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Caffienated Mind
The past few weeks for SL had been...interesting. Interesting is an understatement.
Price hikes for islands (and island tier) practically doubled which led to the mass panic buying of new islands, thoughtless commentary from a Linden Lab employee (that would turn any marketing or PR go pale and red in sheer apoplectic rage to read) regarding taxing people with huge inventories and uploads.
And then there was c0pyb0t.
I didn't notice it at first, clicking to connect before my screen loaded, spared me from seeing the blog. I never leave my house in Caledon, I was working, my timezone meant that 90% of my friends in my friend's list are off line. I then noticed a link regarding c0pyb0t in the front page of the client during mid-chat in YahooIM. Clicked it and saw the article on how the use of unauthorized copying using c0pyb0t or any third party copy software would be considered a bannable offense.
Okay. Cool.
Then I read the comments and noted the tones of rising mass hysteria. Going online, thankfully, I ran into Shai, who updated me on the situation, informed me about how all shops were closed, and even dragged me to a demonstration and lecture on how c0pyb0t works and what it can and can't do. Information is your greatest tool after all. Helpful friends during the lecture were passing me !quit spammers to put up in stores and homes, which I did (and so did like a lot of my neighbors).
Logging out I decided to amuse myself with making a new gown while browsing through fashion sites, arching an eyebrow at the demonstrations, witch hunts, "sky is falling!" comments and what not. Minutes later I get IMs from groups and random strangers with "encouraging" (please note the quotation marks) messages to close up my shop in support to against c0pyb0t, and the not-so-subtle "if you're not with us, you're against us" undertone was quite palpable.
I have one thing to say to you: Fuck you.
And to the guys who used the c0pyb0t exploit: Fuck you guys too.
I kept my shop open, life went on in SL even when tragedy and misfortune rears its ugly head. The spam was annoying and they were removed when we were informed that they were useless with the new c0pyb0t versions. Now, being open, a lot of huffy whiny people assume that I support c0pyb0t. Hardly. I'm not particularly happy with the c0pyb0t and even less happy on how libsl seemed to lack foresight and the common sense not to see this coming when they released that script for the public. Let's not even go to how they handled the situation after the public got wind of it.
High IQ does not necessarily socially adjustable people make. It's called EQ. Maybe Linden Labs should consider doing a test on Emotional Quotient when they hire people. It'll save you a lot of grief, trust me.
Anyway, I kept the shop open for a lot of reasons. One of which was my way of saying "Fuck you, you're not taking me down THAT easily." I'm Pinoy, damn you, not some spoiled first world guy.
Living in Asia, being partially Chinese, getting exposed to rudimentary business will teach you how to think on your feet. Especially in surviving in a country filled with pirates (and it's not the Jack Sparrow type), cracks (not the narcotic kind) and a government run by a mafia. I will not claim to be a business guru, or a tycoon but I know that I'm not afraid to use business guerrilla tactics (under certain limitations, like my morality which I assure you will not lead me to criminal behavior) and a type of brutality and moxy reserved for mergers and acquisitions managers (usually happening under the influence of much caffeine and sugar).
Plans were made under coffee and smokes (second hand, I don't smoke), in between kwento over who is the cutest/cattiest avie and promises of diving instructions (omfg), Shai and I talked about future plans for our own stores...promoting more Pinoy work, tips on surviving community pressure and of course the favorite topic: c0pyb0t.
A year more of less of GLintercept, c0pyb0t was hardly a surprise. Technology moves forward, things change, the one thing constant in life. Negative or positive, change is hardly welcomed. People are naturally resistant to it and this situation is no exception.
Analyzing the situation reveals that LL can't get rid of the item in everyone's inventory (and to a certain extent understand why--it's not that simple). LL already said they were doing this and that. And that's it. They had their reasons I'm sure, whether or not I agree with them is another thing.
I'm stuck in a situation, where alone I can't do anything much in terms of legality. IP rights are a "unknown" here. I'm not earning that much money in SL for a lawyer to even help us in this or even apply at all (I asked someone regarding the possibility of applying for a copywrite but was discouraged by a lawyer friend--will get second opinion soon). "DMCA? What's that?" is the common reaction of most government employee when asked.
In the end people like me usually have to depend on the community. An SL website that hosts a healthy traffic can easily disseminate information on the latest scams (a good example is Caveat Emptor) and those other websites with big enough balls, should not be afraid to post names on the "Wall of Shame" of people who infringe on other people's IP (I don't want to visit three forums just to see who's the latest freebie seller or texture stealer) and other examples (that I will not put up because it's 1am and I'm sleepy).
Community Powers is a double edged sword. It's a powerful weapon, wielded wisely can achieve things, abuse it...well shit hits the fan. And unfortunately, this would only work if the collective community would pick up the challenge (maybe, maybe not). Don't wait for SL to do something about if after several long posts of what they are going and not going to do regarding the situation, don't expect anything more. In fact, to be on the safe side, expect less.
I can't wait forever to LL or the SL community to act. I have my own plans, and adjustments to make on my own if I have to survive in this world both real and digital.
Don't worry, I feel no dread, well not anymore. Instead I'm a little giddy.. maybe it's the coffee or lack of sleep, but the game is getting a little more challenging for me. =3 And I aim to win it.
---------
Met the lovely Shai Delacroix last Friday.
The start did not bode well for our first meeting. It was payday Friday, on a midnight sale in preparation for Christmas shopping, and our meeting place was this hip open style fashion and lifestyle mall with enough bars on and around it to rival the alcohol content of a gasoline station a stone's throw away from my condo.
We had dinner at Teriyaki boy (yummy~!) at 9pm-ish, we both almost considered canceling due to the traffic, but found that meeting each other was worth it.
Shai is an awesome gal. Bubbly and energetic, we pretty much hit it off. We talked a lot: SL, FL, and then more SL. We had coffee at Figaro around 10pm-ish, talked about c0pyb0t, discussed options open for the both of us, when we realized how late it was and had to cut short our conversation. She had to go home and I had to sleep.
Like now. It's past 1am and I really need to sleep.
*falls flat on the keyboard and snores*
sleepyPrice hikes for islands (and island tier) practically doubled which led to the mass panic buying of new islands, thoughtless commentary from a Linden Lab employee (that would turn any marketing or PR go pale and red in sheer apoplectic rage to read) regarding taxing people with huge inventories and uploads.
And then there was c0pyb0t.
I didn't notice it at first, clicking to connect before my screen loaded, spared me from seeing the blog. I never leave my house in Caledon, I was working, my timezone meant that 90% of my friends in my friend's list are off line. I then noticed a link regarding c0pyb0t in the front page of the client during mid-chat in YahooIM. Clicked it and saw the article on how the use of unauthorized copying using c0pyb0t or any third party copy software would be considered a bannable offense.
Okay. Cool.
Then I read the comments and noted the tones of rising mass hysteria. Going online, thankfully, I ran into Shai, who updated me on the situation, informed me about how all shops were closed, and even dragged me to a demonstration and lecture on how c0pyb0t works and what it can and can't do. Information is your greatest tool after all. Helpful friends during the lecture were passing me !quit spammers to put up in stores and homes, which I did (and so did like a lot of my neighbors).
Logging out I decided to amuse myself with making a new gown while browsing through fashion sites, arching an eyebrow at the demonstrations, witch hunts, "sky is falling!" comments and what not. Minutes later I get IMs from groups and random strangers with "encouraging" (please note the quotation marks) messages to close up my shop in support to against c0pyb0t, and the not-so-subtle "if you're not with us, you're against us" undertone was quite palpable.
I have one thing to say to you: Fuck you.
And to the guys who used the c0pyb0t exploit: Fuck you guys too.
I kept my shop open, life went on in SL even when tragedy and misfortune rears its ugly head. The spam was annoying and they were removed when we were informed that they were useless with the new c0pyb0t versions. Now, being open, a lot of huffy whiny people assume that I support c0pyb0t. Hardly. I'm not particularly happy with the c0pyb0t and even less happy on how libsl seemed to lack foresight and the common sense not to see this coming when they released that script for the public. Let's not even go to how they handled the situation after the public got wind of it.
High IQ does not necessarily socially adjustable people make. It's called EQ. Maybe Linden Labs should consider doing a test on Emotional Quotient when they hire people. It'll save you a lot of grief, trust me.
Anyway, I kept the shop open for a lot of reasons. One of which was my way of saying "Fuck you, you're not taking me down THAT easily." I'm Pinoy, damn you, not some spoiled first world guy.
Living in Asia, being partially Chinese, getting exposed to rudimentary business will teach you how to think on your feet. Especially in surviving in a country filled with pirates (and it's not the Jack Sparrow type), cracks (not the narcotic kind) and a government run by a mafia. I will not claim to be a business guru, or a tycoon but I know that I'm not afraid to use business guerrilla tactics (under certain limitations, like my morality which I assure you will not lead me to criminal behavior) and a type of brutality and moxy reserved for mergers and acquisitions managers (usually happening under the influence of much caffeine and sugar).
Plans were made under coffee and smokes (second hand, I don't smoke), in between kwento over who is the cutest/cattiest avie and promises of diving instructions (omfg), Shai and I talked about future plans for our own stores...promoting more Pinoy work, tips on surviving community pressure and of course the favorite topic: c0pyb0t.
A year more of less of GLintercept, c0pyb0t was hardly a surprise. Technology moves forward, things change, the one thing constant in life. Negative or positive, change is hardly welcomed. People are naturally resistant to it and this situation is no exception.
Analyzing the situation reveals that LL can't get rid of the item in everyone's inventory (and to a certain extent understand why--it's not that simple). LL already said they were doing this and that. And that's it. They had their reasons I'm sure, whether or not I agree with them is another thing.
I'm stuck in a situation, where alone I can't do anything much in terms of legality. IP rights are a "unknown" here. I'm not earning that much money in SL for a lawyer to even help us in this or even apply at all (I asked someone regarding the possibility of applying for a copywrite but was discouraged by a lawyer friend--will get second opinion soon). "DMCA? What's that?" is the common reaction of most government employee when asked.
In the end people like me usually have to depend on the community. An SL website that hosts a healthy traffic can easily disseminate information on the latest scams (a good example is Caveat Emptor) and those other websites with big enough balls, should not be afraid to post names on the "Wall of Shame" of people who infringe on other people's IP (I don't want to visit three forums just to see who's the latest freebie seller or texture stealer) and other examples (that I will not put up because it's 1am and I'm sleepy).
Community Powers is a double edged sword. It's a powerful weapon, wielded wisely can achieve things, abuse it...well shit hits the fan. And unfortunately, this would only work if the collective community would pick up the challenge (maybe, maybe not). Don't wait for SL to do something about if after several long posts of what they are going and not going to do regarding the situation, don't expect anything more. In fact, to be on the safe side, expect less.
I can't wait forever to LL or the SL community to act. I have my own plans, and adjustments to make on my own if I have to survive in this world both real and digital.
Don't worry, I feel no dread, well not anymore. Instead I'm a little giddy.. maybe it's the coffee or lack of sleep, but the game is getting a little more challenging for me. =3 And I aim to win it.
---------
Met the lovely Shai Delacroix last Friday.
The start did not bode well for our first meeting. It was payday Friday, on a midnight sale in preparation for Christmas shopping, and our meeting place was this hip open style fashion and lifestyle mall with enough bars on and around it to rival the alcohol content of a gasoline station a stone's throw away from my condo.
We had dinner at Teriyaki boy (yummy~!) at 9pm-ish, we both almost considered canceling due to the traffic, but found that meeting each other was worth it.
Shai is an awesome gal. Bubbly and energetic, we pretty much hit it off. We talked a lot: SL, FL, and then more SL. We had coffee at Figaro around 10pm-ish, talked about c0pyb0t, discussed options open for the both of us, when we realized how late it was and had to cut short our conversation. She had to go home and I had to sleep.
Like now. It's past 1am and I really need to sleep.
*falls flat on the keyboard and snores*
amused
