Recent Comments:

Peering Inside: The Second Life year in review (part 10)

Massively

Jun 23rd 2008 2:30PM "… and the last … six months of it exhibiting what is tantamount to daily woes …"

Really, in the twenty months I've been in SL, it seems there have been daily woes. It's more the norm than the exception.

Just Askin': Where would you go tomorrow?

Second Life Insider

Jul 7th 2007 9:47AM I would probably be in Yahoo chat tomorrow, commiserating with friends. The day after tomorrow, I'd likely be exploring other 3d alternatives.

Sistine Chapel in SL

Second Life Insider

Jun 29th 2007 11:56AM Why should they be upset by nude AVs, given the images in Michelangelo's frescoes?

Suzuki-san's virtual office may be illegal.

Second Life Insider

Jun 11th 2007 12:23PM Maybe he could use virtual postcards and pamphlets in SL.

-Tho

Just Askin': Do you trust it?

Second Life Insider

May 9th 2007 2:56PM I trust my own instincts in determining whether someone is an adult or not more than I trust LL's proposal. I feel reasonably confident in my own ability to determine someone's level of maturity through conversation. I have no confidence in a scheme that I can with little effort think of ways to circumvent.

That said, I can see that proprietors of places that desire or need to restrict access by age likely do not have the resources to determine "adultness", and would prefer the legal shield of having it predetermined for them, so something like this may be attractive, even if obviously defective.

As to determining whether an avatar is really from the RL location claimed, that's trickier, but matters much less to me, except as a matter of personal interest. On the other hand, I would more likely trust third party assertion of location than of age (or other details). I can see that it can make a large difference in terms of certain legal issues, such as gambling laws, and again being able to pass responsibility to a third party could be attractive.

The real problem is that any company can only verify that the credentials presented to them are legitimate. They cannot prove that the person presenting them is legitimate in any meaningful way.

Just Askin' How real is the virtual you?

Second Life Insider

Mar 18th 2007 10:35PM My RL name shows up in the 32nd position out of 520 some odd hits, with 5 out of the first 100. I didn't bother to look through the remaining 420 were me. My SL name gets 17 hits, all me.

My SL name appears to be unique as a first name/surname pair, though each is not unique by itself. My RL name, on the other hand, though certainly nowhere nearly so common as "Jane Smith" (893,000 hits), is not terribly uncommon, and is apparently shared with at least a dozen other individuals either now living or from the past.

Just Askin': Will you be using voice?

Second Life Insider

Feb 28th 2007 11:48AM Sigh, I don't know. I'm hardly a Luddite, and recognize the advantages of voice. But there are also some huge disadvantages, as others have already stated. I have some voice issues that make text messaging considerably easier for me. I fear that, if voice becomes the accepted means of communication, those who use text will essentially be ignored.

I don't expect to try the beta, and will likely remain text-based until I'm forced into using voice.

Just askin' or simplement demander?

Second Life Insider

Feb 15th 2007 9:52AM SL is a wonderful place to practice my French. There aren't too many French speakers in my RL community, but I can hang out in Area 51, for example, and be immersed in the language as long as I want.

Linden Mixer - Mountain View, California

Second Life Insider

Jan 26th 2007 11:49AM Am I the only one who finds it ironic that a company that is a leader in building the metaverse is still hiring people only to work in specific RL locations?