and close a chapter, lay to rest the past

[Help] Samantha Walters: I keep crying whenever I hear Closing Time.
[Help] Samantha Walters: It's always the parts about opening the doors and letting you out in the world.
[Help] Samantha Walters: And the other part about the "places you will be from."
[Help] Agent Rosemore: Don't forget "We'll meet again"
[Help] Samantha Walters: Dammit, my eyes are all watery now.
[Help] Blitz Riot: Mass Server group hug!
[Help] Zoey Lovecraft: Badges, Exp, IO...None of it means anything to me any longer. The only thing in this game that truly matters to me is my fellow heroes. I would throw away all of the cosmetics and "stats" just to keep what makes us REALLY stand apart.
[Help] Willow Lambert: Goodbye forever Virtue...

In a day, that will be true.

Recently, I've gotten involved with cStar Skins again. I can't remember exactly where my original objection was to them, but it was something in terms of either template use or similarity in style to someone else. Can't recall just yet, and as the original objection was likely two years ago--and I know for a fact she's wholly revised both her store design and much of her skin line--the original objection, whatever it was, probably no longer matters.

How'ver, something else is going on. This, from the designer's (main, not Platinum) store group:

I was contacted by many loyal followers to cStar Limited about an unfortunate event. That a malicious ex-employee of cStar Limited is abusing the trust and word I was promised by her.

I don't know the name of the employee; I'm not planning on listing it if I do find out. I'd imagine it's easy enough to discover with a little attention to the cStar group, or a group search in SL.

She is now making promises to folks of providing free cStar Limited skins if you join her group and false promises that I will pay you for them. These skins are being giving unlimited as she claims to have created them this is false. She only assembled them by placing the uploaded texture which I paid L$10 each for and she placed them onto a skin under my name. This was her job and she was paid a percentage of sales. She was a trusted employee to cStar Limited and was given rights and access to these skins. She had given me her word that she would not pass them to friends, strangers or resell them then or after employment were to cease.

This is both the most ingenious and the most bafflingly, stone-stick stupid thing I've heard in my life. Not a skin designer trusting someone--there are some very good people devoted to managing and distribution, helping some very good designers on the grid. This is as it should be. But more the whole, turning on that designer, even after an argument, and making quite plain that you're not only lying to that designer's customer base, but deliberately doing everything you can to damage her business. This seems to me the act of someone very petty, small-minded--and extremely short-sighted.

I'm not getting involved beyond posting the contents of Miss Jasmine's notecard; I'm not asking on what the argument was, or how she stopped being a trusted employee; in all honesty, unless the Linden gods are very unkind, she won't be on the grid long enough to matter. But it does seem very odd to me. The whole point of copyright infringement--or so I thought--was for the infringer to cover their tracks enough to sell copies of the main item, without being accused of selling copies. Maximize their profits, and stay making those copies...right?

This is not what seems to have happened. This--just on the surface, by this notecard, and by what I overheard in the main group chat last night--seems to be the insane retaliation of an unstable, vindictive avatar. Which I suppose makes sense, because it's so blatant in terms of the violation, with zero attempt to hide her tracks. It's beyond bizarre.

At these moments, cStar Limited's loyal followers and employees must carry on and not pay any attention to this person because we as a strong family have to remain full of faith, hope and be true to each other.

Today these challenges that are facing us are real. We must be aware that a business in secondlife is not just a game but a lively hood for many content creators in the secondlife community. Our nation in secondlife is at a war. A war of hatred, revenge and theft. The economy in secondlife becomes weakened when these acts occur. When one business is attacked by content theft, should it create a ripple effect and hurts the other bushinesses that the attacked business owner supports financially as a consumer.

Let me pause here and say as much as I'm tempted, I'm not correcting her spelling. Mainly because even with her errors, the original point is valid: there are more people on Second Life now who see it as an easy way to rook people of Lindens than are devoted to making sure the game, as a whole, survives.

And that's upsetting to see. It's demoralizing, and it goes beyond that into devastating when merchants get involved. Customers, after all, can lose their Lindens, lose their items, lose their hearts, depending: but if things go that wrong for a designer, they could potentially lose their homes and their abilities to eat off the grid. That raises the stakes in a truly frightening way.

I come to you today through this letter to let you know that once I was defeated in the past and I closed down my store from this war we are in...but not today! Actions to fight back against this, I can assure you, will be met!

If you were given these skins free by the ex-employee whom first name is [Hxxx] (or any of her alts), I would suggest you to delete them.

Choosing to leave the first letter of the name in, obscuring the rest.

If you had spent any kind of L$ to purchase from this individual or you planned to, you are soon to lose that L$ as these skins are at risk of being removed from your inventories. If you had legitimately purchase any of these skins from cStar Limited's store or directly from me, you are safe as well as your skins.

Because it's become a thing to trade for free or for the purchase price the limited-edition zodiac skins of a month, I should also make plain that in-group trading, or buying skins set out on the group-only platform above cStar, counts as legitimate "purchases" for the terms she's discussing here.

This act does not help bring down the prices of cStar Skins, but it only hurts the individuals that have legitimately paid for these skins and hope to sell them in the future at a higher value on their own or through renting a cStar Limited Platform.

Here is how YOU can take action! Many of my skins are transfer permissions, however, this ex-employee had in the past access to these skins with full trust. So you do not want to purchase these skins. She has them unlimited and if you purchasing them it does not take them away from her. Next, do not join her groups she creates. Be sure to mute her and her alts so you are no longer disturbed or at risk of being conned. All official cStar groups can be found ONLY in profiles of; AppleSpiceStore Resident, cStarLimited Resident and Unico Solo. Please contact Christiana Xevion should you be suspicious of any behavior found through any other groups, accounts or Residents. Also contact Christiana Xevion if you were given a cStar Skins from someone you do not know.

Also choosing to leave these names in as they're all accounts directly aligned with cStar Limited.

Then, report the person that has sent you that group invite to their unofficial cStar group as well as that group owner. I too have begun to make my reports, but the more reports made, should it help make the actions stronger. Also, alt accounts of this ex-employee are unknown. I would suggest you to hold caution with whom you communicate with about cStar Skins and transactions being made and please report all suspicious behavior to Christiana Xevion.

cStar Skins have been made with Transfer rights back in 2010 so you can have the rights to sell, trade or gift your cStar Skins as you please. Any skin that is NOT stolen content is encourage for you to sell however you like! You can open your own marketplace to sell your cStar Transfer skins! Even use my store to rent a platform at a very low fee of L$100/week to sell directly to my customers! You get more visual promotion that lead to a high percentage chance of sales for yourself! The difference here with the ex-employee is she did not collect her skins off the lucky board, MM, gatcha or through purchasing like you have.

I will say--especially considering the high cost of many of her individual skins--I've always liked that they're transferable. No-copy anything is always chancy, but even with the instability of the current grid, my biggest concern has always been furniture, not skins, in terms of the sim glitching and eating things I have rezzed out.

cStar Limited as become strengthened by all of your love and loyalty and I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for your great support and courage! It's time to move forward into a wonderful new year in 2013! No plans are being changed by this and this is only a minor speedbump for cStar Limited!

Happy Holidays and let's stay positive with love in our hearts!
Jasmine - AppleSpiceStore Resident
cStar Limited Skins

Now, that's a sentiment I can definitely get behind.