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Second Life Shuts Down Gambling

Tech.Luver sends us to The Inquirer, which notes the banning of all gambling in Second Life. Here is the Linden Labs blog post about the change in policy, which is, to say the least, not popular. From the article: "[T]he large chunk of users that enjoyed using in-world casinos and betting Linden Dollars on events both inside and outside the game world will now have nothing left to do. Perhaps more to the point for Linden, the move will cut off the revenues earned from those owning Casino-style islands in the game, the owners of which are some of the top contributors to the Linden coffers through currency fees and land rental."

2 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Re:1 down... by dAzED1 · · Score: 1, Troll

    SatanicPuppy (611928) When the "Think of the Children" crowd gets 'em to ban sex, Second Life will become officially pointless.

    having "sex" in SecondLife, or any other game, is already pointless. That you would even call it sex, and not at least "sex," is very sad. You do understand the point of sex is, well, the physical touch, and the bonding from the intimacy? Neither of which is remotely possible, err, remotely. Rather, neither of which is remotely possible in a game.

    Wake me when it looks at all remotely realistic, then maybe there will be room for the deeper philosophical and psychological discussions. As it is now? Ummm...it's not even as realistic as "erotic" manga, and even that is sad.

    Yeah, sure, mod me troll and flamebait. "Sex" in SecondLife isn't "sex," it's just sex. Something so similar to the real thing, one can use the same word for it.

    Was SecondLife "pointless" when neither of these two things were the primary attractions? Because it was that way for a while...

  2. Re:End Gambling Prohibition by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 0, Troll

    Those people also smoke cigarettes, spit on the sidewalk, jaywalk... There's plenty of crimes to bust people on when they actually do them. These gambling laws punish the innocent along with the guilty. That's unamerican.

    Also, heavy drug abuse, prostitution, and these other sin "crimes" are none of the government's business, except perhaps in zoning regulations and public health.

    If we want to use the hammer of criminalization to help solve those much narrower problems, we could just lock up everyone who ever breaks any law (or biblical commandment, or disobeys their fortune cookie), and put them to "useful work" in government factories and farms.

    I don't like my neighborhood filled with the kinds of yuppies who come with a law firm in my neighborhood, hanging out in my local bars and restaurants, talking to my kids on their way home from school. And the huge white collar crime waves so many of them run all day from the neighborhood that do a lot more damage than hookers, drugs, gamblers. I don't want them seducing my children into their way of life. Which is why I live in areas which are zoned so that those kinds of law firms are mostly excluded. But of course I accept that they have their right to make their living (until caught in an actual crime causing actual, nonconsensual, damage) somewhere. Somewhere else, where my preferences aren't offended, but their right to make their living is unimpeded.

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