An Accident Going Somewhere to Happen

Has everybody seen what a road wreck the Second Life "Community" Convention is? It's an accident going somewhere to happen, unless its sponsors, including RiversRunRed, Electric Sheep Company, New Media Consortium, Anshe Chung Studios and many more step up to the plate immediately and demand participation in, and accountability from, the organizers in the form of the Future United Group and Phreak Radio -- these intertwined FIC entities that have hijacked the conference process for years now, and whose chickens are finally coming home to roost.

It's not just that Prokofy Neva -- first banned from SLCC, and then embarrassingly for the organizers as the RL press covered it , unbanned -- is grumping on the Herald, "No Lifeloggers Please, We're Second Lifers" about their draconian -- and unjustified -- rules for no media taping. Why, even the usually loyalist and FIC-feting Tao Takashi has raised some really sharp questions about the unseemly grab for media content! Live Musicians are up at arms at the unconscionable contract foisted on them from this thinly-disguised "non-profit" and "community" entity (Scare quotes are definitely required for all these so-called outfits claiming falsely and wrongly to represent the large loosely-knit communities sharing the virtual space of Second Life). Business panelists are surprised to learn they can't tape themselves even if presenting, that some unnamed ones of their number don't want to be taped *at all*, and that their papers, ostensibly submitted to a professor to be peer-reviewed and published in a scholarly journal, are also to become the unrevocable and perpetual property of these "community entities".

Twitterers are a' twittering, people like Barney Boomslang who never sound off on blogs on FIC drama are blogging, and the question really has to be asked: who's going to overthrow these idiots and organize this thing right *for this year*??? No, the issue isn't "timing" as the non-lawyer and FIC-fetishist Tateru Nino says in parsing the badly-devised overly restrictive contracts. The issue is how to turn it around by rewriting contracts and organizing it RIGHT.

Second Citizen, which is the organ of these hijacking "community entities" Phreak Radio and Future United Group is absolute silent about all the brewing criticism even from live musicians -- a highly respected and popular class of people in SL who usually stay out of drama (of course, except for Dolmere and Chronic Skronski). FlipperPA Peregrine and his lovely wife, Jennyfur Peregrine, are everywhere out on the increasingly restive blogosphere and the SLCC site itself making noises about how "very soon they will explain everything" (they haven't yet). Moo Money, FIC groupie extraordinaire threatens musicians with silly stuff if they don't attend.

Nethermind Bliss, who only the other day was visibly marked as tied to Phreak Radio in the partnership box with Taco Rubio inworld, is now busily spinning why she is both inside Phreak Radio as a PR manager with a decided interest in gaining exclusive rights for the SLCC streaming and content, and yet also on the board of the conference organizing "community entity" Future United Group, a fugly outfit that claims to be a nonprofit, but is merely using the 501-c-3 status to do bag work for its profit-making "community entity" Phreak Radio.

Also troubling is that six weeks before the event, there isn't a webpage showing the speakers and the schedule. That's a terrible sign. And...ominously, there isn't a single Linden mentioned as a keynote speaker or even participant -- unless, of course, you count Crowcatcher Valen, long-time member of Phreak Radio AKA Chadrick Linden working behind the scenes, who is in in the abuse/governance team at Linden Lab -- and Blue Linden, who signed up ages ago and hasn't been heard from in a long while. In fact, on that list of people who registered, Blue Linden is the only Linden; Jeska isn't listed.

When I asked Robin Linden at her office hours, and in email, about this road wreck, she had only a terse comment to make and reiterate, that the group is a private group, and can make any rules it wants. Sigh. I pressed further, and asked how this "private group" supposedly awarded the blessing of Linden Lab with its sponsorship, could call itself as representative of the community, especially with Jeska Linden on the organizing committee, that is, the board of FUG. And I got this answer: "She is acting only in her personal capacity" (!).

Last year, Mitch Kapor, Philip Linden, and many other Lindens -- and prominent former Lindens like Reuben Steiger -- were on board with SLCC, which was in their lap in San Francisco, making very visionary and far-reaching statements.

This year, not a single one of them is to be found. I mean...Torley isn't listed. Pathfinder, for Christ's sake, isn't on an education panel. It's...wierd.

I was the one who advocated LESS Lindens, not more, back at SLCC1, which I felt was a horridly fanboyish experience. I'd love to see Second Life Community Conferences put on with very few, or even not a single Linden present -- that would be proof of its ultimate success as a more normal and mainstreamed piece of software that people use to create their world, their imagination themselves, with the makers very much in the background.

But to go from Mitch Kapor, Chair of the board of Linden Lab, and Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, giving keynotes to...not even Jeska listed on a public panel is just plain...wierd, especially with LL listed as a paying sponsor (and I'd love to know what the total amount of money raised for sponsorship is, and how it is being spent!).

How can you not have a schedule 6 weeks before a conference??? Scary!

To be sure, there are "tracks" listed with "topics" and possibly organizers or panelists who might likely cobble something together. But the way in which this is now hugely, lamely being organized now by Nethermind is to have people "sign up to be on a panel".

Sorry, but I don't know a conference of any repute in the universe, let alone metaverse, that organizes stuff like that. You, as a reputable and coherent organizer (if you *are* that) have to pick people; you have to try to represent the topic fairly and decently. To let 2nd and 3rd rate or new and unknowns just "sign up" is more accident-going-somewhere-to-happen.

To give you an idea of the amateur-hour we're dealing with, Nethermind IM'd me and asked me to moderate the media panel, which was to include SLNN, SLCN, and no SL Herald, no SL Insider, no Second Cast -- nothing of record or of any significant audience. Huh? I saw what was up with *that* gambit -- the old "make them chair the panel so they can't talk". Now, of course you can talk and insert ideas and frame debates -- and Spin Martin, with whom I discussed this at length in live voice last night, is a good example of how you do that, as he is a virtuoso at these panels both getting in the "mot" and getting people to talk. But seriously, kids, you don't take an outspoken figure who was banned and unbanned at a conference and put them up to the job of gagging other people AND enforcing this idiotic one-minute question rule (!).

Sorry, no sale! I told Nevermind that she had better start a second panel, and invite true representatives of really popular media, and not be a ninny.

I know why there isn't a schedule with speakers. It's because these people look at this thing as their personal club. The defensive, sullen, and insular comments on SC let you know that they care more about getting drunk with their fellow buddies in their SL clubs and having anonymous conference sex than they do about putting together a coherent intellectual and social program for a diverse group of interests.

I'm embarrassed and ashamed for Second Life, and what we are doing to our live musicians. I had found out some months ago that they were being asked to pay their own way, pay their own travel, and merely get a discount on the conference costs -- and were not getting a performance fee. Huh? These people work at this for a living. I know one of the factors that changed my mind about coming to this conference, after being unbanned, was the thrilling prospect of seeing these folks live that I had only seen as avatars in SL. But we can't pay these people a simple fee for the gig? Even what they'd get if they played within Second Life??? That just makes us look like ingrates and wretches, and is frankly insulting to them, given that they are asked to lay on entertainment not even for free, but at considerable cost to themselves. Their CD sales can't possibly make up for this.

While Spin and other Twitterers think the solution to this accident-going-somewhere-to-happen is to just show up and ignore all the silly rules and just lifelog and jam and do what you want, I'm not so sure that's a good thing, given that people are being asked to sign these contracts, sign away content, and agree to rules that may, given the awful track record of these people, cause them to pitch people out under specious "harassment" grounds or "no taping" groups if they attempt, like Satchmo says he's going to do, to lifelog, report, or resell their music as CDs or post them on YouTube without the permission of Phreak Radio -- oops I mean the FUGlies.

So here's what I propose:

1. An emergency organizing committee of skilled professionals should be created IMMEDIATELY made up of sponsors like Fizik Baskerville, Sibley Verbeck, Guni Greenstein, Larry Pixel, and others who know how to organize events, conferences, people, contracts in RL and SL. Likely, they'll need to simply *join* the organizing committee/Future United Group because to kick it aside will be too difficult in terms of re-casting all the logistical capers like the hotel venue and such.

2. A real lawyer, not somebody Flipper has hired to protect his thuggish rights to hijack community affairs, should be retained -- or hopefully can step forward probono -- to reject these ridiculous contracts which are overbroad, ask for too much, and really have nothing to do with "union rules". Lawyers help you solve problems, and help you cut through red-tape thrown up things like "soup Nazis at hotels" and "unions" -- they don't invoke those things as reasons to secure the "rights" of just one cabal of people. Contracts are made to secure rights and responsibilities of both parties -- not just an accountable and rather secretive radio station that I can't really establish anybody listens to, anywa. This lawyer they've hired at FUG is doing what all lawyers do: protecting his clients' interests. What he -- and they -- need to be forcefully shown is that the client here isn't one SL business awarding itself largesse, but it must be the broad, diverse Second Life community, not the gang of fatwah-issuing mediocrities in charge now.

3. A pool must be immediately established to raise money to pay for these musicians properly -- or at least as properly as a lot of amateurs and part-timers and anonymous people can hope to pay for entertainment, which should be at least as good as they muster inside Second Life itself. An audit should be quickly established as to where the current sponsorship funds are going -- and sponsors should pull out demonstratively and vocally if they can't get some of these road-wrecks cleaned up NOW.

4. A schedule with some kind of credible speakers' list must be published as soon as humanly possible, with really reasonable and rational events that are reflective of the community's diversity so that those traveling at their own expense at great distance aren't wasting their time. A rapporteur for the conference should be appointed to monitor and sample all the events and give a report to the revised organizing committee for improvements for the future.

5. Language to the effect that FUG or Phreak or any of these nuttos get to define what "journalist" is (they don't) or proscribe their behaviour (they can't) has to be excised from the website. Normal journalistic ethics can be counted on from accredited journalists -- and need not be imposed from outside by conference organizers. Accreditation is a way of clearing through the haze of anonymity and bloggeration that can beset a process like this; the process has to be permissive, not discretionary, and define the job as "RL and SL media representatives" understood to mean those with periodicals, regular broadcasts, regular blogs with a significan viewership, and so on. They will have to be relied on to ask permission for photos; if they don't, they discredit themselves -- that's the way to do it rather than the entire SLCC orgkomitet being discredited for trying to force a rule on people they can't enforce; and for which they indemnify themselves in the same breath.

(I'd like to point out that Jennyfur was the first person to land on Baku to come and taunt a giant bust made out of my RL picture by W-hat/voted-5 last year, which was really despicable. So much for her fake concern about the misuse of people's pictures.)

6. The deadline of July 15 should be set to get this thing turned around, and the deadline for those to refund if it is NOT turned around and these insanities remain in place should be extended to July 31.

7. Any future SLCCs should not be organized by FUG or Phreak Radio and steps should begin now to find or create some other, more expanded and representative entity to handle this task more professionally.

The most important thing those taking over the fixing up of this road wreck have to keep in mind is that they need to move quickly, forcefully, and effectively and overrun these tyrants who have hijacked the process. That means these faux-legions of fanboyz that are going to crop up on blogs and whine that people worked tirelessly for free, or that their workplace/university/GULAG Maximum Security Penitentiary have these same rules, are to be pushed aside.

Second Life is new media, social media, free media -- it's supposed to be revolutionary. It's supposed to help bridge and smooth out and remove these obstacles that everyone had for centuries accessing media for expression and sharing content AND monetarizing it!

For a tiny cabal of FIC -- oldbies backed by one secretative and powerful Linden -- to be hijacking this new media at the dawn of the Metaverse is *sinister*. It's *wrong*. It's why I've been fighting these people all along.

Please, if you are a sponsor, make this change. Turn it around. Don't let Second Life become a laughing-stock and let down the hopes of the community for establishing more meaningful connections around this amazing virtual world in real life.

Comments

[Erbo Evans]

Now you're getting me all worried about Danielle...she's one of the "radio DJs" who are supposed to be doing a set at SLCC. How is all this going to affect her? Should I be advising her to cut her losses and run away? Same goes for Chelle Moore, another friend of mine.

And maybe it's a *good* thing that I can't afford to attend the conference this time around.

[moo Money]

Now, now Prok. Am I a FIC groupie or FIC 2.0? Make up your mind!

As for SLI not being represented, I'm already building an entire track for SLCC that's been fairly drama free. I figured if I applied to be on the journalism panel, I'd be taking away from other organizations that wanted to be on it. Until we brought on Amalthea Blanc last week, I was the only SLI member going. It was already too late to get her a spot.

[Lynette Radio]

Like my mom always said, if you don't like it....don't go. And try to do it better yourself. If everyone with a bad opinion STFU and directed their energy into something positive, the world - both of them - would be a hell of a lot better.

[Prokofy Neva]

Lynette, you're really out of touch on this one. Press on all the links about the live musicians, and get *in* touch please, and think about it.

[Prokofy Neva]

Now, now Prok. Am I a FIC groupie or FIC 2.0? Make up your mind!

Uh, whatever you are, you're a member of this train-wreck-in-the-making, so ask yourself whether you really need to go on being associated with it.

Erbo, read all the links to the musicians and bloggers and people of some influence who have nothing to do with me, whom I don't even know, and draw your own conclusions.

[Prokofy Neva]

Add DJ Doubledown Tandino to the list of people who is stepping down from his role at SLCC and protesting the contract:

http://djdoubledown.blogspot.com/2007/07/slcc-phreak-radio-and-contract-that-may.html

[EnCore Mayne]

here's a great debate among sl's live music artists, djs, lawyers, fu principals, and all assorted entities reeling from the "contractual" nature regarding the artists' presence at the slcc.

http://blogs.talksecondlife.com/slimwarrior/2007/07/02/contract-ha-dont-sign-it/

i especially like jennyfur's first comment: "... back the fuck off Nethermind Bliss on this one ALL OF YOU."

i didn't think it had reached that level of angst myself. seemed pretty much question and answer. you know, free speech. what do i know. go figure.

[Lynette Radio]

I have read through all the links. I've read much more than the links you put in your blog. And you know what, more important than that, I TALK to people. You know, have conversations with them, not just pull out random quotes from the 'net and construe that as fact, or at least the facts that I want to see.

Go to SLCC if you want a weekend of meeting SL friends in RL, making new SL/RL friends, and ***HAVING A GOOD TIME***. If someone wants to go to cause trouble, tag along people babbling nonsense, and generally not being a decent human being, they I say stay home. It's not worth their money, and everyone else's aggravation.

I *KNOW* some of the musicians personally that were interested in playing. No one said anyone has to speak or play live music there, it's not a requirement that anyone pay to attend SLCC. Everyone is acting like just because you are a member of SL, somehow you have an unfettered privilege to show up at SLCC.

I've seen the music contract, and if someone doesn't agree, then don't play SLCC. How hard is that? Same goes with the speakers, I think they should be held to the same standards. If they don't agree, then don't speak. Simple as that. No one is getting paid to speak or perform.

As far as every genre of community must be represented, well, SHOW UP AND REPRESENT! Who said it has to be 'official'? Show up, arrange to meet other friends, and have a good time.

Just for the hell of it, give the New Yorker Hotel a call and see about setting up a conference for 600 people, with live music and a party. I have personal experience with this hotel in particular, that's why I bring it up. You will be presented with a binder of legal stipulations and city ordinances and codes that must be followed. Do you think that hundreds of people can just show up at a hotel and throw a big-ass party with no accountability or responsible party? There is a ton of work that takes place behind the scenes so people can just show up, have a good time, and leave with new friends and memories. Or, in some people's cases, show up, cause problems, take pictures, and blog about it.

I really don't understand most days why you get all worked up about half this stuff. I rarely see you contribute anything positive to any topic you touch. At the end of the day, when you log off for the night, do you feel good about the contributions you have made to your life, and Second Life? Do you not realize that the people you repeatedly bash and slander have LIVES outside Second Life? You may live and breath all this garbage, but a good chunk of the rest of us have families, careers, responsibilities, and hobbies outside of this.

[Prokofy Neva]

Lynette, I really think you need to catch up with ALL the comments on Slim Warrior's blog:
http://blogs.talksecondlife.com/slimwarrior/2007/07/02/contract-ha-dont-sign-it/

It's really quite worrisome. And you as a podcaster and someone working in the metaverse industry shouldnt' be supporting this hijack. IT's wrong.

Guess what, I've organized LOADS of conferences and had to deal with EXACTLY these issues. And you can always shop around to find better sets of rules and you can ALWAYS be creative in trying to find a workable solution. That's not being done here!

I'm making a very important positive contribution to SL by fighting for the freedom of the metaverse.

I have RL jobs, a family, and things I do that you have NO CLUE about, Lynette, so you're completely out of line here.

It's simply vital for the freedom of this media and this space of virtual worlds that people really fight hard for these freedoms and liberties and not give them away to thugs, and Lindesidents using the power of office to overthrow and control the community.

I am absolutely proud of, happy with, and completely confident in, everything I write. I'm sorry, but regardless of whether they have "lives and families" like we all do, the people I "bash" -- i.e. criticise -- are people who are public figures, playing public roles, and trying to CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE.

My God, Lynette, try to have a little more consideration for YOUR OWN freedom! I'm sure you didn't sign away your own presentation at Podcamp NYC to the organizers of Podcamp NYC did you???

I hardly think you can apply some of these notions you have to THIS venue, whatever you wish to come up from. It's Central Park, not my corporation's company picnic. Start figuring out the difference, Lynette.

[Prokofy Neva]

>I *KNOW* some of the musicians personally that were interested in playing. No one said anyone has to speak or play live music there, it's not a requirement that anyone pay to attend SLCC. Everyone is acting like just because you are a member of SL, somehow you have an unfettered privilege to show up at SLCC.

No, you do have the right -- and it's not a privilege. It's not a country club. It's an open public space and community in the broadest sense.

I know some of the musicians too. And musicians DO have to pay airfare and hotels -- I think only the conference fee itself is waived or reduced..

[Prokofy Neva]

>back the fuck off Nethermind Bliss on this one ALL OF YOU."

Yeah, I saw that, and linked this discussion here in my piece above when I mentioned the Live Musicians upset about this.

Always the lady, that Jennyfur, eh?

No, she needs to back the fuck off, and Nethermind and Taco and their Linden -- Crow Valen and Jeska -- need to back the fuck off. Seriously.

I do hope people stand up to them. It's sad to watch, really. It's like the Spanish Civil War.

[Lynette Radio]

See that's the funny thing, I can defend what I consider my own freedom. I don't need you to help me by your version of "fighting for the freedom of the metaverse". The metaverse includes me, and you do not speak for me, or anyone else but yourself. That's where you are severely disillusioned, that you actually represent anyone other than yourself. Stop playing the martyr already.

Maybe it's because you and are are from different generations, and I see things differently. Well, I know we see things differently. You seem to think everyone and everything is out to get you personally. You are not that important, really. You are more than welcome to your opinion, as am I. It's when the line is crossed and accusations are made of illegal proceedings (like asking for an audit of the sponsorship fundings) that I wonder where your motivation lies.

And as a matter of fact, my PodCamp NYC talk (as well as the one I plan on doing at PodCamp Phily and the New Media Expo) are for use for the event organizers. My choice. And I do get paid to speak, but choose to do so for free at these venues.

I'm going to spend time with my family now, not harp on whatever rebuttal you may conjure up. Nothing anyone ever says is going to change your mind, but I'm really tired of your babbling to see yourself in print.

[Prokofy Neva]

If you think fighting for freedom means propping up the ridiculously sullent, mediocre, and incompetent Jennyfur Peregrine and her drunken frat-boy hubby FlipperPA Peregrine, I leave you to them!

I think this thread says it all:
http://blogs.talksecondlife.com/slimwarrior/2007/07/02/contract-ha-dont-sign-it/

I don't have to say a thing, and you can argue all you like, but argue with real live musicians, DJs, business people, etc. who are even more upset about this than I am!

It was your CHOICE to make your talk available for the organizers? But...the musicians and speakers at THIS event do NOT get a choice!

Lynette, you will see you are on the wrong side of this one in due time, and then I'd appreciate you admitting it : )

A lot of what you're posting here is just spiteful spewing of the sort that people spout when in fact they know deep down inside they're wrong but not ready to admit it yet.

>It's when the line is crossed and accusations are made of illegal proceedings (like asking for an audit of the sponsorship fundings) that I wonder where your motivation lies.

I think it's not about any accusation of illegality, it's about asking for an audit to see what they aRE doing with all this sponsorship money, that they can't pay for live musicians, for example, or give them more of a break than they are giving them. Just basic questions like that.

My motivation is very simple: I've been following the careers of these people for 3 years, and after finding out that they were bent on blocking, restricting, commandeering, and hijacking content, events, people, and the economy of SL, I have found it justified to expose them to as much criticism and publicity as I can muster.

I have no doubt that nature will take its course with these people though, because oppressive little cabals like this NEVER last long.

[Doubledown Tandino]

every time I see "FIC"
I always say in my head:
Fecal in Colon

Thank you for commenting in my blog about my SLCC decision.
http://djdoubledown.blogspot.com/2007/07/slcc-phreak-radio-and-contract-that-may.html

[Cocoanut Koala]

EnCore, you don't know the half of it! That was MILD for Jennyfur. RESTRAINED. I've been on the receiving end of very scatological and profane cursings-out from her for daring to criticize the SLCC at all.

And Prok, you have this part about the ingrates all wrong! It's not musicians who are being mistreated here, while others are ungrateful it's vice-versa, according to Jennyfur, and I quote:

"I’m sorry we have taken on this thankless job and have to sacrifice our dignity to a bunch of rotten ingrates time and time again."

(Not just ingrates; ROTTEN ingrates.)

What kills me about this is these organizations keep saying one shouldn't talk about any of it on blogs. It's is just like when I was criticizing the Electric Sheep Company for their spybot. They chastised me for not doing all it in IM or something, and abhored having to talk about it in forums to residents.

You simply weren't supposed to discuss these things out loud; that's tantamount to "pitchforks". Same thing here - lots of that old, "We'll listen to you and be perfectly reasonable, as long as you keep it private."

Shhhhhhhhh . . .

They really, REALLY don't want stuff to get out.

Well, that didn't fly on that musician's blog I just finished reading. One person pointed out that it hadn't been for the public discussion, things would have been left at, "If you musicians don't like it, you're free to resign" (and eat your plane fare and other losses).

Anyway, the contract they were supposed to sign was ridiculous.

And offering it at the last minute, after they had already paid air fares, etc., was unbelievable.

I assume they will come up with something more acceptable, but they'd better hurry up with it.

coco

[SparkyC]

This topic is interesting, and I didn't know much about the issues for the musicians. Thank you!

But, I think there are some good parts of the conference you might be missing. The education track, like last year, did an academic call for proposals and had a double-blind review process. Jeremy and Daniel are leading the way at the conference and it may be really good! They brought on Desi Stockton from the international best proactices conference to handle a mirrored program in SL.

While I don't know if I will get to dance at SLCC, I am looking forward to the education part of the conference.

[Nina Andrews]

Would this not all be solved if there was a clause detailing that the music can't be used out with of context of the SLCC?

That means the musicians benefit from the exposure, the SLCC are able to release promotion material about the event without gaping copyright holes and the musicians need not worry about switching on the radio and hearing their song used to advertise soda without their say so.

[Mairi Bikcin]

What I find most remarkable on this is that, even though PhreaK Radio wants all these rights to musician's music and performances, they sure aren't above stealing other people's work in order to get ahead. I include a snippet from an e-mail I got, when applying to be a DJ for PhreaK.

"""""New DJ Tutorial

Welcome to PhreaK RadiO. This document will help and enable you to get up and running, and more importantly, having fun!

Once you have received the SAM2 software, continue to the next step - Install first SAM

There is a registration key that is required to authorize the software. ****Consult your nearest management personnel to get one. :)***** """""

The emphasis is mine. For those none in the know, that is "Call us up to get the crack for a $400 piece of software".

[Solar Legion]

This is already being worked on. The musicians and Management are working on the contract and have been for a while now.

Mairi, all things considered not everyone has the cash to dish out to get such a grand bit of software. I myself use the SAM encoder plug-in for winamp along with a key that was rather graciously purchased for me by a close friend of mine that DJs in Second Life and who lives in the same town as me. Were it not for him I'd have been using a serial number from one of many online databases, simply because I cannot afford a piece of DJ software - even if it is just a plug in - that doesn't cause serious issues and cut out constantly.

[Mairi Bikcin]

Solar Legion:

Can't afford it, Don't use it. That simple. Someone else put in the money to create, market, write, and so on, that bit of software. You pirate it, you steal it. There are plenty of free programs out there that let you connect to a *Cast server and do your DJ thing. PhreaK however, is having it's "employees" use pirated software for it's own gain.

This wasn't for the simple DSP plug-in, by the by. Oh no. This was for the full DJ suite. Look up the website and find it if you must.

[Solar Legion]

Mairi how many clubs have you been to in Second Life and applied for? I know quite a few that do that.

That aside, yep - you you really should pay for a program you want to use. However the mentality of telling someone to use an inferior product is almost as bad. I will be even more blunt and admit that in some cases I will use a crack or serial number to unlock and test out a product before actually buying the bloody thing.

for me, shelling out $400 on a program and finding out after the fact that it isn't what I really needed or was looking for is a waste of money. try it out in full, if I like it, I'll actually buy it. If not it gets uninstalled and trashed.

That's just me - at least I'll pay for it if I like it.

[Mairi Bikcin]

Solar:

In a past life, I DJed and worked for many a big name club. i was around when parcel streaming came into SL.

As for the sampling/testing argument, most companys address that with demos..been awhile since I messed with a SAM demo, but I think it's a 14 day totally unlocked try it download. To advocate "crack it now!" from PhreaK is morally repugnant.

[Solar Legion]

Mairi I'm not advocating anything at all and I'm well aware that SAM has a 14 day trial. tried it and the full program wasn't for me. I was speaking of software in general.

[Jorus Xi]

We've already addressed Mairi's comments about the SAM broadcaster thing :)

We're requiring all DJ's to provide their own software at their own discretion now. If they buy it, kudo's, if they steal it "It be on their heads"

It was my big push a couple of months back to clean things the hell up just in case something like this came up.

Now if a DJ comes along without his own software we point him to winamp and the free plugin for streaming their, or to the spacial audio website. That is ALL.

I forsaw a headache like this and deflected it.

Spacial audio also fucked up with a trial version of SAM 3 they released that had no trial period and just played a spacial audio ad every once in a blue moon... and you could move the ad out of rotation, which led to it being essentially an unlocked full version. Thats the one that I understand is floating around the SL dj community the most.