W-HAT WHACK

At the outset of the Town Hall with Philip Linden today (most of which I missed so I don't have a direct quote), Philip evidently reported that in order to deal with the griefing and the self-replicating objects, LL had made a major strike against abusive residents -- 60 accounts had been removed, and the sim Satyr -- used for a variety of W-HAT griefing escapades -- had been seized by Governor Linden.

Among those in the list of 60 was the infamous Gene Replacement, who some said was the alt of Plastic Duck; and cunning Verbena Pennyfeather, a furry who claimed she was a RL soldier who had done several tours of duty in the Iraq war and even been injured. The viscious Schwartz Guillaume, and oldbie of the 2003 era, was also missing from the list.

Everyone is scrambling now to figure who was taken -- interestingly, Scudmunkey Impfondo is still in; but Altometric is missing.

The group Prokofy Neva Fan Club, which contained many of the griefers, was removed from the group list. But the groups Gay 4 Philip, Daniel Linden Fan Club, and some other groups where the W-HAT griefers hung out -- and where the new alts would come in and find safe haven again -- were still in the list.

Irvin Maltz, who griefed events and was a frequenter stalker of me and my events, was among those missing. That prompted one of his friends, Miller Rust, to complain in the Town Hall Questions Group that he was unfairly banned.

And that's what we'll be hearing a lot of in the coming days. As awareness grows of the W-HAT whack the Lindens made, there will be many saying they went too far, and others saying they didn't go far enough.

Within minutes of the town hall news, I was being griefed by one of their many regulars Caux Cadeaux, a fellow with a big ugly flying avatar showing no skin, only muscle and tissue like the Body Show cadavers. Caux stalked me in Ravenglass and said "Good morning mademoiselle" to harass me -- he continued to stalk me all around my rentals and was grief reported. He taunted me from Linden land -- using all the usual M.O.s of Voted-5.

Voted-5 was an invisible group, so it's hard to know if it was removed per se, but many of its regulars and most active griefers and perpetrators of things like the self-replicating object attacks were gone.

One of the regs the Lindens missed was Balsamic Prunes, creator of the gigantic bust made from a picture of my RL head, defaced at Satyr and also put up in Burning Life, and I think elsewhere in the air above my sims (lots of extra prims of stuff I can't fly up to see, seems way up there). In its latest incarnation, the bust has black skin and large lips -- that's in keeping with the wierd fascination the W-HAT types have for racist jokes and comments and racist portrayals of African Americans and other blacks.

Right now, Balsamic has in his profile a "negroid" version of my RL head bust in SL, and the caption, "The things I do for love." And Caux Cadeaux has the lovely epitet in his profile, "a nigga who smell he own fart."

What is it with these white boys' fascination with ghetto culture? So lame.

I'm also glad to see that vicious Jordy Laffer gone, too. He was daily sending me notecards of items like "How to Report a Griefer" or "Positive Mental Health" -- this pablum that Craig Kamenev puts out which is the usual self-help drivel about how to stop thinking negative thoughts and be productive in your life blah blah.

Getting rid of groups is something that is always controversial. Because evil always uses groups to perpetuate itself. And the Lindens didn't get rid of all the groups, even if they got rid of Prokofy Neva Fan Club (which may be missing merely because all its members got banned).

Gay 4 Philip and Daniel Linden Fan Club, both havens for W-HAT, still exist, are half filled with FIC and Lindens, and with old W-HAT and new who are griefers.

This argumentation has been used at least as long as Nuremberg. Telford Taylor and other analysts of the tribunal point out that the justices had a difficult time devising law and procedure to deal with the criminal groups. That is, they could try individuals for what those individuals were responsible for. But it was harder to declare their mere affiliation with a group *in itself* criminal. They could find ways, of course, but they were hobbled in doing this by the Soviets -- many forget that the limitations one finds in Nuremberg in part are a function of the fact that it was a court created by victors, and among the victors were the Soviets, who hobbled certain things, i.e. not criminalizing genocide for *political* or *class* reasons; only criminalizing if it were on the basis of race.

That's because their own ideology of communism justified murder on political and class affiliation grounds; and they clung to the immunity for groups so that the Communist Party itself would not be found to be criminal; which indeed it is by its very nature. It can readily be established that any individual who held the office of oblast secretary of higher would *by nature of his office* be required to carry out crimes -- violating privacy, surveillance without due process, unlawful restraint and arrest, and all kinds of offenses ranging from lying about production targets to despoiling nature.

It's a very hard subject of law to get a handle on, and in a synthetic world, where it could be easier on many fronts (massive information sweeps and transaction records), the Lindens haven't trod too far down that path.

Many people would like to uphold the principle of "innocent until proven guilty". I would too! And many people would like individuals, not groups, to be responsible for actions. Mere affiliation in a group might not be proof of misdeed.

I think this needs to be debated much more. I think that some groups have charters that by their very nature constitute a crime. If it is an offense to start a thread just on one individual on the forums, for ill or bad, and is punishable, then in world, it should also be an offense to start a griefing group that poses as a "fan club" just on one resident. It's wrong.

I think the Lindens need to be more serious and professional and tighten up the use of their insignia, their name, and their staffs' names. All these groups like Gay 4 Philip and Daniel Linden fan club should be abolished, because they are misused, whatever their original intent, and they lend an air of ridicule and licentiousness to the seriousness of the Linden name. Huns Valens -- one of the long time W-HAT apologists -- has on his profile a quote from James Linden, "I need a chocolate fetus rotate object". That's the sort of stupid, puerile, idiotic crap that gives them all a bad name, and creates a climate for abuse.

I'm going to research this story some more -- I want to do an early post on this story, however, and utterly pre-empt the idea that some innocents were caught up in the sweep. All those who join these griefing groups to so to either engage in, or celebrate, or justify griefing. The entire climate of somethingawful.com, W-HAT, and its spinoff groups in SL has been one of tolerance for, perpetration of, and apology for griefing.

Comments

[Baba]

is it hard?

[Kerian Bunin]

For a proponant of due process, you seem to be enjoying this.

[Prokofy Neva]

Point out to me any examples of lack of due process. People grief. There are witnesses. They violate the TOS. You abuse-report them -- repeatedly, over months. Finally, the Lindens finish the investigation. They ban some. Not all.

And I'm only one of many, many people abuse reporting.

[Prokofy Neva]

hard to do what, Baba? Hide out in SL and continue to grief and mastermind griefing projects like W-HAT?

No. You're proof of that!

[Baba]

What?

[Allana]

"and I think elsewhere in the air above my sims (lots of extra prims of stuff I can't fly up to see, seems way up there)."

About land, objects, find the name that doesn't belong, hit return??

[Jeremiah North]

I don't know virtually any of the people mentioned, so can't really comment on how they acted, etc. I'll have to see if Linden Lab publishes anything official on what they did and why. I have to say that comparing internet vandals - at best - to the Nazis is more than a little over the top.

[Prokofy Neva]

>About land, objects, find the name that doesn't belong, hit return??

Um. Duh1 You would think! But it isn't showing. It's because it's temp on rez possibly? I see extra prims coming and going -- can't get a name. Also, I see extra prims also on my neighbour's land, and I obviously can't read their list.

[Prokofy Neva]

>I have to say that comparing internet vandals - at best - to the Nazis is more than a little over the top.

You are unable to reason by analogy. Why don't they teach that in schools anymore?

And Internet vandals draw from the same playbook as Nazis and Communists and other totalitarians. Of course they do. It's a question of scale and severity of course but it's the same principles at work.

[Caux Cadeaux]

"Within minutes of the town hall news, I was being griefed by one of their many regulars Caux Cadeaux, a fellow with a big ugly flying avatar showing no skin, only muscle and tissue like the Body Show cadavers. Caux stalked me in Ravenglass and said "Good morning mademoiselle" to harass me -- he continued to stalk me all around my rentals and was grief reported. He taunted me from Linden land -- using all the usual M.O.s of Voted-5."

Clearly greeting someone with "Bonjour Mademoiselle" is a hurtful and emotionally taxing gesture that could easily be considered harassment in any libel and or slander suit. For this I apologize and hope that we may still be on good terms for the sake our partnership.

But for the record I never approached Prokofy in Waterhead, much less did I say and or do anything to provoke her. I mean unless of course you consider standing silently in a public area an M.0. of Voted 5. Which in fact it is, but that is besides the point. WHEN WILL THIS REIGN OF TERROR FINALLY BE PUT TO AN END?!

[Hernando Ricardo]

Hey, shout outs to my bros and sistaz in da hood. Juz wanted 2 say keep on keepin on and dat yo pall Treqwan is keepin it fresh wit da w-hatterz.

da internet, it a vary serious thang.

[Miller Rust]

Yes, I publicly complaind about Irvin Maltz being banned, but I'm actually quite clueless about the whole griefing deal, and things that yourself and others have just told me tonight about what's happened in the (recent?) past. All I cared about was that Irvin was a great artist and he made some great avatars on second life, and we spoke about the creative process and such. I'm saddened about any alleged griefing activities or associations.

Some of the people you mentioned have been quite cruel to me for being a "furry" or whatever, so let me just point out that I never could have been part of the group even if I had somehow wanted to.

You mentiond the Communist Party - well, yeah, the bolsheviks (Marxist-Leninists) were horrible, and the Communist Party a terrible insitution that perverted a great idea (socialism, which originally was a quite libertarian concept) .. the irony here is that if people like myself who tangentally have a friend in this group get somehow implicated along with them, it's a little like so many anti-authoritarian leftists through the cold war who were also lumped in with the Bolsheviks! I was once interested in that stuff, but I changed my mind about it after asking many questions.

Let's at least follow up our suspicions of guilt (for anyone not even in such groups as voted v) with a fair investigation and a full presentation of the facts and evidence.

I wish things like homophobia, mysanthropy and racism (which are becoming so "hip" on the Internet it seems) could be gotten rid of simply by banning internet geeks who perpetuate them from this or that place. I'm afraid, however, it is the institutional mysanthropy, homophobia and racism in our society that is the real source, and unless those in power are truly confronted by the would-be victims some day, then the Internet geeks and Americans in general will continue to internalize anti-social, unethical behavior that they learn from their authority figures.

-Miller Rust

[Hernando Ricardo]

I'd argue that Libertarianism and Socialism are far apart Miller. I don't see socialists calling out for laissez faire markets and IMF spreading pro-capitalist ideology to developing countries.

Prokofy is entrenched by conspiracy, re-living the red scare and looking for any small indicator that her only means of communication with the outside world has become an abberation and defiled by "griefers."

If you observe how Prokofy crafts personas for people she disagrees with... "vicious Jordy Laffer," "cunning Verbena Pennyfeather," you can see the hysteria and frantic appeals to the reader to see it as she sees it.

The reality is, these personas are only questioning Prokofys' sanity, self-justification, and righteousness on the Internet, a place where dissent and disagreement are commonplace.

Prokofy is not looking for any justification as to why Irvin or why members of V5 have been banned, the justifications and labels have already been assigned preemptively and universally.

[Balsamic Prunes]

The quote in my profile is from a book. George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones if you're so inclined. Maybe you should try reading them instead of burning them.

[Ben Kerensky]

I'm so absolutely dissapointed that for someone so absolutely full of rage and fury for my group of friends, and for someone known to be a complete and total windbag incapable of making her points so monstrously overworded and convoluted, that this is the best you can possibly do for a gloating rant.

[Anon!]

Adam Linden's profile: "MAH NMA SI ADM LIND3N!!!!1! WTF IM A LIASEON HERE 2 H3LP U!!!111!1! OMG LOL"

[Prokofy Neva]

Hey, there's Balsamic and Hernando, they missed some! But that's because making "art" isn't a TOS offense. And that's fine. It shouldn't be! But...taking "art" off your sim, now...that might be an offense, the jury is out on that one.

And that's because just stalking and harassing one tenant usually isn't enough to get a ban. Although wearing a suicide-bomber's outfit and a faux Islamic look might be offensive, it isn't a bannable offense, either.

I don't do rage or rants, and I don't do gloats. I'm not like you. I just report it and I write as I please by the light of my conscience. Do you have one?

[Prokofy Neva]

Actually, Miller, you're wrong about the ideology of socialism. It is crimiminal in intent and purpose, and that's why its outcome is always criminal.

[Balsamic Prunes]

Also, what will it take to get you off my case?

[Miller Rust]

I use the term "libertarian" in the classic sense it was used before people inspired by the likes of Ayn Rand altered it's meaning some decades after FDR's time (when leftism seemed to be "accepted" as all about government even by the leftists themselves). The word used to mean "anti-authoritarian socialist", believe it or not ("libertarian" was used interchangibly with the word "anarchist" before World War II, and still today in other countries besides the USA. In the US, we now use the terms "left libertarian" and "libertarian socialist" to clarify the meaning. If you want know more, read about Noam Chomsky, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Nestor Makhno, and the Spanish Civil War.)

Before 1917, the jury was still out over the issue of individualism having anything intrinsic to do with free market capitalism. There were, in fact, many socialists who were quite individualistic (the Industrial Workers of the World, and Mother Jones's whole reason d'etre was the idea of "stand up for yourself"), and their oppisition to capitalism was part of a general critique of authority (bosses, landlords, the state)... many onthe left (anarchists mostly) did not agree with Karl Marx's rejection of Max Stirner, Pierre Michel-Proudhon, and Mikhael Bakunin's fusion of individual liberty with socialism. (Bakunin said that liberty without socialism was privilage and injustice, and socialism without liberty was tyranny and despotism - how prophetic.)

It was Karl Marx, and later on Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Mihn, Pol Pot and the rest who convinced the world that the big battle wasnt between the bosses and the bossed, but was instead an abstract war between "society" and "the individual", or even moreabstractly, "altruism" vs. "selfishness". The conservatives on the right were more than happy to see that the marxist-leninists agreed with them when it came to how to pull the wool over the eyes of ordinary people who didn't need this shit.
( see:
http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/sam/sam-3-4.html
as well as
http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/lba.html
and http://www.etext.org/Politics/Spunk/library/otherpol/critique/sp000859.txt )

Politics is a war not only of land and ecomonics, but of words and ideas. People in de facto power claim that their system (no matter how cruel or unfair) is all about freedom, and the other side is all about tyranny and is degenerate. This is why we have people today calling themselevs "libertarian" who are homophobic, racist, shoot people who might accidentally wander onto their property (esp if they have the wrong skin color), and cheerfully vote for a president who supports the use of torture (regardless of what he might say to the contrary).

[Prokofy Neva]

It's hard to know whether to bother with somebody like Miller Rust who is educated on the Internet by half-baked Marxist sites and is barely past the college essay stage in political debate.

I didn't vote for Bush and fight against the use of torture overseas probably rather more effectively than you do, in RL. I don't own or advocate guns. I don't drive an SUV. I'm not homophobic or racist. Advocating that chronic, repeat, griefers who crash the grid and harass people all the time should be banned doesn't make me any of those things, don't be ridiculous.

You've chosen some bad company with these w-hats and vindictive gits like Irvin.

[Drift]

W-hat has little to do with v5, please stop mistaking the two.
v5 was created because w-hat would not put up with griefing.

[Hernando Ricardo]

That's clear Miller thanks for filling in the gaps. I associate Libertarian strictly as if an Objectivist is in the room and about to tell me why the individual "rights" or private property (Bourgeoisie owning the means of production) is best for the society, largely the proletariat, and at their expense.

A specter is haunting SecondLife, and it's the right of self expression and artistic merit. If people want to be Islamic avatars and follow the teachings of Sayyid Qutb, they have gone too far and are certainly out to grief and offend.

My avatar represents a divided world, a world where differences in theology create chasms and eventual bloodshed from both parties involved.

I don't think Prokofy's dichotomous thought process would be able to understand, when you're right, you're right, when you're wrong, you're wrong.

No grey areas. All absolutes.

"W-Hatters" are only about griefing and not contributing to SecondLife society, because Prokofy knows the absolute truth of the matter. Each and every member responsible regardless of role!

No, we express ourselves artistically and in different ways in SecondLife, and some people are incapable of appreciating artistic expression.

I feel we represent Hegelian dialectics of the Internet.

[Prokofy Neva]

>W-hat has little to do with v5, please stop mistaking the two.
v5 was created because w-hat would not put up with griefing.

Utter, unadulterated bullshit. W-HAT and Something Awful forms the substrate and the enabling climate for the various v5s to take place. The voted were voted into place by *something* eh? Duh.

[Prokofy Neva]

I don't view suicide bombing as art, no. I don't justify it, or apologize for it as you do, and I condemn emulating it or even satirize it as you do in SL.

As for "follow the teachings of Sayyid Qutb" -- that's pretty reprehensible stuff. Your claim to be a devotee is probably fake anyway, but if you are, you and your teachings are based on violence and extremism, and as such are to be condemned.

Anyway, I'm done talking to the W-HAT parade today.