Of Screenshots and Machinima

Due to new TOS changes for Second Life, I will no longer be snapping screenshots.

There are problems in the TOS which exposes creators in SL to data scraping.  This has led to a clash, (long in the creation) between screenshot/machinima people with creators.  And one that is being exploited by Linden Lab to "liberate" IP property.

Most screenshot hobbyists work under the notion that they are inside a world that has real life analogues such as the public street.  I was once of the same mind.  But this is not the case in Second Life or any of the virtual worlds.  The artwork inside World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Aion, Farmville and Second Life is proprietary material.  We are allowed to screenshot these worlds for our own pleasure.  However that allowance does not extend to claiming ownership of these pictures.  They are not ours, not even if they look professional and fanciful.

Linden Lab's new TOS, which will go live on April 30, 2010, grants mass approval for screenshots and machinima regardless of the creator's wishes.  Not only that, if the owner of these various items lives on Linden Lab mainland, they don't even have the option to prevent screenshots/machinima.  This can only be prevented if the resident lives on a private estate that prohibits such practices.

Of course this has caused heated discussions all over the Second Life blog and news pages.  The clashing between creators and screenshot/machinimists hides the fact that Linden Lab itself can now showcase VR creations that they did not commission in order to sell their platform.  They are implying through the TOS that anything created with their tools is theirs.

So far, the official lab blogs have been quiet.  And the main point of the problem is still hidden by battles between residents.  I'm hoping that a revised TOS will be issued before April 30th which will be beneficial to the rights of the creators.