Linden Lab Explains "February 1st Outage"

 

With the scale of the disruptions on Wednesday February 1st, it was likely Linden Lab would find themselves obligated to their customer base, the residents, to try and explain what happened. It turns out they made a statement about the "Recent February 1st Outage" the following day in the "Tools and Technology" section of the official blog. 

This Wednesday, February 1st, was a rocky one for Second Life, especially for regions on our Release Candidate (RC) channels. As with many large-scale services, we experience service interruptions from time to time, but yesterday's problems were unique and noteworthy enough that they deserve a sincere apology and more thorough explanation. 

 

The Lab stated the main cause was "a bug in object inventory behavior that was introduced by new code" saying the bug, "caused some objects' scripts to enter a non-running state."

RC rolls are regularly scheduled for 7AM Pacific (SLT) every Wednesday. While conducting one of these deployments, we received initial reports of issues relating to script behavior at 8:30AM. We immediately started investigating, and by 9AM it was clear that we needed to stop the roll, because the issue was pervasive and clearly related to the new changes. As we do in these situations, we declared an “Incident” and an Incident Commander took charge. 

By 9:30 we started a rollback, reverting the affected simulators to their previous version. We also evaluated what additional actions we would need to take, as it was unclear that a rollback alone would start the scripts which had stopped. This quickly proved to be the case, and we came up with a new plan - one that would ensure that scripts would perform as expected going forward, but possibly undo the changes our residents had been making since the time we had introduced the bug. Although this meant more downtime, it prevented further content loss, and proved to be the best way to put the grid back in order. The team came up with a quick, clean, and efficient way to achieve this and get everyone back on track. 

By 12PM the decision was made to take this direction. By 1:15PM the code was complete, by 1:40PM we confirmed that it worked. By 2:25PM all regions were brought back up.  

The report in full, signed by Grumpity Linden "and the Second Life team," can be found (here).

"I’m grateful to know that while we may make mistakes, we will not sweep them under the rug, nor look for someone to blame - we will come together and make it right."

SL Enquirer Editor Involved in "Karen" Incident

 

 Note: Comedy article, it didn't really happen.

 Lanai Jarrico, the editor of the Second Life Enquirer, can't seem to enjoy a simple coffee in peace these days.

The editor of the publication had supposedly gone into a Starbucks when she was harassed by a "Karen Smithstofferson" who proceeded to accuse her of shoving her and began verbally badgering her, calling her a bad journalist, making a 911 call and complaining to the police she'd been assaulted. Lanai got her coffee and left, but the indignant woman continued to hassle her. Finally the editor whacked her with a rolled up newspaper (presumably hers), fed up with her personal space getting constantly invaded. The verbal assaulter fell onto the sidewalk, dazed. 

 

Police arrived finding Lanai and a third woman giving first aid to Karen, who then proceeded to accuse the editor of assaulting her with a baseball bat. After talking to other witnesses, the policeman told Karen he was letting Lanai go with a warning, then proceeded to arrest the whacked woman for dialing 911 for a non-emergency. Then Enquirer would report someone at Starbucks would give Lanai a lifetime supply of virtual coffee for doing something about "the rash of Karenism spreading like wildfire across various Starbucks, Walmarts, Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Walgreens, Taco Bells, Hobby Lobby, and numerous Hair and Nails Salons."

 

To read the story in the SL Enquirer, Click Here.  

The preceding was a fictional story intended as humor and entertainment. 

Rita Mariner's Account Suspended Due To Missing IRS Tax Form

On Friday night, Rita Mariner, the leader of the Sunweaver community, got an unpleasant surprise when she tried to log in. She found her account had been blocked. So she came on with an alt that night. Her name couldn't be found in the Sunweaver group, though it was still on peoples' friend lists, leading to speculation she'd been hacked. But when she called Linden Lab the next morning, it turned out they'd suspended her due to not filing a form with the IRS.

Sunnies:  Rita discovered the reason she was blocked and took care of the issue.  Seems LL sent her an IRS Tax Form W9, via e-mail, that they wanted her to fill out.  She didn't notice it in scanning her e-mails, on her cell phone, but she found in checking on her PC.  It was dated last month.  Still Rita was upset wondering WHY they wanted the form filled out and all that sensitive, personal, info, since she didn't do business on SL, wasn't here to make money. In fact SL costs her.



At the Club Cutlass event on Saturday night, she (via the alt) talked about what was going on, "LL wanted me to fill out some IRS Tax Forms, why?  I have no clue. ... If I was making money on SL and pulling it out, I could see it, but the opposite is true, I pour money into SL every month." She stated that it was a W9 form sent in her emails, "So I filled it out and then I had to verify it again it was me. It was from a Linden. It had a ticket number. And it was in my account."

Others around were puzzled by the turn of events, one commenting ironically, "Because the IRS just KNOWS you are getting rich off SL." Another remarked, "Odd that I haven't heard of other large land-owners having issues." "Other than H and R Block, no business has demanded a tax form from me," spoke a third. "So maybe the IRS is gonna make you pay tax on the rents you collect?" someone jokingly asked. "If they try, then I get to deduct the losses," Rita answered, "which means I get a refund." "Or offer to pay them in Lindens (grin)."

Rita was optimistic, "I found the problem, filled out the paperwork, now just have to wait. ... Hopefully (by) Monday Rita will be back, now that LL has their desired paperwork."

Talk soon turned to other issues, such as the upcoming Relay season, hopeful the situation was on it's way to being resolved.

Bixyl Shuftan

The End Of The Ice Cream At Luskwood

Since late August, the "Big Tree" at Luskwood had a dark dysutopian look, with toxic-looking water, grafitti, propaganda from a "Council" with leaflets proclaiming "rebellion" occasionally plastered on them, and a suspicious-looking ice-cream factory. There would be two more bulletins from the Council, one resembling L Ron Hubbard's Sea Organization advertisements, the other looking like Soviet propaganda.

On Saturday October 26 at 8PM SL time was a "Victory Day" party. As no one from the Newser was there, and there are no known pictures of the event, all that there is to go on what happened are the scenes of wreckage at the Big Tree, with clean water flowing this time, and eyewitness reports. There are multiple reports of a giant crab having wrecked the place, although one man claiming to be with the rebellion was saying he had a hand in the ice cream factory exploding, claiming that the substance was flammable. There was no sign of the crab, other than a much smaller one skittering around.

And the "Council?" Reports on what happened to them vary, from getting killed at the event to hospitalized. but it appears their rein over the oldest active community in Second Life is now over.

Note: There was no actual griefing. This was part of a plotline by the residents of Luskwood.

Bixyl Shuftan

Montecito Bay UFO: The Military Responds

Montecito Bay has seen no shortage of weirdness. But it was about six months ago since it's weirdest time, when one of the town's buildings was hit by what looked like a UFO. Following when the strange craft was removed from the building but before it was taken away, the Newser managed to get a closer look. It's being taken away and the weird building that appeared in the wrecked structure's place overnight might have been the last word on the story. But this week, the Newser finally got an explanation from the US Military about the incident. So did they give a reason other than "swamp gas?"

Read the story in Extra.

Update on Montecito Bay Cleanup

Montecito Bay experiences no shortage of weirdness. But lately things have been getting weird and destructive. A few weeks ago, the southwest corner of the city was wrecked. Thankfully no one was hurt, and cleanup soon started. A few weeks later, the city is just about ready to rebuild. But the cleanup has also exposed some possible evidence of a previous incident, the crash of a strange craft in December.

Read the story in Places.

Cleanup in Montecito Bay Begins

It was a week and a half ago on February 2 that Montecito Bay experienced a number of buildings in the southwest corner of it's sim getting demolished. As everyone was partying in their newly opened Magnum Opus Lounge at the time, no one saw who or what caused the damage, though there was a picture taken of what looked like a flying saucer in the distance. After some going through the rubble by investigators, the cleanup and rebuilding has begun.

The crop-circle patterns on the streets are still glowing. Curiously, a new one has appeared at the sim's entry point, also glowing. As with the original patterns, no one knows how it came to be.

Some strange red stains that look suspiciously like blood splatters remain up. Presumably, investigations are continuing on what it really is and how long it's been up. No investigation findings of either the massive wreckage or the mystery spots have been made public.Neither has a date been given on when the cleanup and repairs are expected to be finished. One date that has been given is for the notices for the club events to be printed in color again instead of the basic black and white pictures they've been for the past two weeks, on February 18. Montecito Bay official Emorald told the Newser that the print shop normally used to make the notices was among those wrecked on Groundhog Day. It wasn't stated though whether or not they'd continue to have the strange hieroglyphic-like symbols on them that had been appearing for weeks.

Addition: Talking to Moff later today, he remarked, "... the cleanup is continuing. We have the Crux Construction Company working 'round the clock to at least get the place cleaned up. It might not get rebuilt right away, because there's all kinds of issues involved with rezoning. But at least we won't look like a junkyard for too much longer."

Stay tuned for more details.

Bixyl Shuftan

Note: The preceding is a fun article based on goings-on by the people of Montecito Bay themselves and not the actions of any griefer.

Destruction in Montecito Bay: Number of Buildings Wrecked, Cause Not Yet Known

Groundhog Day, unlike the movie of the name, was anything but the same old thing to the residents of Montecito Bay. What started out as a celebration for the grand reopening of their Magnum Opus Lounge ended up as carnage with part of the sim reduced to rubble and wreckage. The cause is still a mystery as everyone in town was inside the newly restored venue partying.

"Uhh .... hi," Moff (MoffettMephit Resident) nervously grinned when I approached him just after the incident, "We uhh, had a thing." After some moments to compose himself, he stated, "I dunno what's going on. ...  We were at the opening. It was a good party. Fun, great music. And all of a sudden it was....we all thought the DJ was playing with us. 'Cuz we heard these, ya know how in the movies, they do laser fire? It sounded like that. Ya know, that 'pew, pew, pew.' And, of course, explosions and weird sounds. But we thought it was the DJ. But I noticed it was loud, but not coming from the speakers. So I snuck a peek outside and saw, well, this. So I told everyone to get out....and then well, here we are. Most of the folks went to go check on their homes."

The clues as to what happened are few. Moff did have a picture from Flying Pickle owner Sheba Metaluna (shown left) and showed it to me. "There were like 30 people out here. All taking pictures," he explained, "I imagine there's better than that one. And we didn't really see much, until we got out here. But by that time, I guess it was over." As of the writing of this article, no one else has posted a picture or shared it with the Newser.

One other clue was that the mystery "crop circle" patterns that appeared on the city streets a couple months ago have changed from their previous black color to glowing. " I mean, I can't explain it," Moff struggled for words, "The Galleria.... this glowing paint or whatever.... I mean it's not even glowing. It's giving off light....and now all this."

What could have caused all this? "This must have been a gas leak or something," Moff stated at one point, "Oh, I have to believe there's gonna be an investigation." The buildings might not be repaired that quickly, "I dunno what they'll let us do until that's done. Well, we'll get our police investigators on it. There's gotta be a reasonable explanation for all this. There were a lot of witnesses thought, at least after the fact."

Moff told the Newser he would inform us of any findings. Despite what looked like a flying saucer on Sheba's picture, Moff felt there had to be another explanation, even though a strange craft crashed in another of their buildings in mid-December, "I'll let you know what we find. ... I uhh....yeah, whatever we find out, but really, I mean....flying saucers?" He looked at the scenes of destruction, "I guess I better call the Crux Construction Company, again." Gin Ghostraven made some random comment, "At least no one found a gun laying around!"

Looking around, a number of buildings, all in the southwest corner of the sim, were damaged or destroyed, with piles of rubble and pools of water all over the place. While searching around, one of the walls had red stains that looked suspiciously like blood. There were no bodies or body parts nearby, though, at least not uncovered by rubble.

Stay tuned for further details.

Bixyl Shuftan

Addition: The following was posted on Montecito Bay's Discord by Becky Nosferatu:

"Ardor here, bringing you the Dragon-Eye scope today... As I've recently been hired by the council to do snaps of the city from high up- When I left my cave last night and flew to the island, I was stunned to find this disaster!  I've been told by City Officials that there was no casualties, unless you count Wasa Bay Sushi and the Sunset Diner a casualy. I do... what is it that all the younglings say today? 'Press F for respect?' I don't know what that manes, but... do it. On the upside of no living casualities, I must stress that you try to find an alternate rute to Avagora. I've used my Magic to edit the teleporters at the main landing. Use that instead. I'll keep you all posted, but... try not to panic."

Note: The preceding is a fun article based on goings-on by the people of Montecito Bay themselves and not the actions of any griefer.

News and Commentary: More Information on Team Diabetes' Question About Missing Money

"Where's the missing 100,000 Linden dollars that our supporters were told would be going to us?" That was a fairly simple question asked by Team Diabetes about a month ago. The issue has become one of the more controversial issues the Newser has written about after we first reported on it on January 8. Since our update on January 22, two more people came forward with statements, and I finally had a chance to talk to the man accused of swindling the donors and got his side of the story. Unfortunately for him, his alibi didn't quite match the evidence I had.

Read more in Extra.

Update on Team Diabetes' Question About Missing Money

On January 8, the Newser reported on Team Diabates in Second Life stating someone had spammed their group chat during a fundraiser event on December 30, saying he was doing an event of his own for charity and that the money would go to Team Diabetes. But none of this money, over 100,000 Lindens according to the man, never made it to the Team. The Newser had messaged the man in question, Oenneo Resident, but never got a response.

Shortly afterward, Oenneo's partner ϮŁσrίŁуηη ŞŧαrşíđєrϮ (LoriLynnGrimes Resident) sent the Newser an angry message, one  that I won't go in detail other than it was an outpouring of anger and a claim that the American Diabetes Association was investigating Team Diabetes in Second Life. But when I contacted the American Diabetes Association, they answered this was not true and there was no investigation. When I was online, she contacted me, being more cordial, but still upset with one of the groups she had mentioned, and insisted the money raised had gone directly to the American Diabetes Association rather than through Team Diabetes.

A few days ago, LoriLynnGrimes would sent a message of apology to Team Diabetes and OYO Breedables, saying Oenneo had confessed to lying about the money he raised from the chat spamming going to charity.

I want to first apologize to you all. I will explain. I had no reason to doubt neo. He was my heart and I loved him and ultimately trusted him. I sadly trusted the wrong person and it was not only you two whom were hurt in the process. He never paid a charity I am finding out now. I gave him the earnings from the raffle we had and he did not do as he said. But what he did do was pay for a massive building to be made called "The Ark."  He plans to open it up in March called "Galaxy Enterprises presents the Ark Experience."

I am so disgusted and ashamed and would somehow like to do what needs to be done to make it better. I am heart broken he took all that money. Even if I have to pay every week to square the promise donation I will. I am so very truly sorry. I am just so sick and so humilated in what he did. I will also do whatever needs to be done to make things right. I am so devasted and feel so used and exploited. I wanted so badly to help people and he took advantage of me and also my patrons. He disclosed to me this evening he did not give the money to the american diabetes. I felt my whole world crumbled just then. I was so so devasted. I broke up with him instantly and also closed the business I shared with him. I cannot be with such a vile heartless human being. I am so sad he did this and hurt so many people. I hope to hear from you soon in how to make things right.

My son ******* was killed this past October and I was not really complete when I began really trusting Neo. I was destroyed by my sons murder. I have no accuse for my mouth other then I truly felt Neo was being honest. I was at sucha weak point in my life and allowed him to control every aspect of my business and I did not see what he was doing.

Anyways I am truly sorry for everything and I will make this right. Just need to know how.

So it seems there's finally an answer on what happened to the money in question. How LoriLynnGrimes will "make things right" with Team Diabetes remains to be seen.

Bixyl Shuftan

"Dark, Mysterious" Man Spams About Raffle In Team Diabetes Group, Fate of Lindens Donated Unknown

By Bixyl Shuftan,

Team Diabetes has gotten a sterling reputation over the years for raising money for the American Diabetes Association and donating everything they raise. But there was an incident recently that appears like someone was taking advantage of the organization's good name and the generosity of it's donators.

On December 31, there was an announcement by John Brianna (johannes1977 Resident) on the Team Diabetes blog that on the day before, "the owners of the Land of the Rings Breedables Auction spammed our group (of) their event and stated that their raffle was in support of Team Diabetes of Second Life." The people in question would say they had raised over 100,000 Lindens, but Team Diabetes had yet to see any of it, "we strongly encourage you to inquire where your donations went."

I contacted Team Diabetes about the matter, and was answered by Vee Tammas Shocker (Veruca Tammas). She told me most of what she knew was explained in the blog post. She did go on to say she tried contacting the owner of Land of the Rings Breedables, ϮŁσrίŁуηη ŞŧαrşíđєrϮ (LoriLynnGrimes Resident), "but she muted and blocked me." Before that, she had been told to talk to Oenneo Resident, the co-owner, but "I haven't gotten one response at all." She told me that there was a breedables group that was raising funds for Team Diabetes, but it was a different one: OYO Breedables. Vee described them as, "the OYO Breedable people who have been lovely and nothing but open, honest and aboveboard."

"I tell you Bix it's all fishy to me, this other group," Vee told me, " ... it was wrong to advertise it as a Team Diabetes event. I feel horrible for the people who attended and, if as they claim, gave 100,100 lindens, cause they thought it went to Team Diabetes." She added, "Lori sent a screaming note to John saying they didn't know where to get kiosks and then stated blaming OYO Breedables etc. who had nothing to do with them. ... about the notice on our website, how dare we, etc." She clarified by "screaming" she meant the note was entirely in capital letters, "come on, we have an office at NonProfit Commons and anyone can get a kiosk. .. They could have even gone to our office and dumped the money in that kiosk there."

Oenneo Residen't display name is "ϮƝЄƠ ƬӇЄ0ƝЄ ԼƖƠƝӇЄƛƦƬ ƓƛԼƛҲƳϮ", and in his profile (in all caps), he describes himself as an "untamable, unchangeable, unforgetable, dark, mysterious, enterpeneur extrordinare," and besides being co-owner of Land of the Rings Breedables, he owns another line, Galaxy Breedables. I sent him a message asking him about the Land of the Rings Breedables Auction. There was no reply.

In the meantime, Team Diabetes has changed it's kiosks to off-season ones, so even though the holiday events are done, people can still donate to them. For more information on the group, check out their website at: https://teamdiabetessl.org/ .

Bixyl Shuftan

Griefers Strike at Sunweaver Estates

On Saturday night, the Sunweaver Estates were the target of griefers. The incident took place at Club Cutlass after the party in which those still around were pummeled by flying drumsticks, which continued to chase them if they retreated. There was also a huge chicken bucket seen at the club, and something was uttering a racial slur.

Sunweaver Space suffered a griefer attack with self-replicating "chicken drumstick" noisemakers  multiplying all over the sim.  Their owners, ... , have been banned from the sims and the objects returned.  I *think* I got 'em all, but everyone check your parcels for unwanted/unknown objects, and I strongly suggest making sure your parcels are set to "group only" for object rezzing.

The objects were delt with by several locals with estate powers to clean up such objects.