Rut roh, Raggy - There’s a new Copybot…
Second Life Herald shows us how it’s done. This is a scary, but important article that demands everyone’s attention.
The timing of this article coincides with the launch of the 2008 Skin Fair - and the juxtaposition between this blatant tool of content theft and a demonstration of industry strength and creativity from the most vocal opponents of content theft (additional related link) in Second Life is too rich to ignore. It just feels like the stakes are rising on both sides.
In the months ahead, will the Skin Fair the last stand off SL’s creative class? Or are they willing to keep pressing on with better and better content in the face of less and less security for their intellectual property?
Think about it. Are we in the midst of an SL arms race? Will creators keep spending time and effort on making beautiful things while Will Linden Lab finally recognize that anonymous accounts (especially non-verified anonymous accounts) are having a chilling effect on content creation?
As a new member of SL’s leisure class (not generating revenue but rather feeding the financial beast that is the Second Life economy via direct cash input), I’ll be sitting in the front row with strong interest in what probably is the defining story of 2008 for Second Life. Because if the content creators throw up their arms and bail on Second Life for any of the emerging virtual world platforms that provide greater security, Second Life will become a really boring place…and one I probably won’t continue to support.
[UPDATE: CNN's SL I-Reports picked up the public awareness campaign part of the story. Not sure if it was from this blog, but who really cares?]
Filed under: Second Life, anonymous accounts, content theft, intellectul property, opinion
Hi - this is a vitally important issue and one I hope Linden Labs take seriously, but they have a very shady and lax background in fighting copyright theft so I would urge eveyone to vote with their feet and hit Linden where it hurts - in their pockets! That should get their attention.
As for the CNN story, I know where it came from - my friend Pinkie Delcon was speaking to one of the designers involved and, knowing I write for CNN iReport, asked me to cover it But I’m pretty busy and to be honest our mutual friend Janey Bracken is a much better reporter than me, so I pointed Pinkie in that direction and Janey covered it on the iReport site and CNN picked it up. It’s a good piece - I hope it gets Linden’s attention.
http://beta.ireport.com/home/docs/DOC-2213 - here it is on their new site, too.