there's nobody missing, there is no reward, little by little we're cutting the cord

So, the conversation was about food, and I was only halfway following:

[20:38] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Pad Thai, everyone?
[20:39] mxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: whats pad thai?
[20:39] Vxxxxxxxx Ixxxx: oh yum
[20:40] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: OOoo it is lovely! Noodles and veggies and eggs and meat on rice noodles in a spicy/sweet/smokey sauce!

It is pretty good. Here's a fairly easy recipe for it that comes with both printed and video instructions. And this one says it'll be on the table in thirty minutes (though I think that's exclusive of prep time).

[20:40] Gxxxxxxxxxx Dxxxxxxx: its a Chinese rice and noodle dish

Thai noodle dish. Actually.

[20:40] mxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ooooo
[20:41] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I made it!
[20:41] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: : ))
[20:41] hxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: mmm i love Pad Thai
[20:41] Gxxxxxxxx Axxxxx: Not to be confused with Muay Thai . . which is pain. :-p

Well, that's definitely true. The Thai boxing style tends towards fast and lethal moves, more than escape and subdual.

[20:42] mxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oooo
[20:42] mxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: is it?
[20:42] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Need cucumber slices with it! I forgot those!
[20:42] Vxxxxxxxx Ixxxx: I recently had it for the 1st time recently and OMG it was so good
[20:42] Rxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: IO know I will be hte

Meet Ms. S. This came out of nowhere, and I was puzzling over what "hte" actually meant. Was she drunk, or just couldn't spell?

[20:42] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: O wonderful, [Vxxx]! Welcome! lol
[20:42] dxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Pho is Still my favorite.. lol

Now, real pho soup takes 24-48 hours to make properly. Here's a quicker version. This one's called "cheater" pho, because it's even easier. And this one's a multi-step chicken-based version. None of these are traditional, but they'll taste enough similar to pass.

[20:42] Rxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: hatd

Still confused. Hate? Hatted? Had?

[20:42] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Pho is wonderful, too!
[20:43] Rxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: everyone hatesd Jewxs

And there it is. Really? This is a freebie and sales announcement group. Beyond that, the discussion had been about foods they enjoy. Where did this come from?

[20:43] dxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: 0.0
[20:43] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: My apologies, everyone.
[20:44] Axxxxx Dxxxxxxxx: I watched an episode of American Test Kitchen/Cooks Country, and Julia made Pad Thai, it lookd good
[20:44] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I deeply apologize.
[20:44] cxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: What was that [Rxxxxx]?
[20:44] Mxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: that was a bit random.

It really was.

[20:45] cxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Who does everyone hate?

Apparently, "everyone" hates Jews. Which is sheerly ludicrous. And why that comment in this group? Out of the blue. It's bizarre.

Oh, and this idiot joined three years after I did, which makes her over ten years on the grid! So she is more than old enough, in SL and RL, to KNOW. BETTER.

[20:45] Vxxxxxxxx Ixxxx: what was that about?
[20:45] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Move on, please.
[20:45] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: If I could I would remove it, but I cannot.

Sadly, there are limitations to being a mod, but I'm not sure even a group owner could strike someone's stated comment once published.

[20:45] cxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: A friend of mine got booted for criticizing a product.

That happens, yeah. I've been kicked from a group for asking a question.

[20:45] Mxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: when i seen that I scrolled up to see her having her own conversation that didn't match anything of what else was going on in chat.

I wasn't in world for that, so I only have this.

[20:46] cxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: But its OK to post anti-semitic hate messages?

No. Keep in mind mod H can't delete a comment from chat. Possibly the Lindens could, but I don't think anyone else has the power levels necessary to do that.

[20:46] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [Jxxxx]? Do you see that poster in chat?
[20:46] Dxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: you cant stop a comment in chat only boot after the fact
[20:46] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: It was taken care of.
[20:46] cxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Good. Banned?
[20:47] Vxxxxxxxx Ixxxx: I am glad it was taken care of
[20:47] Mxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Group hug! Everyone have a happy new year
! [20:47] Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: you have a happy new year too

Things went on from there, in far less bigoted ways, so I stopped the capture here. But I'm still baffled. Someone thought this was appropriate to say two days after Christmas. Really? REALLY?

Not to mention we're days away from the second decade of the 21st century, and if people are still holding on to such laughably outdated ideas, they really need to just sit down and shut up. Maybe they'll learn something that way.

how will this pan out? search and wish, so loud

Tuesdays are prime for wandering, because I'm a massive fan of the 25LT sales group. While the initial group of designers started out with a decided Gorean bent, they've since expanded to anything that can be considered roleplay or fantasy based, and now have several merchants that offer things suitable for medieval wear, Gorean RP, and rustic home decor. I've been very pleased with how they've grown.

How'ver, since it did start out as a more Gorean-themed sales event, there's a lot of kajira, Free Women and warlords who wander, as well. So--while I am liable at any point to pull profiles if I'm curious--I tend to emphasis it on Tuesdays, because I'm the curious sort and it's convenient.

Of course, I don't always get the answers I expect, and...frankly, that's part of the fun.

From a random profile:

Unseelie Code:
Change is good
Glamour is free
Honor is a lie
Passion before duty

Changelings are creatures of dream, a fae soul trapped in mortal flesh, easily able to shift between a mortal seeming and their fairy mien. Born of two worlds, they live in the mundane, but truly exist in a world of fantasy, mists, and dreams.

Changelings experience the world as a magical, mystical place filled with amazing and exciting things. They are travelers of the dream realm, masters of illusion, empaths and manipulators of emotions. They feed on the musings and emotions of others to inspire and power their magic.
http://www.angelfire.com/ms/changelinginfo/kithain.html

So, I went off to read the link, and...it strikes me as more White Wolf/Changeling: the Dreaming general roleplay, than anything, but I am intrigued that--without specifically knowing about this page of 'kith breakdowns'--I had initially set myself up in Lumindor as a changeling phouka.

From the page:

Pooka (POO-kuh):
The shapechanging tricksters. All pooka are tied to a specific type of animal, and in their fae miens will have aspects of that animal (whiskers, scales, feathers, ears, tails, etc.). They are able to shapechange into that animal, if unobserved. They are also great listeners, and can often persuade people in conversation to tell them some of their most protected secrets. They have a problem telling the truth though. The truth simply isn't interesting to a pooka, and they feel that they must always improve on it in some way.

Ah, improooovements. Well, I won't say I've ever been committed to portraying any one fixed "truth", and I do like to think--whether true or not--that my sense of honor and personal bent towards honesty are firmer than this description...I have in the past and likely will continue telling truths that don't necessarily mesh with the rest of the tellers out there, simply because I see things so differently at times.

What largely influenced me, setting up my little fae for Lumindor, was the Phouka from Emma Bull's War for the Oaks, as well as both Irish and Welsh mythologies concerning the concept. At the time, running around Lumindor, I had my standard, very short, pale fae for Court functions, a black-furred Tiny rabbit avatar, and a black anthropomorphic horse (and later, with some given relational controversy, a dappled grey four-legged horse). At the time I kept looking for a black four-legged goat avatar, as well--I would've settled for an anthropomorphic goat, even--but at the time, I never found one.

Still, me being me, other things crept in, and felt natural to express. Antlers, or other forms of horns; wings; and cat ears, tails and whiskers. These aren't precisely part of the phouka mythology, but...they felt right, so I didn't overthink it.

And by the time I joined Caledon, wearing these little extra details had become second nature. Even now, I feel more comfortable in a set of horns, or cat ears and tail, than I ever do in purely human guise.

I still refer to myself as fae when asked. I still think of myself as Unseelie. I don't think I precisely match other Unseelie on the grid--the Unseelie in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry books would say there's too much Seelie in my makeup--but I'm always amused to find someone else drawn to the Winter Court.

Something else from that same gentle's profile I fell in love with:

➊. If I like it, it's mine.
➋. If I saw it first, it's mine.
➌. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
➍. If it looks like mine, it's mine.
➎. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
➏. If I can take it away from you, it's mine.
➐. If there's more than one, ALL of them are mine.
➑. If you have something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
➒. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in any way.
➓. If I get bored with it or it breaks, it's yours.

Ah, cat rules. I recognize these.

My cats on the grid aren't quite this grabby, but on occasion, these behaviors have surfaced, for all I do my best to play the lady, and not the gutter-kitten.

Profile-pondering is fun.

why don't they stay young?

So this absolutely pisses me off to no end. Let me give you a rundown of the "features" so you can fully appreciate why this is making me irate:

★ Touch menu

★ Realtime latex effect

★ Advanced lighting model

★ Adjustable transparency

★ Color Change

Let that sink in. "Adjustable transparency". Because of course, see-through latex is so necessary for the preteen camp.



Don't you agree?

The "full outfit"--again, I am emphasizing, designed for an average nine-year-old's shape--comes with these items:

★ For SMB Mesh Body only!

★ SMB Belly Top

★ Rigged Mesh

★ SMB High Skirt

★ Works with SMB Mesh Body

★ For default kidsize avies too

★ Belt can be worn/colored seperately

★ Includes mod/copy underwear

★ Two buttsize versions (9/18)

Okay, fine, it's a mesh outfit designed for a mesh body. Great. Why is this such a big deal?

Again, because it's designed for this child-size replacement mesh body:



I have no words. If you don't immediately grasp the problem, then hells, you might be their target market. Go have fun.

All I can come up with is...that this:


(from MJ Trends, All Rights Reserved)

will never, EVER go with this:


(Royalty-free image)

What's the SL restriction on ageplay again?

creep up and suddenly I found myself

Mornings do not make us moral. This is good to know.

Americans like to drink bad coffee? I'm not entirely sure their conclusion is correct. I do think that Americans--and busy people, worldwide, who feel stressed by the pressures of work and getting everything necessary done in one day--deeply value convenience. One can have convenience without reducing quality; one just has to pay more to get it. When the Keurig machines launched, they were very expensive--but very convenient.

[12:26] dxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: random IM stats normal, hi, then like a whole rant about how women are players worse then men and a demand for an explanation of what would be the roll of women in the future... that is a new level of weird. I don't even know this guy. was just shopping x.x
[12:27] gxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: how about the "men's right's" groups?
[12:28] Emilly Orr: So seriously, just 'hi' and then 'women all suck'? That's a man with issues.
[12:29] dxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yeah and at some point when I answered that I don't represent the whole of women kind and not their leader, he said I'm lost... lol huh?

No clue. Some people really have issues. Though she still doesn't know why this random moment happened.

Something to be aware of, in these latter days of gaming on SL: where do you live? This is now an important question, because yes, at least one confirmed person was banned whose typist lived in Florida, for attending a concert that was in a club on a gaming sim. By law, the Lab WILL track IPs to remain in compliance with the strictures.

This shouldn't apply to the internationals, but if you're in the US, and you live in one of these states:

Arizona	♦	Arkansas
Delaware	♦	Florida
Kentucky	♦	Louisiana
Maryland	♦	South Carolina
South Dakota	♦	Tennessee

KNOW WHERE YOU'RE PORTING BEFORE YOU GO. It could mean your account.

Finally, the Twisted Spring hunt has been delayed. If you've been having a problem finding the cube, it may not only be that it's semi-transparent--it may be that it's just plain not there. Due to a variety of issues, the Spring hunt is starting on March 5th.

angels lie to keep control

[20:47] Lxxxxxxx Nxxxxxxxx: Does anyone happen to know the rules on Adfarming?
[20:48] Lxxxxxxx Nxxxxxxxx: Some jerk just put up a six story bilboard right next to my house in the way of my build
[20:49] Mxxxx Dxxxxxx: you want to check on the covenant of your property; if you own it or check with your land agent with the estate if its that sort of arrangement
[20:49] Lxxxxxxx Nxxxxxxxx: It's mainland no covenant

It always surprises me that mainland has no covenent provisions. Of course it has covenant provisions; it's Linden-owned land! It's governed by the Community Standards and the Terms of Service provisions. But, since none of that is written down under About Land, the assumption is that there's zero covenant provisions.

[20:51] Lxxxxxxx Nxxxxxxxx: Adfarming is when someone buys a small plot of land and just puts up huge signs blocking things
[20:52] Bxxxxx Hxxxxxxx fails to see the purpose of billboards in SL

Me too.

[20:52] Uxxxxxx Cxxxxxx: Ad farms were a real problem... people used them to manipulate people into buying land at very high prices. LL banned the practice.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean people stopped doing this; just that they'll do it until they get caught, essentially.

[21:08] Exxx Jxxx: Yeah next to my parcel I have a land seller. He listed his land as "Great for boats," but it is essentially landlocked. My land is the only way he could have access to the ocean. He rezzed a spite wall up.
[21:10] Bxxxxx Hxxxxxxx: LOL
[21:10] Mxxx Hxxxxxxxx: what a nice neighbor, yuck :(
[21:11] αмвÿßяαŁ [axxxxxxx Txxxxx]: try paying rent on 1/4 sim a month in advance and then the owner sells the land, new owner returns your stuff to lost n found and bans you from the land...and never gives a refund...
[21:11] αмвÿßяαŁ [axxxxxxx Txxxxx]: sells the land three days later
[21:12] Exxx Jxxx: That's why I buy mainland.

That would be why I would buy land in a stable estate, but these days, is anything a stable estate? Possibly Caledon. Some of the other steamland sims. Other than those, though...? We pretty much all take our chances.

[21:13] Rxxxxx Bxxxxxxxx: we rented land where the owner was insistant that everything look and feel like a bayou. then one day she allowed another renter to put up a giant, huge penis because it was art.
[21:13] Mxxx Hxxxxxxxx: Wow. Just wow.
[21:14] Rxxxxx Bxxxxxxxx: if i remember correctly it was also a fountain

The mind reels.

This next bit's because I'm tying up some hunts, and suddenly realizing, I'm running out of month to do them! So we all know what we're talking about, this is directly referring to the Macabre Hunt which ends on the 31st.

From the blog entry for hunt participants:

* Must stay within the Theme that is presented. Meaning, you can't just make any old silly dark thing last minute and call it good. How silly and boring. This Year's Hunt theme is: Dead in Wonderland The Theme in detail: Morbid Version of Alice in wonderland!!! THough a FEW Rules.: DO NOT USE DISNEY OR TIMBURTON'S OR AMERICAN MCGEE'S LIKENESS TO ANY THING> THIS ALSO INCLUDE THE MANGA: ALICE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEARTS! You must use your own inspiration. The Hunt Organizer os an AVID Alice in Wonderland Fan and WILL know if you use such likeness.. In using Copyrighted things, You will be banned from +The Macabre Hunt+ Forever more.

Now, that's directly taken from the blog itself, spelling errors, grammar oddity and all. But here's my question...Is Sparklie Silks going to be banned from the next hunt?

Because their "Macabre gifty" contains four paintings. These are two of them:

(from the media album)

The one on the right was from the American McGee's Alice re-release for consoles; this is just one of many articles written at the time using it. I can't find the one on the left for a direct link, but as I know it directly comes from American McGee's "Alice" game, too, it's just as much in violation.

There are two others in the gift box:

(from the media album)

The one on the left is an image of Alice Margatroid from the Touhou Project anime; it's specifically from this site, and is amusingly rated "SFW". Clicking that will give you a larger, substantially unblurred image, which is topless; I suppose if "NSFW" is only counted as a nude lower body, that could work...Maybe...At any rate, it's just as much in violation because it's a character from a popular dōjin game series.

And, of course, the one on the right is the Cheshire Cat from American McGee's "Alice" game, again.

But it doesn't get better from here. These are the sides of the paintings:

(from the media album)

What's worse? They're no modify. So not only do I have four paintings using copyrighted materials specifically mentioned in the hunt as something they did not want to see...but the sides just repeat the alpha frame texture.

(from the media album)

The bottoms do too; all the sides have this glitch. So--four paintings which cannot be modified; containing copyright-infringing art from two different games...for a hunt featuring darker-themed stores when they make silks in the first place.

Yeah. That's just fabulous.

they sentenced me to twenty years of boredom for trying to change the system from within

I will not offer refunds for accidental unenroiling

First off, I love that word. I have no idea what it means, but I love that word. (And yes, I know Ms. Graves meant "unenrolling", there, but...still. Unenroiling. Fun.)

I will also not make the group free if you accidentally leave for you to rejoin. It's not fair for anyone else.

Now, keep in mind, this is coming from the M.O.C.K. Cosmetics group. While I didn't pay to get in the group, if I left--for any reason--and wanted to rejoin, I would, happily, and I would not complain a single thin complaint about the L$250 join fee.

Why not? Because--while I have bought lipstick layers, eyeshadows, and full makeover sets from her over the course of the last year--the bulk of my makeup collection is group gifts she just tosses out. She's working on a concept, and she doesn't know where it's going--she'll do it up in grape or turquoise, copper or violet, and see how it looks when it's vibrant. Then she turns back to the worktable, and does it over again for smokey eyes, muted lips, neutral makeovers.

Not everything she makes is sedate; but for the most part, what her store actually carries for sale are makeup and tattoo layers that enhance subtly, or tone down the makeup your skin might actually have, or just adds another stripe of color to your existing stripe, across the eye, the lips, the cheeks.

Everything else? Whatever occurs to her in the fever of creation, and most of it she tosses to us gratis. So that L$250 fee to get in is a bargain at twice the price, no doubt in the least.

Two years after the fact, I finally get an explanation on the great Valkyrie/Dreamscape bridge debacle I covered back then (scroll down to the last two comments). How'ver, reading over my original post before the answer, I still stand behind what I said back then: it doesn't matter how personally attacked/vilified/stolen from any maker feels emotionally, imitating someone else's work to that specific extent is an act of ridiculous folly. Because it makes the maker in question look like an idiot, essentially. Rather than the injured party, noble even when wounded and bereft; because it, itself, feels like the personal attack.

I'm not wholly without blame (in the general sense) myself, in this: several years ago I put together a pack of tin ceilings. This was before I started making texture sets by hand, and ensuring that any elements I pulled from various websites were legal and in the public domain, and royalty-free. At the time I saw no problem in hitting two large makers of tin ceilings, and resizing their product images to fit the standards of Second Life.

The reason I don't sell that pack now is that--even though my digital reselling of that pack never directly lowered the profit margin of those makers of actual, RL tin ceilings--I didn't get permission to reuse the images. To me, that was something that became startlingly clear after I began to investigate digital copyright.

But here's the thing--even if I was still selling that pack of images, if someone lifted those images from the same sources I did, paid to upload them all into SL, and then made a house with them--I would never, not in a century of SL days and nights, do my best to copy that mansion down to the last detail, then use my own tin ceiling textures to provide that final, malicious retort.

Because I'm not showing the world that I had the textures first in that example. I'm showing the world what a spiteful, vindictive, petty tyrant I can be when crossed, and frankly (especially as I already have a reputation in many places for being mouthy, bitchy, and/or relationship poison anyway), that doesn't advance my cause any. That just makes me look like an easily offended loon who'd rather copy someone's else's work out of peevish resentment.

Seriously, people...if you're going to take a vocal stand against copyright infringement, the last thing you should ever consider doing is engage in any blatant copyright violation. Whether it proves a point or not, it's never going to be the right move.

make the same mistake, I'll be here all night

Was Megaupload targeted simply for the actual criminal acts key members performed, or was it also to stop them from launching music and movie sharing services later this year? I don't know if we'll ever know for sure, but it's intriguing that they'd started to make announcements on what was coming--and soon after, were indicted and shut down.

Keep in mind that in the wake of Megaupload shutdown, both FileSonic and Uploaded.to have closed down access from American accounts. FileSonic has gone one step further and declared that users now can only download items they have personally uploaded--so no sharing large videos with family or sending big-packet extraps to fellow law partners, for instance.

And I really don't think they'll be the only closures or changes in services. I think this entire thing is going to end up having a very isolating effect on American media and media sharing--legal or not.

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from that legal battle, ocean waters are turning into froth. Cappuccino-colored froth. Ecological changes in our oceans, you say? Surely you jest.

And have I mentioned scientists are currently trying to prove if multiple universes exist? That's just wild. (And what will such proof, if we get it, do once it percolates fully into the culture?)

From the so-not-safe-for-work department, the newest edition of sexy fairytale pinups. There's a lot of Ariel, a rather curvaceous Elphaba, a Cinderella straining at the seams, and a rather more adult than anticipated Wendy, from Peter Pan. (Among many, many others.)

And, though I rarely touch on religion in this blog, here's a disquieting link on why Biblical literalism can be a very bad thing, using as example the new American version (though with references to the original version, and the book) of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Finally, though this goes out only to one or two readers, Tom Banwell's now made a plague doctor mask. It's available both in brown, and in a "doctoral" white version with red lenses. (The white is less expensive because the design choice turned to rivets, not hand stitching, but either one will set you back a fair chunk of change.)

indecision antidote

(from the media album)

Read more.

so I spent all my buttons on an old pack mule

Why yes, I was an idiot, I commented on the JIRA That Would Not Die, because...because gods, it was starting to get under my skin.

I am so sick of hearing of this JIRA, I am waiting for the day when it falls into obscurity, and I have been sitting on my hands not to say anything...but Solar, I can't let this go.

http://secondlife.com/corporate/tos.php#tos4

And I quote:

"4. SECOND LIFE IS A VIRTUAL WORLD SERVICE

4.1 Second Life is a virtual world service consisting of a multi-user environment, including software, websites and virtual spaces."

You're wrong; Boyd's right; now can we all get on with our lives? If either of you have points to make that contribute to rational understanding of the web profile in terms of bug reporting, please contribute, but otherwise...just let this JIRA go to sleep again. Okay? It's up way past its bedtime.

And I'm sorry, already! I really am, but...gods, the petty bickering, the fact that it's going out to everyone still watching on the list...it just gets me.

I'll try to let it go again.

A moment in time in City of Heroes:

[NPC] PPD Cop: How do you feel about wearing colors that are strangely similar to that of a target? You don't really blend, you know that, right?
[NPC] Longbow Sergeant: Absolutely.

It's worth noting that the Longbow costumes are red and white.

More from the Escapist. Now from page 11!

Toriver: Did James enter into a contract with The Escapist regarding fundraising? From what it sounds like with the T-shirt and PubClub deals, he did.

Does that contract specify any required or prohibited use of the extra money, other than "Save Extra Credits"? THERE's another biggie, and something that needs to be determined. From what I gather from James' statement and The Escapist's response, when they agreed that the money be used to "save Extra Credits", James seems to have interpreted "save Extra Credits" as only "save Allison's arm", while The Escapist interpreted it as "save Allison's arm AND use the extra money for more episodes". That's where James is coming from in thinking that The Escapist is stealing 75% of the donated money; as long as The Escapist owns the IP for Extra Credits, that means that any future episodes made from that extra money would have to be published on The Escapist, and that James could not take the series elsewhere. Now, it makes sense to me that if The Escapist wanted to use the money solely for the sake of Extra Credits, and IF The Escapist has the right to that money, it may have been worthwhile for them to use the money to pay what was owed to the team in back pay, and if any money was raised beyond that, work together to decide what to do with the money from there. But, if The Escapist does not have control of the accounts and the meaning of "save Extra Credits" was not clearly defined, then James can really do whatever he feels falls under "save Extra Credits" with the money, and while The Escapist has the right to complain about it, all they can really do is ask James to cover whatever costs were arranged in the fundraising deal and pay him the back pay, which seems to be what they did.

Goldshadow: Even though the whole story isn't out yet, I know my response. Escapist, it's time you and I parted ways. ZP alone will not hold me here anymore. And even if James is telling an exaggerated story, it doesn't change the fact that Escapist took money raised for a surgery.

That's just not right. Anytime. Ever.

aashell13, some hours later: Companies go bankrupt all the time. Judging from the number of contributors claiming that Escapist is in arrears, it would seem like a much larger financial problem exists.

When a company files for bankruptcy the judge normally prioritizes the company's list of obligations according to who would be most hurt by not getting paid. Employees are usually at the top of the list, with subcontractors and creditors at the bottom. So, depending on what kind of contract the contributors had a lawsuit might not make much difference.

evilneko: Nothing will be clear until they release the emails...or they go to court and it all becomes a matter of public record.

marurder: The Escapist will find it very VERY hard to take the moral high ground when the opening salvo from EC was "you wanted money/claimed that money donated" was part of the fees meant to be paid. The decision by EC to allow the Escapist to pay others was a courtesy, not a full contract, the Escapist should have planned to honor all payments in full anyway.

I like Extra Credits, they have built A LOT of goodwill here and elsewhere and it is purely the fault of the magazine that they are leaving. The reaction from the users will be punishment enough, but should this go to court I expect that this magazine would have hell to pay in the immediate to medium term.

kouriichi: From all the facts ive heard, ive sided against The Escapist in this matter. If one person says, "im not getting paid right", id pass it off as an accounting error or just some bad blood between him/her and the company.

But if 4 or 5 people start talking about not being properly paid, theres something going on. James may have said, "I dont need the pay right now, worry about others", but that doesnt mean you say, "Ok, we wont pay you for anything you do." And if your [sic] not paying someone, you better be using that money to pay someone else.

The Shade: Unacceptable, Escapist. Unacceptable.

Seives-Sliver: Well...I am guessing shooting yourself in the foot doesn't hurt so bad, unless you do like the Escapist just did and used a friggen rocket launcher. Good job guys, Escapist, you have failed me.

AquaAscension: Shady. That's the word that comes to mind. Why would the Escapist hire people if they knew they had a money problem? Where is the money coming in from ads and publisher's club going? Is this why top 5 mysteriously disappeared without a mention? Has Escapist been taking their shows out back and shooting them, hoping that no one in the neighborhood heard? I'm confused and curious at the same time but in a drastically drawn-down manner. I'm worried that this stunt will cost so much that the Escapist will fold - become no more. If there are such cash problems that the artists can't be paid... It's almost as though Escapist tried to do too much (or their head honchos tried to get too big too quickly)...

This reminds me when I worked for a Dojang (Tae Kwon Do, Korean martial arts place of study for any who cared/didn't know). The bosses paid their workers a veritable pittance and drove around new BMW's. Shipped in top talent from Korea to instruct and barely paid them a living wage. Expanded and couldn't cover the overhead then asked the students to cover their oversight. Empty morals and lack of ethics not to mention keeping on some bad staff made for the place to be somewhat terrible. The students were great and those who worked hard like I did made it what it was - but this just shouldn't be the case here. So - is there a lack of money or is that money going to nice cars/hookers and blow instead of where it ought to go?

Samurai Goomba, some hours later: What the escapist thought was not what the situation was, and they used a VERBAL AGREEMENT to justify not paying the Extra Credits people for EIGHT MONTHS.

No employee in real life, working for a real-life company would stand for that.

SeriousIssues: James was only rushing for his payment after Allison got hurt, this does not negate the fact that he agreed to wait for needier artists to get their payment first. After the fundraising, Allison presumably has her surgeries' price covered, thus "saving" a part of Extra Credits.

But the extra money that still remains will not save Extra Credits. Instead, James chose to weasle out and start some independant publisher, not to continue working on extra credits, covering Allison's wages with the money. No, not at all, the money donated to save Allison has actually been pocketed somewhat by the organizer, not the Escapist. They saw that James was pulling a little weasely move on them, making his own project.

Then he brings in a sketchy business manager to try and stiff Escapist. Now, Escapist should've been paying their contributers, yes, but that is not as wrong as James and his "Business Manager" hijacking the excess funds of the fundraiser and rerouting them into some fishy publishing company instead of the show the whole fundraiser revolved around.

Some good questions and good comments, and more appearing to chime in on all sides. Next up, page 13!

I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'

Just on the off-chance someone catches this and changes it later, this is both a link and a picture capture of that link:

(from the media album)

Feel free to expand the main picture, but I'll tell you now what it says: Bijou studio apartments available. Internet enabled.

Under a picture of the Cybermen. Riiiight.

More from the Escapist's forum logs.

Bloodstain: I tend to be on James' side of affairs, since I've heard about problems with the Escapist before. But I do not know the whole story, so I will refrain from judging too soon.
I wish Extra Credits and Allison's arm all the best nevertheless.

Edit: It's even sadder that here, you have to be afraid of suspensions because of agreeing with James.

JC175: Alex mentioned on the Escapist's facebook page that they didn't ask for 75% of the profit after expenses to go the Escapist, they asked for 75% of the profit after expenses to go towards the creation and marketing of the show itself. James instead wished to use the money to start his own publishing company, "after expenses" referring to the money remaining after funding Allison's surgery and the cost of the prizes that the Escapist offered as incentives.

Not picking sides here yet, but something doesn't add up.

EDIT: The quotes I'm referring to, from the comments on the Escapist's response:

"Once we paid for Allison's surgery, and once we paid for the cost of the t-shirts, that I thought 75% of the remainder of the money should be used on Extra Credits production. James disagreed and felt that he should be able to spend the remaining money on his new publishing business. We ultimately told him that it was more important to us that we keep working together and dropped it. Saying we asked for 75% of the money is simply not correct. We asked that 75% of the money go to the show. There's a huge difference."

"Alexander, the thing is, RocketHub is not a charity. No one gets a charitable tax deduction. My understanding when we supported the effort was that we were trying to "save Extra Credits." I feel personally betrayed that the excess funds are now being used for James to start a publishing business rather than to support Extra Credits. If James had intended to use RocketHubs to start his dream business of indie publishing business, power to him, but we wouldn't give lots of t-shirts and pub club memberships out to support that, you know? I just did my own Kickstarter and you didn't see anything about it on The Escapist."

Matt Oliver: I don't know if this has been said but someone will publish the emails on the escapist according to comments on alex's post,

James Portnow I believe the best resolution would be for the escapist to simply publish all the letters sent by you or russ to me, my business manager or my lawyer... 45 minutes ago

Alexander Macris If you'd like to do that, James, why don't you and I get on the phone with our attorneys tomorrow and we can mutually compile all of the emails dating back to November, and publish them in a PDF that's verified by both side's attorneys? I'm game for that. 44 minutes ago

TwoSidesOneCoin: I know its not directly related to this...problem, but after hearing this, one can't help but think that its the exact reason as to why Top 5 with Lisa Foiles never returned. They weren't able to pay. Unless Lisa finally spoke up about it. All I'd heard (from Lisa via tweets and/or facebook) was that she was on vacation/taking a break and would definitely be back.

Caramel Frappe: .. I read both sides. It seems like with Extra Credits, that The Escapist were very greedy and demanding 75% of Allison's money that was used for her arm which they also demanded $9,500. However, Escapist says that James misunderstood their claims and had a harsh lawyer making decisions that caused the website in the end break ties with Extra Credits.

eximista:
will they use his old youtube account or a new one?

zerobudgetgamer: Out of everything here, one thing upsets me more than anything else: The appearance that the brunt of this started when Mr. Macris found out that the surplus donation money was going to be used for something other than making more Extra Credits episodes.

Seriously?? I've been trying to understand why Mr. Macris would be so concerned about the money going to making more episodes. My only belief is that he doesn't want to pay them for the episodes the excess charity money could afford to make. Honestly, if EC were allowed to create an indie publishing label, and link it somehow to Extra Credits, I can't see how this could not only "save" Extra Credits, but also propel it into something truly spectacular (See: Lucrative/Profitable)

Instead, Mr. Macris is concerned about "giving away" Memberships and T-shirts as the prizes for this charity - Which I really can't see as a primary reason ANYONE donated for - and I guess that he might not see the money return to his web site.

Now, this could very well be a misinterpretation on my part, and it could quite possibly be the sole fault of the pig-headed, soulless lawyers that both James and Mr. Macris have been forced to associate with for these proceedings that have caused things to spiral into such madness. HOWEVER, there are valid points on both sides, and I feel I must stand behind the Extra Credits crew in saying that The Escapist should NOT be entitled to ANY of the money from the charity outside of costs to fund Memberships and T-Shirts, and that the EC Crew should be able to use said money however they see fit, as we fans know the trio to be very good, trustworthy people, and their goals are in the best interests of gamers and video game lovers everywhere.

Imper1um: Here's what I think:

1. It's kind of BS that these guys are not talking face-to-face and are using lawyers to talk to each other. This goes for BOTH sides.

2. While I understand that they didn't pay because of issues with funds, I just don't think that the Escapist should purchase/take on any new projects and any flippant use of resources The fact is: if you do not have the funds, you don't purchase things!

3. From Escapist's Side: For the use of T-Shirts and Publisher's Club Memberships, Extra Credits and their representatives owe the Escapist reconciliation money for making the T-Shirts and giving players the Publisher Club Memberships based on the agreed upon price.

4. From the Extra Credits Side: Themis Media/Escapist should owe the staff the agreed upon amount that was set forth in the contract, which should have been paid on full at the designated intervals, regardless of what James said, period. Rule 1 of Business: Pay accounts first, regardless of if people say "Oh, you can pay me later." I understand a verbal contract is binding in certain states, however, it is not valid in all states, and also not valid outside of the United States.

Zaverexus: I seriously think things just need to be clarified here. Any contract signed should have been more clear and terms of donations should have been the same way.
That said, money donated belongs to Extra Credits.
But at the same time we know how devoted Extra Credits is to its purpose and its fans. Both sides need to form an agreement. Because no one wants to see EC leave.

Catalyst6: While I can understand that money is tight, here's the thing, Escapist: Don't take on more people *than you can pay for*. Seriously, everyone here looks at your ads or buys a pub club membership (I did the latter). I KNOW you have cashflow.

And while I can sympathize with the fact that we're not getting the entire story, some of these numbers seems crazy. It's just... /sigh. Extra Credits (and Name Game, and the rest, for that matter) are some of your most popular things on this site. If you can't afford to pay your debts then you're better off just telling them "We won't hire you" instead of expecting them to work pro bono.

Again, I realize that there's two sides to this. But it's kind of tasteless. As for *who* is tasteless, well, that depends on who's telling the whole truth. It's not cool of James to promise the money to "Save extra credits" (If that's what really happened)/refuse to talk directly to the Escapist anymore and it's not cool of The Escapist to demand all the money/not pay it off in the first place (or so they say). I like the EC team, but I also like the Escapist. I'm open to both sides, although I wish that I never had to draw those lines at all.

In all, I am disappointed with everything around. Someone is flubbing something and it's not right.

aashell13: I want to know who this "Business Manager" Macris mentions is. Reading between the lines of the two positions (James' explanation for leaving and Alexander Macris' response on behalf of Escapist) it seems to me that this "Business Manager" entered the picture at some point after the fundraiser had exceeded expectations, and talked James into doing things not part of the original plan.

aegix drakan: There is only one proper response to this:

(from the media album)

thepyrethatburns: Man, this is like the Dreamwave comics thing all over again.

viking97: well now i'm all depressed. i read both parties' statements, and quite honestly it sounds fishy from both sides.

Beautiful End: Look, I like the site. My friends have told me to go to Giant Bomb or IGN or something. But I say no, I like getting my nerd info in here. But after this...I just don't know. I thought these guys were different. I MIGHT actually start checking Giant Bomb or IGN. I don't know if they're better or not, but there's only one way to find out. At least these guys have shown their true colors.

Samurai Goomba: I don't know why people think The Escapist sounds like they're in the right, except maybe because the escapist has always been good at spinning the story. They did this crap just recently during Seattle or Bust, with their apology letter that both insulted those who doubted their awesomeness and grossly misrepresented their actual position at the time.

• If you do not pay your employees
• If you claim ANY money from a charity you did not start or run is money you deserve or can use to erase cash debts you owe to your employees
• If you believe a verbal agreement is legally binding
• If you threaten the other side with lawsuits for slander while secretly going around saying "let's do this without lawyers"
• If you try to paint the other side as evil for seeking legal counsel when GOD KNOWS the escapist certainly has their own legal counsel available when they need it

You are in the wrong. Maybe James is a jerk. Irrelevant. You don't stiff your employees. Check how many responses there are to the EC team's twitter question asking who else has been stiffed by the escapist in the past.

Yeah. There's still more coming. Though eventually I may just give up, because I think my point's more than been made--there's a lot of fan rage, fan hurt, fan confusion, and while cooler heads are trying to prevail, there's a whole lot of folks who are wary and mistrustful of both sides, but most especially the Escapist.

Which--considering the staff of the Escapist--is really geeks going after our own, and more to the point, sad as well--not the controversy, per se, and not the rabid blood-in-the-water mentality of the circling nerdsharks, but the fact that there was fertile ground for mistrust in the first place.

How do you lose a community? Have large sectors of its population think you're being unfair in some fashion. So let's follow up on the recent actions of the Escapist:

• adding long ads to their hosted videos. Check.
• adding Captcha services for posting or watching some videos, which would also usually result in watching long ads. Check.
• banning anyone who spoke out in any way against the site or what the site said. Check.
• driving away, or more generally, just losing, content producers--and this is verified from at least December 2010, and it could go back farther--Check.
• adding footer ads that waver between mildly invasive and claw-our-eyes-out annoying, with the added codicil that, once this ad bar is closed, flicking to the next page or the previous page will open it right up again: Check.
• Sponsoring a fan drive to bring one of their more popular site contributors out, without fully researching what that would entail from airfare on down, to the PAX convention: Check.

And all of that was before what happened with Extra Credits. So take all of that as straw after slender straw, growing the pile of splintery doubt, until this situation happened, and yeah, a lot of fans are having that "A-HA!" moment, where the Escapist is concerned.

More when I can, but yeah, there's less outrage in me, and more resigned depression. It shouldn't have gone down like this. It's just sad to see.

talk is cheap when the story is good, and the tales grow taller on down the line

Curious Kitties--unadvertised, at least so far--is doing something that's ethically...questionable:

(from the fashion album)

So...charging for entrance into a VIP group, we've seen that before. Offering a special deal for that fee for getting in: also commonplace. Charging US (or yen) which will be transferred by PayPal or credit card to get that group entrance, and the limited edition item pack?

I'm...not sure I've seen that before. And, while it's not specifically a ToS violation, it still feels...iffy.

(from the fashion album)

I'm not saying what you get doesn't look great--it's Ameshin Yossarian, of course it looks great. And, while it doesn't say there on the ad for the Limited Edition packs, I'd be willing to bet it includes skin, hair, eyes, accessories, and possibly shoes along with the outfit. Possibly even the base shape, I don't know. There's nothing on the shop blog to tell me either way.

But even if this is above board--or as above board as third-party Linden dollar exchanges unendorsed by the Labs can be--I'm still uncomfortable with it.

Plus, I thought I already was in the VIP group.