Do you think a non-technical problem can be solved purely by technical means?

I have double feelings about any technical proposition, that might seem to help stop people from doing what the bush guy does:

1. A proposition allowing texture blacklists -- a griefer can upload 100 different textures, all with the same (or similar) data, thereby bypassing this technical barrier
2. Allow to filter any land parcel -- not bad, but I'd have to filter all 500 or so places in SL, one by one
3. Limit of land parcel sizes and prices -- this seems the best, but it might lead to either reduced possibilities for some people, or gaming it to leave 'small plot holes' in the sim, thereby having a nice view but not paying for a dozen small 16 sqm plots.

etc...

It seems, while any proposition will make more and more barriers, there will be always enough non-barred things to do, that are not blocked (yet).

Almost like the spam problem in RL: there are better and better filters, but spammers get better and better to, bypassing filters again and again. Filters are a technical solution to a non-technical problem, spamming. They help, but not enough, and not everyone has the 'best' filters. In RL, of course, it's practically impossible to non-technically get, catch a spammer, so that leaves you no other choice.

But there are many other problems in RL where a purely technical solution helps, but remotely not as much as needed.

Well. I'd suppose the execution-style shooting of offending land spammers.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions on the rest.

I feel this is a HUGE exaggeration. How many of those 500 land parcels have you seen yourself much less travel by on a frequent basis? And then even hang around enough for it to bother you? You wont need to travel to all 500.

Technical solutions to non-technical problems are devised every day. I fail to see how one could vote No to the question as written.

If you are subtly referring to a specific non-technical problem in your poll (and I think you are) - then of course, there's a lively debate as to whether a technical solution alone will resolve that issue. Still, I think it can and will - but only time will tell.

Absolutely not. It requires government: a legislative group, a judicial group, and a police group.

~Ulrika~

I mostly agree to this adding only the obvious need for secret police as well.

Hmm..I wonder if the blocking texture action would allow us make other peoples clothing and bedroom walls transparent. Well..not that I would do that of course!

All problems have technical solutions.

Well, I think whatever the technical limits are, those who want to grief, will grief. Changing protection techniques will only make them adopt to changes.

But yes, each technical restriction might help a bit (while cause problems for normal people who relied on the function), but they don't grab the problem.

When some people crashed the grid not long ago, some useful functions were disabled, thus hurting innocen people. I agree that in that case, a technical thing can be a part of the solution, but I think the best thing would be if the person of wrongdoing would be liable, if doing it intentionally and on a massive scale.

In fact, it seems exactly this has happened: the Lindens have handed over personal data to the FBI! Why didn't they just choose a purely technical solution?

PS: Though I think the FBI thing is just a bluff.
I mean, lol, imagine, going into the FBI office, and saying:
- Hey, officer, we have a wrongdoer!
- Oh, yes, where?
- We don't know, but we have his credit card number and IP addresses.
- Ok, cool.. What did he do?
- He rezzed a cube!
- He what?
- Rezzed.. you know... created...
- He created a cube? Out of wood? How? With a saw?
- No, he created a cube in the computer!
- Oh... why did he put a wooden cube in his computer?
- No, not his computer, OUR computer!
- He put a wooden cube into YOUR computer? Oh, so he broke into your offices?
- No, he didn't!
- He didnt?
- He logged onto our network and used our 3D virtual world that's so virtual it doesn't exist only in bits, but it looks like the real world, meaning there are shapes there, and of course cubes! This person has rezzed a self-replicating LSL scripted object, a cube that, on a timer event multiplied itself then gave each copy a copy of it's inventory, which made the generation counter not work and thereby not able to stop the multiplied cubes starting to run on all our servers and processors making the load 100% and having an impact on local and remote transfers...
- Ah... okay. Next, please!

I wish I could formulate a formal proof for this, but I am not - much to my dismay - a fusion of Kurt Godel and Louis Brandeis.

Technological solutions can solve technological problems. If ten thousand or more years of technolgical development have not been able to solve the inherent problem of territoriality that has existed for at least 3 billion years, nor have hinted at a solution, one is not likely on the horizon. Q.E.D.

Sounds like you are assuming the Bush guy is griefing. Most of us cant even agree on that. If some of the technical solutions were implemented and he went out of his way to work around them, then he would clearly show intent to grief and LL would deal with it.

In the example you are citing, none of the solutions would cause problems with current functions and they would help MORE than just a bit.

Why not both? They have every right to protect their business under the law. Just because some code has a flaw doesnt give someone the right to exploit it and hurt a companys income. But that company has every right to persue legal action, good code or bad.

It doesnt matter if LL was simulating a world of nothing but banana phones, if they made an income from it and someone was purposely hurting their business I dont think the FBI or any appropriate entity would laugh them out of their office.

I typed this message in 'Enhanced Mode'. So listen up.

Anybody see the new King Kong movie. Did you cry at the end? Be honest!!!

Wait.. I'm supposed to keep on topic. Errr. Yes, I think a non-technical problem can be solved by technical means.

Confronted with a problem like Starax Statosky, one should use every means available to deal with it, technical, non-technical, plus King Kong if you can.

You forget a opposition group.

A speed bump is a way to stop many speeders.

Speed bump is a technical solution
speeding is a social problem.

Yes.

First off, yes.

It's further worth noting that certain kinds of grief like, say, land griefing can cost quite a lot of money after a while if the practice doesn't generate a profit. Oppositely, on the Internet we can filter our spam all day long, but spammers will continue to spam us so long as they can do it for free. Pop-up ads and viral adware can also be distributed for free. In the case of some technical solutions in SL, however, it is possible that the very existence of the tool negates its own necessity. In other words, being a jerk costs money and significantly more time and effort here.
When I proposed texture black-listing I didn't necessarily envision it being used all that much down the road. While it might curb current annoyances, I'm also hoping it would eliminate a future potential by making certain land-buying practices entirely unattractive. Most people wouldn't even bother to buy land with the intent to harass if they knew other users could ignore them with the click of a button. It's the psychology and the potential of the thing. Not the thing itself.
I hope I wrote that clearly enough. I'm tired.
For those who missed it, here's the proposal:
http://secondlife.com/vote/index.php?get_id=866

Persig

PS. Credit to Hiro: I just noticed you proposed something like my texture black-list on your blog two days before I proposed the feature. You're quicker on the draw than me, I guess.

Hmm, well, that example does seem good, I have to admit. But what does the ambulance car do when they have to rush to the hospital with a patient? Do they speed over the bumps, thus maybe hurting the patient? Or do they go slow risking losing the patient?

A good speed bump would differentiate, and only 'be there', when someone's going over the speed limit. Or when it's not an ambulance.


And I have to say, my town (non-USA) has a lot of speed bumps. Most are not marked, and some are even very badly designed (so badly that if your car is very packed, it will scratch the bottom of it, even if you go slow!!!).
Also, there is not a roadsign at or near the bumps, they just 'come as they are'.

And if you're going with a legal speed in that zone, not more, your car will be hit many times.

I mean, let's say the speed limit in the zone is 25 mph. If you go over the bump with more than 10 mph, your car will suffer! Even you did keep within the legal speed limit!

In theory, since the speed limit is 25 mph, you're in no way obligated to go slower (provided all other conditions, like visibility, dry weather, etc, are good).

But if you obey that 25 mph limit, your car will suffer. So, you're getting penaltized NOT for speeding, but for NOT going LOWER than the speed limit.


I guess speed bumps are a tradeoff, they catch most of the speeding ppl (except people with SUV's probably), while cause others to go slower than it would be needed, and use their brakes and gas pedal much more frequently than optimal.

The solution is to have ONLY privately owned island sims.

Doing so puts control over the use of leased plots directly in the hands of the owner of the sim...and indirectly in the hands of those leasing land from that owner.

The sim owner sets the usage rules just like a CC&Rs in RL. If the leasee violates them they can simply be explelled.

The other residents leasing in that sim can voice their demands and pull out of that sim if the owner doesn't listen.

It is highly unlikely that any sim owner that wanted leases to pay for their monthly charge would allow one person to drive away all their business.