Hi.

My account name is Imnotgoing Sideways.  My friends refer to me as Immy.  I am nearing my 4th year in Second Life.  I rarely miss a day.  I have logged in from my home and my office in California.  I have logged in from Japan, Korea, Viet Nam, Australia, Taiwan, and China.  I have 2 premium accounts.  I own an estate sim with a homestead on the side and around 1/6th of a sim in various mainland parcels scattered about.  I was a Second Life Mentor.  I am a New Citizens Inc. volunteer.  I build, script, play, dance, chat, help, advise, organize, buy, sell, and entertain.

One might conclude that I find Second Life rather interesting.

I have been a member of many groups.  The most prominent being Second Life Mentors, New Citizens Inc., Builder’s Brewery, Mental Mentors, and the now terminated Woodbury University.

I have many alternate accounts.  Around 20, last I checked.  Not any one of my accounts has a valid suspension or termination on record.

I am not free from controversy.  My sense of humor doesn’t recognize common social taboo.  I am quite outspoken in respect to provocative subjects involving virtual worlds, the real world, and the internet in general.  As such, I have had my fair share of online ‘battles’.

Now that you know more about me than you probably wanted to know, I would like to address an issue regarding a specific group of individuals.  Namely, the Justice League Unlimited.

I have long been vocal against their actions and practices.  They have spent much of their time in SL overstepping their bounds as customers of Linden Lab.  While on the surface they appear to be comic book super heroes in costume, they are little more than the minor internet personalities as anyone else you would meet in Second Life.  Their aspirations do not match.

Initially, my perception of the group was that of governance abusers.  In discovering a situation they deem inappropriate, they would crowd source Abuse Reports in order to force the hand of the governance team Lindens to strike.  When they can’t find a specific TOS violation to report, they pick from the “easy” ones in order to get a response on their target.  Most typically being ‘underage’ and ‘sexual ageplay’.

So, already they have created an environment in which they are empowered to have nearly anyone in Second Life suspended and/or terminated for any reason or no reason at all.

More recently, there have been incidences of ‘hacker’ activities which reveal the inside operations of this group.  An inside that they’d prefer nobody ever find.  They have amassed a database and wiki of information about Second Life residents.  Connections to real life information, alternate accounts, and inworld activities are all logged in a fashion which represents their targets in a negative light.  My own avatar account is included in this wiki and has been for a while.

http://Darkly-Cute.com/images/So – what is a griefer.jpg

http://Darkly-Cute.com/images/ImmyJLUWTF.png

So, in spite of my lack of abuses, reputation as a helper and volunteer, and overall contribution to Second Life; I am a “Griefer”.

But, this is not about name calling.  This is about how they react to my presence inworld.  Moreso, how they react to many people inworld.  Because of this, many people are at risk of falling victim to their abuse of governance inworld.  I have observed people suspended and terminated for violations which are totally unrelated to their inworld activity.  I have friends who’s accounts remain terminated for reasons unknown or indecipherable violations.  I may be sounding paranoid, but, I am deeply concerned over if I’ll be next.  I have developed this concern over observations spanning years.

I’m well aware that the simple answer would be to report the JLU members for their actions and I have done so.  Many people have done so.  With all reports being landing upon deaf ears.  In addition, their own logs report social connections within employee ranks of Linden Lab which they leverage in order to influence a bias to their operations.

Former Lindens such as Plexus and Socrates have been documented as contacts they can use in addition to current Lindens on staff, namely Soft Linden being the most visible example.  The Justice League have been abusing this relationship to manipulate many incidences to lean in their favour.  In result, their chat logs contain many incidents of boasting, gloating, and posturing in regards to these inroads with Lab staff.

Linden Lab cannot continue to hide these facts in silence.  While the targets have been named ‘griefers’ the real griefers have established themselves a position of judge, jury, executioner, and untouchable.  While people are being suspended and terminated over false claims, the JLU have been able to boldly violate the TOS and CS without sanction.

This group and the people that make it up are mired with delusions of grandeur.  Some grandeur provided to them via inroads within Linden Lab support staff.  They have been caught, over and over, in acts of stalking, logging, lying, identity theft, and conflict of interest violations.  They have labeled decent Second Life customers as criminals.  They have targeted harmless Second Life customers as griefers.  They have purposely falsified information while targeting whistle-blowers and dissenters.

They have established an environment in Second Life in which customers, once aware of them, will often decide to financially back out of the grid.

Your customers are screaming.

What may have started as a popularity contest is now a lifestyle affecting war of words.

I was there at your keynote speech at SLCC.  I heard you speak of retention and dealing with griefers.  I was the one who hounded you to get a forum avatar up at the SLU forums.  I heard the mantra of the audience, saying “He really gets it”.  I believe you get it.  As a paying customer, I boldly request you get with it.

I am Imnotgoing Sideways

I love Second Life

I enjoy Second Life

I contribute to Second Life

Please, don’t let these thugs manipulate Second Life.

Thank you.

Immy