Real life has been hectic for the past few days (Annual Christmas Party. Free bar. That’s all you need to know!) so I’ve not actually logged in much this week, but boy oh boy when I did I was HORRIFIED to learn that someone has filed a DMCA against BELLEZA.

I mean, seriously? Belleza?

Yup, someone has decided to cry foul over their mesh body. Come on!  Anyone with half a brain knows how long their ‘Venus’ mesh body was in development, and it’s still very much a work in progress being constantly tweaked, twiddled and refined with a number of updates already sent out to existing owners.

But it gets worse;  not only does the team have to deal with the DMCA but according to a recently published press release on the official blog it would seem that the Belleza crew have been bullied something rotten recently, and that is completely infuriating to me. It sounds like a proper campaign against them. Why does this happen? We’re all ADULTS behind our bloody keyboards aren’t we? Can we not just approach our virtual lives with the common sense that we carry with us in our real lives, is that too much to ask? The amount of griefing that has been occurring at their sim is ridiculous too, and something I have not encountered in-world for many years. (I mean come on, griefing is still a thing? Oh, do f*ck off you tiresome trolls!)

I sometimes wear a mesh body, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s SLink Physique, other times it is Belleza Venus. I love the fact that I am able to pick and choose from two equally scrumptious products, and why shouldn’t I? They’re both great and have offered me yet another level to my Second Life adventures, and I adore them equally for it.

The same goes for the skins that I choose to wear. Some days I want to wear Belleza, other days it’s Nar Mattaru. Sometimes I’ll wear a different skin completely, like my recent discovery from LUMAE. It doesn’t matter, it’s about what makes me feel good on the day I wear it, and over the years that has consistently been BELLEZA.  Do a search on this blog, and see how many times that brand  is mentioned. (No, I’m not on their blogger-list either, I’m just a fan!)  As much as I love all the skins I wear, and I am completely in awe of some of the newer and upcoming skin designers across the grid, I often revert back to my old faithful Belleza skins.

That’s why I’m so very sad that this DMCA has been filed, because it upsets me to think of all the hard work that has gone into establishing Bellezza over the years.  They don’t deserve to have their sales impacted because of this. 

The repercussions from an incident like this are far-reaching. In-world jealousy and envy have once again  resulted in suffering and although I’m sure that Tricky Boucher, Shyla Diggs and Felicity Blumenthal are going to be more than happy to face their accusers head-on it’s clearly something that they just shouldn’t have to endure.

Incidentally, I have no knowledge of who has raised this DMCA. In some ways I’d like to know who it is, because if I did, and they’re a content creator or store owner that I know and love, I would never purchase anything from them ever again. But in other ways I don’t want to know; what if they’re a Plurk friend for example? Or someone I really admire in Second Life? Perish the thought:(

Like many bloggers across the grid I wanted to do something to show my support for Belleza, so I trotted off to Uber and treated myself to the newly released ‘Eva’ skin (makeup 6/medium tone).  After grabbing my mesh body, I zoomed into a sandbox and took this snap. I think I look bloody gorgeous and THAT is mainly because of the skin and body that I am wearing, and will keep wearing as long as my arse looks south.

I’m PROUD to wear Belleza skins.

Here’s hoping all this bloody DMCA nonsense will blow over with minimal harm done to what is one of the most well-loved brands in Second Life.