Open letter to the owner of slstats.com

This is quite exciting, and I can hardly wait to see how it all turns out in the end.

P.S.: I gotta get me one of those watches.

No point to egging him on. This morning when I checked my details were removed but my name still appeared. Opt-Out names no longer appear at all. Either as an individual profile or in a list on someone else's profile.

No point to egging him on

I'll also be suing in small claims court against your website if you do not remove me forthwith.

His condition is met

I also think that there is value in finding out whether people who claim to have a valid legal case against SLStats ever actually pursue it.

There is absolutely no legal case at all, and anyone trying it would be laughed out of court.

There is absolutely no legal case at all, and anyone trying it would be laughed out of court.

and in real life, surely you'd be flamin outraged if someone was continualy compiling a report of who you were with and for how much time, i would be ! and then for them to go sell that report to a supermarket so they can make pots of money and i can be plagued with adverts..........great, thanks, have a nice holiday!

and in real life, surely you'd be flamin outraged if someone was continualy compiling a report of who you were with and for how much time, i would be ! and then for them to go sell that report to a supermarket so they can make pots of money and i can be plagued with adverts..........great, thanks, have a nice holiday!

It's a moot point, though I would object to the cam's images being publically available on the WWW. However, we're talking about the watch gathering stats. Let's try to stay on topic.

I sent an email to the sites owner.

I will deal with those who track me using this greifing system as greifers, and promptly remove themselves from my presence.

Consider this your warning.

Do I think it's right to do what I do? That in itself is a loaded question: From a standpoint of researching the possibilities, I think it's something that sooner or later will be done by someone. That's simply the nature of how automation and data in todays world work. Is it a morally responsible thing to do? I don't know. Again, raising awareness of the possibilities is important, I think. On the other hand, is what SLstats is doing simply slipping through the cracks, a sort of a legal loophole in Linden Lab's community standards and terms of service? It's possible.

There are many people who are excited about this. Why? I don't know, they would have to tell you. Maybe they just want to see how long they've been online. Maybe they like seeing who they come in contact with, maybe they're interested to see where all of this is going (which I don't have the answer to, by the way).

All the feedback I'm getting on this is good feedback. I look past the threats for legal action, insults, and similar behavior and look for things people really care about.

In a way, the reactions I get from people are almost like the stages of grieving. And it kinda makes sense, as any change of circumstance can cause this. So many netizens think that the Internet is anonymous when it really isn't. Before they hear of SLStats, they're in (stage 1) denial. "I am anonymous, in my own private space on the Internet." And then they find out about SLStats, and there's lot of (stage 2) anger "It's absolutely insulting that someone is doing this. SLStats and its creator should burn burning at the stake." Some of them decide to contact me in order to show their disapproval and (stage 3) bargain. "Stop publishing that information and the world would be a better place." And that's sort of where we are now.

So I'm wondering whether there'll be a (stage 4) depression phase. Where everybody things the metaverse is doomed. "Oh God, what am I going to do. My precious privacy is lost," which might eventually result in (stage 5) acceptance; The realization that the digital world works the way it does, and that it's okay. That, if you publish information voluntarily, that information will be out there. If you blog on your personal blog, that information is sucked up by Google and other search engines -- but you can always opt out.

And who knows, perhaps Linden Lab is looking at this as a potential issue, and they're trying to figure out how to handle it. Maybe they'd like for me to shut it down, but are considering the political issues involved (as I am technically not violating the community standards, as Torley pointed out. But those standards could change.) Maybe they're interested in seeing the potential and possibilities, but again, can't take sides for political reasons. Or, perhaps they will take action, and amend LSL with a property that will hide a prim from sensor detection. Maybe it's a sort of invisible sphere that people will wear and they'll be "immune" to SLStats and other outrageous privacy-infringing scripts.

Is it simply a matter of privacy vs. perceived privacy, a matter of what's technically possible vs. what's socially acceptable? Or is this just totally blown out of the water? Maybe we all just like the attention?

I've received feedback of all kinds. And I'm assuming it will continue that way for a while, and probably increase as the awareness spreads around.

One things for sure: SLStats will evolve over time. For one, it doesn't even make sense to have everybody you ever ran into displayed on your profile. If you're just passing through an area, you didn't really meet people from around there. And those that use SLStats will probably want some options as to what they want to display. Maybe they don't want that friends/contacts list, or they want to display which sims they've been to. Maybe something like "distance traveled".

And I've been thinking about publicly displaying everybody's avatar key... just kidding.



I don't know. But I don't believe in "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about". People should have privacy, and they do. But not in here. It's not because of me, it's because of how things work.


And just to make it clear; I don't have evil intentions. I'm exploring. And while I may have a humorous attitude regarding all of this, I do take feedback seriously. I'm just trying to lighten the mood.

For example those opt-out boxes, yes they have a skull on them, I think it's just funny. I wanted to use a smiley with X's for eyes and a tongue hanging out, actually. And the opt-out process is asking three times, with the last one reading "Are you lying?" so you actually have to click "no." As with anything I do, I'm not trying to be insulting. If you're offended, it's unintentional.

I got, like, nothing done today. I need a PR person.

But keep the feedback coming.

The one issue that's concerning is that certain individuals are specifically seeking out SLStats users and harassing them. I'll look into that issue.

While I think the furor over this issue, especially all of the posturing about lawsuits etc, is overblown and unnecessary, what has been most telling in all of this has been your response to it, Mark. The bottom line is you are scanning people against their will and posting that information on a public web site. You are then mocking those who choose to not want to participate, instead of showing a good faith (and mature) understanding of their feelings, however irrational they might seem to you. Making them jump through silly hoops to opt out is not progress - it is insulting.

The people using your watches are opting in, no one else is. You could easily just display anonymous statistics about how many people they have encountered. Just because you have the ability to do something doesn't mean that you should. People are not your guinea pigs to experiment on.


You are absolutely right that we don't have privacy in SL. That does not give you an invitation to make the problem even worse. By your logic, SLExchange and SLBoutique should post lists of what every person has ever bought on their sites, just because they can do so. In fact, why don't all vendors do it - I mean the info is available, so why not, right?

You do not lessen people's discomfort by mocking them - you just make them more angry. While it may seem that all publicity is good publicity for your site, the ongoing practice of forcing people against their will to be listed on your site (no matter how innocuous it may seem to you) is a ridiculous strategy to pursue, and I imagine it will backfire on you long term. You say that you don't mean to offend - if that is the case, then quit treating this as a joke and take it seriously.

That doesn't address my points, nimrod.

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I did speak with him. He seemed rather bright and kind but obviously twisted.

Having been the victim of a RL stalker 35 years ago, this made my skin crawl.
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