Gwyneth Llewelyn, she of the prodigious brain, has provided a link to a mystical source of prognostications: the Superior Inner Core! While entries here are somewhat sparse, it's an ongoing concern, despite the chunks of time between posts. From the site: "Once Upon A Time we had the Feted Inner Core. Their origins are also shrouded in the Mysts of Time. They reigned supreme at the Time of Immersionism.

Alas, that time is no more. The Dawn of The Age of Augmentism is upon us. And this time, a New Mystical Order emerges - the most powerful Superior Inner Core.'

Well, clearly, Nostradamus has nothing on Gwyneth! Go check out the site and provide your comments!

(Thanks, Gwyneth!)

Another bout of warfare breaks out on the SL forums, centring around a couple of articles written by an anonymous correspondent's view on the FIC.  This is a term which was coined, I believe, by Prokofy Neva, on the SL forums and refers to the "feted inner core". 

I haven't read the original post where it was coined, but it has been a subject which has surfaced and resurfaced on the forums.  It mostly seems to refer to a group of residents who are allegedly treated diferently from other residents, getting job referrals, preferential treatment etc.  I have no idea whether this is a real thing, and to be honest don't like the idea of it.  I like the egalitarian nature of the society in my SL world, and I dislike the idea that RL measures of wealth or possessions or contacts should apply in world. 

Where people stand on this seems to depend upon whether they are in any danger of being considered FIC, in general.

The difference with both this fight and a blog which surfaced recently in another place, is that the writing is almost exclusively critical and catty, with the sole intention of hurting and upsetting.  It seems to be a game that people feel free to play because they can hide behind anonymity to say these things.  I pretty much dislike that, and I think it is a cowardly game to play.  If you are going to trash someone in a blog or letter, you should at least have the courage to do it using your real avatar name. Doing it anonymously leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.