Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

I received another threat regarding my investigation of notecard altering and distribution.  Apparently this group does not want the investigation to continue. This time the threats are to my personal reputation and integrity.  The more I am threatened personally, the more I will stand my ground.  They can alter all my notecards, spread rumors, attack me, and I will only dig in deeper.  No one wants any unnecessary drama in SL.  But the continued threats to me personally are raising a red flag that there is something here that someone does not want us to uncover.  There are still those out there with honesty and integrity that cannot be bought and that will also dig in deeper. 

So as they keep up the threats and the harmful activity and the threatening notecards, they are having the opposite of what they intend.    There are people and organizations effected by this activity other than myself.  Sometimes you have to do the right thing no matter the risk to yourself.  In the larger scheme of things, targeting me is pointless.  I am just not that important.  Had they not involved me, they could have carried on their altering and trying to manipulate people in SL that, like me, had no idea that people would go to those depths.  Every threat they make to me will become public knowledge.  Any threats they make to our sources will become public knowledge.  Bugs like to hide under rocks, in the dark places.  It's time to shine the light.
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2 comments:

Celeste Unplugged said...

Interesting dilemma. This sort of thing has been going on in SL since SL began---harassment that is. Not sure about altering notecards. I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill as they say. Nothing you can do about it except keep on with the surfing news. Bringing in YOUR personal drama is not appropriate for the blog, unless, well you are afraid of something or have something to hide. (makes one wonder) You aren't the first one to be harassed and bullied in SL unfairly and I'm sure you won't be the last! Get over it!

SurfWatch/Tauri Tigerpaw said...

Thank you for your comment, “Celeste”, and giving me an opportunity to expand on this. Chat text is shared within Second Life (SL) as a common occurrance in spite of it being against Terms of Service (TOS). SurfWatch is not interested in cases of regular chat text being distributed or notecards, per se. I think there is no one – myself included - that hasn’t said or done something they regretted in anger and probably would not want that distributed, but it happens all the time. However, when chat text is ALTERED, that is FALSE information that is being distributed. If this was a one time case of altered chat text distribution, that would be reprehensible behavior, and I believe warning other people about this activity is appropriate. If it is being done to me – and sources indicate that has been the case since as far back as at least June of 2009 – it is and will be done to anyone. Since our original posting and discovery of this activity, we received many notecards from many different sources that had been distributed by this group. We documented many areas of altered chat text involving different people in SL. You are correct that you have to wonder at the motive of distributing information that has been altered. To add to the concern are the threats I personally have received as this investigation continued, in addition to attempts to minimize the activity and try to present it as a personal issue localized to just myself. Someone does not want this activity noticed. Someone clearly does not want the scope and breadth of this activity noticed. That definitely does raise a red flag. Your guess as to motive is as good as anyone else’s – an attempt to gain sympathy and support? Discredit someone? Cause disruption of the status quo? Create drama and dissension? Is there a discernable pattern? SurfWatch is happy to report on SL surfing and everything going on in SL surfing. And we are also happy to look into why someone is attempting to personally discredit myself and many others in the surf community. Thank you for reading SurfWatch.