Update on Bonniebots

 

 Of our article on the Bonniebots on Friday, there were two responses. One lengthy one from an anonymous reader felt there was little if anything to worry about, "I have to say the bots seem benign, maybe even beneficial ... after having spoken with the creator and the lengths they go through to keep the data benign I have to say their activity appears to be more responsible than most bot operators, the bots even now provide links to show what their doing, when I first encountered them, they may of been in the testing phase, but they offer no data that isn't easily obtained within SL beyond showing where they've last seen people at ... I think the only reason these bots attract so much ire is because they don't hide the fact they have the same origin by giving them diversely different names which gives haters a clear target making them a little harder to dismiss as random. ...the data they collect is publicly available and easy to collect and isn't anything newly generated that breaches actual privacy unlike that trash from ... zfire and Monkey."

 

Nydia Tungsten's response was shorter, feeling there had to be some changes, "They should leave the Avatar search off and let people Opt IN, there will be a lot of people that have no clue about this. But MY main concern as someone that owns multiple sims is I would LIKE to see a way to opt my sims out completely. I am getting so very tired of bots popping in when and where ever in residential area's. Granted this could be a boon for business areas and more power to them, me, I detest all bots and want them to stay out of my sims period."

Since our article, there's been two changes. Early this week, the Bonniebot website now had an "About" page, at https://www.bonniebots.com/about . There were four sections: Bonnie, FAQ API, and Opt Out. Opt Out gave the following, "To opt-out, send an in-world message to bonniebelle86 containing the phrase 'opt-out'. The opt-out applies to Top Merchants and Avatar Search." At the bottom of the page are the names of the Bonniebots.

 

The FAQ page had questions such as "What data is being collected?" "How do I prevent Bonniebots from visiting my region?" "Do other people have databases like this?" and others, and when clicked in would reveal an answer. 

Later in the week, the Search page was gone. So people could no longer search for information on certain avatars, at least within the website (searching inworld is still very much fair game). So those who complained about that no longer have to worry about it. 

In the meantime, the Bonniebots, and their less visible counterparts, are still going about their business, hopping around the Grid and collecting information. But unlike other bots, it's as simple as going to a website to look up the Bonniebots' names so you can block them from your land.

Bixyl Shuftan

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.

Video Game Collecting: Part Two - How To Cheaply Start Collecting Video Games

Besides going about on Second Life, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) plays his share of computer and console games. Having a lifelong love of gaming that goes back to the 1980s and the days of Atari and Nintendo, Cyfir has gone about collecting older games. But where to get them? In his second article on the subject, he talks about where to go for a good buy.

Read Cyfir's article in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Video Game Collecting : Part One - Why I Collect Physical Games

Probably just about everyone in Second Life plays games of some kind, either on the computer or video console games, or both. Available in stores since the 1970s, many of the older residents of the virtual world have fond memories of spending hours as kids on games from Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Playstation, and others years before coming here. While some residents have left these games behind, to others there's just something about holding the actual game in your hand, or they want to collect older games. Among these video game collectors is Cyfir. In the first of two stories on the subject, he talks a little about why.

Read Cyfir's article in Other Grids MMOs and Games.