Copybot: the self replicating meme
Ever since the original panic over Copybot (a Second Life bot that was trivially equipped to duplicate geometry or avatars) there's been a recurring series of rumors about Copybot 2.0, starting from about a week or two after the original fuss.
Every month we get Instant Messages or emails about Copybot 2.0. We also get the occasional message that Elvis Presley has a Second Life avatar, and that someone is spreading a virus around in a Second Life object or texture that will delete our files, kill our housepets and burn our homes down.
The rumors certainly work to the advantage of some people. Many profited from the sales of anti-Copybot devices (which were simple scams, and didn't work) either financially or in prestige under the guise of benefiting the community, or simply in the humor value of gulling the gullible.
While the original Copybot undoubtedly existed, thus far not one person has come forward to Wagner James Au's plea in 2006 to claim that they had suffered any harm as a result of the device.
Indeed, most of the blame for harm went to the way people reacted to the specter of the beast.
Does Copybot 2.0 even exist? It doesn't have to. The sort of people who would create such a tool for malicious use would have a far easier and more satisfying time simply deceiving people into thinking that it does. A whole lot less effort is involved.
In theory, they don't even have to do that -- since the community itself seems intent on propagating rumors of the threat all on their own.
Copybot 2.0 has been mentioned a few times on web-sites operated by assorted disreputable groups, but while they've been keen on sharing source code and tools, there's been no sign of the existence of Copybot 2.0 on those sites.
We hear the rumors. We hear them from people who are reputable -- but when we chase them down (as we are becoming increasingly disinclined to do), the trails of rumor dwindle to naught. Nobody seems to have seen it. Nobody seems to have used it. Everyone heard something via a friend who heard it from a friend who ... well, you get the idea.
Presumably Elvis is behind this sinister plot.
