New Pest: Commercial Squatters

Maybe I just haven't owned a club long enough to have experienced the full range of associated problems.

However, within the past week, I have witnessed two people come to my club, and wordlessly, just started rezzing their vendor objects in front of the club.

I didn't say anything to the first one; object return was set to a minute, and when she found her vendor auto-returned to her, she just quietly moved off.

Tonight's was persistent. Her objects weren't vendors, but object and message spammers passing out a MoneyORB and Life Shop AO, and sending out blue boxes with websites to click on (I didn't write down the web site). She was undeterred by getting her objects sent back to her after a minute (though I guess they only needed a minute to spam my guests).

After the first things she dropped to spam my guests, I IMed her that we don't allow solicitors. She said she's not a solicitor, to which I replied, just please don't keep giving out objects and webpage links. She continued, so I banned her.

Is this a common occurance, or something new? Do I have to go through the routine of IMing them to say "please don't drop your vendors and spam objects here" before ARing them?

it's lack of good ethics on their part..
i haven't been in the sl club system in awhile but we had a rule board set at the tp explaining our rules..if they broke ones that were reasons for a ban they were banned right away..
spamming customers was one of them

they could IM us later if they felt it was wrong..we would reply when we had the time since they never took the time to ask us for permission..

I just discovered that the MoneyOrb is at least AR-able. The only problem is that with auto-return set for a minute, I would have less than a minute to find the object so I can click on it for the AR.

http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/MISC-2855

and

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Bug_triage/2009-06-01/Transcript

Note that the Life Shop AO is a worn object, I believe, and in many cases the wearer does not even know they are spamming with it.

We have found that limiting building to club group members (staff) avoids a lot of problems like that.

If its a store, then having a rez area to unpack may make sense, but for a club there is not a reason to let them rez stuff in general.

How fast you eject or ban them depends on whether you have club rules posted somewhere. If you have a sign saying "no soliciting", I would not hesitate to eject them if they don't bother to read it, and ban if they return or complain about it.

I was in a sandbox and someone "unknown" sent me a life shop something or other, which I declined. What is it?

When I asked who did it no one replied. Maybe they didn't know they did it.

As for someone setting up shop in or in front of someone else's club/business/land, I'd bounce them, then ban them. I wouldn't IM first.

If they IM'd, I'd explain why. But most likely they would already be at someone else's place doing the same thing.

The life shop is something that is worn by unsuspecting people and it spams. The money orb thing may be the same type of deal. The person may be a newb and was just out there rezzing purchases or freebies that needed to be opened. They probably didn't know they were spamming.

I guess I'm more hard nosed - when it comes to one person inconveniencing scores of others by choosing to open boxes in or in front of a 'nightclub' in SL - I also doubt they chose to open spam item after spam item (or ignore IM warnings), including money orbs, on accident. But that's just me.

Bouncing them would still teach them that isn't the place to do either thing - and a ban can be lifted if warranted.

I hang around at Infohubs or at close distance to them very regularly and for me it seems these kind of spammers is growing during the recent weeks. Both items, MoneyORB and Life Shop AO, are wearable items and every person I told to please not spam me any more with this didn't even know it does. Since noobs tend to accept simply everything, those spammers spawn almost exponentially at newbie areas. Evenmore due to their names they look like adorable stuff for them: A cool free AO and a way of getting some money. And yes, they are annoying - like those "Click me for FREE L$" Job Island Promoter boxes many newbies are wearing and spamming the places with "Everyone click me for L$ 1!".

Those types of objects should be banned. Newbies should also be warned about the current spamming/replicating items, which are an equiv to computer viruses in my opinion, in their first day of SL.

There should also be warnings available at info hubs about such things, so newbies know not to accept them.

It's a bit like the scammers who used to hang around the docks of NYC waiting for the fresh off the boat immigrants still wide eyed from seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time. Why should it be allowed to happen?

You're missing the part about them being new and not understanding what is happening. These spam objects are designed so that the person wearing it doesn't know it is happeneing. Ejecting a new person in this scenario teaches them nothing, except that SL is confusing and residents have no patience.

No, I'm not missing that part, Eli. I answered that part.

Here it is again.

I'm sorry but a club is not the place to open boxes. Of any sort. Do that in a sandbox.

Opening box after box of ONLY spamming/money making items is NOT a coincidence. They knew what they were doing. They did not go to a club and open those boxes (note I said open the boxes, not walk in unknowingly wearing an item) that say "click me for lindens" or "make money" for no reason. They did not go to the club to dance or they'd have been dancing, not opening boxes. They went to someone else's land to make money off their actual guests. NOT okay.

The club owner said he IMed them repeatedly to ask them to stop. They ignored it.

Sorry but that's a bannable offense to me.

I'd have been less lenient. I might've IMed once. But just as likely if I saw someone unfold their virtual vendor table and begin hawking I'd have simply bounced/ejected. You can do what you want on your own land, but I'm guessing your customers won't like being spammed either.

At least they didn't try to sell freebie cars next to an Infohub for 800 lindens each.

LOL are people doing that, too?

Poor noobs.

Yes. And guns too. I told them they are freebies and warned any newbie coming along looking interested in the cars. Then i decided to build me own "shop" on the Linden road and rezzed my copy of the same freebie car and set it to sell for 0 Linden. Didn't take 5 mins and the freebie seller was away.

^ high five ^

Newbs don't understand that. Some don't even know what a sanbox is. A club that offered new people a place to open boxes might gain themselves some future customers and friends.


It is my opinion that the you and the OP are mistaken about what was being opened. I think they were opening boxes and unknowingly wearing the spamming devices.

The OP said they IMed them once and returned objects multiple times. Newbs often don't see IMs right away and would not understand how or why things are being returned.


I don't think there was any vendors being rezzed. Keep in mind that boxes of clothing, etc. often look just like a vendor.
Banning a person in this scenario just sends them off somewhere else to spread the spam unknowingly. Helping them understand what is going on will lessen the problem.

The person I banned last night had the MoneyOrb and and Life Shop AOs, and was on a new account. I assumed she was dropping objects on land to do the spamming, but maybe I'm wrong. I may send an IM warning her and let everyone else at the club know that when they encounter this problem, the person sending the messages might not be aware.

How can someone make sure they aren't wearing an object like this that might be spamming others?

I think I'm clean, but I'd like to learn -beforehand- how to stay that way.


I -WAS- looking for a plushie to wear on my shoulder the other day, and bought one off of xstreet that claimed it was a freebie pack of 4 plushies - I went to a sandbox and opened it and got the smack spammed out of me as it tried to open up a whole shop on me and send me all sorts of scripts. Thankfully... I know enough to decline.
- But I've been around for a bit now, and it was only with the creation of this new avatar that I finally -found- a sandbox. I started in a Japanese region, a dead info-hub, and it has a nice nifty giant sandbox. Only one I've seen in SL so far.
- Before I had to use corners of shops, clubs, and even the border between two particular parcels that seems to not have the permissions of the land on either side, that I found by accident...

If you open up your inventory window and type the word "worn" into the search window. It will show you everything you are currently wearing. If you see anything that looks fishy take it off. Unless, of course you are a wearing a fish avatar

Ok... that's easy enough. I do that all the time anyway - I mix and match my clothes between sets, so I always keep an eye on what's worn and what isn't.

Nothing can 'sneak in' under the radar then? Being observant is enough? Nothing can write itself into another object I have or other forms of nastiness?

Meh. Could be worse. Could be shouting "Show the DJ some $Linden love" every five minutes.

Those guys are really persistent.

As a long time hostess,I am proud to say I have never uttered those words.

Though I did hoo last night. But just to annoy my friend.

No but you are always Hoo!!ing.

ETA: beat me to the punch!