Clean up XStreet SL

When Linden Lab acquired XStreet SL, I went to the inworld press conference and asked what I felt to be two key questions:

1) Is it intended that XStreet SL will sell to other grids as well as Second Life?

and

2) Will it now be possible to file an abuse report or a DMCA that will cover intellectual property violations inworld AND on XStreet SL?

The answer to both was, in effect: “Er … no.”  The implication was that these issues hadn’t been thought about.

We’ll come back to the former question at another time.  But the latter continues to be important.

Now that Linden Lab owns XStreet SL, now that it is strenuously promoting it on splash screens and the website, possibly to the detriment of inworld sales, is there any reason why DCMAs have to be filed separately for the grid and the wholly owned online store?  Why can’t one takedown notice apply to both?

In addition, XStreet SL continues to sell tools that, while not illegal in temselves, are responsible for a vast amount of abuse on the grid.  Some forms of the copybot can be useful in helping content creators replicate objects that have become lost from their inventory in their full perms form (necessary to create and then sell limited prims versions), while preventing others from copying the object.  Other forms of the copybot allow anyone to copy an object fully – as was recently demonstrated for us on a Meta Makeover show.  Image rippers are also available, and even claim a spurious legitimacy.  One announces: “SecondLife has ALREADY uploaded the images, They are ON your computer, (xxx) does not rip images, it uses the images you ALREADY have. If you see in in SL then you have it to play with.”

Er … no.

What should be done?  These tools in themselves do not violate the terms of service, but in many cases they are used for abuse.  Like loaded guns, they can be used for legitimate purposes.  But they can also be used for illegal purposes.

Generally, I feel that Linden Lab has a rough time of it, being blamed for things they can’t handle, or things that no other grid is expected to handle.  A recent commentator on this blog, while lauding Open Source grids, was demanding that Linden Lab be held to what seemed to me to be excessive standards of responsibility.  But this may be a case where they could do something.

Here’s a radical suggestion – why not treat the tools as many countries treat weapons, and have them available under licence?

The possibility of content creators being licensed has been discussed around the grid; what if one of the benefits of being licensed was access to such tools?  And if the manufacturers of such tools felt this an unfair restriction upon their trade, could Linden Lab, in the interest of supporting content creators, also support legitimate trade in these tools?

This may be a complete pipedream and wholly impratical for all sorts of reasons.  But let’s at least consider some ways forward, instead of just bemoaning the current situation.