This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

Saturday September 20

 

    ~*~

 

    At 10 AM PST   

The Psychology of Misleading Information

https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/psychology/

by Phil Youngblood Phd

 

Auditorium 

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

╚══════════════════════════════ The Science Circle (72,129,30) ═╝  

 

Health Island Exhibits For April

Health Island is a place in Second Life where you can get information on various health matters. The exhibits change every month, so there is new information available. Gemma Cleanslate recently went over to check out those for this month. So what did she find.

 

Read Gemma's article in Places. 

 

HealthInfo Island

 

Second Life is a fun place to have music events and chatting with friends. But it can also be a source of information as there are a number of museums and other educational places. Gemma Cleanslate recently returned to one to write about it: HealthInfo Island. It is not static, but some displays are changed to inform about new topics, such as disease, mental health, and conditions. It's often to reflect occasions, such as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day later this month. So what did Gemma have to say about the location today?

 

Read Gemma's story in Places. 

 

The 2024 Election US Presidency Exhibit

 

 

I recently came across an exhibit for next year's election in America, the 2024 Election US Presidency Exhibit. It's a place where one can learn a little more about the country's Presidential Election.

Visit this evolving exhibit about the 2024 Presidential Election. Review information about voting and voter registration, key dates for the 2024 election, Democratic and Republican Parties and candidates, and more! Collect party supplies! Enjoy refreshments from the Campaign Cafe! Start your own fireworks show!

The U.S. Presidency has been an exhibit topic at Learning Virtualē from September 2012 through March 2014 (for the 2012 presidential election and more) and April 2015 to present (for the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections and more). 

 

Looking around, there was a place to pick up bottled water and a hamburger or hot dog, or other goodies. There was also a sign "Exercise your Constitutional right to vote!" 

 

Among the displays was one of voter trends in recent years. There was also a billboard giving out notecards of recent Presidential and Presidential election scandals and controversies "and every Presidency seems to have an alleged scandal or a few." There was one place where one could read charts on voting statistics, such as what percentage of what age group went out and voted. The chart displayed was stating older people are more likely to vote, though in recent elections more younger people were coming to the polls. 

There were also a couple places where one could get a little information on the candidates, one for the Democrats and another for the Republicans. With this upcoming election having a Democrat as the incumbent, there were only a couple other candidates listed besides President Biden running for the nomination by the party. In contrast, there was a long list of candidates running for the Republican nomination for the Presidential race, such as former President Donald Trump who has been having a consistent lead in the polls. While fortunes in politics can, and have, change wildly in a short time, there is the likelyhood of the next US Presidential election having the same two candidates by the two major parties as in the previous one. This would be only one other time in more than a century this has happened, in 1956  when the Republican Dwight Eisenhower faced the Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Neither of the major parties have ever before nominated a former President to run in a Presidential Election in American history since Grover Cleveland in1892.  .

Learning Virtualē was founded by Addison Loxely and describes itself as "a group and site for educators, students, and others interested in the advancement of e-learning in (higher) education, particularly the integration of SL into learning experiences."

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Balmoral/218/58/1651

Bixyl Shuftan

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 

Saturday, February 4

 

    ~*~

    

    At 10 AM PST   

    Information Revolution, The First 50 Years of The Internet

    By Phil Youngblood, PHD

    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/information-revolution/

 

   The Science Circle (72,129,30)

      

    ~*~

 

    At 9 PM PST   

    Combating Negative Thinking

    By Jes Stannard

   https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/negative-thinking/

 

   The Science Circle (72,129,30)

 

    ~*~

    

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

╚══════════════════════════════ The Science Circle (72,129,30) ═╝

 

 

How to Prevent And Deal With Doxing

 

After some time away to take care of matters, Angel Fencer is back. Sadly, one of the matters she had to deal with was being doxed and harrassed online. In her article today, she talks about her experience with the issue, and what to do about it should it happen to you.

Read Angel's story in Extra.
 

Linden Lab Adds Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Information Security Officer

 

Last week, Linden Lab announced they had hired two people to fill new positions. For the first time, they will have a Chief Marketing Officer, or CMO, and a Chief Information Security Officer, or CISO. The CMO is Steven Feuling, who has more than thirty years marketing experience. Peter Capraro is the new CISO, and has a 25 year career of security and IT positions. The announcement in Cison PR Newswire stated, "Both roles will span across Linden's full portfolio of businesses to support growth driven by the rapidly expanding consumer interest in metaverses and the technology platforms necessary to support them as well as other virtual worlds and marketplaces."

Feuling's resume includes several noted companies, "Microsoft, Bloomberg LLC, The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, E*Trade and General Motors." Caprarp was recently, "the deputy CISO at fintech startup, Akoya, a spin-off from Fidelity Investments, and held security roles at Bank of America for 10 years."

Image source: Moden World

Source: Cison

Bixyl Shuftan
 

533 Million Facebook Users Personal Data Leaked Online

 

Personal data from 533 million Facebook accounts was discovered to have been leaked online. The data comes from users from over 100 countries, "including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India. It includes their phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and, in some cases, email addresses."

The leak was revealed a few days ago on April 3 by chief technology officer Alon Gal of Hudson Rock, a cybercrime intelligence group. It was posted online on a hacking forum by someone, and "available to anyone with rudimentary data skills." Gal would post his findings on Twitter, "I have yet to see Facebook acknowledging this absolute negligence of your data." 

Facebook responded that the reported data was the same as that of a 2019 data leak, "We found and fixed this issue in August 2019." But as many people continue to use the same phone numbers and email addresses, the data could still potentially be useful for scammers and other online schemes.

The leak is being investigated by Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which stated they will work with Facebook to make sure it's claim is true. Joe Tidy of BBC News commented, "The database has likely changed criminal hands many times before now being offered for free."

Sources: Business Insider, BBC News, Twitter 

Image Source: AP News

Bixyl Shuftan
 

EOTB: "Second Life Destinations: COVID-19 Resources "

 This week, Second Life Destinations looks at the Coronavirus info center on Inspiration Island.

 

"Lissena, who also goes by Wisdomseeker, guides us through the colorful and comforting realm of Inspiration Island, which she created with several other volunteers to promote wellness in a fun and accessible way. In this region you can also find Whole Brain Health, which Lissena describes as 'the virtual arm of our nonprofit Ageless Mind Project. Our mission is to give people the tools to stay sharp, active, and healthy, based on research coming from neuroscience, gerontology, positive psychology, and creativity.'

"The COVID display in the courtyard was built by Lady Brielle, a medical librarian who maintains the text as new data becomes available. Lady Brielle has been a tireless essential worker throughout the pandemic, and her work has not gone unnoticed. Lady Brielle us that 'our outreach work in Second Life has been recognized by the National Library of Medicine and won an award in Research by the Hospital Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association.'

"Information on COVID-19 is displayed in Spanish, American Sign Language, and  English. The creators of Inspiration Island took a multidisciplinary approach to presenting information so that as many people as possible can be positively impacted by visiting. In addition to medical data there are stories submitted by other Residents about their personal experiences of social distancing to remind us that what we’re feeling is totally natural, and we’re not the only ones who feel that way. There are also many activities to facilitate mental stimulation and help people feel connected.

"Lissena wants us to know that even the scary parts of sickness are addressed here: 'Once a month Rob, a member of the Collective in Germany, hosts a Death Café -- something he is trained to do professionally outside SL -- conversations that help make death less {of} a forbidden subject. Amazingly, we laugh a lot there.'

"This vibrant region is the labor of love of a devoted community. Marly Milena, a volunteer who provides 'programs focused on creative expression on Inspiration Island. I have introduced a way of working with arts-based processes, called Symbolic Modeling (SymMod for short). We use the building tools so people can make art in SL, and then we guide them in exploring meanings, new ideas, feelings, etc'

"Thuja Hynes, the associate director of the project, builds educational exhibits and tours. Two of his current projects are called Simply Imossible and Hero Walk. There are also many weekly events. Faust hosts the Positive Change Circle at Whole Brain Health on Sundays at 3pm SLT, and Arisia Vita plays piano in the gaebo every Monday and Wednesday. Priceless contributions are also provided by community members Catseye Tennen, Ghaelen D'Lareh, and Marylou Goldrosen.

"Second Life is proud to host a space that incorporates elements of education, creativity, and community, and Inspiration Island is a living example of the positive it can bring. Lissena feels that the activities found here “give you insight into yourself, encourage your creativity and your sense of purpose and reduce loneliness, which is really important.” It is open to people from all walks of life, so stop by for a visit today."

 Video by Draxtor Despress

What's New at Health Info Island For Novemeber 2020

 

It's a new month, and there are several new displays at Health Info Island. Among them are the ones for COPD Awareness Month, Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, and Family Caregivers Month. For more infomation, check out the Virtual Ability group, or head on over to the sim.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/173/150/22

Coronavirus Info Center at Inspiration Island

For those wanting to know more about the Coronavirus, and want more than just news reports and Facebook posts, there's an information center at Inspiration Island. Here, you can read some basic facts and statistics. It was made by Briellr Coronet.

A special information area on CO-VID has been set up at the HEALTH HACIENDA on Inspiration Island by Brielle Coronet, RL Medical Librarian at a major U.S. teaching hospital in NJ,  with contributions by Veronica, a RL Consumer Health Librarian in Connecticut.

It will be kept up to date as Brielle attends daily official briefings. If you have questions, leave them for her in the Dropbox here:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/68/242/701

Eye On The Blog: "Information About Privacy and Security in Tilia"

Last Friday, Soft Linden, Linden Lab's Information Security Manager, posted in the Tools and Technology blog, "Information About Privacy and Security in Tilia."

A large number of you attended the Tilia Town Hall  last week. Aside from the many questions you had about how Tilia affects Second Life L$ and monetary activity, privacy was a common concern. Grumpity asked if I would answer a few of the questions about Tilia privacy and security which surfaced in the town hall and in our forums.

There were four sample questions and four lengthy answers.

Where did the Tilia team come from? And why should I trust Tilia with my personal information?
 

Soft answered, "The Tilia team is made up of people you previously knew as Linden Lab employees." He called the team "passionate about privacy and security," and that many had alts in Second Life and knew many of the residents there. They also promised, "the information you store with Tilia is never provided to third parties for purposes such as marketing, " and We won’t even provide that information to the US government unless we are compelled to do so through a legal process such as a subpoena or a search warrant."

 

Does Tilia change how my information is secured?
 

In short, yes. Soft stated, "Figuratively speaking, we locked the old vault inside a bigger, stronger vault." Of the 'new vault,' it "uses modern algorithms to encrypt sensitive information in a way that would require both enormous computing power and an enormous amount of memory for an attacker to crack… if they could even get a copy of the encrypted data. These algorithms are specifically tuned to defeat expensive decryption acceleration hardware." Their existing encryption technology was called "industry standard at the time."

It sounds like a lot has changed at once. Aren’t large changes risky?

Soft answered, "Tilia was designed with security and privacy as its primary considerations." They had people, "some of our key privacy and security practices and procedures," and that they pay a security company to attempt to hack into their servers to test the m.

What does Tilia mean for Second Life privacy and security in the future?

"We have many plans for Tilia," Soft stated. They are in the process of moving "additional forms of information ... Now that we have a new privacy and security foundation, we can extend the amount of information that enjoys this level of protection. If it pertains to your real life identity, we believe in leveraging Tilia protection wherever possible." It also mentioned their goals were ensuring, "compliance with upcoming privacy and security regulations."

To check the blogpost in it's entirely, Click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan

Eye on the Blog: Linden Lab Wants Your Spooktacular Halloween Screenshots

A couple days ago, Linden Lab posted on their blog asking residents for their spooky pictures. Reminding readers that October is not that far away, it invited readers to share Halloween-themed Screenshots on it's Flickr page.

One of Second Life Residents’ favorite holidays is coming up at the end of next month - but that doesn’t mean we can’t start celebrating Halloween now! We’re already seeing a ton of spectacular haunts being submitted to the Destination Guide, and now we’re looking for some of your great inworld images! Share your Halloween themed images, and your work could be featured in an upcoming email or banner campaign - with your avatar name credited of course! Do you like to dress your avatar up in costumes - travel the haunted spots all over Second Life, and generally run amok during this time of year? Why not show off your fun with images? Share your pic on our Official Flickr Page with the tag “SLHalloween2015” so that we can see all of your amazing works. You may submit as many as you like between now and September 28th, 2015. We’ll showcase the chosen image(s) in an email to Residents, as well as in some banner campaigns. We’ll let the chosen image creators know via Flickr and ask for an avatar name for the credits.


The Lab asks that all screenshots submitted be appropriate for all ages: no "bits" showing or suggestive poses, that the images are scenes that could easily tell a story, and that the pictures are free of texts and logos.

This is not a contest, rather an opportunity for readers to get their names an images publicized, and perhaps have the pictures be part of a Second Life advertisement (no pay though).

The blog entry in full can be read (here).

* * * * *

Also this week, Linden Lab asked residents to update their payment information, saying they were transitioning into a new credit card payment system.

Second Life is transitioning to a new payments processor for credit cards. If you use a credit card for Second Life payments and have not added or updated your billing information since July 7, 2015, we strongly encourage you to re-enter your information to avoid any potential disruption of services. If you use PayPal or Skrill for Second Life payments, no action is needed.


To change one's payment info, logon to secondlife.com, click "Account," then "Billing Information," then under "How You're Paying" click to add a credit card, Paypal account, or Skrill account.

The Lab did state there may be "small authorization charges made to the credit card associated with your account." They went on to say this was "common when new payment procedures are initialized," saying they were to "confirm the validity of the billing information on file."

To read the blog post in it's entirely, (click here).

Commentary: Windows 10's Dark Secret

Microsoft is releasing their latest version of Windows: Windows 10. In development for over two years, Microsoft calls it, "the best Windows ever." And the company is giving it out for free. So what's the catch? It seems the Operating System collects quite a bit of your data that gets sent to Microsoft. Nydia Tungsten had a few things to say about it.

Read more in Extra.

News and Commentary: A Potentially "Taxing" Problem for Second Life Content Creators Outside the US

By Bixyl Shuftan

Psyke Phaeton, the maker of a security orb, was threatened with being thrown out of Second Life by Linden Lab. Not because his products are causing problems, but because he refused to provide tax documentation to Linden Lab.

On August 1, Psyke wrote on his blog that he had gotten a message from Linden Lab that he had to provide an IRS form, a W8-BEN, otherwise his account would be terminated in 28 days. Psyke wrote that he would not be providing the information for two reasons. One, he isn't an American but an Australian, and saw no obligation to pay. Two, he didn't want to make any contributions, however small, to what he saw the US government as eroding its Constitution and saddling its citizens with massive debt, and other actions.

So Psyke made his security orb free on the Marketplace, preparing for the end. Then someone on the Second Life Universe forums found some documents online that informed that as an Australian resident who does not travel to the United States, he doesn't have to pay any taxes to the US. Oops! "Well, that is a little embarrasing isn't it. Perhaps LL needs to be more clear about the consequences and less threatening. Now to reponder everything."

While Psyke may now be off the hook (except perhaps with fellow posters on the SLU forums), the incident does bring up some questions about Linden Lab's policies in this area. Originally it was just newly created accounts at the time of the new requirements (Nov 2013) that had to comply. Psyke's rezz date is listed as October 12, 2003. Also, some countries prohibit their residents from giving companies based outside their borders certain information. Might they possibly end up in a catch-22, choosing between in trouble with Linden Lab, or their real-life authorities?

Maybe there should be an alternative to expelling merchants whom decline to turn over tax information, at least those whom have been in Second Life for many years, live outside the United States, or both. Instead, just take away their ability to do business. Perhaps blocking them from using the Linden Exchange and thus unable to cash their Lindens into real-life currency, or "freezing" their Linden accounts so that while money continues to come in as people buy their items, the user can't spend it?

Something to think about.

*Addition* Psyke isn't the first content creator with this problem mentioned in the Newser. Earlier we wrote about Meissa Thorne, whom had been banned by the Lab for this reason.

Sources: Psyke phaeton's Blog, Ciaran Laval, Nalates Things and Stuff , SL Universe Forums, 

Bixyl Shuftan

Answering Questions About the InWorldz Grid

In recent months, the InWorldz Grid has gotten more attention among the residents of Second Life. There has been much talk, and some concern that not everything being stated is true. So a conference was arranged, and people familiar with InWorldz, including one of it's founders, were on hand to answer any questions and concerns.

Read about the event in Other Grids and MMOs.

Discussion About InWorldz At Purrfection

On November 30th, a discussion about the InWorldz Grid took place at the Purrfection sim, hosted by Nydia Tungsten. Over thirty people attended the meeting. This included Zia Larina and Amore Crux of the Second Life/InWorldz Connection Center, and Elina Llewellyn, whom Zia called one of InWorldz' founders. A number of questions were asked, and answered. Probably the most important concern answered was that no one has to chose just one Grid. Setting up shop in InWorldz does not mean leaving Second Life behind, and in fact many InWorldz residents still spent time in the larger Grid.

The meeting went on much longer than expected, a few hours. Due to the business of the weekend, an in-depth report will have to wait until later this week. But in the meantime, people can watch the following video: http://www.twitch.tv/nydia_tungsten/b/484003456. The meeting starts at about 1 hour and 23 minutes into the recording.

Second Life Newser apologizes for the delay.

Discussion on InWorldz to be Held Nov 30

With InWorldz getting more attention from Second Life users due to Linden Lab's Terms of Service controversy, people have been looking for facts about the virtual world. But with concerns about misleading information, an event to explain what's true and what isn't true about the InWorldz grid is being organized.

Nydia Tungsten, whom has been traveling some to InWorldz along with some of her friends, expressed concern about what she feels are false rumors, notably a statement by Kinzart Productions that went beyond saying they would not be selling their avatars there, but also called InWorldz a "poorly maintained clone" of Second Life that was basically "a haven for thieves and copybotters" and at "risk of being shut down" by the US government. She got together with Amore Crux and Zia Larnia, who run the InWorldz/Second Life Connection Center, and informed Second Life Newser they will be holding a discussion about this alternative virtual world, fully open to the Second Life public.

The day and time for the discussion will be Saturday November 30, at Noon SL time. A location for the event has not yet been determined. While the IW/SLCC in the sim of Appletor would be appropriate for a small event, with the attention the issue's been getting across Second Life residents, a place in which the audience can listen from three or four sims is being looked for.

As for Kinzart's accusations, they were dismissed by Nydia and Amore. Nydia stated that the Grid was stable compared to Second Life, and the lag was no worse than the larger Grid, and for some even less. As for copybotters, Nydia told Second Life Newser about hearing in a InWorldz group chat someone who was basically hounded out of the chatroom after admitting a skin she was having trouble with was given by a friend who got it from Second Life, the people demanding that she ditch it for one bought from an InWorldz dealer, and threatening to report her. InWorldz, she stated, has as little tolerance for copybotters as Second Life, if not less. Amore stated, "In InWorldz, if anyone steals some other's creations and try to sell it, they get kicked out."

Nydia added, "there are less copybotters there in InWorldz than Second Life because it is less known. But to put a whole grid down like that with no proof or reason, (it) goes beyond not so thought out responses from someone that clearly had no idea of what they were talking about."

Once again, the discussion is planned for Nov 30. The location will be announced by Second Life Newser once a place has been found.

Bixyl Shuftan

Visiting Down Under: SL Australia

Grey Lupindo's been exploring again. Her latest excursion deals with the land down under: Australia. Grey found the place to be both informative about what visitors to the real Australia could expect. But she also discovered a number of fun activities.

Read Grey's article in Places.

Contemplating Turing

Gemma Cleanslate this weekend attended to opening of the Turning Gallery in Extropia. An exhibition of works by Oberon Ommura, the artist made it a tribute to computer pionner Allen Turning. How does one describe the "infinite output" of the mix of science and art? Not easily.

Read about the gallery in Design.