Many of us are unhappy with the change in Linden Lab’s® Terms of Service (TOS) for Second Life™ and other Linden services. For those that want to know what steps they can take, join the United Content Creators of SL’s (UCCSL) in world group.

The UCCSL recently sent another letter to the Lab and sent out a note card to residents with the steps an SL resident can take to help effect a change in the TOS. I have posted a copy of the text:

I know that some are so frustrated and don’t know what to do next. I’m going to lay out some options for you to consider as your heart, your conscience and your real life situations permits.

1. Take profits when you have them, keeping too many Lindens in world isn’t necessary for you to conduct business.
2. Consider carefully what you create and why, and know that it could be used by the Lab for their own purposes later. As any business would be careful of how it operates, be positive about your operations, but be careful.
3. If you do not like what is happening here, then consider the real necessity of being in business.  You might be better off getting out. If you do close your business, please send a letter to Peter Gray at Linden Lab. Explain the how the ToS has affected your life here.
4. Consider whether or not you want to stay in Second Life, if the ToS does not change. If you choose to leave, please send a letter directly to Peter Gray at Linden Lab to let them no.  It does not good to just be another drop in numbers. Explain how this has affected you personally, emotionally.
5. If you have filed a DMCA that has received no response in the past year, write a letter to the California Attorney General’s Office. You must have proof you filed and proof that it has not been responded to and you must use your real life name and information. Linden Lab is bound to certain obligations regarding content theft as it pertains to their licensing. Failure to follow up on DMCAs may put their current licensing at risk.
6. As there is a possibility that the new ToS is not even legal, you may write letters to the following government agencies with your concerns.  I have addresses and even a sample letter posted on the UCCSL site.  You can find the sample letters here, be sure to change the highlighted information to your specifics and send copies to Rod Humble and Peter Gray. The address are in the ccs at the bottom of the letters.

California State Attorney General’s Office
U. S. Department of Justice – Intellectual Property Division
Federal Trade Commission (U.S.)

I am aware that Germany has been successful in quashing similar ToS in the U.S., so by all means contact your government authorities if you are not in the U.S.
I am not asking the group to act as one, as that is simply unrealistic. However, you have the tools to effect change.  It is up to you, as individual citizens of Second Life, to use them or not.

 Whether we like it or not, we are not in a democratic virtual world, it is a dictatorship and we have to follow the rules. It is the position of UCCSL that there are still opportunities here, and it is best to build strong lines of communication both inside and outside SL in order to prosper.

I wish you well in whatever path you choose to take or to not take. For those of you who love Second Life and don’t want to pursue life in another grid, I hope you’ll join me here to build a positive relationship with Linden Lab. As well, I look forward to working with you to make UCCSL work for the benefit of Second Life creators as both added creator support, education, communication and political action.

Kylie Addison Sabra

Summary

The Lab may be working on revising the wording of the TOS as they said… or not. In an age where business and political strategy seems to have little regard for ethics, it is hard to know. Sending them a continuing stream of complaints about the TOS and backing it up with observable action is about the only lever we have.