Here's the clip from Fleep's article :
"Last year’s shenanigans put us in an extremely difficult position – we were forced to deal with people’s personal vendettas against each other (!), threats of harm against other attendees (!!), vandalizing of sponsors’ booths (!!!), and even threats of lawsuits (!!!!). At some point you have to ask yourself, is it really worth this much grief?"
Also, in light of the current ongoing discussions about avatar privacy and Cloud Party, I thought this would be a timely post in regards to why lots of content creators want to maintain their privacy and not connect their avatar identities and brands to their real world details and Facebook accounts and also to put some experiences and thoughts on record.
Fake Evil LillithHeart Runs Amok At Virtual Jazz Club
A concerned Second life Club owner friend of mine - Nanceee Sinatra - contacted me weekend before last to tell me about an unpleasant incident which took place at her club - Franks Jazz Club.
Some crazy person was impersonating me. They had registered the name LillithHeart resident (two ls and no space) and at 1 day old went to the jazz club and pretended to me, talked about the Heart Garden Centre, threatened to ban people from from my store, used very foul language and generally upset and abused the members of the jazz club.
Second Life Profiles
Psychotic LillithHeart Impersonator And The Real Lilith Heart
Please note this is the 1 day old, FAKE crazy LillithHeart speaking :
During the first incident:
[10:10] Joanne Swansong: so please be kind and wear a formal dress
[10:10] LillithHeart: if I get kick from here, I kick the whole staff from all my shops
[10:10] Joanne Swansong: and i will ask you to pass on IM thank you very much
[10:11] LillithHeart: they won't be aable to buy my trees, palm trees etc
[10:11] Now playing: Michael Buble - What A Wonderful World
[10:11] LillithHeart: I own one of the largest garden center in SL
[10:12] LillithHeart: let me bann the all in advance. Prehemptive war
The next day:
[11:50] LillithHeart: hey you!
[11:51] LillithHeart: are you there, f**king idiot?
[11:51] Cheri: Do I know you?
[11:52] LillithHeart: open your mouth
[11:52] Cheri: And that is certainly a way to get me to answer
[11:52] LillithHeart: I sh*t diarrhea inside
This person is clearly psychotic and evil. They don't JUST have a similar name to me, they are actually pretending to BE me. They clearly have destructive intentions, trying to damage my good name and reputation. This is defamation of character.
The truth is, as Lilith I have been stalked, harassed, threatened in various ways over the years. Since the beginning of 2007 I've intermittently received abusive and threatening emails ..... telling me to stop creating and leave SL, threatening me and my family. I am not alone in this experience. Speak to any successful SL creator and many will give you examples of similar experiences
VIRTUAL AGENTS / VIRTUAL BRANDS
Avatars are our representatives in these shared virtual spaces. They represent our business and Brand. Lilith Heart is not a pretend game character, she is the public virtual representative of a real business and a real person, who just happens to work in a virtual world.
AVATAR PRIVACY / AVATAR RIGHTS
I am very happy for Linden Lab, Cloud Party or whichever virtual world company to have my real world details on file. This is important stuff, because of IP issues and accountability. I have never agreed with anonymous 'No Payment Info Accounts' for creators. It's a recipe for IP crime, confusion and distress. We all need to be accountable for our actions. In fact, I am not comfortable with the idea of truly anonymous accounts in user generated content, virtual worlds.
Avatar privacy is important. Let's not be naive, there truly are some crazy, destructive and dangerous people inhabiting virtual worlds. Avatars should have rights ..... The right not to be abused, not to be harassed and threatened, the right to privacy. The right to live and work in a civilised, respectful environment.
WAKEY,WAKEY GOVERNOR LINDEN
Linden Lab's original intention for Second life is something I have always greatly admired. That Second life would 'Enhance the Human Condition'. And the Second Life TOS does reflect this idea. All the rights we need as Avatars are expressed in the TOS, we just need Governor Linden to fully wake up and remember his original grand intentions and defend the world and the residents from the negative.
Edmund Burke said .....'all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'.
MY REAL SECOND LIFE IS FULL OF GOOD THINGS
My overwhelming experience of Second life is that it is full of smart, caring and interesting people who are brave pioneers of this new medium, a new place in which human beings gather, work, love and play. My good experiences FAR outweigh the negative. In fact there seems to be some strange karma like effect in place. The more these negative people attack me, the more positive energy and positive people seem to come my way.
Second life is absolutely amazing and I love it.
My family, friends and peers are often amazed, bemused and intrigued by my Second life stories and learnings. It's a strange, new and unusual phenomenon, living and working in a virtual world. After all these years, Second life is still ahead of the curve and we are still breaking new ground. We and the avatars that represent us need and deserve rights similar to our real world counterparts. And one of the first rights we need to have fully recognised for a tranquil and civilised virtual existence is privacy.
If we the inhabitants of the new virtual frontier don't take avatar identity and rights seriously, who will ?
