Your Real-Life Personal Information

The fact that someone is published on the net doesnt actually give you the right to publish here links to it or the information. While the information may be public domain, the link between 'anonymous avatar' and real life person is not, and it's not your right to make it so.

Really? Did you just write that rule?

I don't feel that even when a blackmailer publishes information he claims is true, you have to comment whether it is true or false. The principle remains the same. It is a violation of the TOS to publish information like this without consent. And I repeat what I said, if someone wants to get to know me in the game to form a close friendship or date me, they can come and get an A/S/L kinda thing going without having to turn the forums into a personals classified section.

Nolan obviously feels a sense of impunity to engage in these actions, no doubt secured from his reading of how Lindens react, what his grouplet of friends will do to support him especially if they are older players connected to Lindens, etc. etc.

I imagine the Lindens are too busy banning people for swearing in the PG zone, Kris, to be able to put their heads up and see these larger issues.

I know I personally give a lot to the Lindens to chew on. I stick to my guns, and I raise precedent-setting issues. I know I will be scape-goated in the process and I don't mind that. But I personally feel I hit the wall in this game, and I do not feel it is a secure metaverse space for me. Why?

-- anti-gay attacks, vicious, from a repeat offender, on my property and those properties of neighbours and would-be purchasers
-- anti-commerce attacks of the garden variety, i.e. expressions of contempt against me just because I bought a whole sim on the auction, etc. -- just hatred of anybody dealing in land, however friendly and honestly they try to do that
-- anti-newb attacks -- hectoring, condescending, bullying, know-it-all comments from older players in the forums
-- live helpers who cannot keep to their roles but abuse their positions of power to pressure a player, for example, to make a land sale
-- impunity for bounce scripters who are essentially using weapons against other avs -- inconsistent Linden policies on these pernicious animals
-- flawed land group tools that left me twice vulnerable to treacherous officers pulling all their tier out without notice
-- impunity for a player who harms my business reputation by actively and maliciously spreading slander about my business
-- a climate of hatred to those who try experimental communities like Free Tibet due to a PC-disease and also related to the commerce allergy
-- anti-Catholic hate speech allowed to stand where hate speech against other religions would be removed.

Silly me, I think it's important for the newbies, gays, Catholics, real estate agents, experimental community builders, residential homeowners, etc. etc. to feel they have a free game space.

They don't.

Well people like Chip Midnight might just snort and say, can't you see that YOU are the problem, that YOU are the sources of all your antagonism?

But any one who is intelligent and can sift through the issues realizes these are generic issues, and I've just tried to push the envelope and get to that wall, and now I'm there.

Chip, let me get this clear as your posts on Prokofy's two thread seems to suggest you're excusing the actions of the other party because Prokofy has strong view points. That's what you seem to be saying which, to be honest, suprises me.

Whether or not Prokofy's views or the way Prokofy has argued has put some people's noses out of joint is besides the point here. 100% totally besides the point. The actions of the other party are linking the avatar Prokofy Neva with the RL person behind it - which is a TOS violation and a violation of privacy. Yet you seem to be defending that? Are you saying it's OK if it's against a person you don't like?

Moopf, since I don't know the details of this alleged incident and find it impossible to take Prokofy's hyperbole laden word for anything, I don't have a position on it aside from generally agreeing with the TOS. I said in the other thread that abuse reporting is the proper course of action. The Lindens have the necessary tools to verify the claims. I do not and prefer to stay out of he said/she said situations. The only reason I responded in this thread is because I was specifically called out.

I'm no fan of Prokofy, but that's beside the point. Nolan went too far.

Nolan, you should delete the post with Prok's personal info; it's the right thing to do.

Edit: Never mind, Pathfinder got it.

Wait a second. A poster violates the privacy section of the TOS and gets an informal warning on the forums? The player that is linking a RL identity to an SL avatar and uses this forum to link some of that information gets an informal warning?

Quite disconcerting.

Then I take it you didn't bother to read Nolan's post on this thread where he gave a lot of RL information about Prokofy's RL out then. Shame, you might of twigged.

Don't make me post links.

Look. This person's RL location is on their profile. I mentioned that they are a writer. OMG! Someone call the secret service!

I didn't link anything.

I did read it, and it was wrong of Nolan to do. No question about it. It doesn't change my point.

Linking someone's public persona with their anonymous avatar in SL is a violation of the Terms of Service, Nolan. It's a privacy violation, and that's something we take very seriously.

This is an informal warning. Thanks in advance for not posting something like this again.

Wait a second. A poster violates the privacy section of the TOS and gets an informal warning on the forums? The player that is linking a RL identity to an SL avatar and uses this forum to link some of that information gets an informal warning?

Quite disconcerting.

Nolan, I would quit posting things about the person in question before you dig yourself a bigger hole. In my opinion the response you just posted to me about the person in question is still a TOS violation. You just posted what the person does for a living and to me that is linking an SL avatar to a RL person. Honestly I find your actions disgusting.

I take it your repsonse indicates that Linden Lab actually don't take the privacy part of their TOS very seriously at all, despite what you may have written here. There can be little more sensitive than giving details of people's RL away thus linking an avatar to somebody's real life, yet to simply edit the posts and issue an "informal warning" leads me to believe that Linden Lab actually don't think it's a major violation of their TOS. I'd be careful the precedent you're setting here with this (in)action.

. It's easy to play to the base emotions of the community and raise a willing lynch mob.

Not agreeing with or disagreeing with the topic of the thread but stating what someone does for a living is not a TOS violation...

Why is this surprising?

You reap what you sow.


If you treat people badly, expect some in return. If the person was posting your RL info in SL or on the SL forums, they should be reported. If they posted it somewhere else - I don't think there's much you can do about it.

Oddly, this reminds me of Ann "I need a sandwich" Coulter and the pie.

Excuse me? It's RL information that unless you have their permission to give is the issuing of private real life information and hence is against the TOS.

It doesn't entirely suprise me that you'd sit on the fence though, whilst tentatively implying that nothing wrong has happened. There's only one more person I'm waiting for to comment now and then it'll be a full house.