Purpose - "The purpose of the Second Life Forums is to promote discussion and education about Second Life. We believe in an honest and open free exchange of ideas, and in always maintaining a respect for the opinions and positions of other people." I am posting the above comment because a thread on this important issue was terminated by moderators that was posted by Nobody Fugazi. It would have been better to let this issue and concern have a voice here so it can be quickly addressed. Frankly, I would rather quietly enjoy 2Life as it is a significant achivement and future trend. I raise this issue and concern as; the amount of monies involved are quite large and the monetary impact to users can be severe.
Background
Over the last few days an automated program has been taking advantage of Linden Lab Land Transfer Mechanisms resulting in the loss of resident in game assets in excess of $10,000. Its a complex issue and concern as; user error, technical weakenesses in Linden Labs software, and an exploitive user program are all elements contributing to this situation.
The explotive user program boasts that “poof your land is gone,” an indication of the bad faith involved in this practice. It could be argued that the practice itself, elements of fact, and monies involved constitute a fraud scheme.
Recommendations and Solutions
-Immediate suspension of the users involved in this practice. A demand to these users to make the victims of this scheme whole.
-A change in terms of service to expressly prohibit automated land transfer programs
-The implementaiton of an extra verification step on land transfers which are .5 linden per meter lower than the lowest market price. An "electronic signature step" as some land transfers for zero or one linden are common.