Dear Members

I've always felt that the raison d'tre of this site is facilitating communication & fostering a community vision for all those interested in exploring history via virtual worlds.

I truly feel that we're better/stronger working together & supporting each other.

Given this objective I've tried to keep the site as inclusive as possible; welcoming everyone and insisting on courtesy in all of our interactions. Everyone knows I'm always harping on the site being a "Drama Free Zone"

The downside of this inclusive approach is that it can occasionally provide a platform that the dishonest/disreputable take advantage of. I've always been a bit concerned that membership may lend a certain amount of credibility where none is actually implied.

Acting as both judge & jury isn't something that I relish and I don't always have the time to investigate individuals/groups with the due diligence I feel necessary to take action. Though I've always claimed "My site; My Rules" I've never wanted to be hasty in my decisions.

Having said all that, I've recently taken time to review some of the information I've collected over the years and I will be cleaning up the site based on patterns that have become evident. Right or wrong, there are people I just don't trust (for various reasons) and providing them with a means of networking with others really seems counterproductive.

Please note that I won't be giving detailed explanations to anyone as the ensuing drama would be endless. I'd rather spend my time in more positive endeavors and hopefully you all will too.

Many thanks!

Tatiana

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

updated by @tatiana-dokuchic: 09 Apr 2019 08:38:19PM

Go for it! :D (I would post a gif with someone dancing and screaming, but ning wont let me do that I think)

*** ETA This post and the ones directly following were in reply to a post that has subsequently been removed (by the poster)NOT the one directly above. The answers are a bit confusing now because the original context is gone ***

Please don't be embarrassed as that certainly isn't the intent of the cleanup.

The multiple Alt thing is a SL problem and so there's not much that can be done about it. The SL avatar name actually is required to register & should be on the page (though it can be changed).

The majority of our members are here to network with people of similar interests and to do that you really have to give people the benefit of the doubt.

I think that the worst outcome would be if all trust was lost; so sad that a select few could spoil the fun for everyone else. Fortunately, I don't believe that will ever happen as there are many solid connections here where real trust has been earned over the years

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

Being an estate owner as well, and discussing this issue with you over the past few weeks, you have proven to be most candid and honest. I truly understand where your coming from. It is a difficult place to be in. That said, these actions are the result of a few people who are dishonest and try to take advantage of the site and your hospitality in allowing us this wonderful platform. Antiquity and my self, thank you for taking these steps. You have our complete support and we will continue working with you to make the site and our estates better and safer for our residents and creators.

Thank you Tatiana, for stepping up with this and helping us build a stronger community. In my opinion, Alts can server a purpose. If used in a non threatening manner, not for disrupting roleplay or theft, and to enhance rp or facilitate building, are ok. The problem are the few thieves and lairs that utilize them to cause hurt or steal someones hard work.

I hate to say it, but we will never be able to put a stop to copyboting. But we can still fight it. The actions you have taken today are not pleasant, and hard to do, so I thank you for taking a strong stand.

Antiquity and I look forward to working with you more and stand ready to help in any way we can.

Thank you for all your had work on this Tatiana and offering the Royal Courts as a safe place for all of us to connect with each other.

--
His Royal Highness Jacon Cortes de Bexar Prince of Antiquity, Duke of Cumberland, Duque de Bexar, Duc de la Valliere, Marchese di MSB

Your original account was banned from this site in 2013 but it was still worth your while to sneak back in on another account so apparently even you found some value here.

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

Many thanks for your kind words Jacon and for the support of both yourself & Antiquity. They are very much appreciated.

Some thoughts about content theft. We all know that it's really easy to steal from SL and as a creator I know the sick feeling of standing in the midst of your hijacked goods. It's an instinctive reaction but then logic kicks in.

What can really be done with that stolen content? Put it up for sale & you're going to be caught. Build a private region or hang out on some obscure grid with a few of your like-minded friends. Go for it. Once you open it up to the public you're going to be caught. The historical community is small enough that there's really no place to hide.

Once the reputations of your older avatars are trashed you may just end up pretending you're a newbie from Thailand who just happens to have the same old friends & belongs to the same old groups. Sad really. All that effort that could have been put to a better use.

So I'm going to keep on creating because it makes me happy to do so and I would encourage all the other creators to do the same. Even if you've been burned in the past, perhaps it's time to give it another shot as we're all a bit older & wiser now

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

Couldn't resist adding a bit more.

When I think about driving myself crazy trying to protect my content in SL I always think about this scene from Jumanji.

Poor Carl yelling "FINE, TAKE IT!!"

Really, it's just so much better to let it go and deal with it after the fact

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

I agree with Nazeem....as I started RP in SL I was amazed how many People there are who share the same interests.....Like that many people on Ning ... But you do not meet all this people on events or even elsewhere in SL...After some time, you 'll find out that there is just a handfull of people...sadly the "Inner circle" seems not willing to integrate new people and circles about themselves. I have met also some great people who have been honest and kind with me and very helpful with developing my own RP....I am tired of the moaning of the loose of Versailles .... Which was sad indeed and also the anouncements of "New" RP who will not been realized at all. Sometimes SL seems a bit like Kindergarden....at the moment everyone works a bit on their own instead of creating something together.... Without all that Alts who pretend to be another Person ...

I think you are absolutely right. It is very frustrating to see your created items get stolen. But if creating is the thing you like, do not let some of that mean people keep you away from the thing you love. " Fine Take It!" They will never be able to create something nice.....

Photo: History Returns [Rossiyskaya Imperiya]

This reminded me of the quote:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"

so I thought that I would point out (for those that are new & so can't possibly remember) that the driving force behind[Rossiyskaya Imperiya] (owners, officers, relatives, alts, etc.) were involved in some dicey situations over the years including the demise of Versailles and the Royal Court of Naples debacle.

Buyer Beware as they say.

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

I think it is way past due to be doing this clean-up. We can't "clean up" people with no integrity, but we can do our best to try to keep them away so they can't hurt other people. They certainly shouldn't be using this site to do their dirty business.