Mesh Deformer Update 36

We have the new Mesh Deformer Project Viewer. The upload options for deformable mesh have changed. All deformable mesh items previous made are now obsolete. It seems the viewer will not deform mesh previously uploaded.

Runatai Linden Mesh Avatar – Way Cute

If you are one of the helpful people that uploaded test clothes for the Mesh Deformer project, you need to upload the items again. The upload will set the new avatar selector switch, which will make then usable for testing.

The original request for test clothes is: Mesh Garments needed for testing deformer.

The download location for the Second Life Mesh Deformer Project Viewer.

From the SL Blog linked to above:

If you’d like to contribute items for this effort, please: 

  • Upload them with the current version of the official Project Viewer for the Deformer. You can find a download link on the test build wiki page, and record the full version number of the viewer you used (from the Help > About Second Life floater).
  • Put a copy of the garment (no-modify is fine, but please allow copy and transfer) into a Notecard that describes what the garment is intended to demonstrate or test. Links to images of what you think it should look like would be useful; be sure to include the version number from the viewer in the Notecard.
  • Send the Notecard to Oz Linden
  • Optionally, attach the mesh file to STORM-1716

I’d like to get Contribution Agreements from anyone submitting garments; contact me for details on that if you need them.

You can get a copy of the Contribution Agreement here: Linden Lab Official: Contribution Agreement. This wiki page contains the terms of the Contribution Agreement.

Some people object to the agreement and will not sign it. The agreement does provide Linden Lab full rights to contributed items as a JOINT OWNER with independent rights. This means they can do anything they want with the items and will not need to ever ask your permission.

Wackadoodles assign all sorts of ridiculous motives for the wording. I think the basic motive is to avoid being sued for using or distributing the items you contribute to Linden Lab and Second Life.

Also, the Lab doesn’t do special cases simply because trying to keep special rights straight among 200 employees over the years as people come and go would be an onerous task. Without doubt they would screw up at some point and get sued. So, they only allow it into the company if they have the right to use it however they may need.

Your rights are not reduced. You do not give up or surrender any rights. You gave non-exclusive rights to the Lab and retain all your rights. You are still an owner and have no requirement to ask Linden Lab’s permission before doing whatever you want to do with your creation, in or out of SL. Read section #2 of the agreement. It states both the Lab and you will have rights as if each were the sole owner.

If you fear Linden Lab is going to make a fortune distributing your contribution and that is a problem for you, don’t contribute. But… get real. Are test clothes really worth all that much? I am having trouble making clothes of the quality I see some others making. So, I probably have a lower opinion of the value of a mesh clothing items without the final presentation texturing then some. I just don’t see them being all that valuable. Nor do I see the Lab being interested in distributing these items for any reason other than testing the Deformer. But, it is your call.

We need test clothes for the Deformer. This latest change means we have no test clothes until they are resubmitted or new ones are submitted.

15 thoughts on “Mesh Deformer Update 36

  1. Thanks, as always for keeping everyone informed 🙂 Does anyone knows why merchants still have to provide their work with full permissions yet? I have wondered and asked before why we are’nt allowed to just drop our mesh into a box, set the contents for sale at 0L$ and rezz this box at any location Oz or any other Linden prefers. That way, people can get as many copies of the test garments they want without merchants having to give away their work with copy & transfer rights, neither would they have to go thru and agreeing on this contribution agreement thing. I think more merchants would be willing to join in that way, I know I would. For now, I dont feel like uploading and providing mesh clothing all over again as im starting to lose faith this project will ever gets integrated in a main viewer, unfortunately. Its been over a year without any kind of indication of when or even if the project will be released.

    • Thank you for the kind words.

      The basic reason is pretty much as I described in the article. Since Oz is putting things in a package for distribution, they want protection from being sued.

      People are not giving away their rights, they are giving the Lab the same rights and becoming co-owners. I don’t see that they are giving away anything. If you do and my article didn’t change your mind… oh well.

      There is nothing that stops you from providing your test item as you would prefer. But, you would have to place it in YOUR shop or Market Place. Then send Oz the information on where people could pick it up. Then the Lab might get funny about possibly being seen as promoting your shop/MP and refuse to list it. Users create drama around the simplest things. We block the Lab form being able to do so many things. I suggest you do it the easy way and complete the agreement, which if you have already submitted items is on file. It’s not like they need an agreement with each item.

      I can understand people losing faith. But, if you ever want the project to complete, people are going to have to help out.

      The Lab has said they want this project. So, they have given as strong an indication as the Lab ever gives. If you don’t believe them, you don’t. But, there is no evidence that they have changed their mind.

  2. If you are using the Cool VL Viewer, then you *do not* need to re-upload former deformer-ready meshes: it automatically interprets the old “deformer” flag in these “old” meshes as “female-shape referenced deformer”.

    • You did good on that feature, Henri. But, how would a male item previously uploaded be changed to use the make option without a reupload?

      • This is a viewer-side feature, so it can’t obviously do anything for the server side aspect of things (i.e. mesh data as it is stored by LL on their servers)…

        The Cool VL Viewer code is however GPL, and any GPL TPV can reuse that code if they feel like it… Oh, of course, because of LL’s illegal “Contribution Agreement” that I didn’t sign, LL can’t reuse my code (well, at least not without modifying it substantially, but it’s *their* fault, not mine… I’m sure you noticed already how much LL loves to shoot bullets in their own foot, didn’t you ?… 😉

        Another solution would be for LL to implement a filter to convert the mesh data stored on their server (but I doubt they would do this for only a few test deformer-ready meshes).

  3. And about the contribution agreement: the objections are not as much about what it could allow LL to do with the material you submit than about the excessive private data that LL requires from you (in particular, your snail mail address and private phone number !): this kind of data requirement is excessive in regards with the purpose (if there is any legal issue arising, the police or any judge can get your private data from your IP and/or email address by assigning your ISP: LL doesn’t *need* to know where you live orwhat is your private phone number !), and such requirements from a private company is *illegal* by many privacy-protecting laws in EU (and in particular, but not only, in France).

    • The Contribution Agreement handles civil issues that never involve the police or law enforcement. If the problem were not criminal, then the police are simply not going to get involved.

      Paying an attorney to create a law suite will be about the only way to get a subpoena to get an ISP to look up the IP-user information. Even then they may have to reimburse the ISP for their time. That means minor annoyance problems turn into mountains. In such cases cease and desist letter turn into notice of a law suite. It is better to have simpler, cheaper, and easier options available.

      Their are enough wackadooles that would try to trip up the Lab for their reasons that they are not going to open up the possibilities.

      So, while they could do as you suggest I believe it would create more room for problems and people to complain.

      • “Civil issue” or not, you have to complain and get in front of a court to get things solved… A court involves judges, that are well founded to require the private data from the ISP of the infringing party. Your argument is moot, I’m afraid…

        Plus, I’d like to point out that while LL pretends they *must* charge the VAT for their EU customers to comply with the EU law (which is plain wrong, by the way: it would only be an obligation if LL were to compete with a EU company providing the same paying services), on the other hand, they violate privacy laws of the EU, laws by demanding excessive private data for things such as their CA, laws that are in no way optional to follow !
        In summary, LL follows international laws and regulations when they feel like it (and when this is beneficial to them)…

        • Since the Lab is going with insisting on the C. A. I’d say I’m closer to having it the way they see it than you.

          I’ll give you that you are right on how well the Lab does or does not follow the laws of other countries. I suspect they conform when they get tagged. I suspect that is why the attorneys they use have them using the C. A.

          What they can, could, or should do is irrelevant. All the matters is what they are doing. They are doing the C. A.

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  5. I’ll execute a contrib agreement tonight – I’ve a couple items I’ve been working on may be ready in time to be used in testing. They are “learners projects” not finished commercial ones so may expose a few more issues or bugs than the best builds on the grid 🙂

    I got no problem with the RL info in the contrib agreement. If I’m sending something that may alter or influence their flagship product they deserve to know who I am, same as when I sent in some scripts to contribute to a bugfix in an early redhat distro. If they misuse it then I can sue THEM so the risks in exposing my RL identity to the managers of any project I contribute to aint on my end 🙂

  6. I hope to get anser on this:
    What if I want in future to create item wich can’t be deformed to looks properly f.ex.: corset? It’ll be possible and if yes – how? I’ll need to use older (without deformer) viewer for upload or do it in new but with ‘off’ deformer option f.ex.?

    thank you

    • Mesh uploaded with older Deform enabled viewers is not going to work with newer Deform viewers.

      Your choice was deform or not. Now it will be no deform, deform based on male, or deform based on female. In the future it may allow more ‘based on …’ cases.

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