Category: News-Opinion

Tony Dyson: robots, films and Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Tony Dyson
Tony Dyson passed away at his home in Malta

Tony Dyson, the creator of R2-D2 and Emmy-nominated film SFx supervisor who worked on films such as Superman 2 and Moonraker, Dragon Slayer, Saturn 3 and The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away.

Professor, author, educator, and more, Tony Dyson was also keenly interested in Second Life.

He first became involved with the platform, as Azar Shelman, while investigating distance learning mediums, and recognised the Second Life’s potential as a means of creating real-time animation, something he had tried to do outside of the platform without much success.

As a result of getting involved in SL, he was introduced to  machinima producer and publisher Chantal Harvey,  (via Phalen Fairchild), and they found they had much in common. Chantal invited Tony to head the jury in the 2012 48 Hour Film Project for machinima, and thus a working collaboration between the two of them was born.

As well as investigating ways and means to produce better machinima, this collaboration led to the development of Bobbekins, interactive e-books for children which would utilised advanced animation, music, and machinima shot in Second Life, and illustrated by another SL resident, Dawny Daviau.

Bobbekins was developed on the idea that children expect to engage all their senses when involved in a story or learning exercise  – something to which educators can attest. Filming took place in Toy City, created by Tony as a constantly changing place discovered by the alien Bobbekins, who claimed it as their home. The books were developed under the Netdreamer Publications  banner authored by Tony, illustrated by Dawny and edited by Chantal, and the first book in the series, Medieval Farm, is still available through Amazon (and you can read more on the project here).

Bobbekins
Bobbekins

However, it is the builder of R2-D2 that he will be most clearly remembered. A regular guest at science-fiction conventions around the world, he never lost his love of the cylindrical little robot, and used the fame he gained through his involvement in star Wars to talk about creativity and learning and give ene[encouragement to young people to pursue their creative endeavours.

As well as building the original eight R2-D2 units, Tony Dyson was responsible for the design of Hector, the robotic antagonist in Saturn 3, and developed a robotic character modelled on (and voiced by) John  Cleese for a series of television adverts aired in the 1980s for Sony. He also designed robots for Philips and Toshiba.

Tony Dyson had a wonderful view on creativity “Be playful,” he told the The Times of Malta newspaper in 2015. “Never stop playing. If you look at life the way it really should be – enjoyed – then you become very creative”. It’s a view he shared with Shad Engkilterra at the Malta Comic Con in 2015.

Tony Dyson passed away at his home on the island of Gozo, Malta. My condolences to his family, and to Chantal and Dawny, and those who knew him.

In the Press: a potted history of SL and a look at Sansar

Posted on by Inara Pey
Project Sansar screen shot (credit: Linden Lab)
Project Sansar screen shot (credit: Linden Lab)

Writing in Readwrite on March 2nd, Ryan Matthew Pierson looks at Linden Lab’s Project Sansar and the Future of Virtual Reality. It’s an interesting article in that Mr. Pierson is a journalist who likes to research his subject, rather than relying on cliché or the input of jaded pundits.

As such, what is presented is a brief, but fair potted history of Second Life, charting the highs and lows, and pointing out that while it can be “dark” it’s simply not all about the adult naughties and nasties. So it is that Mr. Pierson charts the highs and lows of Second Life, with input from someone who know it well:  Gary Wisniewski (Wiz Nordberg in SL) the founder of Treet.TV.

Starting with the rise in SL’s popularity in 2006/7, thanks to the attention of the media, the reader who might be unfamiliar with Second Life is given glimpses into the platform’s magic which are painted as effectively with words as they might be illustrated by an image:

You could travel quickly from island to island, experiencing a fantasy world filled with a lush forest one minute and a sprawling post-apocalyptic CyberPunk-style city the next. Just about everywhere you went, there were crowds of people taking in the sights, chatting about their experiences, or dancing the night away in one of Second Life’s many nightclubs.

He also touches on the broad appeal of the platform:

This appeal extended well beyond tech-savvy early adopters. Many residents found that you could do things in Second Life that transcended physical disadvantages. For example, someone bound to a wheelchair could dance the night away in Second Life’s nightclubs, or even fly through a mountain range like a superhero.

Ryan Matthew Pierson
Ryan Matthew Pierson

The darker side of SL isn’t shirked, as noted, with Mr. Pierson pointing out the platform did suffer from a reputation for seediness – and that the Lab sought to try to address it as best they could through maturity ratings and safeguards, and without impinging unnecessarily on people’s freedom of choice.

From here, and via an all-too-brief mention of Relay for Life (when, oh when will journalists realise the sheer depths of human interest these is to be found within Second Life’s ability to support global fund-raising events in what is – when compared to the physical world costs involved in trying anything nearly so large – so utterly cost-effective? But I digress, as charity isn’t the focus of this article), the piece gently segues into an overview of Project Sansar.

In this, nothing exceptionally new is mentioned regarding the Lab’s new platform, although the parallels with the likes of WordPress and YouTube are avoided. The familiar comments on the VR tech support, the shift in revenue model away from land, and the desire to make it easer for “creators” all get the usual mention, as do the plans to make Sansar more broadly accessible to consumers:

Linden Lab also wants to make Project Sansar more cross-platform accessible. Where Second Life is largely tied to a desktop-only experience, Project Sansar’s users will be able to log in and enjoy the virtual world from various other platforms including mobile devices as well as HMDs.

It’s likely that SL users will find the Readwrite article frustrating for its lack of new information on Project Sansar. However, that more information isn’t provided stems not only from the fact that the Lab isn’t as yet ready to divulge more details – assuming they keep to their desired time scales, I’d expect this to start happening from about the middle of 2016 onwards – but from the fact that Mr. Pierson isn’t actually writing for Second Life users. He’s addressing the audience the Lab is primarily trying to reach: those ready to invest themselves in opportunities presented by the emerging wave of new VR technology.

That said, it’s fair to say the Readwrite piece isn’t perhaps as engaging as Sophie Charara’s recent piece in Wearable, but as an attempt to encapsulate both Second Life and Project Sansar, it’s a pretty good overview of the past and the present – and the Lab’s hoped-for future.

Dalai Lama addresses Mayo Clinic – and Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Avatars representing the Dalai Lama and TV Radio personality Cathy W
Avatars representing the Dalai Lama and TV Radio personality Cathy Wurzer in Second Life during the Dalai Lama’s address to Mayo Clinic staff, Monday, February 29th

Monday, February 29th saw a special event take place at the chapel of Saint Marys Hospital in down town Rochester, Minnesota, when the Dalai Lama addressed Mayo Clinic staff in a special event which was livestreamed on the Internet and into Second Life, using the Mayo clinic’s in-world facilities.

The address, entitled Compassion in Healthcare, followed on from the 80-year old spiritual leader, who has been undergoing period treatment for prostate cancer at the clinic,  speaking for 3 hours – twice what had been planned – before a crowd of 3,000 people in Minneapolis on Sunday, February 21st. That event was to mark the Tibetan New Year, and his Holiness’ address, delivered in English and Tibetan,  focused on valuing education and compassion.

The Dalai Lama at the chapel of Saint Marys Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota, where he addressed Mayo Clinic staff (via event livestream)
The Dalai Lama at the chapel of Saint Marys Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota, where he addressed Mayo Clinic staff, with his words streamed to an audience in Second Life (image credit: event livestream)

The February 29th address was introduced by Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy, and moderated by Minnesota TV and radio host Cathy Wurzer. As the address began, both Ms. Wurzer and the Dalai Lama were represented in-world by avatars at the Mayo clinic’s Second Life conference centre. In both cases, care had been taken to ensure the avatars resembled their flesh-and-blood counterparts.

While I missed the first part of the session, when I did arrive, some 80 people from across Second Life were in attendance, and the Dalai Lama himself sounded energised and related stories with good humour and aplomb through his address, and responded to questions from the audience at the venue, it was not clear to me if any questions were taken from the in-world audience.

The Dalai Lama "addresses" the audience in Second Life
The Dalai Lama “addresses” the audience in Second Life

While some be tempted to critique the event on the basis that the avatar in-world was not actually operated by the Dalai Lama, they would actually be missing the point. While his holiness may not have been operating the avatar, being seated in the chapel of Saint Marys Hospital, the thoughts and words steaming into Second Life were his, and as such, the event offered a means for people who might never otherwise get to hear him speak, listen to and appreciate his wisdom in an almost first-hand way.

The address, with a question and answer session, lasted a little over 90 minutes. The livestream is currently being archived by the Mayo Clinic, and the event was also filmed in-world. I’ll update this article when either video is publicly available.

with thanks to Maxwell Graf for the nod!

Sundry thoughts on recent bans in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
From Pixabay
From Pixabay

Note: Linden Lab has provided the Better Business Bureau with a breakdown of the permanent ban process, which is available for public viewing.

On  Sunday, February 21st, I posted an article concerning SL content creator Teager (Breeder’s Choice and Teegle brands). In it I covered the news that Teager was asking people not to buy from her Marketplace store, on account of her accounts having been banned from Second Life.

Some 24 hours after posting that article – and approaching a week after she first started encountering problems, Teager had her accounted released. As I noted in my update to my original post on the situation, the news first came in a * Breeder’s Choice * group announcement, via Teager’s husband, AgentEightySix in SL:

There is news regarding Teager. She has been unbanned. She’s not home right now, she got the email on her phone, but I’m sure she’ll be on a little later. For everyone who donated at the donation box, thank you.  No need to do any more.  We’ll take it down tonight, and everything can get back to normal around here.

The following day, Tuesday February 23rd, it was confirmed another creator initially banned under similar circumstances, WarmAnimations Lisa, had also had her ban rescinded.  In both cases, warnings were given about the risk of further banishment in the event of a re-offence.

The notifications that their bans had been lifted was also the first time both Teager and WarmAnimations Lisa were actually told why they had been banned: they had used images within one or more Marketplace listings which were deemed to be “not acceptable” – the actual items specified in the listings did not appear to be in question.

While objecting to an image in a listing, even one rated as Adult, may sound odd, it is worth remembering that there are subjects which can still be deemed as offensive or disturbing even among those who have consciously opted to enable the Adult content rating when browsing the Marketplace. This is something content creators should keep in mind when preparing their listings; the Adult rating isn’t necessarily a carte blanche allowance to post absolutely anything.

But that said, for the Lab to immediately respond with an outright ban, as was the case with Teager and WarmAnimations Lisa (and possibly others) without warning nor explanation, is, in five words: excessive  and completely heavy-handed.

Even with the best will in the world people make mistakes. They’re not wilfully breaking the policy; they’re not attempting any kind of subversion, they have simply erred. This can happen even when they’ve read all the standards, requirements and policies related to something. As such, there are cases where people should be given – for want of a better term – the benefit of the doubt before a hand starts reaching for the ban hammer.

As it is, Linden Lab can remove any content at any time from both the Marketplace and / or in-world at any time, might it not have been better to go that route first with these situations? That is, remove the content causing the problem; communicate with the affected content creators and explain what has been done, why it has been done, and issue any appropriate warning (if necessary) on the possible consequences of future transgressions.

Such an approach achieves a number of beneficial goals for the Lab:

  • It allows the offending images to be removed without fuss
  • It offers a clear explanation of what has been done and why
  • It allows said content creators to consider any other items they have listed with images which might be considered “not acceptable”, and thus replace said images
  • It may allow word to spread through the content creation community without undue rancour or drama, so that others with possibly questionable images in their listings might also replace them, removing the need for future actions on the Lab’s part
  • It demonstrates that Linden Lab recognises that people can, and do, make mistakes, and that most are prepared to accept their error if it is properly explained to them
  • It demonstrates consideration without removing the explicit understanding that there are policies which must be adhered to, and that repeated violations won’t be tolerated.

Obviously, there are times when it is appropriate / necessary for the ban hammer to be wielded within Second Life. no-one is denying that. But equally, there are times when it should not be seen as the immediate and preferred tool of action when there are other means to initially handle a situation. This is a balance those at the Lab with access to the ban tool seem to have problems in understanding.

Over the past couple of years, the Lab has been investing time and effort in rebuilding users’ confidence in itself on several fronts. If nothing else, an over-reliance on bans as first response to policy transgressions when there are potentially other ways to deal with matters, risks unravelling at least some of that restored confidence.

As it is, when looking specifically at both Teager’s and WarmAnimations Lisa’s situation, it’s very hard not to reach the conclusion they were handled in a manner akin to the image at the top of this article.

Teager requests: “please do not buy from my MP store – for now”

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update, Tuesday February 23rd, 01:15 GMT  / 17:15 SLT, Monday February 22nd: Agent86, Teager’s husband, has been able to confirm that her account(s) have been unbanned by the the Lab. “There is news regarding Teager,” AgentEightyEix announced via the * Breeders Choice * in-world group. “She has been unbanned. She’s not home right now, she got the email on her phone, but I’m sure she’ll be on a little later. For everyone who donated at the donation box, thank you.  No need to do any more.  We’ll take it down tonight, and everything can get back to normal around here.” 

I’ve been asked to help spread the word on the following. If you are a Breeder’s Choice or Teegle customer, please take a moment to read.

Teager
Teager

Second Life content creator Teager has issued a request via Facebook that people wishing to buy her products – sold through her Breeder’s Choice and Teegle brands –  should, until further notice, do so via her in-world store and not from her Marketplace presence.

The request comes as a result of Teager having her accounts banned from Second Life. This first became apparent on Tuesday, February 16th, Subsequent to this, on February 19th, she was able to ascertain the reason for the ban, which in turn prompted her request for people not to use her Marketplace store.

In making the request, Teager explains why:

So, here is the situation as it stands right now. I have been banned. As of right now, I, including all of my accounts present or future, are permanently banned from Second Life. I AM still fighting this ban and I DO have a legal leg to stand on. Don’t lose faith just yet.

The purpose for the ban was an old alt account of mine, which sold animations on marketplace, including some animations of an adult nature. I am told that I am in violation of the TOS section 6.1 subsection vi, which states that you shall not “(vi) Post, display or transmit any Content or conduct or host any activity that is sexually explicit, or intensely violent.”

Teager, who has been one of the content creators involved in the Lab’s Project Bento work,  believes that the listings in question were actually rated as Adult, and therefore in compliance with section 6.3.iv of the Terms of Service and the associated Maturity Ratings. She is therefore pursuing matters through the Lab’s appeal process. However, the situation might take time to resolve, leaving her with a problem in meeting her tier, as she goes on to explain:

My marketplace store, which is still online, funnels all profit into the Teager account, to which I have no access. That means I CANNOT withdraw any money from purchases made on marketplace right now and I CANNOT place those funds towards the preservation of the sims.

While I argue my case, profits from my rent boxes and from all major items in my store will be forwarded to my husband’s account, agenteightysix. For now, this includes all items costing 900L or more, but I will notify you of additional items as time goes on. Please do your best to assure that any first time buyers purchase through my in world shop, not my marketplace store, so that I can funnel that money into keeping the sims running while I am without access to my account. I have also transferred all of the mall’s rental boxes to pay towards my husband’s account as well, so all payments towards mall rent boxes from this moment forward will also go towards keeping the sims running.

For further information on the situation, plus any updates from Teager, please refer to either her explanatory Facebook post  or her Facebook page timeline. I’ll also update this post and / or follow-up on it as I receive further news from Teager or agenteightysix.

Note: subsequent to this article, I received news that two other SL content creators have also received recent bans: ~ Ladies Pleasure ~, and Warm Animations. See here and here for more.

Follow-up article: Sundry thoughts on recent bans in Second Life.

Lab updates on unscheduled deployments and other issues

Posted on by Inara Pey

secondlifeAs noted in my recent SL project update, there was an unscheduled deployment to the three Agni (main) grid release candidate (RC) channels of Bluesteel, LeTigre and Magnum on Thursday, February 18th, which saw regions on these channels undergo a rolling restart. This was followed on Friday, February 19th by rolling restarts across the Main (SLS) channel.

During the Server Beta User Group (SBUG) meeting on Thursday, April 18th, Steven Linden provided some information on why a deployment was made to the RC channels, and indicated that a similar deployment would be forthcoming on the Main (SLS) channel, and promising further information would be provided once that deployment had been made:

We had an unscheduled RC deploy earlier today. It’s for a security vulnerability that was released, and we discovered that Second Life regions were vulnerable. A full public post-mortem will be coming after we deploy to the rest of the main grid. I can’t say until it goes out to the rest of Agni; I can say that it was related to region availability only…. I honestly can’t say a great deal, other than we have a fix, and that it’s coming very soon to the rest of Agni.

True to this promise, following the Main channel roll on Friday, February 19th, April Linden blogged Why the Friday Grid Roll?

The reason essentially boiled down to a vulnerability in the GNU version of Linux used to run the grid servers. The vulnerability lay within the GNU C library, commonly referred to as glibc, which if exploited could allow remote access to a devices – be it a computer, internet router, or other connected piece of equipment. It was initially discovered by Google on Tuesday, 16th February, and was labelled CVE-2015-7547.

April’s blog post provides a concise explanation of just what went into the Lab’s security and operations teams’ efforts in ascertaining SL’s exposure to the vulnerability and developing an update to secure their servers against the vulnerability.

All of this took time – but all things considered, it was still a remarkably fast effort. The Lab went from hearing about the risk on Tuesday 16th February through to understanding the full extent of the possible exposure SL faced, to having an update coded, tested and ready for release by Thursday, which as April explained, then left them with another decision:

Do we want to roll the code to the full grid at once? We decided that since the updates were to one of the most core libraries, we should be extra careful, and decided to roll the updates to the Release Candidate (RC) channels first. That happened on Thursday morning.

Given the Lab wanted to monitor how things progressed on the RC channels (which between them represent roughly 30% of the total grid), and ensure the update itself didn’t introduce anything unexpected. So it was that the deployment to the rest of the grid couldn’t be made until Friday, February 19th.

April emphasises that at no point during the known period of exposure or before, was there any attempt to use the vulnerability against the SL servers.  At the time of the Thursday roll, there was some criticism directed at the Lab for the lack of warning. April also explains why this was the case:

The reason there was little notice for the roll on Thursday is two-fold. First, we were moving very quickly, and second because the roll was to mitigate a security issue, we didn’t want to tip our hand and show what was going on until after the issue had been fully resolved.

When things like unscheduled rolls are disruptive, leaving us prone to grumbling and pointing the finger, it’s perhaps worthwhile taking this incident as an example that sometimes, there are reasons why the Lab does announced things first.

April’s post is actually one of three published recently by the operations / engineering teams which provide interesting insight into what goes on behind the scenes in keeping Second Life running.

In Recent Issues with the Nightly Biller, Steven Linden provides and explanation on why some Premium members recently experienced billing issues, up to and including inadvertently receiving delinquent balance notices. Once again, the explanation of what happened and what has been done to try to ensure a similar problem doesn’t occur in the future makes for a worthwhile read.

In Tale of the Missing ACK, Chris Linden describes another unusual and challenging incident the Lab’s engineering team had to deal with when testing a new API endpoint hosted in Amazon. This again illustrates the overall complexity of the Second Life services and infrastructure, which extends far beyond the simulator servers we some often take for granted as being “the” SL service, and the complexities involved in tracking issues down when things don’t go as expected  / planned.

Thanks again to April, Steven and Chris for providing the explanations and the insight into SL’s services.