Linden Lab Careless with Avatar Identity?

Since the introduction of Display Names, how can we be certain an avatar is who he/she claims to be? SlySense claims here that you can’t be certain, but that actually is not the case.

In their defense, I’ll admit that their claim may have been true if a non-standard Second Life Viewer were used, or in an earlier version of the Second Life Viewer.

If you change your display name, then your original name will be visible in slightly different format. Let me show you:

Here’s my nametag, after I changed my display name to Vulcan Tester – which I would never have done, if I had known that I wouldn’t be able to change it back until after a week.

As you can see, my original name is still visible at the bottom of the tag, albeit in a different format. Despite the different format, this does show that the middle line (top line if the user doesn’t have an active group) does not represent my original display name.

There is another way. Hover your mouse pointer over an avatar, and you’ll see something like this:

Here you can also see that my display name and my original name are not the same.

I won’t blame SlySense for wanting to sell their BanClone, but…I can’t help but wonder if they’re using the newest Second Life Viewer.

Interview and My Classes

Se7en Wirsing has been kind enough to grant me an interview for AFK Magazine. It was very pleasant and I hope that many people will read it, and avail themselves of my classes.

Yes, classes. When I introduced myself in my first blog, I unfortunately neglected to mention my classes. So, let me tell you about them now. Here's a list of all the classes I provide:

Class	Day	Time
Vulcan Philosophy	Tuesday	1 pm
Second Life Basics	Thursday	11 am
Meditation	Sunday	1 pm

All classes are free, but a donation would be greatly appreciated. All classes are held at our auditorium in Danmu. Whether you're new, or just interested, I hope to see you at my classes. BTW, all Edutopia classes will be announced in the Edutopia group.

Changing Times

It's been much too long since my last blog, and I think I have to, now.

I have over time become the only tenant of my landlady. I do hope this doesn't mean that she'll stop letting shops! She has meanwhile cleaned up Kat's Eyel. To build a completely new one? I hope so!

If she does continue, then I wonder if she'll still be able to offer the lowest rents. If not, then I'll have to look for somewhere else to set up shop. After all, I don't earn that much.

I have had the fortune of getting a student for one of my classes, but that still happens all too rarely.