Can Any One Help Me Understand, Please?

Linden Labs own sl. 100%

Linden Labs don't care about you, none of you.

Linden Labs do random things.

Linden Labs still don't care.

Linden Labs won't change.


Sorry to hear that Ivan, looks you were part of LL's random action of weirdness. I don't see your name as offensive, seen much worse, and since we are all supposed to be adults in sl main grid it shouldn't be offensive at all.

But since you agreed to the tos you have no rights at all. LL owns you and if some of their buddies found your name offensive, you had to go. That's how things work with LL.

Soooo to answer the OP:

Nope it seems not as they came here to get it all out of their system mainly.

There is no understanding to be had and even if there was the OP looks like they already knew the answers before they posted.

Sorry it happened, no way in hell it should happen like that but this is SL and things go down that way sometimes, you either have to learn to accept it and move on or left SL - there is no third choice, except perhaps Pie!

Yes, yes I am in a very meh! mood today.

No answer was required...I merely asked for someone to help me to understand this. I never claimed to know any 'answers'...never asked for 'answers'...if you'll read the title of the OP...is says, 'can someone help me understand'....and even tho this is posted in the 'answers' section...I didn't see a thread labled , 'can anyone tell me wtf is going on here' thread.

You asked (which certainly is a question):

"Can Any One Help Me Understand, Please?"

To which I replied:

"Nope it seems not as they came here to get it all out of their system mainly."

Which I believe is correct as Colette and others explained how things work with the Lindens and you didn't seem entirely satisfied with that.

I then explained that there is nothing further to understand here which is correct. Or have you gained some extra understanding that you did not have before you posted? If so I cheerfully retract my statement but it does to me at least seem you came here to vent.
Not judging that at all but my statement helps those coming after to understand that explaining things to you again or in a different fashion is probably not really going to help.

It sounds to me like a case of a trigger-happy Linden taking a rash action - which should be reversed.

I am a good friend of the artist formerly known as Ivanerection Oh and DJ at the same club as him, and he is the least offensive person I know - he doesn't even like playing songs with too much bad language in them, and is ALWAYS polite and respectful to everyone. There was no offense intended in his name whatsoever, he's not the upsetting type.

I don't find anything in the name which would be at all upsetting to either mature or immature human beings, yes it is a term which means something to do with sex if you look at it that way - it also could mean that he's a builder - just do a search for 'erection' under company names if you're at all in doubt what I mean on that one - if Ivanerection was a RL building firm name would they be barred from establishing an SL presence?

The final point - especially bearing in mind that he'd already requested a name change and been denied - obviously because whichever Linden was on duty that day either didn't find it offensive enough or was too busy to bother with it. So in the twenty months since he's not only built up a reputation as a DJ but also as a designer and seller in SL of some quality furniture - to have his name pulled out from under him after that much work amounts to nothing other than a sabotage of his branding.

Ivan, I sincerely hope this decision is reversed - not only for you because you're a top geezer, but also for the good of SL in general - if this is the direction things are taking, I hope they never find out Narcof means 'F**K Y*U' in Swahili!

I personally think the name change is retarded, especially considering all the other far worse names I have seen out there.

If they are going to start changing names why don't they just start searching for them and removing them?

While they are at it, why don't they get rid of all the "sex clubs" sex furniture, wh*res, escorts, strippers, slaves, fetishes, xcite parts.... the list could go on.

I think it was Joachim who said they have FAR WORSE issues to deal with? Yeah why don't they try fixing those for the 60k people I see online everyday?

Instead they decide to pick on one of the most respected people I know without even speaking to the guy, a year+ of building a respectful reputation of DJ'ing and Furniture making, AFTER he had requested a name change in the first place. A**holes.

I think LL needs to get their priorities straight!

I thought Ivan wanted his name changed? Doesn't he have what he wanted now?

Someone of his friends said somewhere way back in the thread that he was asked to change his name on the spot in order to get back in... so he is back in, right?

What is the problem?

You all don't like the way it was done, even though the outcome was what you wanted?

There is a saying... "He who put you in the shit isn't necessarily your enemy, he who takes you out of the shit isn't necessarily your friend, and if you are happy in the shit, keep quiet about it"

imogen

A rose by any other name.

And yet, I think this could be reversed, in this specific case, if one went about it the right way.

The offending name is a bit of an edge case anyway, so LL doesn't have let the grid go completely to hell by allowing it. And there's documented evidence that LL refused to change the name when requested. And in the interim, the resident went about being productive and getting his name known, and (maybe) uploading textures with the name and otherwise using it in good faith on content spread around the grid.

Presented to the right Linden, with the right attitude, a case for restoring the name could be successful.

Of course, at this point, it may be too late for that to be a desirable outcome. Or it may be that assuming the right tone feels too much like groveling at this point--or it may be too late, if the well was already poisoned by invective. (Or, for all I know, the whole thing may just be a publicity stunt. Weirder things have happened on this forum.)

If there's a Resident Question about pursuing that, some folks here may be able to give pointers about what to say--and more importantly, what *not* to say--and to whom.

I do have some sympathy with 'The Artist Formerly Known As [Censored]' re the abysmal manner LL handled the situation. Although the name was at the lower end of the smut rating I guess it does, if LL wants to be strict about it, go against TOS - but there's NO excuse for not contacting him before locking the account. He ought to have been notified about the decision beforehand so he knew what was happening and could have pointed out their own previous refusal to change it.

LL seems to do this automatic lock-out all the time without prior notice or discussion when it's totally unnecessary, causing residents no end of problems trying to figure out what's going on. For one thing, we are not all in the US and at the end of a freephone call to their supportline during office hours. For another, it's simply wrong from a Customer Service point of view.

--
Aes

I just wanted to say thanks to Sapph for starting this thread and to Prime, JD, Catz, Love, Joachim, Narcof, and Mega for jumping in with all your thoughts and support. It has meant a lot to Ivan to know his friends care about the difficulties this issue has brought up for him. (We still dont know what other issues may surface as time goes on....?)

Ivan is a good guy, never intended to offend anyone.....only wanted help resolving a sim issue, and ended up embroiled in a controversy. He now knows that his friends are there when he needs them and that has made him feel so much better about all this.

Three days ago he was ready to leave SL. Today he woke up knowing that he has friends who care and love him....with or without an erection (hehe).

Virtual HUGS to you all!!

LOL Imogen! The point is that the process is just as important as the outcome. Dont be so sure that "getting what you want" doesnt come with a price. Ivan has had to deal with a lot of inquiries from friends and a lot of judgments from people who have varying opinions about the matter. Its not so easy being on the receiving end of a "disciplinary" action even if you do get what you want. Ivan had a identity that has now been changed AFTER a very long time. We believe there will continue to be consequences well into the future with content creation, property, etc.

IMO Ivan has been thrust into the midst of a difficult situation without warning nor choice, all because someone was offended and didnt even talk to him, nor get to know him as a person. If they had they would have learned that he has a good heart and a great sense of humor! Nothing offensive about any of that in my book. He just happened to randomly cross paths with someone who took offense! His BEHAVIOR had nothing to do with that...only his tag! How unfair is that? Some people BEHAVE in monumentally offensive ways in SL, all Ivan did was choose a name that was clever and funny. That is what counts most to me...how people BEHAVE...not what their tags say.

Name and profile ARs likely are spite reports for the most part.

Was someone rude to you? Look at their profile, if you see non-PG text/pictures there you can AR them.

The reporter would be using a "legal" means to harass someone else (violation in itself) but that doesn't change the fact that the person reported did break the rules in the first place.

If you have non-PG content where it shouldn't be you *know* you're in violation and whether you agree or disagree with the rules really doesn't matter, you agreed to them all the same and finally parading it about in front of a Linden is just asking for trouble.

Oh, you won't catch many of us saying LL handled it correctly. I agree, they should have emailed or IM'd the person with their concern and asked if there was a name they like to change it to. Then change it, sending the person confirmation.

But LL isn't exactly known for having a procedure or following it when they do. And I would be the last person to claim they had excellent customer service.

Rather than complaining about it to US, the people posting here could ask us which Linden might be the best person to complain to about the handling the of the situation. Because we explain the situation and they say that's not good enough.. which WE have no say in whatsoever. Only way LL will listen to us is if we vote with our feet and I, personally, don't think a guy's name (which is against the ToS/Community Standards) is worth that.

I agree with you about the way it was done Lexa, and it sounds by all your reports that Ivan is a good guy...

You know there is a 'but' coming, right?

I have seen several avatars with names that they have regretted (they told me so)... probably thinking they could change it (though LL make it clear on signup that you wont be able to) or that they wouldn't be here long enough for it to matter, or just not realising that SL is the sort of place where a business might take off and the name choice might be unfortunate to say the least..

LL is not famed for their communications skills. You are preaching to the choir here on RA, many posts here are along the lines of "why didn't they just tell us first????" on a wide ranging variety of topics.

I see your point about a name change being inconvenient at this point. If they wont talk to Ivan, I hope Ivan and his obviously very loyal friends are talking to them?

Imogen

I have to chime in too.

LL Screwed up YET AGAIN ! They have bigger issues and they need to learn to deal with people RESPECTFULLY, REASONABLY & RESPONSIBLY! Is it any wonder why Paid memeberships are down 44%, or the economy is hemmoraging and people are getting out looking for alternatives ?

I have known Ivan & Lexa for a Very Long Time and I have to saythat I truly love the two of them with al my heart! They are both, truly amazing people and I am proud to have them as part of my Close Knit Circle of friends (FAMILY). There isn't anything I wouldn't do for them ! Respecful, Considerate, Honest, UPSTANDING in EVERY RESPECT!


As for LL... IF they even read this type of FeedBack (unlikely )

IF LL, you are so HUNG-UP on this type of stuff then BE SMART about it! When an AVI creates a Name, you should have filters setup to parse the name to see if there is anything offensive in it. While this is NOT foolproof, MANY other sites do that and it's NOT ROCKET SCIENCE as it is a simple DataBase Querry against a Table of offensive words & combinations. Not like you do not have a Huge Pool already in the database.

ANOTHER Point for LL:
What happens when you guys break Ivan's Assets ? You KNOW it's gonna happen, happens to us mere mortal ai's all the time. Now he is CrazyIvan and not Ivanerrection so, one of your little Linden Kids is gonna say, that's not your so we won't give it back ?? OR beter yet, in 6 months, someone will be doing an audit and find that Ivan's Assets/Inventory is attached to the wrong name and they "clean up the error". Then What ??? Oh Well, Too Bad, So Sad !

What is truly a mystery, LL will do this to an individual who has never once done anything on the wrong side of the fence. BUT they allow IP & DCMA Violations run rampant without addressing it, they allow people to abuse others in VIOLATION of TOS by sharing RL info and tons more. A Simple Search on all the news feeds and various MetaJournals etc... related to 3D environments and SL / LL Surfaces to the top on most EVERYTHING that CAN & IS going wrong.

There... I said it... I guess NOW I'll be locked out of SL because I maye have offended some poor Power Hungry little Linden who has a Diety Complex. Thank God that OpenSim is gettingthere ad SOON we WILL have an alternative to SL... Geez... even Microsoft (I know, I know) is getting into it along with many others.

FACTOID: Investments into the 3D MetaWorlds 2007 & 2008
1.2 Billion into 3D metaverse worlds 2007, 546 million first half of this year. SL will NOT be the only Game in Town for much longer.

Gosh, you are full of hope. They don't care about this forum, the people in here, the issues and questions and even suggestions some of us have..

How do you know she had the power to fix your server problem?

Life isn't fair, never has been, never will be. The sooner people come to realize that the happier everyone will be.

I had a TA in college who loved to ask that question, "Is that fair?" Of course he had spent his entire life living off of daddy or the government and and never been in the real world.

A name change isn't an account change, he'll still have the same UUID he always had, it just resolves to a different name now. Most of everything - like inventory, creator name, etc - is tied to your UUID, not to your name so what you're saying is really just fictious.

He probably wasn't even ever suspended but just couldn't log on because he was trying to log on with a name that no longer existed and hence couldn't be authenticated which is exactly what happened to Gaybot.

There's little point in making up wild hypothetical stories just because you can't accept that he himself is responsible for what ultimately happened by picking (and holding on to) a name that didn't conform to the guidelines.

They usually don't read the Forums, that's true. And if one approaches them with a problem and term it another example of LL's massive incompetence and disdain for its customers, one will get no results. And why should they bother, if the customer is already demonstrating that nothing will ever please them? (I've watched this same dynamic at airline ticket counters, many times. Where do people learn this behavior? When was it ever reinforced by success? )

We don't always get what we want by "playing nice" but sometimes, if we couch it as a win-win, we get what we need.

/me hands out brown paper bags with the SL logo on them, from the "Second Bling" collection. They are suitable for breathing or throwing up into.

Ivan was the victim of standard Linden Ham Fisted management, of course they could have handled it better. What else is new. In the end though, he was inconvenienced a bit, but got a name change that he wanted anyway. More annoying is if they didn't fix his technical issue. But before his friends and their assorted alts go storming the Bastille over this, take a step back and breathe deeply. Like Kitty said, his stuff is not going to be broken anty more than it would normally by SL, and there are better things to be railing against The Providers for. Save the EMO fits for them.

I love watching that show "Airline". The idiocy of some of the passengers and the saintly patience of the Airline Staff amaze me. I couldn't do that job. I love how the invariable last words from the passenger is always, "You'll be hearing from my lawyer".

LOL ivan sorry to hear what happened bro. got this sent to me from ali, and i have mucho respect for you, ivan is one of the most genuine ppl in sl he's not perfect but hey who is, but the lindens screwing him over doubly- once for not allowing ivan to change his name... then cancelling his acc. cuz they deemed it offensive, what the Lindens done is more offensive

If they are so worried about these types of names being in sl they should have installed a filtering system for it,and if it still gets by the system then some sort of arbitration system to get it changed (I.E maybe add a charge for it) no one would complain since alot of sl ppl like my self who do not know that the name can't be changed once you come into sl, and stuck with a dumb name.

Who decides the perception of what isn't and is offensive peeps? do we start banning noobs wearing penises, do we start banning furries cuz one person doesnt like them, were does it stop ,"that bush looked at me funny bannnnn it!!!!"
"That person is wearing a skirt that is too low BAN IT!", "That's a man in a skirt BANNN HIMM!"What is offensive to some is not offensive to others, ffs look at the net all opinions all levels of humour same with rl. I would have found it rightly so if they cancelled ivans acc if he actually did something wrong morally and ethically or did some VR violence on someone but because a linden was a prude and a twat does not give them the right to ban you without no response or just cause from them doing it.

And BTW peeps the TOS is not worth the toilet paper its written on in a court of law. hope you got all the money out your acc ivan , if not threaten them with a lawyers letter, you invested in that character, not just in monetory value but time, and memories. you can prove you tried to have the lindens change it and their response was basically a F.off . so they screw with you screw them back dunno if you have in the states ivan a lower court to reclaim costs etc, but when the LL did it to me i hit them with that threat even detailing the scots article of law it covers. and bam my acc was reinstated. Funny eh ! so much for the TOS being what ppl say it is this all important law pfft. its crap and we all know it. REAL LAW i.e this thing we have in that bad place called real life it is the true law wether it be right or wrong, its the ONLY applicable law. And lindens can go and suck torleys watermelons if they think otherwise (If i have offended you by making a sexual reference out of torleys rather green watermelons then you have the filthy mind not me ) , if the TOS was this all powerful thing then why did they EVEN goto court over the several incidents that have happened to them regarding land issues etc..? according to the TOS advocates its all powerful? Why did linden labs do that? cuz its only guidelines that try to stay within the real terms of law.And again it comes down to perspective what you percieve as offensive someone else might not.


So i hope ivan they gave you a good reason for shutting off that acc. with a full explanation.If not screw them back, screw them hard ,long wet... dammit my mind is overloaded with an erection - ivanerection of course


dammit there goes some alts names i wanted to use...Pigfumbler Golightly...ivana sexuup..ihaveahardonandiknowhowto Usit...


now let the comments commence and the trolling troll on and the flaming start BBQ my comments..

Penisgate has begun but don't put the penis in the gate thats just nasty you get splinters in it and the old lady down the street looks at me funny....
/me wanders off to the local asylum for his daily electroshock therapy laters...peeps and peepettes !

And for some reason i get newreply not found when trying to reply am i banned for having a dumb name or just for being dumb?

I disagree.

As a customer I have the right to get the service that was promised to me. As a customer, not a resident as they belittle us all the time, I have every right to ask questions about the service if it's broken or not working as promised.

I don't need to be crawling up their a***s to get what I want, need, deserve, whatever...
A TRUE and REAL customer service stands above angry customers, and still try to solve the problem, but hey what am I talking about? I don't even own my avi or anything *I* have created in sl...
Oh and one more thing: I'd like to see some qualified people at support: qualified both technically and in communication and other key skills but hey, it's just a virtual thing and not real anyway

*toddles off back into the real world*

I'm not saying that LL handled this in the correct manner, it appears they handled it in the same inept manner they are known for.

I do think that Ivan used very poor judgement in picking that name and he should be thankful that LL didn't just cancel his account. It doesn't matter how funny you or he thinks the name was, many people would have found it offensive. He should be grateful that they let him change the name and keep the account, otherwise he would have lost everything he had accumulated in SL.

LL owns SL and they make the rules, get used to it. You and I may not like the way they handle things but our opinion doesn't seem to matter. Colette and I have been in SL many years, long enough to have seen that community outrage over LL's behavior seems to have very little effect on them.