The Garlic Necklace doesn't really work.

If you've put on and activated your spiffy Bloodlines Garlic Necklace, then looked at the site and found your name gone and been satisfied, think again.

An experiment conducted tonight proves that all the necklace does is prevent your name from showing up on the website. Your name and "stat profile" remain in the game.

Here's how the experiment was conducted: a volunteer was allowed to bite a "fresh victim" twice. The first time, the victim "lost" some humanity points and .25L of blood, which showed up in the volunteer vamp's floating stats. The victim's name was also added to the vampire's "bite list" on the BL website.

The second attempted bite resulted in a normal request and animation, but indicated to both attacker and attacked that in order for the vampire to gain any more blood from the victim (and in order for the victim to lose any more blood or humanity points), the victim had to buy a Bloodlines HUD and join the game.

At this point, the victim attached and activated the garlic necklace. The victim's name promptly disappeared from the BL website bite list, and the vampire was effectively prevented from requesting any more bites. The .25L of blood remained in the vampire's stats, however.

As the final part of the experiment, the necklace was deactivated, and the vampire was allowed to request a bite again as expected. However, before the next bite was requested, the victim's name immediately -reappeared- in the vampire's bite list on the website. In addition, once permission for the bite was given, the HUD recognized that the victim had already been bitten previously and sent the same message about needing to buy a Bloodlines HUD for any stats to change.

This experiment goes to prove that anyone who obtained and used the garlic necklace under the impression that it would remove them from the Bloodlines website and system has been had. All the necklace does is prevent your name from appearing when searched for on the website - nothing more. It is still very much in the database, together with all of the "stats" and whatever other information the system collected and stored about you.

Just a little Public Service Announcement, because we care.

I'll be damned.

Well, honestly, that would have to be done to prevent the system from being "gamed", pretty much in the way you describe. If it didn't keep track of people who had been "bitten" at some point, then people would wear the garlic necklace on their alt, take it off, bite again, put it on, take it off, bite again, etc etc.

If they make the claim that it takes you completely out of the database, then yeah, they are lying, but any game designer will tell you that they have to keep track of the victims to prevent people cheating.

That said, it's not an excuse for the hideously poor overall game design where it entices people to involve disinterested parties in the game via spam and harassment. Just pointing out that it would have to be designed that way to prevent a certain avenue of cheating.

You just can't trust a vampire.

"If you want your profile removed from slbloodlines.com, the best way is to get a copy of the Garlic Necklace at Hunter's Haven, this will remove you from the site and protect you against further bites."

Wow. There has to be something that can be done.

It worked just fine for me. Once I'd activated it, I've received NO bite requests and that's all I wanted anyway.

That's true, but the thing is, it means their poor game design becomes MY problem, as someone who has chosen to "opt out". Because some of their players may cheat, I'm not allowed to remove myself from the game no matter how much I demand to be able to do so. The designers explain the necklace as a method by which someone can "opt out" of Bloodlines, but this is a blatant lie - using the necklace does not opt you out of anything; it only prevents other vampires from asking for a bite....something, I might add, that they wouldn't do anyway once you've been bitten, since an already-bitten victim cannot give a vampire any stat improvements unless said victim has a HUD. Meanwhile, the necklace is designed to fool its users into thinking it has somehow removed them from Bloodlines by hiding their name on the website. It is a sham, pure and simple.

I confess I don't really see the trouble. Your names are basically in public domain already. Especially the people who post to this forum. It's so easy to scrape. Wait, they're not even your names. They're your avatar's names. I know there's the possibility of tracking your RL down from your SL name, but what about your name in some pointless vampire database is it that puts you at more risk than showing up here?

Just asking, BTW, not criticising those who are worried. I just don't understand the issues, I think.

It's not a matter of the name being on the internet.

Imagine if a company that wanted to show how awesome it was decided to put up a webpage about its Second Life presence. Perhaps there's a graphic saying something like "Who supports Company X? Why, all these people, who have visited our inworld office for an impressive experience!" followed by a list of names and photos of every avatar that TP'd into the sim, no matter how long they actually spent there. Now imagine that more than half of those names ended up there either by accident, or because they were noobs who didn't understand what was going on when Company X spammed them with a TP offer and clicked "yes". Further, imagine if you complained that you arrived there by accident and didn't even like their company, and they removed your name from their site but not your photo, which remained under the "these people support us" title.

If your name is not on their website after wearing the necklace, and the above quote is what they say will happen if you use the necklace, then I do not see the issue.

It doesn't say you will be removed from the database, doesn't even hint at it, it simply says...
this will remove you from the site and protect you against further bites.

now to me, that means my name will not be listed on their site, and I will not get any bite requests. (I know I have to be in the database so the players know I can not be bitten)

*shrug*

not entirely sure what the issue is

god knows how many databases your Sl name is in, just from visiting a store (someone has a counter, records the visitors, then puts them in a database for whatever use they deem helpful)

however I do not see bloodlines using the names of those who used the garlic necklace in any way other than to protect that person from bite requests, which is why we wear it anyway...

(or am I mistaken and those who used the necklace are visible on the website somewhere, and used as "these people support us" type deal?)

To me, saying "will remove you from the site" means it should remove you from the site. It doesn't. The experiment proves that it hides your name but it decidedly does not remove you from the site.

This misses the point though. As someone who is not a player of their game, and who has in fact indicated in a can't-get-any-more-direct-than-this fashion that I absolutely no interest in ever being a player of their game, they have no reason to keep any entries associated with my name whatsoever. I shouldn't have to justify my demand to some jury. I want out of their system - end of story. Then whenever anybody makes such an argument, their response is "wear this necklace", giving the impression it will accomplish what you're asking, when in fact it doesn't. So not only did they presume to put you into their system without so much as an EULA or explanation of your rights, but when you complain about it they deliberately jerk you around.

Hey, I saw that!!!

I must admit to not being surprised, nothing BLs has done has ever been considerate of anyone's wishes and only serves their bottom line. I am very glad they have been shown to be the lying weasels they are. No offense to honest weasels implied.

It does acomplish what everybody whants from it. It makes you a non prey for vampires and hence they do not disturb you.

The way they do it in their database is none of your business honestly. They designed their game in a certain way (objectable or not is beyon the scope of this discussion) and they designed a database that serve this purpose in the most efficient way.

Removed from the site != removed from the database.
What about the logs, you want them to remove you from the server logs too?

Aso i'm not sure but i think there is somewhere in the SL TOS something that say you do not actually own your avatar...

See, it doesn't accomplish what many of us want. We want to be out of the game completely, that is to have the account that we never agreed to set up to be wiped completely as if they were never setup.
Now whilst the BLs people never promised a complete wipe with the necklace they made it sound like they only stored your AV key and preference and purged everything else. This was obviously not true.
When people asked for their accounts to be wiped they were told they need to keep a bare minimum to show preference and that is all. Obviously they are storing more than that despite assurances otherwise.

Whilst it is true we don't own our own av keys, we do still have the right to not be misrepresented in games as having been participant when in fact we have not even agreed to play.

I will use the extreme example of the made up PonyPlayLines game to illustrate how upsetting could end up being. You enter SL one day to find your AV details being shown as participant in a PonyPlay gymkhana, complete with details of your supposed fetish.
What if it became widely known that you were participating in such things when in fact you have never done so? What if the people who know you and think it is disgusting start being cool towards you because of it and although you explain, some never quite believe you. After all, why would some game company lie about it?

Do you see how damaging a precedent it sets?

The concept is blatantly wrong and LL should be shutting them down or making them comply with rules about data mining individuals especially when it publishes this information publicly.

the way i handle bloodlines spam is a bit different...

lindman industries disruptor. maybe the meanest, nastiest gun in SL.

dakota however if you are removed from the database then you are open to bite invites

you can not have it both ways due to the nature of the game/system.

other than them restricting bloodlines to only those using bloodlines, there is no way you can be set to not get bite requests, and not be in the database.

and restricting it to only bloodlines defeats the way the game is played (after all vampires need non vampires for feeding as far as I know

pointing out the fatal flaw in the whole game!

And they honestly have the nerve to ask me why I don't just get it over with and let them nibble. *shakes head*

It's not a flaw, it's the by design, because the BL peoples intented it to work this way.

If i had to design a db with the same game type in mind the db setup would be exactly the same, it's the most convenient way (if not the only way) to do it so anybody is a de facto potential prey.

It's not a flaw or an error they won't change it to please you, it's going to stay this way unless the game disappear for some reason.


It might not be pleasant but it isn't wrong, for ad agencies everybody is a potential consumer excepted those who said explicitely they didn't want the little flyer in their mailbox (if they even have an opt out list)

It may be the best way to be able to promise rapid blood gain (at least in the early stages of the game for the early players), however it is not the only way of running a game such as this.
It is also not a sustainable way to run the game and that is why they must offer blood another way as well now.
It is the most intrusive way to do it though - without a doubt.
As with all pyramid type schemes it relies on the people who play being unaware of the mathematics inherent in the system.

The OP needs to provide some more information.

These "stats" where your name is still located. Is it part of the website, or the object the vampire is wearing? This was never stated.

If it is just the object then yes you have been removed from there database, and what you are seeing is just the objects memory.

If it is the website, then continue on with your torch and pitchfork mob :3

Yeah, me too.... *sniff*