A Sad Day.........

One of the things I note about Second Life is that the rules are almost absent of consequences when they're broken, that the rules are enforced unevenly, and that some rules are hard to figure out.

This new one about ad farms was probably inevitable, and it's already having a positive affect on the landscape.

The banning of banks was harmful to the economy, but stabilizing as well as it removes one more way citizens can abuse each other in major ways (another would be to ban ALL financial institutions, such as lending companies, stock exchanges and the like - if there is no FDIC for banks in SL with the power to enforce their judgements, likewise there is no SEC with any binding legal authority, and so financial institutions that would be regulated by the SEC in the real world shouldn't be allowed to do business in SL on that basis).

And there's this obscure new rule that says that any device that extracts your profile image and displays it is now against the Terms of Service, as usage of intellectual property without permission. Now, we have to abide by this rule and uphold it as best we can because the Lindens have made this declaration, but it has many of us confused - since profiles can be viewed by anyone, accessing one's profile to display the image seems like accessing public information, like your name or your key, or what groups you belong to. Linden Lab, however, states that this is a voliation of intellectual property rights, so we must abide.

The complexity of the rule system is not an encouraging thing, and it's only going to become more complex, and people are going to have more and more trouble staying out of trouble over time simply out of not knowing what all the little details are. It hasn't happened yet, but the potential is there.

I remember the new coke. It was a new formula, and if I remember correctly, it was an attempt to make it closer to Pepsi, or something along those lines. Protests. Old formula returned. I have no idea if Coke ever went from whatever to Coke and there was a protest. Do not recall that.

Yeah for a while after the backlash forced them to do it you could get "New Coke" or "Coke Classic"

Eventually "New Coke" vanished off the planet.

Yeah the basic ingredient difference is Pepsi uses Citric Acid and Coke uses Vanilla extract.

Most every Cola uses Citric Acid. So did New Coke.

All those old drinks from the end of the 19th century were whipped up in drug stores so it wasn't the researched science it is today.

I quite liked New Coke. But then, I quite like Red Bull too, which must mark me down as some sort of caffeine-based pervert.

mmmmm Red bull!! It's pretty great with blueberry vodka too!!

I do not think that the caffeine level changed. Pepsi Max, though, has something like double caffeine. And Ginsing.

You know, I was looking for a good drink to mix with that... Sprite just doesn't do it... and tonic or club soda is too blech.

More specifically, the protest was the result of a catastrophic marketing and executive decision disaster. basically, at the time, the corporate marketing execs saw that Pepsi was having a significant increase in customer base, and they COMPLETELY misinterpreted it as a "defection" as a result of Pepsi being a superior and more desirable product from the perspective of the drinker's experience. In other words, they thought that Pepsi was making a more palatable product overall, so they decided to copy it. "New Coke" was essentially a sweeter, less "spicy" formula that essentially was nothing more than "Pepsi Cola in a Coke can". In their hubris, instead of debuting it as a new, additional product, they set it up to REPLACE their existing product, TOTALLY ignoring their existing customers' tastes.

Needless to say, the existing "old formula" customers (of which there were a great many, obviously) were outraged that the taste that they had come to know and love as Coke was essentially now as "nasty" as Pepsi, so they figured "might as well drink Pepsi, instead of 'wannabee Pepsi'". The protests really were just a blip on the radar screen. The REAL incentive was the rapidly dropping sales numbers for the New Coke replacement. After some executive bloodletting, TCCC Corporate decided on what should have been the proper plan all along: keep the Old Coke formula, and make New Coke alongside of it, giving people a choice. In the end, however, New Coke's sales eventually went the way of the dodo, as did the product itself, since those who like the taste of Pepsi are going to buy Pepsi, and not "fake Pepsi from Pepsi's competitor".

..and thus, Coca-Cola learned another major lesson about brand loyalty and not alienating its existing customer base with ill-informed and poorly-planned marketing strategies.

(Disclaimer: Yes, I did some time in at Coca-Cola Corporate as a consultant )

I don't like a lot of foofy drinks, so I was skeptical to mix red bull with a flavored vodka, but it really is fabulous! My new summer drink though is Mojitos. I finally got the recipe to make them for gatherings and such.

WOO HOO!!!!

I don't think I've ever derailed a thread before and I wasn't even trying to!

The strange thing is that I do not particularly like either Pepsi or Coke. I prefer Sierra Mist and Dr. Pepper.

The wheels on the train go round and round.

/me holds up her glass of red bull and blueberry vodka to salute Bradley's success!! <clink>

A RL friend of mine loves Pepsi. If we're ever out eating somewhere that only serves coke, she just adds a packet of sugar to it and, voila, she has Pepsi (or close enough)

I prefer Coke, though. Diet Coke to be specific. I'll drink Diet Pepsi, too, but the even in the diet version the difference in sweetness is noticeable.

I find I can't agree with that assessment. The harm to the economy happened long before LL issued their decree about them. Ginko went belly up and did the most damage precisely because it was let go for so long without the proper response from LL. Afterwards, what small banks failed or disappeared as a result of the decree probably didn't even warrant a Pea's notice by the Princess.



Yeah, I saw that one coming. Maybe not specifically the way they are handling it, but using that search backend like that, I figured they would nix it somehow.



Well, I would prefer simple, short, concise, to-the-point common sense rules, like the Golden Rule (the real one, not its satirical counterpart), or simply "Don't screw over your neighbors". Problem is, that "common sense" isn't common at all, and leaves a LOT to interpretation. Thus, we get byzantine rules documents, detailing every possible example of those simple rules encountered to date.

coke, pepsi, sprite, 7up, Dr Pepper - I'm always amazed at the sheer number of people willing to spend such huge amounts of dollars on chemically laden sugar water. It's right up there with smoking.

If I'm going to invest in empty calories in liquid form, make mine a beer

B.

Pepsi is for Rednecks

Oddly enough after some goggling; turns out a can of Pepsi actually has 1 g LESS sugar than a can of coke.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4269/nutrition.html

http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/eddingtons-pepsi-39199.htm


Personally I prefer Coke Zero.

This isn't straying off the core of the thread topic.


This rule is not complex. It's a simple clarification of pre-existing copyright law for people who think that they can use content in their own output simply because they can view that content on the Net.
I have not come across this rule, but if it exists than it's a safe bet it was only surfaced because some people were taking the profile pictures of others and using them to attack/bully those people.


"and people are going to have more and more trouble staying out of trouble"
No they won't.
- unless they behave like **sholes.

Be a land-extortionist? Be a bully? Crap on people?
Be prepared to be stomped on.
It's real simple.

Oddly enough the rise in soft drinks was directly related to the increasing temperance movements, particularly in the US and Canada.

I'd drink port before I drank beer.

Mmmmm Mojitos. On their own, taste like boot polish smells. With Mexican food? Whoa mamma!

I like cherry Coke Zero, sometimes.

No offense ,but I see nothing sad about the little extortionists finally getting their day in court,so to speak.I actually find it pretty damn funny. Freedom of speech has nothing to do with ripping people off.

Right now, it's easy. You won't be able to swing a dead Linden without hitting an adfarmer, so most cpmplaints will be valid, and those that aren't already packing up will hopefully be removed by LL. But what about later on? The plot that's next to yours, may be empty, not at all hindering your acess or enjoyment of SL , and the owner is a misguided type who thinks he can charge too much for it. He sets it at 2, 3, 4, times the going rate. Is he committing an offense? Would you AR him. Maybe you don't like him for some other reason. Would you use this to get at him, maybe get your friends to do so as well? *I mean you in the generic way*

I'm not knocking LL's decision to take action. You complained long and loud, and they have listened, finally. I just hope they are willing to carry out the plan properly and efficiently. Some resdidents may not be able to spot a true land extortionsist so easily, I hope LL will.