Ebbe Altberg, new CEO of Linden Lab is continuing his wave of communication, much to the delight of SL users everywhere.
One of the topics people are most keen to hear him talk about is the ToS debacle that I’ve written about before here.
Today on the official SL forums he said the following;
I’m still getting up to speed on that topic. I’ve had several discussions about it. It’s not a simple topic.
Trust me. It’s not becuase we have an intent to arbitrarily profit from your stuff without your permission. That would be very bad for us as we’re all about user to user. We could seriously harm ourselves if we started doing that.
But, the edge cases and the potential cost to us in certain scenarios are quite substantial.
Making the spirit and the language match up seems to be very difficult. I’ll learn more over time but for now I can’t promise anything other than what I said above.
Another step in the right direction!
Update;
Nobody knows what may happen in the future. But we have no intent to steal your stuff. I can imagine scary scenarios that are more likely to happen, that none us have control over, that would concern me more. I don’t see how SL as we know it could be successful if we started to steal your stuff. I certainly don’t see a business model based on stealing stuff that could last very long…so I don’t really see the logic in this conversation. It sounds scary to some of you but how it could really become a real problem I don’t really know.
Jo Yardley's Second Life 
I am afraid he is using the same worn out phrases his predecessors did, and in so doing inherits the credibility deficit his predecessors created. For a long time the actions of the Lab made these same words meaningless, except to mean that the Lab sees value, and revenue, in the creations of those making this world what it is. I understand the Lab’s desire to secure their revenues, but the actions of the Lab, and of its new CEO, are likely to make far more difference than expecting the Users to accept the same old gruel.
Like any new Manager, most will watch for a time, and there will be a period of adjustment. This has been the case with every new CEO. Since 2010, concurrent logins have dropped by a third, so it isn’t just a few that have lost the ability to believe in what this place represents.
I would offer this advice to our new CEO:
As much as people wish for better communication, what they are really clamoring for is that the communication be credible, and supported by action…..This will separate you from those who’s actions have been causing the grid to deteriorate.
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Ebbe, here’s a though experiment: You’re a freelance graphics artist, doing promotional material for a customer.
You have licensed a portfolio of fonts for vector work, not to be included as font glyphs in your final products. This is a pretty common situation. But the customer says, “By using this font for the headline on my poster, you automatically give me the right to use that font as I please, including giving it away or selling it, or letting my co-workers sell It”.
You’d just stare at the client and go, “He’s insane”. But this is what the ToS says.
Or: The client commissions you to do a full graphics identity; logo, pictures and all. But you have to say to him, “By the way, my landlord can take anything I do for you and use for himself as he pleases”.
The client would stare at you and go, “He’s insane”. This is what the ToS says.
Or: Your landlord tells you, “Remember, I can at any time come into your studio and copy anything you’ve done, and use it as my own”.
You’d stare at him and go, “He’s sociopathic!”. Do I have to point out that this is what the ToS say?
There is *simply no way* this is in any way compatible with your vision of SL as a place to “create digital products and services”. It *needs* to change if SL is to have any relevance as a platform for “collaborating with a global online community.”
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Lets make it a bit more REAL, shall we?
ASCAP, BMG, and BMI handle all the entertainment royalties for movies, music, and related entertainment items. These three organizations retain thousands of investigators world wide. At this time there are several stores you can go to in SL and buy a DVD movie or concerts. The store owners have no knowledge of the royalties, are not paying them, and are selling the movies for less than the royalties. This means they are entertainment pirates.
Linden Research, Inc. claims unlimited, perpetual, and irrevocable License to all products in Secondlife. Oh, I forgot “cost-free” and a few others. By doing this, Linden Research, Inc. is removing itself from the “Safe Harbor” protection provided to service providers who have no interest in the infringed Intellectual Property.
As an aside, has anyone else noticed that many of the RL Intellectual Property Attorneys who used to inhabit SL, are not around any more? Is it possible that they are involved in preparing Actions, and that coming in world would be seen by the court in a negative light?
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‘But, the edge cases and the potential cost to us in certain scenarios are quite substantial.’ This is meaningless corporate jargon speak
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Let me add that the “It’s all very complicated, so don’t worry your little resident heads about it” is getting tiresome.
“We may perhaps look at it” is exactly what Peter Gray said half a year ago. Are we to assume it means the same now as it meant then, namely, “We’re not going to do anything”?
(If LL’s lawyers truly have been working on this for half a year without being able to come up with something which doesn’t violate every 3rd party library license or contract ever written. frankly, perhaps it is time to get some new lawyers).
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