Second Life Content Creators, Please Take This Short Survey on Linden Lab's New Terms of Service

SL content creators, here's a simple question to a very fractious and controversial topic:

Please answer honestly, and share with other content creators. And if you answered Other, please explain in Comments below.

Results reported after I get 250 responses, or next week (whichever comes first).

Please share this post with SL content creators:

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Comments

[Lani Global]

In SL: All my vendors inworld now only sell a protest prim for L$0. See photo:

https://twitter.com/LaniGlobal/status/384424495554899968/photo/1

[Cyberserenity]

Want to see how this will play out. When you put things on other peoples servers there are always risks. I do not think Linden lab would go in and take any copyrighted material. Then the idea of the Second life market would be gone.

But what if Second life where sold to another company with a loser idea on copyright?

[zzpearlbottom]

Im afraid to say that as far as i could (and of course i've no doubt that Hamlet knows a lot more then He pretends about this) get info, the Lab will not change its position on this matter!

[Adeon Writer]

No, but I already revoke all copyrights on everything I make, licensing them under WTFPL, an Extreame "public domain"-ish licence, so this can't effect me.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I'm reserving my creative energies for this novel I'm supposed to be writing for National Novel Writing Month. Maybe I'll make it about voracious rightsovores.

[ole]

just thinking, default texture library is soo en vogue!

[Minty]

I stopped creating and uploading things and won't resume as long as things are not fixed.

I agree with Arcadia, better use our creative energies elsewhere than in SL since our creations will be stolen from us by the Lab.

And please don't tell us about the explanations from LL. It's the TOS which is important not some communication stunt to hide the facts.

[elizabeth (16)]

i havent made anything (except modding hair and that) in SL since about 5 years now. so i mark other. even tho i play on it off and on. off at the mo for a few months now

i did go on this other grid world recently tho just for a nosey. they didnt have 3 things i wanted. well i couldnt find in the shops anyways. stuff that you almost take for granted in SL

so i made them myself. a face animator. attached media ipod. and a simboard

was quite fun really. to make things for myself again. i kinda forgot how much enjoyable that is

[Cory Edo]

Considering there's practically no other use for SL creations besides being used in SL and there's a host of other reasons to include that kind of broad-based legal language besides "stealing everyone's stuff", I'm happy to continue selling my creations in SL. Its far, far more likely that the language was added in to cover their bases if SL-the-platform is ever shuttered or sold to another company. LL has spent the last 10 years letting creators sell and profit from their creativity freely (and asking for far less of a cut and far fewer resale restrictions than sites like Turbosquid or DAZ); just on the strength of their track record alone, I highly doubt the TOS language change is a precursor to entirely changing not only their business model but doing so in the most ridiculous fashion possible.

[Cory Edo]

That being said, I could always be wrong! But business is about assessing risk, and if creators pulled out of the SL market every time something came along that caused the sky to fall, nothing would ever have been released. If the day ever comes that Linden Lab starts reselling my mesh items without my permission, then I'll be happy to re-assess the situation - but in the meantime, things are operating pretty much exactly how they've always operated.

[Mathilde Vhargon]

I have not removed any of my content, and continue to operate my gallery. I have posted the group joiner for United Content Creators group which was formed this week. I have also posted Thinkerer's poster which links to blogs. These are large signs to the side of my gallery entrance. I am establishing a very small presence in InWorldz, and trying to assess the possibilities there.

In the last year, I have worked doubly hard to sell art in SL and have had less than half the results in terms of sales, despite many exhibits in other top galleries, much publicity, and a lot of new and higher quality work from me.

I had already decided that if this trend continues I need to look at other virtual worlds or otherwise severely cut my expenditures on tier in SL. I am in that process now.

But the TOS being brought to my attention has drastically increased my urgency about exploring other possibilities, and NO, I am not uploading any new textures of my own or anyone else's.

[Timo Gufler]

Distrust is not a fruitful soil for creativity. Can Linden Lab be trusted anymore? That's a question, every content creator have to find an answer by themselves.

[Darrius Gothly]

Selected "Other": I have not stopped selling. The selection of products that was available before the revised ToS is the same selection available now. However I have stopped uploading new content, stopped a project that was underway, and diverted my creative efforts toward another platform. Until such time as Linden Lab revises the ToS to limit their rights to use solely for the operation of the SL Platform, my new behavior will not change.

[Sweet Valentine]

I have not stopped selling yet...watching the sky.....and waiting for the other shoe to drop

[Will Burns (@darianknight)]

I haven't stopped making products in Second Life as a result of the new TOS. However, that being said - the only products I will make going forward will rely on external servers to operate and are SL agnostic, meaning they can just as easily be ported elsewhere. The bulk of the operations being outside the grasp of Linden Lab, and thus the "front end" portion completely useless without it.

As for plausible reasoning for the TOS wording, I went into a very detailed thought experiment on my latest post to outline all of that. Are those assets worth something outside of the SL context? You betcha.

[Will Burns (@darianknight)]

SL agnostic, I'd like to clarify further, meaning that what exists inside SL is dead in the water without the server running it, and of no use for resale or ownership without it.

[Rya Nitely]

I've stopped creating but not selling. I still have 2 sims and that means paying tier.
I hardly ever log into SL since the ToS. Creating was my main reason for being in SL. I'm losing interest, even in this issue - it can go that way sometimes. Is it worth the energy it takes to care? Focusing more on RL.

[Motoko Henusaki]

I may not be the target market for this survey. Though I’m a content creator, my reason for doing so is because it pleases me. I will continue creating regardless of the ToS change because, for me, creation is what is important and I can continue to do that regardless of this change.

[zzpearlbottom]

Quote:
I may not be the target market for this survey. Though I’m a content creator, my reason for doing so is because it pleases me. I will continue creating regardless of the ToS change because, for me, creation is what is important and I can continue to do that regardless of this change.
Unquote:
I will agree with you, but LL provides a service that relies on trust between two parts and for sure one of them is making all efforts to destroy that trust!

[zzpearlbottom]

And let me be clear, its not the user community that is doing that, is Linden Lab when ignores for so long the problem! We users didn't spot it at 1st, so i give also credit to the lab that they didn't realize how damaged the changes could be, but Now???
Does any still really believe that Linden Lab is not aware of the problem and how to solve it as simple as revoking a single line on their Tos?
So how can we, users, feel, when we see the days passing and the other part does not speak, does not act, does not grant use the trust back?

[creatricks]

The response of Linden Lab has made it clear they don't care even a tiny bit what the creators think. That is a pretty clear indication of the direction they are going. Personally, I'm striking out into the great Open sim blue yonder to see what can be done out there on the frontier. As for my items in SL, those on marketplace will stay for sale, but I shut down the inworld store. I won't be uploading anything more to SL. Should they try to sell my creations without my permissions in the future, I've already talked to a lawyer that was referred to me through California Lawyers for the Arts, so I have an idea of the step by step process when that happens. I also signed on to a list of people willing to be in a class action if that happens.

[Archangel Mortenwold]

I've no immediate plans to stop selling stuff in Second Life, but I am preparing to explore alternative grids such as InWorldz and Avination as a means of selling my wares. Fortunately, my builds aren't so complex that they can't easily be recreated or transferred. But one thing that Linden Lab hasn't considered is that many content creators have already copyrighted their work, and the new terms of service could be interpreted as an illegal attempt to usurp those copyrights. It will be interesting to see what lawsuits, if any, crop up in response to the ToS LL has put out, and how any such real-world legal disputes play out in court.

[Harper Beresford]

@Cory Edo Hear, hear!

[erandra]

I choose'd for "Other" because i am a beginning Builder in SL and didn't put a product up for sale yet, but it makes me shiverish and more careful before even going to put a product up for sale before I know how this all is going to end.

[erandra]

Is it even legal to have people Agree with the TOS, and when they are not to deny them access to SL on the same day the TOS comes out?
Shouldn't people at least be able to read trough the TOS, and have their access to the SL world to for instance take their belongings out of it (if they don't agree), Before agreeing to such a TOS change?

[Masami]

@erandra

Is it even legal to have people Agree with the TOS, and when they are not to deny them access to SL on the same day the TOS comes out?

Yes, it is.

You can't take your belongings out of SL anyway because you granted LL a license to use them ("to promote the service") under the previous TOS that you agreed to.

By the way, deleting inventory items is pointless because it doesn't remove the content; it just removes your ability to access it. The only way to erase content from SL is by DMCA takedown notice or court order.

[Daniel Hoffman]

I have not stopped creating for Second Life... however, I seriously considered it and it has definitely given me pause. But ultimately, it comes to this--I mostly create for the sheer fun of creating. I originally put my wares on the Marketplace on a whim and was shocked when they actually sold and continue to sell. I am not under any illusions that I could make it on my own as a freelance 3D artist in most other venues for the art form, and so a little supplemental income off something I love to do is really all I am expecting out of it--and the chance hopefully for other people to also enjoy my work.

[OhMy Shalala]

I still have my current content inworld. I do not plan to remove it as this would cost me more money than I can afford. It is upsetting that LL has decided to take this path as far as content rights. In my opinion it is a case of paying to bring our content into their environment, and have for YEARS let them freely use what I uploaded to entice more people to use SecondLife. Now they want more rights to materials they did NOT take the time to create. And now THEY can make more money off of my content? Where's MY percentage LL?? I will create and upload far less content and will NOT be uploading my SPECTACULAR content as that must be PAID for from now on. I can no longer create content for LL to use for free.

[Lani Global]

Where are the results of the survey?

[zzpearlbottom]

Lani, why do you care, you know the alternatives to SL much better then any of Us, you know how open sim can be much better then Sl and still We know open sim wil be always a niche inside a niche that is SL!

[zzpearlbottom]

LL new motto, trust us, we will ensure you will regret it!

[Lani Global]

@zzpearlbottom "Lani, why do you care..."

My company operates in various metaverse worlds. Yes, I do care about what happens to content creators in SL, not just because I'm one, but because unilateral instantaneous changes in the TOS of SL degrades it for everyone.

Every time SL changes the TOS, they lose people.

[ANON]

I am just starting to learn how to make things using Blender for the most part and was considering uploading things. But this new TOS has me very unhappy. For the most part I most likely will not do too much uploading. And I will be investigating other options in making and selling my wares.

I cannot afford for LL somewhere along the line to decide to pull the rug from under me and then I have problems with them becoming competition to me, selling my goods or giving it away to others!

Second Life was looking to be the answer to my employment problems. Now I don't know where I stand!

[Justin]

Great survey and I'll definitely find out best answers of suggested questions to make an impression!! I'm just exited to learn how things actually turns in the end. Thanks.

[Misc]

I have uploaded some of my best 3D Blender works to secondlife and I am very angry about this ordeal. When i read the TOS agreement I did NOT LOG INTO secondlife. Does anybody know how I can delete my works without agreeing to these terms!? I also have spent a fortune on my Avatar ... which is now WORTHLESS, since I cannot log into SL without agreeing!!! I also have a pretty sum of L$ on this accout ! No idea how to approach this. Any tips?