Public Apology

The best way to describe the comments that you've put here and that many other people are making about this apology, or on Prokofy's thread where some excused Nolan's actions, is "blinkered and misguided by friendship". A true member of the community would not have to apologise for these actions as they would not of perpetrated them in the first place. I suggest you give Nolan a good talking to personally, explaining to him how this society should remain "genteel" - I think he needs your advice more than most.

Charming and gallant Nolan most certainly hasn't been over this and the way some of you are gushing over his apology or have protected his earlier actions is, frankly, sickening and makes me glad I'm not part of your groupings in-world - very glad.

Yes, it's nice to see that Nolan's come to his senses over his actions, whether by his own volition or by proding from the Lindens. The real shame is that he felt the need to do it in the first place or that when called on it, would not accept that his actions were reprehensible until much later after flinging all the muck he could muster in the process to those who dared to say he was wrong.

Why, that's most charming and gallant, isn't it.

Not all people here "congratulated" him. A fair number simply said "OK, then, it's done," and "stick around, despite what you did."

Beyond that, there is a concept called "mercy" that's very important when it comes to justice, fairness, and healing the community commonwheal. While I agree that some of this outpouring of support comes from Prokofy's unpopularity, and is therefore inappropriate, I also think that the problem here may not necessarily be "lowered expectations", as you claim. It may be that some of us are a step ahead of you.

Let me demonstrate "mercy". I forgive you for posting a crass, inflammatory, inaccurate, and largely-unneeded reminder, and I assure you, I will not let it influence what I think about you.

Btw, I agree that comments like "charming and gallant" go too far to the "other side" here.

edited to add the last

EDIT: hmm, the post I was responding to seems to have been deleted while I was in process of responding. nvm

Truer words wer never spoken. er, typed.

This reminds me of something I once saw. We used to have this anti crime ad in Britain where people saw someone robbing a house, so they'd stand outside and all start slowly clapping to indicate their anger. And there was a spoof one that got out where they clapped furiously, cheered, and gave the robber flowers and champagne.
---

My point is: If this guy is apologising, it's for something bad. So applause, flowers and chocolates are inappropriate. It's a good thing to apologise, so in return, hold back your criticisms of him. Nod acceptance, and move on. NO flowers, NO champagne, that's kind of silly and out of place.

This is between him and whoever he apparently upset. Let us nod, and quietly move on.

IF it is sincere. After reading the long string of impishness, who could believe it is sincere, based solely on that single soppy, melodramatic post? Especially given the grandstanding by starting a new thread, instead of just putting it in Prok's thread about that subject? No, that would have been an apology TO PROK, and that's not really what he's going for. I'm only an amateur cynic, but it looks more like an attempt to hijack of the moral high ground to me.

Even so, it is an admission that previous behavior was "wrong", and presumably won't be repeated. For that we should all be thankful.

Buster
(Watching the blotter https://secondlife.com/support/blotter.php)

I'm sorry but this point has been brought up several times and I don't see the validity? Maybe I'm missing something but posting information that is already readily available on the internet is against the law? I would suspect even a civil suit would get tossed out of court on this point.

Now if information was posted to defame, libel, and or cause injury ...then yes I could see a case...but as it stands posting someones name and occupation I don't believe would constitute a winable civil suit and it definately isn't against any American laws I know of.

Nolan did you apology directly to Prokofy as Merwan and others have suggested? Would like to know.

Disagree on this point. What he's apologizing for was a public act, therefore a public apology is entirely appropriate

Yes, I was probably too hard-assed on this point. There's nothing wrong with a public apology.

I stand by the rest of my post, though.

i don't know. i agree with your original post more than not walker. the public "look at me i am doing the right thing now" just makes me tired.

so sayeth:

marilyn

While the public apology is admirable....

...when do we get an apology for having this dirty laundry aired in public, and making the rest of us smell it on the breeze?


- Newfie

I do not accept Nolan Nash's public apology and I view it as a supreme act of manipulation and insincerity designed to up his reputation after doing something scurrilous and designed to find a new way to make me look bad.

I know that not accepting his apology will make me look like some evil snake, but since many people already think that about me, so be it.

The reason I do not accept Nolan's fake apology is because this has been his method in the weeks he has been harassing and stalking me, as Lindens examining the chat logs will be able to see. First he tells me he "wants to be my friend". He divulges some private thing about himself in the hopes I will "get the idea" and also divulge something to him. He spends time talking to me on Yahoo or in the game trying to "friend me up". He says things like "I really like you" or "we're really a lot a like, in fact" as a way to "soften you up" as he is "softening up" the community now with his hoaky crocodile self-piteous apology.

Then, in the same conversation, or in another, he switches to "hostile mode". Then he tries to trip me up by seeing if I will say something different when slammed, or asked to repeat the same thing again. This technique is known in the business as "good cop/bad cop". It's a military intelligence method that doesn't really have any place in a game when what is involved isn't our nation's security, but disagreements about a virtual world that is a kind of toy hobby.

You wonder why I'd keep talking to Nolan, but that was because at first, I didn't see all his methods ringing through all the usual changes, and just told him straight out that he was spreading lies and disinformation about me, and I just tried to set him straight. After while I saw that Nolan was just waging an obsessive fight against me because he actually believes I have "harmed SL" or constitute "a clear and present danger to the community". Sharp criticism of a few older players, including himself, to him has been speciously merged with a concept of "the community" which I ostensibly "harm".

Finally, Nolan came to me 2 days ago with 3 messages containing essential RL information which I had not posted on my profile, linked to in my blog, or given to him, or anyone in the game except for close friends, and in fact he came up with more RL info than even the SL Herald, which indicates hours of obsessive research on his part, not just clicking on a jpeg.

By presenting the "fruits" of his research, he thought he could blackmail me and get me to be silent on the forums, because he implied that he would publish this information. He even said he would not publish it in those messages -- implying he could, and in fact he did. In fact, he already began publishing snickering posts about my gender identification to expose me to ridicule.

I pre-empted Nolan's blackmail attempt by exposing his deeds. Meanwhile, I had already sent all the notes to [email]abuse-manger@lindenlab.com[/email] and to Pathfinder on the internal game system. They did not take action. I was hoping they'd see that blackmail threats and dissemination of RL info should lead to immediate discipline BEFORE the person exacts the harm on you by publishing the information. I was to be greatly disappointed in that hope.

Nolan got a little wrist-slap from Pathfinder, after hours of having that information up on the forums -- and at least 12 hours or more after I sent the threat of it to Pathfinder. Pathfinder then embarked on a philosophical discourse about the generic meaning of privacy and TOS language, failing to take any further action. For this, I cut Pathfinder's card, and I give him a negrate. He did not act properly, which was to immediately suspend a player divulging another player's private information so as to limit their damage. I do that knowing the kinds of messages Pathfinder in fact normally sends out when he wants to give a first warning, and knowing that "informal" is not the word used, so its use of it in the case of Nolan is a deliberate low-ball.

Some Lindens may only be too happy to see Prokofy "get his" and maybe are willing to let the natural tendency of griefer players to harass to accomplish the work they prefer not to do themselves.

Why isn't Nolan's apology sincere, and why isn't this something that I can just sit in a circle and sing Kumbaya with all of you?

Because as I know from figures like Cassandra Johnson in TSO who grab RL information without consent and continue to strategically leak it, that blackmailers like Nolan Nash are the "gift that keeps on giving." Maybe he gets a 3 day ban. But he stays in the game. For ever after, he circulates your information. Each time you have a new client, or a new friend, or any kind of project, he surfaces to bruit about that information and try to find ways to manipulate it and use it. He keeps up a whisper campaign. The fact that Ulrika can gloatingly and laughingly ask him to e-mail her his deleted posts tells you exactly the worth of deleting a post in our world. The damage keeps getting done over and over -- Ulrika understood immediately that she can keep getting Nolan to do that damage, and so can others, again, and again, and again. The loss of privacy is an immeasurable loss because you cannot get it back once it is gone.

People continue to harass, taunt, demean, and even physically attack me, using the phrase Nolan has devised which is he/she/it with the accent on "it". He gets to do that, laughing and gloating and telling all his FIC friends how he is making my life miserable. He can go through a fake apology, he can appear to fall on his virtual sword, but he has not suffered any real consequences. If anything, now half the community thinks Nolan is a prince, when what he really is, is a blackmailer and intelligence-type agent misapplying those RL evil rolls to an opinion dispute in a game.

For ever after, people can keep diminishing and downgrading the meaning of divulging personal information because they can point to their makeshift medieval town square one-minute shame-in and public-apology as the remedy. Nolan maybe spends a day in the public stocks in the town square, wriggling a big but safe in the knowledge that he can be sprung and keep doing the damage over and over again with each new fresh pair of ears, each whispering e-mailer. While the TOS can help you complain about verbal harassment made *to* you, it can't help you deal with malicious slander and hate speech spread *about* you behind your back.

The worst thing is that some people, including even some friends, are saying "you brought this on yourself" by being bold and critical in the forums, as if violation of the TOS is OK if it is against someone you disagree with. Nolan's public apology is a way to ensure that instead of this matter being dealt with competently by a Linden examination and a suspension for clear-cut and serious TOS violation, with a clear warning to all as a deterrent, it will become just another new way to harass me -- I'm be endlessly cited as the person who "couldn't get over it" who "couldn't move on" who "couldn't forgive and forget" while this abuser gets to keep on engaging in that abuse of my privacy with each new pair of ears he can find in the game.

I've never been banned for what I write in the forums and never had a post deleted, as amazing as it may all seem to you.

So I won't start with this one, by saying to Nolan what one should never say in a PG Zone.

It's always about your entitlements, isn't it, Newfie?

The answer to your question is...when blackmailers stop threatening people with divulging their RL information, which is a TOS violation? And when they stop in fact divulging it?

Smothered by words ... can't breathe ... *uhh*

~Ulrika~

I finally read your post after a search turned up my name in it somewhere (although now that I've quoted it I can't seem to find my name in that tome). What I did see while looking for my name is another tidbit that's even more deserving of a reply (that's the great thing about novels, you can reread them and walk away with something new every time).

I can't believe you negrated Pathfinder! The poor guy doesn't sit at the complaint queue 24 hours a day. He has to eat and sleep and go home and play with his cats (he seems like a cat guy to me, being so independent himself). Negrating him for assumed behavior is just not fair.

Am I going to have to break out the Prokofy triple-neg rate ass hat photo again? Don't make me do it.

~Ulrika~

Well at least he apologized. You have insulted me with no basis repeatedly (make a persoanl attack with no basis at all at my name, blackmailing and threatening me, forums stalking and harassng)and never apologized for being the pompous asshat you are. What goes around comes around. Karma is a bitch. You haven't suffered enough in my opinion.

Well, these are all false claims. I dunno, take it to the Lindens.

Is what you are engaged in called "projection"? I think so.

I didn't insult you. You Im'd me repeatedly trying to buy my land LOL. I said "No". That was the end of it. Then you set your land to a very high price merely because it was next to mine, I wouldn't sell, you needed to get out, and you thought that was "appropriate". I asked you if you could sell it at a normal market price, not an extortionist price. You said No. Well, that's life in the big city. I bought it. But then I pointed out in another thread that people who do that sort of extortionist sort of selling are in my "users and losers' list," that is people I cannot recommend to do business with. That's not blackmail. That's my right to form an opinion about someone's poor business practices, and to discuss them with others concerned about business and partnerships in a game where we are anonymous (except that there's Nolan Nash, who will gather your RL info and "out you"

There's no "blackmail" or "threat" involved or "forums stalking" in making a statement, not even with your name, about people who engage in the pernicious practice of jacking up their land prices ridiculously merely to force a buy, knowing the person will be terribly inconvenienced if that parcel is taken by a griefer or someone not building in sync with a whole community.

If you chose to respond to such a forum thread with your name and take ownership of your price-jacking, well *shrugs*. I haven't harassed you. Anybody can read the email exchange, the forums exchange, and come to the same conclusion: you must have a guilty conscience for your price-gouging and you'd like to think it won't haunt your SL career.

I don't understand what I'm supposed to apologize for? For buying your land at a huge price LOL? Go away.

And let me take this opportunity to head off all those other wannabe "victims" whose response to a clear-cut TOS violation is to whine that *they* are "the real victims of Prok*.

I've already been accused earlier in this thread of "chasing chad and April around the grid". I think you have me confused with Plastic Duck, who engages in that practice.

As for April, I got to Stump first, with my houses she found onerous in her viewline from Midge, and was in Midge as early as she was. I got to Pimushe first, as did my tenants, so she came afterwards.She complained here in the forums first in a thread called "I Need Help With an Ugly Build" -- pressuring me and my tenants needlessly to impose her "architectural vision" from her Richard-Stern-Viking-Ship lot.

And in Sutherland, I got there first, and she came afterwards, and began to bitch about me not doing enough landscaping and "plunking down houses" which in fact in fact is a top-of-the-line Azrael Rubio beach house, a product of really fine craftsmenship (as was the Lordfly house in Midge that April bitched about). Now...who is being stalked by whom here?

Honestly, I get everywhere first, then comes April, to bitch about my builds, which in fact are the works of the finest architects of SL. OMG, I'm in Columbia flying around my already long-established mall property there and whoops, what do I see, April Firefly is striking again, my new neighbour in Columbia. Is she stalking me again? OMG.

As for chad and Nexcom, it was their builder that pestered my clients first and harassed me with malicious slander, and it was they that continued to do so for days despite being exposed in their malice. If I buy a square of land in the same commercial area where everybody, even Schwanson is buying, sheesh, that's not stalking that's just figuring that if you want to follow the money, follow Schwanson.

And the same goes for Burns. It's said to be near the telehub. Now honestly, I can't buy l and in SL without being accused of "stalking" by people who in fact *were the first* to harass me and in fact *are the ones who stalk me*? It's totally insane.

Actually, I intended to negrate Pathfinder's behaviour -- you are indeed allowed to do that with Lindens although most FICs would claim that any negrate on a Linden is just some disgruntled customer who "doesn't have a life".

But I couldn't negrate Pathfinder because it turned out that the objects he gave me in the game weren't his creations. So I returned his rare Pathfinder bear and rare Pathfinder card as a protest against his mere wrist-slap of Nolan -- Nolan, who has divulged my RL information and will continue to divulge my RL information because he has been able to do so with impunity. And I cut the calling card Pathfinder gave me (I don't know why Lindens hand out calling cards like that anyway, they must go nuts).

I don't need Linden calling cards or huggy bears or collectible cards, even if Schwanson would pay a fortune for them.

What I need is to have my privacy protected according to the TOS. If Lindens will not enforce their TOS, hugging my Pathfinder bear isn't going to be much compensation, it is?

I'm sorry Prokofy. No one deserves to be treated like that. And it kills me that people would say since you aren't popular you deserve to have all your personal business all over SL. That's not right. Someone trying to become your friend to dig up dirt off you isn't right. You don't get to do bad things to "bad" people. That's not how morality works. If Nolan really broke the rules to that degree, he deserves more than a self inflicted one week sitting in the corner.

Prokofy, you're absolutely right. I think we can take this opportunity to finally acknowledge that Second Life just isn't up to your standards.

We're going to miss you, Prokofy. I really hope the next online game you join will give you a more satisfactory experience. Good luck and farewell.

Well, I understand your decision to leave Second Life then. I was opposed to it initially but I see now that you really have no alternative but to go. Now.

Ciao, Prokofy, we'll all miss you.

~Ulrika~

LOL

And this is why you are a complete freaking asshat and you deserve whatever you freaking get. I have told you repeatedly and the people who sold the land to me have told you repeatedly I LISTED THE LAND FOR WHAT I PAID FOR IT. I did not raise the price. I listed it at what I paid for and I originally paid a large sum for the land because I wanted. You made the choice to buy the land at that high price because you really wanted it. I did not force you. I was happy to keep the land for the rest of my life in game, I didn’t imagine anyone else would value the land at that price and you did. You and your alts IM'ng me with threats, blackmail and harassment crossed the line. And you have repeatedly held it over my head in forums on completely unrelated topics and you went as far as threatening to humble me by insulting my name which had no relation to any conversation in forums.



My Second Life is going quite nicely thank you for your concern Prokofy. It's not filled with the hatred and dread that yours is.


You are a mean, nasty vindictive person, and mean nasty things happen to mean nasty people. Maybe if you were nicer your Second Life wouldn't be so drama filled. All I can say is you reap what you sow. Don't let the doorknob hit you in the ass on the way out.

Thank you!!!!
Now my Pathfinder bear and card sets are even more valuable. Anyone interested in purchasing these from me should IM soon.