Friday, September 27, 2013 | By: Draconic Lioncourt

TOS woes

So I know this post isn't about any releases or fashion, and for those looking at the feeds I do apologize.  It is not often that I feel the need to make a post like this but I have a big something on my mind:  The new Linden Labs TOS.  We all signed it back in August, I know.  I didn't read it through very carefully and that was my fault entirely.  If I had, I never would have agreed to it.  I'm sure a lot of you already know about it but life has been busy for me moving to another country and beginning school again so I'm late on the info bus with this one.  My beef?  This:

Except as otherwise described in any Additional Terms (such as a contest’s official rules) which will govern the submission of your User Content, you hereby grant to Linden Lab, and you agree to grant to Linden Lab, the non-exclusive, unrestricted, unconditional, unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, and cost-free right and license to use, copy, record, distribute, reproduce, disclose, sell, re-sell, sublicense (through multiple levels), modify, display, publicly perform, transmit, publish, broadcast, translate, make derivative works of, and otherwise exploit in any manner whatsoever, all or any portion of your User Content (and derivative works thereof), for any purpose whatsoever in all formats, on or through any media, software, formula, or medium now known or hereafter developed, and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed, and to advertise, market, and promote the same. You agree that the license includes the right to copy, analyze and use any of your Content as Linden Lab may deem necessary or desirable for purposes of debugging, testing, or providing support or development services in connection with the Service and future improvements to the Service. The license granted in this Section 2.3 is referred to as the "Service Content License." 

 So... basically...everything that I have spent all of my time and effort into making LL now can do whatever they want with free of charge and without revocation or permission.  I had a lawyer double check it for me and they confirmed my fears.  So where does that leave me as a creator?  Worried to say the least.  Worried and contemplative.  I can say that I'm not cool with that and it definitely leaves me at point where I have to put some serious thought into how I move forward as a creator and as a business owner.  I know I have been out of touch the past month or so but.. I would have hoped there would be more outcry about this?  In the mean time I will be putting some effort into my Inworldz store while I decide what to do with SecondLife/Linden Labs as a whole.  I have been there from the beginning since 2004 and a content creator since 2005.  It is not an easy decision for me to make and it saddens me that Linden Labs would take such measures to damage the already fragile relationship with content creators.  I'm not really sure what else to say but that.