This letter is to address the notecard of “alts” that is currently circulating within our community.
First, I would like to discuss the use of alt-accounts within Second Life as a whole. For those of us who have been here for years, it is highly likely that most, if not all, own an “alt” account. These accounts and their uses vary widely, and almost all were created for legitimate reasons. We at Potted are very aware of the use of alts; anyone who wishes to read our current alt policy can find it in our EULA:
That is not to say that we are blind to those individuals who have created alternate accounts to gain access to Potted prizes, events, or to attempt to manipulate the market in their favor. This is, unfortunately, a problem that spans across all games and corners of Second Life, and is not isolated to this community. We at Potted are constantly reworking our systems to keep things as fair as we possibly can for all our players.
In regard to this current list of names that is being sent out, however, I want to say very bluntly that the behavior around this is absolutely unacceptable, and I am both disappointed and disheartened that our community has stooped to such levels.
Anyone who has known me from before Potted, knows that I have a passion for creating community within this platform. Second Life can be a lonely, isolating place, and it is not always easy for people to find a space to call “home”. For the last two and a half years, the Potted team and its community has worked tirelessly to build a safe, productive and welcoming space for all to join in on the fun of this game. The current “witch-hunt” of alts and this notecard directly work against everything we have all attempted to build together.
While we always welcome any information on possible infractions, the investigation and disciplinary actions taken are solely our responsibility. This notecard is not a valid document, it is not a list of verified alt accounts, and it is nothing that we as the owners, our CSRs, or our players, should take as truth.
As a community and as people, we are better than this.
I would like to personally apologize to any individual who felt targeted, bullied, or unfairly named in this incident, and we will be following up on how and why this occurred. Again, any steps taken from here need to be done by our team, and we hope you can trust when we say that we are and will continue to investigate this matter.
Since Potted began, we have built something truly special together. Time and time again, we have heard how welcoming and helpful our community is for new and old players alike. I have never been more proud of a project in all my years, and watching it grow and thrive has been a true blessing and pleasure for our entire Potted team.
So, I ask you, as friends, as players, as members of this amazing community: Delete this notecard. Stop sending it to others. Let’s rise above this, and get back to playing the game.
With love,
Cort
