Help, I've Lost a Friend. No mercy in SL?

Help! I've lost a dear friend in SL, and I'm not sure there's anything I can do.

Very recently, the account of a very dear friend of mine was canceled without warning. I understand that Linden Labs has the right to cancel a user's account at any time, and I understand that my friend's is alleged to have violated the Community Standards . But I believe this was the first time he has been accused of this, and without warning or opportunity to address specific accusations, his account was terminated permanently.

I don't understand why Linden Labs didn't consider a lesser sanction on a first offense. Why not suspend his account for a while, then give him a chance to show he can adhere to the Terms of Service more faithfully? I'd like to think there are second chances in life for people who make mistakes. I think justice tempered with mercy upholds the community standards far better than so quickly exercising the ultimate penalty. That way everyone loses.

When I tried to appeal for mercy on his behalf, I was told that Linden Labs will not consider appeals on another residents behalf. Is this true? Is there no way for friends to petition Linden Labs to reconsider? His own appeal was dismissed right away.

My friend meant the world to me. He has the sharpest, wickedest sense of black humor of anyone I have ever met. He has challenged me in ways I never expected, and I will miss him desperately if he cannot come back to SL. It's like a family member has died, I feel so awful. All the color has bled out of my SL. The punishment just seems so disproportionate to his offense. He never abused, griefed, or harmed anyone, and was a great friend to many.

If his IP is not blocked he can just make another character and start over. If he gets 'you cannot access Second Life From This Computer' when he tries to log on then he is done for.

Go play Blue Mars with him.

Do not have him make another character and start over. Using an alt to circumvent a banning is another offense. What did he do that was not bad enough to warrant a permanent banning?

No it is not an offense to log on as another character when one character is banned unless the IP address is banned also.

apparently he was bad. very bad.

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I don't know Semyon... how can you POSSIBLY stay in touch without SL?

Drama anyone?

Hmm...Under age? Content theft? Stolen Lindens?

Yes and no. People have had accounts suspended/banned for "alt abuse" when circumventing a ban. Otoh, other well-known alts of banned accounts are tolerated.

There is, of course, this:

I've experienced the same sense of loss as you express, Semyon. In the case of friends banned for reasons that were unclear, I wondered if there could be a different approach. I do wish there were something of a process -- due process -- rather than a sudden and immediate ban.

Effects on friends of the banned avatar are sometimes more than brutal. Daily interacting, conversations, chatting, philosophizing, teasing, exploring… are suddenly and completely cut off. I feel like I have been banned too when my friend is abruptly taken away.

Oh yes, I have his email - but we are a world away in rl - and email doesn't connect us the way we have been used to connecting.

Is there no mercy in SL? you ask, Semyon. Responses to your post seem less than concerned, yet I wonder along with you. Is there a better process of enforcing standards than death by evaporation?

For someone to be instantly permabanned without any warning or chance of appeal, that person had to have done something really, really bad - and had to have known he or she was doing something that was not right.

Given all the problems we've had with people who believe themselves above the ToS/CS lately, it's very hard to muster any sympathy for your friend. Might I suggest http://messenger.yahoo.com/download

I'm with Katheryne on this one. Though LL has been rather harsh on occassions for what I would call a relatively minor offense, that is really quite rare. Even rarer are the permabans.....even after repeated suspensions. LL just does not like to permaban anyone.........but for major offenses they do it. I won't venture a guess for what reason but knowing LL's history for taking action on major offenses I'll bet your friend violated something very major.......very, very major. There is, of course, the possibility that your friend's banning was a cumulation of several (possibly many) other violations that added up the the permaban. The whole line of events are not known to any of us.......only LL and the banned person know what happened. LL won't tell and the banned person will very likely only tell what he/she feels is going to be sympathic to his/her side of the story.

I know the person who was banned cannot log into the forums to give a first hand account of the issue but these second hand sob stories are always suspect to me. I just cannot believe the OP is being completely candid on this subject.........just way to much involved. Second hand stories are more often than not fictional.......however I do not believe that is intensional on the poster's part. But because the poster is too close the issue to be objective.............and the liklihood of the poster not getting a true account of what really happened. You just don't know the people you become close to in SL (actually on the internet in general).

Perhaps my way of thinking is why I don't have a boyfriend in SL.

If you care about someone, you should always keep of a copy of him somewhere besides SL!

Further proof that I'm behind schedule. (=_=)

The point has been made that there are many other ways in which you can keep in touch with your friend.

Which actually calls into question the usefulness of Second Life as a social virtual place. If Second Life carries that risk of cutting off friendships without warming (preventing someone from letting their friends know, if you want to contact me further, here's how), why not just use more reliable forms of communication instead of Second Life?

Presumably because the friendship was formed within the immersion of their second life identities. Lose that immersion, and you may lose some form of magic that made that friendship or relationship live.

Ahh poor baby, paybacks a bitch isnt it? We know full well who your "friends" are and what they did. Plus we know who you are as we ran across your name more than a few times tracking those bastards down to the home sim. Hint of the day is, If you hadn't posted it would have been forgotten.

Play with fire, and you get burned and let me tell you. They crossed the wrong MF that time. More people are going down if I heard right. If I were you I'd keep your nose out of it. Right now it seems your rather clean.

Keep it that way.

Oh, this just got good.

I am sorry this happened to you...

In the meantime...

Popcorn? anyone? It is rather clean popcorn after all...

With butter an salt, please!

This looks like an artificially created Friday thread come early - all these first time posters and little actual information.

Pep (is not interested.)

I have the salt....



but....



(My apologies to Pep for the lol cat)

Take it away Pep.... send this one off into a fantastic Friday thread!

(hugs)

I'd forgive you anything, Lula.
Nah, it makes me sad thinking about the friends here I have lost to cancer and motor neurone disease.

Pep (Banned griefers aren't in the same league for sympathy.)

Hugs Pep... sorry for the loss in your life.

You have always been so kind to me.

Well, WE don't know full well who the friends are and what they did.. so call em E & F and dish it up.... we got popcorn....



~Brie