Archive for 'Opinion'
Op-Ed: It’s a Beta, Beta, Beta, Beta World
by Walker Spaight While the Herald’s editorial board remains skeptical about certain aspects of the recent economic changes put in place in Second Life, the Lindens are to be applauded both for their effort to rein in an overheating economy, and for their attempts to keep the world of Second Life as creative as it [...]
Full StoryEditorial: Raise Taxes, But Do It Right
by the SL Herald editorial board Philip Linden is well intentioned, but he needs to put his money supply where his mouth is. Tightening SL monetary policy to stem a declining exchange rate and fight property price inflation is a good idea. Unfortunately, the measures announced by Linden early Tuesday morning in one Second Life [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: Enough with the Clubs!
Artemis Fate The following essay by Artemis Fate appeared in Players, vol. 9. We are grateful to both Marilyn Murphy and to Artemis for permission to republish it here. It is, in our humble opinion, a spot on critique of the rise of club culture in SL, and how it signals a kind of failure [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: Schwanson Schlegel Blasts the Lindens
On New Years Eve Schwanson finally vented about troubles he was having with Second Life and Linden Lab, and if the discussion on the SL Forums are any indication, the problems are not isolated to his case (and of course we all have experienced the recent downtimes). In Schwanson’s case the complaints range from loss [...]
Full StoryOn Scamming Scammers
by The Phantom Recently someone on TSO scammed a scammer and then gave the proceeds to the victims of the scammer. Three cheers for the virtual Robin Hood or bad idea? A discussion has opened on Stratics.
Full StoryOp/Ed: Saw it Coming – anonymous gaming as a training ground for sociopathic behavior
In this essay, our reader DigitalGaia takes us back to the early days of virtual communitites and contends that griefing and predatory behavior (especially by teens) has always been with us and should come as no surprise now. Sample quote: “It was then that I began to observe the frighteningly real effect a life without [...]
Full StoryOp/Ed: A plea for Sasami Wishbringer
By Mrs. President Chomsky Several months ago I was interviewed by the Herald about my opposition to the ?culling? of rare breed pets in TSO. In the interview, I observed that the practice of buying many virtual pets and destroying all but the rare pets was just as bad as killing real animals. Now I [...]
Full StoryThis is a Really Really Bad Idea
Editorial This is a short editorial, because it won’t take me long to make my point, which is very simple. The recent Linden trial balloon to provide up front financial support (in Linden Dollars or whatever) to big projects is just a bad idea. Quite apart from its unfairness to people like the Bedazzled group [...]
Full Storyraganarok and cultural design
at terra nova, nick yee has written an interesting discussion about how cultural assumptions inform the design of in-game culture. he mentions the differences in ideas about how appearance and profession affect identity in western v non-western game. read it here.
Full StoryHammie ponders his independence
Hamlet Linden in a reflective mood In a recent entry in New World Notes, Hamlet Linden addresses the issue of his independence as an employee of Linden Lab. At State of Play he said it was analogous to writing for a newspaper in a company town. Now he isn’t so sure. I say he should [...]
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