In case you missed it, Engadget recently published a very good article about the right to be anonymous online. The article goes into some detail about why people should have the right to be anonymous as they use the internet, and I think the same holds true for Second Life residents as well. It’s a very good read if you get the chance and the next time someone tries to sell you on Facebook integration, you’ll know they must be crazy.
In an article related to Second Life anonymity, Little Tateru posted an update on the RedZone-like Second Life alt detector known as QuickWare Alts Pro which has just been yanked from Second Life almost as quickly as it arrived. It was designed to detect your Second Life alts by exploiting the Second Life media glitches that have been around for many years now. Soft Linden slammed the magic ban hammer down and then shouted out very loudly “No More!“
Well, he didn’t actually say it in those exact words, but just pretend he did…
Now the important question is, when will the media glitches be repaired?
In another bizarre event related to online identities, the likes of which I hope we never see happen in Second Life, a user who posted a negative comment in an online website forum was banned from the game Dragon Age 2.
Late Breaking Update (3-12-11):
Holy ****ing Moly! In yet another incident related to the Redzone fiasco, the Herald is now reporting that the Redzone password database may have just been compromised which could lead to those users Second Life account passwords being in jeopardy for people who sometimes use the same passwords with different user accounts. Also potentially at risk, “over 1.6 million unique IP addresses connected to various avatars in the database, and geo-location tools to identify real life location of Second Life players monitored by zf Redzone”.
Another Update! The Herald is now temporarily offline. It just doesn’t get any stranger…
It has been quite the roller-coaster ride for online identities this week, that much is certain. It’s time for a Heineken.
