I'm kidding folks, and Eggy is kinda right.. (though pete was definitely wrong)

Yah know people, I had some conversations with some people in SL about this whole incident and it reminds me a lot of the SLExchange fiasco.

Like the SLExchange fiasco, we acted like an enraged, but well intentioned mob that was wrong and right. We were wrong because we acted on too little information and in some ways we were definitely right because we were trying to tackle issues that concerned the community.

Acting on too little information is a very very typical problem (that even I am a bit a part of) that we constantly suffer from in these forums. Not only do we accuse and attack on pure speculation, but we also start to post pointless witty and sarcastic replies without even reading and understanding the arguments right in front of us!

With SLExchange, the jumping the gun was obviously apparent and even I fell victim to it. No one really knew what the motivations and reasons were behind either partner. We still don't. Apotheus open admission of guilt was all we had to go on, and while probabilistically we were probably right, we should have demanded further information before fully taking the actions that we all did.

With PF's scanners, it was worse. There was no open admission of guilt, and quite frankly, no one really knew clearly what he was doing and yet some were calling for banning and deleting all the objects. Was he replicating? Was he truly taking up significant FPS resource? No, no one knew, but we all acted like we did.

Will this mob mentality ever stop? I have no idea. Maybe when the teen grid comes out, there will be an exodus of some of the less mature individuals in these forums. Or maybe LL eventually will moderate these forums with a heavier hand, while leaving "OffTopic" as the place for people to go and randomly vent with little thought or care for others. Or maybe the forums will just get closed down. What the future holds is not obvious, but for the moment we are certainly simplifying problems far beyond what they deserve.

However, though the forum mob is tackling these problems in very simplistic and as always, very insulting ways, I really think we have every right to tackle them.

Both SLExchange and PF scanners rely on community resources. SLExchange relies on a community of developers to build for them, and PF relies on the servers and bandwidth that we as a community pay for.

So as projects like SLX and PF's scanners are based on community resources they do not need to necessarily be directly controlled by us, but I do believe that they need to respond with clear and full information about what is occuring when we have genuine concerns. Either that, or face the consequences of vocal, mass complaints.

However, those vocal, mass complaints should *not* be about what we think they are doing but rather that they are not forthecoming about what they are doing.

Yes, innocent until proven guilty, but I'm afraid as a project based on significant community based resources you're going to have to answer to the community in a reasonable time period. If you do not, do not bother crying to anyone about how unpopular you are becoming.

So, basically Eggy was kinda right. It is sickening to see that we constantly have to act like a completely raving, out of control mob that squeaks so randomly and irrationally before all the facts are in.

However, both the SLExchange folks and PF are wrong in not being more forthecoming with a full detailed account of how they are potentially abusing (or not abusing) the commnity trust.

BTW, for those who bothered to read this in full, thanks, and for the rest.. Well, the next witch hunt is down the hall and to the left. Have fun.

It only reminds me of the SLexchange fiasco because you keep making threads about it.

but uhhh must point there be somewhere, ficcer.