Little Lost Linden

This is really puzzling me...I've been finding more and more Arab bot farms in SL recently. Today I found another sim with over 100 Arab bots.

I keep finding them, day after day and I really am interested in how these sims make money. What is the purpose of them?

Traffic gaming bots were supposedly a reportable offense and yet these sims continue to flourish. It really makes one wonder about the concurency in SL and if the Lindens are in a partnership with these Arab controlled sims in some way. Can anyone think of what these sims are for?

Anyway, here is the latest. And note, all these bots, many of them have a Jan 2012 creation date. And also, what's with these bot names, Zos4, Zos5, etc.? Crazy, Weird, and Bizzarre.

Direct link to the bot nest:
Second Life Maps | QMRNA

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Trasee Darkwatch

How do you know they're Arab bots? Is the tag indicative of something?

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Little Lost Linden

Yes. Every one of these sims, at least 5 or 6, have keywords of Arab in them, and in most of the bot profiles, you can make out what looks to be like arabic text\glyphs, etc.

IsisAlexander

I think someone just wants traffic to their website.

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Little Lost Linden

How are these sims allowed to exist for so long and avoid AR's?

Everyone keeps saying that traffic bots have no use anymore, yet, they are still everywhere, and it is so easy to see how they are still gaming traffic. There must still be some big money in this somehow that people are making. Even if it is for advertising to the website, it's still gaming the SL system in a bad way that was supposed to be stopped.

Imnotgoing Sideways

Maybe they're part of a workaround tactic for the new llGiveInventory() cap. (^_^)

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Imnotgoing Sideways

Just goes to show how little traffic means now. I've never found such a place in search lately. =^-^=

Little Lost Linden

I find these all the time in search almost every single day.

I would have to disagree about traffic meaning little these days. As a store owner, I still count traffic quite a bit, and somehow, these bot sim owners must be making money off these sims, so they are still counting on the traffic for profitablity of some kind as well. So, traffic numbers are still very important, contrary to what many people have been saying recently.

Myself, and the Arab's can't be the only people who still find traffic a useful metric.

Trasee Darkwatch

You obviously go out of your way to try to find them. Probably using an old viewer too.

Maggie

Bot nest? I though we sprayed for those.

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Little Lost Linden

Using the very latest Project Snowstorm viewer. (remember, I'm into cutting edge tech when it comes to SL), I am constantly trying to get the Lindens to upgrade the outdated graphics engine of SL. I upgrade my system frequently for 1 application, that application being SL.

I don't go out of my way at all to find these bot farms either.

I found these just by typing the word Club in search (under Places) and then hitting the 'Sort by Traffic High to Low' button.

This sim was #1 in that sophisticated search. Just looking for a popular club to hang out in, nothing more. Fact is, I wasn't even looking for bots. Wasn't even on my mind. I was just looking to see where everyone was hanging out, and clubbing is probably one of the top 5 things to do in SL. I am now curiuos about the angle these arab sims are using. How are they making money from this? And, if they are, is it illegal to do so?

The past, it was said that Linden Lab routinely checks for these traffic bots and removes them. I think they stopped looking. http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Lind...ial:Bot_policy

KT Kingsley

If they're registered as scripted agents they're not gaming traffic and not breaking any rules. Only LL and their user know if they're thus registered.

Chandra Masala

Many of those sim use "bots," or names they create and log in simply to raise their traffic stats. If you turn on radar you can usually find 50-100 "out of range" and suspiciously similarly named avatars idle on many of those sims. Interestingly enough, it's mostly khaleeji or saudi owned sims that practice this- moreso than others.

I know Im a sad panda when I expect an awesome party and teleport in to find no one there

Brenda Connolly

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Imnotgoing Sideways

Ah, so traffic matters to you because you force the issue. I would never enable that button. I'm not into finding bot farms. (^_^)y

SimonLeo

Really?

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Chandra Masala

I'm keeping my mouth shut on this.

For now.

Free Xue

It's getting so bad, these Arab bots are breaking into the real world.

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Cristiano

Check with Lowes to help your business. They have some advertising money to burn that they are not spending on a certain tv show, so this issue seems right in their wheelhouse.

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Little Lost Linden

Some people like that button, others don't. Not really forcing the issue at all. If someone wanted to go to the busiest club in SL, they would press the same button. I guess the button is there, and we just should never use it?

How come you would never enable the button? Is it against your religious beliefs?

Chandra Masala

Well that's a little trollish.

Little Lost Linden

This is the thing I'm trying to understand. We all know saudi's are very intelligent when it comes to oil purchases. So, is there something sly they are doing with online traffic gaming? Some way to turn an easy profit?

DaQbet Kish

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has fallen under the suspicion of questionable business practices by a congressional leader who describes that organizations activates as “Crazy, Weird, and Bizarre”.
A routine congressional inquire has been launched but representatives insist Planned Parenthood has not been found guilty of any wrong doing and should experience no impact on its day to day operations or future funding needs.
Story at eleven.

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DK

Chandra Masala

Dude, really?

Free Xue

Now now, Triple L.