The Second Herald

the Game of Bumps

2012-01-21T01:15:00.001-08:00

Children's games often train skills of coordination and speed. This is "tag", re-invented for Second Life as a simple and fun way to master control of your avatar in active areas.

BUMPS

The Basic Rule: When "it" bumps you, you have to bump someone else, then say you did so in chat to make someone the new "it"

Object: to avoid being bumped by and therefore becoming "it". As "it", to accept the role in chat and then bump another and announce who the new "it" is in chat.

Equipment: any area roughly 40m across. It need not be utterly clear of obstacles nor fully delineated.

Players: any number greater than two.

Preparation

The group chooses a player to be the first "it". Traditionally, this role belongs to the player who suggests the game or whoever was "it" at the end of the last game.

The players choose an ending time of the game. All players are prohibited flying in the game.

Suggested: Each player opens the "Bumps, pushes & hits" window in the "help" menu, so one can see who made contact with oneself, or wears a script that tells when such things happen.

Optional: Each player can activate a radar or a map, either thru a viewer or a HUD (like Mystitool), so one might see who is close and who is not.

Playing Bumps

~ "It" chats a sentence saying "I am it".
~ "It" attempts to physically bump another player by avatar.
~ Other players move inside the playing area to avoid "it".

~ When "it" actually bumps another, their hit windows will confirm it.
~ "It" must chat, by any sentence he chooses, the name of who he bumped within hearing (20m) of the one he bumped.
~ Others and "it" may move and repeat that that idea until:

~ The one bumped acknowledges "it" in chat.
~ He or she becomes the new "it" and play continues as above.

Ending the game.

Anyone may, but the person who suggested the game must announce in chat "5 minutes left", "one minute left", "ten seconds left" and "Good Game."
The last "it" loses the game, but that hardly matters, does it? Now enjoy sharing what happened.

Irregularities:

"It" crashing appears to others as "it" disappearing, or going motionless. When this happens, or "it" must leave for a while, the others should gather in the center of the playing area and choose a new "it". Traditionally, "it" is assigned to the one who bumped the crashed "it" or the first "it".

Being "Out of Bounds" incurs no penalty because it isn't much fun. One should simply return to the playing area directly when discovered out of bounds. One can still bump or be bumped while out of bounds.

One can quit the game by going out of bounds and stating "not playing" as often as needed, but it is bad manners to re-enter the game after quitting.

When flying is noticed, the one flying should immediately return straight to the ground with "page down" only. If "it" is under the descending flyer, the bump counts and may be called. If "it" is the flyer, no bumps need be acknowledged until "it" lands and spends 10 seconds motionless.

Missing chat: One may, if bumped, accept "it" before the old "it" announces one was bumped, but it's better to remind the old "it" he or she needs to announce who was bumped. Handle someone not replying to a chatted bump after several chats as "it" crashing.

Players joining mid-game can learn the basic rule as they play if others guide them thus: When "it" bumps you, you have to bump someone else, then say you did so in chat to make them the new "it".

Strategies,
with links to more complete player guides:

The real object of the game is to improve the players ability to move, chat, and view the world screen in rapid succession. In more detail:

To move, use the keyboard arrows (or ASDF if your chat is closed) alone or in combination with shift and/or your mouse. To activate running, use Menu/World/Always Run, or Ctrl-R toggle.

Views include the default view where you see your avatars back, mouse-look where you see thru the avatars eyes, and custom focus views. Try using mouse-look (activated by mouse-scrolling your view into your avatar's head or pressing M with chat closed) and regular view (activated by escape key or M in mouse-look) and Custom focus. Each one of these might be preferable to you at different times, and each allows different custom options.

Chatting begins in mouse-look with the Enter key, then type your chat and press Enter again to send. If out of mouse-look, click your chat window, then type your chat and press Enter to send. If you can see another player's name-box floating over their head, they can hear you in regular chat. If the name-box has dimmed to invisibility, they are out of normal chat range, and you must move close to them or send a "shout" (using control-Enter). One can repeat the last thing said with control-up (ctrl-↑) then pressing Enter.

Game Variations:

~Voice can make an easier game if all have voice on and use it instead of chatting who bumped whom and who is it.

~Automating bumps would make an easier game if each player wears a scripted object that says bumps in chat, so "it" need not chat the bump. The new "it" must still chat that they are "it" unless all wear a script that keeps track of "it" by chat, float text and/or particle emission.

~RSVP: whenever anyone chats your name (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) in your hearing, by itself or in a sentence, you must immediately chat a reply. This will leave you unable to move until you have completed your chat, and vulnerable to bumps.

~No tag backs, where "it" may not bump the person who bumped him or her, works best in a group larger than five.

~No running creates a slower-paced game; shrink the playing area to 25x25.

~Flying, when allowed and encouraged, is best played in a thick 40x40x40 box.

~ Rezzing. For an advanced group, encourage players to rez barriers in the playing area. Owners of the items may move, delete or change their own barriers at any time, of course. Simplest to allow only creating and editing non-scripted, non-physical default prims during the game, but the group may choose to allow anything, including scripted or physical items to appear and disappear.

Have Fun

Fair warning: in many areas, bumping another avatar might be grounds for a complaint to the management. Don't play Bumps in busy, public areas where non-players may get you in trouble.

Mental Feng Shui

2012-01-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

Regardless of all the reasons why this is a bad chain e-mail, I actually like what it has to say:

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! . . . When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. . When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heralding Business Ethics

2011-04-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

~From a Second Life content creator, this paraphrased question~

An new but talented artist is doing some advertising pieces for me. She hasn't given me a price yet, but I do not think she will ask what I'm willing to pay. Should I encourage her to to charge more than she asks?

Short answer: No. Pay a completion bonus instead.

Long Answer: ~~ A short primer in business Ethics~~

Here is a spectrum with many, many points but five major colors:

Charity: you freely give money for little or no product at all. You provide fantastic products and services for next to nothing.

Soft Business: you pay generously for the things you need and want. You charge low for a superior product

Fair Business: you pay fair and charge fairly for fair service and products that are as good as the competition.

Hard Business: you dicker to get the best product for the least money. You provide nearly adequately for high prices.

Criminality: you get things you don't pay for. You provide a dangerous product for inflated fees.

One can run different areas of life differently without much difficulty: "Charity to family, fair business to everyone else" is a common example. One can, like SL, run a Hard Business, but market itself as a Charity. "Legal" isn't really a consideration, since you can be "legally criminal", say, if you are an insurance or fossil fuel company. Maybe gambling is "criminal", but perhaps casinos and lotteries really are selling entertainment as a hard business. The variations are endless and interesting to think about.

Now, where you put your dealings on this scale is largely a matter of personal decision, with a few modifying factors like corporate climate, zeitgeist, personal competence and current affluence. You can also decide who you will deal with and who you will avoid, with a few exceptions, like government. You can give your business to folks you respect. You can walk away when you are treated hard. The one thing you CANNOT do is decide what ethical style of business another person is going to run. Advise, yes. Set an example, yes. Encourage, yes. You can even enact or enforce laws to discourage criminal and hard business practices (unions were founded to discourage hard employers), but that only changes the playing field, not the intent of the players. Intentions can only be changed by the intender.

I like to run Fair to Soft Business, with some Charity, except where I have good skill but do not enjoy the work or people, then I run a Hard Business. Now, here's the point: for any style of business, but especially soft/charity folks, it's a slippery slope to encourage someone else to run a harder business and charge more than they already do. She might raise prices out of your budget. She might be treating you as a charity by choice. You often do not know, and can only rarely pry into that. You can still be soft charitable.

The soft/charity way to pay someone who is undercharging you is to pay them their usual fee early and eagerly, then pay a bonus or tip at completion, too. If she's not even that far and she does not have a usual price, then you (soft charity) make her a fair offer first. That favors the negotiation process toward her. (The Hard and Criminal business negotiating tactic is to either make your first offer hugely in your favor, or wait for the adversary to make the first offer.) When she accepts or names a price, accept it yourself so she saves face in an easy dicker, and you can still pay a bonus at the end of the job.

Love, Arth.

Chat relay Herald

2011-04-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

Asked:

"Is it a breach of TOS for to relay a SL conversation to you?"

I did a tiny bit of research. I'd already posted some of this. Second Life's Community Standards says, among other things:

"Remotely monitoring conversations in Second Life, posting conversation logs, or sharing conversation logs without the participants' consent are all prohibited."

So Linden Labs prohibits copying conversation to me without consent under this "disclosure" rule. It used to be stricter, then looser, now this. In practice, the Lab does not seek out infractions; they only respond to complaints. Then, if evidence is present, they may issue warnings, suspension or expulsion for repeated malfeasance.

Federal and most state laws do not support this policy: non-confidential information is not required to be held in confidence by either party. Your conversations in SL even if held in Encoded IM, are registered in the SL servers, so federal privacy laws cannot apply. The Lab opted for a stricter policy.

Some Residents post in their profiles: "By this line in my profile, you give me consent to post or share any conversation". While this is an interesting legal ploy, I find it distasteful. Never do I see the complimentary post, allowing anyone to post what they say at will. As a solution, when discussing my own personal matters with other residents, I will ask any recipient (regardless of my seeing that line in their profile or not) to maintain confidentiality for my chat with, "Can you keep this to yourself, please?" thus revoking any permissions they may have assumed for themselves.

The Short Answer: Don't re-post.

For absolute legal safety, share nothing (no IM, no group chat, no world chat, no e-mail).

For any public disclosure or quote, get express consent to distribute.
"May I share your remarks with my advisers?" gives limited permission.
"May I quote you?" gives very broad permission.

To refer to a conversation you do not have permission to quote, alter the text to be non-identified or paraphrased, then you are not posting a log.

Yours, Arth.

Herald Names

2010-11-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

This is a mirror post from a Second Life Notecard by Wolwaner Jervil.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since Viewer 2.3 and change to single login names we have some confusion about what name is used,

Definitions:
Username: The one you use to login with - your unique name in Secondlife. It cannot be changed.
Displayname: The name you can freely choose once a week - it is NOT unique.
Single Username: a Username with "Resident" as lastname (by default since November 2010). It cannot be changed.

Lets assume the following:
(1) Old resident: Wolwaner Jervil with a Display Name of Wolwaner
(2) New Resident: Wolwaner with a Display Name of Wol

All settings only belong to my viewer -
others cannot influence the way I see them!

*********************************************
Old Viewers upt to SL Viewer 2.2 will show:
(1) Wolwaner Jervil - the original login name chosen
(2) Wolwaner Resident - the lastname "Resident" is the default for single login names for compatibility reasons.
This also applies to Radars and all other objects that display names until they are changed to include the single login and display names.

*********************************************
SL Viewer 2.3 has different behavior, depending on the setting used.
Preferences -> General -> View Display Names checked
Preferences -> General -> Usernames checked
(1) is shown as Wolwaner and below we see wolwaner.jervil
(2) is shown as Wol and below we see Wolwaner
IM Windows: we see Displayname (username): (1) Wolwaner (wolwaner.jervil), (2) Wol (wolwaner)

Preferences -> General -> View Display Names unchecked
Preferences -> General -> Usernames checked
(1) is shown as Wolwaner Jervil
(2) is shown as Wolwaner
IM Windows: we see (1) Wolwaner Jervil and (2) Wolwaner
This Version is essentially the same as it is in previous viewers

Preferences -> General -> View Display Names checked
Preferences -> General -> Usernames unchecked
(1) is shown as Wolwaner
(2) is shown as Wol
IM Windows: we see Displayname (username): (1) Wolwaner (wolwaner.jervil), (2) Wol (wolwaner)

Preferences -> General -> View Display Names unchecked
Preferences -> General -> Usernames unchecked
(1) is shown as Wolwaner Jervil
(2) is shown as Wolwaner
IM Windows: we see (1) Wolwaner Jervil and (2) Wolwaner
This Version is essentially the same as it is in previous viewers

So basically we can switch between the Username display like it was in previous Viewers, we can use the display names only - this seems to be the roleplay implementation and we can use both.

NOTE: Only the usernames are kept unique. So when using display names you might be able to see 2 or even more Wolwaners in the future - what a shame to my unique name creation.

Hope this helps to understand the differences - have fun with all kind of names now.

Greetings
Wol
SL Guided Tours

Fixing Teleport

2010-10-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

An old friend wrote:

One problem I am sure you can help me to resolve is that I always fail to tp now that I am back in Second Life. Why? A new SL version?

With bad teleports, it is probably not your fault. There are LOTS of reasons why a TP can fail. The thing to do is try many things to fix it, one at a time, and keep trying. Sooner or later, something works.

What To Do

~Try another teleport type: landmark, map, SLURL, invitation, homing or Teleport button? Some types work better than others.

~Do you get a message why you cannot teleport to your destination? examples: "region is full", "region is down", "you are banned", "teleporting would move you farther away",
"teleporting is blocked". These messages tell you that there is something amiss with where you want to go right now.

~Try to teleport to a nearby sim on the map, then travel overland to your destination.

~Check the grid status site to see if TPs are not working properly. If the grid is bad, you just must wait.

~ Try the tips in one of Torley Linden's Video tutorial on Why I Can't Teleport:
~~TP first to an empty Linden sim like Pooley or Kara, then try your target
~~Try teleporting from high flying
~~Scale down your maximum bandwidth to 500 in the Ctrl-P Preferences Menu
~~Remove scripted attachments.
~~Log in to a quiet sim, using the "show start location on Login screen" and choose one

Here are a few other tools:
~Clear Cache fixes a lot of things.
~System Requirements - if your computer or internet connection are not fast enough for your SL viewer, teleports often fail. Either upgrade your system, or try another viewer:
~~ Older but still supported viewersr often take fewer resources, so run better.
~~ Older unsupported SL viewer takes even less resources, but only for technophiles who can take the time to debug connection issues by making simple edits to the code.
~ Some SL Third-Party Viewers handle older computers better than the SL viewer, especially Henri Beauchamp's Cool Viewer.

Technical Help

If you've done the "official fixes", but still cannot teleport, get Linden Labs help:
~ Second Life concierge for estate owners, call Toll-Free (US/Canada) 800.294.1067, or Long-Distance 703.286.6277, and ask for concierge service in resolving your problems.
~ For the rest of us, file a Ticket as an "Account Issue" and "Logon issue", which works for free accounts. There may be better options for paid accounts, but I don't know them ☻

While you are waiting about three days for a Ticket reply, you can get personalized help from other Residents.
~ Contact someone in a Resident Help Network group or an unofficial one like "Mentor Me."
~ Look in the Second Life Answers Forum
~ Check for new ideas in the Second Life Answers Blog.
~ You can ask me, but the above is about all I know on this issue. 0{ :-{D}

Love, Arth.

Heralding a cloud

2010-07-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is a mirror post of a SL Notecard by Wolwaner Jervil and Valie Eun:

How to make yourself visible instead of being a cloud.

1) Ensure that all inventory items are loaded completely
open the inventory sidebar
enter some text in the search line
wait until all is loaded).
2) Try edit appearance
Open the outfits sidebar
press the tool icon on right upper corner
change something
save, exit by clicking the green left arrow on the top line.
3) Try Alt-Ctrl-R (Rebake textures) to reload your Textures

4) Use one of the Preset Avatars from the library (Boy next door or girl next door) to REPLACE your outfit. This will reset your avatar to a library default. If becoming visible, get your previous items back on.

5) Open the Develop Menu (Ctrl-Alt-Q), go to Develop --> Avatar --> Character Tests --> Test Female or Test Male

6) Turn on the advanced menu (Ctrl-Alt-D), Select Debug settings.....a small window will open. select "RenderUnloadedAvatar" from the drop down box and then set it to "True" then click the X in the corner to close the window.

This will stop YOU from seeing others as clouds but not stop you from being one to them. They must change their settings for that. With this setting you will be able to see what item is not loading corrctly and you can replace it with another one.

Wolwaner Jervil and Valie Eun - SL Guided Tours

WJ and VE enclosed a note card inside the note card. Here is the English text:

*** SL Guided Tours - we guide you through SecondLife

******************* English *************************
SL Guided Tours offer various services:
A maintained index with description and pictures to many places in SecondLife at http://members.a1.net/secondlife/
A copy of this index is available inworld in at the Web-Tab of the profile of Valie Eun - you can also copy http://members.a1.net/secondlife/profil/index.htm into your own web tab to have the index in your profile available.
We offer courses and help to all new residents - IM for class schedules.

All our services are free - but a tip to Valie Eun or Wolwaner Jervil is always welcome - Thank you.

Join the group SL Guided Tours (also for free) to get tour tips and other information about guided tours, great places and class schedules in SL.

Wolwaner Jervil and Valie Eun (Owners)

Thanks, WJ and VE. I will add another trick:

0) Fully clear your SL Cache

In Second Life, select Edit > Preferences > Network
Click "clear cache"
Travel to a very quiet sim, such as Kara
Exit and re-enter Second Life
Wait quietly while your inventory re-loads, as step 1) above.

There are even more tips at the Second Life Wiki Article:
Why Do I Look Like A Particle Cloud?

Love Arth

PS I made a invisible avatar with a surrounding particle cloud and a title that says ...loading. I'd post a photo, but you know what that looks like. 0 {:-{D}

Copybot Herald III

2010-07-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Anti-Copybot for creators, merchants and landholders

See my prior Copybot posts for more general information.

The short answer:

Put a watermark on your original textures, especially skin, clothing, and hair textures.
Put your prim-builds in vendor prims or boxes for sale.
Put your model avatars in a bot-proof viewer.
If you sell full-perm items, license and register your buyers.
Use inexpensive bot-suppression security, and encourage other land-owners to do so, too.
File DCMA claims and AR's.

The Long answer:

Linden Lab opines that copying viewers (like CopyBot and a dozen others) provide a valuable tool backing up content offline for Residents, so should not be banned outright. Thus, they can be used and abused.

For now, Copybot can only copy:

Rezzed prims: parameters, textures, floating text and particles.
Worn avatar: shape and one "baked appearance" of skin and clothing combined.

When Copybot re-creates the a prim texture, it uploads the texture by UUID directly to the prim. The texture itself never goes to the rogue copybotter, it's not in his inventory, and he cannot distribute the texture as a texture. The apparent texture is the same one the creator uploaded. This violation is indistinguishable from a prim that had the texture applied to it in the normal edit screen.

A full-perm texture can be saved to a computer and re-uploaded with a new apparent "creator", with or without a Copybot-like viewer. Most texture sellers specifically prohibit this activity in their sales materials, and register their buyers by having them acknowledge they've seen your terms of use for the sale.

Copybot does not separate clothing layers form skin layers when it "clones" another avatar. It only renders the baked texture to a whole skin when imported inworld. The copybot is listed as the skin creator. Unless a skin has a watermark or identifying design (say, a tiny shape behind the ear), the original maker cannot be certain it was theirs. With that mark there, a DCMA complaint will stick, have the copybotted skin or build destroyed and the copybotter banned.

Emerald Viewer and other viewers have a method of scrambling the baked appearance output so current copybots cannot read it, for now. Use it for your clothing shop model, or leave out nice advertising photos, or have demo versions of your work.

For now, copybot cannot copy:

Notecards
Scripts
Sounds
Animations and poses
Avatar Attachments
Prim contents

Anyone can copy notecards and scripts with a simple select all with copy/paste wherever you wish, including another SL notecard or LSL script. To prevent this, scripts are almost always "no-mod" (thus not editable) and notecards rarely carry salable information.

Sounds can be captured using mechanima techniques, but will suffer pollution from other inworld noises. I've not seen a way to copy animations or poses from SL to a computer.

Prim contents and attachments can be copybotted when they are rezzed inworld. When worn or still in display or sales prims, they are utterly safe from stealing. If you are a specific target for a rogue copybotter, he might buy your stuff, copybot it and attempt to undercut you. In this case, if you've watermarked your textures, they can be protected as outlined above.

In short, almost all SL content can be captured and re-created bypassing SL permissions parameters now. However, taking extreme or expensive anti-bot measures in your shop areas are unwarranted. The rogue copybotters cannot get at your boxed stuff there.

Scripter SweetNWild Magic offers some interesting security tools on XSteetSL. What impressed me most is this analysis:

Every region gets a lag spurt when an avatar arrives. The lag intensity is variant depending on a number of factors such as attachments an arriving avatar is wearing and texture resolution in their cloths and skins etc. (Such avatars have a very low render cost ARC) Copybots come into regions/sims close to ruth and generate little to no lag spurts. Several seconds later a region will begin to experience lag spikes and heavy drain. This is signature of a copybot downloading, stealing, & pirating objects, textures, skins, etc. from the sim. [However] some avatars who are not bots can generate little lag upon arrival, hence, the system method of detection is about 95-99% accurate.

I've not tested SweetNWild's stuff, but it looks quite good in the security script market.

Odd fact: The oldest copybot programs require two avatars. One avatar is the actual bot that only has a text interface to the user... The other is the controlling avatar who observes and commands the bot thru his console and/or IM or IRC. This video from 2008 shows this at work. If one-avatar copybots don't exist already, they will soon, I bet.

If you hear of or find your stuff out where it shouldn't be, here's instructions and guides on how to get the Lab to stop it for you.:
DCMA filing
Abuse Reports
Incident Results

Love, Arth.

Copybot Herald II

2010-07-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

To follow-up on the Copybot Herald post,

What will happen if I use a unauthorized viewer, like Copybot, in Second Life.

Short answer: Nothing, just don't copy Second Life content illegally.

Long Answer:

The official Second Life wiki post is:

the use of CopyBot or any other external application to make unauthorized duplicates within Second Life will be treated as a violation of Section 4.2 of the Second Life Terms of Service and may result in your account(s) being banned from Second Life. If you feel that someone has used CopyBot to make an infringing copy of your content, please file an Abuse Report.

Here, “Copybot” covers many viewers that can bypass the normal content permissions of Second Life content, and not a specific product or viewer. Examples include the rather nasty Patriotic Nigras' ShoopedLife, Cryolife, and the old CopyBot Viewer (video demo here). Other viewers can export builds to your computer, like Second Inventory, Inventory backup, Emerald, Meerkat, and Cool Viewer.

Some of there viewers are approved by the 2010 "Third-Party Viewer" policy, and some are not. Marty Linden writes:

"We know that there are many compliant viewers in use -- beyond the seven that are currently listed on the Third-Party Viewer Directory -- and we will not interrupt their access to Second Life."

Reading between the lines, sooner or later, Linden Lab will interrupt access into SL from viewers that are not compliant. If you try to use an interrupted viewer, you will have connection denied, but could court some trouble. July 2010 SL Third-Party Viewer standards says:

We do not guarantee that Second Life will always be open and accessible to Third-Party Viewers and Developers... If a Third-Party Viewer or your use or distribution of it violates this Policy or any Linden Lab policy, your permission to access Second Life using the Third-Party Viewer shall terminate automatically. You acknowledge and agree that we may require you to stop using or distributing a Third-Party Viewer for accessing Second Life if we determine that there is a violation... We may enforce this Policy in our sole discretion, including but not limited to by removing a Third-Party Viewer from the Viewer Directory and suspending or terminating the Second Life accounts of Developers or users of a Third-Party Viewer.

In practical terms, going with listed and compliant viewers is safe against banning. If your favorite viewer can break Second Life's permission system, be ready to drop it at any time.

Of course, do not make illegal copies yourself, please, no matter what viewer you use.

What will happen if I get botted, stolen, copyright bad stuff in my inventory?

Short answer: if it's only a little, you'll likely lose it. If it's a lot, expect trouble.

Long Answer.

Official Linden Lab® Information:

If a legally sufficient DMCA* notice is submitted, Linden Lab will then remove the identified materials as appropriate. Repeated copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property violations by a Resident may result in their accounts being suspended or terminated.

*DCMA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1992 heightened the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. In December of 2009, Pink Linden wrote how they enforce Intellectual Property (IP) complaints:

Content that's removed as a result of the IP complaint will be replaced with generic placeholder items as follows:
Textures, bodyparts, and clothing will be replaced with monochrome items that are the average color of the items they replace.
Animations will be replaced with a special rotating animation by Blue Linden
Sounds will be replaced with a new sound recording from Torley Linden
Objects will be replaced with a plywood ball that displays an IP notice when you click on it.

WHAT TO DO
Don't panic if you receive a single IP complaint about content you got from someone else, ... Residents whose content is repeatedly subject to IP complaints may be suspended.

Don't Panic. But, what if your out-of-control inventory might have lots of questionable items? There are tips in LL's FAQ on the IP procedure: [with a few comments]

1. Think twice about offers that are significantly cheaper than the prevailing market price. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. [Copiers don't usually offer content in shops.. They sell it avatar-to-avatar or give it away freebie.]
2. Most retail stores do not have live staff to help with your transaction. It may be risky to buy from sellers who ask you to purchase an item by paying them directly.
3. Be wary of Residents who are less than 60 days old, who do not have payment information on file, and who offer lots of content. Creating original content is time consuming! [Look up the content creator using the edit tool to see if the profile looks like a legitimate content creator.]
4. Many Second Life merchants have a presence on the web in addition to their inworld locations. There are also a variety of websites devoted to reporting on or reviewing Second Life content and helping you, the consumer, find great content and reputable merchants. Spend some time on your favorite search engine learning about the content creator before you make a purchase in Second Life.
5. Before finalizing your purchase, be sure that the transaction details are what you expect, and check whether the seller name matches the creator name on the content. If they don't match, consider asking the seller about his or her authorization to sell the content. [Some sales scripts make this hard to check, but you can still look at the owner of the sales prims and the content therein.]
6. Be aware that there may be greater risk in using items from boxes of “freebies” from Residents you do not know. Freebie items may be distributed more casually within Second Life, and the Residents distributing them may not know their origin, who has IP rights in them, or how the IP owners may have allowed or disallowed their use within Second Life. [Even Residents you do know might be unknowingly passing on copied stuff. ]
7. Use extra caution when evaluating items that represent famous real-world brands, celebrities, well-known artistic works, or fictional characters or settings from books, movies, games, or television. These items may potentially violate intellectual property law and Linden Lab policies. For more information, please see our Xstreet SL Branding Guidelines and our Knowledge Base article on Intellectual Property.
8. Review your inventory, and delete content that you do not need and do not know the source of. This may reduce the risk that you inadvertently obtained content that is potentially infringing, and if you don't need the content anyway, some housecleaning may be in order.

It's now official Linden advice: Use inventory control. Get rid of stuff you don't use.

Love, Arth

CopyBot Herald

2010-07-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

The Facts About Copybot
by Mechagliel Gears

This is a mirror post for Krypton Radio

In recent times, especially with the upcoming enforcement of Linden Labs ™ Third Party Viewer policy on May 1, 2010, there has been much ado about Copybot. Accusations ranging from the reasonable to the outlandish fly around like so much debris in a windstorm, and often it is hard to tell fact from fiction. According to some ‘the sky is falling’ stories there’s a Copybot round every corner lurking to nab your stuff, format your hard drive, and shave your house cat. This paranoia cripples content creators , closing Second Life businesses and damaging its reputation - this is what griefers want. The goal of this article is to clarify and educate on three facets of the Copybot phenomenon: What is Copybot? What isn’t Copybot? And last, what can be done about it?

Copybot, is a a popular term for a viewer or tool that does not recognize or respect SLs permission systems. Often it is built on the LibSL library or adapted from Linden Labs own open source. When an asset is ’seen ‘ by the viewer most of the information about that asset , be it a shirt, sound, prim, or other item, is downloaded by the viewer. This is normal viewer behavior, and is in fact needed for the viewer to function at all. It is at this point in the process that Copybot-capable viewers differ.

Normally an asset’s information is only held in encrypted form while it is needed and then discarded. Copybot viewers omit this encryption and allow, either automatically or on demand, export of the asset to storage to the disk for later import or copying. It is at this point that the Copybot viewer is in violation of Terms of service and the TPV policy. There are several means by which this “asset nabbing” may occur, from the simple unencrypted export to the pulling of texture data directly from the memory in your graphics card.

Because of the various techniques Copybots use, you should understand that “Copybot” is a broad term covering a myriad of content theft tools, and not a specific product or viewer. Other things that Copybot is not include:

An actual ‘bot

The word “bot”, in this case, refers to a program running on a computer which drives an avatar unattended. While the original Copybot could do this, Linden Labs took steps to cripple it. Because the original Copybots had little control over what they saw and where they went, they were mostly useless for content thieves. Such users are usually much more interested in targeted theft, also called copyboting when using such tools.

A get rich quick scheme

Content thieves will very rarely, if ever, attempt to sell assets they have acquired. Doing so exposes their actions and quickly gets them removed from Second life. More commonly, copied assets will be used personally, shared with friends or, as a form of harassment intended to drive a SL business out of business by giving away the copied objects as freebies. Such an attempt was made on Redgrave skins - this attempt failed as Redgrave is still very much in business.

Legitimate Backup

There are several viewers and tools which allow users to back-up, or store to hard drive, items they own. Properly respecting permissions makes this not a case of Copybot. As example the Emerald viewer incorporates a backup like feature only for full permission items that the user owns. Until recently, this was within compliance with LL definitions of permissions and thus was legitimate. These definitions have changed to include creator verification, on a per prim basis. A new, TPV policy compliant, Emerald viewer is expected to be released shortly.

In world object mirroring scripts

There were at a time and still are scripts that when placed in modify permission objects would make a copy of that object in world, these scripts were made in response to poorly permissioned items as a form of legitimate back up. For example, if hairpiece was no copy/mod/transfer, one might conceivably ‘ break ‘ the hair accidentally and thus be left with an unusable product. It is important to note however that the resale of such a backup was and remains a violation of the Terms of Service.

Capable of stealing scripts

I must be clear on this: yes, at one time a script could indeed be ‘popped’ from the asset server independent of permissions. This happened to Strokers Inc., a popular manufacturer of love beds. This was done via an exploit , not Copybot, which Linden labs has since sealed. As it stands a viewer will only ever “see” the source code of a script the user has modify permissions for and the viewer only ever “sees” the machine code of a script on compilation, requiring modify permissions again. Thus script theft is the result of poorly set permissions, and/or exploits other than Copybot.

Ubiquitous

There is a common myth that “copybotters” are “everywhere” and that walking into a sandbox, or running a business, is tantamount to surrendering your assets. Nothing could be further from the truth. Again, content theft is usually targeted, and the vast majority of SL users have little to no interest in content theft - preferring to actually enjoy SL. This myth is in fact the most damaging and often promoted by griefers as a ‘psyop’ to drive content creators out of business, or sell useless snake oil ‘anti-copybot’ devices.

This brings us nicely to the topic of protection. There are several techniques and devices out there which claim to protect from Copybots. Some do afford some defense, but none are fully reliable. These are a few of them:

!Quit

You may have seen this text pop up at some stores, it is becoming less and less prevalent now as it does not work. This technique worked on the very first version of the original copybot which is now defunct.

So-called Inspection Shields

These are prims worn around an avatar under the mistaken impression that a Copybot capable viewer must select an attachment to copy it. While that may be true of some older Copybot viewers, it is not so true of the newer generation ones. This tool falls easily into the ’snake oil’ category. Personally, I advise people not to waste their Linden dollars on these.

Cryo-life Detection

Cryo-life is one of several Copybot capable viewers that was discussed in the SL forums at one point, where it came to bare that Cryo “told” on itself, leading to a number of tools for detecting its use. The issue here is multi-fold: firstly Cryo is only one of several Copybot capable viewers; secondly, as soon as this information was released new versions without the “tattling’ were released; lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the detection techniques can lead easily to false positives, resulting in anything from unfair banning to outright harassment of the innocent parties.

Skinlayer shields

These are incorporated into viewers like Emerald and provide a measure of protection for non-prim clothing and skin only . Even with this measure there are times when the individual layers of skin or clothing are transmitted separately, so it is a stop gap, but by no means a panacea.

I must digress for a moment to mention Gemini Cybernetics’ CDS, or ’ Client Detection Service ‘. This acts as a shared ban pool for users detected by the system to be using known Copybot-capable viewers. This system is by no means foolproof and will become redundant, even useless, after the 30′th of April when viewers not compliant with Linden Lab’s Third Party Viewer policy will be unable to log into the Second Life servers. In addition, its method of detection can easily be misused by those with the skill to collect and cross reference the data it acquires. Automated ban shares have always had problems and this one is no exception, as it can generate false positives. Inclusive security systems , meaning those that allow everyone but those on the ban share list, are better when moderated by live persons.

In the end , there is nothing wrong with utilizing protective measures against Copybot. However, understand that no measure is 100% effective. Panicking or adopting a ’sky is falling’ mentality will achieve nothing but granting griefers and doomsayers what they want. Awareness of your surroundings and watchfulness are your best tools against Copybot. If, in a sandboxm you see someone rezzing exact copies of someone else’s new build.. well it’s fairly obvious what is going on, file that AR, certainly never buy items in a sandbox .

It is my hope that I have enlightened and relieved some of the confusion about Copybot. Cheers!

Herald in Aglarond Sims.

2009-11-06T23:42:00.001-08:00

This is a character note of mine from 2008. Running across it is like finding an old photograph, "oh, what I was then". Oddly poetic, wholly self-absorbed and sketchy as a character history, this is probably terrible reading. Skip it at will.

I am called Arth. Some few know my older name of Aean.

I am created and always angel since before time began. As such, I give the message wherever it must be heard. I have walked many worlds. I have flown heavens of every shade. I have been captive in hell. I have sat in hell's throne and worn its crown. I have made stars. I have mended a broken heart. I have died. I have learned some of music, and mathematics, and magic. I have learned some of compassion. I have loved. That, of all these powers, is greatest: I love.

I am appointed High Judge of the Dead. As such, I have been chosen to guide many mortals in the after-life. I have welcomed the newly dead in heaven or hell or elsewhere. I have led the council of three immortals. I have been judged by immortals. I have guided souls to find rest, to find reflection, and to find new life. I have cast to the future and found every mood there. I have wept. I have laughed. That, of all these powers, is greatest: I laugh.

I am the First Speaker of Elatha, goddess of honor and might. As such, the "Clerics of Elatha", a cleric healer free group that anyone can join, follow my leadership and wisdom. I have healed. I have revived the fallen and the dead. I have can coaxed the truth from unwilling tongues. I have dispelled magic and evil and chaos. I have taught little fae and great dragons. I have learned. That, of all these powers, is greatest: I learn.

But of all, all these powers, this is greatest of all: I am.

Thanks for reading.

Anam Cara means Soul Friend

2009-10-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

In the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship. One of the fascinating ideas here is the idea of soul love; “Anam Cara” may sound like some new French perfume, but it actually refers to the Celtic spiritual belief of souls connecting and bonding.

In Celtic Spiritual tradition, it is believed that the soul radiates all about the physical body what some refer to as an aura. When you connect with another person and become completely open and trusting with that individual, your two souls begin to flow together.

Should such a deep bond be formed, it is said you have found your “Anam Cara” or soul friend.

Your “Anam Cara” always accepts you as you truly are, holding you in beauty and light. In order to appreciate this relationship, you must first recognize your own inner light and beauty.

This is not always easy to do. The Celts believed that forming an “Anam Cara” friendship would help you to awaken your awareness of your own nature and experience the joys of others.

The “Anam Cara” was originally someone to whom you confessed, revealing the hidden intimacies of your life. With the “Anam Cara”, you could share your innermost self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an “Anam Cara”, your friendship cut across all convention, morality and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of your soul”. The Celtic understanding did not set limitations of space or time on the soul. There is no cage for the soul. The soul is a divine light that flows into you and into your Other.

This art of belonging awakened and fostered a deep and special companionship. When you love, you open your life to an Other. All your barriers are down. Your protective distances collapse. This person is given absolute permission to come into the deepest temple of your spirit. Your presence and life can become their ground. It takes great courage to let someone so close. Where a friendship recognizes itself as a gift, it will remain open to its own ground of blessing….. When you are blessed with an “Anam Cara”, the Irish believe, you have arrived at that most sacred place: home. This bond between friends is indissoluble: “This, I say, is what is broken by no chances, what no interval of time or space can sever or destroy, and what even death itself cannot part”.

~ from “Anam Cara…Wisdom from the Celtic World“, by John O’Donohue

Heralding New Groups

2009-10-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

Using Second Life groups can make property management a nightmare or a dream.

Getting a group is fairly easy, per the SL wiki. All you really need is $100L and an open group slot. You can make as many groups as you like - all you need is open slots and cash.

The hardest permanent step is choosing a name. To do a first rate job at this, brainstorm a lot of group names. Appealing and useful names for large groups, like store groups and club members will want simplicity, emotion, positioning, maybe some humor or slang in them. You want to pick a group name and role titles that your members will want to keep a long time. Last, and most important, ask friends and acquaintances which names they like or not.

Group names are unique, like web addresses. After you have a handful of good candidates, search SL Groups to see if your top choices are already used. You can't buy a group name that already exists, but you can make one that is off by as little as one symbol: if "Heralds" is taken, "*Heralds*", " Heralds" (with a leading space), "heralds" and "HERALDS!" might still be available.

When you have a top choice name, try to buy it for $100L thru your groups menu. (Typo experts, triple check your spelling before you click "apply".) You will find out if your name is not available now. Hidden groups can't be found in search. If that happens, choose another name, (take your time on this if you want) and try again.

When you are successful, you are the new owner of a group of one. Now, quick, invite another avatar to join (wiki here) to six your group, because a group that has one or no members for two days gets deleted. Invite them as members. You can always upgrade them later when you refine your group.

And you want to keep this new group, right?

Yours, Arth.

P.S.
Buying and renting land is a little harder. The hardest part is finding a good deal on a property you like. Count on spending some time on this, and there are lots of sites, blogs and advice on this out there. Not being a property owner, I'm not the best to herald this.

Making your group work for you land is even harder. This I can herald soon.

Burning Life Application

2009-09-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Anyone can claim a "camp site" at Second Life's Burning Life '09, regardless of what sort of account you have. "Radical Inclusion" is (after all) one of those 10 Principles of RL's Burning Man Festival. This land is a gift to the community, so does not cost you anything or increase your Tier.

Among the options obtaining a sit, 52 "Theme Camps" will encourage interaction or host events designed to involve other people. To be accepted for one of these reserved spots, just write a compelling description of what your camp will be, include links to any other things you've built, and describe what sort of activity you will provide for your neighbors to enjoy.

Here's my entry on the application form:

Name: Arth Karas
Group: White Magic

Camp Name: Visible Man

Description: What is a desert without skeletons?

Last year we won a large plot in the general drawing. Using "entirely local materials", we constructed a display comparing DaVinci's Virtruvian Man with the SL avatar.

We placed a very large prim "avatar" skeleton in the sand the sim, with "canvases" on the ground covered with these images and other anatomical drawings. A few large invisibility prims helped demonstrate how attachments relate to the avatar physiology. During the festival, we held a few improptu demonstrations on avatar construction emphasizing skeletal structure and templates. We gave away hundreds of advanced pose stands, template sets and avatars and the original "joint kit avatar".

Comments ranged from "WOW" and "AWESOME" to unsolicited chat paragraphs complimenting the quality of the build, experience and freebies.

We'd like to do it again!

This year, we want to reinstall the above, AND complete and give away a freebie "skeleton avatar" in several sizes and shapes.

Love, Arth

Heralding Aulë (the) Finesmith

2009-05-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

I have the alt Aule Finesmith now. This solved three problems for me:

Problem one: when one account gets so busy and in demand that Second Life becomes more like a second job, it's time to make a new account just for having fun. I'd spent so much time that I wasn't even posting to this blog for months.

Problem two: in the Builders of Arda sims, where I role play the J.R.R.Tolkien character Aulë the Smith, there are many sims where I need land rights or group rights to play my role effectively. The owners and organizers are more than happy to grant me those right, but I need open groups because of
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Limits

Groups:
* Max. # of groups you can belong to - 25
o Roles within groups are sort of like sub-groups. In many cases, you can use them instead of creating new groups.
* Min. # of members in a group - 2
o A group with only 1 person for 48 hours will be disbanded (cancelled). Unless the group owns land.
* Max. # of roles allowed in a group - 10 (including "Owners" and "Everyone", which can't be deleted)

Problem three: when your name is "Arth Karas", but the other players are supposed to remember to call you "Aulë" regularly and with some respect, you want to make it easy for them. Notecards, IM and floating text over the avatars heads are fine, but matching the role to the avatar name is even better.

Opportunity: When I saw new players using the last name "Finesmith", I located where I could register it using the SL name search website, and made Aulë right away. The name was too perfect to overlook.

Since I make most of my own clothes, skins and attachments now, it's been easy to make Aule a mirror of Arth as Aulë. Many players hardly notice the change right away, except as Aule befriends them.

I'll gradually wean Arth out of Arda, so he can continue operating in the rest of Second Life while Aulë has fun being a Tolkien fan in the Arda sims and forums.

Exchange Herald Resolved

2009-05-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

The reply to my query arrived February 1:

================================================

We have solved your issue
Solution:

Hello Arth Karas,

Thank you for contacting us with your query.

There are billing and trading limits that apply to all accounts based on the billing age.

The billing age starts from when you added a valid payment method and made your first purchase. This could be a membership fee or a small purchase of L$ on the Second Life LindeX (this does not include third party exchanges).

Your limits will increase as your billing age grows. You can see what your billing age is by going on the website: http://secondlife.com/currency/describe-limits.php
Your limit will be highlighted in blue in the Monthly Resident Limits table.
To know your exact age, please refer to your Account Statements, still on the Second Life website and you will see when your first transaction was made.

The limits are in place for fraud and security purposes and a tier review cannot be submitted until your billing age reaches 30 days.

If you have any further queries, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Aurelie OT
Linden Lab Support

==================================

I still choose not to buy a premium membership at all, but that $10 US$ purchase would satisfy the Labs purchase requirement to sell L$ for US$.

What I will probably do is this:

1) wait till my Linden balance is large enough to warrant extraction. Besides, conditions and polcies might change to something more favorable for me int eh meantime.

2) Buy 6475 L$ for 25.30 US$ (the minimum), including $0.30 US$ transaction fee and the current exchange rate.

3) Wait 30 days for my ability to sell to kick in.

4) Sell 6475 L$ for 23.21 US$, including a fee of 3.5% and the current sell rate of 269 L/US . I'll take my other L out, too, that this time.

5) Transfer the US$ now on my Linden account to PayPal. Fee, each time this is done: $1.00. Fewer large transactions is cheaper than many small ones.

Total cost to activate Linden Dollar extraction: $3.09, or less then half a month of premium Second Life.

Exchange Herald , too

2009-01-21T12:05:00.001-08:00

I"m considering using Virwox as a Linden cashing service. It has some history, and is transparent.

Customer Support
If you have any questions, problems, suggestions, bug reports or feature requests regarding our service, please contact our Customer Support by email to: support nospam@virwos.at @ virwox.com.

Company Information
VirWoX is a service designed, developed, and operated by Virtual World Services GmbH. The following company information is provided in accordance with the E-commerce Directive of the European Union:
Registered Name: Virtual World Services GmbH
Registered Address: Andreas-Hofer-Platz 7, 8010 Graz, Austria
Registration Number: FN 299158 p
Registration Authority: LG für ZRS Graz
VAT Registration Number: ATU63720414
Managing Director: Iliana Suppan
Contact email: office nospam@virwos.at @ virtualworldservices.at

Exchange Herald

2009-01-21T11:19:00.001-08:00

Okay, Linden Labs is buying XStreetSL and OnRez. Linden Labs will close OnRez soon, which is no big deal as not much happened there and the services are very similar.

So the only marketing for Second Life content will soon be SL itself and
XStreet, as the Lab announced. It no big deal for most users, not much will change right away. For those in the less than 1% of SL players who maintain a positive cash flow in SL, and the even smaller fraction that do so with a free account only,like me, it creates a bit of a problem, per the Acquisition FAQ: (If that link is busted, it's Knowledge Base Article 5809.)

I currently have a US dollar balance on Xstreet, what will happen to that balance?

For the time being, your US dollar balance will remain in Xstreet and you can manage it as part of your Xstreet account. Eventually, your US dollar balance will be combined directly with your Second Life account. At that time, you will be able to view and manage those funds when you sign into your Second Life account.

Thus, eventually, extracting Linden Dollars thru XStreet will be impossible unless one pays L Labs for a premium account. Free accounts cannot sell Linden Dollars. One can try a ticket:

Ticket Description
Summary: Requesting permission to sell Linden Dollars
Basic or Guest Access - only a few ticket types allowed: LindeX Tier Review
Contact Email address: arth.karas@gmail.com
Details: As a free account, I cannot sell Linden Dollars in LindeX. I was able to do so through XStreetSL, but that ability will disappear eventually, per the Acquisition FAQ.

I have been creating and selling virtual and real goods and services in SL to other residents. I have been making purchases in SL, but my SL income now far surpasses my SL needs. I would like the right to sell $300 USD per month.

Thank you, Arth.

We'll see how that goes. Since my personal quest is to do everything that can be done in SL WITHOUT buying a premium account, it poses an interesting challenge.

Love, Arth.

Heralding a Financial Thorem

2009-01-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Salary Theorem...

Dilbert's "Salary Theorem" states that "Engineers and scientists can never earn as much as business executives and sales people."

This theorem can now be supported by a mathematical equation based on the following two postulates:

As every engineer knows: Power = Work / Time

Since:
Knowledge = Power
Time = Money
Knowledge = Work / Money.

Solving for Money, we get:

Money = Work / Knowledge.

Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of work done.

Conclusion:

The less you know, the more you make.

Herald Terraforming

2009-01-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

E-mail to arth.karas@gmail.com from the clear blue sky:

Arth,

I’m looking into buying a private island for my company and trying to see how much it costs to get a custom terraforming. I saw Neko has RAW files for 1000L but I think I need more land than the biggest has. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks, h

Greetings, h!

Thank you for writing to me. I'm not sure how you know of me, but I'll be happy to answer.

For custom terraforming rates, I googled "Second Life custom terraform" and found several vendors, technique patterns, prices and bids. xstreet lists several who are selling custom work search for terraforming from $32 USD to $106 USD. I do no know any of the work personally. MY SL Project was active for many months, and I saw similar bids for that work there.

You did not ask about the following, but consider these:

You can make your own RAW files. One tool is a freebie rawfile editor for Mac. More generally, Second Life itself is the simplest RAW file editor I know.

When you order your sim, the generic "flat 30m" on the order page fills the sim and works well if you plan no dramatic heights. A 100m flat might still be avaialable free from the Linden Labs concierge without a RAW file. It is the most versatile template, allowing dramatic island depressions to 0 (well below the standard water depth of 20 m) and heights of 200m without any special skill or outside technologies for terraforming.

To fulfill my SL Mentor duties, I direct you to the terrafroming tutorials here, here, and here, and the Second Life Knowledge Base articles #4060 and #4115

Personally, it takes me about 3 hours (I'd ask about $50 USD) to take design parameters and do a complex terraform by hand in SL. Simple ones take and cost much less time and money. (One simple full sim form took me 8 minutes from arrival to completion.) I normally teach the land manager or owner how to use the terraform tools with SL voice while doing so. Installing integrated water works, trails, walks, and such are separate projects, but I make placeholders for those projects while I am terraforming so that other builders and users can see the build progress and can coordinate efforts.

The sim owner can and should save any successful terraforms to his computer regularly via the land edit menu. Then the owner can easily revert the sim by uploading the saved file when accidents happen.

Yours,

--
Peace! Shalom! Namaste! Paix! Sére! Aloha!

Heralding Relationships

2008-12-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is a large truth:

All relationships are eternal.

It does not seem so.
The world can only show us
that here and now are all there is,
that distance and difficulties are bigger than we,
that failure and misunderstanding are an end,
that withdrawal and death are permanent,
when they are not.

All relationships are eternal.

The form of relationships constantly change.
We prefer some forms of relationships.
We choose to try to make those.
We sometimes succeed.

All relationships are eternal.

What is here now will change later.
There is no hurry. All will be well.

All relationships are eternal.

Love, Arth.

P.S. Thank you for creating such a lovely one for us.

Herald's IQ

2008-12-12T15:00:00.001-08:00

Free-IQTest.net - IQ Test

Don't bother to click. Four pages of test, maybe 40 questions, followed by ten pages of "free offers". And I get this little image that I could have made myself, including the link!

Herald Busy Ben's

2008-11-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

Last week, I entered a Linden lottery for free display spaces. Today, IM from

Mia Linden: (Saved Mon Nov 17 14:52:08 2008) Congratulations on winning a space at Busy Ben's Vehicle Lot! This venue is exclusive to Vehicles Only. II am sending you your parcel info and will then invite you into the group. Please visit:
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Winners_of_Linden_Lottery

That site says:

The lotteries for LUNA OAKS GALLERIA, BUSY BEN'S VEHICLE LOT and NEW PORT YACHT SALES is over! The winners have been selected. Now before you see the WINNERS LISTS please answer these few questions. AT THE END, you will find the LIST OF WINNERS for all three Lotteries.

If you are a winner please remember HAVE A GROUP SLOT OPEN as I will be sending the winners a group invite. Winners will also receive a notecard FROM MIA LINDEN, with the exact spot you won, a LANDMARK to that spot and the terms for the location.

followed by four pages of easy questions about what your history and intentions as a SL content seller, culminating with a long list of names with:

FLYING CRAFT/HOVERBOARDS: STALL 12 Arth Karas

Opening the notecard says:

Busy Ben's Vehicle Lot Tenant Information

Arth Karas

Section: Flying Craft / Hoverboards

Your Stall Lot #: 12

Prim Limit: 35

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oak%20Grove/202/69/26

Current Leases will run from Midnight 15th November PST through to Midnight May 14th PST. Please do not move in to your location until AFTER Midnight, November 15th.

Congratulations on winning a rental spot at Busy Ben's Vehicle Lot! We hope your stay will be rewarding and beneficial.

followed by some fine print on what's allowed.

Hooray! Without delay, I scripted a demo version of Swan the Flying Pegasus (the demo disappears after a minute unless someone is riding her). Next, I construct a touch activated model of her as a black shiny statue in my parking-space sized lot with a few vendors for my pegasi.

Done.

Nearby is the Balance Sim vehicle rezzing area (being spammed by a panahandler named Dratis Aya) and Oak Grove classroom, (no Oaks and no class there, only cacti and desert rocks).

So, luck of the draw. Go visit. It's worth a moment of your time.

Heralding Personal Abuse

2008-10-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's easy to click on a spam prim and anonymously report the abuse and delete the prim.

Insulting, intolerant personal chat is still a violation of Second Life's Terms of Service or Community Standards, but it is a harder to deal with. SL Mentors and Greeters are often trained to take the following tactics, in about this order:

~~Chat a comment. The offender may simply be clueless, so you are a teacher.
::You: Avatar, please don't use that rude word here.

~~IM a comment.
::You: Avatar, please don't use that rude word. It violates terms of service and can get you banned.

~~File an abuse report.
Using the Abuse Reporter tool located under the Help menu in the in-world tool bar. You might click the avatar and "more" until the "report Abuse" panel appears, but that option is not available on all viewers.
Every Abuse Report is individually investigated, and the identity of the reporter is kept strictly confidential. After you file an AR report, you get a confirming e-mail. The accused only finds out about it IF the report is complete and shows a real rule violation.
Encourage everyone present at a violation to file and Abuse Report - many reports for the same area generates faster action from the Lindens. Here is a walk through on filing an AR, with instructions for other actions, too.

~~Mute Avatar
~~Eject avatar from the area
~~Ban avatar from the area

Since mute, eject and ban is wholly voluntary, there is no repercussion other than the questions other residents of Second Life will ask. Go ahead an answer individuals, even write a note card explaining yourself, you might even get through to the avatar. But do not to publicly say why you are banning someone: your publishing that someone is "guilty" in any form (Group notices, for example) without solid evidence opens you to real civil charges of libel or slander.

I've heard it commonly held that "AR's do no good" Yes and no. Anyone can make a new avatar, and there are ways around Linden Lab's limits on avatar numbers, so griefers can simply return in another avatar. But AR after AR after AR (from many people) and eject after eject after eject (from YOUR area) and canceled avatar after canceled avatar after canceled avatar (from Linden Labs), the mischievous DO get the message and lose interest and take their abuse elsewhere.

Some avatars just need training and attention brought to the rules. Others, though, we can best hope that they take it elsewhere. Maybe some abusers might come to their senses and play nice.

Love, Arth

How to remove Chat Spam in Second Life

2008-08-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

[8:01] Resident Avatar: (Saved Tue Aug 05 11:56:09 2008) Hey.
[8:01] Resident Avatar: (Saved Tue Aug 05 11:56:30 2008) I need your help... my SL is screwed... I have a constant local chat spam and it doesn't show who it's from.
[8:02] You: Hello, Avatar.
[8:05] You: Chat spam from an objects is a challenge: you need to locate the object and touch it, then mute it, remove it and/or abuse report it.
[8:06] You: If the chat is in a particular location, go there, then file an abuse report on the location itself so a Linden or estate owner can come and remove it. If you have a talented friend, send them a landmark so they can come do it, too.
[8:08] You: If the chat follows you wherever you go, you are likely wearing an attachment or HUD that is causing it. Take everything off, then start adding things back to find which one is causing it. Get it repaired, replaced or trashed.
[8:10] You: Good luck.

Trouble Shooting Build Packer Rezzer

2008-08-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

~~ Build Packer: Rezzer Troubleshooting ~~ By Arth Karas, August 2008

BUILD REZZER MENU CHOICES AND DESCRIPTIONS
===============================================
~Help~ (Gives this card)
~Rez!~ and position the packed build. (reports if there us nothing to rez)
~De-rez~ this build. (Asks to confirm:)
~~Delete Build~ will remove all parts, but not this main Object nor (no copy) parts.
~Freeze~ my build. (Asks to confirm one of two options.)
~~All Done~ removes all Build Packer scripts nearby. This cannot be undone.
~~Disconnect~ leaves scripts present, but not active. This can be undone.

After a ~Freeze~, prims and other scripts will remain as they are. Parts will not follow the main Object. The main Object no longer gives menus.

FAQ
============================================

~~I clicked the menu, nothing happened:
The menu is active for only 30 seconds each time it comes up to lessen sim lag. To get a new menu, touch the main object using left click or right click > touch.

~~ How do I get the menu to work again?
Touch the main Object. It has floating text that reads "Build Rezzer"

~~ I have the main Object out, but no menus appear.
Reset it's scripts. Detailed instructions are below.

~~ The build looks weird - the parts are not in the right spots:
Check the ground level and the sim and property border. Move or rotate the main Object so the build moves away from them.

~~ The build is sticking against the ground:
Build parts don't want to go below ground level. Instead, they just stick at ground level. Move or rotate the main Object to lift them up.

~~ I need part of the build to be underground:
Terraform a basement, then set the build in it, "Freeze" it, and terraform to bring the ground where you need it to be.
This is a bit tricky, but works, too: "Rez!" the build above ground, "Freeze-Disconnect" it, then draw a big edit box around the whole build and carefully drag it where it needs to be.

~~ The structure is piled against the border:
If you are near the edge of the world, the parts try not to fall off into the void into your "Lost-and-Found". Move or rotate the main Object away from the edge of the world to fix this.

~~ I lost a part of the build:
If your part moves off-world or over an auto-return plot, it appears in your inventory "Lost and Found" folder.
Move the main Object so you don't lose the part again. Drag the Lost-And-Found part to the ground. Now move the main object a little, wait, and the part will move to where it belongs in the build.

~~ The main Object says that it's empty:
If the creator packed a (no copy) build, it disappears from the main Object when you "rez!" it.

~~ I don't want that drop-down dialog menu anymore
~~ That "Build Rezzer" floating text is annoying.
Touch the main object, click "Freeze" and confirm with "Disconnect". The build freezes in place and the Build Packer Rezzer script goes inactive until you manually select and reset the Build Packer Rezzer Script.

ADVANCED ISSUES
====================================================

~~ I can't drag the build parts back to the main Object for storage.
If the creator made a (no modify) main Object, you can't drag things back into it for storage. One storage solution:
1) Create a new prim, name it and apply permissions as you wish.
2) Take all the all the build parts to inventory, including the main Object,
3) Drag all the parts from inventory to the prim's contents.
4) Take your prim into your inventory.
5) Later, you can drag it out, open it, and take all the parts to inventory
6) Drag those parts to the ground
7) Edit and move the main Object. Your build will snap in to place after a brief wait.

~~ I've got two Build Packer builds to rez.
Two Build Packer main Objects out at the same time will interfere with each other, even if you used "Freeze-Disconnect". "Rez!" one, then place and then use "Freeze-All Done" on it. Now you can "Rez!" and place the second one without messing up the first. I am working on an upgrade for this.

~~ I used "Freeze - All Done" but I want to use Build Packer again.
Buy the Build Packer kit through Arth Karas. Follow the Builder's instructions.

~~ I lost my build.
If you cannot find the build in-world or in your inventory at all, contact the creator or seller of your build about their replacement policy.

~~ Can a builder friend help me?
Great idea. While only you, the build owner, can see and operate the drop-down Build Packer menus, you can allow a friend to edit your prims in your friend window. With your permission, your builder friend can move and rotate your main object, and the other parts will still follow it. That friend can adjust the parts for you after you have used "Freeze -Disconnect".

~~ Can I pack my own build or add stuff to this one?
Purchase the full Build Packer through Arth Karas. Your new Build Packer will work just fine with parts that someone else created and packed.

~~ HELP! I need support.
First, contact the creator of your build or the person you got it from, since they will know how it is supposed to look. When all else fails, OK, contact me and I'll try to mentor you.

Namaste, Arth Karas.

Build Rezzer Instructions

2008-08-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

~~ Build Packer: Rezzer Instructions ~~ By Arth Karas, August 2008

Congratulations! You have a build that will construct itself for you using Build Packer.

HOW TO USE IT
==============================================

0. Get this Help note card. (You already did that! Well done.)

1. Drag the main Object you received from your inventory to the ground near where you want the finished build to be.

2. Select "Rez!" from the pop-up menu. Wait while the entire structure rezzes in a pile, then moves into position.

3. When you move or rotate the main Object, the is a moment's pause and the build moves to match it. Move the Main Object to put the build exactly where you want it.

4. Got the placement perfect? Now, "Freeze - Disconnect" the build. Moving the main Object no longer changes the others. It deactivates touch menu and float text, too.

5. Enjoy your build. You can use, take, delete, move or rotate any part of the build in the usual way without changing the other parts now.

6. You can pack up your build into Build Rezzer easily when you need to. Detailed instructions are below.

=========================================================

BUILD REZZER MENU CHOICES AND DESCRIPTIONS
==================================
~Help~ (Gives this card)
~Rez!~ and position the packed build. (reports if there us nothing to rez.)
~De-rez~ this build. (Asks to confirm:)
~~Delete Build~ will remove rezzed parts, but not this main Object nor (no copy) parts.
~Freeze~ my build. (Asks to confirm one of two options.)
~~All Done~ removes all Build Packer scripts nearby. This cannot be undone.
~~Disconnect~ leaves scripts present, but not active. This can be undone.

After a ~Freeze~, parts will not follow the main Object. The main Object no longer gives menus. Prims and other scripts will remain as they are.

UNDOING "FREEZE-DISCONNECT"
=======================================================
~ Reset the Build Packer Rezzer Script in the main Object.
Two ways to do that and get the controls back:
a) Right Click the main Object. Open More and Contents tab. Click and open the Build Packer Rezzer Script. Click the "Reset" button. You are in business again. Close the edit window
b) Right click>Edit the main Object. In your SecondLife menu, choose Tools>Reset Scripts in Selection. (This way is easier to do, but it could mess up other scripts in the main Object.)

STORING A (no copy) BUILD
======================================================
1) if you used "Freeze-Disconnect", undo that.
2) Leave the Build Rezzer main Object out for now.
3) Take all the other parts into your inventory.
4) Edit your Main Object, open MORE and the CONTENT tab
5) Drag the parts from your inventory into the prim contents.
6) It will work like new now. Take, store, transfer, or Use as you wish.

TROUBLESHOOTER

Namaste, Arth Karas.

Herald Blogging

2008-05-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

I found a small but interesting community here:

View my page on Second Life Bloggers

After playing a bit with customization there (inspiring me to change the look of this page, too, I sent a bunch of invitations to folks in my Gmail list who I know blog. The creators at "Ning" make it too easy to send it to all my contacts, but that is too spammy for me. Withing minutes, mad patcher Nicholaz had joined.

Best pal Arianwen Mercy joined too. Last week, she me to start posting product descriptions to her brand-new Mercy Heavens shop blog in exchange for her putting some of my machines and gadgets in her shops. It was a bit unusual, too: she gave me her Blogspot password and asked me to post something. Instead, I added Arth as a poster to her blog and discarded her password.

So this is a new endeavor in merchandising for her (she's already making her rents and fees in SL with her creations) and me (have often marketed other's products, but not my own.) But since all it takes is a bit of time, risk is low and it might be fun! Perhaps instead of offering an explanatory a note card (ugly), open a full color dynamic linkable page in SL's new web-browser. (wow!)

With all the tools out there, blogging has become websites and pages for everyone, regardless of nerdiness or cash. As a marketing tool, it's more an information dump that active marketing because there are so many blogs and sites that even the most exact searches deliver scads of hits. But using active marketing for SL products in SL, and providing product data via blog or web page - this I like.

2008-02-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

Dr. Loren Pankratz is a psychologist and clinical professor at Oregon Health & Science University here in Portland, Oregon. the New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Psychiatry and other peer-reviewed medical journals have published his articles on the subjects of deception, lying and

In a recent article in "The Oregonian" newspaper, Dr. Pankratz had this to say:

Lie-catchers often believe they can catch the lie within an interaction. But that's not the best way to catch a liar. The best way is to understand the larger context of what the individual knows, what his audience knows and how he manages his advantage. There are many clues to deception. They might look you in the eye, or flatter you. They don't provide credible information about the questions you ask. Clues always need to be checked out with facts.

Eye-contact is not detectable in Second Life, but flattery certainly is. In some role-playing scenarios, flattery is the norm, especially toward people of importance.

But checking facts and considering context is second nature.

Heralding A Stolen Hobbit

2008-02-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

Open Letter to the Estate of JRR Tolkien:

I believe electronic copies of the JRR Tolkien works "Sir Gawain and The Green Knight", "The Hobbit", "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", "The Return of the King" and "The Silmarillion" are being sold in the online virtual world of Second Life without permission from the copyright holder.

The allegedly infringing works are located in an area called 'Eldamar/139/59/43' by an object called "E-books vendor" owned and benefitting one called AmandaL Memnonic. The object dispenses copies of the above works for a fee. The copies are easily re-copied and exported into other electronic media. The copies bear no copyright notice or disclaimer. In a short instant message communication, AmandaL Memnonic admitted that she had imported the full texts as electronic files into SecondLife and that she is selling them there.

My intital report to Linden Labs will be ignored according to their policy because I am not the copyright holder or the agent. They request that reports of copyright infringement include a signature and this statement:

"I have good faith belief that the use of the copyrighted materials described above and contained on the service is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or by protection of law. I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

Linden Labs complete mechanism of redress and copyright protection is explained on their DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act web page.

Trusting Herald

2008-01-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Trust: noun: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone.

Saying "Be Worthy of Trust" is one thing. Fulfilling trust, keeping your word once given, fulfilling every contract, spoken or unspoken, every second of every day for everyone, is another thing.

For strangers and foreigners, we rely on their following the rules and keeping the peace, and maybe a little manners.
For acquaintances and clients, we rely on their manners and fulfilling contracts, and maybe a little help.
For friends and co-workers, we rely on their promises kept and some quality of help, and maybe a little compassion.
For family and partners, we rely on their compassion and honesty above the norm, and maybe a little sacrifice. Those that show it, we trust more.
For our keepers and protectors, we rely on their sacrifice and continued alliance, and maybe a little forgiveness.

Those that show they can be relied upon, we trust more. When they don't, we trust less. Trust is not yes/no. Trust is a scale, perhaps limitless at each end. Every being on the planet trusts every other being on the planet, to one degree or another.

The protagonist above, scrambling to keep one promise, seems to be frantic and unreliable to his co-workers, perhaps dangerous to strangers on the street. Being worthy of trust, I imagine he soon makes his apologies and does right and regains the faith of others eventually.

So one can be honorable, but still lose actual trust. Trust me, there will be ups and downs on the way that take their toll and time to solve. Thus, actual trust fluctuates moment by moment.

Regaining trust, building trust, and helping others do so, is worth doing in Life.

Herald's Abuse Report Bug Report

2008-01-17T09:31:00.000-08:00

Did you ever notice the SL Abuse Report drop down menu has the Big 6 Community Standards listed, except Disturbing the Peace is missing?

It also lists: Age (when you find out about an underage player), Parcel (for reporting parcel encroachment and the like), and Other

The way to suggest improvements to the interface, I'm told, is to file a Bug Report. So I did:

Bug report filed: "User Interface" 2007-01-17
Summary: "Disturbing the Peace" not an option in Abuse Reports.

Steps to reproduce the bug: Menu>help>report abuse>close>select category. see drop down menu.
Observed results: 8 choices: 5 community standards, "age", "parcel" and "other"
Expected results: the 6th Community Standard, "Disturbing the Peace" should be included for object, particle or chat spam.
Workaround: report such as "harassment" or "other".

I should suggest this on JIRA, too. I need to absorb the instructions, first.

Love, Arth

PS: What timing - Torley Linden released a video tutorial about Jira! The above is now "SVC 1204", and it looks like the first report of it.

Heralds' Estate

2008-01-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

Land and Estate owners in Second Life have an unusual set of freedoms that most Residents in Second Life do not. Primary among them is the ability to manage the estate to allow or disallow a slew of abilities selectively and at will to everyone, to groups, or to individuals:

Access: being on the plot at all, teleporting to or within, or establishing landmarks
Content: building, scripting, returns, landscaping, music, voice, rating.
Residence: Rentals, sub-purchases, plot size & locations, prim allowances
Combat: Push, physical objects, weaponry, scripts, effects.

These freedoms of choice are not absolute, but using enough money, any Resident can have just about anything they choose in Second Life. This is perfectly sensible - tier is NOT cheap, so special rights should go with it. Taken to a logical extreme, any element of Second Life's Community Standards becomes malleable for an estate owner. It's not hard to find examples:

Intolerance: "We don't allow SL Mentor Tags here."
Harassment: "Try a Sex-Gen Bed here!"
Assault: "I'm enabling push now, so watch out."
Disclosure: "Being here means you agree to a gay sex slavery lifestyle."
Indecency: "Yes, we were PG. Now we are Mature."
Disturbing the Peace: "FOR SALE! FOR SALE! FOR SALE! FOR SALE!"

One could file an Abuse Report on any of these, but it is not generally done. Understandably, the Lindens wrote allowances for owners preferences into the Community Standards. What might be abuse for me is not necessarily abuse when done by the estate owner, since the owner sets the standards in his estate.

In my experience, owners rarely enter this area - they simply set their rules and play by them themselves from simple decency. Financial pressure plays a part, too. Most owners are trying to cover some or all of their expenses by renting space. This puts some consumer pressure on the owner to be consistent and predictable.

Still, estate owners have the right to exclude anyone form any part of their holdings, for any reason or no reason at all. Since just about every bit or Second Life is owned by someone, for the likes of me, it comes down to a few choices:

Play on your own estate, but you pay up.
Play on others' estates, but you play by their rules.
Play not at all, but that's no fun.

I'll take number 2. Best if I can find estates whose rules I like.

Love Arth -

I enjoy the Linden owned Help Islands and Orientation Islands best: great design, excellent builds, liberal permissions, low lag, interesting people, little grief and absolute predictability. It's not ideal, though: They only allow new accounts and SL Mentors there, so many friends of mine cannot go there. I encourage them become a Mentor!

O {:-{D}

Herald & California Legislature

2008-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a question I posed recently to Second Life's Liaison office, through the Abuse Reporting Line [with clarification]:

"As a SL Mentor with some legal and arbitration experience, I am asked my opinon about SL TOS and CS Big Six [infractions and filing ARs] sometimes.

"Please clarify SL TOS. [Second Life Terms of Service]

"In 4.1 (vii) & (x): some terms are written in quotes, indicating a special defintion is being used.
["junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," "stalk"]

"TOS section 7.1 suggests California Law governs the TOS definintions.

"I note that "spam" and "stalking" are defined in [California Law] http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html but "junk mail" is not.

"Section (vii) says L[inden] Labs decides the abuses, but (x) does not.

"Is the intention in using those quote marks to refer the user to California law, or is there another preferred reference?

"Thank you."

We'll see what/if they say.

Herald in Genius

2008-01-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

Dear Savannah & Dirk:

All the best to you both - you've made a neat introduction area in Orientation Station and I wish you all success with it! "Orientation Station," along with the other private portals to SL have been on my radar for a few months, and it came up again. Please use this data as you see fit.

While Mentoring in HIP 2 and three shopping areas, I had several contacts with new residents who were having trouble with appearance and knew nothing about IM or chat history. As an SL Mentor, I thought this a bit unusual, but I taught them what they needed to know. In chatting, I learned they each came through "Orientation Station" (I had them map to "home"). I visited it to see how this private orientation sim works now.

Summary/Overview

There are five sims arranged in a + shape: center is a regular sim with lots of advertising, the four ends are "void sims" (low prim, low traffic) orientation courses when new players follow the path and signs and learn what they learn. Lag quite good in all of them. There were only a few new residents and the occasional MetaVerse Mentor to guide things along. The design is open and inviting. There is some inventive presentation, but there are some holes in the training.

Details (Notes taken during the visit):

Typical rez point: 􀀌 (Look up "Genius" sim. I'll post a SLURL later)

Walk instructions embedded in floor and a poster. You can't see them clearly from the first arrival, so you have to know how to walk to learn how to walk.
There are a set of flags on boxes with no content, saying "coming soon" and "Choose your language" - but no functionality. No instructionn on point/click nearby: who will know how to use them? ummm. Everybody: point/click is universal for any web-users.
Verbal/voice/sound in first area indicates streaming sound, but no stream audible. How do I know I'm set up right.
Training stations: eye catching purple and white signs on the walls guide you through the area.
station 1-3: Move by arrow - duplicate instruction . (Good!)
Surprise water splash in an easy obstacle course. Nice.
YAY: two unusual move methods introduced: mouse-av-arrow & shift-arrow.
Voice instruction looks fine Stations 4-7 but no one to talk to, how can you test?
Buying things. #8-9 station graphics too small - a newbie can't zoom yet, so can't read it.
10-13 graphics okay
Nice freebie boxes, but some broken: orb box. little black outfit. 300 avatar.
I can open a box, but not take or return it yet. - 10 minute auto return solves that.
Station 15 is "step 2" and is on the left of step one (?) #16
#18 Mouse look error: if chat is on, "m" doesn't work.
20-27 okay, but movie doesn't play. Graphics and text small. but I know zoom now.
28-31 how do you open a chat box? The chat hat didn't work for me. O:(
A quick flight (nice bit of story telling , there) and we're in the center area.

"Clever" Sim 􀀉􀀋and two other "newbie sims" are very similar:
Layout and instructions identical. Dressing is a little different (e.g.: Scholar has some ivy)

Center area:

Four "entraces" from four orientation sims,
two horse arenas, nice freebie AKK horse & horse area with sculpties.
two build stations, with "prim rezzer" tool: nice object􀀈 but complex for a beginner - and newbie still doesn't know how to do chat history.
a lot of "free item" signs (mostly an interesting batch of LMs to stores)
Central arena with nice ampitheatre dead center (rez point underwater there?)

Time spent 4 hours over three days. Time with a mentor on sim: 20 mins.

A Metaverse Mentor, DanOfWA Flanagan, was polite, and helpful to the new citizens there. But Dan says I can't wear SL Mentor tags here or help the newbies as a visitor. "Don't want to confuse the new folk." Awwww. Not a nice policy IMHO. I complied, but had several problems with this ~

~ I was embarassed not to have known it already.
~ MVM's are somewhat rare.
~ No notice is available in world that this is so - how will SL mentors know?
~ (Perhaps a notice in "about Land" or the group attached to the land?)
~ I've never been in a SIM where any "legal" tag was not tolerated before.
~ (Especially not a SL Mentor Tag.)

Metaverse Mentors is run by Dirk Talamasca and Savannah Glimmer. Prominent SL Mentors Doctor Gascoigne and SoulLDK Simpson are members of the group.

Summary:
Some great design and structure. Education is direct and flows well. The training lineup missed some very important SL tools:

IM, chat: no instruction anywhere. No chat history.
how to buy (illegible instructions),
nothing on inventory control.
appearance: not a lot of detail. (missing movie)
nothing about friends or snapshot.

Thanks for making this nice place. I hope you can do a few tweaks.

Arth

Take Me Higher

2007-12-28T09:55:00.001-08:00

Random Advices

2007-12-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

Well, you are loved

You must be strong for him. Be the teacher he needs, not the one that you need to be.

even the fool sooner or later will slip up. the wise man will be calm.

Even a fool, when he remains silent appears wise

I hope you have a wonderful evening

I may cry.

If that is the case, then do whatever you need to do.

Peopel vote with their feet

so this is a temper tantrum?

wise man uses words only when he must: the more you say, the more they can attack.

I think the more concise and factual it can be with the least emotion except a closing appeal would be the most powerful

Have I hurt you too much?

I am humbled to help you in any way

how funny

I am so ashamed by what is happening...

it will come down to forgiveness

wield your power as a king, not as a servant.

Who do you think cares?

Be in the moment with your actions

It doesn't matter who caused it - it's your situation.

Listening Herald

2007-12-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

I was incredulous, mystified and dumbfounded.

I was told that a Second Life Resident of excellent credentials said he discovered "listening devices" of mine in one area I had visited often. Further, the owner of the area said the Resident told him to delete them, and he did, so "Arth couldn't spy on him anymore". When another, more reliable contact told me he had confirmed this claim directly with the finder, I was plunged into confusion.

First, yes, I know how to make remote listening devices - they are not that hard to script - but I don't make them because they are against Second Life Community Standards:

Remotely monitoring conversations, posting conversation logs, or sharing conversation logs without consent are all prohibited in Second Life and on the Second Life Forums.

Second, I had been getting no reports of any activity in the area in discussion, not by e-mail nor Instant Message nor by chat. That's what remote listening scripts do: they listen to what is said and send some communication somewhere. Even if I'd inadvertantly put one somewhere (did I drag a wrong script into some thing I had built there?) I'd be getting a remote report from Second Life. Such reports are easily monitored and traced by Linden Labs.

Third, after wracking my brain, what, really, had this Resident found? I had permission from the area owner to build and leave objects there, but I had left nothing unusual in that area. I'd left a common pose ball pair (they go invisible when you type "/8 hide"). I'd built a very low prim bridge witha common script that emitted glowing "fireflies" you could change their color by command (when you type "/1 bridge yellow", the colored floating lights change to yellow) as a gift to the area owner, who had angrily destroyed a similar object, he said. But I knew those scripts had no relay command in them. Curiouser and curiouser.

Anyhow, I was told that my listening devices in that area were found and deleted without any notice to me. The area owner banned me from the area and prohibited me from building there. Then, later, some trouble occurred with his objects and landscaping going missing in the area. The owner accused me of causing this, an utter impossibility. A report was filed, and the researching Linden said they found and took more listening devices to see if they broke the rules. That's when the owner of the area told me about all this.

Fourth, how could anyone show that the scripted contents of an object that no longer exists did not contain the ability to remotely monitor chat?

Fifth, well, I'd hear from the Lindens if they were mine, and that would resolve the mystery, but it's been three weeks, and I've heard nothing. Linden Labs does follow up on Abuse Reports, too: I've filed three of them in the meantime that have already been adressed and resolved by the Linden Liaison office. And the Lindens can easily crack a script and see if it has the ability to remotely montior a conversation and see where the conversation is being sent. Unless the scripter cooperates, Residents can't crack scripts.

Suddenly, it dawned on me: no-one said they'd found "remote listening devices", they had found "listening devices". And I knew what they'd found and how they found it.

Any prim that responds to chat has "listen" built into the script: the "/8 show/hide" pose balls (like the ones I'd left on the sim), huggers ( "/hug Arth"), dialog controllers (the blue panel that shows up with options), magic devices ("Flame on!"), Valimar title makers (some you can change by chatting), and (aha!) my chat controlled, color changing bridge. These devices do listen, but they don't need or have the second ingredient necessary for a remote monitor: a portion of the script that sends data somehwere. My posers and bridge certainly had listen but no send script.

It is fairly easy to locate scripted objects. According to the SL Knowledge Base, : Click View > Beacons > Scripted Objects on your menu bar, then click View > Beacons > Render Beacons. That doesn't tell you WHAT the script does, exactly, though. For that, the easily available and very useful MystiTool and at least six other devices have a bug scanner that locates scripts that use listen. I had even recommend MystiTool to the Resident who found my listening devices. But even Mystitool does not differentiate between listening scripts that send data elsewhere and scripts that do not. Maybe there are other tools that detect remote listening scripts, but I've not found one. Someone should script one!

I'm satisfied that the mystery of the reported listening devices is explained in this irony: no one but Lindens can tell the difference between a creepy "remote monitor" and a useful chat controlled object. I need to tell this to those who are still wondering why the area owner is so mad at me. I will direct them to this blog post - those that should know can fill in the names easily.

Love, Arth

P.S.: Three Ironies:

1) Mystitool is capable of generating objects that report who is where in an allowed area. Next, they self delete. Usually. If they lag out, another's Mystitool can detect them as very suspicious invisible listeners.

2) I had been working on and finally scripted "pose balls" that do not use listen scripts. The sit scripts in my furniture seats now counter the prim rotations with an animation rotation, so I don't need the extra ball prim. Even my furniture has nothing to hide.

3) Those pose balls I left out had been given to me by the Resident who found them.

O {:-{D}

Stalking Herald

2007-12-15T06:22:00.000-08:00

There has been some discussion and confusion about stalking in my circles of Second Life. When does seeking someone become stalking? More specifically, when does seeking someone who does not wish to be found become stalking?

---------- Begin debate. First, establish authority and scope:-------

Excerpt: Second Life Terms of Service

4.1 You agree to abide by certain rules of conduct, including the Community Standards and other rules prohibiting illegal and other practices that Linden Lab deems harmful. ...
In addition to abiding at all times by the Community Standards, you agree that you shall not: ... (x) "stalk", abuse or attempt to abuse, or otherwise harass another user
7.1 Governing Law. This Agreement and the relationship between you and Linden Lab shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of law principles or the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods.

-------Next, define terms-------

Excerpt: CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE , SECTION 646.9. (a)

Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking

Excerpts: Encarta Online Dictionary

~~seek: (v) 1. search for something: to try to find a person, thing, or place. 2. strive for or attempt something: to try to achieve or obtain or do something. 3. ask for something: to consult somebody in order to obtain something such as help or advice. 4. head for something: to go to or toward a place or thing
~~ stalk: (n) 1. stealthy pursuit: the act or process of stealthily following or trying to approach somebody or something. 2. act of steady harassment: the crime of harassing somebody with persistent, inappropriate, and unwanted attention.
~~ha·rass: (v) 1. keep bothering or attacking: to persistently annoy, attack, or bother. 2. exhaust enemy with repeated attacks: to exhaust an enemy by attacking
repeatedly.
~~stealth: (n) 1. action to avoid detection: the action of doing something slowly, quietly, and covertly, in order to avoid detection. 2. furtiveness: secretive, dishonest, or cunning behavior or actions
~~malice: (n) 1. wish to do harm: the intention or desire to cause harm or pain to somebody 2. (law) intent to do harm: the intention to commit an unlawful and unjustifiable act that will result in harm to another.

Excerpt: Second Life Community Standards

... Harassment: Given the myriad capabilities of Second Life, harassment can take many forms. Communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, constitutes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, or is otherwise likely to cause annoyance or alarm is Harassment.

------------Argument:-------------

"Stalk" implies malicious, stealthy intention to harm, with threats and repetition. "Seek" does not. Therefore, where malice, secrecy, harmful intent, and threats are missing, stalking did not occur. When there is any evidence of stalking, prudent targets would make reports to legal authorities for the protection of everyone.

------------ Corroboration----------

Excerpt: Second Life Knowledge Base

Whenever you see one of these rules being broken, and you believe it to be intentional or malicious, then everyone present at the incident should file an abuse report. The abuse reporting system exists to make the Second Lives of Residents more pleasant and satisfying.

---------End presentation--------

I yield the podium to other arguments.

Defaming Herald

2007-12-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

Politicians lie. It's even written into law!

I'll start with the translation, then the legalese:

~Lie: I say something, knowing it is false. This is generally not a crime.

~Defamation: I say something that hurts your reputation. This is generally not a crime.

~Slander: I say something false that hurts your reputation. This is a crime.

~Libel: I print something false that hurts your reputation. This is a crime.

~Privilege: I am a government officer doing my job properly, my falsehoods are not libel or slander.

(So - you want to hurt someone? Hurt them with truth. Untruths come back to get you, even if you thought them true at the time. Love, Arth)

CALIFORNIA CODE SECTION 43-53

45. Libel is a false and unprivileged publication by writing, printing, picture, effigy, or other fixed representation to the eye,which exposes any person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy,or which causes him to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him in his occupation.

45a. A libel which is defamatory of the plaintiff without the necessity of explanatory matter, such as an inducement, innuendo or other extrinsic fact, is said to be a libel on its face. Defamatory language not libelous on its face is not actionable unless the plaintiff alleges and proves that he has suffered special damage as approximate result thereof. Special damage is defined in Section 48a of this code.

46. Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, and also communications by radio or any mechanical or other means which:

Charges any person with crime, or with having been indicted,convicted, or punished for crime;
Imputes in him the present existence of an infectious,contagious, or loathsome disease;
Tends directly to injure him in respect to his office,profession, trade or business, either by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects which the office or other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing something with reference to his office, profession, trade, or business that has a natural tendency to lessen its profits;
Imputes to him impotence or a want of chastity; or
Which, by natural consequence, causes actual damage.

47. A privileged publication or broadcast is one made:

(a) In the proper discharge of an official duty.
(b) In any (1) legislative proceeding, (2) judicial proceeding,
(3) in any other official proceeding authorized by law, or
(4) in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law...
[exceptions omitted]

(See? in California, it's legal for politicians to lie. Arth)

Herald in Song

2007-12-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

Years ago, in a fit of whimsy, I selected Though The Looking Glass as a "theme book" for life: some underlying logic, and some semblance of some goal, some interesting characters and dialogue, but some events along the way are unfathomable.

Lately, some friends, caught up in drama, conflict, misunderstanding, or outright lies cut me off. And most of them privately weep for me and offer support and give gifts. Of course I messed up, but not to the degree my accusers claim. Anyhow, I have to do the work to regain trust, regardless of the underlying faults. What can I say? I WANT to regain the trust I've lost. Yet friendship still seems underlying, even fully renewable. But, right now, all is sad.

`You are sad,' the Knight said in an anxious tone: `let me sing you a song to comfort you.'
`Is it very long?' Alice asked, for she had heard a good deal of poetry that day.
`It's long,' said the Knight, `but very, VERY beautiful. Everybody that hears me sing it--either it brings the TEARS into their eyes, or else--'
`Or else what?' said Alice, for the Knight had made a sudden pause.
`Or else it doesn't, you know.'

"This Love Song" is my voice, guitar, words and music. I'll put more on the website there as I record it.

Love, Arth

Herald of Valarin

2007-12-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Subject: Introduction
----------------------------
on 2007-11-17, I wrote to Tolkien fan criticizing use of the fragmented, obscure and complex JRR Tolkien "Language of the Ainur (Holy Ones)" called Valarin in the overhead titles the players were displaying in Second Life's Valimar Sim.

Subject: Please do not use Valarin in Valimar Titles.
-------------------------
First, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valarin and many other sources say this: Valarin was extremely alien to the ears of the Elves, sometimes to the point of genuine displeasure, and very few of them ever learned the language, only adopting some of the Valarin words into their own Quenya. The Valar knew Quenya, and used that to converse with the Elves, or with each other if Elves were present.
Second: Poor communication: you can't tell which name to call anyone now.
Third: (Ahulez) Aulë looks terrible. so do all those other parentheses. And you still don't know what to call the player.
Fourth: Educationally, we're already throwing formal English and Quenya at everyone. Valarin, too, is too much, IMHO.
Fifth: there are more reasons, but I've made my point.

Subject: The Resident's polite but unconvinced reply, excerpts:
--------------------------------
~~Valimar is the capital of Valinor and only city of the Ainur. If ever there was a place where one might encounter Valarin, it would certainly be the Valar/Ainur city of the bells.
~~I do agree with you the words are not pleasing on the eye, however Tolkien created them.
~~We are not asking people to memorize a book, less then 10 words.
~~please share your other reasons.

Subject: My reply (maybe more fun in character!)
----------------------------------
from: Aulë TalkaMarda, Inventor & Worldcrafter
to: Manwë Súlimo, Blessed Lord of the Winds

Greetings and blessings, to Mânawenûz,
my brother and leader in the Making of Arda!

Since there has been some discussion on this matter, and you have asked for more information, I will tell you in detail why I have repented from the use of Valarin in Valimar.

When I was new in my powers in Arda, I felt everything about me should be known and broadcast by every possible medium, including the overhead verbiage we can sport in Valimar now. You may recall my five and six line overhead monstrosities clouding the view. Because our first language is so rich in meaning (and lengthy in spelling), using it created indecipherable and complete discord in the view, not only in the long, complex word itself, but in the necessary inclusion of definitions in one or two other languages.

Instead, now I only title to provide my name, duties and rank in the common tongue that most of our new guests prefer these days, so my place in the world is known easily, using only a touch of Quenya. Perhaps the format of this three line title would suffice all Ainur and Eldar floating titles.
If a visitor seeks further information, you know me, I do not stint in providing instruction and data to the willing. For the unwilling and unknowing, not one hammer stroke (or keyboard tap) will I waste. The willing and curious will ask.

It is enough we speak Valarin from time to time, and make it possible to be known. To emblazon it in the very air every minute of every day seems misplaced pride in our own creation. I know pride and hubris - I am reminded of mine in every living dwarf and blooded hammer. In humility, I beg we set aside our own creation for the greater good of adopting the elegant elven and common tongue at every turn we can. (The purpose of our sim is to raise English literacy. Yes, learning a second language is one way to do that - but Valarin is so sketchy, it is a secret code, a barrier, not a language. Imposing Valarin does not further our sim purpose.)

Is it obvious that in the everyday written communication, we should seek simplicity, clarity, and familiarity?

In our own tongue, you and I are both "Mâchan". When I created Khuzdul, I could have used Valarin, but I did not. In Khudzul, we are "Mahal": I needed a language approachable, durable and direct: even omitting one letter is an improvement toward simplicity.

It was Vana herself, in a speech on "failures to communicate" , bespoke on the eschewing of erudition for the sake of erudition. Certainly, our welcome guests COULD understand Valarin. Is it not enough we ask them to learn Quenya AND the common dialect we prefer? Perhaps, as you suggest, we should remand this matter of our attendant titles entirely to Vana and her people to ponder and determine for clarity.

For my house and family, where we strive to make being a guest in Valimar simple, easy and pleasant. However, every elven author reports that our native speech is not pleasant to hear , (and difficult to read.) Therefore, I find myself unwilling propound in Valarin to our visitors. Even a small barrier is a barrier to familiarity.

This still leaves the unanswered question, where, if not in Valimar, is Valarin spoken? Not in Middle-Earth, certainly, nor regularly in the dwellings of the elves of Aman. No, we of the Ayanûz traditionally speak Valarin when discussing lofty matters in Aþâraphelûn Mânawenûz of Dâhanigwištelgûn and in the Mâchananaškad on Ezellôchâr, beneath Ibrîniðilpathânezeland and Tulukhedelgorûs. Then and there is Valarin's place, not every minute in Valimar.

(Does this make my point? in this day and age, inclusion of Valarin needlessly complicates communication. )

Besides, small mysteries of discovery delight elves. Let Valarin be one of those: not thrust in their faces, but hidden and pleasant to find and open and devour, like a wild egg.

I gratefully know you give some weight to my council, my friend, regardless of your determination. Thus, I remain, your loyal if always opinionated brother and aide in the making of Eä,

Aĥûlêz (Aulë) {Inventor}
Mâchanâz (Aratar) {Exalted}
Aþâraphelûn mâchan (Talkamarda) {World-maker}

Herald to Jobhunter

2007-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

This card I wrote months ago has recently been making the rounds, and seems to be in demand again.

---------------------------------------------------------

To: New Jobhunter
From: Your Mentor

Congratulations on you new position!
Job hunter is an age-old position with many rewards and challenges.
Here is an outline of your dutes:

1. Set your own work hours and keep them.
a. No one is going to supervise you or call you when you miss work
b. You will have to get yourself ready to job hunt each day
c. You may change your hours as necessary.
d. If you are already working some, keep doing it and also your jobhunter hours.
e. File unemployment if you might be eligible. Follow their rules, please.

2. Make your own work area.
a. Don’t spend a lot of time on this, but cover the basics:
b. Phone, phone book, note pad, computer, lighting.

3. Narrow your search:
a. What location will you work in?
b. What types of jobs would you do?
i. Jobs you’ve held before
ii. Continue a career you’ve started
iii. Begin a new career. Idea sources:
A. Your hobbies, passions and loves
B. Browse the Phone Book and Newpaper randomly

4. Contact every one who might have a job for you:
a. By local phone call to potential employers in your area and interests:
i. Dial and talk to whoever answers:
ii. Introduce yourself and let then know you are looking for work as a (fill in the blank)
iii. Ask if they might have an opening for someone like you.
A. If yes, find out what they want and produce it.
B. If not, ask if there anyone who might need someone like you.
b. By personal contact:
i. Let all your friends, relatives and people you work with know you are looking.
ii. Talk to everyone: the stranger in line at the store may need you.
iii. Visit http://www.angelfire.com/nj/counseling/50cents.html for more ideas.
c. By any other means you have:
i. Online applications (do them fully the first time)
ii. Cold mailed resume
iii. Newspaper want ads
iv. Phone book Yellow page listings

5. When you learn of a lead, follow up fully and professionally with whatever they ask.
a. Resume: one page, please, absolutely truthful.
b. Cover letter: do your homework and make it about THEIR business
c. Interview: Dress as though you already have that job. Get enough rest.
d. Follow up each of the above: it impresses and can lead to more leads.

6. Accept the right offer.
a. You don’t need to accept your first offer unless you are desperate.
b. The beginning is the time to negotiate.
c. Commit only to what you really can do.
d. Leave your options open if a better offer arrives.

Arth Karas.

Herald Manages Insomnia

2007-09-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

I love chat history: I can go back and see what I missed, and every once in a while, copy a chat and preserve it because someone said a few things worth preserving.
------------
Arth Karas = open Chat
Valimar Sim East Plaza
2007-09-11 03:02:27

Edited 2007-11-17 for privacy.

You: Mr X, you asked for an insomnia cure?
You: Actully, I do have insomnia cures.
MR X: Chamomille
MR X: turkey and warm milk
You: 1) get comfortable
You: 2) shut off the lights
You: (actually #1 is a big step:
You: most people don't know when they are uncomfortable -
You: or don't know how to self-massage, say feet, shoulders and neck
You: so that those parts that carry so much stress relax.
You: so get comfortable, get dark. then
MR X: yes...my neck is killing me.
You: 3) let the body get, part by part, relaxed and heavy
You: neck?
You: MR X, here we go
MR X: taking a hot shower before will help too
You: take your hands off the keyboard.
You: place them on your own shoulders
You: squeeze
MR X: ok...yes
You: hard as you can
You: then relax
You: with very stiff fingers
You: press in again,
You: relax
MR X : I guess I was getting pretty worked up about my project.
You: then press in and slide fingers forward.
MR X: Its still very rough
You: across the tendons and muscles there.
You: I understand.
MR X: yes
You: Can you let it go?
You: the page?
MR X: yes... that's why I'm here
You: shoulders relaxing?
MR X: yes.
You: good.
You: neck next
You: this is a very specific rub
You: with middle three fingers
You: find the skull bone right behind your ears
You: press in and drag down several times
You: following the strong tendon there.
MR X: yes
You: down the same stroke, but vibrating hands to front and back.
You: slowly as you go down
You: zig-zag across the tendon.
MR X: yes...I've done this before but always on someone else :~)
You: good man!
You: you know how effective it is for headache!
MR X: yes
You: then, lightly all over head through hair
You: stroke or scratch,
You: whatever you like
You: scratch
You: all over the skull.
You: . . .
You: last phase
You: from those bones behind your ears
You: stroke down and back
You: to the top of the spine,
You: then slide forward across the shoulders.
You: several times
MR X: yes...I'm feeling much more relaxed now.
You: excellent.
You: so, ready to try sleeping?
MR X: yep...after a nice hot shower ;~)
MR X: thank you my friend
You: We have great wealth between us here.
MR X: I see so much needing to be done.
You: in know-how and warmth
You: and great friends.
You: of course the is a lot to be done.
You: but you get to decide when to handle it.
You: otherwise, it all sits on you
You: saying "do me now!"
MR X: yes...exactly.
You: and I go -"no"
You: "you I handle Tuesday at 7"
You: "and that one I handle Friday at 5"
MR X: I am learning comprimise :~)
You: "and these others are all for tomorrow at 10":
You: Very good management trick:
You: place your projects in time, so they have a place to exist separate from you.
MR X: yes... that's very wise.
You: I've been a manager for, Lord, 35 years now
You: I've learned a few things.
You: and you ARE doing great things.
MR X: well...I guess I 'm kind of hard on my self
You: Sometime soon, I show you arts of recruitment and delegation.
You: only way for a one-man-show to become a duet.
MR X: yes...I really would like that!
You: Phoenix Seelowe innately does this really well.
You: but, later.
You: Maybe even 9 pm meeting tonight.
MR X: ok...sounds great!
You: your shower and bed need you.
MR X: yes indeed!

I never did tell MR X the last steps:

4:
Close eyes and look at the inside of your eyelids:
Any distractions, simply place them in time.
Watch the faint dark colors
that swirl behind your eyelids, then

5:
Let morning arrive!
(I set my alarm clock to
tell me when it is morning -
I don't have to wake self to
guess or look)

Love, Arth

Herald in Valimar

2007-09-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was delighted last week when the Sheridenne, the role-playing leader and coach at Builders of Valimar chose my write up of Aulë, my role in that Second Life group and sim, as an example of how to write up a character.

Due to privacy considerations of other players and workers there, that Google Group is going to be made private, most likely. But, I want to share this openly, to avoid a catch-22: Can't be in the group till you have a role, can't have a role till you are in the group.

Below my siganture, here is today's http://groups.google.com/group/builders-of-valmar/web/the-nine-questions

Sheridennes able blog is http://ladysheridannekelley.blogspot.com/, and you can e-mail her from there. She or I would be delighted to hear from you.

Love, Arth
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Nine Questions

Here are Nine Questions. They are used to help us all get a better understanding of the characters. As a start, consider your own character and see how many of these you can answer.

Just make a copy of the table, paste it into Word and then add your answers. Once completed, please email it to me or Rajani through this site.

To stimulate your thinking, here are the Nine Questions completed for Aulë

Thank you, Sheri

Question	Answer
1. Name of person assigned to play the part.	Arth Karas
2. The formal name used regularly by the character.	Aulë ("Inventor" in Elvish) Curumo (the Smith), Aratar (Exalted) Lord of the Valar (Powers), of the race of the immortal Ainur (Holy Ones), offspring of the thought of Eru Illúvatar (The One Father of All)
3. Additional names and/or titles used for the character	Aĥûlêz(Ancient Valarin: Invention), Mâlon ni Noldor (Elf-Friend of the Noldor), Mahal Khazâd (Dwarvish: Dwarf-Maker), Patriarch of House Aulë in Valimar.
4. A one or two sentence description of their role	Older than time, the fifth most powerful being in all Eä (Creation), Lord over all substances of which Arda (Earth) is made. Gifted in & delighting in workers & works of skill & invention, arts & crafts, magic & science, stone & mineral. While Arda exists, Aulë will inhabit & sustain it with other Valar.
5. Their habitat – where they typically would choose to live, play, work	In the Timless Realm, Aulë dwelt with other Ainur & Eru Illúvatar, singing his part of The Song of Creation. He was near & saw clearly the first Vision of the World, of what was, is, & is to come. Aulë willingly left the Timleless Realm to aid in the building of Arda (Earth) in preparation of the Coming of the Children of Illúvatar (Elves and Men). In the First Ages, Aulë MADE & fashioned all lands & habitats of Arda, in fellowship with the host of Valar & Maiar & despite the meddling of Melkor. He is comfortable & is found ANYWHERE: day, night, air, mountains, underground, earth, water, ice or fire. In later ages, he is usually in & around his Forge in Valimar (City of Valar) in company of his family, peers, protégés, students & friends. His palatial home, crafted of webs of light, is very near the city. While easily found in their chosen domain, the remote & oft hidden continent of Aman (the Undying Lands), he & the other Valar might travel to Middle-Earth as invisible spirit or may take some other unassuming living form there. In the final ages, Aulë's role is undetermined.
6. Their relationships with others (spouse, children & how they get on with other races, individuals or groups of characters)	Aulë works & plays well with others: The other Valar assist, admire & rely on his work & willingness. Openly & genuinely friendly & admiring of creativity & skill wherever he finds it, & often found learning & teaching, Aulë has little love for incompetence, but will patiently assist the willing. He wearies of repairing the mischief of the hated Melkor (Mighty) & his misguided Balrogs (terrors), Orcs (monsters) and minions, who seek to mar & destroy, imprison & subjugate. He is not a willing battler, but the tools, builds, weapons & defences he makes are legendary. Particularly fond of the crafty Noldor Elves & Dwarves (his secret creation, ultimately approved & adopted by The One), & of his many proteges, vassals & aides among the Maiar (Makers) of the Ainur (Holy Ones), Aulë loves (even though he often neglects them for his work) his family: his Wife & Valier (Valar Queen) Yavanna (Giver of Fruits) Kementári (Earth Mother), their son Oromë, (Trumpeter), their daughter Nessa (Youth), & their houses.
7. Their key vision and values	"Of the fabric of Earth has Aulë thought, to whom Ilúvatar had given skill & knowledge scarce less than to Melkor; but the delight & pride of Aulë is in the deed of making & in the thing made, & neither in possession nor in his own mastery; wherefore he gives & hoards not, & is free from care, passing ever on to some new work." ~~ The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë, by JRR Tolkien
8. Their key motivators	Enabling of creation, creativity, craft, skill & education thereof, & sharing works of all types, whether of beauty, of utility, of protection or offence, or of any cleverness & cunning.
9. Their typical behaviours	Making stuff. Helping others make stuff. Fixing stuff. Help others fix stuff. Giving stuff. Helping others give stuff. Delighting in well-done stuff. He is carefree (rarely insisting on ceremony or protocol or formality), quick with words (he invented at leat two languages), a fast friend (even if he chooses his friends & protégés poorly), he seeks & gives good counsel & aid, especially in the arts & crafts, magics & sciences.
References	references: JRR Tolkien: The Aulindalë, The Valaquenta, The Silmarillion, The Book of Lost Tales. http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/default.asp?url=http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/a/aule.html http://home.netcom.com/~heensle/lang/elvish/elvish.html http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/valarin.htm

Herald in Battle.

2007-09-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I learned I hate to attack another, even in play.

I made an appointment with an expeerienced battler to learn the basics of mock battle in Second Life. After some delay, we are gathered, and equipped. When our sensei, Sjeyanne, asks us to spar, I cannot speak. I dread to say "Rahan, engarde", nor, even worse, "Aria, I am ready to fight you." I am relieved when SJ offers to spar with me, but even her, a stranger who knows there is no anger, only the desire for a skill that she uses everyday, she says "ready", I am looking at her, and I want to throw down my weapon and leave - I have no wish to hit her. But I take up my sword and tell her "Ready", but in truth, mon ami, I am never ready.

My son is an expert battler on computer games. He loves them. I was never a challenge for him, even from age 10. He is a RL expert, regularly placing well in computer fighting tournaments. Here I face another true expert, and am cut to the ground in mere seconds. Then I am caged - of all things that I hate, I hate nothing more than cages. Not for me, not for any one. I apply the /1 reset remedy, and, oh no, my HUD settings are destroyed! This is true injury to me - I will need to take time fix this sometime.

But I continue with the horrible lesson. She compliments me on my weak hits, like a good teacher. I cannot even see her move, she is so fast: her experience is great, she handles her mouse and interface expertly, in battle after battle trying to teach me. I cannot see myself, I cannot see her, I press buttons randomly. Phuii. This is frustratng and terrible. I have no improvement,and no idea what to do.

I whine, like an ungrateful child. I tell her I cannot see, I cannot tell wheat is happening, "I hate this" to her. Rahan and Aria are in the distance, merrily bashing one another. SJ is understanding and helpful, even showing me new ways so I can see Arth and her. You see part of this instruction - you make the world dull and flat, with no sky - then, ironically, you are fast enough maybe to fight. I am still 3 times slower than her. I improve a little, still losing every spar and falling to my face in the hated cage. I sudeenly realize I must immediately go.

On my return, we are in another place, a new area with more people. I have one small success: with the new system, I learn an interface trick that even my sensei does not know in mere seconds.I pray, please God, I don't want to fight, but I am committed to learn, for so many I truly respect admire this part of SL. And my prayer is granted:

Idiot Anthony appears, gun in hand, firing, and my practice is disrupted.

You handled him expertly: communicative, with exact truth. Arian acts on instinct and shoots him, creating some escalation. Most others have no idea what to do. I quietly IM him to teach him to see truth for himself on who has harmed him. He says Arian hit him. I tell him I will talk to her. He leaves, apparently satisfied. I IM Arianwen that Anthony might file abuse on her, but I don't think he is smart enough.

Then, I don't recall whether this is before you leave or after - he comes back with another to shoot us all, completely disrupting our sparring again. I am SHOUTING at him in IM and threaten to BAN him from SL. But he hits Arian hard. He leaves and says he nor his friend will not return.

Anthony is a liar. Moments later, I am covered in a 10x10x10 box on the sparring floor. The boxes say he made them and owns them - I learn this by left click - edit. I look at my bumps and hits - it is empty: the boxes are not physical, merely annoying. I can file abuse for this by right click - more - more - report abuse, but I do not. I shouild have. My HUD tells me he is nearby, so I find him (using a programmed particle that, untill today, I only used to find my best friends) standing on a neaby hill, Once again, he lies and says it not his boxes. The boxes are gone now. I see his profile - he is player since October 06. "Anthony, you have been here too long to be such a n00b." He says he doesn't come in much. "Good thing", I say. He claims he is invisible and doesn't know what is happening - (is he lying? did someone "orbit" him?). I tell him to log off as his remedy.

One moment later, there is a huge ocean liner on the tournament floor. I have no doubt. Right click object, -more-more-report. Yes, it is Anthony. Send a photo. Copy paste chat to report window: multiple object grief. 10 seconds, report is done. Anthony will get a warning from SL. If he already has warning, he will get suspended or banned. SL is reliable in this.

His profile indicates I can eject him and the liner from the area. I do. The SIM reports I have no permissions, yet he and the liner and gone in seconds. A moment later, he is back with another large weapon. With no hesitation and with no feeling of anger or joy, I trap him and eject him again. He is not even pretending to be making errors now, simply taunting me. I am "grass" he says (I have no idea what this means) and he continures to call me grass. His profile now has one word in it, the very word I wear constantly: Ask.

An expert griefer is baiting me. Who knows why? A million reasons could exist, and there is not point in my guessing: he is the one who needs to find why to truly handle things. I simply need to be effective in removing this annyoance, like swatting a bug. Further eject will not deal with him. Reports will, surely, but most important, remove his target: me.

Of course Anthony returns. I freeze him again. I politely ask those remaing in the arena (none of them are the people I came with - they have all left already) to file Abuse reports on Anthony at the slightes provocation, and tell them how to do it: either from your menu > Help > bumps screen if you have been fired upon, or from object > right-click > more > more > report if there is a large object in the way. Anthony is chattering inanely in IM - I am grass, he could report me, but he is not grass. I tell him I have lost my patience with him, and that is very hard to do to me. "I am done with you, Anthony."

I leave the sim. I have left him behind me. I have also left behind an illusion, thank God: whether I am sucessful (as trapping and neutralizing Anthony after failed diplomacy) or unsuccessful (as using swords in SL) no battle is attractive to me.

I will still learn weapon battle, it is an important part of roles I must play. God help me.

Love, Arth.

The First Second Herald

2007-08-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

From my Second Life Profile as of today

About Arth Karas:

"Born" 3/14/2007. "Payment info": Not on file

Happy. Honorable. Intuitive. Mature. Inventive. Studious. Masculine. Genuine. Friendly. Angelic. Ask. Anything. Anytime. Any way.

Angel Guardian Society: CoFounder - open group.

"Arth Karas" is, in:
Latin: Heaven's Beloved.
Japanese: Clever Warrior
Swahili: "Wish, then guide"
Elvish: Fortified Land
English: "Earth cares"
Welsh: Friendly Bear
Greek: Jointed Horns
Hebrew: the Second Herald

You are a spirit. You are your own soul.
You are not mortal. You are free.

Webpage: https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Arth_Karas

Interests: Musician, Researcher & Diplomat, Sound Design, Music & Animations my favorite.

1st Life: from Heaven. via USA, Oregon.
Now jobhunting: medical management &/ musician. Resumé: cook, counsellor, accounts, teacher, marketer, ministry, consultant, choreographer, programmer, actor, family man . . .

Angel: artistic financial backer