On 11/15/2012 6:50 AM, Snowcrash Short wrote:
Before this gets out of hand, let me clarify, this is not a backup
tool, at least no per se, one of the features is the ability to backup
content from an existing account (a backup which is governed by a policy).
If, by getting out of hand, you mean before this gets into details that
complicate what is an otherwise (relatively) simple premise that allows
users to manage content, I'm afraid that you'll find it's already
complicated. I think you're being very brave here, and risking some very
real, possibly very nasty consequences. It is my intention only to offer
a note of caution. :)
The primary goal of the project is to move the inventory and the
assets to their rightful users and to empower the users to use the
assets as they want - within legal limits.
In an ideal world - except for special cases, the inventory and the
assets backing the inventory is controlled by the user, and that is
the goal of the project, to bring the inventory under the control of
the user.
In an ideal world, those same users would know and respect the rights
that content creators retain over those inventory items. You may not
like it, I may not like it, and some ideologies might discount those
rights, but they exists anyway. The majority of users I interact with
seem to have the mistaken belief that full permissions items are the
same as having been placed in the public domain, and that they can take
them anywhere and do anything with them when this simply isn't true. And
when some content creator or grid operator needs to knock on someone's
door to discuss ideological differences, yours will be at the top of
their list.
To this purpose it currently has two input streams supporting it (one
more is planned), the first is client side access to .iar files, the
second is download from the users existing inventory, to the extent
allowed by law and agreements made between the user and grid operators.
I have to freely admit that I'm basing my statements on a preconceived
idea of what this software is and does. I suppose that won't be
completely clear until an actual binary is available which clearly
exhibits it's abilities and functions.
Knowing that only a few of the grid operators using Open Sim has
policies in place, this email serves as an invitation to make these
policies public, and to implement - to the extent possible - these
policies in MyInventory.
I think it's admiral of you to try to notify grid operators of this, but
that you'll find that a message on this list isn't sufficient to reach
all grid operators, or even that all grid operators will become aware of
your project before some user uses it in a manner that someone does not
care for. I retain the opinion (an opinion with no legal expertise) that
the safest option for you is to default to a policy that matches that
set by LL for SL unless otherwise indicated by those who own a grid.
The question of attribution is only relevant when the assets are being
distributed, MyInventory has currently no functionality for
distribution. The as yet unfinished and only hinted at third input
stream deals with distribution. The current implementation does not
distribute any data, it only grants a user simpler way access to the
assets the user has rightfully access to.
I suppose it depends on whether the software allows inventory from one
grid to be moved to another grid (I find I'm unclear on this) and just
how you define distribution (a point where a lawyer would be pretty handy).
Again... I'd love an easier, dependable method to manage my various
virtual world inventories. I look forward to seeing the actual
implementation of this in action. And you should, of course, feel free
to tell me to take a hike and take my two cents and the horse I rode in
on with me. :)
Marcus
Best regards
Snowcrash
On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 1:19 PM, Marcus Llewellyn
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Melanie speaks sense. Consult a lawyer before someone else's
lawyer contacts you. If you're willing to brave the legal worries
this could cause you, the only sound policy to default to is one
that respects how the content is licensed. This includes OSGrid,
which respects user's copyrights.
Right now, there is no export permission. There easily could be,
but it would require support from both the server and viewer side.
Support for it would need to be virtually (heh) universal, or have
a default that was agreed upon. A mantis for this feature request
on the server side of things exists [1]. Supporting this on the
viewer side would take a great deal more effort. You'd at least
want those viewers with specific support for OpenSimulator on
board (Kokua, Zen, Firestorm, Teapot, Singularity, Cool VL, and
Radegast all come to mind). There will of course be legacy viewers
(like Imprudence and Phoenix) hanging around that may not ever get
patched for it, necessitating the need for the legally safest
export flag default.
Things can get even messier. Even with an export flag, will this
software preserve the creator name when the content is exported to
another grid? More than a few licenses require attribution to be
preserved. Will it allow upload to a grid or standalone where
permissions have been disabled? I'm sure many content creators
would be unhappy to hear they could be. With more caffeine in me,
I might think of a few more important questions, and I have no
doubt that others who follow this list will be able to supply them.
I don't want to give the impression here than I'm against the idea
that a user should be able to backup their inventory. I would
opine that most users would love this ability, and that many would
respect creator's rights. But many of those same users want their
copyrights and licenses respected as the law requires, and steps
taken by software like this to ensure this was so.
Marcus
[1] http://opensimulator.org/mantis/view.php?id=5892
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