Existing TOS language under "Community Standards" (no. 6), that enables the Lindens to discipline those who transmit unsolicited repeated communications via IM or notecard pushing should be used on adfarmers. Transmissions of this nature are classified as "spam" and is a punishable offense. In the same way, ad farms should be classified as "spam," because one individual owner or group chops up land to make repeated parcels of 16 m2 or 64m and places repeated signs on the tiny parcels, usually setting them to exorbitant prices in an extortionist bid to get people to "buy back the view". Many people jam on what they claim is the inability to determine the motivation of extortion, though it is openly visible to all. But they cannot disagree that what the ad-farmer is engaging in is spam, when a sim or sims have numerous parcels, all with the same ad sign, often made deliberately obnoxious and spinning. Existing proposals to address ad farming range from ineffective (add a TOS violation on ad farming specifically) to obstructive (don't allow any parcel cutting, even for benign parcels) to draconian (enable people to obliterate the view of anyone's objects). By focusing only on one element of ad-farming – spam or "repeated transmission of undesired advertising content," and bolstering this proposal by reference to existing language in the TOS which requires therefore no new TOS violations or redacting of old, we can go a long way to combatting this scourge of the mainland. All that is needed is a policy decision by the Lindens to enforce their TOS in a clear-cut manner on this issue. Example: Micro Baron buys up cheap land that has been liquidated and chops it up into 16 m2 and stamps out ugly signs on it. Because he has more than one 16 m2 parcel with an ad, and has spread the ad numerous times over one or more sims, he is spamming the view and faces a warning and then bans. If he only has one ad parcel on that sim, that means this proposal will not be able to be used on him. Argument: But what if Micro Baron stamps out 32 differently-textured signs with different ads for different things on them? Answer: No matter. It's all objects owned by that one person, and it's the ownership of multiple objects deployed inworld that constitutes the spam, not the specific content of each prim. Argument: But what if Micro Baron has 10 of his alts stamp out different signs? Answer: That's unlikely, because in order to profit, Micro Baron generally has to have his land grouped, and also not be paying $72/year on multiple accounts with the ability to hold land. This kind of situation, where Micro Baron could maintain 50 alts to defeat an anti-spam ruling on the TOS inworld, would be very rare, as most ad-farmers want to get logo and name recogntition through sheer pummelling of the eyeballs. Argument: But what if Blue Button Holdings has 4 16 m2 blank parcels with no ads on a sim? Answer: Stop fisking. The intent here is clear. Spamming is making unwanted transmissions of advertising material. If there is no advertising material on the land, it is not spam. If it does not repeat, it is not spam. Use common sense. Argument: But this won't stop some of the ad farmers who only put one big tower per sim. Answer: Just because you can't do everything, don't let it stop you from doing something, to relieve one particularly egregious form of ad-farming. Start with what is doing, that requires no Linden coding or changes or actions under than a stiffening of the spine. Be removing at least the repetitive, spam-like ad-farming, we can go a long way to undercutting the revenue source and visibility of ad-farmers. Then we can turn to other, more complex and difficult ways to get rid of those who remain. No. 6 of Community Standards, or "Big Six": Disturbing the Peace Every Resident has a right to live their Second Life. Disrupting scheduled events, repeated transmission of undesired advertising content, the use of repetitive sounds, following or self-spawning items, or other objects that intentionally slow server performance or inhibit another Resident's ability to enjoy Second Life are examples of Disturbing the Peace.