EOTB: New Tool Allows Estate Owners To Ban Bots, Lab Bot Policy Updated

 

Good news for those wanting to keep "bots" off of their land. Yesterday, Thursday March 30, in the official blog, Linden Lab announced they had added a new option to estate management, one that when switched on would bar avatars controlled by "scripted agents" from entering. The Lab has also updated their policy about bots.

We are pleased to announce a new feature to enable Estate-level access management of scripted agents. As of Wednesday’s deploy, a new flag to prevent identified scripted agent accounts from entering a region has been added to all regions.

 

When this new feature is turned on, bots "that are not explicitly listed in the estate’s Allowed Access list" will not be allowed onto the land. Otherwise they can enter and leave like other avatars. 

 

The feature is active only on the latest version of the Linden viewer, which was released today. For now, Firestorm and other third-party viewers do not yet have it active.

This is in addition to two options that estate owners already had, to ban access to minors and to ban those who the Lab has no payment information on.

Linden Lab would also include a Frequently Asked Questions page to help explain some details about the option. Among them are that large estates may take some time to activate a ban, the action can only be done at the estate level and not by those who have just a parcel.

The Lab announced their new set of policies on bots on a page on the Second Life Wiki. Among them, those who have an account used as a bot "must specify this on the Scripted Agent Status page." Also, using bots to artificially boost traffic figures is against the Lab's rules, as is using a bot to send an excessive number of messages and using them to buy mainland parcels. There was also a reminder that making use of information from within Second Life elsewhere on the Internet is subject to privacy rights and laws, "This applies whether data is collected by Scripted Agents, LSL scripts, or external tools." 

Later, Patch Linden mentioned on the New Linden Homes thread that the feature would be included with Linden Homes.

 

As we announced earlier today, we have released a new feature that enables estate owners to disallow scripted agents from accessing regions within their estate.

Many of you have requested that we come up with a solution to scripted agents and their presence within the Linden Homes regions of Bellisseria.  Therefore, we have enabled this feature on the Bellisseria Linden Homes estate as well.

Additionally, we have updated the covenant to reflect this change.

 

While bots have been a sore spot to a number of residents, the issue flared up in January when the Bonniebots began going from sim to sim with the purpose of collecting data and statistics, and many demanded the Lab do something about them, and other less-visible bots. After shutting down some threads in the forums, the Lab finally stated they would be looking into the issue. In their last Lab Gab, it was stated they would soon be updating their bot policy and giving estate owners the power to ban them.

There are two threads in the official forums about the issue (here) and (here). So far, response has been overall positive, "a great first step," with a number wanting it available at the parcel level. Someone did express concerns that certain HUDs may get some residents booted from some areas. 

 

Hat tip: Gemma Cleanslate

Bixyl Shuftan

"BonnieBan" Security Device

 

When word about the "Bonniebots" started going around, the response by some was to seek ways to ban them. In the Genesis Viewer group, there was a notice by a Torric Rodas.

Hi chaps, forgive the misappropriation of the group notice...

Several of you have recently asked in group if there is a way to effectively remove BonnieBots the spy bots from your land.

We've designed a device that will do just that.

 The item in question is on Marketplace (here). The page claims, "This product will detect and ban BonnieBots from your land. Depending on how you set it, it will scan the entire region or just a parcel. For multiple parcels place a copy in each parcel. If you have Estate manager access it will scan the entire region." The page gives a number of details, including a land impact of 1 and able to be placed above or below ground. As of the writing of this article, there were no reviews. 

The item is one of fourteen in Torric's London Brand store, including flat cuttouts of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, and store and plot and store rentals in London City.

 

Hat tip: Cynthia Farshore

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Linden Lab Speaks About The Bots

 

With all the talk about the Bonniebots, and Linden Lab having to suspend comments on several threads on the official forums about them as well as talking to the staff behind the bots, it was no surprise they would eventually say something. And on Friday afternoon, February 3, they did, posting a statement in the official blog under "Balancing Initiative and Privacy."

We know there has been quite a bit of discussion about Scripted Agents/NPCs lately.  Linden Lab is committed to continuing its excellent track record of keeping your personally identifiable information safe and secure.  We understand that there is a certain amount of information a “bot” service has been collecting and displaying on their third party website that is causing unease in our community, and we’re working on the best way to address these concerns.

Linden Lab is having conversations with the parties involved, however this should not be taken as an endorsement of any sort. We have spoken several times in an attempt to get a full picture of the situation. These discussions have been mutually beneficial, and will help us as we look to update our policy on Scripted Agent/NPC operation in Second Life.

We recognize the need for improvements in specific areas, so in the near future we will be making adjustments to policies where needed.  We have seen many requests from the community with a wide array of suggestions, and we appreciate all earnest and civil engagement. Internal discussions will continue beyond the Scripted Agent/NPC Policy, and any programmatic changes will be communicated as those roll out.

Thank you to everyone who engaged in this topic and added your voice.  While we have had to shut down several discussions that became unproductive, we have welcomed feedback through support contacts and have been using this feedback to inform our decision-making. We are listening, and are working to make sure that Second Life is a welcoming and engaging world for all our Residents (and their automata). 

 

The parts "as we look to update our policy on Scripted Agent/NPC operation in Second Life," and "in the near future we will be making adjustments to policies where needed," suggests there *may* be some changes as to what information bots can collect in the future. But this is not a sure thing.

Bonniebots and The Debate About Them

 

In the past few days, a new controversy has come up in the Second Life forums: the Bonniebots. Some say they provide a useful service. Others call them a privacy threat and a violation of the Terms of Service. The topic was a hot one in the Second Life forums with four threads on the topic shut down by the Lindens. In the last one, Patch Linden stated they would soon be meeting up with the bots' team.

 

 Read the story in Design.

Adressing Concerns About Lindo Virtual Flowers

In July, MajikVixen reported on the Lindo virtual flowers game designed by Sofistik. Recently a reader brought up some concerns about possible problems. Majik went to Sofistik to bring up the mentioned issues, and the game's maker responded.

Read Majik's story in Design.

Bot Invaders

Becky "Sha" Shamen recently had a conversation with Jenwen Walpole, the owner of Escort Oasis, which began as part of a group chat and moved on to a one on one at the club. Most of her concerns were printed on a notecard sent in the chat's group. Jenwen was concerned about an old problem in Second Life: the use of 'bots to artificially boost a venue's numbers. This wasn't about just the lost revenue at her club, but she felt the problem was dragging down Second Life as a whole.

Read Becky's article in Extra.

Runescape Puts Rulebreakers on Public Trial in "Botany Bay"

Bots aren't a problem only in Second Life. In the MMO game of Runescape, they're a problem for both the staff and honest players alike. For those not familiar, a "bot" in Runescape is a player put under the control of "macros" to perform a repetitive task, such as mining and woodcutting. Illegal, if a player is caught, it results in a warning and a short ban. The second time is a more severe warning and a longer ban. The third time results in a permanent ban with the account removed.

Lately, the Jagex staff  "decided to have a little fun" with the disposing of those caught three times. So they came up with "Botany Bay," a dreary prison-looking place that can be visited in only one manner, accept an invitation from a town caller to take part in a "trial" of a three-time offender.

 As we hunt for and identify botters, you - the good citizens of Giellnor - will be the ultimate deliverers of justice! Unrepentant and persistent bot-users will now find themselves banished to Botany Bay. This foreboding island is the staging ground for trials run by the Botfinder General, where there's only one verdict, and justice is swift and uncompromising.


Those accepting a town crier's invitation to take part in a Botany Bay event will be teleported to the courtroom. Rotten tomatoes are available to pelt the condemned, whom is cowering in a small platform in the middle of the court. The players have no say in whether or not the account on trial is guilty, that's already been decided. Instead they decide on a choice of three fates: crushed by a giant limb, fried into dust by an energy beam, or devoured alive by some unknown something from below. Repeat jurors are awarded the "Pitchfork of Vigilantism" and later the "Pitchfork of Justice."

The accounts in question have been banned anyway, so the purpose of these trials is for show. There's just something about seeing a cheater get his/her coming.  There's also the possibility that Jagex also had in mind these trials were to cut down on criticism. By giving these show trials, that would give the impression something is being done about theft.

Such a system could easily be replicated in other MMOs after adaptations, and perhaps Second Life. It's easy to imagine a "Botany Bay" for copybotters. But suppose if such a system was being set up on the Grid? Why not allow the jury to determine an avatar's guilt or innocence?

I  imagine though that those accused of griefing would prefer to take their chances with the Lindens instead of a jury. Suppose someone accused of dropping particle bombs on Luskwood found themselves facing a jury of furred avatars?

Oh well, one can dream.

Source: Jagex

Bixyl Shuftan

Eye on the Blog: “CEO Rodvik Humble Shares What's New in Second Life”

On Monday, Linden Lab’s CEO Rod Humble/Rodvik Linden personally posted on the official blog, “It’s been a little while since I last updated folks on Second Life. Earlier this year, I noted several areas we would be focusing on. Let me update you on each area and share with you our plans for the remainder of the year. But first, we’d like to give a warm welcome to our newbies! August was the biggest growth month for Second Life in nearly four years! I hope you all take the time to try out the many different activities in Second Life — there’s everything from clubbing to boating. You might even to want to try your hand at making something new. As a side note, one of the easiest ways to find new things is to check out the Destination Guide in the log-in screen of the viewer.”

Rod then brought up Viewer 2’s Basic mode, which he called really helpful in “getting newbies up and running.“ But recognizing its limits, such as being unable to buy & sell and build, stated the Lab would soon “merge the Basic and Advanced modes.” He also stated there would be “continued investment and focus” in response times to problems including more support staffing.

Rod also mentioned “over the next few months,” there would be new advanced features that would allow for easier and better “creation of artificial life and artificial people.” Among other things, the creatures and beings would be able to navigate about more intelligently, “Imagine being able to create advanced pets, creatures or even a living town where non-player characters are walking about. Combined with the experience tools I mentioned above, it should soon be possible to create more advanced MMORPG’s or interactive experiences which use AI right within Second Life.”

Hamlet Au wrote some about the last set of improvements. He felt they would soon lead to “upheavals” in the virtual pet industry as old scripting systems are taken offline and the companies rush to keep their creatures and other goods updated. He also predicted Second Life’s gaming areas, or “mini MMOs” ae he called them, would both become more advanced and more popular. Finally, he called these upcoming developments a solution to the Grid’s “crowded empty” problem, lots of residents inworld, but most sims empty or nearly so, “Adding NPC features will be an easy way to fix that problem, giving land owners easy tools to make their place seem less empty.”

Checking the thread on the forums, many people posting were looking forward to these developments. This included Jo Yardley of “The 1920’s Berlin Project,” who felt the use of these “robots” would make a lot of difference in making her sim more lifelike, “Yes I'd rather have 100 real avatars running around my city 24 hours a day, but it won't happen and if it did the server would blow up with lag overdose.” There were however some dissenting opinions, “So one CEO gets rid of the bots, numbers plummet, lag doesn't get any better, and the next CEO decides to bring the things back.”

Sources: Linden Blog, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan