Heroes and Villains RFL Event!

This Tuesday, 22 May, 2012 from 6-8PM SL time, we've got a Heroes & Villains themed RFL event at Club Wamphyri.  500L$ starts us off on the board, with DJ Nonamei Scribe providing the tunes.  The best hero or villain will receive 500L$, and we'll be taking donations to help raise money in the fight against cancer.  There is a Relay For Life donation kiosk near the stage.

http://bit.ly/J78RoB

Again, the party starts at 6PM SL time.  Our goal for this event is to raise 5,000L$.  Can we do it?  HECK yes!  Let's kick butt!  See you Tuesday.  :^)

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aquatica/221/96/25

Relay for Life at New London, Sunday, April 1st

Time Lords for the Cure is hosting an April Fools event this Sunday at the Travellers Rest Pub in New London Village.

Be sure to wear something SILLY, because there'll be 500L$ on the board for the most outrageous, silly costume or avatar.

Here's the link to the pub:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/96/185/29

The party starts at 1PM SL time and goes until 3PM. Instead of tips for the DJ, I'm asking visitors to donate to an RFL kiosk that will be placed specially for the event.

Time Lords for the Cure: Relay for Life in Second Life

After what turned out to be a false start in participating in this year's Relay for Life fund-raising activities, I went ahead and formed my own team to help in this year's activities, called Time Lords for the Cure.  It's an opportunity for SL Whovians to help in a worthy cause while avoiding the unnecessary and ultimately destructive drama caused by others.

To this end I've invited some of my SL friends and acquaintances to join the team, but we're willing and happy to cooperate with other teams to help raise funds.  If you're interested, send me a notecard with your avatar default name (not the display name you may or may not be using) so I can add your name to the team roster.  If you're already in another team, no worries!  Have your team captain get in touch with me and maybe our teams can help coordinate on mutual or concurrent events.  Be sure to ask RFL team mentors about the rules pertaining to this so no policies are violated.  We don't want to spoil anything by inadvertently breaking any RFL rules.

I'll send out an updated rules notecard tomorrow night, along with another one containing donation kiosks and instructions, but here they are so far.*

1.  You can set out an American Cancer Society (aka ACS) donation kiosk in your shop, club, or private home.

2. If you work for tips, you can have people pay the kiosk instead.

3. You can offer a special item in vendors — but note that 100% of sales proceeds should be set to go to ACS, RFL, or both.  See the rules regarding donations through vendor sales.

4. Events — Good for ratings from (PG) to (Mature).

*: Please bear in mind that if you do plan to host adult-themed events (i.e. sexual or violent), you can hold them, but they can't be added to billboards.

5. Off-Line Donations.  You can donate via the team's RFL web page:

https://secure3.convio.net/tacs/site/Donation2?1009405.donation=form1&idb=1132674998&df_id=1009405&FR_ID=42558&PROXY_ID=42558&PROXY_TYPE=21

6. If you're in the 'Time Lords of Gallifrey' group, you don't need to join another one.  This will be the group used to coordinate events.

Group ID:  7f754248-ab36-db87-b76d-e807f0b8a0ad

Group Link in SL: secondlife:///app/group/7f754248-ab36-db87-b76d-e807f0b8a0ad/about

7. We're more than willing to work with other teams in the spirit of cooperation, be it on events or sharing information as necessary to help raise awareness of ACS-RFL.  We're all working toward the same goal, after all.

Our team mentor is Terran Magic.  Questions we can't answer should be directed to this person.

[[RFL Events]]

There will be some special on-site events (such as the SL Sci-Fi Convention) where our team may have a booth or be represented. Team members will be given the opportunity to provide RFL vendors selling their creations. Products are to be G or PG only; no mature or Adult.  Sales from such vendors MUST have 100% go to ACS-RFL.  See RFL rules pertaining to announcements or ads that you are doing this.

The Relay

The Relay for Life  will be held in July.  All teams will be invited to spend the weekend running in a virtual race to help raise funds.  We'll send further info on the campsite later this year, before the big event.  "Time for a Cure" is the theme this year, so let's show our TLoG pride and help raise funds to fight cancer!

Last year certain clowns decided to cause a bunch of grief for others during the RFL-ACS-sponsored Sci-Fi Convention by posting outright deceptions on an off-world blog.  Let's not turn this noble cause into another excuse to wage war against rival groups.  We're all supposed to be adults.  Let's act the part.  Violators will be ejected from the team and reported to ACS-RFL personnel to be dealt with.

*:  The above-posted team rules are a heavily-edited version of ones posted by Holocluck Henley, so if any wording seems familiar, that's where it came from.  Just letting you know up front.  Any changes or additions will be posted as necessary upon the request of Mr. Henley or RFL personnel.

My Thoughts on Victurd's Behavior

Just to expand on my previous entry on this terrible subject, I want to express my utter disgust with Victurd1st Moronton's childish abuse of the Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society to pursue his own vendetta against Kat Kassner and New London Village in TARDIS region.  To sum up, when New London Systems decided to show up for the convention after having previously decided not to, Victurd threw one of his patented temper tantrums and decided to make stuff up about his rivals.  He accused people from TARDIS region of having claimed to be part of the Relay for Life Doctor Who team, which was a flat out lie because no one from TARDIS region ever made any such claim — Victurd couldn't even produce any names — and of violating RFL-ACS rules regarding split donations through vendor sales.

The FACT is that Relay for Life had no problem with what New London Systems was doing.  There was an apparent misunderstanding on placing signs saying that a portion of the proceeds was going to RfL, and once Laredo Lowtide of TARDIS region got in touch with them, he was assured that RfL wasn't offended by it.  The sign was subsequently removed and things were fine from that end afterward.  Another FACT, which Victurd left out of his liefest, was that vendors and non-sponsors were asked by the convention admins to donate a minimum of ten precent of their sales to RfL-ACS.  This was in keeping with the rules.  Victurd and his merry band of suckups knew this when they began spreading their lies.

That was bad enough.  Victurd then got stupid (like he always does) and posted a notice in his 'Doctor Who' SL group with his accusation, a blatant violation of SL's terms of service regarding harassment of another individual or group.  I have been informed that several abuse reports were filed against him for that, and that convention security and admins had to be asked to talk to him and his group.  Why they were allowed to remain at the convention instead of being immediately ejected and banned is beyond me.  Just because a person or group is a sponsor does not give him or them the right to display such reprehensible behavior.  It reflects poorly on the convention as a whole and can cause visitors and vendors alike to not want to participate in future conventions, thus harming the very spirit of the event — and more importantly, harming the very mission of fighting cancer the convention was created to fulfill.

And that, dear readers, is why Victurd's assault on TARDIS region is so utterly disgusting.  Many of us have lost friends, relatives, and acquaintances to cancer.  My mother had uteran cancer once and had to have a hysterectomy.  My paternal grandfather lost a lung to cancer and died a month later of a heart attack.  I had to have a couple of abnormal moles removed a few years ago because the dermatologist was concerned that they could become malignant.  And I was told by a dear friend in SL, who is part of New London, that she lost an uncle to stomach cancer this weekend.  So this hideous abuse of the convention and its sponsor organizations struck an especially devastating emotional blow to many people.  That Victurd would stoop so low shows only that he is nothing but a subhuman savage, a beast without conscience, without remorse, and without pity.  There is nothing this vile cretin, this piece of filth, will not lie about in order to pursue a grudge, and there is no tactic too low for him or his merry band of shameless suckups.

IF, and this is a very big IF, there was any problem at all with New London Systems' vendor display at the convention, the proper way to go about it was to contact Kat and Laredo in private and tell them about the rules set down by the convention administrators.  If that failed to yield desired results, then private communication with convention administrators was the next step, and finally, if that was insufficient, to privately talk to RfL-ACS to get clarification.  NONE of this was done.  Instead, Victurd1st Moronton and his gang of subhuman filth went public with a deceit-laden tirade begun on an off-world blog to avoid being penalized for SL terms of service violations, then took it in-world when that failed to drive his rivals from the convention.  Whatever that piece of filth hoped to achieve beyond getting a rise out of Kat and her group in-world, he failed spectacularly.  The fact is that this wretched, dishonest little child has a long history of wrecking virtual fan groups with his petty drivel and his obsessive need to dominate everything and everyone.  Granted, I am not one to talk about integrity here, seeing as how I'm not exactly a saint.  But this...it goes beyond anything I ever did or will ever do.

My own opinion is that Victurd1st Moronton and his gang of filth should be removed from any and all RfL-ACS groups and disinvited from all future conventions involving them.  Yes, they paid money to be sponsors, but other paying sponsors can be found to replace that bunch of worthless savages — sponsors who won't abuse RfL-ACS for their own ends or transform public events open to everyone into their personal battlegrounds.

And that is the absolute last I have to say about the matter.

UPDATE (15th July, 2011 at 9:44AM ETD/7:44AM SLT): Although I said all I had to say about this matter on this blog, I noticed the following comment written in Victurd's dishonest entry, posted by the chair of the sci-fi convention himself.

Anthony Haslage said...

Okay, before this gets too much further out of hand... I am the chairman of the convention, Anthony Haslage of The Federation.

The only problem here is that the other group was not aware they could not promote if they were splitting profits. Advertising you are doing so is a no-no, actually doing it falls into a gray area. The American Cancer Society is not going to return a donation because someone split their profits.

The convention, a legitimate Relay for Life fundraiser promoted by the ACS, gave the option of splitting profits to groups in lieu of the entry fee. Only four groups accepted the offer.

As a result of a conversation with the ACS on Tuesday night, we will no longer continue to offer splitting proceeds in lieu of an entry fee. However, if groups still want to split proceeds from sales and not advertise it, that is their right and not against ACS policy. This is the gray area.

 14 July 2011 22:56

Looks like Victurd's liefest was just shot down publicly by the head honcho in charge of the convention.  And there's not a thing he can do about it without looking like an even bigger liar than he is or facing more severe consequences for continuing his disgusting behavior.  But that's what he gets for lying his fool butt off using a cancer charity to press his grudge with a more successful region.

Unnecessary Drama at the Convention

I read this morning a disturbing blog entry by a certain "member" of the SL Whovian community accusing another group of violating rules at the SL Sci-Fi Convention this year.  I am not going to name names here, though screen captures will unavoidably show the information, but I want to make this about the act, not the people involved.  To correct the official record, the accuser's allegations are false, as can be demonstrated by reading the rules pertaining to donations to Relay for Life by vendors.

Booth Prims:

- 384 - Non-vendors & non-sponsors (Free)

- 384 - Vendors & non-sponsors ($250 L or 10% of sales going to the charity.)

- 500 - Sponsors ($16,000 L)

The above is copied and pasted from the convention rules regarding sponsors and vendors.  The group being falsely accused is donating fifteen percent of its sales to the event's charity sponsor.  No rules are being violated by the accused, as far as security can determine.  There is no one affiliated with the accused group claiming to be part of Relay for Life SL group or trying to confuse people as to which group is which.  Others have reported the accusers to convention administrators for clarification and to end the harassment and defamation, especially since the accuser is a sponsor at the convention and should know better than to pull a stunt like this at an event co-created by someone who was sick of politics and fighting and wanted a way to unite people under a common cause to help others.  Whatever other actions taken to report the offense, I don't know, but I can't imagine they won't be taken.  Screencaps are posted below in case the accuser removes the entry and denies what he wrote.

The accused group was not even going to have a booth at this year's convention because of the accuser's constant drama-causing, both in-world and off-world.  But I talked them into attending so they would not be chased away or excluded from yet another SL event, like they were from the Designing Worlds broadcast at SL's 8th Birthday celebration.  The SL Whovian community is larger than any one group or region, and it is wrong for any group to be excluded, defamed, harassed, and bullied — especially for the stupid reason of the accuser simply being too childish to share his Doctor Who geekdom with anyone else.  The accuser is deliberately and maliciously trying to destroy the SL Whovian and Sci-Fi communities just so he can stroke his own ego by pretending he's Master of the Universe.  This has GOT to stop.*

UPDATE (3:18PM EDT-12:18PM SLT): The accuser in this latest bit of melodrama has now resorted to sending out a group notice in-world with this false allegation of his, trying to bully people into booting his rivals from the convention.  I am told that he has been reported to Linden Labs and to convention authorities.  It is bad enough to use Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society as weapons in a personal feud against another region from an off-world blog.  But now he's bringing it into SL, which can and should be reported to Linden Labs for harassment and defamation of another individual or group.

UPDATE (4:20PM ETD/1:20PM SLT): I have been informed that the thread in question has now generated a number of comments, some of which the accuser has apparently deleted in an effort to protect his lie from the Truth. A poster named Wolf apparently read this blog entry and posted what I wrote above in the thread.  Here is the comment screen capture:

The accuser has since updated his entry to post a like to the American Cancer Society's rules regarding donations of proceeds from non-sponsor vendors, but those rules do not appear to apply in this case.  The rules pertain to people actively participating in the Relay for Life group or groups in Second Life, not specifically to non-sponsor vendors.  A ten percent minimum donation was asked by Sci-Fi convention admins of vendors, which the accused has done in compliance with said request.  In fact, they're giving more than the minimum amount asked.  This is just my theory, and may or may not be correct, but I think the reason the accuser has chosen to pull this stunt today is because he thought he had successfully chased his rival away from yet another event involving the SL Whovian community, and was livid at having been denied what I'm sure he saw as a victory over his sworn foes.  The accuser has not only been caught telling a major lie, but he screwed up royally by posting it in-world to smear another group.  That is a breach of LL terms of use, as he well knows.  I will keep you updated as more information follows.

UPDATE (6:19PM EDT/3:19PM SLT): IFT Sci-Fi Alliance, which runs the SL Sci-Fi Convention, just sent out the following notice regarding sales-sharing and Relay for Life:

The RFL rules are clear on this...  You can split your profits from vendor sales by sharing it, but unless you give 100% of sales to the American Cancer Society, you cannot promote it using their name.  I am told this reason is to reduce their liability on any fraud.  Plus, I believe they prefer people be using their vendors if that is the case.  See the attached notecard for details.

From the attached notecard:

If an individual would like to donate a portion of their store sales, tips or proceeds to RFL of SL, they may advertise that they support RFL of SL on signage in their establishment or venue and drop any monies they choose into a kiosk.  They may NOT advertise that a percentage or portion  goes to RFL of SL, nor that their sale is a RFL of SL event. 

It has also come to my attention that Laredo Lowtide of TARDIS region has been in contact with the Relay for Life people and been assured that they have no problem with New London Systems or TARDIS region's booth at the convention.  As usual, a certain someone is making a big stink over nothing in order to stroke his massive ego.  For the record, some of us have loste friends, relatives, and acquaintances to cancer over the years.  One person I know through SL told me she lost a close relative yesterday to cancer.  I have a history of cancer in my family, and a few years ago I had to have two abnormal moles removed because the dermatologist was concerned that they could devlop into malignancies.  So this latest round of dishonesty and bullshit hits pretty close to home for many people.  It was performed maliciously and knowing full well that the accusations were wholly fabricated.  If any mistake was made by anyone, it was in the outright refusal to take the matter up in private with the proper authorities and the decision instead to transform what should have been a fun event for every sci-fi and Doctor Who fan, that serves the worthy cause of fighting cancer, into just another excuse to wage war against a rival group.  That is absolutely disgusting and there is no excuse for it.  The truly guilty parties, having been thwarted in their latest attempt to exclude their rivals from a popular SL event, have desecrated the cause of fighting cancer and put a serious damper on everyone's good time.

*: The accuser has a legitimate grievance with me, for reasons I have stated in previous entries and which I will not go into here.  But his efforts to punish everyone else he doesn't like by spreading lies must be challenged.  Bullying, defamation, and harassment cannot, must not, and should not be tolerated.