Words

I’m a linguist. The prims of my daily life are words. Words to build into sentences, words to translate into other languages, words to express my feelings and thoughts. Few things in this world are as pliable as words. Especially in the realm of art and culture.

In 1954, 53 years ago, Vladimir Nabokov wrote a masterpiece of 20th century literature: Lolita. It is the story of an older man falling in love with Dolores, the twelve year old daughter of his landlady. Nabokov at first couldn’t find a publisher in the US and the book was initially banned in the UK and France after publication there. It became, however, a bestseller upon publication in the US in 1958.

It seems that after all these years the book can still kick up a storm. Or at least the subject matter for which the title has become a symbol: underage girls who are sexually attractive. And so Linden Labs has banned the word from the Search function. But, as with many words, Lolita means more than just that. For starters, it still is first and foremost the title of a great work of literature. But there is much more - here’s the Wikipedia disambiguation page. That doesn’t mention, of course, the 101 avatars called Lolita in Second Life (you can still search for them in the People and All tabs.)

The banning of words raises a few questions and the first one is obviously where this is going to stop. Anyone who has ever read the novel, knows the word nymphet which Nabokov’s main character uses to describe girls like Lolita, i.e. exactly the type of sexually attractive underage girls deemed offensive by Linden Labs. So are we going to ban nymphet too (killing Nymphetamine in the process) and, if not, why not? And what other words are out there which can be seen as offensive? SS perhaps? Just have a look at another disambiguation page.

Another important question raised by the practice of banning words is that of effect. Practices and/or articles described by the banned words will not vanish at all - they just disappear off the radar, making them that much harder to find. That may deter some people with the wrong intentions from finding them, but as in any society there will be networks operating under the radar, ready to help the initiated to find what they’re looking for. All it takes is a location and a time, posted on a non-SL forum somewhere. And Linden Labs will be none the wiser.

And so the whole concept of banning words restricts the use of Second Life in many ways. I can’t advertize Japanese fashion, I can’t host a discussion of the famous Nabokov novel and the good people of Lolita, Texas can’t ever hope to open a virtual community in Second Life. Our freedom of expression is directly affected by all this. And it will not have the desired effect.

I will host a discussion about banning words on my barge MS Parkkade in Tamarind Bay on Tuesday, 12 PM (noon) SL time (that’s 21:00 CET). I would especially like to hear what better ways there are to fight what’s deemed ‘broadly offensive’, if at all necessary. Any ideas on how to fight this Linden Labs policy will be welcome too - because I for one am convinced that this is a grave error, setting a nasty precedent.

Coming Out - The Truth Behind Laetizia

A couple of weeks ago, Wagner James Au of New World Notes blogged about Robbie Cooper’s photo exhibit in Varnish. I immediately beamed on over and saw the people behind some great looking avatars. And James was there, too (that is, Hamlet was). In his words: ‘Shortly after blogging this, a hot blonde happened by‘. Well that blonde, my friends, was me (which, incidentally, is unusual because I usually have red hair. No, I didn’t change appearance for the photo!).

That event and the unstoppable introduction of voice has made me think about, well, coming out. It feels as if I have been lying to all my friends, it feels like I owe them an explanation or at least the truth. And so I beamed over to Real Life to meet the man behind my every move and my every word.

Me and my creator at Kinderdijk - RL picture courtesy of his charming Italian girlfriend

So what’s up with this? Am I a compulsive liar? Am I a gender bender, or gay, or a perv? I don’t think so. As I explained to Hamlet, I entered Second Life in November of 2006 as a joke or, better put, out of curiosity. I chose to be a girl without giving it too much thought and named myself Laetizia - and with a name like that there’s no changing your gender. And I am not sure if I would have.

I found friends in Second Life, I opened a shop, I got involved in many social activities and I am still enjoying it. As for the lies - well I am girl and a lesbian, but aside from that my story isn’t in any way different from that of the man behind the keyboard. And since he is very happy with his real life love, I never had a relationship in Second Life. No hearts are stepped on - I hope.

I am interested in your take on this. Are you controlling an avatar of the opposite sex? Are you against it, do you mind at all, do you have some deeper insights to share or questions to ask? Please visit MS Parkkade tomorrow, June 26th, at 12:00 SLT (that’s 21:00 Central European Time). I’ll be there and that unshaven fellow in the picture will be at the controls.

Compartimentalizing the Web

It started with Google - at least it did here on my end of the wire. The smartalecs from Silicon Valley thought it would be nice to offer everyone a service in their own language. Not by simply offering it as an option, but by default: typing google.com in the address bar will land you on google.nl here in the Netherlands. If you want Google in English, you need to click a link.

This has some strange consequences. I am engaged in online discussions a lot and if I want to find news articles to back up my position, I need to go to the English Google first. Any ‘nieuws‘ search on Dutch Google with English words will turn up only blanks. Now if they are so smart, why can’t they just give me the obvious English language news that I am looking for? Why doesn’t Google search the whole web for words not found in the Dutch language part of the web? And now YouTube has followed suit - it detects my IP and sends me ‘promoted videos’ in Dutch, even though I have (falsely) indicated that I am from the US.

The web used to be the ultimate global village, the place to find different views on things, different takes on issues, different expressions of culture. But this compartimentalization ends all that, locking the average user in his own community.  Surely there are ways around that, but these are hurdles a lazy net user might not be willing to take. And so the global village is changing into a global group of villages, with fewer people willing to leave their comunity to go peek over someone else’s fence.

I am a translator. I depend on the web to present me with information with which I can check the accuracy of my work, the precise meaning of terminology, the background of an event which is described in ambivalous terms in the source text. I want ready access to the whole web - not some ’service’ which limits that. What’s more, I’ll be moving to Italy in the next months. I am learning Italian but I am not yet ready to use Italian search results. And I’d like to keep up with Dutch news. But Google will see the Italian IP and just assume that that’s what I want.

And that’s the bottom line. I know what I want - I don’t want someone else to think for me. And finally, as a parting shot in the direction of Linden Lab: don’t you ever assume that I want to start each Second Life session in Virtual Holland. Let me find the communities I am interested in myself.

A Gaggle Of Lindens

You can read the replies on the Linden blog posts or talk in-world in any group of concerned Residents - chances are someone will say that ‘the Lindens are never in-world these days’.

Not so. In the past two weeks I have been flying around, meeting quite a few of them. Some during their office hours, some during chance meetings, like Philip and Periapse. And some are not included - I did meet Chadrick and Jeska and Jesse, but that was too long ago and I threw some of the older shots out before I knew I was going to make a collage out of them. And poor Sue Linden, well she was standing right next to MJ when I took his picture, but it was her first day so she looked like any old noob…

So while we have their mugshots in front of us, let’s rate them, going by looks alone. In this world where you can infinitely customize your appearance, looks do say a lot more about your person than in the real world. Read on after the break.

Drop Your Top!

The streets of New York City can be considered a public area, open to everyone of all ages. And so the streets of New York City are more open than Second Life with it’s minimum age of 18. Therefore one can safely assume that what is legal to do in public in New York City can never be deemed ‘broadly offensive’ even in PG-rated areas of Second Life. Never mind areas rated Mature.

Did you know that it is legal in the Big Apple to go topless? The State Appeals Court ruled in 1992 that women should have the same rights as men to drop their tops, and rightfully so I should add. Anyone objecting to topless female avatars should henceforth be reported for gender discrimination - and I expect the Lindens to come down upon the offenders like the ton of bricks the Community Standards promise us:

1. Intolerance
   Combating intolerance is a cornerstone of Second Life’s Community Standards. Actions that marginalize, belittle, or defame individuals or groups inhibit the satisfying exchange of ideas and diminish the Second Life community as whole. The use of derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is never allowed in Second Life.
   

Whoever feels offended by topless women should develop a HUD which will blot out the ‘offending shapes’ to them. It’s my right to go topless - it’s their problem that they deem that offensive. I think cheapo malls are offensive and I solve that by not going there - not by demanding that they be torn down.

With love, Tish

Ghosted!

The plan was good. Outside my shop in Tamarind Bay is a harbour where I can dock a ship for free. Since the demise of the community of Mariposa I am feeling a bit lonely sometimes, so I thought I’d build a meeting place on the deck of a simple barge in the style of my beloved native town of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and host talks there for anyone interested.

Enter MS Parkkade, named after my favourite spot on the Rotterdam harbour front. She is a square, 8×18m motor barge with a simple wheelhouse. The idea was to add some rusty oil drums, crates and pipes to form a sitting area. A large lamp shining down from the mast could provide light. Due to the simplicity of the build I have to rely on clever texturing to make it work. And I do make a mean texture sometimes…

Well, there she is, in the FurNation Vista litterbox. She doesn’t look like much yet but it doesn’t matter. Look at the Build window: no object name, no creator, no owner, no group. MS Parkkade is ghosted - I cannot save it, take a copy or even delete it. You’re looking at a ghost ship in the best tradition of the legendary Flying Dutchman.

Please go to the Second Life Jira and vote for SVC-242. Refrain from building until this is solved - chances are you’ll just be wasting time. And do NOT use non-copyable objects as these are affected as well.

When MS Parkkade is ready I’ll start hosting regular meetings to discuss current issues. And beware - in the harbour we like our coffee strong!

Don’t Tell Your Buddies (Money for Nothing)

You all know the Dire Straits tune Money For Nothing (I Want My MTV), right? Here’s a little variation I wrote in honour of the indroduction of voice in Second Life.

Don’t Tell Your Buddies

 

 

Now look at them yo-yo’s - that’s the way you do it
You play a woman in your second life
That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Just don’t tell your buddies don’t tell your wife
Now that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t gay
They get all the money and the admiration
And maybe get some rolling in the hay

We got to install beta voice clients

Got a headset in delivery

We got to upgrade computer systems

We got to upgrade monitor screens

See the little baby with the earrings and the make-up
Shaking that booty like you’ve never seen
That little baby’s got a wife and children
That little baby he’s a Royal Marine

We got to install …

I should’ve learned to tweak my avatar
I should’ve chosen a neutral name
Look at that mama, she gets to hang with all the ladies
Man he must have some fun
And you’re up there, whats that? Harajuku Male?
Looking like a zombie from the afterlife
That ain’t workin, that’s the way you do it
Just don’t tell your buddies, don’t tell your wife

We got to install …

Now that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
You play a woman in your second life
That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Just don’t tell your buddies don’t tell your wife
Don’t tell your buddies, don’t tell your wife

 (I want my, I want my, I want my Second Life)

Mixed Reality With A Twist

This one is for Torley.

Tateru Nino gives us a weekly overview of how mixed reality sites - real world corporate sites in Second Life - are doing. But how about metaverse reality creeping into real life? Is it me or are we seeing more people flying around in ads these days? Here are two examples, taken from YouTube:

Canon EOS 400D commercial - note the punchline!

Dutch insurance company RVS commercial. That lovely song is Come Wander With Me by Jeff Alexander, sung by Julie London.

It’s far too little to speak of a trend yet, but keep your eyes open. I wouldn’t be surprised if especially the Canon people have been inspired by Second Life.

Our so-called leaders speak…

[...] But it’s the rhetoric of failure

(The Police, Spirits in the Material World, 1981)

There it is, on the Linden blog, with 100 mostly angry comments under it. Lots of misunderstanding, too, because indeed it is not really clear at all. ‘Broadly offensive’? One can’t help but wondering what exactly that is, especially when considering the very international populace of Second Life.

However, anyone who has seen the German TV report (here, with my translation of the text) can only conclude that those kinds of acts and images overstep all of our boundaries - save of course for the tiny minority which enters Second Life to engage in them. And although I am by nature a tolerant person I can only hope we will be able to stamp out such nastiness. And I am deliberately not mincing words there.

But Daniel’s write-up isn’t going to help at all. It is the rhetoric of failure indeed. What if you come across such behaviour? The German video makes it clear that you would first be invited to join, for a fee, which is where most of us would decline. Any report to Linden Lab will then be pointless - you wouldn’t have seen anything untoward. And anyway, your report would be added to the huge daily stack of abuse reports - the format of which doesn’t allow for much explaining or adding of proof either.

Linden Lab will need to get a more hands-on approach if they are going to save us from either the pervs or the sensationalist press. Right now there is virtually no enforcement of the Terms of Service. Why not get a group of volunteers to act as the eyes of Linden Lab, with a dedicated report channel, good feedback on what is and is not expected of them, but without special enforcement powers or uniforms or what-have-you.

I know it sounds like the Stasi. But there are ways to get around that, like discouraging the sending of off-duty reports, limiting their activities to the area appointed to them each time they ‘walk the beat’ and limiting their reports to the more serious violations of the Terms of Service. But before any of that can happen, Linden Lab will have to draw a much clearer line. ‘Broadly offensive’ is a rather meaningless catch phrase.

The woes of road travel…

Such a nice drive around the country it was. And I thought I was just climbing another hill. Road travel in Second Life can be such a royal pain in the behind… this is the border between Huron and Kemp Howe.

I was driving the free Nissan Altima with a sim crossing aid which really works rather well. But it can’t help you when the road ends like this… The Nissan, by the way, still can’t run in a straight line, just like the first one they came out with, and still is about as boring as a plywood box.