Gotham is on CNN! On a second life blog. Of virtualy no interest. By exploiting a death.

Go team!

WOW. Just wow. This is the worst bit of exploitation of tragedy I’ve ever seen. I think this site needs to raise the bar on quality of news distributed. Had anyone here done any research they would know the individual, Miss Haight, is a Second Life “Escort” who runs a brothel of prostitutes at something called the Black Widow Brothel (according to her profile) on her so-called “Gotham City.” Having been there after reading this article to pay tribute, I find it is nothing more than a gross infringement on Warner Brothers copyrighted material where the owners (Miss Haight and her Husband apparently) misrepresent their X-rated sim under the guise of a superhero roleplay sim called Gotham City.

I find it appaling that she would use the tragic death of a beloved cinematic figure to garner attention for her adult efforts in Second Life. I think if WB ever found out that their iconic names, locations and figures were being used in a fashion that degrades their intellectual property as these people reap financial gain and harvest attention from their trademarks, they would not be happy. That they further accrue attention by capitolizing on the untimely death of Heath Ledger goes beyond that into the immoral and unethical territory. CNN, how can you contribute to, or propagate this action?

I was left absolutely speechless and disgusted.

He was my favorite actor.I’d love him.

With regards to Ariana, several points:

Miss Haight is not reperesentative of the Gotham community.

Gotham is a PG rated sim and roleplaying community (not to be confused with Club Gotham XXX, an X rated and entirely seperate endevour).

No brothel activity of any kind takes place within the sim.

This memorial was established by fans of Heath ledger for the residents of Gotham to pay thier respects, and was not intended to be subverted into a base advertisement.

I wholeheartedly agree that this report is a traversty, I must defend the Gotham community for the reasons stated. We are a mature community of roleplayers with great respect for both the works and life of Heath Ledger, and for the intellectual property of our source material.

Sincerely,

A concerned resident.

Wow, Ariana, you should be an investigative journalist under Dan Rather.
Gotham Island is a sex sim.
Gotham City is a super hero role play.

How Ms.Haight makes her money is not up for dispute, shes not on any morality trial.

However, I would just like to ask, was this MEANT to be an advert for a memorial site?
Because it truly comes off as exploitative piece.

There is surely no issue with people in game mourning, however, to advert that is despicable.

Respectfully, I must disagree on several Key points.

Gotham Island is a Sex sim, yes. And so is Gotham City, although it is perpetuated as a roleplaying sim to get people to go there. I did actually look at Miss Haights profile during my visit as I was startled by the exploitive nature of this event.

The brothel is located on Gotham city, so Brothel activity DOES indeed take place there: per her profile it explicitely states:

“Dominatrix in residence at The Black Widow Brothel; High-End Call Girls (Escorts) for hire. BooBooKittie Haight is the Manager of The Black Widow Brothel. IM for rates.
TP button takes you to the first floor of The Black Widow Club. Brothel clients are invited up by appointment only.
RP welcome as Brothel is on Gotham City but must be pre-arranged with Isabelle Sooper.”

Also, Miss Haight states she co-owns Gotham City with her husband. This makes her a representative of the community fostered therein and responsible for the activities conducted, including theis heinous publicity stunt.

I truly doubt they all had some magnificent epiphany about loving Heath Ledger after his death. This is purely marketing.

Heather is absolutely right, Miss Haight is not on morality trial for her chosen profession. My statements are not intended to attack her for being an escort or even that her Sim is aligned with this, no big deal. The sex idustry in SL is the most succesful, so more power to her. However, someone should definitely call her out for using such a tragedy to her distinct advantage while misrepresenting her Sim as a “Superhero roleplaying Sim” and her interests in the passing of Mr. Ledger as genuine.

Evidently, my points have been misunderstood. While many of your observations are commendably accurate, your conclusions are flawed.

Regardless of what delusions Miss Haight labours under, I repeat that no brothel activity takes place in Gotham City. The highly inadvisable Black Widow establishment is rarely occupied, and never used in the capacity you describe. The community has always kept PG standards, for as long as I have been a member of it. Although I deplore the report itself, I must repeat that Gotham was not “misrepresented” as a roleplaying community.

It is regrettably true that Miss Haight co-owns Gotham City, as you say. However, she is rarely present, and has little communication with Gotham’s residents. Ergo, she does not represent the Gotham community.

I must repeat that Miss Haight did NOT suggest, oversee or in anyway influence the construction of the Heath Ledger memorial in Gotham City. All she has done in this instance is arrive at the tent, drawn to the group notice like a vulture to a carcass (a distressingly literal analogy), and promptly debase this place of mourning into an advertisement for the sim, which, I need hardly say, was not it’s intended purpose at all. Many of Gotham’s residents were and are great fans of Heath Ledger’s work, and we genuinely mourn his passing.

Gotham City Roleplayers, who in NO Way associate with this ‘brothel’ in Gotham City, are the ones who constructed this memorial. Because the Memorial itself is being exploited by the owners is indeed unfair, but what can be done.

Gotham is run by the roleplayers. The owners do simply that. Own. They can make changes as they see fit, and sometimes the residents of the Sim Don’t agree, but please, don’t slander the name of Gotham City and its people by insulting us with all being consumer whores.

It is interesting to see that most of the comments above have little to do with the actual actor or memorial.

I am a Roleplayer at Gotham, and I respect the people who made the memorial, not because of it’s location, but because of it’s loving care and the emotions that they put into it. Whether CNN, Gotham, or anyone else talks about it, the issue is the death of a fine actor, a nice person, and how it affects others.

I commend those who made the memorial, I have seen it. It is meaningful to me as well. Thank you for building it and letting the rest of us share your feelings.

He died on a Tuesday afternoon in January. His family was on another continent, half the world away. An ocean stretched between him and his daughter. He was 28.
His heart gave out, they said. It had been in the habit of giving too much. People wondered. People talked. But really, this young man, this boy-man really, died of a broken heart.
So strange that his body once felt the same sunshine that burns my face today. I suppose the same sun continues to gleam on his body, but it does not register, for he is off somewhere, beyond the sun, beyond this light that is a million years old and yet continues to give life. Like him.
I didn’t know him, and yet his absence fills me with regret about my own life. Why, you may ask. For he gave, he expressed those inner dimensions we hide so, from exposure to the light. I keep myself hidden from others, and most purposefully from myself.

Jesus love you all.

I occasionally visit Gotham City as well, in this case I was present when this memorial was constructed by a friend of mine, she had no intention of using this for any reason other than mourning the passing of a man she respected greatly. I am highly insulted that people will simply jump to conclusions about this kind of thing, and am more disturbed by the twisting of a meaningful display into a publicity stunt by someone who most certainly had nothing to do with its construction.

Hi Everyone,

The comments were just brought to my attention and as owner of Gotham City I wanted to address them. This was in no way an attempt to exploit Heath’s untimely death. It was meant as a PSA for people to go and mourn and show their respects. Our Role Players took it upon themselves to set this up and I supported it. I wanted to give it some attention so other mourners could join them in a common interest. We thought Gotham would be a good place to hold this as it was, considering one of Heath’s last roles. I am very sorry if anyone was offended, it was not meant to harm, only to help. The picture is of a small memorial that Reo Ninetails placed, and was made by Azazel Czukor. We appreciate our players efforts to create a space for Heath and the SL players to come to.

I was only trying to describe gotham and what we have to offer other fans (if they were Batman/Joker fans.) I am sorry for any offense or attempt seemingly at capitalizing of of a tragic death.

If I could remove this post I would.

Apologies in sincerity.

BooBooKittie Haight & Roger Nephilim

Addendum-Gotham City and Gotham City East are MATURE ratings only. I had the brothel on the GC sim but have never used it. We bailed on the idea and I haven’t emptied it or re-written my profile as time has not permitted. (Now have, thanks).

Gotham City is NOT a sex-sim but there are role-play that contain sexual themes, as per our role-players story lines, of which we have nothing to do with. I RP as a dancer only, and not as part of the story line, just on my own.

My husband and I may not be the “collective hive mind” of Gotham but we are the owners, having put over $6K into the islands. We allow our players to make their own rules for RP but that in no way implies we are “out of the loop” and do not pay attention to the goings on.

BooBooKittie Haight is a character who RP’s as Dita Von Teese, who is a burlesque dancer and WAS a fetish model, as an fyi. Thus, the dual role of dancer/dominatrix. I have never had SL “sex” etc with anyone in the brothel or otherwise.

I understand you are all upset, but you do not need to be attacking people you don’t even know and calling them immoral, etc. I have no idea how this whole thing turned into drama. It was about a memorial and that is all. I have addressed how the memorial and the way it was executed may have upset people. Stop attacking myself and my husband. It’s a game. Go out and enjoy it.

If I may weigh in here on a few points.:

The memorial was made for what it says if you see it, just that. It was done in respect to Heath Ledger.

Haight’s way of bringing it to attention here was questionable, and in poor taste, fair enough.

Ariana has no idea of what she speaks. Gotham Island may be a sex sim. I’ve never been, don’t know, but the fact she says it is makes me wonder. Because Gotham City is not. It IS, in fact, a roleplaying sim for DC Comics themed characters, most having to do with the Batman and related ones. There is a place called the Black Widow. I have seen a very few people there time to time, for a burleseque/strip tease show. I have not seen any paid sex, which is when the brothel title would become accurate.