[...]While Linden Lab does not offer an online gambling service, Linden Lab and Second Life Residents must comply with state and federal laws applicable to regulated online gambling, even when both operators and players of the games reside outside of the US. And, because there are a variety of conflicting gambling regulations around the world we have chosen to restrict gambling in Second Life as described in a revised policy which is posted in the Knowledge Base under “Policy Regarding Wagering in Second Life”.
Now, I’m not a gambler and sincerely not interested in this specific issue at all, but I always considered virtual spaces like SL interesting just for one tiny little quality: they help us abstract physical constraints and, more specifically, space. Now this means, among other things, making business relationship possible, more profitable (for the parties involved) and sustainable (for the environment itself).
But what we have here is quite the opposite: a transaction that is forced to abide to the federal laws, even if conducted by two individuals who live and operate in countries other than the USofA, and that never “experience” the US at all, being the physical space of the transaction totally wrapped by the virtual world share illusion. This is like having a u.s. made tv set that refuses to display porn to under age public even if in a country with different age limitations (and where thus it could be perfectly legal to display it).
It seems like these days I’m blogging just about the gigs and meetings I attend. Actually there’s much more going on in the background, interesting how that sticks to post-it and scratchpads, while the social stuff finds its way to here.
Anyway, geek night was cool, and Oxford a sweet variation on the London theme, even if the place was in flood-recovery mood. I was particularly looking forward to Matt Biddulph’s speech on Arduino, that’s one of the topics that tickle my curiousity these days: I already managed to miss the tinker.it workshop during the weekend (and the second chance of meeting up with Noel :( ) and definitely wanted to at least have a glance of what’s all this “hardware for scripters” thingie up to.
As a result, I’m just saying that I’m getting a starter kit very soon ;)Also had a good conversation with Andy Budd on the contribution of games to application design, and the differences between immersive vs. multi tasked experiences… oh and also on Linden and tonight’s party in Brighton… I’m very curious of what’ll happen there…
Back from the very refreshing (although sticky) MOO party for the launch of the new stickers.The usual “smart crowd” was there, but on steroids this time:we’ve been blocking the whole street in front of the Ambassador pub for like 5 hours.Oh and there was free beer… somebody even got creative with it… :) Among the many valuable moments, here are some that I want to jot down before they’re composted into the experiential choral tapestry of the mind:. getting there and the instant feeling of refreshment and blood rush: like something clicks inside and says “let’s go social”.. the feeling of void and subtle panic when confronted when this cool badge/stickers where you’re supposed to answer silly questions like: “give me ….” or “my favourite word is …” - you kind of feel compelled to write something cool, and the expectations grow fast. Note to self: a smile works well in this case. Amazing.. Chat with Leisa about transitions, houses, whatever: it worked as a “warm-up” - two friends exchanging ritualss and reassuring each other, kind of getting ready to confront the rest of the crowd. That said, when most of the crowd is actually made up of nice acquaintances, life is even too easy ;). Chat with Walid of Trusted Places, about user experience and how to engage people and make them feel “at home”, plus parties and good food. . Spotted Luca Sartoni in the crowd. Affinity by roots (language) and tribe (twitter).. Olivier and the world of social network startups… but also of BarCamp. Looking forward to what’s going to happen in Colgne.. Jeremy and the Hackfight sequel.. Stumbling into a lawyer, feeling awkward, finding out she’s a good friend of two of my colleagues. Such a small world. But then, being in a “2.0″ party you kind of expect it.. Spent like 15 minutes talking to Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino without realizing it was her :-/ I’m getting bad at joining dots after all…. Exchanging camera flashes with a charming, mooless webdesigner, and getting her name totally wrong.
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