I'm sorry to report that after several months of trying and several different approaches, we still haven't stirred up enough active participation among the many members of the Second Life Anti-Griefing Guild (SLAGG) to get anywhere. Each time we tried to get members set up to do constructive work for the group or tried calling for volunteers, we found ultimately that we didn't have people available to put in the time that would be needed.

There were a very few people who were willing to work and contribute to the group, and then a number who were not able to do so. So, we've disbanded SLAGG. It was a nice idea, but ultimately it seems as though Residents are not in Second Life to take on more work, but rather to relax and enjoy themselves. That seems entirely reasonable to me, and I do support Residents being able to use Second Life as a place to rest and regenerate and play.

It appears that some members may not have gotten the group notice I sent out before disbanding the group; if you were ejected from SLAGG tonight, it was only because the group was disbanded.

It's a bit sad to see the group go, but better a disbanded group than a sort of undead shell of a group!

And it's particularly sad to see these lovely t-shirts Eris designed go to waste!



^^^\ Kate /^^^

Since I expect I and others will have a fair bit of information to post about anti-griefing and the Second Life Anti-Griefing Guild (SLAGG), I created a LiveJournal group for it at http://communities.livejournal.com/slagg .

Our first meeting has been rescheduled to 7:00 PM SLT this Friday. We'll concentrate on organizing the various specialty groups (like griefographers, communicators, security specialists, and that kind of thing). Please see the SLAGG blog for more info!

Here's an open invitation for Second Life residents to the first Second Life Anti-Griefing Guild meeting:

Hello, fellow anti-griefers! This Saturday, December 2, we'll have our first meeting/party/soiree for the Second Life Anti-Griefing Guild at 7 PM SL Time (the same as Pacific Standard Time) at the Second Life Sylph Refuge (our home). There will be dancing and silly little freebies, but please come prepared to talk or learn about:

* What kinds of griefing attacks are most common
* What kinds of griefing protection you would most like to see, and
* What kinds of griefing protecting (techniques or tools) you know of that are already out there.

We'll use this as a starting point for planning our first anti-griefing manual and freebie anti-griefing package. One note: SLAGG techniques never involve counter-attacks or tools that lend themselves to griefing.

This is an open gathering; invite your friends and repost this message! The more of us there are, the stronger we'll be. Anyone who would like to work against griefing can join the Second Life Anti-Griefing Guild (SLAGG) for free; search in the Groups list for "anti-griefing". Got any questions? IM me! I'd also love ideas for or attempts at a logo I can put on a free SLAGG t-shirt.

See you then!
^^^\ Kate Amdahl /^^^

PS - If the time isn't convenient for you, please let me know what times work better for you, for planning future meetings.

Copybot is a tool just recently made available on Second Life by a group called SLLib. Many Residents of Second Life are afraid that Copybot will steal things that it took many hours and sometimes significant money to make. Many stores and sims have closed, and there have been widespread protests. Some of these protests, though, may be based on misunderstanding the important fact that Copybot is a little girly-man.

OK, I'm not an authority on Copybot, but here's what I get so far. If you see any inaccuracies, please comment! I'll fix the original post and put the changes in large, friendly red letters.

Copybot is not all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. It can look at prims and make copies of them and make copies of visible textures and take things that are freely copyable, so for instance it can look at an avatar and make a copy of that avatar's shape, appearance, clothing, and visible attachments. However, apparently the clothing shapes are lost on next login, so even that ability is limited.

It can also copy visible textures and shapes from objects. For instance, if you offer demo hair at your hair store with a big demo sign on it, Copybot can make a complete copy of the demo hair and allow its owner to strip off the sign, since whatever Copybot gets, Copybot's owner gets full permissions to.

But that's about it! Copybot ...
* can't steal secured scripts
* can't copy secured animations
* can't take things out of buy boxes
* can't steal textures that aren't visible and/or copyable
* can't copy individual articles of clothing; it just makes a picture of the entire outfit, which can't be separated out into pieces

I'm advised that Copybot can be defeated by IMing !quit to every avatar within 96 meters. (Thanks, Sciamachy!) [Later edit: FridgeMagnet points out this this can be an annoyance and may be easy for some Copybot users to get around.]

So I'm entirely behind the people who say that Copybot should be eradicated by the Lindens, but think the mass hysteria may be based on some misunderstandings.

Thanks to Marcus for most of the accurate information posted in this message. Any inaccurate information is something I just made up for fun, to tease you.

OK, I've been trying to think of things that can be done to lower the amount of griefing that goes on, and here's what I've come up with so far. This is a free group with open membership; find it in groups and join up! Quick, so you can help determine the theme of the first party!

Second Life Anti-Griefing Guild (SLAGG)

Griefing getting you down? Do something about it! Join SLAGG, a fun and interesting group of people who work to prevent and block griefing.

SLAGGers try to ..
* Find new ways to prevent and minimize griefer activity
* Develop and distribute free tools to repel and escape griefer attacks
* Spread the word about anti-griefing practices and techniques
* Help redirect and rehabilitate griefers (rather than annoying them into coming back with alts and starting over again)
* Expand membership to others interested in minimizing SL griefing (What do you think of the idea of dressing in suits, printing up a bunch of tracts, and going door to door?)
* Come up with useful recommendations for the Lindens, SL merchants, and other groups
* Form productive and fun relationships with other individuals and groups in SL
* Provide ways to work out anti-griefing anger to let people move on with their Second lives (the victims' assistance group)
* Have some fun! We hold parties, share nifty freebies, and conduct meetings around a dance floor when possible. Orgies will be strictly limited to interested parties and will not be used for official business. (No, I’m kidding about the orgies. Mostly.)

SLAGGers are
* Against griefing but not in the business of encouraging vendettas against griefers (on the RIVE principle: "Revenge Isn’t Very Effective")
* As a group, neutral on the subject of free and/or unverified accounts. SLAGG won’t take any action or make any statements on that issue, and new members are welcome regardless of their feelings on the subject.