Message to Rod Linden re The Scourgemobile Queen's New Racket

So we can now add squatting on Linden Land to AnnMarie's offenses according to a post brought to my attention.

@Rodvik & Company: this is what happens when you condone bad behavior.  You reinforce that behavior and the child - or in this case a mentally unstable individual - believes what they're doing is okay.

And by that I mean it's clear to her (can't speak for the person but the persona is female, so we'll respect) that she's violating the TOS on counts we've already brought up, only she feels she's above those rules and allowed to treat ALL of mainland as her personal sim.  This is a grievance on behalf of all residents and the squabble SHOULD be between Governor Linden and her since she's abusing your property for self-interest, personal gain, and the express discomfort of everbody else you've invited to use it.

Yeah yeah she's ready to spout poorly datamined statistics of people who were curious of these drunkenly lumbering vehicles, people who accidentally clicked them, and people who selected them to get info to complain and claim they all appreciate what she's doing.

Whatever your developers think they're benefiting from by her antics, it's bad for business.  Your developers & QA team are accessories to her actions and are part of the problem.  If they can't use your exclusive mini-continents to stress test performance instead of this vicarious method of research, then they must cease and desist at once.  We're paying members - customers - and we are extremely dissatisfied with how we are regarded so much lower than a known nuisance.

The Petition already includes parcel encroachment.

Oddz n Enz

I realized some songs I'd like for Saturday night's playlist are on vinyl, and that I never got them on CD.  Oops.  That still leaves plenty to work with for a perky, optimistic set to celebrate spring.  Beware - this is going to be upbeat; bubblegum might be "served" as well.

My original parcel in Bay City is now the home of a newspaper publisher. This should be fun!

I've been charmed by New Babbage and the people I've met there.  One guise of my persona will soon open a tiny shop in Clockhaven called Artifictions.  Pondering over what the "furniture" should be.  Wish there was room a bench outside but the door is inches away from stone steps.  While I've already appeared at a New Babbage event in my pseudo-Tennant avatar (well it was a time travel party), it's not likely I'll be using it again there in character. The recent Pancake Races video has my look.

Every night this week Jen Shikami is hosting mini-contests at 7Seas HQ in Flotsam Beach. It's a lot of fun. The prize for the top winners is fishbait. Who doesn't love fishbait? mmmm-m!

Saturday will be busy!  First at noon SLT is Nova Albion's 7th anniversary celebration.  If you haven't seen posters around for it in the Tricities it's because schedules couldn't allow us to meet inworld and - for the first time in years - there was no SL forum for NA's residents to plan.  If any group made good use of their SL Community resources, it was them.  Fortunately Twitter has been very helpful in sounding the call.  While I anticipate a galvanized gaggle of tin ducks, I'll be taking a snail.

Saturday night's my Hop Into Spring party from 10:30pm EST aka 7:30 pm SLT. Maybe this time I'll have a pink star on the map?

Sunday has a big event: Giant Snail Races run Relay for Life along the western coastline of Heterocera Atoll continent from Filip to Calleta.  If you want to race with us (you donate to get a qualifying scarf) or sponsor a snail, come by The Starship Diner in Hydrangea on Rt 4. You'll see boxes in the parking lot for free snails and RFLish things. By the diner's big sign is a donation Kiosk if you just want to give.

I see only 9 signatures for the Scourgemobile petition. That's a bit ridiculous. I mean, all those people who expressed their disgust inworld, in blogs, on boards... and we got 9 people incl myself?

Petition is Up!

I'm looking to have violations addressed and to enforce phantom and temp for rezzed automated vehicles intended for Linden routes use, and enforce removal of scripts which bypass autoreturn rules.

http://www.petitiononline.com/scmobile/petition.html

If you have posted images in flickr of AnnMarie or similar vehicles which fall into this proposal's concerns, please take a moment to add the keyword scourgemobile into its tags or description?

Thanks!

Scourgemobile Notecard Info

I call them all Scourgemobiles.  You've seen them on Mainland roads, unpaved roadbeds, and SLRR tracks: trucks, cars, buses, ice cream trucks, garbage trucks, tanks, etc.

Names she uses in stuff & as a landowner:
==============================
AnnMarie OToole
AnnMarie Oleander
AnnMarie Resident

Groups of note she belongs to:
Protected Route Interest Group - officer
SL Transit Authority - owner

IMHO she exploits protected roads and they're no longer protected. Her unmanned scourgemobiles exist on the premise that people click and use them, but that's not true. They start off on their own.  They hog the road and make it difficult for people (with or without vehicles) to pass.   They are NOT phantom so they run over, run down, drag, lag, and crash people and their vehicles.

Sometimes a procession of them are witnessed.

They are noisy. They belch out excessive particles. They are heavily scripted and lag regions.  They are ugly and diminish the quality of everybody else's life on Mainland.  I don't know anyone who wants them to pass their property.

Actions: Looking into the best course of action to take. My friends know I'm not big on drama and am more interested in results.  I'm hearing from a growing number of people who want to lend their support towards the removal of Scourgemobiles.  One way is to look for the #Scourgemobile hashtag on Twitter for posts on the topic, and look for scourgemobile as a key word on flickr.com for supporting screenshots.


In the meantime here are the rezzer locations I've found.  There may be more and I did not check Zindra.  If you find more, please let me know so I can update the list.  Note I'm not marking down legit shops or homes; I'm only interested in compiling the locations which contribute to the problem by rezzing automated vehicles.  The SLURL was generated in most cases when standing beside the rezzing prim.

Sansara
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Netherbeck/218/97/57
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Svan/36/39/98
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dauphin/243/224/100 (unpaved roadbed)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Horseshoe/200/133/103
Bus Stop Rezzer:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sabra/215/105/89

Heterocera
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Manduca/207/60/63
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wainscot/23/106/61
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Crumbi/216/15/37
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Menophra/193/127/30
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Apoda/140/22/47
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Epirrita/170/112/124

Corsica
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Birchwood/110/130/82
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muskeg/156/7/45
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Roclaren/88/207/88
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Black%20Lion/202/131/94
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Timescape/189/62/67
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Banyan/182/61/92
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Valis/86/25/123
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Annelie/67/117/31
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Paneer/194/68/24
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cavedweller/14/168/40

Corsica Bus Stop Rezzers: the premise of a bus stop of the SL transportation Corp. But the platform rezzes a new one periodically. this is apart from the bus in a box salable prim to the side...
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seadramon/21/10/61
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lamockshire/219/26/93

Satori
http://slurl.com/secondlife/St%20Maur/14/110/77
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dinah/25/203/38
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Osiliers/44/246/75
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ulyanovsk%20Oblast/117/208/93
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gangkhar/107/89/106
Bus Stop:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gangkhar/96/73/107

Jeogeot
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Yeot/145/248/59
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Falkor/193/222/67
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eunpyung/65/125/53

Gaeta
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seyfert/254/102/29 parcel full.  Rezzes on protected roadside instead.􀀁

Nautilus
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Effingham/169/199/78
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Borgatti/206/201/68
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Straminsky/187/102/44

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wunb/95/163/83 vehicle rezzes there but when others survive a round trip they park on a protected rez zone south of AnnMarie's gas station at the end of Rt 14 on  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Speedstar/237/100/54

Nautilus Noteworthy:
1. Gas Station owned by Raphael Treves with AnnMarie content incl the "Second Life Transit Authority" click to ride billboard ad.  No rezzer (yet) at writing
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oppeano/197/189/71

REMOVED (thank you):
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Samoa/5/59/57
"Taxi stand" on LDPW Rezzing Zone against the Ross Infohub border (rezzer is across the road in Samoa)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Clarksburg/253/247/59

Bits of String

A final draft of the petition has been drawn. I watched as AnnMarie oToole/Oleander/Resident hung back with her output then poured it back on, as well as resume discussion on a JIRA as though her thousands of scourgemobiles were her (her usual "I cross that region yea many high numbers each day" wackiness).  It's time we cleaned up Mainland once and for all.

The Scourgetrolleys have indeed held back output. They no longer spam the SLRR rails. At least someone got a clue somewhere.

Today New Babbage is holding its annual pancake race.  I was intrigued by this event after seeing a video by Loki Eliot.  After prowling around the city these past few weeks, it will be fun to mingle and watch.  It's nice that it's at a USA-friendly time. 

Parcels in Bay City Jr are still on the block.  Have real estate goons caught on that exhorbitant landflipping in PG regions means you'll get to keep those for a long time?  Was it worth the tier not letting a true homesteader have it for a decent price?  Sounds like some folks have grevious intentions more than playing a middleman.

Groupness isn't happening as much as I would have liked, and friend conference hasn't worked in some time.  Love to consolidate my announcements to two blasts at some point.

Yes, I am looking to sell my older Bay City parcel.  Are you a potential new citizen to Mainland's best themed community or just looking to add more prim quota to an existing parcel?  If you promise not to superglow or banline it, jam it with laggy scripts or subject everyone to unrestricted parcel noise, contact me.

7Seas Fishiversary may be coming up in April (we can't really anticipate what people have planned after Burn2).  Assuming The Shikamis are moving forward with celebrations, I'll be ready this time.  Currently my build forms a conspicious star north of the diner on the SLURL map.  That may change soon.

Preparing the Document, I Stopped...

The parameters of the petition keep changing.  Interestingly, while anyone who has tried to reason with the one responsible for the scourgemobiles is given a response laden with fictional statistics, the number of these things out on the road has definitely gone down.  Maybe somewhere in that brain a conscience is stirring. They're still an issue and continue to violate SL's usage terms on many levels.

As feared, a precedence has been set. While scourgemobiles have decreased, a new problem has arisen: scourgetrolleys.  Yes, you heard right.

Bring up an inworld or slurl.com map of Heterocera. Doesn't matter which region as long as it has SLRR rail in it (try Anilis).  You can see them.  Red and yellow rectangles on the tracks, sometimes several in a region.  Think of it: all these on the map at the same time in a snapshot of the continent.  These trolleys are infesting the rails like roaches.

You have to really wonder what's wrong  with these people.  Why do they think littering public land is a good thing?  Do they actually believe they provide some sort of service?  Have any of these people taken into consideration the people who reside along these routes who don't want these passing them constantly? Spam is spam.

 Actually, I'd like to know where things went wrong with the SLRR project.

Originally it was not just about completing the guide rails but also what standard of scripting would be used by the moles when they rolled out the new trains.  They would ride sporadically and stop at stations for a few seconds.  They'd be sparse enough so rail fans could ride their engines on the tracks as well. 

What we have are no Linden trains at all.  Maybe it was agreed with a smidgen of rail enthusiasts during some LDPW brown bag meeting to do away with a proprietary line and give the residents full reign over the rails.  I don't know; they were held while I was at work.  The result though - once again - is that some obsessed nutjob is unable to tell Linden and personal property from eachother and acts to singlehandedly dominate protected land.

You might say: "Well at least their vehicles are phantom." This certainly becomes a learning curve for anyone who applies practice over theory.  There's great potential for a freeze or crash when several of these pass you in close succession.  Happened to me. And nuff said about the overall frivolous drain in region resources and contribution to latency, not just in one region but throughout the continent.

Add to that their blocking your view.  Riding other vehicles along the rails - which residents have every right to do - you run into difficulties like trying to avoid gaping banlines or falling off trestles and bridges.

Remember that all occupied vehicles have right of way access over any unofficial vehicles on Mainland road and rail at all times.  A scripted vehicle never takes precedence over a real person.  No one can declare themselves in absentia just because their scripts are running.  The only exceptions are sanctioned projects such as GSLR Ferry and Railroad, Blake Sea & Nautilus City Ferry services along with Second Life's own trolleys and monorails in their themed neighborhoods. 

So... Two petitions or one?

Scourge & Scourge Again

If I understand a prominent Linden, the following among many other offenses is perfectly okay:

1. Unfair use of region resources

2. Adfarming (what else would you call dozens of scripted objects on Linden land which simultaneously solicit a product?)

3. Pushing (vehicles which shove you if they don't just drag you under, whether you're in a vehicle yourself or not. I've been pushed into banlines or crashed because of these things)

4. Encroachment (several rezzers target protected parcels. A taxi stand is sitting right on a Rezz Zone*)

5. Weapons use on protected property (the Tank will shoot missiles at you if you click on it)

6. Object littering (pileups on private and protected property, stranded in waterways...)

7. Excessively scripted objects (I dunno - are a dozen script files in a garbage truck considered excessive?)

This is in addition to their dominating protected roads so no one else can use them, not omitting obvious areas on their routes such as unpaved roads, ramps leading into water, Dammastock's glen and so on.

*ONE rezzer was removed. This resided in Samoa, a hop skip n jump from Clarksburg, where a prim platform & taxi cab were positioned on a public LDPW rezz zone, right up against a doorway to Ross Infohub.

Looking at the JIRA history, it seems the Lindens have given this person a great deal of attention to accommodate her project. Blatantly talking about unmanned vehicles not properly dominating roads and being improperly returned for being objects. Well, they ARE. 

In the process of carefully preparing the petition text. Tonight expect a tweet and new Blog post.

Update Scourgemobiles & Test Drive

Three more rezzers, one of them a "bus stop," were found in Heterocera since last writing.  I've updated the list I keep inworld.

Last weekend I sent Snurky to go for an ex-Scourge-sion. hahaha

It was interesting. Not a minute or two into the ride it offered to sell the car, claiming the vehicle was free and the price was for the automated script.  Even if that's the case, using these creators' builds to solicit scripts when at least one of them noticeably left over exploitation of their creations is a bit low.  The ride itself was okay for the first minute as a novelty concept, but the lumbering around got tedious very quickly. These vehicles handle the roads like someone drunk feeling their way in the dark at night to get to the bathroom.

I had an odd visit from a group with dramatic notions of non-involvement.  I neither came to them nor asked for help from any transportation group of residents.  Wouldn't non-involvement suggest that the best course of action would be silent observation from a safe distance?  If they cannot help as friends and individuals then that's that. It's very simple.  At any rate, my position concerns the quality of residents' lives being compromised by the actions of one selfish person's avatars.  Any limitations imposed - and there will have to be to do right by Mainland's denizens - will affect their group and similar ones.  I originally took them to be enthusiasts looking to see the routes built so they could enjoy riding on them with glorious constructs; turns out they have several automated projects among their members.

I'm calling the compulsion to schedule personal, unmanned vehicles on protected roads and rail Skimbleshanks' Syndrome.  That's what they have.  They missed the point of having routes to allow them to enjoy the ride and explore.  Sort of like losing one's soul in a way. I still maintain that if you want to run your own transportation service, do it on your own property like many, far more talented residents have.

This would be a separate behavior from what I'm trying to put a stop to.  The person in question just litters the routes, and enough of us have had our fill of them.  Now all we need is Linden Intervention.

The Scourge Continues

So during my break, instead of working on the comic and some new T-shirt designs for the gallery, I went on a mission to track as many Rezzers I could find on Mainland responsible for the Scourgemobiles.  It's very possible that i've missed some in Sansara for the reasons brought up last post. 

I continue to be in awe of what residents have created.  It's really quite nice, from ambitious urban downtown districts on Corsica to lovely seaside towns on Nautlius.  Gaeta along Route 8 consists predominantly of marinas and tropical resorts: Tiki and fishbait; you can smell the seawater.  The inland routes are like driving through a New England Colonial town.

And then the Scourgemobiles - a representation of everything wrong in our society - mar these landscapes.

It's a sin.  It truly is. 

There's even more going on: the use of one Arcadia Asylum's vehicles for this among other builders.  Way more than one fan of AA's expressed that she would not be happy knowing her builds were used to disrupt the Second Life experiences so many at the whim of one person.

In my travels I've met more supporters and made a couple more friends. If anything good comes from all this, I've already got the icing on the cake.

I haven't ridden those things personally, but from what I've heard maybe I should.

There are two bits I've been told about them: first that they nag for money whenever you unsit from one.  Asking for a tip: it is what it is. Either you put a jar in the prefab station or you stop touting it as a free ride.  The other is that if you ride in one long enough, it offers the vehicle for sale - more soliciting.  They're worse than anyone thought: they're adfarms in motion, solocitation scripts dominating protected land, shoving residents out of their way.

Remember my recent post about Linden Labs having to set rules and make concessions?  Remember when new ones are set for automated and unmanned vehicles, and that it won't have been the fault of Linden Labs, Philip, Jack, Blondin, or even the new CEO Rod.  The changes and restrictions were the result of one resident's actions.

The Road Less Hoverboarded

  As mentioned previously here and/or on Twitter, I've taken to going to places in Second Life either via TARDIS or hoverboard over teleporting or by Stargate. The folks at New London have given me my own TARDIS landing spot on a moon just a ways from a Judoon ship.  I've mastered three different routes from The Starship Diner to TMA Nessus and the railyards of Gluphasia.  I've easily navigated from Purple in Sansara across the water to Heterocera up the Atoll coast to Starship Diner.

What fascinates me the most is the roadside content.  Think of it: about two-and a half years ago most of Mainland was cluttered with cheesy porn and adfarms along bare roadbeds.  Now the porn is gone, the adfarms are 90% clear, and the roads paved.  In fact it seems properties along these roads live up to what the Moles have put down.  There is true inspiration at work.

While I've made the excursion from Cartoon World in Bay City to Abbotts Aerodrome, it's a dodgy route which involves skirting the Ahern Welcome Area to avoid the lag and 4-way region crossing (especially since once you crash, the ride is over; there are no rezzing zones nearby) and traversing terrain there's the risk of hitting a banline.

I've even attempted from Heterocera to Bay City, a very difficult and irritating route by virtue of poor terraforming and intermittent patches of road.  Even went from Andrew Linden's office hour location in Denby to Abbotts, an equally unpleasant feat with the added obstacle of a full help island region bordered by banlined parcels.

Sansara needs a major replanning.  No access to key areas from roads - when there IS a road - except between the Bay City- Nova Albion - Suburbs sector (and guess what? Two of those communities are not recognized by LL as part of Sansara).  You can see they plopped down some regions, added more regions, still more, pieces added here, some snowy ones there, some beach terrain in the corner...

There's no budget for it nor staff.  It seems to me many people who once owned estates - when they stay in SL - could be embracing large chunks of Mainland more and more; the dollar auctions are empty.

We're certainly seeing less 512's on Mainland.  Homesteads are bringing people into the Noob Continent as a first step (when inhabitants aren't Oldbies or estate owners).  They break out from there in search of open spaces and roomy, configurable land.  It could be why roadside lands more and more have that fresh look to them.  Michael Linden has indicated that he and the Moles have been assigned to add more land to the N C so there's certainly fresh meat for a new generation of property owners to set the look.