Limiting theft by limiting creation

Yeh. It does.

Valerion - I would not have a clue about what kind of account you have. I don't look at that. It makes no difference. I don't separate. I doubt that most other store owners do either.

You're taking an opinion/suggestion.....that is not related to how most of us do business or treat customers, all customers....and trying to relate it in some way. I'm not sure how to help you or anyone else understand that. But I do try. But it requires some listening on both ends.

I hear you, and I hear others. You are furious that anyone has suggested that basic accounts move up to a premium account. OK. Not an option. But it was not coming from the viewpoint that you are different as a person or human being.....can you not see that? Do I have to start again in that explanation?

ETA: shoot! you're furious that they would ask you for verification info....I'm not listening! ok.....I'm not listening well, either. But that still does not separate!

Valerion....I had to just delete a message....because I wasn't listening, and got it all wrong.

Trying to get this point across....that most of us do not notice what kind of account comes into the store to shop. I hope I can use the word "most." I don't ever look at that. It doesn't matter. I wouldn't notice the chip.....unless you made me aware of it for some reason. You are making me aware of it now. I'm not sure how to correct that. There's no reason for it.

I've never known it to, compared to your actions. And any avatar can take any action.

I mean, even when we met once in world you said that you spent a lot of your time just scripting. Well, Ruth scripts just the same, so how much value did you really get out of the ferret accessories?

Yes, so? I spend a lot of my time in RL sleeping, or driving to work, or... you know, doing things where nobody can see me, but people still thought it was cool when my ponytail was down to my butt.

The point I am trying to make, and some people here are missing, is that I value my privacy. I value the freedoms that SL gives me. And I will fight for them. I don't want you to discriminate based on the type of account, or even look at it. But I don't want to be banned from SL for failing to provide enough personal information. I don't want to have to give up item transfers, or item creation, like some are suggesting.

For me the real answer lies in proper and fair copyright enforcement, not limits on the customers, both of LL and of the content creators.

It's not a matter of nobody being able to see you, it's a matter of them not doing anything about what they see. In real life, how you appear to others can matter a great deal. In SL, it just doesn't so much. And that's no surprise, really. I once went to a pool party in SL with a fairy, an incubus, a 20-foot tall robot and a catgirl. When you're confronted with such a bizarre mixture so often, what can you really do? Ignore it. And that's what people basically did. They talked right through the avatars to the people behind the screen. And we enjoyed that, and that was fine, but once you realize that's what happening what's the point of the av?

But it still feels nice if you get a new avatar and people look at you, and comment on how much they like the avatar. Strokes the ego a little, and we need that every now and again.

Enjoy it.

If that kind of thing is something you have to ignore to enjoy yourself, you're probably wasting your time in SL.

I did enjoy it, but I enjoyed it because I was talking to the people behind those avatars. The avatars they were wearing didn't really make a difference to how I treated them and that's generally the case for everyone. I mean, in the case of the 20-foot-tall robot, that's a good job because if I had been reacting reasonably to that I would probably have just run away!



I once wrote a "good avatar simulator" script which sensed who was near you, renamed itself to match them, and injected general avatar-related compliments into chat. Maybe I should post, because it was a lot cheaper than the actual clothes

If that was the case for everyone then SL would be a pretty empty place.

I don't wear my avatar like a set of clothes, my avatar is part of who I am. If you don't take that into account, you cannot really talk to me as a person, because you cannot understand me. In certain ways my avatar on SL represents me to a larger extent than my RL shape does. In other ways it's the other way around.

Ferrets have ponytails?

Go on, I DARE you to Google up an image of a ferret with a ponytail down to its butt.

Um, but it is. There are some areas that will ban you if you aren't wearing an avatar that fits in, but that's about it. I've never seen any other interaction that would have been different if the avs were different.

It better. My form in SL is an important clue to my personality and behavior. I'm not wearing a "costume" and I can get pretty put out by people who ignorantly treat me as such.

Agreed. My avatar represents who I am, deep down inside. It gives you insight into my personality. If you ignore my avatar, then you are in essence willing to ignore that as well. It's disrespectful towards me. In return, I will treat you like your avatar as well.

There's a reason I have dozens of avatars in my inventory. It took me a LONG time to find the right one, that represents who I am. If I was a better builder I would design my own.

I understand. I'm not real keen on having RL info plugged in somewhere.....particularly one of my alts.....and I did not give it up. But she can't play in Zindra now....so I sacrificed something over that....but not going to walk around pissed off about it all day, and blame everyone that moved to Zindra.

Do the majority of people here really want their personal info stored somewhere? Probably not. As a merchant, I feel like it is required (although it is not at the moment)....because I take RL dollars out of SL, and that is only fair. Do you think that it is fair for anonymous merchants to take the dollars out all day long? Your dollars? or whatever form of currency you use? What if you have a bad transaction, that was of considerable value to you?

Lately...(it seems)....as though there have been just as many complaints by customers being ripped off for lindens and merchandise....as for content theft. What about that?

Tal: I've found a bunch of foxes and cats, some exotic species, even one thylacine, but no ferrets.

Yumi: you're hanging out in the wrong places. Try Luskwood or Raglan Shire.

That's perfectly fine; that is their choice, and I support it 100%. They don't need me, and I don't need to be in such places. That's the beauty of SL; that people have such a choice, and that it doesn't hurt anyone.



O.o

I've seen plenty, even amongst people wearing different Dragon avatars. People respond differently to a hatchie than they do when someone is wearing one of those Seawolf monstrosities.

With my luck, you'd likely have more of a chance finding a Dragon with one. *shudder*



..or the Isle of Wyrms, or any of the Elven sims also on the Fantasy Continent.

The vast majority of the users in the newbie areas and the bars and clubs do not experience this. Maybe there are some groups that do it, but the chance of getting involved with one of those is quite small and.. well, we've already done the "low chance = low value" thing.

And as I mentioned, how can you treat everyone like their avatar when you can meet a fairy, a robot, and Darkwing Duck all at once?

I'd suggest doing some real canvasing before making such sweeping generalizations. Lots of people have been through many of the non-traditional areas with non-human avatars. We still get hundreds of new people every month through the Isle itself.



That's a no-brainer for me. It takes me effort to NOT treat them as they appear, though I do tend to approach people I've never met before from a neutral attitude to avoid creeping them out in case they are "just wearing a costume" in their mind.

Just as for myself, the avatar someone wears is a clue to their personality and behavior. There is something about that avatar they like which is an important reason why they are wearing it, even if it is just "a cool costume" to them. It generally drives the topic of discussion at some point.

If you are a merchant, then no, you should have your information on file. There are laws about that sort of thing, so that's unavoidable. There are also laws and regulations applicable when you put money into SL. That is also unavoidable. However, there are people on the forum arguing that the answer to everything that ails SL is to ban unverifieds. It's the answer to griefing, to content theft, to whatever else. They have been going on about it for over 3 years now, and it's getting a bit irritating to listen to it every time something bad happens.

As for content theft - the answer is not banning new customers. The answer is not in invasive DRM that makes the legitimate customer feel like a thief. The answer is in proper and fair enforcement. Only you can protect it - no one else will do it for you. And you can't force it on people.

Look at the other content industries. How many friends have the RIAA and the MPAA and EA made? Go read up news stories on them, ask people how they feel about those organisations. The sad truth is that piracy is here to stay. Some providers have accepted this, and some even profit from it. It's all a matter of perspective. If you keep on pushing more and more restrictive measures to protect it, eventually it will cease being fun to participate. Then you won't have real customers left.

Instead of locking everything down, try to profit from it. Find a way to use it to your advantage. It can be a way to advertise your own skills. It can be a way to raise awareness of your products. Times change, and the contents creators need to change with it.

A Tiny avatar only costs L$350 and has a TREMENDOUS effect on personality and people's reactions.

Edit: if you come in through Caledon Oxbridge, you can pick up a Tiny avatar for free.

Bow, offer a can of oil, and ... Let's Get Dangerous!

"Hundreds" is barely a dent.

According to Tateru's charts, 66000 new SL accounts were created just LAST WEEK. Ok, some of them would be alts, but still..

This is the key point I'm trying to make. If you're just saying "well, we just do this thing socially when we hang out" then it's going to generate a very high failure rate because the number of people involved is just too darn big for a system without any formal organization to handle.



Again, so what do you do when you meet 4 unusual avatars at once? Which topic?