In a recent message posted to Medium, VRChat has revealed that it has been the target of DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks by hackers.
Actually, VRChat and other social VR platforms have always been the targets of hacker attacks. But the last two weeks have been exceptional:
For approximately 2 weeks, VRChat’s real-time networking partner has been experiencing intermittent DDoS attacks. These attacks seem to have been specifically targeted against VRChat, and have been timed to coincide with our historical daily and weekly concurrent user peaks. If you were visiting VRChat this weekend, you may have experienced a room “lagging” to the point where all other users in the room froze, followed by disconnection and reloading to Home. That behavior indicates an attack.
This is another example of the growing pains VRChat has experienced since its livestream-fueled surge in concurrent users early last year. With increased popularity come the attendant risk from hackers who will try to bring the service down, just for fun. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a fact of life for any online service.
I’m pleased to announce that Episode 6 of the Metaverse Newscast is now available for public view on YouTube (my Patreon supporters got a sneak peek yesterday).
My producer Andrew and I paid a visit to Scurry Waters, the tropical paradise created by Medhue and Bagnaria. Scurries are animated creatures made by Medhue, who is already well known for his Zooby cat and other animated creations in Second Life. Scurry Waters is full of things to do and see: ride an airboat, shoot pistols and try to trap each other in large floating bubbles, even blow up a pirate ship!
Bagnaria and Medhue discuss their creative partnership and we even get to discussing why some virtual worlds attract an older crowd than others. We wrap up the tour at Scurry Canyon, a fun and challenging shooting game. Can you make it to the very end?
If you are looking for previous episodes of the Metaverse Newscast, you can find them on the Metaverse Newscast channel on YouTube. We are still aiming to release one episode a month.
And if you want to support the show, may I steer you over to my Patreon page, where as little as US$1 a month unlocks exclusive perks and benefits? Whether or not you are a Patreon patron, thank you for your support!
Hunts in Second Life are a tried-and-true way to get some truly fabulous steals, deals, and freebies. For example, Petite Mort and Oubliette are currently having an hunt for six white Easter bunnies on their half a sim, with each clothing prize only L$10 each, a significant saving:
I have spent almost 13 years doing hunts in Second Life, and I have learned a lot along the way. So here are my top 6 tips for Second Life hunts.
Please note that in the following tips and tricks I am using the Firestorm viewer; if you are using another Second Life viewer, like the default SL viewer, you might have to use different keystrokes to get to the features you want. I rely on Firestorm daily, as most people do, and I honestly don’t know the equivalent keystrokes for the default Second Life viewer.
1. Know what you are hunting for
This may seem obvious, but sometimes people engage in an SL hunt without even checking the associated website, which usually contains a picture of the item you are searching for, a list of store locations, and a hint for each location. Freebie blogs can also be valuable sources of information, showing you what the hunt prizes look like before you go to all the trouble of trying to find them. (Don’t forget about Cat Pink’s hunt videos, too!)
Finally, there are SL hunt blogs that tell you about upcoming hunts, like Hunt SL and SL Hunts (the former even has a ten-step plan for how to do a hunt). Visit them every so often to see what’s coming up.
2. Learn how to use your camera
This is also a basic rule: learn how to move your camera around the scene. You don’t even have to move your avatar around; just cam around the store to find what you are looking for. If you learn nothing else, learn how to use your camera.
In Firestorm, the camera controls can be brought up either by clicking the Camera Controls button on the bottom button bar, or by going to the top menu bar and selecting Avatar → Camera Controls.
The camera controls are divided into sections, as follows:
The leftmost circle allows you to rotate your camera.
The vertical slide to the right controls zoom; you can drag it or use the +/- signs for finer control;
The arrows in the square pan the camera left/right and up/down.
Across the top are six buttons. These are:
Front view – places the camera in front of your face, and facing you.
Side view – place the camera over your left shoulder, looking forward.
Rear view – places the camera behind and slightly above you; this is the default position.
Object view – allows you to zoom in on objects by clicking them. Hit ESC to leave object view.
Mouselook view – places the camera in front of you; the camera then moves with your mouse; the camera controls disappear in this view. Hit Esc to leave mouselook.
Reset view – restores the camera to default.
There are also keystroke commands for most of these options; you don’t necessarily have to use the on-screen widget. Here’s a list of camera controls. After countless hunts, by now they are second nature to me:
Key
Function
Alt-up/down arrow
Zoom camera
Alt-left/right arrow
Rotate camera left/right
Alt-Ctrl-up/down arrow
Rotate camera up/down
Alt-Ctrl-Shift-arrows
Pan camera
3. Turn on the lights
Are you hunting for an object in a dimly-lit store, or a sim set to midnight? One recent hunt had black eggs hidden in black corners of the store. Drives me absolutely bonkers. Here’s a tip: turn up the lights. If you are in Firestorm, Click on World in the top menu bar, then select Environment Editor, then Sky Presets, then Edit Preset, as shown here:
From the list of sky presets, scroll down and select one called CalWL:
Et voilà! Sharp, bright, clear light by which to properly conduct a hunt. In addition to CalWL, you could try out the presets named Nam’s Optimal Skin 1 and Nam’s Optimal Skin 2, which are also very bright.
4. Use a little helper
Now, this tip is controversial, because some would consider it cheating. Some vendors will go so far as to ban you from their sim if you are discovered using one of these little devices. I’m talking about object scanners, items which automatically search the area you are in for a specifically named object. If all the objects you are searching for have a naming convention (e.g. they all start with “POE” for the Peace on Earth annual hunt), then you can find them more easily using an object scanner. You just have to attach it, then walk around the store.
You should be aware that many store owners deliberately use misleading names (e.g. “Pine Floor”) or even gibberish (“asdfghjkl”) when naming hunt prizes in order to thwart people using object scanners. I’m not going to tell you which model to use; you can find them yourself on the SL Marketplace. In fact, you don’t even need to buy one, since there is already a perfectly good Area Search tool built into the Firestorm viewer (you can find it near the bottom of the World menu). And if the idea of using one feels like cheating to you, then just ignore this tip.
5. Use your X-ray vision
Here’s another really useful hunting trick that most people don’t know about. Did you know that you can toggle to wireframe mode in Firestorm, and literally see through objects? If you are using the Firestorm viewer, just pres Ctrl-Shift-R, and you turn on wireframe mode. Pressing Ctrl-Shift-R again takes you back to regular mode. Try it and see! (Note that you will get a momentary black screen when doing this. This is normal.)
Here’s an example to demonstrate. This is the normal view:
And here is the wireframe mode:
6. Only as a last resort: derender the sim/store piece by piece
This last tip is only if you have exhausted all other methods of hunting, and you still cannot find that elusive prize which you absolutely must have! Essentially, you select walls, floors, fixtures, and temporarily derender them (i.e., make them invisible). Keep doing this until you find what you are looking for.
To do this in Firestorm, right click on the object you wish to remove. From the menu which appears, click on More, then More again. You will see Derender as one of the options on the pie menu. Click on Derender, and select Temporary. And poof! It’s gone. Handy, eh?
Here’s an example of why hunts in Second Life can be so rewarding. This outfit consists of two pieces from the Easter bunny hunt at Oubliette and Petite Mort (the flower basket is a freebie at the landing point, and it comes with a hold animation).
This avatar is wearing:
Mesh Head: Giselle Bento head by Altamura (no longer available for free; this was an Altamura gift from Christmas 2017 at the eBENTO event, and you had to join the Altamura group for L$50 to get it).
Mesh Body: Jenny Bento body by Altamura (this was a free gift from the 2017 Women Only Hunt, and on this version, you can remove the head and replace it with any other mesh head, as I did here. Note that this free mesh body is now available at the Freebie Megastore at London City (more information here), but you cannot remove the head on the newer free version.
Hair: Hannah by MINA Hair (this is an old gift from a previous Second Life shopping event, no longer available for free)
Top: Lace trim sweater by Petite Mort (hunt prize; L$10)
Skirt: Cream midi skirt by Petite Mort (hunt prize; L$10)
Early this morning before I left for work, I had to step in to intervene in a three-way conversation on the RyanSchultz.com Discord about a technical issue, which was rapidly turning into a heated disagreement. All sides of the argument had very strong opinions, and after another angry debate later today, one of the parties chose to leave the Discord completely, despite my pleas to stay.
Which led me to ask myself: what is the best way to moderate online communities when people start to argue? And how can you have a civil disagreement without having it devolve into arguments, accusations and people leaving the community, never to return? (Please note that I am not talking about trolls, griefing and harassment, which are an entirely separate topic.) So I went and did a little research…
Learn Thumper’s Rule: If you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all.
Don’t argue just to argue: “Community managers can spot them a mile away. Trolls who like to just stir the pot and start arguments. They’re the bane of our existence and when I spot one, I give one stern warning and then have no problem clicking the Ban button when they do it again. If you’re there just to argue, then go someplace else. If you’re there to contribute and enjoy the company of other people, great. But don’t be a troll. No one likes a troll.”
Know your position and how to defend it: “Do you really believe in the argument you’re making or are you just attacking the person who is disagreeing with you?”
Think about the community: “Before you go off on a rant, think about whether the content is actually useful to the other members of the community. If not, keep it to yourself or find the right channel to express your point of view.
Consider how others would view the discussion and your behaviour
Consult with the site owner or community manager
Learn to agree to disagree
Consider learning from the person you are debating
Be you…the real you: “Understand that who you are online should be reflective of who you are in real life. Ask yourself, ‘if I held this argument in person over a beer, would I be saying the same things?’ If the answer is NO, then stop typing. Don’t say things online that you wouldn’t say in-person.”
Back up your position with real, verifiable facts
Neobela, one of the members of the RyanSchultz.com Discord, summed it all up in a couple of words:
Howard Rhinegold’s Brainstorms (where many folk from The Well landed) had only one community rule: “Assume Goodwill”. That pretty much covers it all if you think about it!
Part of the problem with online communities is that you often don’t have things like tone of voice or facial expressions to add to what the person is typing. This can often lead to tragic misunderstandings. And it’s surprising how often people forget this. It’s always better to ask and confirm what someone is saying, rather than make assumptions. (Again, I am not talking about dealing with trolls and griefers.)
So, what tips and tricks have you found helpful in dealing with conflict in online communities? Please feel free to leave a comment below, or even better, join us on my Discord and continue the conversation there!
