Photos From The Fandom Fashion Show

 

 Pictures by Gemma Cleanslate

 

Last week, Gemma Cleanslate dropped by the Fandom Fashion Show, and finding a number of Moles and Lindens took some pictures. This included Alotta Mole.

There was Wendi Linden. No word from Gemma on if anyone was saying "Bettlejuice" three times.

And there was Patch Linden, in a pink-stripped outfit.

There was Mini Mole in a sailor suit.

Ancient Mole looked a bit like a Murlock from "Warcraft" on a broom.

It wasn't clear what Jester Linden was trying to be.

Ador Mole was looking a little cheesy. 

They and others were having fun, dancing away at a pad.

At one point there was an "intruder on stage." If this guy was out to cause trouble, no doubt with all the blue tags around, he was taken care of in a hurry.

Gemma may have more on the con later. 

Bixyl Shuftan & Gemma Cleanslate

The Wearers

By Gemma Cleanslate

Two of my oldest friends in Second Life are Kikas Barbenco  and Marmaduke Arado, partners not only in SL but also real life. They are performers of wearable art at many events  and regions around the Second Life grid. They also live in my home sim, Thorstar, where they have a home that I can only describe as a reminder of a visit I made to a  Mardi Gras float factory in New Orleans , LA, USA. There are items of interest that can be used to create their scenery for their plays waiting to be used. They have all the possible items you can find all around the sims mostly great freebies. Kikas wardrobe is the envy of everyone who watches the shows . Marmaduke has wonderful tuxedos and great bathing suits ... and physique. 

Wednesday I was able to attend a performance in LEA2. KG Shine,  titled, "Me Kikas, You Marma: The Extraordinary Adventures of Kikas and Marmaduke." All their art is put on behind a red curtain. When the curtain rises Kikas is usually in some difficulty from which Marmaduke must save her ... however Kikas is sometimes (mostly) the heroine of the story. Some scenes are frightening, some humorous, some that seem to be private and the audience becomes an intruder.  Their misadventures are often unimaginable except in the mind of the creators, but such fun. Peeking behind the curtain is frowned upon but is enlightening. 

The first few times I went to see their shows years ago they were so simple and cute with a few wearable art pieces and short in duration. They have progressed so far in their scenery and story lines it is amazing. I love to see their shows, always something new. Many artists attend to see the performances. The audience enters into the spirit of the show and expresses its thoughts openly which adds to the performance.Kikas and Duke enter into the fun with their responses. If you are interested in seeing their performances you may join their group for notices: The Wearers.

Gemma Cleanslate

The ZeroG Skydancers – Staying Power for a Reason

By DrFran Babcock

Namedrops

I was minding my own business, just listening to Crap Mariner read 100 Word Stories. It was nice that Lauren Weyland had shown up because she has been so busy in First Life that she’s not been around much. I could hardly keep from jumping up and down when she Instant Messaged me and asked me if I wanted to go see the Skydancers after Crap was done. I remembered reading about the ZeroG SkyDancers back in 2006 on Hamlet Au’s blog: New World Notes (http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/12/your_tube_your_.html ), but had never had the fortune to score a ticket to one of their events. She told me that I had to have a ticket to be admitted, but she was speaking to the staff, and one would be sent my way. The notecard ticket arrived, along with a HUD, and some instructions on setting my viewer to midnight and draw distance to 512 meters.

DanCoyote Antonelli

After a short stop at Curio to look at skins (that Lauren!), we teleported into the Linden Endowment of the Arts sim that currently houses the SkyDancers. Without a ticket you cannot get into the sim. We were cordially greeted, and took seats. The HUD is a bit of a job to attach to your screen, but once that was accomplished, Lauren and I chatted happily with the assembled audience, which (no more name-dropping) contained some of Second Life’s luminaries.

DanCoyote is an imposing figure, all black with a huge Mohawk. He spoke to us in voice about what to expect, and briefed us on the story we were about to see unfold before us on the 3000 meter stage. DanCoyote has been performing in Second Life with the SkyDancers since 2006, and while these performances have often been covered, they bear repeating. Mr. Antonelli has coined the term “hyperformalisn” to describe the art he makes. His definition is long and very intellectual and philosophical. My definition of this immersive, artistic expression is: “Wow!”

The Story

The stories presented change over the years, and for this show DanCoyote introduced us to a world in which the colorful Sufollo, beings of another world, peacefully play in complete joy and freedom. Their whole world changes when the horrible Gopus Bülie—red, spiney and growling—enters their world and tears them apart. The only hope for the Sufullo is Hereau, a Sufollo who is changed to fight the Gopus Bülie. I won’t have to give you a spoiler here, because the show ends differently each time, and like a Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is completely affected by the audience observing the performance.

The Show

There is no adequate replacement for being at the show. Immersed in the slow dance of the Sufullo, I melted into the kaleidoscope of colors that passed before me. The music, specially written for the show by Josh Zamo, was ethereal and evocative; a perfect complement to the floaty Sufullo. The intensity of the look, the feel, the multi-sensory experience was enough for me to forget I was staring at a computer screen. I don’t want to ruin if for you, if you can get tickets, so I won’t tell you more of the story.

The Players

The stars of the ZeroG Skydance are the dancers who commit many hours to the practice of their flying and dance moves Kudos go to: Anhinga Chaika, Tatiana Kurri, Angelique Menoptra, Buffy Beale, Pielady Smalls, Talulah Bancroft, Wytchwhisper Sadofsky, Juji Kumsung, Neena Botanical and Dot Pellazi for their aerial skills, and to DC Spensley for the out-of-this-world costumes. The sets were constructed by Selavy Oh and Oberon Onmura.

How To See The Show

I cannot recommend this endeavor more. Second Life has always been to me a place where individuals and groups can create the world they want to live in. The grand experiment comes to fruition when I witness the ZeroG Skydancers, and know the work and passion that went into this production. Come early, chat with the audience, and get ready to immerse yourself in the world of the innocent Sufollo. Thanks, Lauren for sharing this experience with me.

Seats are limited for the Wednesday evening at 6:45PM, Second Life time shows. You can contact SkyBank Alter in Second Life by Instant Message or via email at skybank@dancoyote.com, noting the date you wish to attend and how many seats you would like to reserve.  

DrFran Babcock

An Interview with Hatton Hunghi (Hatton Humphrey), Talk Show/Podcast Host

Talk shows are something people think of being on the radio rather than on the Internet or Second Life. But they can be found here on the Grid. One such show is "East Coast Conservative," hosted by Hatton Humphrey and Ken Johnson, which besides podcasted on the Internet and the Red State Radio Network and on several locations in Second Life. Hatton Humphrey is also known in Second Life by his avatar, Hatton Hunghi, and has a place for the show at the mainland Pop sim. Recently, he contacted me, and we soon agreed to an interview.

When I arrived at his location, Hatton Hunghi greeted me, "Well, this is my new 'home' in Second Life. Let me give you the tour. The first was a prefab that I shoehorned stuff into." The room we were in looked like a cozy den with a couple chairs and an American flag on the wall. He called this his basement.

Hatton paused momentarily, " One of the things that happened recently was a bit of a change in the presence of the GOP in Second Life. Much like what happened in 2007 between the pro and anti McCain folks, there are once again two different GOP groups with individual locations and events. Understand, i've been streaming the recording sessions for my podcast into SL since 2007; I've seen a lot change in the groups and support."

Hatton pointed to a wall, which had six signs on it, "This wall is something I've put up to provide 'equal access,' three groups and three landmarks. Though any group or location that wants to be on the board and fits the description can get a spot or three." With just six in the upper left corner, the wall looked a bit bare, "I'd love to see this thing filled up. But we'll talk about that more later, on with the tour!"

We stepped outside, the adjacent Second Life Highway clearly visible with an occasional bus driving down it, and walked the stairs to the top, where there was a semicircle seating stand: the theater, "It's custom built by a couple of GOP members, my building skills are about as good as my graphics. I constantly say me and graphics equals stick figures. People think I'm joking until I point out the show's logo is an example of my graphics skills … I'm a technologist and programmer by trade, graphics has never been my strong suit."

"There is some hidden technology running behind the scenes here," he pointed to the talk show's sign, "the easel with the show notes is actually part of a networked notecard giver that runs grid-wide, and there is an intercom system that will relay local chat to any other box. There are similar, though not same shaped, intercom devices in each of the other GOP locations as well as easels. What this allows me to do is host the show from here but get SL input from any place that has the easel and the intercom. The system that we use to record the podcast generates an MP3 steam that can be loaded into the audio section to Second Life. I'll spare you the sausage factory on how it works (grin). In each place it's 'hidden,' here it's the (sign) frame. … that's a programming reference - nobody wants to know what goes on in the sausage factory just like nobody wants to know the technical details of how something works. Right now all the other intercoms are probably turned off. Notice how the frame changed to full bright? That means it's on. I'm checking to see if one of the others can turn on their end."

Looking back at the audience area, "nyway, seating was a concern and the risers are all sittable. At this point I'm not sure what full capacity is." He then walked a bit to a teleporter, "Okay, the last part of the spot is at the other end of the teleporter … This is something that I just started working on." We took the teleporter to a skybox, which he called a future showcase for conservatives, "It's bare at the moment, but plans are to put links and info about famous conservatives, links to writings by the founding fathers, information about what I call "Civics 101", videos produced by another SL member, things like that."

We then headed back to the show location's "basement. " Asking him what gave him the idea to do the show, Hatton informed this was his second talk show, "he first one was a drive-rant recording called the 'Nifty Things' report to go with the domain I owned, ithinkitsnifty.com - it was a play on a blog I used to read that was ithinkitsucks.com. Podcasting allows gives you the ability to put emphasis on words and ideas that writing does not."

"The East Coast Conservative podcast actually came out of a blog site as well. I served in the Navy with Ken Johnston, my co-host on the podcast. We started off with a blog site called the 'Three-Legged Dog,' an homage to Ken's real-life rescue dog Rocky. After some time we realized we were talking more about things on the phone than we were posting on the site and the idea of the podcast came about. … We recorded our first two episodes using Skype in 2007. However because of hardware problems only the first episode was published. We 're-launched' the podcast in November 2007."

The size of East Coast's Conservative's audience can vary "wildly," at least those whom listen through podcast downloads from the Internet, "During the 2008 elections we were as high as 350-375 downloads per week. In slow times it's been as low as 65-75 per week." With the 2012 Presidential election season, ratings have picked up again, "the long run of the primaries has helped." Besides the podcasts downloads and listening in through the website and Second Life, "we have additional distribution channels. Stitcher.com carries the show as does the Red State Talk Radio network. … it's more exposure for the show, though tracking can be a bit tedious. Between feedburner, talkshoe stats, google analytics, stitcher stats and monthly reports from the radio station, keeping track of the numbers can get your eyes crossed."

Hatton first began running the show from Second Life in 2008. The sim "was the home of the 'Republican Party in SL.' They were recording a podcast of their own, Conservative Matters with Ron Skytower, and I offered to bring my show in-world as well. That was in June of 2008, episode 32, and unless there's been technical issues, we've been doing it every week since then, except for the odd Christmas, Thanksgiving or other vacation."

Of the show's topics, "We open our podcast with a funny/odd/human interest story. Over the years those have been the most fun. For example, when there were shark attacks in Egypt on the Red Sea resorts, there was an article accusing the Israelis of planting the shark near those shores. Then a couple of weeks later we opened with an article about a Romanian that was on holiday at one of those resorts, got plastered, and jumped off a pier and landed directly on a shark, killing it. So those were each opening articles. But for me the interesting articles are those that make me appreciate some kind of positive in the world, which, due to the nature of our podcast, we don't get to talk about as often as I'd like."

When asked how rough the political talk can get, "It can, absolutely, and not always in ways you might be able to directly infer. Since we depend on news articles and the occasional blog entry for our content, a slow news week can be a bit of a challenge when it comes time to put together the program. And then there are times when there are tons of things going on and I have 40-50 articles to pick 7-9 out of for the content. Generally, though, the attitude and flow that Ken and I have established over the years lends itself to more comfortable conversation. We have regular listeners from many different political areas, including liberals, moderates, conservative democrats and libertarians."

For a time, the show was at the GOP sim, "I've always wanted 'my own place' for the podcast, and had planned to make the investment when Keen closed down. The owner of Sagamore (later renamed Grand Old Party) offered me free space. I'd been toying with the idea more and more over the last 6 months or so. Then there were some changes that happened within the support structure of the groups behind that sim and the decision was made to close it. That kinda sealed the concept for me. This spot is the podcast's second true 'home.' The Cafe and the Theater on Keen before it were broadcast points. We had built a 'radio station' on GOP and I was able to put things but there was a disconnection between the information and the recording location. Here that's not the case."

Asked about visitors of different persuasions coming by, "we do get some visitors. Being so new on the mainland I'm still building up a search presence for this location. On GOP or Keen I saw so many people go by, but they were there for that sim, not always my podcast. … if they came in as griefers they probably didn't stay for very long. Griefers were not tolerated on Keen or Sagamore. Sometimes we do get comments or contact from folks that don't agree with something we're saying. If the comments are worth mentioning then I'll address them in the recording. If they're just there to be an ass, that's a different story. But that goes back to the concept that I have about debate and conversation. If one has no other response than a rude one, they're not worth making my blood pressure medication work harder and SL has this nifty 'mute' button. A freedom of speech does not translate to a freedom to be heard (grin). That's one of the joys of modern media." When asked about the "Occupy" movement, "I've had interactions with Occupy folks on other podcasts but none directly on mine. And no, nobody's occupied Pop yet."

For now, there is nothing special planned for the nomination conventions or Election Night, "Right now we are sticking with the regular schedule. … Ken and I may opt for something different as time draws nearer, however for other dates I tend to join in with a round-table of other Republican/conservative podcast hosts for a special event."

For the moment, Hatton isn't doing much else in Second Life, "In the past I was involved in various religious debates but those got a bit heated at times. I've got a lot of different real-life things going on, between band (I'm a tuba player), church, work, kids and studying for a MBA. … I've come across some interesting places in SL but none that have ever made me consider sticking around. I am a little active in the US Military Veteran group, mainly when they need someone to confirm a Navy vet in the time frame that I served. It's been interesting to watch Second Life grow over the years. It's a very fluid environment and continues to surprise me in what folks can do with it. Politics in SL is also very fluid. SL provides a microcosm in which the whole spectrum of though can be found and, when amiable, shared."

"I'm working to provide a place where folks can learn about conservatism, talk about politics in a friendly manner and relax a bit. Though to be honest that last part is the least represented in what I've put together so far. This place will continue to grow. Being a land owner is a new experience and I'm sure I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what can and will be done here."

Second Life's East Coast Conservative location can be found at the Pop sim at (158, 21, 68), next to the Inter-sim Highway. The website for the show is at: http://www.eastcoastconservative.com .

Bixyl Shuftan

My Little Brony

It takes a lot to impress me these days. After being on the grid for almost five years, I've pretty much seen it all.

Enter Bronyland, started by, of all things, 4chan?

That's right, started by a 4chan meme on /co/, the "My Little Pony" incarnation currently all over Youtube and TV is now in SL as the "Bronies", a beerslam of "bro" and "pony." Joining the group and rooting through the notices gets you a easily-edited Brony avatar (the hud is unusual, you color the spaces on the hud itself, click sync, and it does the work for you, rather than you editing each individual prim), and searching a bit more you'll come across landmarks to the Bronyland sim.

Curious, I teleported over. And holy HELL, the place is bustling and packed. It's packed with cuteness and sweetness, the perfect spot to unwind when you're in a cute-sy, kiddy mood. I tracked down Twinkle Swizzle. the Lady Of The House, and we got together for a little interview.


Xymbers Slade: Ok, my first question is, how long has this place been up? This has to be a "new meme", and yet the sim looks -really- fleshed out right now.

Twinkie Swizzle: We've been here in this sim for about a week. It was formerly My Little Project sim, but decided it would be better served as a home for the Bronies. We currently have a ticket in to change the name to "Bronyville."

Xymbers Slade: It's certainly become that home. It looks like it sprang up overnight. How did this whole thing get off the ground? I saw a pony in a sandbox a few weeks or so ago and thought "Ok, THAT'S cute." Just a random idea cribbed from 4chan?

Twinkie Swizzle: The week before we moved here, Curly had a little house on a 1024 lot in "Sim." It was interesting packing 30+ people in there. We needed to spread out! Hee-hee.

Xymbers Slade: Yay lag then. I just came from the Korea sims and they're laggy a bit.

Twinkie Swizzle: It all started in late 2010 when Lauren Faust released the Generation 4 “My Little Pony” on The Hub. Because of the super cute art style and fun personalities of the characters, it went viral. 4chan has a weakness for cute.

Xymbers Slade: How many members does the group have right now? Worried that things will go out of control if there's too many to keep track of?

Twinkie Swizzle: We currently have 1681 members, and it's growing by about 100 members a day.

Xymbers Slade: I think the Mentors had something like 2500 before Linden Lab told them to screw off ... heh. Since this whole thing started on 4chan, do you get hit with a lot of griefers who don't like the idea of "cute and sweet"? Most people don't equate 4chan as having a weakness for cute.

Twinkie Swizzle: We went from 30 members to almost 1700 in about two weeks. I'm totally blown away by how many fans are actually here in Second Life. Curly's pony avatar really helped bring everybody together.

Xymbers Slade: It made me want to build a little again or at least edit, hence what I have so far. (smile)

Twinkie Swizzle: We do deal with the occasional griefer. However we have a mod team made up individuals with a lot of previous Second Life moderation experience in other communities such as Furnation and Luskwood. We are not a furry community per-say, however quite a few of our members are furry.

Xymbers Slade: What do you have planned for the sim? Will it become a place to roleplay? Seeing it's based off a popular show and all.

Twinkie Swizzle: We want to give the fans of “Friendship is Magic” a really fun experience here, if roleplay is what they want, I'm sure we can provide some venue for that.

Xymbers Slade: What's the biggest thing that has surprised you since this first got off the ground?

Twinkie Swizzle: Besides the astonishing growth rate, just how amazing the members are. When you think of chan culture, you think of LOLcats, goatse, and internet memes. The Bronies hold friendship and caring for each other in high regard, so it really defeats the stereotype.

Xymbers Slade: This seems to be a big thing on TV right now. Are you worried about repercussions from the creators of the cartoon if they get wind of this, especially if the avs start selling?

Twinkie Swizzle: We see this sim as more of generic interpretation of cute vectorized ponies and their home, rather than a direct copy of Hasbro's intellectual property. We would never sell anything actually branded as "My Little Pony."

Xymbers Slade: Hence the Brony label? (smile)

Twinkie Swizzle: Exactly!

Xymbers Slade: Do you think this is just a fad whose star will fall to earth just as quickly as quickly as it rose? All this work only to go poof if interest dries up?

Twinkie Swizzle: TV shows come and go, but the messages they carry last forever. With Season 2 in the pipeline, we don't really see things slowing down right away. Of course everything has an expiration date, but we're going to have fun while it lasts!

Xymbers Slade: Well, that pretty much covers the questions I had in mind.

Twinkie Swizzle: Sounds fantastic! Thanks for stopping by Xymbers. Brohoof!

This is most definitely a place to visit. Join the Bronies group for access to the avatar and a LOT of modifications (just go through the notices, there are a lot of attachments and things to be had). This is SL Done Right at its finest, not bean counters and lawyers afraid of the aforementioned chan culture.

As of this being typed, all the fun is on the sim called "The Joint", but as Miss Swizzle said, they're getting the sim name changed soon to Bronyville. Go visit, you'll be glad you did.


Xymbers Slade.

Xymbers Slade’s Interview by Sam Nightfire

About a month and a half after my interview at Virtual Tonight by Sam Nightfire, it was someone else’s turn from Second Life Newser. Our new freelancer Xymbers Slade was invited to appear there.

Xymbers was the last to appear on the show. Before him were a few others. First were two women from the Cheeky Cow Golf course. Next was noted singer Lance Rembrant. Third was Dmitriy Gauseman from the Tombstone RP area. While the show went on, Xymbers had a problem. A SL glitch was causing the eyes on his anthro wolf avatar to bulge out. So he switched to a “Crux” avatar, hoping for the best with this unusual-looking avatar. As it turned out, Sam liked the Crux, impressed with it’s uncommon appearance.

Xymbers was on not to talk about his role at SL Newser, but his fortune telling. He told Sam he had about fifteen years of experience, “I don’t see myself as a psychic ...” He explained what he did as foreseeing potential happenings using tarot cards. He focused on five cards or ten, usually in Second Life a five card reading. Each card, he explained, has a particular meaning, the final card for example representing if the person didn’t change from his or her course.

To skeptics, he often tells them “this seems like the most likely thing to happen.’” He commented dealing with some diehard skeptics was “like arguing religion.” Sam admitted, “I was a skeptic, but ...” She talked about the reading he had given her, “everything you said became true within 5 weeks.”

Sam asked Xymbers if he could do a reading on someone. Xymbers answered he’d need a volunteer from the audience. A boy scout child avatar offered to be the one. Xymbers then rezzed a board, telling the volunteer he needed something to focus on, asking for a location. The boy scout gave his home state, and Xymbers drew the cards.

The first card was pentacles, “foundations, anything you set up now will stand on it’s own, it will stay put.” The second card, Justice, “greater arcana ... karma and fate ... the card of destiny, difficult to change anything.” The third card drawn, Xymbers told him represented a major obstacle, “Upside down knight of cups ... someone about your age.” Right side up, the card represented “the holy grail.” But upside down, “a corrupt knight, someone out for himself, or out to get you. If you take allies, you will get stabbed in the back.” The fourth card drawn was the 8 or pentacles, “work ... establishing ... the knight is going to attempt something, but not get very far.” And the final card drawn, “The Lovers ... I’m tempted to say this means a relationship of some kind. .. like a relationship is starting, someone will try to break it, and fail.”

“Just keep doing what you're doing ... I don't foresee anything negative ... don't take any crap from anybody."

Xymbers went on to say that outside Second Life, he normally does a ten card reading. He could do additional readings, but “do 20 different readings, get 20 different answers,” and asking for more readings to get a better one, he felt, defeated the purpose. The volunteer then admitted to being in a relationship, and thanked Xymbers for the reading. Xymbers did remind him his readings were not a hundred percent accurate.

Xymbers later told me this reading was uncommon in that is was unusually positive. Usually his readings had some kind of warning or caution, such as the one he had given me earlier this year.

A recording of the interview will soon be available on the Virtual World Network website.


Bixyl Shuftan

Paisley Beebe interviews Azure Twine of Team GreenZone

Sunday March 6 had a few guests on Paisley Beebe’s “Tonight LIve” show. First was MenuBar Memorial, whom had an unusual kind of breedable pet to sell: a breedable pet rock! Singer Sonyajevette Charisma was on as the musician.

But the main guest was Azure Twine of Team GreenZone. Paisley introduced the subject as being the result of a “massive security hole,” which the product Redzone exploited, and the Greenzone HUD was created in response. Azure began by saying, “Greenzone’s a product, we’re not a militia group .... we don’t promote harassment or greeting. We were grown organically as a group of concerned citizens.”

“I was kinda drafted ... I was the one they chose to speak to you” She had been asked by the creator as her native language was English and his wasn’t, “Redzone scans you ... captures your IP address ... an invasion of your privacy.” Rezone, she explained, will ban all your alts without an appeal process. GreenZone was developed as a result. One of the team had been banned by a RedZone device, so wanted a device to tell her when she was in a Redzone area. She described Redzone some more, and the complaints of it being a community standards violation. As it worked by tracking IP addresses, it would report everyone at a Starbucks venue on Wifi.

One could keep oneself safe from Redzone by turning off both music and media streams. Azure explained she had been told Redzone used only the media stream, but it was best when traveling about to turn off both music and media, “all copybotters out there have media off by default.” Greenzone is a HuD, Azure explained, and not against the ToS. Paisley asked if Voice was vulnerable. Azure answered probably not, although she heard it could be. Greenzone has a 96 meter range

Soft Linden’s ban announcement was discussed, as well as Redzone creator zFire Xue’s threat to release database on web,“I take them very seriously.”

How many Redzone devices were out there? Azure stated zFire claimed 22K, which considering there were 32K sims on the Grid suggested a flawed method of counting, “the number’s much lower.” Of zFire’s claims that if Redzone was banned, another product would replace it, “there are several other systems that say they do what RedZone does, but without the one banned dying in a blaze of glory.” Azure stated Redzone had an animation that if someone banned, the avatar was set afire or caged, others “more professionally done.”

Paisley went on to say she had read some of the Redzone forums, and in a sense could understand the frustrations of some of the Redzone users, saying their argument was
“Linden Lab have allowed Second Life to get to a point of vigilantism because there are no effective ways of protecting oneself from griefing or stalking that people feel comfortable with.” Azure brought up the copybotting issue, agreeing Linden Lab did not take copybotting as seriously as most content creators want, “whom I’m one of.” While there was a process, “It requires knowing that you’ve been copybotted, which is unlikely as the Grid is so large.”

Paisley brought up the stalker potential, that products could be used to track someone on the Grid. Azure explained Redzone could do that as well. Paisley told that the person she had heard had a stalker never filed with Linden Lab as she believed it would just be a waste of time. Azure felt Linden Lab’s attitude was “until you are a victim, there hasn’t been a crime yet.”

How to tell if a Redzone on a sim was the new legal version or the old one? Azure explained there really was no way for someone else to know, “It’s up to Linden Lab to police that. ... It doesn’t actually look in the script.”

Of those Redzone users whom excused themselves, stating since Google tracked IPs, so could they, “Google won’t publicize my IP address, or keep it ... or turn it over to the police. ... there is no good way to link someone’s avatar... only Linden Labs can.”

Azure stated the privacy issue was reaching the point to places on the Grid were starting to advertise themselves as “Redzone Free.” She went on to say Linden Lab had to take this issue more seriously, “someone is going to suffer in real life, there are real life consequences to having your IP address (tracked).” Someone could potentially find himself fired, and with teens in Second Life, this added another level of problems.

Paisley wondered if this might hurt the music industry, with people turning media & music off to stay safe from Redzone and similar, “This is going to affect our entertainment in Second Life.”

Azure felt, “the Lindens need to acknowledge that there is an exploit, acknowledge that there is a hole, and that they do take it seriously and they will fix it.” The issue was not so much the IP addresses than how they were getting them. She concluded, “I sympathize with all the people who think they need to use RedZone ... but that does not justify you violating my privacy.”

As the show took place, there was something of a debate within the audience, albeit a mostly one sided one. There were a few people sympathetic to Redzone, one man in particular whom was very vocal. But most in the audience were clearly against it.

Paisley and Azure chatted for a few minutes after the show. It was felt this was “the Emerald decable all over again. Azure felt zFire’s stubbornness in trying to keep Redzone alive was him “trying to salvage a dying empire.” She did acknowledge it would probably be difficult for Linden Lab to fix the hole.

For more on the show, check the post on Paisley Beebe's Tonight Live site: Here.

For GreenZone's blog, click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan