Well, there's certainly a lot of discussion going on, both inworld and via outworld means. There's a lot of discussion about whether certain activities that can take place within Second Life are legal, or illegal. Out of any group of twenty people you ask, you're likely to get five different answers, and twenty different reasons.There doesn't seem to be much coming out of those debates other than heated tempers and wasted time. So, here's an entirely different angle to think about, and one I've been pondering on and off for a few months. Does Linden Lab have the obligation to permit a particular legal activity? I'm not thinking about any activity in specific here, just point your finger at one.
There's four corollary questions here. Does Linden Lab have the obligation to permit any and every legal activity, or only some of them? Where do you draw the line? Is it a legal obligation, or a moral/ethical obligation? Do other virtual world businesses, like NCSoft (City of Heroes), or Blizzard (World of Warcraft) have the same obligations (for that matter, does Walmart or Sears)?
1. My opinion is that Linden Labs has the right to create and enforce any rules that they see fit to create or enforce. Second Life, first and foremost, is a product created by Linden Labs where users create accounts and in doing so agree to a terms of service.
Linden Labs created and enforces the terms of service. If the TOS says no "blah blah blah," then they are not by any means obligated to allow "blah blah blah."
Now, if Linden Labs were to open source the server like they have the client, then the issue becomes much much more interesting.
Think of it in those terms, and the answer is clear. Linden Labs controls Second Life. It is a benefit, and to some an unfortunate draw back.
Posted at 12:36AM on Mar 15th 2007 by z3rr0 Zeluco