Archive for 'Op/Ed'
Op/Ed: Barrett Brown Prosecutor Inadvertently Indicts Criminal Justice System
by Biff Baker, Prosecutors Gone Wild! ™ Desk In a recent article here in the Herald, Urizenus Sklar argued that the US Attorney in the Barrett Brown case was attempting to smear Barrett by listing a whole number of allegedly bad attributes of Barrett and then publishing them in a public court document. I [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: Limits of Freedom of Speech: Reddit’s Child Pornography Problem
Several weeks ago, the popular message board Reddit announced that it was making a policy change to ban all “suggestive or sexual content featuring minors.” Owned by Advanced Publications, Reddit has made a name for itself in part by its hands-off, pro-free-speech, let-the-users-decide, and self-police approach. In fact, before the policy change, the only rules [...]
Full StoryUnderstanding the “Little Hitlers” of Second Life
I’ve long wondered at the connection between Second Life’s endless supply of over-the-top drama and the strange psychology of certain players — particularly those seriously invested in “defending” Linden Lab and “policing” the Second Life grid. What is it about Second Life that attracts and retains obsessive-compulsive meta-gamerz who can’t keep their play inside the [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: The Perils And Promises Of Multi-User Shared Environments
by Senban Babii – apologist for criminals and a notorious one In recent days, the SL profile of Rodvik Linden has been under attack by a well known griefer (according to the leaked JLU wiki) who has been conducting a low tech denial of service attack by filling Rodvik Linden’s wall with spam about British [...]
Full StoryPaleFire’s Open Letter to Kalel Venkman
Have griefers turned the JLU into a paranoid collective? When I approached Peter Ludlow at the Society of Cinema and Media Studies in May 2010, I never would have guessed that my research would cause so much concern among anti-griefing organizations, and by that, I mean specifically Kalel Venkman. Here’s why I am writing this [...]
Full StoryIt Has To Be Said: Pseudo-Realities
As reported here, two teens were sentenced to four years of prison each for using Facebook to incite a riot after UK officials monitored social media. Prime Minister David Cameron stated that while social medi can be used for good, the same media can also be used for ill and must be monitored and controlled. [...]
Full StoryOf Visionary Art and Unpaid Tier: Ina Centaur vs Linden Lab
by Lora Constantine Two years and L$15 million fundraised later for an arts nonprofit based completely in Second Life, Ina Centaur gives up the warcry that galvanized hundreds of thousands to donate. “The arts vs. tier” was Ina Centaur’s call – a call that united the residents of Second Life to support the once-heretical cause [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: Profiles in Chicanery: Caine Constantine
by Le Creuset New Jessie President Caine Constantine He’s donned typical American apparel; blue shirt, high waist chinos, brown belt. The skin; a rugged “warts and all” look that would set one back several thousand Lindens, coupled with the hazel, sculpted hair he sports, Indeed, Caine Constantine bears the patina of the revolutionary capitalist in [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: Time to Outsource SL Support to India and Botswana?
How Linden Lab can benefit by offshoring labor — and why they should. by Kelvin R. Throop, concerned resident A while back, I tried to teleport to my office in Second Life. However, for some reason, I couldn’t teleport there, and I landed in the sim next door. My office sim hadn’t crashed, and I [...]
Full StoryMy Love
by One Song In the midst of so many passionately fought battles We must not be distracted, nor forget our love. Today, we commemorate the execution of a saint, St. Valentine, who was amongst the most virtuous. Often, it seems, valiant warriors are martyred Unjustly defending a good cause. Saints, unlike angels, do not live [...]
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