Anshe Chung: Difference between revisions

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	In 2004 Graef was accused of using an ] to the Second Life auction system which allowed her to buy vast quantities of land without paying "tier" immediately, effectively allowing her to clear out her land inventory before claiming the new land and not having to pay increased fees associated with the additional land. The Lindens (employees of Linden Lab) identified and closed the loophole. "We realize that some of you are frustrated by an exploit of the auction system and are taking steps to close the loophole. Effective any land that is left unclaimed more than 7 days after auction will be transferred to Linden ownership and reauctioned."<ref>http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?p=236447&highlight=tier+auction#post236447</ref> Allegedly after this change Graef's account was temporarily banned for non-payment.		In 2004 Graef was accused of using an ] to the Second Life auction system which allowed her to buy vast quantities of land without paying "tier" immediately, effectively allowing her to clear out her land inventory before claiming the new land and not having to pay increased fees associated with the additional land. The Lindens (employees of Linden Lab) identified and closed the loophole. "We realize that some of you are frustrated by an exploit of the auction system and are taking steps to close the loophole. Effective any land that is left unclaimed more than 7 days after auction will be transferred to Linden ownership and reauctioned."<ref>http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?p=236447&highlight=tier+auction#post236447</ref> Allegedly after this change Graef's account was temporarily banned for non-payment.

	She and her husband have at times threatened to "devalue" the economy of Second Life by flooding the market with their stored Lindens if provoked. "yeah i sure want to panik u. but if needed we can use 5 million lindens we put aside to dump on the market. if u cash out fast we can do with dumping less but it will all go way down. u look at the market now. we just played with 300k yesterday. tomorrow is weekend we open the gates and u better run for ur buck. lol. yeah. now u get 3.70. how much u get tomorrow. better sell while u still get some cash. we are the linden money gods now. us rulez! "<ref>http://forums.secondlife.com/showpost.php?p=848596&postcount=17</ref>		She and her husband have at times threatened to "devalue" the economy of Second Life by flooding the market with their stored Lindens if provoked.
			{{cquote2\|yeah i sure want to panik u. but if needed we can use 5 million lindens we put aside to dump on the market. if u cash out fast we can do with dumping less but it will all go way down. u look at the market now. we just played with 300k yesterday. tomorrow is weekend we open the gates and u better run for ur buck. lol. yeah. now u get 3.70. how much u get tomorrow. better sell while u still get some cash. we are the linden money gods now. us rulez! \|<ref>http://forums.secondlife.com/showpost.php?p=848596&postcount=17</ref>}}

	Her ability to speak English has often come into question; at times she has displayed a complete inability to use the language when being accused of illicit activity, yet other times she seems to have total mastery of it. This has been attributed to either outright lying or the use of multiple people behind the "Anshe Chung" avatar.<ref>http://forums.secondlife.com/showpost.php?p=237681&postcount=39</ref>		Her ability to speak English has often come into question; at times she has displayed a complete inability to use the language when being accused of illicit activity, yet other times she seems to have total mastery of it. This has been attributed to either outright lying or the use of multiple people behind the "Anshe Chung" avatar.<ref>http://forums.secondlife.com/showpost.php?p=237681&postcount=39</ref>

Revision as of 13:10, 1 January 2007

Anshe Chung is the avatar of Ailin Graef in the online world Second Life. Known as the "Rockefeller of Second Life", she has built an online business that engages in development, brokerage and arbitrage of virtual land, items and currencies, and has been featured in a number of prominent magazines such as Business Week, Fortune and Red Herring.

Background

According to Graef, she originally amassed large amounts of purely virtual currency on other MMORPGs such as Asheron's Call, Star Wars Galaxies and Shadowbane, but never converted to real tender. However, this changed when she entered Second Life, where the in-game currency, "Linden Dollars" (L$), can be 'officially' exchanged for real money. The name "Anshe" was originally coined in Asheron's Call in December 1999.

Graef, as Anshe Chung, earned an initial stake by working as an escort in the virtual world. "I started ... as a private entertainer, somebody people who are bored or lonely could seek out for company. She also used to teach a course on "virtual lovemaking" within the world. According to Graef, after she developed her skill set she began selling and creating custom animations and then used this money to buy and develop virtual "land." Graef currently owns several full servers worth of land, most of which are sold to other users as a part of her 'Dreamland' areas. Within Dreamland strict zoning rules are enforced; most other land in Second Life is unzoned, where multiple different types of business or housing are located in adjacent areas. Philip Rosedale, the CEO of Linden Lab - the company that produces Second Life - has referred to Anshe as "the government" when referring to the role she plays on her zoned continent "Dreamland".

In February 2006 Graef legally incorporated "ANSHECHUNG Studios, Ltd." in Hubei, China along with her husband and business partner, Guntram Graef, who goes by the pseudonym "Guni Greenstein" in Second Life.

In Q3 2006 Graef announced that she had amassed one million US dollars through buying and reselling land in Second Life.

Controversy

Graef/Chung is a controversial figure in Second Life for being a "land baron," a user with a monopoly stake of the market, and the often heavy-handed manner in which she has dealt with customers and other users.

She has been accused of extorting residents to sell her their land at lower costs by terraforming the surrounding areas, either to prevent access or to disrupt buildings and views. She has also been accused of a similar tactic through the use of "ban lines," which prevent residents from walking or flying over land that she owns.

In 2004 Graef was accused of using an exploit to the Second Life auction system which allowed her to buy vast quantities of land without paying "tier" immediately, effectively allowing her to clear out her land inventory before claiming the new land and not having to pay increased fees associated with the additional land. The Lindens (employees of Linden Lab) identified and closed the loophole. "We realize that some of you are frustrated by an exploit of the auction system and are taking steps to close the loophole. Effective any land that is left unclaimed more than 7 days after auction will be transferred to Linden ownership and reauctioned." Allegedly after this change Graef's account was temporarily banned for non-payment.

She and her husband have at times threatened to "devalue" the economy of Second Life by flooding the market with their stored Lindens if provoked.

yeah i sure want to panik u. but if needed we can use 5 million lindens we put aside to dump on the market. if u cash out fast we can do with dumping less but it will all go way down. u look at the market now. we just played with 300k yesterday. tomorrow is weekend we open the gates and u better run for ur buck. lol. yeah. now u get 3.70. how much u get tomorrow. better sell while u still get some cash. we are the linden money gods now. us rulez!
—

Her ability to speak English has often come into question; at times she has displayed a complete inability to use the language when being accused of illicit activity, yet other times she seems to have total mastery of it. This has been attributed to either outright lying or the use of multiple people behind the "Anshe Chung" avatar.

She has also come under fire for her use of "rotating billboards" which many residents feel disrupts immersion and aesthetics within Second Life.

In 2006 she was accused of deleting content owned by other residents but hosted on land she provided after she demanded that 1/4 of the simulator be rezoned for commercial development.

In December 2006, while conducting an interview for CNET on her economic assets, the virtual location of the interview was "attacked" by residents utilizing animated penises as weapons. Also employed were photoshopped images of Graef holding a digital penis that bombarded participants in the audience. The "griefers" managed to disrupt the interview sufficiently that Graef was forced to move to another location and ultimately crashed the simulator entirely.

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