The Second Life Democratic Movement (SLDM) prepares itself to demand Avatar Rights in Second Life, engaging in a discussion with the company which runs this virtual world, Linden Lab. Yesterday evening I assisted at a meeting organized by the SLDM about Avatar Right;Human Rights in the Metaverse. I must admit I arrived late, but it was still very worthwhile being there, you can find a transcript of the discussion at the site of the SLDM.
Important Avatar Rights which were discussed:
- You own yourself and your inventory property
- You have the right to not be banned for no cause without recourse
- The right to transfer and remove inventory and avatar outside of the VR where created
- The right to private one on one IM chat if desired
The discussion was very free and we analyzed several topics. One is the fundamental nature of Virtual Worlds: is for instance World of Warcraft not very different from Second Life?
What about the nature of Second Life and the intentions of Linden Lab? On the one hand, Linden Lab grants intellectual property rights, on the other hand, in the Terms of Service they grant themselves the right to terminate accounts for no reason at all.
Do property rights mean the right to sell and buy items and accounts, and could this harm the gaming experience (in gaming worlds), because “regular players” would want to compete on the basis of training and skill but would be confronted with players who just buy powerful weapons and equipment.
What about the argument that real life courts should stay out of virtual worlds, so informal negociation between residents/players and companies can lead to more rights for the avatars? Avatars can always punish companies by migrating to others worlds (but as it is now, they would leave behind inventory and avatar characteristics), and let the market decide. Or should they engage in an open discussion with the companies, and pressure them to stand out granting more rights?
How to enforce rights, given the fact that often avatars don’t like to unveil real life identities? Could this all be organized in an effective way inworld, and how should this be organized?
What impact will the interoperability of virtual worlds have, and when will this become a reality?
Lots of questions, but there was a clear consensus the Rights of the Avatars should improve and there should be a discussion with Linden Lab (and other companies running virtual worlds).
Discussion with Linden there will be, and this on Monday January 28.
Jonathan F. Fanton, President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will that day chair a discussion about the rights of users in virtual worlds. Joining him will be Robin Harper, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development from Linden Lab, and Jack Balkin, professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School.
Stay tuned, and join the debate!
Roland Legrand
