The e-vice squads are a-crackin’ down – you’re not even allowed to have virtual fun anymore. The FBI considers breaking up Second Life gambling rings; Craigslist is packed with perverts; and YouTube just wusses out, a sin in itself.
E-Vice Squads Target Second Life and Craigslist
FBI vs. Second Life
The FBI’s scratches its head while digging around Second Life’s virtual casinos and trying to decide if gambling with Linden dollars, the currency of Second Life, is legally actionable.
They can, after all, be traded for real dollars.
According to CNet:
Linden Lab could face criminal charges under the 1970 Illegal Gambling Business Act or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The latter law, passed last year, takes aim at credit card companies and other electronic funds transfers that enable Internet gambling.
Because you know, pretend gambling money funds terrorism.
Craigslist Of Trollers
Craigslist is great for connecting with locals for exchange of all kinds of things: cars; furniture; electronics; dirty pictures.
Compete.com’s Stephen Bagg reveals that unique (or not so unique) visitors trolling Craigslist for “Erotic Services” beats the next highest category, Cars for Sale, by just a few hundred thousand.
Writes Bagg:
But that’s not the entire story. A deeper look into the metrics reveals a real power group behind Craigslist’s impressive numbers: men seeking men. Even though they only enjoy Top 5 status in two cities by visitor volume, each month these Craigslist constituents view over 50% more pages and 20 more minutes on average searching these posts than any others – from apartment rentals to items for baby.
He just had to bring babies into this, didn’t he?
YouTube Suffers From Spina-cripita
Taking a cue from parent company Google in international relations, YouTube reassured Thailand’s monarchy that the video-sharing site would help block access to video clips offensive to the royal family in that country.
Some dissident “deeply offended” the post-bloodless-coup king by posting a video featuring him with women’s feet on his head. It’s good to be the king because he took care of that problem by blocking access in Thailand to the site altogether.
He still thinks YouTube is “heartless and culturally insensitive” for it happening in the first place. Replace “heartless” with “spineless” and he’s half right.
Freedom of speech is non-negotiable in this country. Is YouTube culturally insensitive for ignoring that?
Oh well, forgiveness is an important concept, too, I guess. Good thing somebody (some unoriginal body) launched GodTube. Now YouTube, the Second Life casino carousers, and the Craigslist Tang Patrol will have somewhere to confess their misdeeds.
