Reader Submitted SLB Pictures

 

 

 From Zada Bury, "Taken on the SL21B - Adult Event Area (SLB Steamy) - on battlement of the brokenthe church ... shadow in front of the dark sun"

 

 

From Kanida Delec, her checking out the Newser exhibit at SLB Incredible (24/15/21), "I found a lost puppy on the roof, well, it says lost."

Reader Submitted Cartoon: Lost Unicorn?

 

From DeniseUnicorn Toonie, "I was exploring on Second Life recently, and I came across this place, 'The Lost Unicorn Gallery?"  'Dude... I'm not lost.'"
 

More on M and M's Sales Cancelation, Lindens Taken, by Linden Lab

A week ago, we wrote about Marcthur Goosson and his "M and M Creations" having two sales worth a toral of 42,000 Linden dollars being canceled by Linden Lab and the money taken. When he asked Linden Lab for an explanation, they didn't say very much other than the sales, made through M and M's Marketplace page were "done with Lindens acquired from another source." So he turned to us, and our readers, for answers.

Marxus Lefevre was the one person who answered through the Newser's article comment section, saying:

It does happen a lot actually... when I was working for an estate, which shall remain unnamed, LL would take regularly L$ from the estate owners account with above explanations. Due to close contacts with the support we eventually figured, that there were rental payments done with money acquired, i.e. from stolen credit cards etc., often from Russian or Arabian accounts. If the money was stolen from another account, which happens to often sadly too, LL would return the money to the person it was stolen from, independent of the purchases made through the offenders. I always thought it was the right thing to do though, but I understand, that it comes disturbing to Marcthur or anyone who's not aware of these things.

On the Friends of Second Life Facebook page, there were more comments. While there were accusations of "shady business practices," others confirmed Marxus' story. " This has been done for years and even on almost on daily basis. It relates to their procedure on how to handle stolen accounts. And perfectly legal. Credit card comp, banks etc all do the same by reverting payments when accounts stolen. ... This a normal buisness practice and nothing shady." "it's just a nice way of saying 'stolen lindens'."

So why didn't Linden Lab just up and say that they were returning stolen money to it's owner instead of giving vague and cryptic explanations? The only responses I got were from the Facebook chatter, "They just can't give more details than (they) did due to privacy right issues of account holder. ... by law they can't."

I don't know where to look to confirm this explanation. But if this is true, it seems this isn't simply Linden clumsiness at work, but also the law. Still, couldn't the Lab find some way to give a better explanation to a confused content creator trying to make a few dollars only to find his sales canceled and the money taken? There is also to consider that if dealing with stolen cash is a frequent problem, Linden Lab may be naturally reluctant to talk about it. In any event, this seems to be the best explanation there is for Marcthur's missing money.

Bixyl Shuftan

Merchant's Sales Canceled, Lindens Taken, by Linden Lab

Longtime readers may remember "M and M Creations," run by Marcthur Goosson. For years, he has been making quality items for sale, such as his cottages. But he recently came to the Newser after an incident that concerned the sale of some of his cottages.

Besides his inworld store at the Isle of Paradise, M and M also has a Marketplace page. Sales there were routine until December 30 when Marcthur discovered the Lindens had taken away 11,000 Linden dollars from his account, "without any warning or explanation." A few days later on January 4, he found 31,000 Linden dollars were gone. So he asked Linden Lab what was going on. They gave the following answer

Thank you for contacting support. We'll be happy to explain! We discovered the Marketplace purchase on your store was done with Lindens acquired from another source. The transaction was cancelled and the Lindens that were used were subsequently removed. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Let us know if you need any further assistance!

Marcthur messaged them again for more details, and his money back. He was given this answer.

Unfortunately we are not privy to the specifics on which Marketplace purchase was actioned against, you do have our apologies! Our Accounts Review team discovered the issue and made a determination which resulted in the removal of the Lindens spent. For security purposes we cannot reveal the source of the Lindens or who spent the Lindens through your store.

Exactly what Linden Lab meant by "acquired from another source" they never stated. Marcthur wondered if it might be "fraud or stolen Linden dollars." But with the Lab not saying more, he could only turn to the Newser. Of the items involved in the canceled transactions, "I do not know cause they do not tell me. But given the amounts ans transactions in my overview it must be mainly cottages. So my cottages are in the wild now, and who-knows-what other items (I mainly sell full-permissions only). ... I am still in conversation with Linden Lab so they might compensate me or tell me more (or give me the LL finger)."

So far, Marcthur has yet to tell me of any additional information Linden Lab might have given him, or any of the lost 42,000 Linden dollars. If anyone knows of any similar incidents, please contact the Newser about it. In the meantime, M and M Creations remains open for business.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isle%20of%20Paradise/217/158/22

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at "Hug A Linden" at the Isle of View. For those having trouble reading the nametag, her name really is "Lost Prim." A name like that probably means trips to the sandbox are a little more interesting.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Virtual Health Adventures

Virtual Ability, Inc. is pleased to announce its participation in Virtual Health Adventures, a major project that will apply amputee-rehabilitation lessons learned from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts to the mainstream amputee population. The project is lead by Nova Southeastern University, College of Health Care Sciences - Occupational Therapy and the College of Computer and Information Science, and funded by a grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.


The three-year Virtual Health Adventures project will use the virtual world of Second Life® to provide evidence-based health information for individuals with upper and lower limb amputation(s), their families, and the clinicians who serve individuals with amputation. In addition, the project will conduct a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of providing this information in a virtual world environment compared with providing it via a traditional CD-ROM.

Nova Southeastern University and its multiple partners on this project will develop the health-related content and conduct the clinical trial. Virtual Ability, Inc., as one of the project subcontractors, will develop the Second Life® virtual environment, and provide virtual world community management services for the duration of the project.

Amputation is a chronic, life-long condition. Acquiring current and evolving prosthetic and health-related information will be an ongoing process throughout the lifespan of the amputee. The objective of the Virtual Health Adventures project research is to provide amputees with evidence-based information to improve their health and quality of life while decreasing the burden of this chronic condition on society.

Commenting on the project, Alice Krueger, President of Virtual Ability, Inc., said, "I am very pleased that Virtual Ability can continue to build on our previous work on community building in virtual worlds. This project will not only promote the use of evidence-based health information to improve the quality of life of amputees learning to use their prosthetics, but will also let us assess the use of virtual worlds for this type of activity."

About NSU
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is the nation's eighth largest, not-for-profit, independent university, with more than 28,000 students and 148,000 alumni. In addition to a main campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the university also hosts field-based programs in 32 other Florida cities, in 23 states, and at 16 international sites. NSU is a fully accredited institution awarding undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. For further information, please see www.nova.edu
For information on the Virtual Health Adventures project, contact: 1kokopelli12 Resident

About AHRQ
Funding for the Virtual Health Adventures project is provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a department of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ’s mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As one of 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports research that helps people make more informed decisions and improves the quality of health care services. For more information about AHRQ, please see www.ahrq.gov.

About Virtual Ability, Inc.
Virtual Ability, Inc. is a woman- and disability-owned Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that is the leading provider of support and information for and about people with disabilities in virtual world settings. Virtual Ability enables people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in online virtual worlds. For more information about Virtual Ability, please see www.virtualability.org.

For information on the Virtual Health Adventures project, contact: Gentle Heron

Cartoon of the Day

Loosing bets can be such a "drag." ;-)

By Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan