[Opensim-users] Announcement of inventory tool (MyInventory), mostly of interest to grid operators/grid nauts

[Marcus Llewellyn]

On 11/18/2012 3:31 AM, Snowcrash Short wrote:
> I have given some thought about an "opt-in" policy and I am not really 
> convinced. It is my feeling that unless there exists a binding 
> agreement limiting the use rights of assets in the users inventory 
> e.g. an accepted TOS, then the user should be afforded the rights 
> granted to him or her by law.

This reasoning seems designed only to shift responsibility for 
respecting a creator's rights from yourself onto everyone else. And... 
see, this is one of the reasons you're seeing as much resistance as you 
are. It's a fine thing to stand up for and allow the exercise of user's 
rights. But these don't exist in a vacuum, and nor do you or your tool.

The question here is, is it _reasonable_ to expect every grid and 
standalone (there's literally hundreds of grids out there in one form or 
another, even without standalones) out there to contact you and make 
their policies known to you? Is that even something you can reasonably 
promise to handle in a practical manner, before users begin using your 
tool on their grids?

Some of those publicly accessible little hobby grids out there don't 
have a TOS because they're, well, a hobby. These people don't tend to 
have a legal team on hand. They live in jurisdictions where, even with a 
TOS, they're open to the possibility of a lawsuit, even if they're 
completely innocent of any actual liability. So when they hear about a 
tool like yours, that will default to letting users assume they can take 
copies of their inventories anywhere they please, I don't think it's any 
wonder that they respond to you more than a little fear and even 
vitriol. A hobby they love dearly, have invested probably a great deal 
of time and effort in, suddenly feels threatened.

Is this your problem? Well, no. It isn't. Objectively, that's not your 
problem at all, and so long as you're 100% certain that you have the 
lack of legal liability you think you do[1], there's nothing stopping 
you from plowing ahead.  But don't be surprised when people react 
negatively to your decision not to let other people's problems matter.

Marcus

[1] It has been no rare thing to have seen someone in a position not at 
all dissimilar to yours say, "In my country, I can do this," only to 
find out later that the the rights and protections that they thought 
they had weren't as simple or unfettered as they thought they were. 
You're stepping out of the realm of exercising your personal rights into 
one that rams head on into the rights (both use rights and copyrights) 
of _other_ people on a large scale, a situation with a whole set of 
nuances and ramifications of its own. For laymen like you and I, this 
can get really complicated really quickly. You're probably sick of 
seeing it by now, so I won't say this again. In a spirit of amicability 
and true concern, I encourage you to, if you can, consult legal counsel 
about the rights you keep asserting and how they may or may not apply to 
your tool, for your own protection.