(Almost) Forgotten Story: Linden Lab Accused of Using AI For Ads In Early 2025

 

Well, this news story could be called "better late than never."  

 

 In late February 2025, it was revealed on the SL forums that Linden Lab was using AI to make an ad. The reaction from the poster, "It looks like a bad ad for an AI chatbot app. SL has fantastic creators and content, why use AI generated video?" What followed were posts by upset and confused people, "Why would the Lab do this?  This isn't representative of SL AT ALL.  New users gonna log in with a default Ruth & duck walk & log right back out cause that video is bait & switch."especially since Linden Lab could, and was, doing proposed ads done entirely within Second Life. 

 

 Hamlet Au ended up talking to Linden Lab head Brad Oberwager. Oberwager responded that the intention was to use AI only for testing ads, and expressed surprised that they'd somehow leaked out and were seen by the residents. Hamlet would guess the Lab never asked residents for help thinking it would take too long to get permissions. 

 

Some people in the forums reacted with skepticism, "Good grief. Tell me you don't know how A/B testing works without telling me you don't know how A/B testing works, especially with FB ads." "They have no idea what the coffee they make tastes like. They will fail to find the magic bullet because they refuse to really taste the coffee." "As a marketer in RL I am sitting here shaking my head." But others were more hopeful, "Going by the article of Hamlet, it seems they did understand the mistake they made and hopefully will be correcting it." Later comments were a discussion about what kind of advertising might work. But there didn't seem to be any general agreement. 

 

Oberwager would admit of the controversy, "I f**ked this one up," and say to any residents reading, "Send me videos. Look at these bad ads [we made], and make them better."

 

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On a personal note, sorry for missing this story. Thankfully it doesn't happen often. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan

Busy Time

 
It's been a busy time in real life for the writers of the Newser. For yours truly, real-life has gotten busier then ever in the past few days. So not only am I prone to the occasional mistake, like the failsafe message that appeared earlier today that wasn't supposed to until if something happened that kept me from updating the computer for a month, for whatever reason. But some things I planned to write about soon will have to wait a little. But we'll keep updating. 

Bixyl Shuftan
 

A Correction

   

A few days ago, the Newser reported that Raglan Shire had reached the age of fifteen. As it turned out, we made a slight mistake. The community actually turned fourteen. The Newser regrets the error, though still wishes the community happy anniversary.

Bixyl Shuftan
  

Rainworx Owner Rain Puddles Banned Over Claw Game, Reinstated

 

A few days ago on October 20, customers of Rainworx Labs got an unpleasant surprise. The owner, Rain Puddles, had been permanently banned from Second Life by Linden Lab. The reason? For having a claw game at her store. The Marketplace store for Rainworx was also down. She would post about it on Twitter, her attempts at reasoning with Linden Lab being ignored.

So @SecondLife perma banned me for something I was not aware of. The product I was banned for using is still avail on the MP. How is this fair?! every ticket I submit is an automated reply with the same wording. I just called them on the phone to talk to a human being still nada

She would later say the claw game in question was apparently considered gambling by the Linden who banned her. She would add it was at other peoples' stores and there was no Linden dollar payout, and that she had heard nothing from Linden Lab until the babn, "They have claimed I have been warned several times and I was not. The only thing I have received from LL was a ticket they opened that I wasn't even aware of since there was no emails about it until I went to submit a ticket I didn't even know it exissted. ... I have grown my business' on SL for 10+ years to just have them take it from me is so heartbreaking."

Word soon got around about what happened. The Newser heard about it from a friend on our Discord channel. Rain would get a number of replies. "This whole situation smells of stinky vindictive bull****." "It just blows my mind that they wouldn't take every possible step first to ensure you were contacted in some way, even going to direct messaging, and then removing the machine. Or hell, why not just remove the machine, give you a notice and a slap in the wrist, and go about it?" "This is so unfair. I hope you'll be able to fix it, and that LL will see how this was a honest mistake."

Eventually, someone came up with what the issue was, "It's been a law case in California for years now. Essentially California courts ruled claw machines are technically gambling on the account  of not being guaranteed a prize. And because gambling is illegal in California, any definition of gambling follows." But in the words of one person on Twitter, "I didn't know that a claw machine would be considered gambling, I honestly don't know HOW MANY residents know either tbh."

Eventually, Patch Linden responded on Twitter that he was looking into the matter. The following day, Rain would announce the ban had been lifted.

So good news! @SecondLife @LindenLab have decided to unban me! I want to thank everyone for their support during all of this and thank you @LindenPatch. My marketplaces are still not available so please bare with me.

As of the writing of this article, Rainworx Marketplace is still down. But the items in the mainland store have been discounted. A Marketplace search would reveal a few claw machines up and available for sale. Talking with friends about the incident, a few considered it an example of Linden Lab's behavior.

In any event, a big misunderstanding has been cleared up.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video" Gravity Is A Mistake"

Click here if the video fails to play

By Haveit Neox on June 6, "Eupalinos Ugajin's 'Gravity is a Mistake' is a full sim exhibit in the virtual world of Second Life®. His sim and artwork fill the stage for a levitating experience. Included are guest artists whose pieces dot the environment. Always highly scripted, one never knows in what circumstance they will find themselves next, except for one, they will quickly discover that gravity is a mistake.

"The installation continues till the end of June 2016 on the LEA21 sim in Second Life®

"If I am able to get a full list of the participating artists, I'll post them here. As the exhibit is up for three more weeks, Eupalinos may welcome yet more artists to add their work, in which case the list grows."

"Cheesy" Tournament at the Happy Vixen: More Pictures

Well, sometimes when you think you've lost something, you've found it again. When I was looking for pictures of last weekend's "Cheesy" tournament at the Happy Vixen, I found fewer than I thought I took, and many of those I did couldn't be used. As it turned out, I had relogged, and saved the pictures with a slight misspelling in the name. So here are a few more images of the event.

 The goal was to win two matches. But several players won one before someone finally came out on top.

And here's ScentualLust, the winner. While "au naturel,"she always keeps her fur brushed over certain parts of the body that would make a picture unusable in this publication. She gave her prize to a friend in Derpyland.

Bixyl Shuftan

Another Linden Blunder Hits a Resident

With the harsh treatment Alleara Snoodle got last month from Linden Lab still on my mind, another of my friends came forward with another story. "Thanks to Linden Labs and a accounting error," she told me "I'm going to lose my primary account."

My friend went on, "Thanks to a error in their accounting computer my account got switched from a basic account to a Premium Annual account." I asked if she could switch it back, and she told me that wasn't the big problem, "they locked and disabled the account until I pay the $72 dollars they say I owe." She had never been notified of the account's status change, "I have till the 24th of (June) to take care of it though, or the account will be cancelled and wiped from the server."

My friend requested that her name not be listed, either her primary account or the one she has been using currently, " hate to even think I'd lose the account over something as retarded as Linden Lab."

The friend in question is pretty much devoted to Second Life thanks to a few individuals whose friendships she values, so she plans on sticking around regardless. But what does this say to those thinking of getting land from the Lab, or expanding their holdings?

Linden Lab, how much money can you expect to make in the long run if your customers lose your trust in you?


Bixyl Shuftan