41] Kara Timtam: Include full documentation of the URL's where the claim of
identity is made.
[17:41] Kalel Venkman: He's left a thread dangling in easy reach. Let's pull on
it and see what unravels.
[17:41] Kara Timtam: Herald and Wikipeda
[17:41] Samantha Lowell: "I thought you should be apprised of this, given the
fact that the staff and contributors of the Herald have violated the DMCA and
copyright laws of the US on several occasions, etc etc..."
[17:41] Melanippe Karas: Psychotic superhero bullies for the win!
[17:41] Melanippe KarasMelanippe Karas grins ironically
 

Who could have imagined that Second Life would morph into a long-running real life augmented reality game so easily? How large is the market for cartoon stalkers playing dirty tricks on those they dislike in the name of justice unlimited? Linden Lab might want to carefully consider what sort of picture this paints to the general public if they hope to grow their online community.

zf Redzone protesters: no more datamining!

The crowd was well behaved and several players were kind enough to leave the sim after taking a few pictures so that others might enter.

zFire Xue’s store is empty

I IMed Soft Linden asking if he could tell me exactly what had led to the zF Redzone ban, but Soft was not responding to Herald inquiries – as usual. Shortly after I arrived, the entire crowd was ejected from the Mad Scientists plot by Pussy Guisse – a member of the Mad Scientist Inc group.

Pussy Guisse

As I picked myself up from where I landed in the adjacent plot, talk among the assembled crowd turned to holding party to celebrate. While there was general agreement that zf Redzone was far from the last battle to be fought, this was an event the privacy faction will long remember.

I had seen enough, but after a flurry of posts to the SLUniverse.com forums – a rallying point for the pro-privacy movement – a celebration was organized and captured for posterity on YouTube.

Privacy advocates party after zFire Xue collides with LL Banhammer

While the victorious faction danced the night away, Linden Lab staff continued their work and ownership of the Mad Sci City Shopping Mall reverted to Governor Linden.

Linden repo job on land abandoned after deadly banhammer collision

Although the fall of zFire Xue may mark the close of this battle, the struggle between those that would trade privacy – or at least someone else’s privacy – for a feeling of security is sure to continue in Second Life and real life.

Controversial zf Redzone developer zFire Xue told me he believes that Linden Lab has failed to provide Second Life players with an adequate security system, saying "DMCAs take too long, stolen objects are passed off to alts, Linden Labs does nothing to block criminal viewers, hardly even blocking Emerald. A system as effective as RedZone, upsets everyone with anything to hide. They love to tell everyone how to try to copybot or attack even with such a system. Attackers and thieves change accounts faster than Linden Labs can respond to them."

Mr. Xue went on to say he was not concerned about being banned by Linden Lab and believes the Lindens benefit from the controversy that zf Redzone created. He hinted at future enhancements to his product musing "Bans are so….RedZone. The new system should outright delete people".

These revelations came during my interview with Mr. Xue Saturday afternoon after what must to have been a very trying few days for the embattled security system developer – his site was hacked, database deleted, and what anonymous hactivists claim are screen captures of a secret admin interface to his site circulated.

Who could have imagined an aging MMO could create so much drama? Welcome to Second Life!

Late in our conversation, Xue had harsh words for his critics’ actions saying, "ARing my ISP, inventing fake law, rumors, whatever. Snitching off my Boris to animal control… yeah ok mother fuckers. I will see you join him next".

In Linden Lab’s virtual world, conflicting values and faction wars define much of the gameplay. Drama is created in the bitter struggle between Second Life content creators and land owners who have an unrealistic expectation about how well online behaviour and illicit copying can be controlled, and players who do not wish to be tracked or datamined during their escapist roleplay.

Privacy advocates express deep concern about databases compiled by zf Redzone and other security systems, while the security advocates are more than willing to compromise privacy in hopes of tracking troublemakers. Linden Lab’s inconsistent enforcement of an ever changing ToS and community standards leaves everyone guessing — an environment ripe for vigilante action from both factions.

The weekend battles between Xue and his critics were sparked when anonymous hactivists responded to Mr. Xue’s challenge to "bring it on" in a post to his site’s forum Thursday. Confident of his security prowess, Mr. Xue claimed his server is the "most secure in Second Life", but by Saturday afternoon Xue seemed primarily interested in identifying those who had trashed his site – a completely understandable desire.

While the sort of unauthorized access that apparently took place on Mr. Xue’s server is a criminal act, it seems several parties felt that the challenge and risk was worthwhile, posting several screen captures as evidence then asking if anyone could suggest a way to anonymously send evidence to Linden Lab. At this point both sides are playing for high stakes, hoping to drive their enemies put of  the game.

a screen capture from zFire Xue’s site posted to sluniverse.com forum epic-length Redzone thread

The interview was conducted under rather difficult conditions – it took most of Saturday to track down Mr. Xue. Our conversation began when I sent Mr. Xue several IMs which went unanswered, then switched to e-mail, then finally continued via a live IM session. A transcript of our multi-modal new media meet-up is below:

Pixeleen Mistral: It appears that your isellsl.cx site may have been compromised. There are php errors on several pages that suggest that the site’s sql database has been altered. Also a source has pointed to what are claimed to be screen shots of the "Admin Overlord App". I am working on a story and have several questions – will you be available to chat sometime today?

zFire Xue: Yep they deleted the database.
zFire Xue: Are you going to be protecting cybercriminal(s) or where they anonymous?

Pixeleen Mistral: do you really think that they guys who got loose in your server would tell me who they are?
zFire Xue: they might have the same IPs that I have on my log

Pixeleen Mistral: well they might, but it is unlikely that it would do you much good
Pixeleen Mistral: fwiw – all I know is they sent a comment from an IP address that is an exit from a Tor anonymizer

Pixeleen Mistral: I’ve seen some people claim that the SQL injection exploit for your site was known for quite some time
Pixeleen Mistral: how do you know that the backup you loaded has not been altered?
zFire Xue: It was first attempted on the 7th
zFire Xue: I have a log to check for IPs of attackers and check that.
zFire Xue: Merlins PW seems to have been known

Pixeleen Mistral: some of the hactivists that compromised your site say that you invited them to try – and they will publish more embarrassing info if you don’t acknowledge that they did compromise your site
Pixeleen Mistral: so – I guess they can stop now since you told me that they did get in
Pixeleen Mistral: what I can’t figure out is why you would capture failed logins and make those available as "Possible SL PW(s)"
Pixeleen Mistral: at the point news of that gets out your reputation is in tatters
Pixeleen Mistral: what were you thinking?
zFire Xue: Do you want an official reply, or an off the record, clear english one?

Pixeleen Mistral: this is on the record
zFire Xue: Starting now? LOL

Pixeleen Mistral: I’m a reporter – you know who you are talking with
zFire Xue: ok sure

Pixeleen Mistral: so – what was that rationale?
zFire Xue: The entire system is intended to do the Job Linden Labs completely fails at doing. DMCAs take too long, stolen objects are passed off to alts, Linden Labs does nothing to block criminal viewers, hardly even blocking Emerald. A system as effective as RedZone, upsets everyone with anything to hide. They love to tell everyone how to try to copybot or attack even with such a system. Attackers and thieves change accounts faster than Linden Labs can respond to them.
zFire Xue: RedZone is the only system to find, block, ban, (or worse), the cyber criminals of SecondLife. By every means necessary. Even automated ones LL fails to implement.

Pixeleen Mistral: but why try to capture the possible SL passwords of your own customers?
Pixeleen Mistral: you explained why some people buy Redzone – but the screen captures show you tracking possible SL passwords for your own customers
Pixeleen Mistral: how can that possibly help your cause?
[...6 minutes pass...]
zFire Xue: If I where logging SL passwords, and I have heard the theory, Linden Labs would have clear evidence of logins on other accounts from the same IPs I use. I find the idea interesting and wish I was able to log into some of the copybot accounts that I am aware of, and delete them from SL because when LL does anything, it is a suspension, if anything at all. LL fails at tracking inventory objects and banning alts of Copybot users.
zFire Xue: Your information says I log RL locations as well, but they failed to put a nice "real life location" box into the pictures.

Pixeleen Mistral: so I guess the theory would be that some Redzone customers could also be copybotters, and if you had their passwords then you could possibly log into their accounts – but that would be a bad idea since it would come from your IP address and LL would notice that
Pixeleen Mistral: so my guess is that if someone were to do that sort of thing, they would go through a Tor anonymizer to hide their IP address and also fake their Mac address, etc.
Pixeleen Mistral: in other words – LL would not be able to tell
Pixeleen Mistral: which is probably the same reason that LL fails at security
zFire Xue: It is well known that some serious hate bloggers, griefers, even a few creators that copybot competitors are found out by their own system. If I where able to log into and delete them, all stolen goods, and alts.. Yes LL would notice. But would they have cared?

Pixeleen Mistral: It is hard to know if LL cares
zFire Xue: Linden Labs would see the Tor, or other proxy, as a sign of a problem.
zFire Xue: Linden Labs would get distress calls from deleted accounts, see the proxy IP and simply unban them, ban the proxy, and contact the proxy. However that would work.
zFire Xue: So the theory would not work. LL could just block all proxy’s.

Pixeleen Mistral: Are you concerned that today’s developments might lead to your accounts being banned?
zFire Xue: Nope. Linden Labs knows fact from fiction.
zFire Xue: I have photos of the Greenzone founder copybotting. Clear photos, and the Lindens don’t accept those.

Pixeleen Mistral: Isn’t the bad press from this scandal something Linden Lab would want to stop?
zFire Xue: Linden Labs loves the google ranks this provides.
zFire Xue: They also must enjoy watching a "social simulator"

Pixeleen Mistral: no such thing as bad publicity then?
zFire Xue: Not at all. According to what I read, I am now zFire "The godfather" Xue, Dr Claw, super hacker, capable of impressive impossible things.
zFire Xue: I wont bother listing what they claim I can do, or have done, but it is impressive sounding.
zFire Xue: Even the small silly ones, like blaming the rise in friendship requests on RedZone.

Pixeleen Mistral: Plastic Duck told me this morning that he is surprised you are not banned already – he said Redzone caused much more drama than he ever did
Pixeleen Mistral: but Michael Linden is no longer with the Lab so that might explain it
zFire Xue: I have never heard of Plastic Duck, so I assume RZ created more drama.
zFire Xue: Eco Linden, Glen Linden, etc.
zFire Xue: 30% layoffs.
zFire Xue: Where are the disgruntled X lindens?
zFire Xue: So who will protect SL?

Pixeleen Mistral: a very good question
zFire Xue: Maybe the hacktivists should work on finding and deleting copybots.
zFire Xue: Bans are so….RedZone. The new system should outright delete people.

Pixeleen Mistral: I think the hactivists value their privacy more than the pixel clothes and other elements of the SL economy so they are unlikely to go after copybotters
zFire Xue: The Privacy argument indeed.
zFire Xue: Privacy, or security. Linden Labs wants a happy middle ground.

Pixeleen Mistral: well – I’ve taken a lot of your time – thanks for talking
Pixeleen Mistral: is there anything else you would like to tell the Herald readers?
zFire Xue: yes there is

Pixeleen Mistral: I’m all ears
zFire Xue: Give me a second

Pixeleen Mistral: k
[...5 minutes pass...]
zFire Xue: ARing my ISP, inventing fake law, rumors, whatever. Snitching off my Boris to animal control… yeah ok mother fuckers. I will see you join him next.
zFire Xue: I have nothing more to say on this.

Pixeleen Mistral: I have no idea what "Snitching off my Boris to animal control" means

zFire Xue: Oh they do.
Pixeleen Mistral: I guess someone will explain it in the comments
[...9 minutes pass...]
zFire Xue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UPg1GfxGTU
zFire Xue: no point in sharing that, Im taking it down. Id rather see who knows about it.

Pixeleen Mistral: ok – now I have seen it all – a raccoon in diapers

YouTube video reveals Boris is a raccoon in diapers

What sympathy I had for Xue’s desire to learn who had reported Boris to Animal Control waned by Saturday evening when I found myself ejected from his zf Redzone store in-world. I had apparently been marked as a "former copybot" after what I can only conclude was my manual addition to his copybotter database.

I taste the wrath of zf Redzone’s security

By Sunday I was no longer being ejected when visiting the Redzone store. Had Mr. Xue been trying to send me a message, then thought better of it ? Or were the hactivists updating the zf Redzone database behind his back?

In either case, many questions remain unanswered. Is someone in zFire’s inner circle feeding his critics pointers YouTube videos to cause him trouble? Who snitched out Boris the raccoon to animal control? Has the level of drama risen to the point that Linden Lab will take action? Will the Second Life babyfur community look favorably on zf Redzone now that they know zFire Xue is a potential fan? What of the wider Second Life community – and the risk of gross anarchy with diapers?

The zF RedZone security scanner scandal continues to churn, creating what seems to be a nearly unstoppable epic thread in the SL Universe forums which has grown to over 320 pages (8100 posts) as of this writing. At the heart of the controversy is zFire Xue – the creator of RedZone.

Mr. Xue was gracious enough to consent to an e-mail interview with the Herald. In the interview zFire Xue discussed the variability of Linden Lab’s ToS conditions, his dealings with Patsey and Soft Linden, and his plans for the future.

zFire Xue’s Second Life storefront

Pixeleen Mistral: I understand that Linden Lab has removed your zf RedZone from in-world and also removed this product from the Marketplace. Will you be able to meet Linden Lab’s conditions for reinstating this product?
zFire Xue: Yes Patsey Linden has removed the zF RedZone from the Market 2 times, and from inworld 1 or 2 times. zF RedZone has been removed from the Marketplace a total of 4 times, recently one of those was even by myself. It is back in world, and I am debating on posting to the market, as an issue of paying Linden Labs any fees related to zF RedZone for their assistance.

I have always met Linden Lab’s conditions for keeping zF RedZone llLegal(‘If I may add a joke here’);

Pixeleen Mistral: Has Linden Lab changed the conditions under which you are able to sell the RedZone product? How long have you been negotiating with the Lab on this issue?
zFire Xue: Yes Linden Labs has changed a few conditions. Soft Linden has been in contact with me since 2-9-11. We have spoken about the political issues of zF RedZone and how people interpret policy. Soft Linden came up with the idea of a Consent based system. Of course I was not keen on the idea of limiting information in this way, but a type of "background check" system could still work, just not so well for helping stop contest cheaters in clubs.

Eventually it was "Oh, hey, we removed X, Y, and zF RedZone from the marketplace, you may relist it but you have to add a consent system for displaying alt names, and include an Opt-Out system by Friday." (paraphrased) and "we will be ******** the Second Life Community Standards to prohibit disclosure of Residents’ alternate account names without their consent." (I added a few **** and the word "to" so it protects the grammer of the unnamed Linden and isn’t "disclosing a conversation log". )

So I did that, which upset thousands of people. Not my idea at all.

Then some days later Patsy Linden said displaying alt names at all was forbidden, even with consent.
So all alt name display functions where removed.

Then zF RedZone was delisted by the Lindens because of the Consent system the lindens thought of.

Now using a Consent system is forbidden.

I went off on them for that. It was their idea in the first place, I even asked them to look it over, and further explain the finer points of their requirements. No response. Days later Consent is forbidden.
So I just removed all that, and let everyone know I never offered Alt name displays even if that is one of the functions I included, and enjoyed. I posted a notice here: http://isellsl.ath.cx/madsci/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=561

Explaining just as before http://isellsl.ath.cx/madsci/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=490 That zF RedZone changed yet again to adapt to the ever changing SecondLife™ Terms of Service, but all functions continue to operate as normal, but without displaying alt names. In short it still bans alts of people you do not want, does everything the advertisement says, and a bit more.

Pixeleen Mistral: If you and Linden Lab cannot come to an agreement soon, so you plan to move to an outside-of-SL approach for RedZone using paypal and user-installable scripts?
zFire Xue: I had publicly said that I could move RedZone outside of Second Life if Linden Labs wishes it to leave Second Life. To go to a stand alone website, Open-Space, and others, to a paypal paid membership system that hosts no objects in any world. The problem with that is then it becomes nothing but an alt display gadget, and my existing users would not be safe from 77283 people they have banned plus their alts. (Those are private individual bans not grid bans by the way. ) Many of my own users have asked me to go off world with it, etc. Linden Labs knows that if alts cannot be displayed even with consent by RedZone, many many others will take it’s place and do so.

Thanks to the hospitality of the Lindens I am willing to sit back and let that happen. So Linden Labs can hear from thousands of other complaints, but about someone else for a change. This is me allowing a bigger fire to burn elsewhere so the angry mob can go deal with that and I can get back to my own updates in security.

Pixeleen Mistral: Do you have any concerns about the RedZone database being compromised with suspect data if you moved to a user-installable script business model?
zFire Xue: Yes there is an issue with a user installable script business model, which would prevent entirely full perm scripts from being available. They would have to be no mod to protect the methods that ensure the data packet is in sync with valid data sent from the unit itself. It is possible to transmit no mod scripts, or even objects for that matter, but for now that isn’t necessary.

Pixeleen Mistral: Is there anything you would like to tell the Herald readers?
zFire Xue: I would like to thank all of your readers, I would like to invite them to read and understand what zF RedZone is and is not.

As most people know Linden Labs is very slow to deal with Abuse Reports or DMCAs for the few they deal with at all.

The only viewer Linden Labs has blocked is Emerald, which still logs in to SL in some cases.
If you have a griefer or copybot threat zF RedZone is more effective at catching and banning copybot viewers, griefers, stalkers, and the alts they use than Linden Labs itself. Without it, try banning someone, and they will be back with an alternate account.

The bad guys do have new copybot viewers every so often, or other methods to steal, but zF RedZone catches these viewers in time, and the alts of these people, unlike Linden Labs which only sometimes bans or suspends individual accounts, but never stopped a single copybot viewer from logging into the grid.

zF RedZone is not spyware, it does not install anything or record anything that is not public information.
It does use intelligence to calculate things for security purposes. There are no script functions for keylogging or voice media controls as the other side of the debate will have you believe.
Please visit http://isellsl.ath.cx/rzfaq.php for answers to more questions.

Best Regards,
zFire Xue =)

The video’s credits detail the gestures that make up Chantal and Phaylen’s dance routine, including Funnyfarm, Do you take it in the A, attention, and Overload – a capsule summary of common reactions to Prokofy prose. A Wordle summary of Prok’s lengthy diatribe forms the backdrop for the video and slyly suggests that it might be time to give the word smarmy a rest.

Is this the beginning of a new trend in the metaverse media landscape blending song, dance, and not-so-veiled messages? More importantly, will Prokofy accept the implicit challenge from Chantal and Phaylen to create the next great music video dance?

By Urizenus Sklar, from the Hall of Mirrors Desk

Cryptically and on short notice, my old friend Mike Godwin has left his position as General Counsel for Wikipedia. He first notified his staff on Oct. 19 and he was out on Oct 22. Why the quick departure? The letter from the Executive Director of Wikipedia included a FAQ that raises more questions than it answers:

Why is Mike leaving the Wikimedia Foundation?

Mike leaving the Wikimedia Foundation is a confidential personnel issue, and the Wikimedia Foundation doesn’t talk about confidential personnel issues with anyone except the people directly involved. We want to handle this kind of thing with respect for people’s privacy and dignity, and we are hopeful we can do that in this instance. That means, we’re not going to answer this question, and we hope you will understand why.

That isn’t a FAQ, that is a FUQ, as in a frequently unanswered question. And as we know, when people don’t say much they are violating Grice’s Maxim of Quantity, which usually means they can’t say what they really want to say, which is this: Nazis made us do it!

In this case, the speculation in the Hall of Mirrors™ is that Godwin has been pushed out because of his smack talking the FBI over the use of the FBI seal on Wikipedia.

Back in August, the FBI took umbrage at the FBI insignia appearing on the Wikipedia FBI page. FBI General Counsel David Larson cited 18 U.S.C. 701, which states: "Whoever manufactures, sells, or possesses any badge, identification card, or other insignia, of the design prescribed by the head of any department or agency of the United States for use by any officer or employee thereof, or any colorable imitation thereof, or photographs, prints, or in any other manner makes or executes any engraving, photograph, print, or impression in the likeness of any such badge, identification card, or other insignia, or any colorable imitation thereof, except as authorized under regulations made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

Godwin fired back in his usual manner – a manner designed to outflame all opponents in WELL flame wars (back when his pseud was “mnemonic” and his style was all aggression all the time): “while we appreciate your desire to revise the statute to reflect your expansive vision of it, the fact is that we must work with the actual language of the statute, not [the FBI's] aspirational version." Godwin went on to point out, quite correctly, that the law "was intended to protect the public against the use of a recognizable assertion of authority with intent to deceive."

Could this really be why Godwin is out? Stranger things have happened. And…

…in the Hall of Mirrors™, we may never know.

24 hours after Tizzers Foxchase placed a single post on Twitter – a little birdie told me that Microsoft may have silently offered tp buy Linden Lab this week – the outstanding quality of reporting in the internet age is all too apparent.

Tizzers Foxchase Trolls Twitter

While successful trolling of a few minor blogs is to be expected, this rumor had legs – much to the dismay of long-time Linden Lab sock puppets and favored sources for quasi-official Lab leaks.

For instance, just imagine Tateru Nino’s dismay at being upstaged by the notorious Tizzers Foxchase – a player repeatedly banned from Second Life and member of The Wrong Hands faction. While Tateru has always played the Lab’s good girl, Tizzers has chosen a more colorful approach to her gameplay and  should not be underestimated. The Wrong Hands exposed both Linden Lab staff collusion with the Justice League Unlimited vigilantes and the disgraced Emerald viewer developers.

What else could Tateru do but grit her teeth and point out that it could be true – even if the source might be suspect. And so we witness a perfect meta-gaming storm as frantic-to-post bloggers and minimal research create a no-lose situation for Ms. Foxchase. The evidence? Mary-Jo Foley of ZDnet took the bait along with Kevin Parrish of Tom’s Hardware.

Is Tizzers Foxchase the ultimate industry insider – or the author of one of the most successful Second Life trolls ever?