Griefers

This subject is rather lengthy and complex, I do not apologise for that.

What does a griefer look like?

Look around, look at the person next to you, a griefer doesn't come with any defined look, nor do they wear a big sign that says "Griefer". The age of an avatar does not necessarily make them a griefer, whilst it is true that griefers make disposable accounts, there will be older residents that have griefed in SL and are still around.

 

A griefer is a player who does things in a game to deliberately cause annoyance ("grief" in the sense of "giving someone grief") for their own enjoyment. Such players are a particular nuisance in online gaming communities, since they often cannot be deterred by penalties related to in-game goals. The term originated in the early 1990s, when online games were growing in popularity.

 

Source = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griefer

Hanja Welcome Area

Hanja Welcome Area



Hanja Welcome Area or War Zone

Second-Life is dotted with welcome areas, they are all over the grid. Hanja has turned into the wild-wild-west. A place where griefers hold court and threaten anyone who doesn't bow to them.



Hanja, A war zone in the making

Countless Abuse Reports have been submitted to Linden Lab by numerous residents about this war zone, with no effect.

 

It has even got to the stage, where these griefers are targetting individuals, trying to gather real life information and taking the threats into real life.

 

To all intents and purpose, Hanja and other griefer ridden welcome areas, have fallen off the Second-Life map.

 

Once upon a time, new user retention was high on the Linden Lab list of priorities. Obviously that has fallen off the list. Yet without new users, Second-Life is doomed to slowly die on the servers.

 

The current emphasis with Linden Lab is introducing new technology, like Server Side Baking, whilst places like Hanja rot in the sun. For all the use this place is, it may as well be closed down and developed into something useful. Given the current situation, a combat sim might be more appropriate.

 

Introducing new technology and maintaining new registrations has to work hand-in-hand. If an organisation doesn't maintain a growing user base, then all the new technology under the sun doesn't mean much if there is no one around to use and benefit from it.