A few weeks ago I wrote a post breaking up with my beloved Emerald Viewer. At the time there was an article in The Alphaville Herald saying people associated with Emerald were tracking IP addresses. The article listed names of people who were tracked and my name was on that list.
Now, I have google analytics and so I hate to break it to you but this blog is tracking your IP address too, not that I ever look at that information. I was not the least bit concerned about anyone tracking my IP. I was kind of pissed off that The Herald printed my name though. (Seriously if you are going to write a scandalous bit about privacy invasion maybe next time you could think about keeping the names of innocent people out of it? Just a thought.)
I got nervous about Emerald though and I don't think I was the only one. I began to think maybe I should use a different viewer. Then I did what bloggers do, which is turn my thoughts into blog fodder. I had this idea that a "break up" post would be funny. So I spent about 10 minutes and threw it down. It made me laugh, what can I say. Then a funny thing happened. I started to think about the Emerald "controversy" and I decided I needed to understand why so much crap was swirling about in the blogosphere.
So, I started to use my mad google skills to learn more. I talked to people who are in a position to know about Third Party Viewers. I talked to coders who understand the technical side of things and I read. I read a lot. I tried other viewers, many of which I liked but none of which worked as perfectly for me as Emerald. I got frustrated.
After a couple of weeks I have happily returned to using the Emerald viewer. Here are my reasons.
1) Emerald is GPL compliant. I am not even going to pretend to know what that means in detail. Having said that, I do know GPL is the License open source software developers use that allows people to share work in a way that ensures transparency and accountability. By complying with the GPL Emerald's code is freely accessible to software developers world wide.
2) Emerald is compliant with the Linden Lab Third Party Viewer Policy and is listed in the LL Third Party Viewer Directory. This means that LL has personal information on file about the developers which again ensures transparency and accountability.
3) There are upwards of 85,000 daily users of the Emerald Viewer. With that kind of heavy usage I am pretty sure if there was any credible evidence to suggest the viewer is doing nefarious things I would have found out about it in my hours and hours of research. I found none.
4) Effectively all of the negative writing I have seen was produced by people with personal objections to open source software or personal vendettas against individuals, which makes drawing conclusions about Emerald based on what they say impossible.
5) I ask you, if you made something that was wildly popular would you be thinking "hey how can I use this baby to steal?" or would you be thinking "hey how can I use this baby to make some money and develop a successful business for the long term?" The answer seems pretty clear to me.
It is generally my personal policy to keep this blog positive. I don't talk smack about individuals and I don't name names, even though sometimes it is damn tempting. Anyway, I feel it is necessary to apologize to the Emerald team for speaking negatively about their work. I forgot about the power of words in my search for a clever blog post.
~~~
NB: comments are moderated so if your goal is to perpetuate hate here don't bother.
<3 Ches
36 comments:
What an interesting post. Thanks!
You definitively made the right thing: you went searching for more information, you asked people and I assume you learnt many things you didn't know. Then, you made your choice - an informed choice.
That's the way to do it.
Myself, I'm a geek - I'm not a viewer developer but I'm deeply into this kind of things (following technical mailing lists, always reading documentation, talking with developers, testing patches, filing bugs...). So let's say I already knew what this was about.
And I think I agree -more or less- on all the 5 reasons to use Emerald viewer that you mentioned.
Those arguments are relevant, make sense, and as far as I know they're basically true.
However, I never used Emerald in the past, I'm not using it right now, and I still feel I can't trust Emerald developers as a whole - as a team.
How's that possible?
I know a couple of those developers (if not very well) and I actually have a good opinion of them.
I don't know most of the other ones so I can't say anything about them.
I heard and read some bad things -and some very bad things- about some of the other ones - even from a source I trust (as you said, many bad things you will hear about Emerald are fueled by envy / hate / inworld drama wars etc).
But that's not the most important point for me.
What concerns me is that Emerald team doesn't appear to have a clear roadmap. As far as I can see, there's no much transparency in how they handle their viewer development.
They never managed to transmit me a coherent vision of what they're into, of the reasons that make them write code, of their values.
Am I asking too much? Maybe.
Many other 3rd party viewers don't offer anything like that (however some ones, like Imprudence, do): nonetheless, that's what I'd like from the developers of the most successful and powerful 3rd party viewer for Second Life.
And that's what probably will keep me from using it, talk about it, suggest its use, teaching about it, contributing to its development - until that changes, obviously.
Thank you so much for your comment Opensource~
The other TPV I liked quite a lot was Imprudence. I know and respect the main developer and the UI is great. If I was not using Emerald I would be using Imprudence, no doubt.
As a non-technical user I am not so concerned about the Emerald team's road map. Honestly, it is no more transparent to me than Linden Lab's road map which is unclear at the best of times. Sill, I respect and understand your position and thank you for sharing it here.
I really appreciate that you made this post, Chestnut :) I don't use any third party viewers, and am not sure i'll ever get around to it (laziness, not anything against them really). However -- had you not followed up with this post, I would probably have retained an unsettled feeling about Emerald. YES -- i do take what you say seriously! (no pressure or anything *winks*) I appreciate your integrity very much :)
Thanks Nissa. I am flattered.
I agree with your comments regarding Emerald. I wonder what makes you think that your comments are important in any way though, just because you are a self-appointed 'blogger'. In my view, you are merely one of many tens of thousands of users, and whether you choose to continue using it or not is hardly significant in the scheme of things. Emerald will be getting new users every day and no doubt will be losing a few too. YOU DO NOT MATTER. Get over yourself.
ohai Anonymous! I wondered when you would show up. Thanks for coming.
I totally agree that I DO NOT MATTER in the grand scheme of things. Who of us does? I mean, if I get all metaphysical about it I am merely a speck of dust in the universe that is spinning wildly out of control toward certain oblivion. I am comfortable with that.
With respect to Emerald, you are also right. I am very sure not one member of the Emerald Development team gives a rip if I use their viewer. If I do us it that would be invisible to them and if I don't it is also invisible to them. I just don't matter.
The truth is there is not one single thing in this little blog of mine that matters. It is just a collection of my words and images, one of thousands and thousands of similar blogs on the internet. I am quite sure what I do and say has no meaningful impact on anything of substance. In fact, every single time anyone reads what I have to say I am enormously flattered. Thanks for stopping by to remind me.
the people who bring you Emerald (two of them avoiding permabans, seemingly with full knowledge of the Lab) also brought you a few other viewers specifically designed to steal content. [fact]
the issue's pretty much run its course (search Emerald in the SLU forums) but the conclusion is that this hacker "project" will come back to bite you.
EnCore
I am well aware of that discussion and personally waded through something like 80 pages of old Forum posts. I am also aware of the personal vendettas and political agendas fueling much of what has been said.
I do not think a person can be permabaned and working with the Lindens at the same time though. It defies logic, no?
Thanks for your comment.
I trust your opinion. I was on that list as well and for no good reason. It made me unsure of the whole Emerald project, espececially since I've been a user since it began pretty much, of that viewer.
I really wish these people calling you out about being important would just stfu, really who needs that?
I installed the newest beta and I must say, it's quite nice. Even on my dino of a laptop. :))
Hey Nine! Thanks for your comment.
Its ok if people hate on me. It is the oldest trick in the book. If you can't counter the logic of an argument you attack the speaker's credibility. I don't pretend to be a technical person or have any special insight or knowledge so that kind of thing doesn't bother me.
In fact, I am in total agreement that I am not important. Totally cool with me to point it out.
I keep meaning to download the beta. I have been hearing great things about it in the Builder's Brewery group.
oh murr
Apparently Chestnut matters enough for you to stalk her blog. Apparently Chestnut matters enough that you are unable to own your own words when responding to her. Enough that you can only puff your yellow belly when safely cloaked behind the hood and cape of internet anonymity.
Apparently Chestnut matters enough. Or you wouldn't waste your time. But quite clearly, you have. For whatever reason, you've devoted at least two minutes of your life to addressing her personally. And of course, here you are, back again (and probably again and again) to find out what she and others have to say in response to your cheap snark.
I'd say you were Prokofy, but for all the hate he spews, Prokofy is at least honorable enough to own his own words.
Sounds like "anonymous" has some issues with bloggers.
In my opinion the opinion of individual bloggers DO matter and are important. Bloggers shed light on things otherwise left in the darkness.
Chestnut...don't let anyone convince you that your posts don't mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Your opinions, and the opinions of other bloggers, have a huge effect on everyday life.
Chestnut, I just want you to know that I think that you do matter. Because if it were not for people like you that write their blogs I would not learn the things I do learn about SL. I appreciate all that you write and it has helped me grow a little in this virtual world. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.
Thank you all so much. I appreciate your kindness and support.
I will never understand why people are intentionally mean. If Anonymous' goal was to make me feel like crap -- congrats. You win! I hope it brings a big smile to your face and a bounce to your step today.
I've used Emerald, and like it a lot. I've moved to Kirsten's SL client because it's the one that seems to do best with shadows enabled--Emerald developers don't seem too concerned about shadows, and LL isn't either; one response to a JIRA entry I made about eyes not rendering with shadows enabled pointed out that LL has officially said shadows working isn't a concern of theirs for the 2.0 release.
I used to use Emerald. I loved it. But then I ran Wireshark while using it and now I won't touch it again.
That's all I needed. And yes, I am an anonymous coward but there's very good reasons.
However, disclaimer: what I saw may not be in the viewer now, I refuse to test it to bother finding out. Sorry.
In a comment to Chestnut: You are correct. Tracking IP addresses is a stupid reason to not use a viewer. Every server hosting every website tracks your IP address. Every DNS server you hit to resolve domain names sees your IP address. I could go on and on about what is able to be seen just when you connect to a server. That's a fact of life on the Internet. The only secure system is one that is unplugged and turned off and bolted to the ground. Good luck logging into Second Life using ANY viewer with that system.
Anonymous
What is Wireshark and what did you see? I am fine with you not using your name but if you are going to suggest wrongdoing I would appreciate details. If you prefer to email them to me privately that is fine. My email is chestnut dot rau at gmail dot com.
Without specifics I am going to have to say this comment is more rumor. Sorry.
Ches
Wireshark sniffs every packet sent and received on a network and is mostly used for diagnostics. This conversation is now a 404 on modularsystems and apparently it was just a user name info string and yes it is a violation of the tpv but it is fixed in the alpha.
I understand your concerns for spreading rumor but the fact that it did call home is true:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OB2XWvs0O7QJ:modularsystems.sl/index.php/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_agora%26task%3Dtopic%26id%3D3133%26Itemid%3D2+emerald+viewer+wireshark&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
But not understanding the reference to another 3rd party client I did some research and it's not nefarious.
On my end, all I saw is my account info was phoned home and knowing how spyware and the like work I just stopped using it and changed my password. This is the first time I mentioned what I found and had no idea others had seen this too.
It probably should be added to the record that the "phone home" that I saw is just a byproduct of making each grid entry associated with each account.
Chestnut: feel free to delete the above comment from me or amend it to leave the IP stuff but remove the rest. You don't have to post this either I was just passing the info to you.
I am not a technical person so you have to talk to me like I am 8 years old when it comes to this stuff. In fact, most 8 year olds probably understand tech better than I so let me paraphrase to be sure I understand. Please do correct me if I get it wrong.
First, in a prior version of Emerald the client pinged the modularsystems website with a user name info string.
Second, that no longer happens in the current version.
Third, a series of messages about this "call home" was removed from the modularsystems website.
At the end of the day, even with this mysterious ET PHONE HOME behavior you are concluding and stating Emerald is not in fact doing anything nefarious.
I hope I got that right. Again, I am a techno noob and am way way out of my element here.
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate that you came back with facts because I honestly want to know the truth. I think a lot of people do, judging by the traffic on this post.
Ok I read that string of messages and it might be a bit more complicated than my summary. But, the fact remains that even if IP info is sent to the website one of the Emerald Developers says the data is not stored and will not be collected in the new version.
I believe the beta version of the client is available and it incorporates some of the new features of 2.0 like tattoo layers. I have heard it is super stable and fast so might be worth a download anyway. If the beta eliminates all traces of this phone home concern then it seems like the thing to do.
I've worked with highly intelligent young people just starting out on their careers. Everyone always had something interesting in the closet. I remember when I was a kid lol.
Let she/she who has never sinned cast the first stone as they say.
I monitor what goes on in my computer. Like what ports are open to where. What software leaves ports open after exit. I also use the resource monitor to monitor disk activity. I would love to know why there is always disk activity in the emerald cache directory even when Emerald is not running.
oh hai Anonymous! You again? (what is it with people who are afraid to stand behind their words? But I digress..)
Yeah I am pretty glad my current employer and all of SL don't know about the things I did as a younger person. Not that I am ashamed (too much) but there are periods of my life I am happy to put behind me.
As for the issue you raise with your cache directory, I am not sure what that is and I don't know if it is something lots of programs do. I am just not a technical person as I keep saying. My question to you is this -- if the activity in the Emerald cache directory was a worry would you still be using Emerald? I wonder about that. Maybe you could enlighten me.
To the haters who think I am going to publish your slander of Phox and Fractured -- think again. I am not going to do it.
Right, here's the problem princess. You cannot come out and make a case for something only to later in the comments say your words just don't matter at all when challenged.
Of course I see the appeal in what you are doing. We all want to make a case and be able to simply wipe away backing it up by saying how silly our little words were, but you really need to decide on having something to say and backing it up (a blogger) or having nothing to say (not a blogger).
Also, you need to perhaps include the reasons people dislike / distrust this viewer such as the Onyx (Vlife) source finds, the email revelations, the underage theft viewer past some involved might have, and perhaps that video that started this all off.
Hey Adric.
Since you missed it, my comment saying I DON'T MATTER was sarcasm in response to an anonymous comment. The person who said I don't matter actually said I am right about Emerald.
This is my personal blog. I offer my opinions here, nothing more.
Also, don't fucking call me princess.
You can deny it all you want, miss[]. The truth isn't going to dissipate with all your 'opinion only bla bla bla'.
A blogger using her NWN-found fame to promote - to Endorse a piece of software created by Ethics-challenged* hackers and griefers, then brushing off her endorsement as "opinion"... Something definitely rotten going on there.
* Except Chalice Yao, of course :P
Ok. Let me try to explain my reasoning here.
I am well aware of the history of Fractured and Phox. I have spoken with them both personally. I don't think either of them will deny that they have done terrible things in the past. Fractured in particular is on the record admitting that. My question was not "are these two guys trustworthy." My question when I was thinking about Emerald and writing about it was -- can I trust the viewer.
So, I looked at the facts. I found that Emerald is GPL compliant and LL put the viewer on its Third Party Viewer directory. These hard facts help non-technical people like me make an informed decision about whether or not it is safe to use Emerald. Then I looked at actual user numbers. Fractured told me Emerald has 85,000 users a day. In talking to Hamlet yesterday he said that means roughly one in three people using SL every day are doing so using Emerald. That is a staggering number if you think about it. If the viewer was being used to steal I am very sure the evidence would be all over the place.
Look I cannot possibly know if the "ethics-challenged hackers and griefers" in question have changed their ways. I would like to believe they have. The public evidence I see, most specifically the fact that they are working closely with LL on projects, suggests to me that they have. Only time will tell of course.
As for me using my "NWN found fame" to promote Emerald? I wrote this post on my personal blog which about 100 people a day read, on a good day. I wrote it because a previous bratty post was out there, I had changed my opinion and I wanted to set the record straight with the small number of people who read what I write. I purposely posted it on the day of the LL layoffs with the express hope it would get buried. I am not interested in jumping into the Emerald controversy and swimming around in it. Hamlet picked up what I wrote and posted it on NWN, which I learned after the fact. So, here I am in the deep end of the cesspool.
I am not trying to step away from my words by calling this post "opinion." I stand by my words, I use Emerald and intend to keep doing so until there is a reason to stop. I do want to be very clear, this post was written as opinion not as some journalistic exercise in seeking the ultimate truth.
Thank you missy, it's important you know your words do matter. No matter how without a basis in reality or clue they are.
I'm new to this "NWN Fame", but I can't imagine it existing unless you get a linked article every day. You got a few days of traffic spike at the cost of assholes like myself attacking who normally forget you or this blog exist (and will again in a few days). So no, hardly Tenshi famous or even Pappy Enoch level.
As for opinions, I love those, but when you make them throwing around "85,000" "GPL Compliant" and other cute terms, you are really making a case for a conclusion. Not even a good one since AOL still has more members than Emerald and I would hardly call them all wise people using a good service. Many people doing dumb things do not make them less so. As for GPL, the fact is you cannot distribute Linden's source outside of GPL.
It's silly to lead people with such weak points when your conclusion that Emerald is safe to use is not something anyone has been able to disprove with creditable evidence. To back door or try and snoop via code in such a highly used program would take someone a lot less intelligent than Fractured Crystal.
I've never suggested that his work on Emerald stop. It's got some great features even at the resource cost. As for his past, that is something people need to make an informed choice on. If they want to feel he is a white knight or evil monster should be their call once the facts are out there.
It's his less scrutinized projects that attempt to piggyback off that good work that concern me. That people feel the need to defend his good work suggests that is less a danger now.
Adric
You are right about a few things. First, you are an asshole and you are attacking me. Second, I am not as "famous" as Tenshi or Pappy Enoch but then again, being "famous" in SL is not something I seek or even value.
We all have to make our own judgments about people. You have made yours about me and I most certainly have made mine about you.
Thank you for stopping by here to share your point of view, even though you have been rude and condescending for no reason I can understand.
It seems most of the world has lost their manners and any ability to discuss or debate an issue in a civil manner. Narcissistic tendencies seem to come out on the forums and in blog comments. Fortunately more states are starting to enforce the new bullying laws. Stalkers and haters are likely to have more problems as they move from site to site. One can sort of be anonymous but the IP addresses allow one to be tracked down, not easily but it can be done.
The point of open source is so that others can look at the code and see what it is doing. If those criticizing the Emerald team were capable of reading the code or even thinking rationally they would know they are idiots. They would not be writing about the people. They would be quoting code to prove their point.
My favorite viewers are Emerald and Kirsten’s. On OpenSim I like Imprudence and Hippo. Since LL is moving on to make a browser based viewer it looks like Emerald may take over. I suspect SL Viewer 2.0 to become the noob’s viewer and more experienced residents to use Emerald or Kirsten’s.
Thanks for taking the time to research the viewer and write about what you found.
This is just wrong, to call a person names and victimise her because of a post she made on her own blog is seriously messed up! you people making nasty comments need to back off her, and stop making her feel like crap!
Thanks Jewel. Haters are gonna hate and trolls are gonna troll.
I spoke my truth here, which is clearly not everyone's truth. That is ok, really.
You matter to me Chestnut.. I value your opinion.. I value the information provided by your post(s)I enjoy reading this blog. Thank you.
I too use emerald and I too was on that list posted by The Herald and I too dont care about Ip's and I too was more disturbed that they printed my name in a article of that nature.
So far for me Emerald (using the Beta now) is the best thing going hands down.. too many reasons to list here but I know it makes my life in sl much easier with all the features it has and I still find new ones all the time.. Love it. I agree that It will probably become the non webpage based viewer of choice. and 2.0 will be a newb tool.
Don't worry about Adric, Chestnut; he is rude and condescending to everyone. (He is actually a sweety, but he was brought up to think that real men aren't sweeties, so he overcompensates. :) )
I also like Emerald very much for its features, and awhile back I also heard and looked into the rumors about it being evil and vile, and like you concluded that there was nothing to them.
It did indeed all come down to either "opensource is bad" or "some people associated with it once did some bad things". (With a little bit of "I looked at a packet-trace and didn't understand all of it because I don't really understand network apps all that well so it must be evil" thrown in for good measure. This "the windows indexer keeps indexing the Emerald cache so Emerald must be evil" thing above is new to me, though, heehee.)
I keep meaning to try Imprudence and Kirsten's again, but there are such a limited number of hours in the day...
Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts and opinions and random jottings. You matter to me. And that's what matters. :)
oh hai Dale! Thanks for your comment. Given your background its nice to know that I got it right from a technical point of view.
Also, I <3 you! You matter to me more than a lot.
I thought of things to say, but think LorGregGreg Back, one of the original Emerald developers says it all right here.....
http://lordgreggreg.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/emerald-reassessment/#comment-309
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