SL news

FBI probes Second Life gambling
I think that the government will eventually crack down of this form of online gaming. Money is money no matter what currency it is in. I mean to say that if you take real US dollars and turn them into online currency then they still have value. The fact that SL says they can't monitor what goes on through their site I feel is ridiculous. If myspace can kick people off for creating music pages that feature popular artist music then SL can monitor this online gambling somehow.
Nuclear Detonation: Latest Scene from the Class Struggle in Second Life
This article almost made me laugh. I don't take these attacks seriously because they are in the virtual world! I understand that it interrupts the gaming but really come on. I feel like people are spending way to much time on SL and taking it way to seriously if they are taking time to write articles about virtual terrorism. To me its not real terrorism because it’s in a game and two no one is really getting hurt! People are trying way too hard to make the events that happen in the virtual world part of the real world; please people get out there and live. Stop shopping for clothes for your virtual person and go out and shop for yourself.

Second Life's in-world terrorism and the struggle for digital rights

People getting in trouble for hurting an avatar? It’s not a real person! I understand that it is annoying but really I don't think that it should be considered the same thing as when hurting a person in the real world. I do agree though that regulations do need to be made. By allowing real money to be exchanged for in-world money I feel is a realm that the creator of SL weren't prepared for as far as how people would use this feature. For people to be smart enough to take advantage of this way of making money more power to them, I guess. Do it till someone stops you. I feel like what happen in the real world with all the chain stores kicking out all the mom and pop stores is what's happening in the virtual world of SL. The corporations are buying up all the land and people like SLLA don’t like it.
Charity raises funds with homeless avatar
This was really interesting for me. I would never think of creating a homeless person to raise money for kids. I can't believe people actually gave money to the "homeless person". Can you question someone in this virtual world? Like ask them what organization they are from or more information for about their cause? I have a hard time giving money to those people who ask for it in front of safeway the fact that these people give it to a virtual stranger is very surprising to me.
Why are some RL sims empty?
It was interesting to read this article after knowing how big of a place SL is for shopping and making money now. I would never have guessed that the big corporations places in SL were ever empty. It just took a while for people to catch on that they could spend money on their avatars. I feel like now SL is a cash cow for these corporations that were once empty.

Ageplay sim eyes new grid

This article has brought up something that I have been wondering about ever since a heard about SL. Are there regulations on the interaction between kids and adults on SL? I am glad to know that SL doesn't allow child and adult sexual relations even if it is just between their avatars. I know I have been saying that it’s just gaming but allowing "sexual relationship" between adult avatars and kid avatars could lead to something in the real world. I understand that SL doesn't allow sex between adult and children but does this OpenSim allow it? Is that why it’s being made? This is the part of the article that some what confused me.

All in all I have learned two things that I’m starting not to understand the virtual world and the virtual world is starting to scare me. It is starting to scare me because it is starting to become a bigger part of peoples’ lives than the real world.