Archive for 'Mafias, Gangs and Virtual Governments'
Sowing the Seed
Though its beta test has only just started, the new MMO Seed is already getting the usual breathless attention from virtual world fansites and other online communities. The latest Seed news comes from online gaming and music radio station Split Infinity Radio, which is advertising an upcoming interview with Runestone CEO Lars Kroll, the man [...]
Full StoryThe Demi-Pharaoh Speaks!
A Tale in the Desert is one of those games that chooses to tread the dangerous boards of player-run government, at least to a limited extent. The game’s demi-pharaohs, of which there have been some 20 over the last three years, each have the power to exile up to seven of their countrymen, should they [...]
Full StoryMafia Boss Torches Red Dragon Casino
by Dirk Diggler In a textbook case of how partnerships with the Mafia can go horribly wrong, Drax Lemieux’s Red Dragon Club & Casino was attacked at roughly 9:30pm game time Sunday night. Details of the attack are still sketchy, but it would appear that Sim Mafia Boss Marsellus Wallace was the purported attacker. When [...]
Full StoryInfamous SL Gangster Weds in Lavish Wedding
by Pat the Rat Infamous Second Life Gangster, but self-described "businessman," Marsellus Wallace, wed Mackenzie Draper today in a lavish ceremony on the island of Cameo. In attendence were many of Mr. Wallace’s "business associates" as well as some of the underworld associates of the former Ms. Draper (indeed, she was given away by Galante [...]
Full StoryThe Island of Dr. Zamboni
Okay, so they’re not trying to push democratic governance in virtual worlds, but over at Democracy Island, which opens today in Second Life, the virtual world may may come in handy in settling governance issues in the real world. Under the tutelage of the New York Law School’s Beth Noveck and the guiding hand of [...]
Full Story2005 Avatar of the Year: Prokofy Neva
Avatar of the Year Prokofy Neva (left) with Pathfinder Linden In December 2004, the Herald reported a story that raised few eyebrows at the time, but which would eventually become the single most controversial issue in Second Life during 2005, and would speak to many questions about how governance in cyberspace might shake out. The [...]
Full StoryRoleplay or Landgrab? As the Elf Council Debates, only the Orcs Know for Sure!!!
Are these guys fugly or what? In the hall of mirrors that is Second Life, what does it mean when a band of plug ugly Orcs invite the peaceful elven folk to a game of combat roleplay? Is it all in fun, or does something more sinister lurk beneath the surface? Elven Queen Forcythia, seeing [...]
Full StoryBlogosphere Debates Philip’s Turn to the FBI
As first reported by Dow Jonas in this newspaper, a few days ago Philip Linden announced that he was turning to the FBI for help with griefers that were involved in global attacks on the grid – effectively taking Second Life offline. Since then the blogosphere has been all a gaggle over this move (assuming [...]
Full StoryExtra!!: Philip Calls the FBI. W-Hats Shit Themselves
by Dow Jonas Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, announced at a resident virtual winter holiday party in Second Life’s Wengen today that he is turning to real-world authorities to investigate Monday’s deliberate crashing of his virtual world’s grid. When the party was bombed today by a griefer with pixelated C-4, Rosedale, whose avatar is [...]
Full StoryUnleash Your Inner Hordeling
If you’ve grown tired of the burdens that accompany membership in that most august group of Second Life residents, the Feted Inner Core, now there’s a solution. Just VW-hop on over to World of Warcraft and join the Feted Inner Horde, a new guild on WoW’s Lightninghoof server composed entirely of Second Life residents, complete [...]
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