heard a bump, and somebody screamed

[13:20] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: if any of you have ozimals bunnies in your inventory, get to the store now and get the free timepiece and convert it if you want to keep it. ozimals is no more because of a court order

This is addressed further in the notecard post.

[13:21] Dxxxxx Fxxxxxxx: :0
[13:21] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: :O
[13:21] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: pufflings too
[13:21] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: i dont know exactly who the beef was with but they sent a notecard sayng they have a cease and desist order they cant fight
[13:22] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: wow
[13:22] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: theyve been here forever seems like
[13:22] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: 7 years
[13:24] Zxxxx Hxxx: Amaretto i believe had the case against them
[13:25] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: they have been fightng with amaretto for years yes, but at one point they won against them
[13:26] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: im not sure if its them or someone else
[13:26] Zxxxxx Hxxx: I could be wrong but remember hearing of something between them a while back
[13:26] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: the notecard names the people but rl names
[13:26] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: name and shame i say
[13:27] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: "At 8:00 am on Monday, May 15, 2017, I received a Cease and Desist letter from legal counsel representing [Exxxxx Dxxxxxxxxxx] and Akimeta Ltd. This letter demands that I cease all use of Ozimals intellectual property."
[13:27] Kxx Hxxxxxxxx: Lm to Ozimals, please [Pxxxxx]
[13:27] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: did they sound like dutch names?
[13:27] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: Magic of Oz
[13:29] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: they do, dont they?
[13:29] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: wonder if its sion chickens
[13:33] Axxxxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: hiya evyerone
[13:33] Axxxxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: posting breedables is not allowed in group chat
[13:33] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: hi [Axxxx]
[13:33] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: if its sion, i'd expect all the breedables to vanish.
[13:34] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: sorry [Axxxx]. this isnt exactly posting breedables. its announcing the death of one
[13:34] Axxxxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: oh I see
[13:34] Jxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Eh what happened? I just logged on
[13:34] Zxxxxx Hxxx: Feel like posting the lm was more of the issue
[13:34] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: although i DID post the link to the store for the timepieces to save your favorites
[13:34] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: mea culpa
[13:35] Jxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Which ones?
[13:35] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: [Jxxxxxxx], Ozimals got a cease and desist order from the court, theyre shutting down
[13:35] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: but there is a box full of copyable treats, grow potion, time pieces etc in the store
[13:35] Dxxxxx Fxxxxxxx: wonder if it would work on the babies
[13:35] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: it will
[13:35] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: you can also make any of them big or tiny
[13:36] Kxx Hxxxxxxxx: So how does this timepiece work [Pxxxxx]?
[13:36] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i found there address :P shall i get the heavys in? lol
[13:36] Jxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Ah. Only ones I marginally care about are Kittycats xD I am curious about this legal issue though
[13:36] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: ill send you the notecard i got
[13:37] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: if its someone like sion chickens behind it, they can shut down all the breedables if they shut down ozimals
[13:38] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: yeah and thats bad ...
[13:39] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: reason i wondered if its them is because i thought back to the oldest breeder, and something rings a bell but i cant remember..
[13:39] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: i think they were. or maybe turtles before them?
[13:40] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: turtles came after
[13:42] kxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: so the idea is that someone says breedables are their own copyright idea and no one else should be able to do it, [Pxxxxx]?
[13:43] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: well, someone says ozimals was their own at any rate
[13:43] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: i don't know if other breedables are effected,I was just speculating there
[13:44] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: im just going to take and convert all my special ones so i can keep them. i have. LOTS
[13:44] Jxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I think someone would have a really difficult idea arguing that in court against a business with some actual backing, such as Kittycats or that other large one I can't recall the name of
[13:45] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: you think ozimals didnt have backing? lol
[13:45] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i found a post about akimeta saying about ozimals but that was back in 2009
[13:45] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: they were the first really big one. amaretto came next and they fought in court for a couple years
[13:45] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: theyve been here 7 years, id been breeding them since the first week
[13:46] Kxx Hxxxxxxxx: How does this time peice work, [Pxxxxx]. No instructions came with it
[13:46] Jxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: They're not the most widespread though. The other one is that horses group. Regardless it's still an interesting issue. *goes off to google the briefs*
[13:46] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: first, make sure the bunny isnt hibernating. the sun in the folder will fix that. then just rez it beside the bunny you want and youll get a popup
[13:47] Kxx Hxxxxxxxx: They are all in hibernation lol
[13:47] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: mine too! first rez a sun beside each one
[13:47] Kxx Hxxxxxxxx: Ok
[13:48] kxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hmmm, I just saw a new store go up with tons of breedables, not kittycats at good prices today, lol
[13:48] kxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: maybe will not be such good prices later, then, huh
[13:49] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: if you see a 'collectable' bunny someplace, id buy it
[13:49] kxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: maybe plenty of "bargains" people hedging their bets then
[13:49] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: if i were you
[13:50] Pxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx: a mutant or an elite

So...that seems to be that.

Now, it's well known I have issues with the very concept of breedables, but they've gotten much better in both script usage and prim counts over the years. It's still a case where I land on a sim that has a significant amount of breedables rezzed out, or even shelves full of the boxes of breedable animals to buy, that I experience pretty significant lag. That's a common issue, not just something I experience.

But this goes a bit deeper for me. I first met Malkavyn when he had a tiny shop for eyes, eyes I instantly fell in love with. He and I talked a bit over the next few months, when I stopped by his store, and when he bought his own sim, Magic of Oz, he told me and others about it. I thought it was an amazing venture, but admittedly, he had a bit of a problem funding it.

Then, a few years after sim launch, he and his partner invented Ozimals. And they were massively popular. The problems of owning a sim disappeared, so much so that they bought another sim just for the Ozimals line.

With Ozimals now shut down, what's going to happen to Magic of Oz?

tombstone hand and a graveyard mine

Well, this is upsetting.

ello, friends.

At 8:00 am on Monday, May 15, 2017, I received a Cease and Desist letter from legal counsel representing [Exxxxx Dxxxxxxxxxx and Akimeta Ltd. This letter demands that I cease all use of Ozimals intellectual property.

I don’t personally agree with this claim, but I do not have the means to fight this in court, therefore I have no choice but to comply.

As of the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2017, my products and their associated games will cease to function.

This means:
All databases supporting the bunnies and Pufflings will be offline.
Support, both inworld and through the ticket portal, will cease.
All Ozimals inworld groups will be closed.
Pufflings will cease to function.
Any bunny who is Everlasting will continue to function, as he or she does now: without cost.
Any bunny who is not Everlasting will be unable to eat and will hibernate within 72 hours.

This really [fxxking] sucks, and I’m sorry. It was never my intention for the time we’ve all spent with the bunnies and the Pufflings to end like this. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support this community has given me over the last seven years. I wish there was more I could say.

Malkavyn Eldritch

In the meantime, there's coverage of Steelhead Bay by the SL Newser, and by New World Notes. I'm proud that Gearhaven has their small mooring station there to support the cause. May Steelhead Bay thrive.

sometimes when I'm sad, I wander the streets, covered with mice

The first poster for Disney's remake of The Wizard of Oz has been released. I have to admit, I like the direction I'm seeing so far.

For Bond fans, some odd, but not entirely unpleasant news: Idris Elba is in talks with the property owners to potentially become the next James Bond.

Now then, in the midst of blog-based reconstruction efforts (and those are still ongoing, I keep wandering the wide, cold world beyond the screen), drama struck with great force.

To wit, the Blogging Elf's coverage of the new and improved copybotters on the grid.

Maybe I should say the "even more underhanded and sleazy" instead of improved, there. Why? Several things. Let's talk about how a search for "Marie2 Cisse" turns up her profile, which then says she's MissFederova Resident, and also Keeley Wintour (with Wintour being, I believe, her chosen display name). But wait, she's also partnered with MissFederova Resident. Huh?

No picks, no classified, a join date of 2009, and her first life bio is a study in arcane minimalism:

iaie
Be lovelie, feel like a sexie.

Ooookay then.

Marie2 had this to say:

[2012/10/15 14:09] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): you think those skins will be on sale
[2012/10/15 14:09] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): for 1k or more
[2012/10/15 14:09] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): I can do it for 300L
[2012/10/15 14:09] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): Full fat pack
[2012/10/15 14:09] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): :)
[2012/10/15 14:09] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): Maliah skin will sell more with me than you
[14:10] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): 20k i am offering
[14:10] Gerusa Bastos (marie2.cisse): for don't distruing this skin

Yeah, that really does strike me as straight-up extortion. Pay her twenty thousand Lindens or she'll release the hacked copy of your skin; which, seriously, she can do at any point anyway, because if she's showing it off, you KNOW it's going to hit the Marketplace sooner or later. And did I mention the total lack of any and all ethics for this entire thing? How can we deal honestly with people who don't care in the least who they hurt, as long as they get their money? The concept of not infringing because it hurts people won't wash; the idea that it's a crime with punishment means nothing, either, because week after week, month after month, this happens, and keeps on happening, and nothing's heard from the Lindens.

What about Alemanha (or, as her profile more properly calls her, sallyGirlpaty Aho? She's got a decant date of 2010, once changed her display name to "prostituta de beverlly hills", and all her first life bio says is "High quality static poses." But no store link. The hell. Is she Marie2 Cisse's alt? If not, who is she?

And issela2 Resident has the same picture as Alexandriala Resident and Marie2 Cisse, though she was cracked whole onto the grid in 2012; so I'd say at least provisionally, Marie2 is likely issela2 is likely Alexandriala...but who else?

Issela, according to Sanya Bilavio, had this to say:

[17:26] issela2: HAHAHA
[17:26] issela2: Take care
[17:34] issela2: I've all your mesh stuff
[17:34] issela2: And I'm going to giving away this

Have we really become this jaded as an online world? Not only that copyright infringement has become so openly blatant, but that the only thing we feel we can do is protest on blogs, because complaining to the Lindens does absolutely nothing? When did the last line of defense for copyright protection include the statement "For gods' sake don't expect the Lindens to do anything"?

Plus, being openly mocked when our products, our skins, our shapes, our mesh designs are lifted--in Sanya's case, directly in front of her eyes--that's emotionally crushing at the worst, depressing and enervating at best.

Getting back to Alexandriala Resident, whose SL bio is a feast of confusion:

No fear no doubt.
I'll provide the answers.

Mide tus palabras.

Online Catastrophe is
The answer.
There's no other. That does it like i do it.
Read RL. Kty bai

Um. Had to look that bit up; I can't find a solid English version, but several Spanish pages attribute the phrase to Pythagoras. One variant:

"Measure your words, weigh your opinions, count your deeds."

The problem is I can't track down anything directly attributed to Pythagoras with that translation. (Though "mide tus palabras" does mean "measure your words".)

So I went to look at the RL bio:

I do not care.........

kty bai

Right, just...right, you stand over there, I'm just going to back away slowly and then run for the door.

"MissFederova Resident", btw, seems to have been slain by the Lindens, as was plain "federova Resident"--at least, as far as both in-world and out-of-world search will tell me.

Guess the alt's out of the closet, or something?

The whole cavalcade of defiant alted thieves are noted individually on Sanya Bilavio's Flickr. But here's what kills me about this whole thing. Going back to the original blog, we find Alexandriana saying this:

[2012/11/02 12:23] Second Life: Alexandriala has given you this body part: Inna Bilavio shape
[2012/11/02 12:23] Alexandriala: Your shape has been copybotted.
[2012/11/02 12:23] Alexandriala: And will be sold.

That's...awfully close to blackmail, innit?

We already know she (in any of her nefarious guises) has no shame; she's openly posting hacked skins on both her Flickr and in her Marketplace store. Though apparently, there's an odd bit of sock puppetry attached to this teapot storm, as well--here, MissFederova attacks

• Annie Jolifaunt (ITGirls owner, decanted 2010)
• Avida Resident (nothing found)
• Brigida Oliphaunt (nothing found, though I did find a "brigida Resident", decanted in 2010; no idea if it's any relation to the mysterious Ms. Oliphaunt. "Oliphant" was a last name, so "Oliphaunt" might have been; beyond that, no information found)
• Capucine Bartavelle (nothing found, in or out of world)
• CasaAmerica Resident (seems to have no connection; decanted 2011)
• Christine Coignet (decanted 2010)
• Dumani Resident (decanted 2012)
• Götzsche Resident (She has a blog, though it's so new it's still squealing, and she arrived in 2012 on the grid)
• Julia Stegner (no results)
• Ladytrava Resident (born in 2011 is all I've got)
• Louise Menizah (listed in world with a decant date of 2009; but she's not listed out of world at all. There is a Luiza Menizah, but I don't know if there's any connection. Intriguingly, she also arrived in 2009.)
• Munique Benusconi (no results in or out of world; but Benusconi is confirmed as a last name)
• SallyGirlPaty Aho (already covered elsewhere)
• Sorrisocolgate Resident (none found in or out of world; there's a sorrisocarente Resident, decanted in 2012, but I don't know if they're related)

Wau. Lotsa names there. What connects them all? No clue. Why are they all being named as alts? No clue. But it deeply worries me. Someone--or a group of someones--who have no desire to do anything but graft a source of easy cash, fear no enforcement practices (and really, why should they, after everything else that's happened regarding copyrighted goods), and don't care how much chaos they leave in their wake...this makes them at least technologically capable, morally bankrupt, and contemptuous of any pressure we might bring to bear.

How do we stop a mobile, amoral conglomerate dedicated to taking what they can and spending it as fast as possible? When at least the original three names on this lengthening list seem to have zero compunction not only in lifting designs that aren't theirs, but in telling those they've infringed, directly, that they've not only lifted those designs, but they have every intention of selling them--and there's not a thing they can do to stop this?

I don't have the answers. I wish I did.