With the ripples from the recent forum phishing scam still, well, rippling (PMs remain disabled on the blogrum), people seem to be returning to their own pet peeves.
Chief among these is a return to the popular game of “Emerald bashing“. Let’s be clear on this: I’m actually very uncomfortable around some of the activities being undertaken by those involved in Modular Systems. My take on Lonely Bluebird (one of several alts within the “Emerald dev” group that is operated by one of that group’s more conspicuous members) handing out Viewer-crashing prims in the name of “anti-copybotting” activities being a case in point.
I’m also less than sanguine about the likes of CDS and Oynx, both of which smack of vigilantism to some degree – especially in the light of the continued obfuscation put out by those involved in Emerald / Modular Systems / Oynx / CDS. I’m certainly not sold on the idea that they need to be secretive because otherwise the “bad guys” will be able to bypass the “security” tools like Oynx and CDS supposedly give.
But that said, the blatant witch hunting that goes on around anything that even faintly smacks of being Emerald-related stinks at least as much as (and in some cases more so than) any whiff of unpleasantness arising from Oynx / CDS.
In a recent round robin on the Oynx bots currently threading their way through the grid, any opportunity to engage in reasoned discussion was quickly overturned by those more interested in relying on fear and innuendo. That some of this seemed driven more by one Viewer developer’s – dare I say it – envy over Emerald’s continued success more than any genuine concern or attempt to give factual information on subject was unfortunate. That another over-the-top forum poster saw it as a means of (again) demonstrating her self-promoted “skill” at wordplay simply drove the entire thread into the realms of pointlessness.
Which is a shame, as there are questions that need to be legitimately asked – and honestly answered – around the subject of Oynx in particular. Dragging matters down into games of wordplay or Viewer envy tend to kill the opportunities to ask such questions stone dead.
To be sure those at Modular Systems are not entirely free from blame here. They’ve been challenged some in the SL blogs and forums such as SL Universe, and rather than give direct answers, they’ve opted for wordplay and obfuscation of their own. Many attribute this to the fact that they have “something to hide”. Personally, having been witness to the behaviour of some of the individuals involved in Modular Systems, I have to say I think their repeated attempts at “wit”, etc., is actually down to juvenile flippancy more than any desire to “hide” things; that is to say that some of them enjoy spreading confusion simply because it does upset the very people it is aimed at, rather than being any attempt at deviousness. While it is true that some of them have, in the past, demonstrated a capacity for maliciousness, I for one would still rather look upon them with an attitude of “innocent until proven [emphasis deliberate] guilty” – whereas others out in the virtual world seem to believe that democratic due process proceeds from “guilty even if proven to be innocent”.
But this aside, resorting to the Alphaville Herald (neither a bastion of honest journalism or a font of unbiased and accurate information) – does little to establish a “case” against Modular Systems; all it actually does is provide further opportunities for wordplay, FUD and temper tantrums.
Elsewhere, people are picking up on the Evans et al suit against Linden Lab following a report (loosely) on the matter posted by CNN.
Although the CNN article doesn’t directly address the ins and outs of the Evans et al case, this hasn’t stopped some in the blogrum from gloating over the potential for LL to be “put to rights” over perceived wrongdoing – while seemingly remaining blissfully unaware that a) the case is less about land ownership and more about potential false advertising on Linden Lab’s part, and b) it seems fairly clear from the way the case has been structured (and by whom: one Justin Archinaco) that the plaintiffs are more likely to be seeking a hoped-for settlement out-of-court, rather than the before jury hearing they are demanding (and it will be interesting to see how they respond should LL call this particular bluff).
Most of all however, I’m again struck by the shallowness of thinking that surrounds those who post gleeful “I own land and I can’t wait for this to get to court…” comments. While I do remain convinced the chances of this case reaching court prior to a settlement being reached are slim, I have to say that those wishing it to go that far show a remarkable lack of comprehension. Have they really not thought through the repercussions that they will face, let alone LL? Anyone who “owns” a sim and then rents out “sells” or otherwise leases land on that sim for profit (i.e. any income over and above tier) could well find themselves liable for tax due on said income – and I seriously doubt many will have placed themselves in a position of being able to write-off their liability to any sizeable degree.
While there does need to be a discussion around the concept and realities of digital ownership, one really shouldn’t be fooled into believing that Evans et al vs. Linden Lab has anything to do with such a discussion. And those that gloat today may yet find themselves deep in regret tomorrow.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 