Your Real-Life Personal Information

Personally telling people that they are being too personal about this is a conundrum, but a fairly necessary one I suspect.

LOL. You crack me up Blaze. I don't have a problem with you giving your personal opinions of my demeanor. Knock yourself out. But doing so invalidates any complaints you have that I do the same thing.

This whole situation is warped. Nolan admitted what he did and apologized for it. The information he revealed was incredibly minor. Prokofy has gone on and on since writing page after page of unsubstantiated claims of harassment, intimidation, blackmail, and stalking. So I guess according to your calculus that kind of slander is a far less serious crime than revealing someone's gender? Just want to make sure I'm clear on that.

Thank you, Cristiano. That's absolutely correct, every bit of it. The only thing that is "off" was your inclusion of Aimee's ridicule of me in the statement. Too bad you had to undermine its eloquence in that way. But I will take it as just a cultural thing, and appreciate your effort to find and state the truth regardless of your differences with me.

Could I remind you ONCE AGAIN why I brought it up here?

Because I was dealing with a blackmailer and a stalker.

When you are dealing with someone who is attempting to blackmail you, attempting to get you to change your behavior and silence you because of information they have about you (blackmail isn't always about money), you can take several steps.

You can do nothing, and hope they go away. But after weeks, I could see Nolan wasn't going away at all. You can tell the Lindens. But I did tell the Lindens, and they didn't respond at all, and then finally one of them just gave a wrist-slap.

You could do something else, which is pre-empt the blackmailer by just telling the information, so that his blackmail subject is utterly defused. But why am I required to do that?

Instead, what I chose to do was to expose the manner and behavior of the blackmailer to let everyone know this was happening, because sunlight is the best disinfectant.

And not surprisingly, this blackmailer crawled out from under the rocks and exposed himself, but also exposed me because that was his intent all along.

And then the Lindens removed it.

OK, well, that may seem self-serving, shrill, melodramatic, verbose, blah blah blah, all those things that Cienna is trying to claim I am (but if this were happening to her or her friends we'd hear SUCH a different tune).

But the fact is, it had to be done because I, for one, don't believe you let someone continue to harass and intimidate you in a game. It makes for a terrible game space. I won't have it.

What's really bothering you Juro is a sense of tone, culture, taste -- whatever your national origins or culture -- you think this matter should be handled by people in a quiet or "tasteful" or "cultural" manner different than the culture I come from. And most of the people on here whining about me being too public with this just come from different cultures or different eras or different countries than I do, in which the norm is: you have a blackmailer, you defuse them, by showing them they can't get away with it, and you make the point forcefully, quickly, and even dramatically if you have to.

I don't care what you all think of me. I established a TOS clarification -- that's golden. No one ever appreciates a thing like that and I fully understand that there is no limit to the amount of good you can do in this world if you are willing not to take the credit.

I do try to educate all these maligners that the sacrifices I made and the dramatic public stance I took appear to have been required to get these Lindens to get their ducks lined up right. I'm sorry, but there it is.

blaze has convinced me now that this is just a thread about Ulrika, Chip, Weedy, and Cienna insulting and kicking me while I am down seemingly, so it is not interesting anymore.

Move along, show's over folks.

How convenient for you

Doing a little Google searching on myself revealed this article I wrote last year about a privacy incident in the forums, if anyone is interested in reading it:

http://www.sluniverse.com/edition/2004/05/lessons-learned-aka-for-whom-bell.html

Thank you Prokofy.. I wasn't sure what was really bothering me about it.

Don't get defensive when people start to give their opinions on the matter when you were the one who brought it to us - that's all.

Yes, it was wrong... just wanted to clarify that so you don't think I'm trying to devalue the great loss of privacy you have to endure.

More dirty lies, you are dealing with someone who posted a minimum of personal info. You , yourself published that info to the web. Dont' try to twist this into something other than it is.

More lies.

This is a clear cut case. Just as you can't be a little pregnant or a little bit dead...you can't violate the TOSS just "a little". You either do, or you don't. Prokofy, I'm on your side without any reservations. It's black or white. Hot or cold. Bad call, Pathfinder.

Someone told me Prok's real sex in-world over a month ago. It really didn't matter to me, but when that person revealed this information, should I have reported him/her? I don't get what the big deal is.

I agree with Ravi, violation is violation and wrong is wrong. If you kill someone else in self-defense, then you should be killed too. Reasons don't matter, that's for the birds. Only an iron hand of justice can cleanse this world of villainy!

I did not publish this information on the web because the LINK to it was provided by human intelligence, i.e. contacts of Nolan's he made in the game which help him do, as Cristiano eloquently put it, God bless him, a "google witch-hunt.". This is truly an evil, manipulative, sinister twist to the straightforward information put here on this thread.

Look at my profile. It has nothing under FIRST LIFE except this phrase: "Don't ask, don't tell."

On "Second Life" it has a *Second Life* blog link. That blog does NOT repeat DOES NOT contain my real life information. Whatever scant information you might find there about writing or Russian -- freely known facts frequently already cited here on these forums and known in the game (I speak Russian fluently and speak Russian to other Russian-speakers in the game as many people know) are NOT repeat NOT the facts that Nolan dredged up which were:

1. My RL name -- he published brackets in a post indicating he had this, and others sent e-mails to him or gave him their e-mails to receive this information.
2. My RL publications -- which he could then use to find my RL employers/job locations/etc.
3. My RL gender.
4. Using all the above, my RL e-mail, and then my RL home address.

Honestly, Weedy, you are dead wrong about all this. Just give it up.

Whatever the "bad call" initially due to lack of sufficient information. Pathfinder already rectified it by explaining in crystal-clear terms that if something is NOT on your "first life" section of your Second Life profile, it is not fair game. Weedy's persistent refusal to acknowledge this means that she is refusing to abide by the TOS.

And for Weedy to maliciously and sinisterly keep screaming about me "publishing this information" is to *contribute to this abuse*. I did not publish it on my profile. What is linked on my profile is a blog. What ever "about me" is in that blog is NOT repeat NOT fair game to put in Second Life ANYWAY but -- and please note this, Weedy, so you can stop your malicious evil twisting:

What is in that scant blog profile is NOT repeat NOT what Nolan threatened to reveal and DID reveal!

HAHAHAHAHAHA thats about the stupidest thing you've said yet. I don't have to believe a single thing you say and I don't for the most part.



Now you are talking slanderous. Suggesting I contribute to abusing you is outrageous.

Throwing accusations at those who disagree with you is your trademark though.

Er, yeah... because we all know that having someone reveal your gender is the same as murder.

May not be interesting but, if true, would certainly prove the existence of the FIC conspiracy to bring down Prok. Fight the power, brother! This is like Rodney King all over again, or Tammy Faye Bakker, or Paris Hilton, or... sumptin

It may be foolish to step into the middle of a mud slinging contest between Weedy and Prok, but that's not out of character for me. So here goes.

Prok said he was stalked and blackmailed in-world. He said that he posted this thread because he felt Linden wasn't doing enough about it through normal channels, and he wanted to shine a spotlight on the problem. And THEN his alleged tormentor did what he allegedly threatened to do.

By casting this as a mere case of posting personal information in a forum, THAT would be "twisting it into something other than it is".

I'm not taking sides here, several people have been pretty nasty to each other and I say shame on all of you. But on this one particular point, I have to say, don't minimize the "crime". Threatening to reveal personal information and THEN doing it in the forum is, in my book, worse than simply being an idiot. It borders on criminal.

I think Prok became the Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Buster

This thread seems to have outlived its usefulness sometime ago and has turned into a place for personal attacks. As such it is being closed.

Oops. Had delusions of grandeur for a moment.

Yes, don't minimize the crime, absolutely. And threatening to do something, and then doing it is wrong, and does make the crime worse.

However, I don't get your point about me "crying wolf". That fable implies that there is a boy who cries wolf one too many times, nobody believes him, so when the real wolf comes, everyone really is in danger because the boy used up his chits with people.

Huh? I think the way you have to eliminate blackmailers is by exposing what they do. You have to try to minimize their damage in the process. When I have a situation where a few other players who have obtained RL information *without my consent* either by doing the google witch-hunt Cristiano described, or by turning on me if it was given to them in confidence (this is the problem most people will face), by exposing what Nolan does, I've also sent a signal to others who are continually doing this to me in the game, or threatening to do this to me in the game, or threatening others.

And far from using up chits on this subject, I've helped create better protections for people in this game. A really severe problem with all these online games is that the companies do not enforce their own TOS. Their enforcement is always uneven and spotty. That's because they all rely on this very dubious "older player mentor/wizard/apprentice" system that is flawed at base. That's because they wait to respond to players' complaints, and wait for multiple complaints, before they do anything. It helps create this sense of impunity and lawlessness on the Internet that breeds only more impunity and lawlessness.

But when you can get one of these game managers to step up to the plate and make a crystal-clear interpretation to blow off all the blowhards, it's golden, because for ever after, others can invoke it.

So far from being like a boy who cried wolf too many times and therefore when the real wolf came, everybody gotten eat up by the wolf because his warnings ceased to be protective, I've helped create a better protection in this game. Now anyone, including all the posters here and me, can override this pernicious and malicious taunting impunity and exceptionalism displayed here in spades that says "oh, you published it on the Internet."

It's avatar murder, yes. Not a serious crime in the RL. But devastating for the avatar, nonetheless.

I guess this is a pretty subjective thing because I just don't see it. Why is the ability to deceive people about your gender so important? Seriously. What's so god awful about being who you are? Personally, I prefer honesty. I don't think we should all be deputized into aiding and abetting that kind of deception. Unless someone gets close to you emotionally why should any of us care what your gender is? I certainly don't. And if you do get close to someone emotionally, that kind of deception can be incredibly hurtful to the person you've been dishonest with.

As for the boy who cried wolf... you are well known for exaggerating and overstating things in the extreme, day in and day out. You continue to allege blackmail, which is completely unsubstantiated and amounts to an ongoing smear campaign. Yes, what Nolan did was stupid and wrong, but blackmail? Prove it or stop slandering. Why you're being allowed to continue to post these accusations against another player is beyond me. It's a more serious crime than what Nolan did to you... or do you somehow get a free pass to destroy someone else's reputation?

Ok, I'll spell it out.

You are very outspoken on many issues. You very often complain about people doing things that you don't approve of, like giving away things for free, being insiders (FIC), making things copyable but not modifyable, etc. You've felt the need to defend yourslef at length against people saying various unkind things about you, about your land rental business, etc.

So, over time, you are in the forum sagain and again, writing long diatribes against various things. And now THIS happens.

Many onlookers have little sympathy for you, and frankly, they may not believe you because you say so many things so often that they don't understand or don't agree with. So it just seems like more Prok being Prok.

In fact, THIS particular case is a very serious matter that could happen to any of us, and if it's allowed to go on, then we are all at risk of being eaten by the proverbial wolf.

So your "wolf!" cries are not your messages in THIS thread, it is all the OTHER threads, the long litany of complaints about all your pet peeves. THOSE threads have numbed the audience to the point where they see this as just another brouhaha, and in fact may even sympathize with your target.

So I think the analogy is quite apt.

Buster

Avatar murder? You're kidding, right? Is your avatar still trudging along in world? Yes? Well, then, it's not murder is it?

I'm curious Prokofy - how is this devastating for your avatar? I think I may me missing how this will impact your avatar, so an example would be very helpful to me.

But my complaints about the other things are correct, Buster, and the problems I'm flagging are real ones that you yourself view as problems, too.

Juro, I don't know where to start with you. Contact me in world and I'll break it down to you.

Your statements exemplify so much of what is wrong with SL.

1. Intolerance and hatred -- assumption that a person who has a different gender is "deceptive" -- yet how can you be sure they aren't telling a greater truth?

2. Rigidity and lack of creativity -- everyone is supposed to be exactly like they are in RL and make an avatar that is exactly like themselves. Geez, that's pretty small-minded. Thank *God* you don't rule this world completely!

3. More hatred and viciousness -- belief that anyone who has an avatar who is different than RL is somehow enlisting everyone in the game in some grand project of "deception" merely because they don't drag their private RL and SL before your eyes for approval. Is everyone who is a fox a cunning liar and cheater?

4. Sexism. Uhhh...do you say all this same stuff about....I dunno...Torley? You wouldn't *dare* would you. Males in female drag are ok, huh? The reverse is only to be hated and reviled, eh?

5. Dishonesty and hypocrisy. If you really, really don't care about someone's gender, why are you making these incredibly bigoted, intolerant, hateful comments? If you don't care, why is it a "deception" and a "project deputizing everyone in deception" Ugh.

6. Condescending presumptiveness. Implying that I am "getting close to people emotionally" and "hurting them" and "being dishonest" to them when you know 0 about my private Second Life (you shouldn't know) or anything about me except the caricature you manufacture yourself from the forums. Basically, I run a PG avatar and I'm terribly sorry to disappoint your expections to find me up to some "crime" like the infamous "Well" stories of people faking out other people with alts and gender surprises.

Have I about summed up the problem with Second Life? I think I have.