Re: Spies' Battleground Turns Virtual

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Seth Finkelstein [sethf () sethf com]
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 2:36 AM
To: David Farber
Cc: ip; eekid () aol com
Subject: Re: [IP] Spies' Battleground Turns Virtual

[For IP]
> "Intelligence officials who have examined these systems say they're
> convinced that the qualities that many computer users find so
> attractive about virtual worlds -- including anonymity, global
> access and the expanded ability to make financial transfers outside
> normal channels -- have turned them into seedbeds for transnational
> threats."

        I am very skeptical of this story. WHO said it? HOW seriously
did they mean it? etc. What we have here is little snippets out of
context, potentially presented in a sensationalist manner (and of
course the target net.paranoid audience will eat it up).

        There's too much of a history of Second Life or similar startups
trying to present themselves as some sort of scary threat to the government,
so that people will take them seriously, rather than being regarded as an
overgrown video chat room full of weirdos.

        Note any earlier story:

http://valleywag.com/tech/spin/second-life-calls-in-the-feds-249707.php
"Second Life's architects, at Benchmark-backed Linden Lab, invited in
the FBI on several occasions; and they're the ones behind this latest
news. It's not like the Bureau could be bothered to call a press
conference. Fact is that this counts as good publicity for the
over-hyped and under-whelming 3D environment. Any controversy, over
illegal gambling or copyright infringement, creates the impression
that Second Life is a vibrant alternative society, and economy. Which
it's not. The FBI probably isn't making an issue out of virtual-world
gambling, because the casinos are so empty (see picture). There are
more convenient ways to gamble online. For Linden Lab, better a
synthetic scandal, tailormade for the press, than the depressingly
bare reality."

--
Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  http://sethf.com
Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php

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