Neo-Nazi Activity in Second Life
compiled by
Second Lifers Against Hate
Zionist Association of Second Life
Second Life Jewish Defense League
Table of Contents
PDF version
The Individuals and
Organizations Involved
Anti-Semitic and Racist
Objects
Use and Abuse of the Juden
Star
Racist and anti-Semitic
images
Appendix III: The 88
Precepts of White Supremacy
Executive Summary
Created by the private company Linden Research, Second
Life (SL) is a 3D virtual world of some 14.7 Million users. Users interact with
one another as avatars – customizable on-screen representations of themselves.
SL has been host to countless meetings of scientific, educational, and
political groups. It is used by Fortune 500 companies for marketing as well as
tasks not involving human interaction (such as datacenter management, process
reengineering, and data visualization).
Over the past several months the Second Lifers Against
Hate (SLAH), Zionist Association of Second Life (ZASL), and the Second Life
Jewish Defense League (SLJDL) have been documenting neo-Nazi activity in Second
Life. We have witnessed egregious violations of the Second Life Terms of
Service (TOS)*, and the Community Standards* therein; agreed to by all users of
the Second Life system. These violations include:
- The construction and use of derogatory and
racist objects*
- The uploading* and display of derogatory and
racist images
- The construction and use of derogatory and
racist avatars
- The sale of derogatory and racist images and
objects
- The use and display of the Nazi symbols
"swastika" and "totenkopf" (or Death's Head), where not in the context of
historical role-play*
- The harassment, griefing*, and taunting of
persons represented as Jewish by their username and/or avatar*
- The playing* of neo-Nazi, racist and
otherwise offensive music, video, and speeches
Although such an investigation is beyond the scope of our efforts,
we also have
evidence Second Life is being used to coordinate real-life meetings of neo-Nazi
groups such as the Stormfront White Nationalist
Community. This document focuses on groups within Second Life that may expand
into real life. It does not focus on groups formed in real life and using SL as
a means of collaboration, although we know that is occurring. We will cover
that issue in a future report.
Due to the efforts of our groups a neo-Nazi in Canada was arrested
and weapons were confiscated by the police, numerous users have been banned
from SL, and the headquarters of one of the neo-Nazi factions has been
eliminated by Linden Lab.
Linden Lab* has done a great deal to combat racism and intolerance
in Second Life, including setting high standards of conduct vis-à-vis the
Community Standards clause of the TOS. Abuse Reports* are part of a system for
reporting these incidents. Unfortunately, the problem keeps growing. Linden Lab cannot monitor
the entire Grid* at all times. But there is a remedy, and we believe the
community can eventually police itself - with a little help. However, this can
only be done through awareness of the problem. Hence the need for this report.
Although racists, neo-Nazis, and antisocial individuals may always be part of the community, using Second Life as a tool to promote and justify racist ideology can be stopped. The precedence set by Second Life now will be a guidepost for virtual worlds long into the future.
* See glossary for definitions.
Background
This
section is designed to give the reader a basic understanding of what Second
Life is, how it works, and why it is important to people who do not, and may
never use it. It you are a SL resident you may want to skip to the
Introduction.
First
we must define what a virtual world is, and more importantly what it is not. A
virtual world is 3D cyberspace. It exists in the databases of computers and in
the minds of users. It is not a 3D version of the Web. The Web is designed to
provide information to a user and give him the ability to complete tasks. A
virtual world is an environment that the user controls and decides what tasks
he would like to perform with it. Second Life is a virtual world built and
currently privately owned by Linden Lab, a company based in California.
Although SL is not the only virtual world it is arguably the most well-known
and popular system of it’s kind ever created.
Although
it looks like a video game, it is not. People do business with real money and
there are no computer-generated characters. For the sake of simplicity,
however, we will use the video-game lexicon to relate the information.
An
avatar is your character. You move around as you would in a video game. You can
walk, run, jump, fly, swim, and operate vehicles such as cars, boats, and
aircraft. It is fully customizable; in fact, the level of creativity in
customizing avatars is amazing. Most people have an avatar that looks like a
human with perfect hair and a perfect body. However, many people would rather
be a vampire or a robot or a dragon. You can be humanoid, quadruped, or even a
car.
Many of
the neo-Nazis exposed in this report are part of the Nazi Fur movement. This
leads into defining what a Furry is and how they fit into the larger community.
The
word “furry” pertains to an interest in
anthropomorphic (human-like) animals and/or mythological or imaginary creatures
which possess human or superhuman capabilities. The plural form of furry in all
its contexts is furs or furries; the subjects of furry interest are also known
as furries.
Furries are a movement in SL; they have their own subculture and a
large percentage of users are furries. Regardless, these are just avatars, and
each one is controlled by a human being sitting at their computer.
Because they are anthropomorphic they look human enough to require
clothing. Thus, they dress their avatars as if they were fully human. Nazi Furs
are furries dressed in Nazi uniforms. There is a large debate as to whether a
person who has a furry avatar and dresses it in Nazi clothing is a neo-Nazi.
There is little debate as to whether a person who’s avatar is a human dressed
in a Nazi uniform is a neo-Nazi. It makes no sense to us why there would be any
difference what is under the Nazi clothing. Neither of those avatars are real,
but the people sitting at their keyboard representing themselves on screen as
Nazis are.
Again, we need to point out that these are not imaginary
characters. These are real people sitting at real computers, and are expressing
themselves by creating neo-Nazi avatars. Possibly they are afraid to walk
around in real life displaying swastikas, but that does not mean they are not
neo-Nazis at heart and may one day decide activity on the computer is not
enough. We strongly urge the reader to look past the cartoony look of these
pictures and take into account the fact that the humans sitting are their
keyboards are capable of actions in the real world that could be very
dangerous. Given the fact that you can be anything you want, choosing to be a
Nazi is disturbing behavior.
Introduction
This is unfiltered content. There are disturbing images
and curse words in certain areas of this report, so be prepared.
You will see a "Concentration Camp avatar",
complete with a Juden star. You will see hateful propaganda posted in plain
sight and being sold. You will see a gas chamber complete with cans of Zyklon-B
(the chemical gas used in the gas chambers at Nazi death camps). You will see
avatars wearing and displaying the swastika, White Power logos, a KKK uniform,
and Nazi skinhead clothing. We show avatars performing racist gestures and
running animations designed to intimidate and degrade others based on race or
religion. In short, you will be presented with evidence requiring the
undeniable conclusion that Second Life is home to a network of neo-Nazi
organizations exploiting all the capabilities of the platform to promote
hatred; including the most important capability of Second Life: social
networking.
These unsettling facts sully the good name of Second
Life. Everyone interested in equality for all, combating discrimination and
eliminating hatred will be disturbed by this content. Most of all, the
employees of Linden Lab, who have worked so hard to build this world, will be
disappointed, and indeed disgusted, by much of what is documented in these
pages.
Linden Lab has a team devoted to policing Second Life
called the Governance Team (GTeam). When some of this information became
available to them, the GTeam took action. We applaud their efforts in combating
racism and intolerance. Among the actions taken by Linden Lab to address the
issues we have documented are:
- The sale of most of the racist objects we
have observed has stopped.
- The main store where these items were being
sold was taken down.
- The leader of the neo-Nazi group known as
the Furzis was permanently banned.
- Some members of the neo-Nazi were suspended
or banned.
- Some of the racist 3D objects created by
these neo-Nazi groups were erased.
We are aware that Linden Lab does not have unlimited
resources, and has to deal with disputes between residents on a daily basis;
especially given the enormous and rapid growth Second Life has experienced over
the past 2 years. Therefore, we have taken it upon ourselves to meticulously
document these violations. This report contains incontrovertible proof of
numerous violations of the TOS. We feel the best way to address this issue is
by exposing those involved and giving Linden Lab the ammunition they need to
remove the individuals from the community.
The neo-Nazis, for their part, play a cat-and-mouse game
of cover-up using whatever method serves them best. They have claimed that they
are “history buffs”. They have stated on a number of occasions that they have a
“uniform fetish” (the definition of which, we do not fully understand). They
have even invoked their 1st Amendment rights, even though Second
Life is a privately-owned system. A user only has the ‘right’ to do what they
are permitted to do by the owner. And as far as history and fetishes are
concerned, the topic of the Holocaust, symbols of hate groups, and the violence
and prejudice of mankind’s past make these extremely delicate subjects. Running
roughshod over people’s feelings, making them feel like dirt, or intimidating
them is unnecessary for historical reenactment and sexual gratification.
Swastikas are arguably the most offensive symbols of
the modern era.
We do not believe they have any place in Second Life at all. Most WWII era Axis
uniforms sold in SL do not have a swastikas on them, rather they use the Iron
Cross symbol, which was (and is) a legitimate symbol of the German military. It
is difficult to accept that not being able to wear swastikas on their uniforms
is going to diminish the experience of WWII roleplay for people who have enough
imagination to pretend they are Nazi soldiers in the first place.
"As
National Socialists, we see our program in our flag … in the swastika the
mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same
token, the victory of the idea of creative work, which as such always has
been and always will be anti-Semitic."
–
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
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Neo-Nazis do not subscribe to the concept of a community
that wants to be a conduit for improving the human condition; enabling new
forms of collaboration, and, more to the point, progressing beyond hate and prejudice. We see this
situation as an opportunity to make it clear to all the ability of virtual
worlds to tear down the walls of hate and prejudice.
We have the power to strike a devastating blow to not
just hate groups in Second Life, but to those in other virtual world systems to
come (and therefore their larger online presence on the Web) by delegitimizing
these groups. By addressing their cover-up schemes, and saying hate symbols and
hate speech are not acceptable for any purpose, we pierce the veil of their
organizations. No longer can they use the excuse that they are “history buffs”.
No longer will there be the argument that displaying Nazi symbols and wearing
KKK uniforms is an exercise in freedom of speech. We will have taken a stand
for the entire community in denying safe haven for hate groups; especially given that this
is the largest and most visible virtual community in the World. Hate groups are
a scourge on our society, and we have the opportunity to decisively reject
their message. What greater good can one do for social progress than that?
These groups will simply reconstitute themselves if not
dealt with in a swift, decisive manner. In fact, after their leader Spotz Spork
was banned he just re-registered as Spotz Sporg. We have outlined a plan of
action to prevent that. We hope Linden Lab takes our suggestions to heart and
determines the best course of action with that in mind. The residents of Second
Life and the administrators of Second Life will be much more successful at
combating hate if we work together.
The Individuals and
Organizations Involved
For the past eight months members of the SLAH, ZASL and
SLJDL have been documenting
violations of the Second Life TOS in an effort to eliminate Nazism from Second
Life. This document focuses on Nazi Furs.
Second Life lives up to its name, in that you can
re-make your entire life. You can be a Jedi Knight, a pirate, a giant robot, a
dragon, or, as with most people, a normal human with a perfect body. No
deformities, no handicaps, no bad hair days. You can dance perfectly, you can
have gun fights without injury, drive monster trucks, fly jet planes, or you
can just fly, no airplane needed. In short, you can choose to be anything or
anyone you want. These people choose to be Nazis.
Furries or Furs are anthropomorphic wolves, dogs, cats,
and other creatures that people choose as their avatars. According to Wikipedia
Furry Fandom is "…the organized appreciation and
dissemination of art and prose regarding 'Furries', or fictional mammalian
anthropomorphic characters." 99.9% of Furries are normal people that just
like that style of avatar. It is that .1%, though, that are Nazi Furs we are
concerned about.
The Nazi Furs are known in Second Life as the Furzis
(Nazi +Furry = Furzi). Although the Nazi Furs are the main subject of this
document they are by no means the only neo-Nazi group in Second Life. In fact,
one of the reasons we decided to focus our efforts on them is that they are a
sub-set of the larger neo-Nazi movement. Hence, they are easier to identify as
a cohesive element.
We have been working to gather credible evidence on
their activities. Amazingly, we have witnessed anti-Semitism on a scale
heretofore unimaginable, partly due to the fact that the 3D environment gives
users the ability to create complex, interactive objects not previously
possible. Many of these objects also contain scripts, which make the objects
dynamic; something not possible in the real world.
One particularly disturbing discovery is that they’ve
created a “Jewbot” that hands out Nazi paraphernalia when it is clicked on; it
holds an Israeli flag in it’s left hand, an Israeli passport in it’s right, and
a Star of David on it’s forehead. It has a big nose and curly locks similar to
those Orthodox Jews wear. We have included an abundance of information about it
in this report to help the reader understand just how offensive it is.
However, some of what we have seen is very familiar,
such as derogatory images and posters. “The Jew has multiple penises so he can
sodomize Christians and Muslims simultaneously” read one poster. There is also
WWII-era anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda for sale at their headquarters.
The Nazi Furs are also connected to the White Power
movement, and have created KKK uniforms for themselves and those in their
‘inner circle’. Skinheads and neo-Nazis freely mix at their favorite hang-out:
Das Waffenamt. [NOTE: Das Waffenamt was cleared out by system administrators
due to our efforts. No longer do they sell Nazi items, but neo-Nazis continue
to congregate there.]
It is important to note that virtually every single user
and group on this list has a disclaimer of how they are not racist. Obviously,
their behavior tells a different story. Just as in the offline world, in the
online world most hate groups are not going to advertise their racism.
Regardless of their words, their actions have been observed and they are
book-definition racists.
The
Groups
The following is a list of groups whose members we have
identified as neo-Nazis. Where possible we included membership numbers. This is
a partial list. The network of hate groups in Second Life is extensive.
However, if we are to combat hate in Second Life, the following groups, at a
minimum, must be dismantled. They are listed by name, followed by number of
members, and the founder in parenthesis:
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11th
Kampf-Ingenieur-Abteilung – 34 members (Rainbow Pirandello) |
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Chaotic
Evil – 5 members (Spotz Spork) |
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Das
Waffenamt – 145 members (Spotz Spork) |
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Der
Furzi Reich – membership unknown (unavailable) |
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Die Deutsche Furmacht – 69 members (Spotz Spork) |
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Fascist Furs – 87 members (Kitshoji Hauptmann) |
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Furzi
Truppenverband – 10 members (unavailable) |
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Lindsey’s
Furzi Soldat’s – 10 members (Lindsey Kanto) |
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NS
Furry Party – 16 members (Gabriel Bernard) |
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The Furr’d Reich – 95 members (Lucah Solvang) |
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JEWS – 25 members (Adromor Wierwight) |
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White Power – 15 members (Imgoingto Fall) |
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14 Worms – 62 members (Thor Forte) |
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Individuals
This is a sampling of individual avatars witnessed to
have committed acts of racism. Some examples of their violations are included
(detailed profiles are in Addendum A). By no means are these the only
violations we have witnessed:
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Spotz Spork Founder of the Nazi Furs A.K.A. Furzis
BANNED: This
avatar has been banned from Second Life by Linden Lab. [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork has been... [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork: Banned from 42 parcels [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork: oops [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork: Temp. banned from Second
Life 4 times [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork: Had his account disabled
1 time [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork: Warned by a Linden 2
times [2008/02/04 20:29] Spotz Spork: Had 2 alt accounts
disabled [2008/02/04 20:31] You: wtf they do that for? [2008/02/04 20:31] Spotz Spork: Griefing. [2008/02/04 20:31] You: did you at least enjoy it then? [2008/02/04 20:31] Spotz Spork: Heck yeah, I don't care
what anyone says, griefing is fun. |
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Rainbow Pirandello Co-founder of the Furzis
[2008/02/04 21:18] Orkronos Brandenburg: can you hiel? [2008/02/04 21:18] Spotz Spork: Sieg heil! … [2008/02/04 21:21] Annika McGettigan: Sieg Heil! [2008/02/04 21:21] Orkronos Brandenburg: awww [2008/02/04 21:21] Rainbow Pirandello: (Hello is this
the internet I was told I could meet people here) [2008/02/04 21:22] Spotz Spork: Sieg heil! [2008/02/04 21:22] Rhentin Habsburg: Sieg heil! [2008/02/04 21:22] Orkronos Brandenburg gives anni a
cookie [2008/02/04 21:22] You: Sieg Heil! [2008/02/04 21:22] Spotz Spork: I'm a Jew. [2008/02/04 21:22] Spotz Spork: Congratulations... [2008/02/04 21:22] Spotz Spork: Getch ya nose outta my
face! [2008/02/04 21:22] Rainbow Pirandello: If I had a dime
for every time someone Sieg'd in here I'd be fucking set. [2008/02/04 21:22] Rhentin Habsburg: Yes you would. [2008/02/04 21:23] Michael Dumont: Sieg Heil! |
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Michael Dumont KKK Uniform Gas Chamber [18:49] IM: Michael Dumont: Can I trust you
with it? [18:49] Michael Dumont gave you KKK Shirt. [18:49] Michael Dumont gave you KKK Skirt. [18:50] IM: Michael Dumont: At least join a
RESPECTABLE White Power group, like Stormfront. [21:14] Michael Dumont: Now, if only the gas
can and noose I had were transferable. |
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Dick Volare Nazi Bunker with Gas Chamber
[12:54] Dick Volare: This will be a single
person execution chamber. [12:54]
Michael Dumont: Single person? How innefficient. [12:54] Dick
Volare: It's for special occasions [12:55] Dick Volare: The Zyklon B canister on
top leads down through the pipes to the room vents on each wall [12:56] Dick
Volare: I'd like it voiced. [12:56] Michael Dumont: You know, Zyklon-B
was originally developed by the germans as an insecticide. [12:57] Dick Volare: This will be a room in
the bunker I'm building |
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Sage Straaf Key participation in neo-Nazi activities [2008/02/08
16:06] Michael Dumont: That's
our theater! [2008/02/08
16:06] You: is it movie night? [2008/02/08 16:07] Sage Straaf: it's -always- movie
night :D [2008/02/08
16:07] Michael Dumont: Where we show
such inspiring films as "Triumph Of The Will" and
"Downfall" [2008/02/08
16:07] Sage Straaf: yeah, it's
set to play downfall right now [2008/02/08
16:07] You: never eard of em [2008/02/08 16:07] Sage Straaf: Triumph of the Will is a
Nazi propaganda movie [2008/02/08
16:07] Michael Dumont: So we've
got both ends of the Third Reich covered. :D [2008/02/08
16:07] Sage Straaf: Downfall is
a modern movie about the end of the war [2008/02/08
16:07] You: nazi propoganda? [2008/02/08
16:07] Sage Straaf: yes [2008/02/08
16:07] You: sounds weird lol [2008/02/08
16:08] Sage Straaf: erm... why? [2008/02/08
16:08] Sage Straaf: the nazis
were masters of propaganda! [2008/02/08
16:08] You: i dunno isnt
propoganda bad? [2008/02/08
16:08] Sage Straaf: no [2008/02/08
16:08] Projector Screen: New
media URL set. [2008/02/08
16:08] Sage Straaf: Hitler was
quite fond of it |
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Annika McGettigan Concentration Camp avatar
BANNED: This
avatar has been banned from Second Life by Linden Lab. [1:02] Annika McGettigan: do u hang out here
much? [1:02] You: I used to come here before my
computer crash [1:02] You: but I intend to come often, ye
^^ [1:03] Annika McGettigan: i think i am going
to be soon to much jew talk for me [1:03] You: yeah me too! [1:04] Annika McGettigan: lol...i think i am
historyied out for the night... [1:05] You: lol [1:06] Annika McGettigan: thats funny...that
is a deadley religon to get in to...they never get a break [1:07] You: haha... yeah and whn they have a
'break' they aren't allowed to do anything [1:08] Annika McGettigan: lol..i am glad we
dont have many to deal with in my town [1:08] You: haha [1:08] You: or on sl [1:08] You: though there are still a lot [1:09] Annika McGettigan: in sl there
are...i am from tennessee....we have are share of "other" things to
deal with [1:09] You: hmm... [1:09] You: like? [1:10] You: blacks? [1:10] Annika McGettigan: for one...and the
mexicans |
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Orkronos Brandenburg ARRESTED: This person was arrested by the police in
Canada for possession of illegal weapons. [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: can you Hiel
little anni? [2008/02/04 21:16] Spotz Spork: Sieg heil! [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: Deutschland! [2008/02/04 21:16] Spotz Spork: Deutschland! [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: I vill hear no
more insinuations about the German people! [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: Nothing bad
happened! [2008/02/04 21:16] Rhentin Habsburg: Rainbow, that
avatar is freaky as fuck. [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: Sie werden sich
hinsetzen! [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: Sie werden
ruhig sein!! [2008/02/04 21:16] Orkronos Brandenburg: Sie werden
nicht beleidigen Deutschland!!! |
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Rhentin Habsburg Neo-Nazi clothing 008/02/04 1:43] Rhentin Habsburg gave you Swastika Shirt. [2008/02/04 1:43] Sage Straaf: sure [2008/02/04 1:43] You: cool [2008/02/04 1:44] Sage Straaf: it can go in the folder with all the other
nazi stuff :D [2008/02/04 1:44] Sage Straaf: is it bad that I actually have an NS folder
in my inventory because I keep collecting so much nazi-related shit? [2008/02/04 1:44] Rhentin Habsburg gave you Swastika Shirt. [2008/02/04 1:44] You: cool [2008/02/04 1:44] You: nah [2008/02/04 1:45] Sage Straaf: look what other stuff I have :D [2008/02/04 1:45] You: If I was organized I'd have one lol [2008/02/04 1:45] Sage Straaf: I try to avoid wearing this jacket... for
obvious reasons |
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Adolfe Heinkle [12:11] Adolphe Heinkel: we need to invite a
jew to test the chambre [12:12] Adolphe Heinkel: a memorial about the
fucking shoah [12:12] Adolphe Heinkel: we will tell him we
will cry with him together [12:13] Adolphe Heinkel: it will be the best
day of our lives [12:13] Adolphe Heinkel: zykloning a jew [12:13] You: well they could TP out [12:14] Adolphe Heinkel: but we will have
taken photos …. [15:40] Adolphe Heinkel: a good jew is a dead
jew [15:42] Adolphe Heinkel: you have seen the
results in the maine?.... :-( [15:43] Rolf Schoonhoven: you are very
interested in american politics :-) [15:43] Adolphe Heinkel: soon you will have a
monkey for president [15:43] Adolphe Heinkel: i saw that on the
news [15:44] Adolphe Heinkel: half a monkey [15:44] Adolphe Heinkel: it will be the first
time in the world [15:44] Adolphe Heinkel: that an animal
became president! [15:44] Adolphe Heinkel: (in the civilized
world) [15:46] Adolphe Heinkel: too many monkeys and
too many jews.... [15:47] Adolphe Heinkel: very hard.... |
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Zyklon Paine |
SolaxyFox Revere |
Crevan Zelmanov |
Erane Buwan |
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These
are screencaps* of avatar radar* readings from Furzi headquarters. Anyone
listed was present at the time we were observing racist behavior:
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Other members of the neo-Nazi groups are listed below.
Names in bold
are purposely offensive, which is a direct violation of section 2.3 of the TOS.
Names in italics
are users we have observed directly, all are in neo-Nazi groups:
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Hunny Fadoodle |
Fox Pronovost |
Ranger Paine |
Waffle Fizzle |
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Ryko Dagger |
Jerreh Howley |
Lupus Mietziner |
Soya Ling |
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Jew Mincemeat |
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Vinny
Brewster |
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Dreizen
Criss |
Catman
Dudek |
Jew
Hammerer |
JewHater
Kidd |
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Himmler1945
Boa |
Mengele
Hefferman |
Kabba
Bachem |
antisemite
Allen |
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rpdevil
Bade |
gda64
Mayako |
Reinhard
Lubitsch |
Leony
Troncon |
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revelation
Sperber |
Person88
Falworth |
1488
Auer |
Swastika
Reifsnider |
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Swastika
Akina |
Treblinka
Gazov |
Karl
Fredericks |
Blucher
Schlegel |
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Auschwitz Hoorenbeek |
AuschwitzBurns Sin |
KARASTOPOULOS Wuramunga |
Zyklon Lovenkraft |
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Crozi Vaher |
Crasuss Petronius |
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Zyklon Aeon |
Cyanide Leviathan |
Reinhart Mokeev |
Tanaka
Singh |
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Himmler
Sperber |
Rocco
Koenkamp |
Metatron Tantalus |
Dreamdancer
Collins |
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Ranger
Paine |
Midnight
Shirabyoshi |
Harabec
Karas |
NarsilGecko
Warf |
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Zanzibar
Sloats |
Sarah
Golem |
Chelsea
Canning |
Mikey
Flyer |
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Friedrich
Lusch |
Corina
Idziak |
StormvanGoth
Slade |
Kalervo
Korhonen |
|
MykeWillis13
Aeon |
Horst
Gustafson |
Armin
Boivin |
Ruth
Brandenburg |
|
Kitshoji
Hauptmann |
Vegna
Fouroux |
Maxi
Harrop |
JaKeSe7eN
Leven |
|
Lukan Messmer |
Rosalyn
Meyer |
Reinhart
Mokeev |
Fritz
Ella |
|
Jet
Ozsvar |
SaintRaccoon
Blessed |
Victoria
Hyde |
Vint
Falken |
|
Guiseppe
Villota |
Grutanya
Wunderlich |
Jery
Lyne |
Ashes
Flanagan |
|
Sabrewolf
Redgrave |
Samia
Perun |
Kneph
Blackflag |
Altair
Wisent |
|
Perrtu
Mannonen |
Dylan
Soderberg |
Fox Braun |
Lupus
Mielziner |
|
Nicos4
Abramovic |
Nedime
Dollinger |
Mario27
Giano |
Jax
Stryker |
|
Rechtsradikal
Schumann |
Son
Blister |
RobertC
Schridde |
Varla Yokosuka |
|
Lupus Mielziner |
Vincent Lovenkraft |
Crasuss Petronius |
Shiuk Ng |
|
Fox MacAlpine |
Able Watanabe |
Dex Wilberg |
Shani
Nosferatu |
|
Konartis
Bender |
wir sind Aenders |
Ed Gritzi |
Svelada Schnyder |
|
|
|
|
|
Anti-Semitic and
Racist Objects
In this section we detail a sampling of objects that are
racist and offensive. There are possibly thousands of such objects floating
around Second Life. Therefore, it would be impossible to identify all of them.
Although it would be equally difficult to eliminate all of them merely by
running searches (of course that should be done too), with the help of users
reporting them to Linden Lab via Abuse Reports as they encounter them it is
likely we will be able to eliminate nearly every single one.
While it is essential to the positive culture and
progressive achievements of Second Life to eliminate anti-Semitism and racism
in all its forms, it is perhaps more important to assure that Second Life is not used as a
platform from which to spread 3D objects that promote hatred and racism
throughout the Internet. Currently all objects created within Second Life are contained on
the servers at the Linden Lab and IBM NOCs (Network Operations Centers), but in
the not-so-distant future it will be possible to download objects created in
Second Life onto a user’s own machine. Thus, there is a limited window of opportunity
to eliminate these objects before they are released ‘into the wild’. If that
occurs it will be trivial to distribute unlimited copies to anyone on the
Internet.
Before detailing these objects it is important to
understand that this content is painstakingly created with much labor. In
Second Life objects are made up of dozens of connected primary objects known as
prims*, which are cubes, spheres, cones, cylinders, etc. These have to be
sized*, rotated*, and interconnected* to form complex objects. It requires
time, patience, and skill.
Many of these objects are scripted* and have particle
effects*. In order to produce visual effects, such as particle effects, it
requires a certain amount of skill at scripting. There has no doubt been a
great deal of time spent at these individuals’ desks writing code* to make
these objects work.
Most of what we document here are objects that took
hours or even days to complete. Given that their creators expended this amount
of time, energy, and effort to construct complex 3D objects, complete with
scripts, particle effects, and textures* it is reasonable to assume they have
strong motivation to do so. The
majority of the objects in this section are not offered for sale, and indeed
are only given to trusted members of their group.
We find it very troubling that anyone would go to such
lengths to manufacture something as vile and hateful as some of what we are
about to show you.
* See glossary for definitions.
The
Jewbot
At the top of the list of the virulent anti-Semitism
promulgated by the Nazi Furs is the Jewbot. This robot is equipped with a
stereotypical large nose, curly locks, a Star of David on its forehead, an
Israeli passport in its right hand and an Israeli flag in its left. [NOTE: The
Jewbot has since been deleted by system administrators.]
The Jewbot acts as a greeter at the Das Waffenamt WWII
store - the Nazi Furs' headquarters. If you click on the Jewbot it will give
you various items. These have included:
- Nazi armband with a swastika
- Nazi Rolls Royce
- WWII Mauser Rifle
- WWII MG42 Machine Gun
- “Fursecution” uniform (the meaning of this term is
unclear)
- Furry KKK t-shirt
- T-Shirt with Israel’s state seal
The Jewbot is owned by Spotz Spork. It’s description cynically says “Das Waffenamt’s Israeli Liason”. This
anti-Semitic object is the epitome of prejudice and hateful stereotyping.
The fact that these people have gotten away with the
argument that they have a historical interest in WWII when they have this kind
of blatant anti-Semitism going on at their headquarters is proof positive that
a complete purge of this underground Nazi Fur movement from Second Life is
necessary to prevent further recurrence. Otherwise, they will invent more and
more creatively subtle ways to engage in racist activities.
Gas
Chambers
Next we have the gas chambers. These are also extremely
offensive, and if Second Life is a way to live out your ultimate fantasy, one
has to wonder what kind of person would feel inclined to build a gas chamber.
This is the layout of Dick Volare’s build, including a
torture room (pictured below), a gas chamber with glass door for viewing of the
execution, and an office in an uncompleted state.
(1)
Dick
Volaire’s Office
(2)
“Observation
Room”, the gas chamber
(3)
Torture
Chamber, separate from the gas chamber
(4)
Lounge
Although it would be beyond belief for someone to assert
that this had anything to do with historical reenactment, just for the record,
here are some chat logs that put that assertion to rest:
[12:54] Dick Volare: This will be a single
person execution chamber.
[12:54] Michael Dumont: Single person? How
innefficient.
[12:54] Dick Volare: It's for special occasions
[12:55] Dick Volare: The Zyklon B canister on
top leads down through the pipes to the room vents on each wall
[12:56] Dick Volare: I'd like it voiced.
[12:56] Michael Dumont: You know, Zyklon-B was
originally developed by the germans as an insecticide.
[12:57] Dick Volare: This will be a room in the
bunker I'm building
[12:57] Erane Buwan: I made a group of that.
[12:58] Erane Buwan: AND I GOT MY ACCOUNT
SUSPENDED.
[12:58] Dick Volare: Michael, your opinion on
this project is a big deal.
[12:58] Dick Volare: That'd be a whole other
project.
[12:58] Erane Buwan: And the group was deleted.
[12:58] Erane Buwan shouts: DAMN LINDENS!
[12:58] Michael Dumont: You guys aren't the
first ones to try this you know. There's this girl that built a camp, and got
banned alot of times...
[12:58] Dick Volare: We're a historical group.
[12:58] Dick Volare: Yeah, but I'm already on
the edge.
[12:59] Erane Buwan: OHH.
[12:59] Erane Buwan: A TORTURE ROOM?
[12:59] Dick Volare: Michael, you're getting
executed first.
[12:59] Adolphe Heinkel: zyklon was for
cockroaches lol
[13:00] Michael Dumont: I have a Luger.
[13:05] Adolphe Heinkel: but we should find
jews to come in....
[13:05] Dick Volare: Lindens would have a field
day.
[13:05] Michael Dumont: I think the only way
you could do that and not get banned was to make it into, or at least disguise
it as, a sort of memorial/museum.
[13:05] Dick Volare: Not in everyones opinion.
[13:05] Dick Volare: Or.. disguise it as..
[13:06] Adolphe Heinkel: like the memorial of
the shoah
[13:06] Adolphe Heinkel: we have that place in
france
[13:06] Adolphe Heinkel: it's disgusting
These objects divide and demean people. They promote
hatred and prejudice. Second Life was intended to promote unity and equality,
and if these objects are downloaded by these users it will have the exact
opposite effect. The ZASL and SLJDL urge timely action to prevent that.
Use
and Abuse of the Juden Star
The following page depicts the derogatory use of the
Juden star, based on the symbol used to identify Jews during the Holocaust. The
avatar in the red dress is in the likeness of Ann Frank. The “Concentration
Camp” avatar is in the upper right. In the bottom two images we see a member of
the Furzis – Annika McGettigan – symbolically throwing the Juden Star into the
fire to ‘watch it burn’.
These groups have often stated they are interested in
WWII history, and are not anti-Semitic. It is obvious they are anti-Semitic.
What is interesting is how unknowledgeable they are about Nazi history.
The Nazis used different colored triangles to identify
the various groups destined for the concentration camps.
Red - Political prisoner. Anyone unwilling to praise
Hitler and do the bidding of a dictator. Anyone opposed to killing whomever the
Nazis wanted to kill. Anyone opposed to national socialism. Anyone opposed to
state control of your life, i.e. "Enemies of the state."
Yellow triangle superimposed over an inverted triangle
(resembling the Star of David) was used for Jews.
Black triangle: So-called "Asocial elements".
Mentally retarded, alcoholics, vagrants, beggars, pacifists, draft resisters,
the habitually "work-shy", or prostitutes, some anarchists.
Green triangle represented "habitual
criminals". Blue triangles were for foreign forced laborers. Pink
triangles for homosexuals, lesbians, and sexual offenders. Purple triangle:
religious dissenters (Jehovah's Witnesses, Bible Student movement members,
Quakers, and Atheists). Brown triangle was used for the Roma (AKA Gypsies).
Yellow triangle superimposed over a black inverted
triangle, or "voided" black inverted triangle superimposed over a
yellow triangle for an Aryan convicted of having relations or living with
someone of any other race. They were labeled as a "race defiler".
Despite
the wide variety of markings used by the Nazis the Nazi Furs have failed to
create any other identifiers besides the ones used for Jews. As “history buffs”
they should know these markings well. Yet, curiously, they never made any
avatars or clothing with any other color or concentration camp symbols.
Obsession
with Zyklon-B
Zyklon-B
was the chemical used to kill men, women, and children once they had been
forced into the gas chambers at the Nazi death camps. The Nazi Furs have
created Zyklon-B canisters and place them in their headquarters.
The
significance of the Nazi killings was partly the targets, and partly the
methods. In every war innocent civilians die, but in this case a war machine
targeted the civilians specifically, even to the point of devoting resources
away from the military campaign to do so.
The
Nazis killed +11 Million defenseless non-combatants in the six extermination
camps: Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belżec, Sobibór,
Chelmno, Majdanek, and Maly Trostenets.
Among
the victims of the Holocaust were 1.5 Million children. Most of them were Jews,
but there were tens of thousands of Roma and handicapped children exterminated
via a "mass-production factory" type method devised using the latest
technology at the time. The true heinousness of the Nazi killing machine was no
more evident than the way in which they killed innocent children. Typically
they separated them from their parents, herding men into one gas chamber, women
into another, and children into a third. They forced them to strip naked before
being killed so as to make it easier to cremate the bodies. They then packed
them into a concrete room with no windows and usually a light bulb. There they
were exterminated with poison gas – Zyklon-B. A nice, tidy process.
This is
of particular interest to the Nazi Furs. They seem obsessed with this method of
killing and have spent dozens or hundreds of hours re-creating gas chambers,
concentration camp uniforms, and of course, Zyklon-B.
These
are chat logs recorded by one of our members:
[12:49] Michael Dumont: lol, gas chamber?
Someone here made one of those too.
[12:51] Michael Dumont: Oh, he left. I was
gonna ask if I ever gave him my set of Concentration Camp patches.
[12:54] Dick Volare: This will be a single
person execution chamber.
[12:54] Michael Dumont: Single person? How
innefficient.
[12:54] Dick Volare: It's for special occasions
[12:55] Dick Volare: The Zyklon B canister on
top leads down through the pipes to the room vents on each wall
[12:56] Dick Volare: I'd like it voiced.
[12:56] Michael Dumont: You know, Zyklon-B was
originally developed by the germans as an insecticide.
[12:59] Erane Buwan: OHH.
[12:59] Erane Buwan: A TORTURE ROOM?
[12:59] Dick Volare: Michael, you're getting
executed first.
[12:59] Adolphe Heinkel: zyklon was for
cockroaches lol
Racist and
anti-Semitic images
Other than the anti-Semitic propaganda posters sold at
the Das Waffenmat store the Nazi Furs had various racist posters on a bulletin
board. They would be changed irregularly, but usually images stayed there for
more than a week.
Some more blatant than others, these are often very
hateful and offensive. One reads “The Jew has multiple penises so he can
sodomize Christians and Muslims at the same time.” Another has a picture of
Anne Frank with the caption “Hide and
Seek World Champion 1942-44”.
Real Life Nazi Fur Activities
Many of
the Nazi Furs are, in fact, militant neo-Nazis. Because Second Life gives
people form anywhere in the World a way to interact and exchange ideas this
causes a danger to public safety.
Due to
the work of members of the SLAH, the ZASL, and the SL JDL in July of 2008 a
Nazi Fur was arrested in The Battlefords, Canada by the Royal Mounted Canadian
Police for illegal possession of firearms. The following is a Letter of
Commendation given to us for this work:
|
Royal
Canadian
Mounted
Police
From: NCO i/c
Battlefords Municipal RCMP
North Battleford, SK
S9A
023
On
behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the City of North Battleford,
Saskatchewan, Canada, I would like to express our gratitude and thanks for
your concern and commitment in alerting us to a possible catastrophic
incident in our community.
Due
to your clear thinking and decisive action in alerting the authorities here
in Canada, we were able to identify a potential threat to the public safety
of our community and deal with the situation in a quick and efficient manner
without compromising the safety of anybody involved.
We were able
to retrieve firearms from the individual identifying himself to you as
"Orkronos Brandenburg" and receive authorization to destroy those
firearms. In addition, we are also seeking a court ordered Firearms
Prohibition and conditions which will compel the individual to seek
counseling and abide by specific conditions which we feel are in the public's
best interest.
Once
again, thank you for your diligence in reporting the incident. Your actions
are commendable.
Signatories: Constable Gordon Patey
Seargent
Ron Link
|
We are
certain other members of the Nazi Furs posses weapons. The concept of these
racist people using their weapons, especially for retaliation against our
members, is frightening to us.
We know
only a little about offline activities. However, we think the authorities in
the various countries of their citizenship should at least be aware of their
existence. Furthermore, some of these individuals are in France and Germany,
where it is a crime to possess Nazi paraphernalia.
Elimination Strategy
Below
we outline the steps we believe necessary to eliminate neo-Nazis from Second
Life. None of these steps will be sufficient by themselves, but by combining
them into a cohesive strategy, they will make using Second Life as a platform
for Nazism untenable. Before any of them will be effective, however, Nazism
must be specifically addressed in the TOS, and/or Community Standards clause.
The ambiguity and rationalizations the neo-Nazi groups use to justify their
behavior will no longer support them, and everyone will know without any doubt
what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. This also goes for KKK uniforms,
White Power symbols, and other well-known hate icons. This is key to
preventing these hate groups from returning.
This
should also enumerate specifically the swastika, and the totenkopf, as these symbols are central
the ideology of Nazis.
Here
are 5 steps we can take to assure neo-Nazis stay out of Second Life:
- Disband all neo-Nazi
groups and require approval to create questionable “historical” groups. Anyone who joins a group
they know is disallowed cannot claim to be singled out.
- Ban the user, not the
avatar.
People will simply re-register as a different avatar unless they are
entirely banished.
- Delete all objects
identified as indicative of hate ideology from the asset database. Re-creating these objects
would take an immense amount of time, and the knowledge that they can just
be wiped out again would discourage such an investment.
- Make a list of
unacceptable symbols, objects, and gestures and publish it on the Web
site.
Wearing KKK or Nazi uniforms (excluding actual roleplay) shuld be banned.
Nobody should be creating things like gas chambers and Jewbots. A “seig
hiel!” gesture should not be acceptable in Second Life. Swastikas and
other hate symbols should be rejected.
- Empower the community to
police itself:
There is no specific information on what is and is not allowed in Second
Life. If symbols, images, and animations are known by all to be unacceptable
anyone seeing them can report it, thereby introducing an effective way for
the community to police itself. With the current level of ambiguity there
is very little reporting of racist violations.
Clearly,
all of these steps are possible. Whether or not they are implemented will
determine the course of neo-Nazi and hate group development. If the hateful
ideology is drummed out of the community now in a decisive and visible way it
will make it a lot less likely to reoccur. On the other hand, as per a
controversy in 2005, if we get to the point that there is a 6th, 7th,
8th suspension of one of these neo-Nazis, why would they have any
misgivings about returning? Enough is enough.
In
fact, in one exchange a Furzi member referenced the 2005 incident involving Katja Eisenberg when she was banned for creating a
concentration camp, and then discussed a strategy to avoid being banned
himself:
[12:58] Michael Dumont: You guys aren't the
first ones to try this you know. There's this girl that built a camp, and got
banned alot of times...
[12:58] Dick Volare: We're a historical group.
[12:58] Dick Volare: Yeah, but I'm already on
the edge.
[12:59] Erane Buwan: OHH.
[12:59] Erane Buwan: A TORTURE ROOM?
[12:59] Dick Volare: Michael, you're getting
executed first.
[12:59] Adolphe Heinkel: zyklon was for
cockroaches lol
[13:00] Michael Dumont: I have a Luger.
[13:05] Adolphe Heinkel: but we should find
jews to come in....
[13:05] Dick Volare: Lindens would have a field
day.
[13:05] Michael Dumont: I think the only way
you could do that and not get banned was to make it into, or at least disguise
it as, a sort of memorial/museum.
[13:05] Dick Volare: Not in everyones opinion.
[13:05] Dick Volare: Or.. disguise it as..
[13:06] Adolphe Heinkel: like the memorial of
the shoah
[13:06] Adolphe Heinkel: we have that place in
france
[13:06] Adolphe Heinkel: it's disgusting
Conclusion
It is
always tempting to judge a book by its cover. It takes a great deal of wisdom
and maturity to look past the cartoony images on a computer screen and realize
that the human beings sitting at those keyboards are real. The fact is, the
ability to build an uninhibited representation of yourself shows what is truly
at the core of one’s personality. Considering their self-created on-screen
persona, the hateful nature of the people behind these neo-Nazi avatars is very
disconcerting.
Furthermore,
it requires an enormous investment of time and effort to learn how to build,
script, and create for a 3D platform, indicating the deep level of commitment
and motivation these individuals have for their cause. It also costs money to
upload images, pay land-fees, and purchase building tools to reach this level
of productivity. One has to wonder how much malice it takes to spend hours upon
hours creating Jewbots and gas chambers piece-by-piece, for no financial gain.
We
believe that Second Life is a leap forward for human interaction. We need to
make sure the invidious symbology and hateful invective prevalent in the world
we live in is left behind by the world we create. If there ever were an
opportunity to delegitimize vitriolic hatred and prejudice this would be the
time. Can Second Life be better than real life? In this way at least, it certainly
can.
Appendix I:
Glossary
Prims: Short for ‘primitives’. These are the basic building blocks
such as cubes, spheres, and cylinders. Think of them as pieces of a Lego set.
Object: 3-dimensional objects built within SL. Anything from cars
and boats to boxes. All objects in SL have been created by the users. What you
build with the Lego set.
Scripts: Programming code that is used to make objects
interactive. Some newer Lego sets include motors or moving parts.
Particle Effects: Special effects such as sparkles, fire, smoke,
etc. Snap-on lights in a Lego set.
Textures: In a Lego set used to make a fire engine most pieces
will be red, and some pieces will even be painted with an imaginary fire
station’s call letters.
Tools/toolset: The features of the program used to make things.
Working in a document on the computer you can resize a box or place an image by
selecting different tools from the toolbar. In paint programs you can change
colors, brush sizes, etc. from the tools menu. In SL you can create new objects
and manipulate them in the same way.
Build:
(v) To construct objects. (n) A large configuration of objects, such as a town
or a building. Sometimes refers to smaller objects if they are very complex and
difficult to build.
Size:
To resize an object. When manipulating or building objects in SL you can change
the length, width, and depth with the building tools.
Rotate:
To rotate an object around one of it’s axis in order to position it correctly.
Griefing: To give grief. Harassing or attacking others.
Screencaps: Screen capture. A freeze-frame of what is on the
screen at the time of the capture.
Avatar radar: A list of avatars near your location. Distance is in
parenthesis. E.g. Joe Jones (8m).
The
Lindens or LL: Linden Lab, the
company that created Second Life.
Uploading:
The transfer of files from the users’ home computer to the servers at Linden
Lab. Textures (images), sounds, animations, gestures, and many other forms of
data can be uploaded. At the present time it is very difficult, although not
impossible, to upload 3D objects. For our purposes, all 3D objects were created
in SL.
Chat
Abbreviations
(see http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm
for a comprehensive list)
OMG: Oh
My God
LOL:
Laughing out loud
ROFL:
Rolling on the floor laughing.
:D Big
smile or chuckling
^^
Squinting smile
Appendix II:
Profiles
The
following three profiles provide more detail on a select few of the users we
have identified as highly racist. They are meant only as examples, not a
comprehensive list. Additionally, we have only been able to observe a small
percentage of the activities of these groups. Most likely they are far more in
number than we know.
