i-Anya

Yesterday I had the most ridiculous encounter I have ever experienced on Second Life. To set the context: I had been sailing with a friend around some of the untouched islands in one of Anshe Chung’s new dreamland sims. It was pretty isolated and maybe on the set of 20 sims or so there was only one or two properties that actually had buildings on them, the rest of the land was empty apart from the most gorgeous landscaping I have seen on Second Life and the ‘for sale’ signs on each plot. It was fun sailing around the various islands and feeling like we had discovered secret secluded spots for a relaxing getaway.

Anyway my friend and I parted company as “real life” beckoned. I went off to cook dinner but left my avatar idling away in the pretty sunset and with the sounds of the ocean and some mellow jazz streaming through the background. I sometimes idle online while doing other things rather than listen to a CD or the TV like that. Anyway I was busy cooking my rice when I started hearing weird sounds coming from my computer - metallic crunching sounds - so I went over to see what was going on, and there standing over me was some security guard with two guns pointed directly at my head!!!!

I said to him: Get those things away from my face!

And he said: WHO ARE YOU?

So I replied, WHO ARE YOU? (I was so stunned by the guns and the affrontery of somebody to point them at me I was not planning on responding to any questions that somebody might have!)

And he then went into some diatribe about how he was the protector of the land for (name censored) and that I was trespassing and I was not welcome there… (why ever the land was not set to prevent access to strangers I cannot fathom if this was the attitude towards them!)

Meanwhile my rice was boiling and my food was ready to eat so I just walked along the beach a few meters to where I was clearly off the borders of the property I had unwittingly “trespassed” on and left myself idling there while I went to eat dinner.

So I ate my dinner, washed the dishes, and hmmm… about 45 minutes later returned to the computer. Only to find that silly little over zealous twit on a power trip STILL standing right there with his guns pointing at my head!!!!! I was totally shocked but I also thought how ridiculous it all was, and just teleported back home before he could say another idiotic word.

So the next thing I know, I receive the following notecard in my inventory:

Hello my name is (i have deleted names for my own safety here!) I work Hacienda De (deleted name), My job here is To Protect Privice and Aninimity of are Guests and Worker. More so There Safty And Well Being.

To this End i Monitor Traffic On The Land Owner By My employer, On This Land I Am Given Full Authority To use ANY/AND ALL Means To Provent A Problem.

This is A Written Warning To Please Follow/ Answer Questions When Posed By Security Personel.

Failuer To Do So Or to show A Valid Reson For This Action Will Result in Your Removel or Restrition of of this land.

Thank You
Hacienda De (deleted name) Security

Ummm…. can you believe that??? I sent a message to the land owner saying I did not appreciate her security guard’s behaviour and thought that an apology was in order but no apology has been forthcoming as of yet

Now if I was Anshe Chung and had an entire sim full of land I was trying to sell, I would be extremely concerned over the hostile scare tactics being used by the one or two property owners there so far. Who would want to buy property with neighbours who think it is justifiable to run around pointing guns at unsuspecting visitors? I thought about reporting the behaviour but really, who has the time to get caught up in such idiotic politics? Not me. But it did irk me enough to want to write about it here and to reflect on what such childish behaviour might mean in terms of its impact upon real and substantial Second Life businesses.