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Thursday, May 25, 2017

URGENT NEWS: OZIMAL'S CLOSING -How are Breeders/Merchants and Owners Coping? Nomad Aries reporting...

Ozimals

   On May 17th ,2017  Ozimals closed it's doors and shut down all services to Pufflings and Bunnies.
The closing is due to an ongoing legal issue that has continued for seven years. A Cease and Desist Order was delivered to Malkavyn Eldritch on May 15th, 2017.   Malkavyn sent out a notice and offered free eternal timepieces and other “goodies” so people could keep their bunnies with them after the servers went down. The Pufflings  were not so lucky, there was nothing to save them.

Lanai consuling hysterical bunnies

If you are not familiar with Ozimals, what this means for the bunnies after the servers are down is; the bunnies will not be able to eat and enter into a hibernation state, in other words shut down and sleep forever.  As stated ,Pufflings ceased to function as soon as the servers went down. Bunnies who are Everlasting will continue to function as usual. Bunnies with the Eternal Timepieces will also be able to function without cost . The drawback is that the Bunnies are now sterile.  Bunnies who are not Everlasting will cease to function and enter into hibernation. 

 While this effort was generous, it has still left many owners, breeders and merchants with little consolation and very big losses.

 Touring around various locations where Ozimals are sold, bred and more importantly, owned, one begins to understand the scope of this action.  This has effected a large number of SL residents who have spent enormous amounts of money on stock, food, accessories and housing for their Ozimals and countless time in caring and monitoring them. The emotional cost cannot be measured in Lindens nor money, just as in RL, our pets are not just dogs or cats to us , neither were the Ozimal Pufflings and Bunnies to those who avidly cared for them. 

Staicy Halsey

  One visit I made was to Purple Rain Breedables owned and operated by Staicy Halsey.  It is a beautiful place and Staicy has many animals all very well cared for.  Staicy was kind enough to answer some questions regarding her Ozimals, what follows is her answers to my questions;

How does this event affect Breeders, Merchants and Owners on SL?

Staicy :” This effects us a lot mostly in our hearts . When I got the news I cried and felt devastated  and I still am. We all miss the bunny/Puffling game a lot. Stores are empty and lands are gone.”

Has any long term solution been brought forth or any indication that should legal issues be resolved in the future, that all owners can "wake" or revive their bunnies .?

   Staicy : Well, we all keep the nest in our inventory , so if this would be resolved in the future I don't think it will be a problem to wake them up , but I'm not 100% sure of that.
And for now we got a big pack from Ozimals with goodies to save the bunnies , you can make them a forever pet for free but your bunny will not be able to breed anymore .




 Is there still a market for collectors or people who simply love their Ozimal rabbits?  Can they trade or sell what they have to others ?

Staicy : “Yes there is a new group its called For The Love Of Oz .
A group for the remaining lovers of Ozimals Bunnies and Pufflings - intending to support each other and deal with the loss of Ozimals as we move forward. ♥ “

Pixel Ghost

 The losses from Ozimals are widespread and have left some people with more questions than answers and they feel worried for other stock they have .  As Pixel Ghost ( Pixel Pets Market) explained  there is little protection it seems, for breedable owners in general. 

“I am devastated by the loss of my bunnies and my Pufflings™. I will never do any other breedable animal in the virtual world of Second Life. I invested most of my SL with my bunnies and puffies. I had friends in the community who bred both of these virtual pets. I have thousands of nests and eggs that will now be placed in boxes just in case. But, I know they won't ever be back. And, if they were, I wouldn't be involved in them again.”

 “I am extremely angry with the coder who sued Ozimals as well as with the texture artist who had attorneys issue the Cease and Desist order against Ozimals. Those two people had no concern or consideration for how their actions affected the community as a whole with regard to the end user. They care only about their profit margin. The entire community plans to boycott them and anything they touch in SL. I have contacted my Senator and Congressmen and encouraged others to do so because the texture artist is from Canada and she is sometimes paid by my USA government for 3D projects in SL. I'm sure we have wonderful 3D artists in the United States so there is no need to go outside our country for it.”

 “While I will not do another breedable animal, my friends are concerned about other breedables. If this could happen to bunnies and pufflings, then it could happen to any breedable. What if KittyCats' owner decides to close her servers. What if Fawns' owners tires of their "game." Who protects their communities from financial and emotional loss? No one protects the end user in any virtual game.”

 “For me, this new attitude extends to the VR World of SL and to everything on the Internet. With the flip of a switch on a server it can all end in the blink of an eye. It's not worth it anymore to even be in this world. I am kindling all my bunnies and boxing them by fur type in case someone still wants to collect them. But, absolutely nothing can be done to save our Pufflings™ even though we paid L$1150 to perpetuate many of them. They are totally worthless.”

 “The bunnies will hibernate only if the owner did not make it to the shop to get the free box of tools to save them". 


 I am incredibly sad. I got bunnies on my Father's birthday one year after he died and 2 weeks after my only sister died. The bunnies helped me heal emotionally from my grief while I finished nursing school. I miss them. I am lost in SL. It's all I ever did for the past seven years. They are just pixels to many but so much more to those who cared for them.”

“I pay LL for a full sim tier because I needed the prims for my bunnies/puffies. I no longer need it. I spent an additional $100 USD a month on virtual food. This will hurt the SL Market in addition to breeders. But, for the breeders it is an emotional loss; not just a financial loss.”
 for a look at Pixel Ghost's Pufflings - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelghost

Giada

 Even the most pragmatic of dealers in the Ozimal world acknowleges the real loss and anger from the sudden end  of  breedables.  Giada Visconti owner of “ LIL BUNNY PATCH and PETS! “ ,
says when asked how merchants are dealing with events

 “  Cope....this is not the end of the world or my life...my life existed outside of Ozimals and it will continue to do so...I think it sucks that we have invested so much money into it and now...all is wasted...You would think that someone that starts a business would make sure to have all copyrights straight for a product for which they are selling...it makes me mad is all.”

There have been other issues in the past with some breedables . With the closing of Ozimals in SL, the fall out has far reaching effects.,both in the real world and the virtual world.   The people who bred, sold and owned Ozimals are left wondering about the future of the stock they own at the moment and where that will lead in the future . They don't know if there is a future.  Some of these breeders and merchants have stock from other companies and this issue with Ozimals is raising some real questions about the future of breedables on SL. Pixel Ghost asked some important questions about the financial losses and risks breedable groups face.  There seems no protection for the customer and no recourse in an event like this one. 

 The fact that these people , Staicy Halsey, Pixel Ghost and Giada Visconti, still reeling from the whirlwind of events, took the time to speak with this reporter and answer my questions, says an enormous amount about the heart of the Ozimal community.


 For information on the legal issues regarding Ozimals :

 Inara Pey's -Living in the Modern World

Press Release of the Legal Issues

2 comments:

  1. Ozimals bunnies have been a HUGE part of my Second Life and I am devastated by recent developments. I knew these two entities have been in a legal battle for years, but they aren't the ones affected most by this occurrence. I am left wondering what to do when I finish time-piecing all my bunnies. I have spent a LOT of money on the bunnies and to have it all taken away so suddenly with absolutely NO recourse for the bunny community is heart wrenching. There doesn't seem to be ANY discussion of bringing them back, and that is sad. Many of us put a lot of time, money and love into our bunnies and NONE of the companies involved seem terribly cognizant of that fact. I have spent a solid week working on turning my bunnies into permapets and I find myself increasingly melancholy that when I am done, there is nothing more to do with them. As I stated, Ozimals bunnies were a big part of my virtual existence in Second Life and I grieve their loss.

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