An Engine Fit For My Proceeding

I drag myself out of Aethernet Hibernation, prompted by a certain level of outrage. My preferred Cinema Hosting Site, Vimeo - a place that I have spent some time promoting, as it has always seemed to me a comfortable and technologically advanced place to host one’s Cinema - seems to have made an odd decision:

The Vimeo staff has decided that we are no longer going to allow gaming videos on Vimeo. Specifically, we are no longer going to allow game walk-throughs, game strategy videos, depictions of player vs player battles, raids, fraps, or any other video gaming videos that simply depict individuals playing a video game. Videos falling into this category will be subject to deletion as of September 1st; new videos of this type will be removed.

Of course, as a resident of Second Life one immediately says “and so how does this concern me? I am not playing any sort of ‘game’, in fact I have taken time from instructing my employees and dealing with clients and speaking to my latest beau just to read your rubbish, Ordinal, this had best be good”. But, and I hate to say this, in many quarters Second Life is considered a “game”. I know, improbably, but it is regularly placed alongside Chess and Poker and the World Of Warcraft and other Activities Which Actually Have A Point To Them. Certainly I am not at all confident that a proper distinction will be made here when it comes to removing old pieces of cinema (such as, well, all of mine).

Obviously it is, literally, the choice of the folk who own the particular Aethernet Site in question as to what they allow, but ethically speaking when one has a certain community which has served to promote the service one has built up, one has a certain responsibility to it. And regardless of that, good god, were I to upload an hour’s worth of my wandering around Caledon I cannot see how that could be termed as somehow less worthy than a video of myself wandering around London. Or playing with a Cat.

Speaking personally I find myself in a state of Flux now; I am not sure whether my Cinema will be determined as being “machinima” (Good Game - for the moment at least) or “depicting individuals playing a video game” (Bad Game naughty delete in September). I am terribly susceptible to Anxiety and thus may decide simply to remove everything and make it generally known that Vimeo is not a place for Cinematic Artists. However, I would advise anyone wishing to investigate these distinctions to join the folk on the Vimeo General Forum, or perhaps leave a comment on their Journal Entry announcing this. I am sure that Proper and Satisfactory Clarification will be received forthwith.

An actual product release for a change; yes, it is another pistol which may break down at a moment’s notice. Please see the following:

The Full Set Of Photographs

For the next few hours, available for half price from my Caledon shop! (That is, L$200.) (Not any longer.)

If you wish for more detailed Historical Information, please do read the following….
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I did wish to wait until Matters were Officially Recognised, but with reference to my previous Entry, it is now confirmed that the policy has been Changed and that those with Diminutive Avatars have been accepted with Child-Related Builds to Second Life’s Fifth Birthday. Which is of course all a good thing and deserving of lashings of ginger beer. Apart from the odd peculiar comment about nipples, it seems that sanity has prevailed, and I am sure that everyone would join me in celebrating this, as long as no chafing was involved.

(P.S.: Or Perhaps Actually There Are Still Restrictions)

I am concerned to read that the Second Life Fifth Birthday Celebrations (or SL5B for short - whilst long-winded I am rarely masochistic) may well be banning those with Child-Like Appearance from exhibiting. (See also here and further posts on that Publication, as well as many other places.)

Whilst I would be very pleased were this not to be an accurate portrayal of the situation I am of the opinion at this time, given numerous confirming sources, that it is quite true.

I penned a short missive of outrage to my brother Cardinal earlier this evening, being constantly in the hope of perhaps reforming him, which ran thusly:

Dearest Brother: whilst we have frequently been in Disagreement about many Matters, I would hope that you would be as outraged as I to see the latest suggestions that Linden Laboratory were prohibiting those who care to appear as Children upon the Grid from producing Exhibits, regardless of their content!

Surely this must contradict your oft-stated positions on the rights due to the Individual. There are clear Political Moves afoot by certain Politicians in the United States (as Mr Twain says, “the smallest minds and the selfishest souls and the cowardliest hearts that God makes”) to demonise anything on the Aethernet with any connection to Children, but certainly at this time to actually portray a child is not illegal or prohibited in any way, and it falls to all persons with any sense in their blasted heads to reject this sort of nonsense as far as is humanly possible - terrible rubbish that will do nothing to protect any actual Child and perhaps even put them in more danger by distorting the risks in the Public Mind.

I can see no reason whatsoever to kow-tow to the Prurience involved here, and indeed the fact that certain Political types and Journalists and suchlike cannot see the image of a Child engaged in Play and Enjoyment (or anything, really) without disgusting thoughts popping into their minds (such as they are) is really a matter that should be taken up with their Physicians, rather than indulged by the Legislature and Court of Public Opinion and certainly Linden Laboratory, a company composed of those whom I had thought to have more sense than this.

The recent clarification that Child-Like Avatars will be permitted attend, but not exhibit, makes the situation even more ridiculous. Clearly the Prurient will take this as confirmation that the Laboratory is quite happy to promote all of the things in their imaginings, and it will simultaneously serve to confirm to the Childrenish concerned that they are not considered worthwhile, and in the category of the Second Class in Second Life.

I popped this into the Shepherds Bush to Whitechapel pneumatic tube array at my local Sorting Office, and was surprised to receive a rapid reply. Alas, he has learnt nothing.

Dear Sister, I was not much surprised to receive your latest missive, as you yourself have yet to grow up in your attitudes to the Real World. Little wonder that you sympathise with these odd types.

Commerce and issues surrounding it are far more important than any of this nonsense about a few being told they cannot build their Fairgrounds or Candy-Floss Stands or whatever it is they do. Whilst it may be the case that there is no actual law involved, I fully support “LL”’s position here - they are taking the best decision to maximise their profits in the current political climate, and, to be quite frank, the group of folk concerned is negligible anyway.

Honestly. If he were not family. This, dear reader, is why I rarely speak to him, apart from his habit of frequently departing for foreign climes at odd hours of the night in order to avoid the Law.

My family correspondence aside, I really am rather perturbed by all this, and, if I did actually have a stake in the events, would be withdrawing it until such time as this were all straightened out. I do not, this year, but rest assured it will not be forgotten.

Additionally

• A statement from Everett Linden on the matter
• A JIRA issue to vote upon

I have noticed that there does still seem to be some Confusion amongst Residents as to precisely the relationships between Linden Laboratorye, the Grid itself, other Parts and also the Broader Aethernet, which does seem to be causing Misapprehensions as to the origins and behaviour of certain Aspects and Components.

I am always of a bent to properly Explain the Technical Nature of how these things operate, and for that purpose I have prepared a small diagram of the Cosmology of the Grid and Second Life, which I hope will prove useful. No doubt other Grid-Cosmological Types will have disagreements with the Details, but I believe that the basic structure is sound. Please excuse the poor handwriting.

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