Reader Submitted: Community Roundtalbe for May 20

 

By Zada Bury

My opinion about the "Roundtable" and around ... special at the moment.

It is awesome, Linden Lab remembers some of the good things from before around 15 years. Okay, there are still the user-meetings, but this makes me feel welcome. Anyway it's good for informations or an update about things ... and brainstorming - but less for some productive work.

It is the same as with "Forums": You might have a good idea (in your point of view) ... but first you have to dig trough 5 pages, if somebody was bring it up before (and how the reactions was) ... then you make your comment, head to sleep ... and can next dig trough 3 pages, if somebody was react on it.

I was came 60 minutes late to this event and was only read the last 30 minutes. The flooded chat was make the following difficult ... and participating would be even more hard. For luck there are some recordings. I took a few pictures.

A friend was comment it to me with the words "90% age-stuff, 5% Tilia, 5% mobile app". And the "age stuff" (foremost the updated ToS) is what put also some annoying load into these meetings lately.

There are 3 kind of people or groups ...

1) There are the users of Anime-Avatars, and I can understand their concerns.

Anime and Manga is an often false interpreted art-style. Here it needs some broadly open communicated "guidelines" or similar by the Governance-Team - maybe not hard "rules" but more a list of ideas, so you can get the meaning right. Oh and if your character is a "1000 year old demon that lives in the body of a child", you are still violating the ToS.

2) There are the creators of Child or Teenager Avatars and the problems with the "Modesty Layer".
And I can understand their mutters.

In my eyes, the "Modesty Layer" is a "toothless tiger which causes many problems and work with no real success". It is one of these "good thought at first", but "the results may vary" ... or not pay out.
Each layer on the body can be "overwritten" by worn clothes ... or putting a texture on without the enforced undies. Even one solution to "let out the sections in the mesh" (there would be a hole in the body) could be overwritten with a fitting mesh-item. There would be a clear rule like "painted or structured genitals or body-openings and so on" are not allowed,  and done.

And there are ...

3) People in child-avatars, which whining about, them are not longer allowed to enter adult-rated lands ... and I lost any understanding for them.

First at all: Maybe them need a reminder, it takes maybe 30 seconds to open the inventory, right-click an outfit and change to an adult appearance. There is the "General" and the "Moderate" rating, you still can play a child.

About these people, that are whining "their family home is on adult" or "their store": It comes at first in my thought "Why is that on 'Adult'?" No idea, how to describe it, but maybe "over-rating"? For a normal,  full adult but private experience, "Moderate" fits well and is enough. "Adult" is only a must for advertised adult stuff and businesses. Why are you choosing for your family-home "Adult"? Also "our shops", most would fit on mature - and the last I would want is an adult person represented in a child-avatar, which does the customer-support in some store for adult stuff!

Ok, maybe you were choose a home on Adult because of "whatever".

Option 1: The family-kid fast turns 18+ ...
 

Option 2: Move to Mature-rated lands - there are massive places available, even also abandoned lands, which often can be bought for only 1L$/m2 trough the support.

This doesn't feel good? I have been running since 15 years a place for adults, and in this time I was need to change or move 3 times about "changes" - so stop whining! If you wanna cry about your freedom and so: The (equaly) adult areas in real-life, you would be faster tossed out as a child than you can say "I only wanna look something" ...

But there is one last thing, which goes under since a while, and that is dangerous: "Sharpening the age verification" to ... "protect the (underage real-life) kids".

Sadly anytime there is discussion about "child avis," it's messed up and merged with "protection of (real-life) kids." I would guess, 99.9% of the users of child avis (so: affected by the ToS-change) are adults, which Roleplay as a child - and I will not judge them ... getting the youth back, get the intact family them never was have or to early lost in real life ... all are legit reasons. But they have nothing to do with RL-kids!

I must say, here we are sadly back to the time before,  15 years ago. Around 15 years in 2009, there was also the discussions go on, how to protect kids from adult stuff with verifications. That time was a lot tried out - but the problems have not changed. But now the ideas have the ability to destroy and might cause Second Life to close!

First at all: With the so called "Industrial standard" ... eg "Yes, I am 18"-Button you can gain on the Internet access to more explicit content, than SL might offer. Most don't know this, but behind this "Button" is more going on than you think - Protection Software on the Computer can read so called "Metadata" out and block even unknown pages ... surely the parents have to activate it. A normal (adult) user without such software will experience no blocking.
 

Blocking kids from content they should not see are honorable intentions. But: If Linden Lab decides to make the access for users more difficult, here is a reminder: We are not longer in 2009.
Nowadays there are a lot of, and also on the same level, if not also above, competitors against Second Life. Why should someone offer massive critical personal data to gain adult access in SL, if them can get it everywhere else with just the "industrial standard"?

"VRchat" for example is "beloved" by everybody. Steam loves them, because them have no adult content. Twitch loves them, because them have no adult content. The parents loves it, because their ToS say, them have no adult content (if them read it). But surprise: There is adult stuff! Sure, it's forbidden by the ToS, and everyone loves VRchat about this forbidding. But it is still there.

If Second Life now makes it more difficult to access, at all the competitors' offices, the champagne bottles will popping, and SL might die out and close.

Also this "sharpening" does not solve two issues: 

 

1) No matter, how difficult SL will make it, people that are aware about possible data-loss will be scared away or have more problems with it, but the kids will find it it almost easy to break it: Them just need a short moment to borrow their parents data, ID, whatever ... and then they are in. And them have a super-easy access to this stuff.

2) Parents expect from "the Internet companies" to protect their kids. But it is the duty of the parents to lock their kids computer. It is the duty of the parents to take care for their kids activities. The "child protecting parents" which demand by Internet companies to protect their kids, they just expect from 8,000,000,000 people, these raise their child - but it is the duty of the parents directly ... and not for all other people on the Internet!

So Linden Lab would be good at the point to take care, their page is detected by such protection-software. They also can "aggressive" communicate it to present them done something and being a good company which takes care for that theme. But beside of that, better hands-off from the actual verification way.

Otherwise Second Life might not make the quarter century mark. It's been 21 years now and it's still alive and it is working - a sharpening might close it before the 25th birthday.

(click here if the video does not play)

Zada Bury

Opinion: The Kids are Alright

 

By Any1 Gynoid

 

This dress is a “thoub”. It’s a classic traditional Palestinian party outfit for women. I’ve been wearing this dress all week at dozens of Second Life venues. Nobody noticed. Would kids even notice if a real Hamas terrorist pillaged their home town? I doubt it.

So I am searching today in-world in Second Life. Search term Palestine? Nothing. Palestinian? Nothing. Hamas? Nothing. Gaza? Nothing.

So why are all those kids protesting on college campuses and getting arrested as we speak?

I have a theory. ATTENTION. How else can they get it? Presidential Scandals are not shocking. Pr0n is not shocking. Mass killing is the new normal.

I deplore the double standard in society. It’s NOT OKAY to be a misogynist. Me too! NOT OKAY to be a racist. NOT OKAY to be anti-LGTBQ. (Nor Anti-FURRY! LoL)

But ANTISEMITISM! Somehow it’s okay to hate Jewish people. To quote Dana Horn’s book title… People Love Dead Jews… Jesus H you know the most popular! The 2nd most popular is Anne Frank… And thems fighting words. You are messing with the wrong biatch! Now you have my ATTENTION!

So I’m just saying. Society is really messed up. And it’s getting worse for our kids generation. Declining economic prospects for young people and marriage. It’s okay to work at home in your mom’s basement and be socially isolated. Okay, I get that!

The kids are protesting the hypocrisy of modern society. So the kids picked the most divisive issue possible to get our attention. Okay kids we hear you.

I don’t believe the protestors’ antisemitic rhetoric on TV for even for a second. I don’t believe that kids are so disgruntled that they turned into screaming racists overnight. A nation of college campuses populated by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s yelling at Stonewall Douglas victims. I’m not buying it. Whatsoever. The Kids are Alright. 

Any1 Gynoid

 

The Last Roll: An SL Avatar Builder Makes a Fun Game For Real Life

By Bixyl Shuftan

2020 has been both a tragic, and crazy, year. On one hand, the Coronavirus has caused a great deal of tragedy. On the other, it's caused people to behave in strange ways. Local grocery stores in the United States and some other developed countries have often been short on particular foods and supplies. But for some peculiar reason, the item many seem to want to hoard more than anything else isn't canned food or bottled water. It's toilet paper. A number of us, presumably a small minority, bought up all they could early on in the Pandemic. And to this day, bathroom tissue can still be hard to come by.

Nance Clowes, a noted Second Life game maker, recently informed the Newser about "a free downloadable board game" poking fun at the absurdity of the situation made by an avatar maker in Second Life. So I tracked down the person better known for dinosaurs than tush tissue, Wanders Nowhere.

"It has, absolutely nothing to do with Second Life, or what I do (here), which is the Dawn Kingdoms dinosaur sims," Wanders told me, "And it's mostly my partner's work. But it is fun and topical. It's a printable, downloadable boardgame which is a satire of the Toilet Paper panic. We call it 'The Last Roll.' and you can find it at www.lastrollgame.com . It comes in (so far) two forms, the family-friendly boardgame version, Supermarket Dash, and the upcoming tabletop RPG version, TPocalypse."

When asked just when did he and his partner get the idea, he answered, "We were at a friend's house in the early days of the Covid crisis, before lockdown became a thing. We live in Australia, so things have all progressed a bit differently here, and at the time we'd convened for a solstice celebration party. We were discussing upcoming D and D games, and I got up to go to the bathroom. Someone made a joke about the toilet paper panic. And by the time I got back, everyone was laughing at the idea of turning that into an RPG set in a post-apocalypse, where TP is the only remaining currency.

"As the country locked down, the idea eventually shifted into doing two games, one that would be a family-friendly boardgame aimed to help families locked down together to have a laugh at the crisis. And another that would be the post-apocalyptic RPG, with a kind of over the top Mad Max meets Nightvale in a supermarket vibe. That's the upcoming 'TPocalypse' variant, which we're putting the finishing touches on now.

"We're offering both games on a pay-what-you-want basis. We understand that the crisis has hit people very hard economically and want to be able to share this even with people who can't afford to buy frivolous things like games right now. It's designed to be printable at home, but even if you don't have a printer, there's instructions for making your own board and markers. If we can give people even a bit of levity at this juncture, we'll consider it a success."

Wanders told me the game hadn't been around long enough yet for much of a response on social media, but, "We have playtested all our games and had a strong positive response. Dash in particular has become a favorite with some of the local families in our area."

He went on to explain the difference between the two games, "Supermarket Dash is a friendly silly tongue-in-cheek kind of game, TPocalypse goes all out on the surreal humour. Fungus zombies in the veggie section, a vacant-eyed cult of former staff members serving a Lovecraftian unseen Manager locked in an aisle-by-aisle turf war with a koven of murderous Karens gunning for the Manager's blood. And that's just the tip of the iceberg lettuce, shambling mounds made of shopping bags that can devour your character whole, you name it."

There's also a third game in the works: The Last Roll: Biggest Hoarder. In the words of the website, "Form alliances and break them, help out and hinder, tempt and trip up. You all arrive at the store together, but when it comes to the finish line, it’s every shopper for themselves. Pack out your cart with panic-buying, elbow whoever you can out of the way, and come out on top. But it’s all for nothing if you don’t have that precious roll of TP! An irreverent parody board game for 2-6 players aged 12+ (parental guidance). May the most underhanded shopper win!"

As for what Wanders makes in Second Life, he's one of the people at Dawn Kingdoms, making dinosaur avatars. When I asked him which was his favorite, he answered, "Whatever dinosaur I'm currently working on, that's my favorite at the time. I fall in love with each creation as it is born. It's the John Hammond in me, I swear." Prehistorica had grown since the Newser last wrote about it, "It's three sims now. There's a rocky plains, deep jungle, canyon, active volcano, all the classic dino tropes. There's also three underwater areas, a reef, kelp forest and abyss caves. And a floating dragon island with a minigame where you battle earth elementals." He did say there was one thing in the works, "That's my big hush master project (grin), so that will need more time." He then laughed, "Hell the only limit on my ambition is now 'how many prims do I have left to spawn animesh creatures with?' "

When asked if he had anything else to say about the game, Wanders answered, "I guess I could say that in times like these where everything is unexpected and everything feels like it could go badly at any minute, it's more important than ever to hold on to a sense of humour and be able to use that to get through things instead of only blocking out the bad stuff, particularly for kids. We hope our game can highlight that and give parents a way to introduce the idea of these sorts of changes, shortages and restrictions in a way that doesn't seem scary or overwhelming as it can be, even for adults. And with the TP panic easing off in many places that can be a relatively harmless aspect of this serious and terrible crisis, something safe to have a laugh at. Because let's face it, the fact that, when the chips are down and we're facing a global crisis, the first thing people do is panic buy toilet paper is really, really silly."

Read more about the games, and get them if you wish, at https://lastrollgame.com/ .

Bixyl Shuftan

Cafe Wellstone, The Twin Political Campaign Buildings, And The Trump Pub

By Bixyl Shuftan

Longtime residents in Second Life may remember Cafe Wellstone, a meeting area for discussion of politically liberal thoughts and topics. As it turns out, the location is still around, yours truly finding out after Any1 Gynoid passed me a landmark to the location it had been moved to since the 2008 election. Named after Paul Wellstone, a US Senator who was killed in a plane crash in 2002, the place showed signs of activity, with a schedule inside of music events. There were also a number of pro-environment and Bernie Sanders signs.

Droping by at the beginning of the third Presidential debate on October 19 at 6PM SL time however, there was only one person around, and he was Away From Keyboard. Perhaps everyone else was busy in real life or otherwise occupied, or perhaps they had gone to the Clinton HQ in Bay City, which the Newser reported on earlier. The place is located at Castle Redwood (245, 160, 21).

Searching for a Trump-themed location, I came across two political HQ buildings in the Hyades sim, both across the street from one another. The taller one was for the Republican nominee Donald Trump, the other for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton. But as the buildings rezzed, the Trump building looked more like a jab at the candidate with the politician depicted as holding two glowing crosses, and on the inside were two thrones and a cartoon of him kissing himself. The Clinton one had a twist on the "Don't Tread on Me" rattlesnake flag sometimes used by the Tea Party, which normally sides against her. There was an active club not far away, but it had nothing to do with the taller buildings.

So where are the Trump supporters? The old locations at Portland Main and Seokcheon reported about a year ago are still around, though these seem to be places to advertise and hand out t-shirts and signs rather than organize events. There has been nothing recent like The Trump Organization, which was noted for it's Trump Manor and later on the Trump HQ.  After Linden Lab banned it's leader and several others in the group, one whom had been involved with then told me those whom were left were lying low and staying out of trouble.

There was one new Trump-themed location that I found that didn't look like a jab at the candidate: The Trump Pub. Located at The Waterfall Club (217, 231, 2501), the place was more or less built like a pub with a few Trump campaign signs, an "All Lives Matter" pro-police sign, and a couple signs mocking their opposition. Upstairs was a vendor for T-shirts, caps, and other items with the candidate's name. The place is in an Adult-rated sim, and there was an item that was clearly riskee. There's also a guard dog and a security orb, a sign that not everyone coming here has been doing so with friendly intentions.

As the Presidential campaign has less than three weeks before Election Day, in and out of Second Life it stands in great contrast to the one eight years ago in 2008 in which both the Democrat and Republican candidates appealed mainly to the voters' hopes, and in Second Life there was active debate and an official neutral ground. This year, both of the major party candidates are highly unpopular, even among the electorate of their own parties, and the campaign has been a "race to the bottom" with insults, hyperbolic charges, and both have had to deal with embarrassing leaks that raised questions about their characters. Indeed many people I've talked to stated they have given up on politics, one saying American political discussion had deteriorated to the point of resembling the shrieking of monkeys. The days of "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," and "Vote for your hopes, not for your fears," seem a lifetime away.

Bixyl Shuftan

Science Friday

By Becky "Sha" Shamen

When the Editor, Bixyl Shuftan, mentioned this destination, he did not have details, but it sounded like the perfect location for this reporter to explore. Bixyl explained that it was a group in Second Life that gets together on Fridays to listen to a NPR radio program, called "Science Friday" and discuss the topics that are covered in the two hour program. Science and Art have been my two greatest interests, throughout this life time. While I am, technically, an amateur, some of my theories could stand their own against those of the pros. When watching science videos, narrated by celebrity scientists, like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox and Bill Nye, I'll debate them in a heart beat. In a group debate, you'll find me sitting on the same side as Carl Sagan and Michio Kaku (my favorite). My top three theories include; What Dark Matter is and why we can't see it, The real story of the Big Bang and The True Shape of the Universe is a Big Donut. Recently, scientists have begun to confirm my donut, calling it a spherical torus.

Determined to find the group and location, we did several searches and found the group that hosts the event. The group's description stated that they conducted Friday meetings and that Second Life comments and questions would be linked to the live radio broadcast, but the location of these meetings was left out. To get the whole story, I joined the group and then opened group chat to ask for the LM. Within minutes, one of the members shared a LM. Armed with a time and place, there was only one question left, for this scientist to ask. What to wear??? Intuition hints that this event might favor coming in human form, so I selected my "Newser-Jade" outfit.  It turns out that, although most were human, we were joined by a cyborg, so it probably isn't important.

When Friday came, I was the first to arrive. in the center, there is a conference table, with a limited number of chairs and around the perimeter there are hanging basket chairs. As a newbie/observer, I selected a basket, with a good view of the room. As members arrived, I was invited to sit at the table. Each time that somebody sits at the table, it increases it's size and number of seats. One of the members, Beragon Betts, sent a friend request. Heavens YES, it's always good to have friends that out-rank us in the member's hierarchy and are more "in the know" than us. Beragon is friendly and helpful and has since come to visit Sunweaver Bay and Sunny Beach's Gathering Oak.

During the Science Friday event, I noticed there didn't seem to be communication between the group gathered and the radio program. I learned that, it had been so, in the past, until Linden Lab regulations stopped it. Linden Lab realized it shot itself in the foot, by ousting non-profit groups and reversed the rules. It may take time to heal, because schools are reluctant to return to teaching in a world that supports sex and vampires, over the acquisition of knowledge.

The radio program provided a number of topics, which we discussed in nearby chat. Some of the members were professional scientists and the group, as a whole, had an above average knowledge in science topics. The first topic was about research of gene editing to create bulls without horns and hey, we all like to talk a little bull, now and then. The second topic was about the continuing AI research needed to get computers to understand the spoken language. The sounds that carry our thoughts to others has always been of great interest to this writer. So much so that, I created my own True Type Font, called "DiJiFon," with a 40 letter phonetic alphabet, with each letter stored in only 8 bits, that can be displayed on any digital watch.

 

   Attending Science Friday is a great adventure, for it's friendly people and leading edge, on topic discussions. But Wait, there's MORE!!! It's all about Location, Location, Location.

 

   The Science Friday location is right in the midst of several science sims, including scale models of rockets, landers and satellites. I always get a thrill from the shift in perception of going from seeing it on paper to walking up to and going inside of the full scale model.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/162/56/22

   Hop in the cargo bay bed of this Texas size pick-up, because Houston: We are go for launch. Come, 4...3...2...1... your way to some fun and start next week-end  with a sub orbital journey to Science Friday.

 

"Sha" 

Editor's Note: Science Friday did have a presence in Second Life for a while, including the host having an avatar here and taking questions from residents. But in 2010 this came to an end, the cost of virtual land being stated as one of several reasons.

The Confederate Flag's Place in Real Life and Second Life

By Bixyl Shuftan

Lately in real life national news, the Confederate flag has been in the news. Following the murder of nine people in a historic black church in Charleston south Carolina, there have been demands to take down the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia from the grounds of South Carolina's state capitol. But it hasn't ended there. Other states have begun questioning the use of the flag in the use of places such as personalized license plates, and some stores such as Wallmart and Amazon that were selling the flag have taken it down from sales stocks. Not everyone has been supporting the takedowns. Former Virginia senator Jim Webb, considered a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, has cautioned against denoucing the flag. Ben Jones, the actor behind the character "Crazy Cooter" in "The Dukes of Hazard" TV show, has defended the use of the flag, even though Warner Brothers has been distancing itself from the emblem of the show's car lately. Apple has gone as far as to take down Civil War games from it's app store because they feature the Confederacy, and it's flag.

For those less familiar with the United States, the controversy stems from different people in the country having very different views. For some, especially those from the Southern part of the country, the flag represents heritage and the Southerners who died defending their land in the American Civil War. To others, the flag represents the oppression of blacks, due to slavery in the South, in addition to segregationists and then hate groups using the flag beginning in the 1950s and 60s. A third group identifies the flag with rebellion and toughness. The flag has not always been unpopular. The flag has frequently been in cartoons and TV shows up to the 1980s, such as the popular "Dukes of Hazard" TV show in which the two heroes drive a race car with the Confederate flag prominently painted on top of the car's hood. Tourist spots had Confederate themed items such as swimwear and beach towels.

In a recent commentary in New World Notes, Hamlet Au brought into question Confederate flags and items made with the flag's pattern into Second Life, feeling because of it's use by hate groups, it's use could be considered against Second Life's terms of service. The result was a lively debate in the comments following his article. Checking marketplace for myself, one could get a flag for just a few Lindens. There were also Confederate (and Union) uniforms, useful for roleplays or a costume party, and confederate themed items such as jackets and swimwear.

Deciding to ask about someone knowledgeable about the Confederate Flag, I contacted DakotaCheynne, whom is with a Civil War roleplay group, as well as the Relay for Life team some members of the roleplay are part of. "He should come and get the correct historical meaning of the flag and what it actually stands for," DakotaCheynne spoke when finding out about Hamlet's article, "unfortunately it's modern day that made the battle flag into what they are talking about now."

DakotaCheyene suggested I talk to SadieIsabella, who was also with the Civil War sim in addition to being a teacher in real-life. After greeting her in Instant-Message and a few lines, she teleported over, "Greetings Sir." I mentioned why I was here, and she responded, "The flag is a choice, just like every thing else here. We choose to fly the Battle Flag, because this is a Historical sim and we represent the 1860s. It was not according to racial issues as is seen in the modern world only by some people."

I brought up the flag's design being on items such as bikinis and on biker jackets. SadieIsabella responded, "Any one can interpret anything to their own choosing. How do they not know that the person wearing the flag does it for historical reasons, not racial? Some people wear the cross as a sign of religion, some as anarchy against religion, and some as decoration. Why not disallow all flags, so others will not be offended. Exactly why we have the freedoms we do, to make choices."

"How many people have to be offended before something is not allowed? I am not offended. And I have black friends who know I fly my flag to honor my ancestors who gave their lives for what they believed is right. I am not a racist, and never intended flag to represent it either."

I asked her when and where she flew the flag. She answered, "I have one in my home. and have carried one to march in parades as the Mary Custiss Lee Auxiliary." Civil War themed events in both real life and Second Life where one place she flew it, "We honor the Confederate Memorial Day as well. We are not 'rising' again, only preserving a part of history that needs to be remembered by all."

SadieIsabella went on, "The Battle Flag is not the real issue. I believe power is the issue. The power to dictate to others what they should believe, do and say, according to a singular opinion. here are many Northerners who participate in the Freedom of their Battle Flag, and it is not a Rebel / Yankee issue. But it was a battle flag, a symbol of freedom to choose for oneself. No one forces the Battle Flag on anyone. At the time it was not even the National Confederate Flag."

"The racial issue occurred when Forest dispanded the KKK, and some continued to use it as a racial issue, and not just against blacks. Notice I said 'some.' Not all Southerners were involved in the radical KKK flag bearing racists. As you tell...it is a personal choice, and these are my opinions and choices, as a citizen of the United States, not a citizen of the Confederate States." *smiles*

I asked her what she had to say to those comparing the Confederate States of America to Nazi Germany, noting there was a WW2 combat roleplay in Second Life, but they had rules against the swastika. She answered, "Some people have made the flag into this type of hatred and I think those people are in the same category. Ask them why they chose the flag, and how to they feel about the Nazi. Usually they belong to the same type of groups, not me. The Nazis enslaved and killed humans. The Southern people did not enslave and kill people. The Northern states also had slaves." She paused, "correction, the Southern people did not kill slaves. The northern and southern states had slaves also."

I brought up the four slave states, using the term "border states," that had remained in the Union. She answered, "In history, border states were either free sates or slave states. Once (a territory was) voted (in) as a free state, slaves where not owned. This war issue was when states were added to the Union, they were either free or slave states to keep the (Senate) even." It was a balance of power issue, keeping the number or slave and free states even so they would be equally represented in the Senate to balance out the more populous North, and that being reflected with greater numbers in the House of Representatives, "As I said, this is about power."

SadieIsabella suggested propaganda then had an effect on how the war would be remembered by the North, "War issues were about economy. They used everything they could to get the sympathies of people on their side, from agriculture to slaves, to trade, to alliances. Had the war been postponed, the Industrial Age of machines, such as cotton pickers and others, would have replaced slaves. But money was the issue, and the South was rising in power in Congress. Slavery was a huge issue, and was used to tip the scale of sympathy. The North did not offer to provide for their well being by freeing them. They really didn't care, as long as the power was in their hands. And our government is the same today, power and control are the issues of the individuals and the group."

She then concluded, "I am an American, who appreciates all the sacrifices that the soldiers of our country have made and are making, even today. I salute the Confederate Flag, but I pledge allegiance to the American Flag. ... I will step off my soap box now. ... thank you for listening." DakotaCheyene told me, "I"m so glad you have come over and trying to make known the other side of the issue."

We discussed the Civil War roleplay for a while, then SadieIsabella had one more comment about the efforts to censor the Confederate flag, "If this proceeds and is successful, I wonder what doors will be opened next? When will it end, when there is no more history to preserve, and we are a conquered nation?"

The Civil War RP sim is in Dakota (240, 94, 28). So far, only human avatars can be active participants in the roleplays, but for the parties anyone who can fit through the door is welcome.

*note* Hamelt Au wrote about the issue again as I was writing this article. Apparently he has concluded Linden Lab is declining to intervene in the Confederate flag issue. He expressed disapointment, but some of those commenting disagreed, "Get a life, dude."



Bixyl Shuftan

The Egypt Sim: Getting Away From the Crisis

In recent days, the counrty of Egypt's been in the news. It was February 2011 in which Mubarak, who had ruled for decades, stepped down from power after many days of protests. But the optimism that change would lead to a free republic was darkened when the elections were won by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood. While the new president, Mohamed Morsi, appeared somewhat moderate at times, there were calls from the Brotherhood for an Islamic state under their brand of Sharia law, with crushing restrictions for women and war with their neighbor Israel.

More and more of the public grew increasingly upset with the government, and in recent days there have been numerous protests in Cairo, some of which resulted in clashes with pro-Islamist groups. Crowds demanded Morsi resign from office. Finally on July 3rd, the military made it's move and seized control. Morsi was forced out of power and in house arrest. Warrants have also been issued for the arrest of about three hundred Brotherhood members. The result was cheers from the demonstrators. Celebrations went on for hours.

In Second Life, the demonstrations against Mubarak two years ago were reflected at the Egypt sim, followed by celebrations after his ouster. Dropping by the Egypt sim today, the place was much more subdued. The people there were mostly gathered at some gaming tables, chatting with one another in text and voice. The sim owner, Faresgaser Firelyte, happened to be there. Chatting with him, he explained that they were here to relax, and not take their real world troubles with them into Second Life.

But there was one concession to events in real life. Not far from the tables, a memorial had been set up. It was done up in red white and black, the traditional colors of Arab flags, and with a plaque that read "To the memory of all these wonderful people who lost there lives for freedom trying to make the world a better place to live."

Meanwhile, developments in Egypt continue. An interim president has been selected until after the next elections. Some outside the country have mixed feelings as it took the military to oust the Brotherhood from power. But for now, the crowds at Cairo are expressing little if anything but cheer with the Islamists out of power, "No more beards!"

Bixyl Shuftan

Facebook Game Review: Campaign Story

One computer game I remember from my youth was "President Elect," which allowed the player to take on the role of a political candidate for the White House. Since then, election games have continued to come up every four years, though I never did buy another. Recently, one came out for Facebook: "Campaign Story," billed as "the first political Facebook game where you run your own political campaign." It is made by Five One Nine Games.


The selling point of the game is the chance to run for office with the option of "Play Clean or Play Dirty." Indeed when your candidate starts his/her first election, you're greeted by a pol from your party whom expresses hope you'll be a refreshing change from the politician you're up against who's known for his dirty tricks.

Starting out, you're given a selection of several appearances to choose from, male and female. You're also asked your candidate's name, the symbol he/she will be using (Democrat, Republican, or one of several others), and the slogan. You'll also be asked if you'll be playing as a liberal, conservative, or moderate, though I have yet to see how this affects gameplay.

Your first election is one for mayor of a city. You're given some guidance for the first several moves. The map shows your appeal in various places, from welcoming to hostile. Canvassers from your staff can be placed on the map to speak directly to the people about your candidate and make some gains in the polls. Fundraisers can be placed to raise money.

The news board shows events that have an effect on the election, such as reports of declining industry or rising crime rates, as well as statements (lies) by your opponent against you. By spending Influence points, you can act on an issue. You can then have your staff promote your efforts for votes. But your opponent will usually make some response, more often than not by using cheap shots. You can respond by either defending your move, or by going negative yourself. Positive moves are shown as white angel wings while attacks are shown as red devil horns.

Different staff have different roles. Press Secretaries issue press releases and hold press conferences. Researchers dig up facts and figures to fight off attacks from your opponent, or dig up dirt for attacks of your own. Speech writers can help make  your candidate sound more intelligent on issues. Image consultants can help polish an image after an opponents smear campaign, or set up photo-ops to promote your candidate.

Gameplay has your candidate starting out low in the polls, with your actions making the numbers swing to your favor. Once your approval rating reaches 51%, the game declares you the winner on election day. Following your victory as mayor, your next campaign is for state senate. This election is a bit more detailed, taking place across four maps, and four regions of news issues and opponent's responses. As you win, you'll go up the political ladder, with elections for Governor, US Senator, and eventually the Presidency.

Campaign Story is a new game to Facebook, launched only last week, so there may be some changes to it as time goes on. As the real-life election makes the news, it's an interesting way to make gamers think a little about what goes on in winning races in the real world, and what it takes.

Unlike certain Facebook games, it doesn't ask to make posts to your friends (yet). So Facebook has done what to some would seem impossible: make politics a subject less annoying than many others, at least with games.

Bixyl Shuftan