She believes that SionChickens make RL better because it's a "socializing, fun, and a money-making opportunity on line". If this is her reasoning why SionChickens deserve to be on the same list as Virtual Helping Hands, then I propose that every in-world creator/merchant should be eligible, from Stroker Serpentine down to the prankster selling a plain 0.5m plywood cube on XStreet.
This flies right in the face of the what the Linden Prize is supposed to recognize: "an innovative inworld project that improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside of the virtual world". SionChickens have as much positive impact on the real world as Tamagotchi babies do on parenting: none. Just because Prok believes they have an impact doesn't prove anything.
Chicken fans, ask yourselves these questions: 1) Has buying, raising and selling virtual chickens improved the way you work in RL? 2) Has it improved how you learn in RL? and 3) Has it improved how you communicate in RL? If you answered "No, it hasn't" to all three questions then kindly explain in the comments why it should still be considered worthy of the Linden Prize, because I just don't get it.
Note: As of this writing, Sion Chickens is due up next to be profiled on the Linden Blog. Perhaps then we'll find out exactly what the f*** the Lindens were thinking including such an inappropriate entry as a finalist.
Update: The Linden blog post has been made, and it utterly and completely fails to convince why sionChickens are Linden Prize-worthy. Here's my comment to that blog post, if the Lindens decide to censor it:
I'm sorry, but this blog post does not explain in any form how sionChickens can be representative of an inworld project that has improved the way people work, learn, or communicate outside of the virtual world, as the Linden Prize page so clearly tells us.
In fact, it actually confirms the objections of many who believe sionChickens are not worthy of the Linden Prize.
The technologies used in sionChickens and sionCorn are no doubt innovative, but the purpose of the chickens isn't to teach how to use these technologies(If it were then breeders would be able to scientifically figure out how to optimize breeding and such). "Virtual World Tamagotchis" would be fairly descriptive of the purpose of sionChickens.
2 comments:
When I first heard that Sion Chickens were being considered, I thought it was just a bogus rumor.
That's just stupid. Prokofy Neva and whichever Linden(s) thought that Sion Chicken deserves the Linden Prize are THIS stupid:
http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/050501
Aaand here goes Prok diligently trying to "fight the good chicken fight" on the Linden blog post:
"Again, I'm going to speak out against all the supposed high-minded elitist socialists showing up here to rant about betterworlding that actually *betters the life of ordinary people*.
My God, it's as if betterworlding can only better the life of the disadvantaged in the inner city, the earthquake victim in a foreign country, the disabled from a terrible war, and never, ever, ever in our lives *ordinary people who aren't victims of anything*.
It's as if only hysterically utopian notions of opensource singularism and connectivist collectivist education theory can better mankind, and never ordinary good clean fun and ordinary, everyday commerce that enhances both customer and merchant.
I will fight with every fiber of my being against those worldviews that seek to obliterate the normal, the ordinary, the simple, even the tacky, the mass-taste, the quick buck. Why? Because when you erase and eradicate those things, you eliminate people, humanity. It's death.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with making an invention, making a buck, and making people happy. That's what this invention did. So many of the other entries line the pockets of this or that solutions provider and provide a backdrop to this or that ideological posturing, but they don't reach many masses of people. They don't try to. They are elitist or particularist in trying to serve only constituencies that they think are deserving -- and often exploit a victim group to sell an ideology like opensource software that really should be trounced for what a shill it is.
The ordinary middle class person who wants to make a dime and have a good time is shafted and shirked and corned as if they are evil, it's really outrageous.
Sion chickens made commerce, made communities, made connections, made relationships and activities for people. That's what life is all about. That's what IS better. Better is not just helping orphans in other countries. Better is not just some elaborate fictions about politically-correct subjects. It's for EVERYBODY.
Or it isn't really better."
So once again it's an opensource conspiracy, according to her. Big suprise. I call bullshit, for the reasons I stated on this blog post and in my comment in the Linden blog post. And I'll add that there's *nothing* that disqualifies commercial ventures from Linden Prize eligibility, as long as it's goals are in line with the criteria used. That doesn't exclude projects that benefit everyone itself, but the benefits must demonstrably be linked to outside the virtual world. Again, where the hell does sionChickens do that? You can't run a sionChicken business in the real world, nor do they give you any tangible RL skills, knowledge, or improve your work.
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