“Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” on Facebook

Thursday May 20 was unofficially “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” on Facebook. On a page with the same name, a number of cartoons and pictures supposedly of the prophet of Islam were posted. Some were simple pictures, others were of a more humorous or mocking nature.

The page and event began as a protest. When Comedy Central censored a show due to a death threat against it’s creators, people complained that the network had surrendered to intimidation. A cartoonist then posted a drawing on April 20th, suggesting everyone draw a cartoon of Mohammed on May 20th as a form of protests against those who would try to limit freedom of speech by threats of violence.

“In light of the recent veiled (ha!) threats aimed at the creators of the television show South Park ... by bloggers on Revolution Muslim's website, we hereby deem May 20, 2010 as the first annual 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!' Do your part to both water down the pool of targets and, oh yeah, defend a little something our country is famous for (but maybe not for long? Comedy Central cooperated with terrorists and pulled the episode) the first amendment.—Molly Norris (April 20, 2010)”

Word of Norris’ protest quickly spread, and within a week had been taken up by numerous bloggers. It was around this time the “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” page was created on Facebook. It quickly had thousands of guests. At this time, Norris began to have second thoughts about her protest, saying she had never intended for it to grow so big so fast, saying she had “struck a gigantic nerve, something I was totally unprepared for.” And she soon began to distance herself from it. The creator of the Facebook page soon withdrew as well, citing some were posting clearly insulting images aimed at Islam in general rather than the fanatics. Others helped lead the protest, “If we cannot or will not defend that principle ... then we deserve to choke on whatever jihadists of all stripes can force down our throats."

The protest did not go unchallenged. An “AGAINST Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” page sprung up on Facebook, plus other pages protesting the protest. In Pakistan, the government ordered Facebook blocked from access by it’s public for May 20th, as well as Youtube.

Late in the evening of May 20th, the “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” page on Facebook was unavailable. Someone then created another, “Facebook seems to have deleted the original,” and accused them of censoring his cause while leaving the counter-protest site “filled with anti-semitism, Jesus bashing, gay-bashing, atheist bashing.”

“Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” has come to an end, but the debate over censorship, as well as a number of cartoons on the Internet, remain.

Bixyl Shuftan


Source: Wikipedia

Cartoons from michellemalkin.com and www.examiner.com

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Demonstration in Second Life Supporting Iranian Protesters

On Thursday June 25th, a number of people in Second Life in support of the protesters in Iran, whom have been speaking out against rigged elections despite the violent crackdown resulting in arrests and deaths. At 2 PM and 7 PM SL time, people gathered at the Palais Orleans Art Studio in the Roissy sim, many from the “Support Iran” group. A few held signs with raised fists on one side, and a picture of Neda, whom has become a symbol of the protests, on the other. The signs could be picked up in the Studio, along with memorial candles. The studio displayed pictured of Neda and the protests, and the people also passed around a green armband with a broken heart symbol. There were also “I am Neda” shirts.

One person at the first demonstration thought thirty to forty people showed up, some arriving a little late and some needing to go early, “We had a good turnout.” The second was smaller in number, but no less determined to make a point. There was also a security guard from the Justice League to keep any possible griefers away.

People were invited to make comments and give news they might have heard. Rene Grigorovich used voice instead of typing to make his point, “All these people are asking is for a free and honest election as is guaranteed by the constitution. .. the regime is absolutely bestial in how they treat the opposition. ... I would ask you all to keep these people in your prayers. ... thank you.”

There was one Iranian among the people in the second gathering, “I’m Iranian,” Melody Rosca told everyone. She was living outside the country. When asked how well Iranians could use the net, she answered, “I know that Internet connections have been next to nothing for the past day. I know that cell phones are shut off after 5 PM.” When asked if any SL resident in Iran could still get on, she answered, “All I know is that those I know are having lots of difficulty getting online and transferring information.” At another point, she spoke, “... it is extremely important for us, all of us, to remain aware. Knowledge is always power, and it’s no different in this turmoil.”

Thursday 25th was also the day singer Michael Jackson passed away, leaving some to wonder if the media coverage might distract the attention of the American public. Melody commented, “I’m afraid that just because there wasn’t as much news today, or perhaps tomorrow, or even a week from now, everyone will forget and just assume it’s over.“

The group talked about the role of Internet blogs and Twitter in helping the protesters get images and information outside the country. However, some described the theocracy as making it harder for the people to communicate with the outside world. Melody told, “... information is being filtered much more drastically than a week ago.” Someone else mentioned satellite dishes were being confiscated.

One man had a story to tell, “I have a personal stake in the protests. I’m in love with an Iranian woman. I don’t know if she’s alive or dead. ... I have not spoken to her since last October, when she told me she asked her father for permission to marry me. ... She and I had many low-level arguments concerning her government. At first, she thought I believed all Iranians were fanatics. Then when she realized I made the distinction between her government and the people, she still insisted that I was wrong, that is was not like that in Iran. She honestly believed Iran was a free country, and that her government would not actively harm her. It took her several years to begin seeing the truth.”

“When she told her father that we wanted to marry, he confirmed all that I had said to her and more. She broke off contact after one final conversation. We talked on the phone for hours that last night. ... If a pro-government militia ever found out she was in love with me, the girl whom got ******ed to death with a baseball bat would have been luckier. ... They’re chopping down protesters with axes and shooting them in the streets. What do you think they’ll do to a woman who’s in live with Iran’s proclaimed ‘Great Satan.’ ... My desert rose is much stronger than she thought she was. My greatest fear is she took to the streets. I decided within a few days of the election that if she called me, I’d be forced to say things I did not mean in order to convince any officials tapping her phone line that she no longer had any ties to America.”

Some were concerned, wondering at one point the possibility Iranian government agents were conducting searches in SL. Still, there was optimism, “It might take a generation ... but the Iranian people are seeing what their government is capable of now. The Iranian people overthrew the Shah and they will eventually overthrow the current butchers.”

Eventually, the vigil came to an end. People wished each other well, some vowing to continue. We were told the Art studio would keep the pictures of demonstrations and candles and signs, “for the foreseeable future.” Palais Orleans Art Studio and Designs is at the Roissy sim at (31, 58. 24).

“Freedom is worth dying for but dying is easy ask your selves is it worth losing everything for and possibly being tortured to death for? this is the question the brave freedom fighters of Iran have asked themselves. They said yes, and for that courage I stand with them.”

Bixy Shuftan

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Protestors Question Blondin Linden on Adult Content Plans

By Bixyl Shuftan

When the Revolting Adults held their first protest about Linden Lab’s upcoming plans for Adult Content Filtering, the Linden they questioned professed not to know much about the issue. He told them Blondin Linden would know more. So the group decided to meet at his place in the Hanley sim during his office hours, Wednesday May 20th at 3:30 PM SL time.

On the day of the protest, I tried porting over with the Landmark I had, and nothing. I tried a few more times without success, then looked at the map. The Hanley sim appeared empty, but there were a few people at the edge to the north and south. I ported near the edge of the sim to the north and headed south. I was unable to cross the sim boundary, and it appeared that there was no sim to the south, even though the map told us otherwise. But with the map showing the place was empty, what was going on? That was the question asked when other protesters gathered at the spot. Some suggested some kind of Linden trickery to keep the protest out, “LET US IN!” “... ignoring a jira ticket with over three thousand votes is one thing but, locking us out of office hours?”

Finally one of the protesters told everyone she’d been IMed by someone on the inside, saying there were about 40 people in the sim. Apparently it was limited to that number. I continued to try to port in via the map, and finally I made it in. Once inside, I saw where the people were, and headed there.

Arriving at 3:45 PM, something must have annoyed Blondin Linden just before I got within chat range as he yelled, “LOG OFF NOW!” Whatever happened, that was the only outburst I heard from him, the rest of the time answering questions. I got around the obstacles, and joined the mix of avatars questioning Blondin Linden.

These are not all the questions asked, only those answered. Only two of the questions that I asked Blondin, and one from protest leader Xantarius Cain, got a reply.

Is the estimated "end of June" time still on course for Ursula moves?
ANSWER: End of June is still on track from what I hear. That's when it'll all begin.

Will we be able to access Ursula with 1.22 viewer?
ANSWER: That is a good question and I am not 100%. I need to check. Good question though.

Here is a question, what is the line Linden has set for "Adult" content, and is it really only the extremes of sl's mature content?
ANSWER: Depends on what you consider extreme. The definitions are almost done.

Are the Lindens committed to tweaking the search restrictions indefinitely if needed until they function as intended and will there be a publicly announced plan on how people can get the exceptions that were promised for people who had legitimate use for otherwise adult terms?
ANSWER: We are committed to tweaking them. If you've noticed a bunch of words have been removed based on resident feedback.

Blondin, would giant phallic attacks be permitted in such an event if held on Ursula? :) ANSWER: Griefing is griefing no matter if its on PG, Mature or Adult.

Thanks Blondin - Follow up Question - Jack and Cyn don't seem to be singing from the same song sheet when it comes to land transfers. Cyn suggests pre-speculation and acquisition prior to move is valid. Jack says checks will be made into past content. Which is right?
ANSWER: They both are. Checks into past content will be a last resort if we feel that someone is truly trying to game the system. It's a last resort.

How will object name and descriptions which are set to show in search effect your parcel? For instance in a situation where a mature parcel with appropriate name and land description also has an object using adult language visible in search, will that prevent the parcel from being visible to mature viewers?
ANSWER: I read this quickly so forgive me if I misunderstood. Objects actually ON a parcel wont be filtered if they use adult words.

Question: I do have the concern, that with such guidelines in place, and the reliance on ARs to control it, the system might be too easily abused to report people for alleged adult content violations. Given that I have several friends now who have been suspended for nothing because it seems like there was no one investigating the reports ... how much security is provided against the abuse of the system or to prevent cases where people report activities thinking that they violate the rules but that are not doing thins actually?
ANSWER: Well, you bring up a good point about abusing the abuse reports. There are A LOT of AR's submitted each and everyday and each one gets special attention. I've seen it in action. The Resident team doesn't act unless they feel confident that something has actually happened that needs further investigation. And on that note, AR's do have to be kept secret to protect the residents’ privacy.

Oh end of June? So The Aporncalypse happens at the same time as the Homestead price increase?
ANSWER: It's bad timing - I know. But the two have nothing to do with each other.

Bixyl Shuftan: Blondin, can you tell us what will happen to landowners and businessmen/women who decline to rate their land?
ANSWER: I'm assuming you mean Private estate owners as they are the only ones who have to flag regions. In reality, not to much unless they get AR'ed. Then the Resi team will come in, look around and decide what to do. Most like, it'll be a few IM's asking the owner to flag.

Oh Blondin, what's the score with the viewer? I heard if you check Adult you can't see any PG or M results. Are they going to fix that or is it intended?
ANSWER: Seems to work for my RC viewer. There are check boxes for ADULT< MATURE AND PG. Check any and all that you want to see

I heard all furries are going to be rated as Adult from now on. Can you comment on this baseless rumour?
ANSWER: In no shape, way or form, are furries going to be generally classified as Adult.

Not flittering objects seems like a loophole that will be exploited. I follow the rules, but my competition uses objects to advertise, but get around the rating system. How will LL deal with objects in search that don't match the parcel rating?
ANSWER: Abuse Reports.

And it was answered on the JIRA because that was a big concern for fear of griefers being able to search bomb places.
ANSWER: I believe this is the correct reason.

Come on guys, give up with the sign on page thing already. It's a stupid way to announce something.
ANSWER: It has proven to get a lot of attention and it will be something we utilize in the future about commenting this to a wider audience.

Question - does that include returning protest posters from private land ?
ANSWER: Are you talking about the signs I returned? The sign on my land? The signs that were causing lag? Didn't I leave one out for good faith?

Blondin, I repeat my question... Are we Europeans having support for enter the mature section? Because we Europeans don't have the age verification system.
ANSWER: I know that laws in Europe are a bit different, but there are many Europeans who are already verified. Off the top of my head Lord Sullivan is verified.

Bixyl Shuftan: Blondin, can you tell us if age-verification will be designed to protect the anonymity of users?
ANSWER: No one is forcing you to use Aristotle. That is just one way. You can do it by having a payment relationship with Linden and your identities will not be any less secure.

They said from the start that this isn't about preventing people selling sex beds on mature land, you just can't advertise a sex bed in classifieds as sex is filtered?
ANSWER: Correct.

Blondin: The draft 'definitions' are fairly vague and subjective - you have mentioned getting final ones soon - are these much tighter or basically the same as the draft that is currently there (the one that has any photorealistic nudity as being adult) ie: all good quality skins = adult.
ANSWER: The format will look the same but we've taken the chance to explain a bit about photo realistic. THe word will still be in there, but no, it doesn't apply to the selling of skins.

Blondin, will traffic scores still affect search rankings?
ANSWER: I don't know.

Question - Many people have bought mainland parcels in the same region to provide prims to support their core business - however 2/3rds of land may not look adult will we be left with a turkey when only a 1/3rd is allowed to move for free?
ANSWER: I believe that all holds can be combined and moved over. If only a section of your land is ADULT, you can move it all, not just that portion.

What about assurances I wont get stuck wiith my (hopefully still) popular club in a sim with another equally popular club?
ANSWER: We will be very conscious of our placements.

Blondin, pardon me, but that's disingenuous. You can sell a product, but not advertise it? Come on.
ANSWER: If you rely on those key words, ie if that's the market you want to focus your advertising on, then you should be on adult land. Apply for a move.

The more I sit in on this, the more it becomes clear that no matter how much the userbase protests these changes, the userbase who pours money into LL's pockets daily, these changes are still going to happen despite the fact that only a vocal minority wants them. Talk about bad customer service.
ANSWER: But if you notice, we've changed a lot of what we originally had in mind based on resident feedback.

Blondin, does linden labs have any intention of opening up additional lines of communication or conversation on this matter? Will we see any more brown bags or forum conversations or are we reduced to the just office hours?
ANSWER: The Brownbags are over. But we'll be opening another forum thread which I'll be actively back on once the update blog goes out.

Blondin, where in the TOS or Community Standards will it be stated that adult content is OK on private land, and that these changes apply only to BUSINESSES?
ANSWER: the TOS will be changed to reflect all these changes around adult content.

Blondin: You skipped my question a second time. How many sims are you going to auction?
ANSWER: I don't know. Depends on how many are left after the swap I suppose.

Blondin, what about others who =can't= for whatever reason, but who DO want to? because here in Italy we don't have the "buy linden" service.
ANSWER: A support ticket would be the best bet.

Q: (it was missed last time I was here, and has been so far today, so I'll just ask it one more time before giving up)...Regarding groups, if/when they also get adult flagged for keyword use, what about the thousands of Residents who are NPIOF or unverified who are already existing members of said groups? Do they remain in the group, get auto-ejected? Possible repercussions?
Answer: I don't know what will happen to those members.

Xantarius Cain: Hi Blondin: Linden Lab has previously stated that private sim owners will not be affected much (other than having search terms for those sims filtered if the residents performing the search is not age-verified). TWO QUESTIONS: (a) Will private sims be required to rate themselves as "adult" if they contain adult material? (b) Will adults who have not been age-verified be locked out of these private "adult" sims? IF YES to both, private sims will be affected more than previously thought. IF NO, this presents a HUGE hole in the age-verification security that LL is building. Please explain.
Answer: yes to A and yes to B.

Haha, Blondin has been lowering the avatar limit on his sim to reduce the number of people shouting at him in this meeting.
ANSWER: Not true. I never shy away!

Well they did remove ponyplay from the filter, because the ponyplayers argued that there doesn't have to be anything sexual about ponyplay. T**s are still inherently sexual for some reason, though.
ANSWER: Google T**s.


It was after answering that question at 4:42 PM than Blondin told us, “Ok, That’s it for me tonight. I’ll be back next week!” Responses from the audience varied. Some were satisfied with Blondin’s answers, thanking him. Others were not, complaining of canned replies, skipping their questions, or of giving replies that weren’t true. One resigned resident commented, “I guess we’ll have to be satisfied with a gilded cage.”

Shortly afterward, I heard from Revolting Adults that the JIRA ticket concerning adult content they had been asking people to sign hit 4000 votes.

Bixyl Shuftan

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Interview with Xantarius Cain

With Linden Labs’ plans to move adult content to it’s own area in Second Life away from the rest of the Metaverse, opposition to “adult content filtering” quickly came about and is starting to organize. Among those spreading the word and trying to get people against these plans is Xantaruis Cain. Recently, I had a chance to talk with him at his gun shop, which had both a notecard giver for his group’s proposal, and a package with items such as protest signs.


Bixyl Shuftan: So, you're been trying to help organize the protest against Linden Lab's "adult content" plans?

Xantarius Cain: Yes. That's correct. We're in the process of organizing a series of protests. Right now, we're putting together a notecard of questions for the G-Team, which is apparently tasked with handling the adult content changes. And, of course, we're putting together a small information packet to be distributed by the signs we'd like to ask our supporters to carry at the protest(s).

Bixyl Shuftan: Why do you feel Linden Labs’ plans are bad for Second Life?

Xantarius Cain: As I see it, there are a few reasons why this move is bad for Second Life. First, this change alters the essence, for me, of what SL was supposed to be about. Linden Labs’ goal of creating a world where they as a company intervened as little as possible, allowing the residents to decide how to create and run the world, has already been eroded. This will continue down the same path as eliminating casinos, for example.

Second, Linden Lab has not been clear as to why this is necessary. I've heard claims that there is a small percentage of users who would like to have content filters put into place. But this small group seems to have a lot of power, which seems more than strange. What I believe is that Linden Lab (feels they need to) do this in order to make Second Life, which has a reputation in the mainstream media for being mostly about sex and sex clubs, more appealing to government organizations and universities. I see a few reasons why this alone is a terrible idea. Linden Lab has always maintained that they believe virtual worlds will be the future of the Web. I tend to agree. The problem is that they have not done their research. They fail to understand why the Web was a success.

Simply put: the web was not filtered. Although nations attempted to control it, it was out of their control. This is not the case with Second Life. The steps Linden Lab proposes will most-certainly hurt the product (Second Life) in the long run. The aim of the company should be, as it once appeared to be, to set Second Life as the standard (via OpenSIM, etc) for virtual worlds. If they impose artificial limits on how the residents can use the service, it will NEVER be a standard. Some other corporation or nonprofit group will enter the market, splintering the user base. This hurts Linden Lab, and Second Life.

Third, this WILL CHANGE the behavior of the Residents in Second Life, and that's very bad if you value the idea that behavior in the virtual world should be organic, not some artificial thing that comes about as a result of what users can and cannot do. This is because they are anonymous. Taking this anonymity away from them by requiring that they "age-verify" themselves so that they can gain access to adult areas of the world will completely alter their behavior. They may be less likely to agree to age verification, and will thus have no access to the content they wish to view...

Now, some will say, "What about those who would engage in illegal behavior? If you aren't doing anything illegal, you have nothing to worry about." Not true. You have a lot to worry about. If someone is breaking the law, and Linden Lab, or the U.S. FBI, or whatever legal organization, needs to find you, they can. Your IP can be paired with your avatar. Your ISP will honor a warrant to trace the IP to you. This is how it works right now. But age verification gives Linden Lab all the power. They no longer require a government's involvement to find out who you are. They will have that information. No warrant. Nothing. Just them and your information. Many will have a problem with this and will opt out. And this hurts Second Life by basically removing a whole class of people from the game.

To put it simply, Second Life was about a Libertarian society. It will soon be about something else. And that's sad. :-(

I also think this is a slippery slope...what's next? Guns? Violence? Will I have to move my store eventually?

Bixyl Shuftan: Good points. For those who don’t know, what forms are the protests taking?

Xantarius Cain: The protests ... we're focusing on gathering a group of people (using the "Revolting Adults" in-world group) to head to some of the Office Hour events held by various Linden Lab employees. It will likely be several protests over several weeks.

Bixyl Shuftan: Was there a date set for the protest yet?

Xantarius Cain: The first will be either this week or next, but nothing solid yet. We're still working out the details.

Bixyl Shuftan: How many do you think will participate in the protests?

Xantarius Cain: that's the big question, isn't it? (laughs) I have a theory that most people prefer to complain and do nothing. Electoral politics in my own country tell me this is true, but I think we have a real shot at getting a good group of people who are in the group (Revolting Adults) to join in on the protests, since it was founded for this purpose and they joined in order to get information about protests.

Bixyl Shuftan: How hopeful are you that the protests will cause Linden Labs to change direction?

Xantarius Cain: I'm hopeful that we can get Linden Lab to change direction on *some* of the proposed changes, at least. But a complete reversal? We might be fighting a losing battle...but I like that sort of battle. At the very least, Linden Lab will NOT say that they did not hear from anyone on this. They will NOT say that the majority of Residents wanted it. And they will NOT say that they didn't steamroll over the wishes of the Residents.

I'd also like to note that no Linden Lab employee has been assigned to the JIRA ticket that was opened for this. That has caused many to feel that LL doesn't care what they think. My guess: They probably don't care *enough* to change their minds because they see government and university money in their future.

Bixyl Shuftan: Do you feel if Linden Labs goes through as planned, people who have been here for a while will start to leave?

Xantarius Cain: That's a tough question. I do not think that those who are not affected will leave, no. They might complain. They might be upset. But it will be the principle of it (as it is for me). I do think that people will be much more inclined to leave if a competitor creates a virtual world that is similar to Second Life but more (1) democratic and (2) libertarian. There are others who are leaving now. They won't give Linden Lab their personal information (age-verify). I shouldn't say *now*... what I mean is that they have already said that they will leave.

Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else to add?

Xantarius Cain: I think I've added most of what I would say at that part. I would add this: Like anything else in life, if you are unhappy with something, you stand up against it. Failure to do so will tell those in power that you either (1) support them, or (2) do not care. Either way, they'll move forward and you'll live with their decisions.

And so the interview ended, with Xantarius going back to his business.

Bixyl Shuftan

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“Tea Party” Protest in Second Life

Across the United States on Wednesday April 15th, people held “tea parties” to protest government spending policies. Here in Second Life, residents held their own tea party to voice their concerns about how politicians were spending tax money, as well as other issues.

Read more in EVENTS.

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BREAKING NEWS: Land store closed, new store launch postpone

Today, Linden Lab announced on their official blog that the launch of the new land store, with drastically reduced prices, will be postponed by a few weeks. Linden Lab did not give a new date for the launch.

In the meantime, the old land store has been closed down indefinately to prevent people from ordering new regions for a price that is too high. Of course another reason for this is that the Concierge Team has been overworked for a while already and has had to deal with a lot of stress. Hopefully this will give them a bit of rest.

Rumour had it that Linden Lab had a lot of trouble with the payment system behind the new land store. This would be the reason for the new delay.

However, this does not take away all the protests (for example during Linden office hours) and upset residents. If anything, it will make it worse. After being haunted by devaluation of investments first, and now not even the possibility to recuperate, this is a heavy hit to take for anyone who owns 1 or more (or even many) sims.

We at SL Newspaper are pretty sure it's all for good reasons, but it is yet another blow to the economy of Second Life and the larger companies are already withdrawing from the SL world to look for other alternatives. The new land store, in combination with the 40% drop in sim prices, was supposed to be a way to draw more companies and investors to Second Life, but the opposite seems to be going on. Especially if you add that to the serious problems with performance and stability of the past few weeks.

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