26 February, 2011

I just want these holes for when I try to run

From my informal, ongoing poll on viewer popularity: there are currently 41 people in the (Magic) (Burst) store, riotvending for a dress. Of those:

* 2 are using Viewer 2.
* 5 are using Imprudence.
* 1 is using Emergence.

The rest? On Phoenix. Thirty-three people, from varying backgrounds, varying lengths of time on the grid, varying needs in a viewer. Some I know have creaky, elderly Frankencomps like I use. Some are factory-made Dells (or equivalents) with zero modifications. I'm sure a few of those 41 are running Apple boxen. In at least two cases (since I know those avatars personally), they're top-of-the-line gaming consoles.

I'm finding that, overall, is reflective of the grid most of the places I've been going. The bulk of users use Phoenix. A few (and I used to be one of those holdout few) use Imprudence. The spare spare spare few people left use Emergence, or Viewer 2, with the people on Viewer 2 only one space away from the decided minority of Emergence.

It's not even an old-vs.-new game anymore, because overwhelmingly, if we were to spend time in any welcome area--pick one at random, even!--we'd hear this: "You're on viewer 2, right? This is how to get Phoenix." It's not even the Phoenix developers telling people this--it's random strangers on the grid.

This next quote comes from the marvelous Theia Magic:
"Ever ask yourself why you log in here? In my over 5 years here, I have never found myself asking this as often as I do now. We roam this pixelated version of reality amongst thousands of others. Some are escaping real life, some are searching for something or someone to add to it, and some are even trying to replace it altogether. Yet at the end of the day, all our reasons for being here are temporary. Places, objects, even people will all one day disappear from our Second Lives. I'm sure many will disagree, but I ask you this: How many times have you stood in a room filled with other people in silence? How many items have you bought that sit in your inventory forgotten, or built objects just to delete them from existence? We enter into SL alone with almost nothing, and at the end of our time here, we'll leave the exact same way. So why am I here? I think the most honest answer is to simply enjoy the moment while it lasts, because tomorrow is promised to no one, not even in your Second Life."
She has a point. She also has a warped sense of humor edged like a razor, and is a great deal of fun to read. (I'm serious. Read through her profile.)

I bring her up, though, because she has a blog. On that blog she has several entries about RedZone and GreenZone. I still haven't decided if I want to lug around a GreenZone HUD, because bad things have happened with them, as well. At this point there's insane drama on both sides.

This is what we know. At this point, there's at least one person who has been stalked using the RedZone system. (Fact, and if there's one, there may be more.) There is at least one person who was advertising in her profile openly that, for the "reasonable" fee of L$500, she would track down whatever person you wanted, and scan their IP for alts, and sell that information to you. (Fact. And again, if there's one, it's occurred to other people.) There is at least one dominant male who has gone on another site entirely and outed the alternate accounts of a submissive he believed was misbehaving. (Fact. And that's a stunning case of SL crossing into RL with a VENGEANCE.)

These are bad things. There are now ten different domains that xFire Zue is using to harvest IP information and avatar account names for the RedZone system:

* isellsl.ath.cx
* isellsl.com
* girlsofthevip.com
* hamlinpro.com
* syscast.net
* media.syscast.net
* apache2-blow.port-au-prince.dreamhost.com
* www.quickware.net
* quickware.net
* quickware.zapto.org


And the main JIRA against RedZone now has 1,454 votes (at last count), with 597 people watching that issue, and getting every comment emailed to them (I'm one of the watchers). (Though there's another point on Miss Magic's page that says the Lindens no longer count votes--can anyone confirm that for me? If that's true, what the hell do we have a JIRA system for?!?) A bigger sign of the problem--a Linden has been assigned to that JIRA to work on it. (In fact, that's the Linden assigned--WorkingOnIt Linden.)

But she also has a list of stores that do not use RedZone (which, personally, I think is a better thing to have than a list of stores that do. I'd rather support than boycott any day). It's a long list. (There are other lists of artistic/scenic sims, dance clubs and non-RedZone-enabled Adult sims, too.)

From that long list, these are the stores I recognize, and am more than happy to support:

Amulet Sculpts. Reasonably priced innovative sculpts, always with examples so you can see what it looks like before buying.
Worldwide Industries Main Store. WWI I come and go on, but for post-apocalyptic modern attire and gear, they're very good.
Chaisuki. Mostly standard 'beach-girl' skins, but a good range of skin tones, and a unique line of makeup layers/roleplay effects.
*Fishy Strawberry*. I admit, I always laugh at the name. There are worse reasons to investigate a business. Plus, they're just a fun, if girly, little store.
*ICING*. Don't think "Vintage" equals "Caledonian" here (or worse, Winterfallen); you won't find authentic medieval or Victorian clothing here. Think more along the lines of the 1940's and 1950's. They're "retro".
*Sheer*. Sheer stockings, and lots of them, in lots of different patterns. A small but well-deserved niche.
Bare Rose Tokyo. WooT! Bare Rose is clear of RedZone!
Leatherwerkx. Leatherwerkx is really, really odd, but well worth a visit. They offer sculpts you're likely not to see anywhere else, vintage furnishings, and bondage gear. They're not like any other store on the grid.
(Elate!). Elate makes simple, lovely frocks that look entirely hand-done. They're not the token minis we see everywhere, they're generally tea-length or knee-length, with a few mid-thigh variations. Small but pretty.
~*~WHITTENTONS~*~. Shoes, some fetish, nearly all sculpted, and the occasional necklace or frock.
{Zaara}. Ethnic with a twist--bright, vibrant colors and patterns. Think "modern India".
Rebel Hope. While I will never respect the designer, and I will never forget what she did, she does design beautiful clothing, and it's nice to see that occasionally, she still remembers what ethics are.
ALPHAMALE & BLACKLACE. I know them most for the Blacklace side (lingerie), but AlphaMale does what you think it does--good modern fashionable male attire.
aMuse. Prim-feet shoes, frocks, all with a club-gothic flair, and the amount of magenta in the store will drive any thinking being towards violence...but now and again, there are some cute things.
Analog Dog Hair Island. One of the few places still using flat planar hair that actually looks good.
Bax Coen Designs. Sadly, you can't walk INTO Bax without having at least five hundred Lindens mysteriously evaporate--but, to be fair, Bax also makes amazing boots that are worth the outrageous prices charged.
Curio. Curio remains one of the best stops for vintage hair. There are others who do more traditional pieces; there are people who use more photorealistic textures. But she has it down to a science, and she did it before anyone else.
Deviant Designs. Fun stuph--shoes, frocks, and tasteful restraints, all set in tiny little 'modern' stores in an island setting.
fri.day. Modern, casual clothes, really well-shaded, hair, shoes, dresses, accessories...and the entire thing in a wonderful store build that feels clean and welcoming.
Have you heard...the Rumor. Furnishings for darker hearts, in a very intriguing build, along with some few items best placed outdoors.
Ministry of Motion. Like Sine Wave, they're a motion-capture animation company.
Nonna Hedges. It's Nonna Hedges. Do I even need to explain? But if I do, think lace, think high fashion, think bridal.
Shiny Things. Great shoes, jewelry, fantasy florals, and the occasional frock.
The Deck. Lovely beach sim to wander about in, multi-vendor, a mall with few pretenses.
LOLO Pet Shop. Excellently crafted, non-breedable animated pets of all kinds.
Tiny Bird. Quirky Japanese hair, a small selection of tops and boots, and a staircase that goes nowhere, by design.

Note, this is not the whole list, check the link for that--but these are the stores that leapt out at me just on a brief scan of the links.

On February 8th, Oz Linden said this was not a viewer issue. Considering RedZone uses an exploit in the media settings that could be closed by the Lab, I think it's a meta-viewer issue. But as Oz maintains it's so--and has gone so far as to inform Miss Beverly, who opened that JIRA, that if she RE-opens it her JIRA posting rights will be revoked.

How draconian.

Two comments underneath that, SugarPutty Magic announced that a new JIRA under the Security Exploits section had been opened, to transfer this issue there. Unfortunately, none of us (who aren't Lindens, or don't have a great deal of influence on the grid as residents) can see it, but it's there.

In the meantime, Miss Magic has opened another JIRA dealing with media commands requiring resident approval. We'll see how far that one gets.

On top of everything else? If you're a merchant on the Marketplace, have an utterly meaningless survey. Trust me, you'll barely have time to inhale before you're finished with it. Way to go, Lindens.

There's a long, but great, music video (and song) out there based around Tetris. Before you dismiss it, I should tell you that in six minutes, it encapsulates the entire history of the Russian people, from first revolution to the present time, and integrates it nicely into geek history. Plus, the video's very vintage in spots (and vintage from all over). Well worth the time spent watching it.

Tales from City of Heroes (Princess Edition). This was seen on a lass wearing a pink puff-sleeved short dress with lavender piping, who had waist-length straight blonde hair:
I've been kind of a homebody up until recently...
Her character name?

Princess Rapunzel...

And that's all for now. Coming soon: comments from the main RedZone JIRA thread, since I've been saving them and dreading reading through them all.

2 comments:

Aunt Foggy said...

In the recent blog posting from Amanda Linden 2 weeks ago she noted that LL has not paid any attention to JIRA votes for quite a while and is now officially not acting on JIRA votes. They state the number of "watchers" will be considered.
I was mostly disheartened by her tone - perky and condescending.
Being referred to repeatedly as a "resi", and having her actually make this quote "And, we did test it with Resi’s under NDA. Regarding Office Hours vs. User Groups. Let me put a Resi hat on a minute and you’ll start to see the difference."
The only thing that pisses me off faster than being patronized is being patronized by Perky Mandy. She must have been an aide in a daycare before she scored the gig at the lab...

Emilly Orr said...

Her tone reminds me annoyingly of Pink Linden, that sort of chirpy impenetrable plastic gloss that some middle managers have developed as a sort of protective camouflage. And the fact that she's making this statement unchallenged really tells me how the Lindens now view the "Resi's"...and our concerns, and our problems, and our issues...

hide away, they say, 'cos we don't want your broken parts

Yeah, so...remember that thing I was recovering from? You know, last year ? Yeah. I did it again. So this is Em Faw Down Go Boom part ...