GEMINI Industries CDS FAQ

"Can you publish statistics?"
The number of flagged avatars running copybot capable viewers increased to ca. 5000 avatars in the past month since the initial release

"So, now it is Proved that you use Illegal Exploids to Access Data on an Individuals PC'S. Remove me or take of this banlist. I'm a Member of a Strong Community against you and your Illegal System and we Abuse you at Linden if you Piss off :) So, Go to Hell :) looool"
Again, there is no exploit involved, CDS is not accessing your files, app_data or anything. We aren't hacking your computer, it isn't even storing your IP address, like any normal website does. The only personal information being stored is names of people who use blacklisted clients. Seems like a few people fell for the scare-tactics emphatically employed by copyleftists and copybot-viewer-defenders who are devoting a lot of time and energy into discrediting anything that might end their nerdy power trip. We expected that. CDS detects many more viewers than Cryoban so rippers are getting their knickers in a twist.

"Why are you banning me and call me a thief just because i used NeilLife?"
It needs to be understood that this is not a list of known thieves, we have no way to determine if any of these people have stolen anything or not. We are simply providing a list of people who have used clients known for their content theft capabilities. We leave the choice of banning users to the land owners themselves.
We are not detecting just any viewer, we are specifically targeting closed source software violating the California Computer Crimes Law as well as laws in 49 other states,  not to mention illegally bypassing over 14 Software License agreements.
Many of these viewers send encrypted data via inworld IM to various accounts immediately after login. We believe use of these viewers is an extreme risk to your computer and privacy. There is NO legitimate use for software such as this.

"What are the right and wrong viewers to use?"
As a rule, any viewer that has the capabilities to go around the permissions systems set out by Linden Lab will be targeted by the GEMINI CDS.
Please refer to Linden Lab's Policy on Third-Party Viewers. Also please have a look at http://onyx.modularsystems.sl/viewer_reference.html for additional info on some of the blacklisted clients.

"Why did I get banned for using the official LL viewer/Emerald/Imprudence/etc?"

During the first months of beta testing, avatars using flagged viewers were added to the database. Upon the GEMINI CDS' official release, the auto-ban feature was implemented and flagged avatars found themselves banned and ejected regardless of the viewer in use at the time. While there has not been a case of a false-positive, there have been a handful of situations where an avatar was accessed by someone else. 

"I was using NeilLife but it didn't ban me"

Keep in mind, many CDS owners including myself set their device to detect only. It is also factory default.

"Does it require a bot in each sim?"

No, the bots used for this system never leave their own access-restricted region.

"It automatically bans all OS X users. Period. Innocents"

More misinformation spread on forums by an admitted NeilLife user.

"There is no appeal process"
Yes there is. Should you believe you have been wrongfully banned, the best course of action is to file an appeal.
Appeals will be first reviewed by the GEMINI team, acted upon in a way that best protects the effectiveness of the CDS, and ultimately left in the hands of the parcel owner.

"It is against the TOS because it bans people sim-wide"
No, it is not possible to ban people on a parcel to which you do not have land rights, regardless of the method used.

"Why does Linden Labs allow scams like this?"
It is Linden Lab not Labs. LL knows very well how it works, they have been aware of it months before release. CDS wont be disallowed.

"Why are you using creators' panic over copyright infringement to make money?"
People are tired of having their work stolen, be it prims, textures, animations or viewer code. The system is a logical response to how out of control content theft has become, it has been created to raise awareness and reduce the user count of certain clients by exposing them. There are many faster ways to make money with less work. A freebie version simply would spread uncontrollably and we need to keep the service scalable. The system eats quite alot of server ressources and anyone who knows how much high performance servers cost will agree with our licensing fee, which is actually pretty low. As stated elsewhere, CDS is a rather small side project for us.

"Skills Hak is also Skills Hax!!!!! Scroll to the bottom of this site here!!"
From: Skills Hak
re: Copybot allegations & "alleged confession"
"The drama revolves around 13 similar prims, a fake friend and is years old. I couldn't care less which side you believe. Maybe look up my creations in-world and make up your own mind."

"How does it work?"

When an avatar passes through the region, the CDS looks for signs someone is using or has used a flagged viewer. That information is processed and the avatar may be banned from the parcel, teleported home, or both. In the case of a ban, it is a temporary ban precautionary to ban lists filling up. In all cases, the flagged avatar is added to the database shared with all CDS devices identifying the avatar as a potential threat. The CDS ships with bans and kicks disabled by default. Local unbanning is an upcoming feature.

"What data are you storing?"
The specifics of the data cannot be disclosed. However, no MAC or IP addresses are stored, nor any other sensitive data. The most personal data is the avatar key and which viewer was used. This data is continuously monitored and updated.

"Does the CDS use the same methods of detection as the Emerald Viewer?"
While Skills Hak is on the Emerald development team, the GEMINI CDS is not affiliated with Modular Systems, and the detection methods are completely different and updated as necessary.

"It works this way and here's how to get around it."
There are multiple methods of detection, none of which involve an avatar's IP or MAC addesses. The effectiveness of the CDS relies on keeping the details of its operation discrete. There are occasional lapses in service while the Gemini team updates the system. During this time, detection continues without banning or kicking. This slows the success of potentially harmful viewers bypassing the system, allows GEMINI to monitor their progress and continue updating the methods of detection, and increases the longevity of the CDS as a copybot deterrent.

"Avatar xy came on my land with a copybot viewer!"

You are never 100% safe from people like that, especially with the current bugs affecting parcel/estatebans. CDS is not a magic bullet and will not detect every single person on a 'copybot' viewer, however the success rate for these viewers is stable at 80%. People will always be able to circumvent the system just like any other, however we constantly update and monitor our detection methods to ensure that the majority do not slip through.

"Do we disclose any information to outside parties?"
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.

"The CDS is only active for 25 days and not a month as advertised."
This is a very rare bug and has since been fixed.

"Is there a list of GEMINI CDS owners?"
The choice in advertising the presence of the CDS is left with the end-user.