Electric Sheep Company's Searchbot Answers Go Here.

Since the other thread, "Automated Burglary," was locked for being too long, and we were invited to start another thread, I'm starting this

This is where ESC can give us the answers we were awaiting in the other thread.

coco

Maybe a summary of the outstanding questions would help.

Here are the questions I've colated; anyone can feel free to add on here.

1. Will ESC’s Searchbot always be an opt-in, rather than opt-out system, regarding publishing objects for sale?

2. What are your plans - if any - to proactively let the residents know that their objects for sale are being catalogued and listed on this site?

3. Does the Searchbot scan and record all items, not just the for-sale ones? (There is an option to list all one's items everywhere, whether for sale or not.) Does it collect this information for everyone, even it doesn’t automatically publish it?

4. After people opt out, is their data completely erased, or does it stay in the system in aggregate? (To use statistically, for instance.)

5. After people opt out, is their data still scanned and recorded, though not published?

6. After people opt out, does Searchbot still scan and record their not-for-sale items as well?

7. To what end, if any, to you plan to put the information you have gathered, besides publishing it or portions of it on your search engine web site?

8. Will information (including any and all not published on the site) be collated and made available to your corporate clients for market purposes? Will you be selling this information?

9. Is the Searchbot still functioning? It seems to be not updating.

coco

1--Are people really this paranoid?

2--Do people not realize that we're analyzed and correlated and databased like this in RL?


I am NOT affiliated with ESC and would never build a Searchbot...but...this paranoia has me crazed. If we had been this paranoid in RL when corporations started going these things, maybe I wouldn't have do deal with all the junkmail I receive in my RL mailbox all the time.

Junk Mail is a lesson learned to all of this. That is why this intrusion and easily abused tool must not become the norm in SL.

Except that LL already has rules against sending of spam and junk mail, so this "intrusion" has nothing to do with such.

I dont get it I went to the site and couldnt even figure out how it worked let alone use it... I didnt see anything listed as for sale either. Was I missing something?

Ellinah

I have a question. If This searchbot is all about helping people find freebies and things for sale, then why does it not list items marked "Allow anyone to copy"? A lot of freebies are distributed like this, probably more than are for sale for $0L. If you aren't going to include these items, the whole thing is a farce.

Can you merge this thread here please? Or the other way around, I don't care which

Zaph

No, no. I am saying the general public got the junkmail and ignored it, then grumbled about it, then felt outraged and finally did something about it - but way too late. The community needs to nip this sort of intrusion in the bud before it proliferates.

One of the costs of freedom and liberty... is that people will use it.

I would rather we had those freedoms, even if some abuse them.

Well, you'll note the quotes I put around "intrusion". I don't consider the aggregation of non-violating public information an "intrusion". Certainly, the information *could* be used for ill, but the CS covers most of those situations where it would (using 3rd-party presence info for stalking or harassing another, for example). The rest will get cleaned up eventually, or we will learn to live with them and adapt.

I hate spam, junk mail, and telemarketer (even worse, "telecharity", ugh..) calls as much as anyone. I wish I could wish them all into the cornfield with the rest of the miscreants I encounter in my RL. However, I *choose* to be in SL because it is a trade-off. Some things I grant implied opt-in rights to in exchange for being protected from other things I find bad in RL. The nicest thing about SL is that I can leave any part of it, or even the whole thing behind at any time.

So...why should ESC answer any questions? I was under the impression that they just have a site where you can search and see what's for sale in sims they've scanned. What's the big deal with having an alternative to the in world search?

Am I missing something here? I just don't see what all the fuss is, although it's not like people actually NEED something to complain about in order to complain...

Read the other thread first, its all explained there:

/327/96/178132/1.html


Forsetti has already said he was going to provide a privacy policy he needs to finish it and have their Legal department go over it.

Ok, I read that thread at first. I'm not missing anything.

If you don't want it bought, don't make it for sale!

you read that whole thread in 20 min ?

Or you read the whole thread and somehow missed the entire conversation between Coco and Forsetti? And that counts as not missing anything.

LOL

It would take more than 20 minutes to just click "next" through that whole thread.

I read the first 4-5 pages when that thread was new...then the conversation turned silly.

I didn't miss anything.

I can't argue with that, and I was part of the silly.

Why shouldn't they?

coco

There was good and bad parts - but you obviously missed Forsetti talking on the Searchbot .. which was something.

Great news, thanks for the info.

For newbies the critical thing to remember is to check everything you rezz, that it is not accidentally marked "for sale - original".

Because the last thread was such a witch hunt?

This thread is the abridged version. We have already reached silly. Thanks Strife.

Kenn's got a point. This sounds just like an SL version of RL price comparison websites like www.pricerunner.com etc.

So let me just get this straight; people are selling stuff but are complaining that ESC are providing free advertising for them? Any retailer who complains at free advertising is just plain silly. As someone already said here - if you don't want people to buy it, don't make it for sale - there really is no reason to make something for sale if it's not actually for sale.

cHex Losangeles made a good point on the last thread;