In Praise of NCI that was

Despite all of the drama, unfortunate situation and its result, Newbies are not going to understand the politics (for the most part).

Provided NCI continues to function and develop along the same lines as it did while Carl was there, then NCI will continue to be a valuable resource and guide.

However, that is a big IF, and only time will tell.

And so we wait.

Bree....

check it out - Carl didn't die.

I was griefed at the main campus of NCI (Kuula) when I visited last night.

I hadn’t been there for a long time and popped back last night because of nostalgia for the place inspired by the announcement made by the OP. Before I even fully rezzed, I was sent a blue screen, the kind that is often used to offer a landmark at stores. The text was a lengthy, ugly anti-Semitic and misogynistic diatribe. There was an “Ignore” button that did nothing when pressed. In place of the usual “Accept” or “Decline” buttons, there were sixteen buttons, each saying something about Jews. I didn’t dare press any of them because I didn’t know what I might unintentionally accept by doing so. I had to log out to get rid of the screen.

I didn’t file an AR because I don’t know who caused it. There were several avatars there. If there is a way to find out who initiates a blue screen, I don’t know it. There was nothing in my transaction history because I didn’t accept anything.

Based on this experience, I will never again recommend the NCI to a new resident, and I will discourage fellow educators from sending students there.

I'm not sure what you are trying to say. It seems our opinions are the same. Carl did what was right.

Edit: after reading a few more posts, I see what you're trying to say. Sure you're free to associate with any group you like. Just as I'm free to boot you out of any association I run for doing it. I wouldn't have KKK, racist, or any type of hate groups associated with anything I do. And a griefer group is the equivalent of that in SL.

As others have pointed out, Any professional association has to maintain some level of integrity, and that was what Carl was trying to do. That *some* couldn't wrap their minds around this, is a shame.

One's personal life, and one's professional life, should always be separate.



And you've totally lost me here.

Just to be clear, Carl isn't dead. He just left NCI.

That's a bit harsh. I sometimes visit new-user areas to see if I can help, and twice I was griefed, but I didn't attribute it to the place. It was a specific person who did it.

In one case I got the guy to back down and apologize, which was better than an AR.

.

I think I said it in plain English; but let me rephrase. Our opinions are not the same. Carl did what he felt was right under the circumstances. You fail to recognize that the other board members did the same, as you prefer to shade people in with evil one-dimensional intentions if they oppose your own beliefs.





I was pointing out the irony of your political rant followed by your accusations that others were derailing the thread. Nevermind.

Wasn't just NCI. They hit Zindra sims, too, at least, according to .

In any case, NCI was surely just a victim in that mess, and even if one is trying to avoid sending newbies into likely targets of griefing, I wouldn't assume NCI would be such a target, particularly.

When I was a new user, if I had been told that X place was a good spot for new people, and had an ugly hate message forced on my screen upon arrival, I might have left SL thinking that if that X was a good place I wouldn't want to hang around to see the bad places. I might have missed out on all the wonderful experiences I've had in SL. I don't think it's harsh for me not to send new people there after what happened.

The point is that was not a localized incident. It hit other locations in SL. Avoiding NCI because of a grid-wide incident is like avoiding the park down the street because was raining when you visited it and you don't want to get rained on.

It's kind of irrational though, since one could get hit with that literally anywhere. So really you should tell new users to log off and delete their clients.

This.

I think NCI has to be not merely above reproach; it has to be transparently above reproach.

The stakes are particularly high when it comes to educators bringing students into SL. These aren't just "friends" who are being introduced to a fun and interesting new app; they are, in a real sense, wards in the care of the educator. It isn't merely that students who get griefed early on in their experience are going to get less educational value out of it: it is going to reflect poorly on the educator who introduced them to SL, and, indeed, on the use of SL as an educational tool, period.

True.

But the educator isn't actually SENDING them "anywhere"; she is sending them to NCI. If the incident happens at a place which has been recommended or maybe even mandated by the teacher, that teacher is "responsible" for what happens there in a way that she or he wouldn't be if it was a random griefing somewhere else.

Yeah, I was in a semi-private area with a lady friend when we got hit with that stupid griefing incident. It didn't have anything to do with newbie areas.

C'mon now, Scylla. The only one responsible was the griefer him/her/itself.

Why does that sound so naughty? Oh wait, considering the source, I understand now. ^_^

/me sends sad pandas to the thread in general.

EWWWWWWWW . . .

Oh, wait. Sorry.

Of course, agreed. In a real sense, you are absolutely right.

But imagine a scenario in which a teacher sends students to a place where they can learn the ropes about SL. They are griefed there, and complain publicly or even officially that they were pelted with penises at a place that had been mandated as part of their course.

The teacher certainly isn't at fault, but she or he WOULD be held accountable for what, to someone who doesn't know SL (such as a dep't chair or uni administrator), might seem like an error of judgement on their part.

None of this is merely speculative, given the climate at universities nowadays. Or at least, at the ones with which I have some familiarity.

Hopefully, he lets it sinks and soon. Carl did the right thing at first by changing the rules, but then did wrong by resigning. He should have held his ground and let the folks that quit stay gone. As it stands now, its an organization that encourages griefers in the eyes of many. For my own part, I will route newbies I cannot help to various web sites and wiki's, rather than NCI.

First, NCI (and anybody else) cannot prevent griefers. They can only react to griefers after having identified them. So trying to hold NCI (or any other education sim) up to an impossible standard doesn't make sense.

Pretty well the only way NCI could prevent griefing before it happens is to make the region invitation only - and not invite anybody.

Secondly, as Smith suggests, neither NCI nor the educator who tries to help the newbie is responsible for the actions of another. If Petronilla is concerned about a griefer making her look bad to a newbie, she'd do best to not help newbies at all.

If the educator wants to send people to a place that won't get griefed, then the educator needs to get a TA to hold office hours in a private island accessible only to his students. There is no other way to ensure that you won't be griefed.

Like several others, I encountered the same griefing last night. I was nowhere near any NCI facility.

I've been griefed at the Shelter.. so I shouldn't send anyone there? I have been griefed on the Welcome Islands.. so we shouldn't have anyone there?

It can happen anywhere.

/me does not know what to make of all this. I don't really know any of the people involved or what the whole story really is. I do know that Carl seems like a nice guy who's invested enourmous amounts of his time in an effort to make things better & easier for new folks.

I'm sorry this has happened, Carl. SL needs more people like you.


This was all over zindra regions last night - probably all over other mainland continents, too. It wasn't directed at NCI, or at anybody else in particular.

LOLz



LOL.. OK, but NCI is not a university And as the ferret says, a private island is the answer to that.

I actually had my clothes on!



(Alas...)