Offer to LL about merchants - please Linden Lab READ!

[Madeliefste Oh]

I agree with payment info on file for MP merchants.

[WADE1 Jya]

I agree 100% with the OP. Something should be done. It is a huge turn off for those who wish to pour their heart out here designing original creations, only to be forced to compete on an equal (or lesser) footing with outright theives, scammers, copycats, people who rip assets directly from console games, con artists & who knows what other types of criminals.

The current situation is very bad for the genuine merchants, very bad for customers, & very bad for the reputation of Second Life (as if it could get much worse rep).

However, I think that Linden will never change anything about it because they are making huge piles of easy money off all this slack & criminality. Linden likes things easy & they like money. It's that simple.

The only way I see Linden ever changing their ways is if USA government passes one of the many aggressive new IP legislations in the works. Linden would then be forced to stop making a business off being accessory to theft by collecting their commissions off all these sketchy transactions.

Whenever, if ever, such new law passes you will see Linden change their tune - overnight, like they did with gambling.

[Sassy Romano]

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Knowl Paine wrote:

All Account types, should be allowed to sell products.

 

I suggest for the Market Place Team, to create additional options at Market Place, which will allow Consumers to readily make informed purchases.

It is my opinion, that Residents who are MP Merchants, operate Publicly within the SL Community, and in doing so, those Residents should be visible in the Inworld Search.

Everything needs to be voluntary. Product ranking in Listings, could be connected to a Resident's Activity. (as it should be)

 

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My first response was to simply ask "why?" but then ok, for informed choices, so the listing should have in big bold words fields that include:-

Vendor is ANONYMOUS, no valid RL details of any kind recorded

Vendor LAST LOGGED IN on <date>

[Trinity Yazimoto]

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Madeliefste Oh wrote:

I agree with payment info on file for MP merchants.

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same here.

maybe they could add in the mp product page, info about the merchant too and since when the store exist.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Actually none of this will protect consumers. Any disagreement you have with a merchant, including not getting what you paid for, is considered by LL to be a resident to resident dispute that they don't get involved in period.  It is also a 'buyer beware' issue under the TOS.  They are not going to change this as they don't have the staff to arbitrate these kinds of things. LL will also not divulge any RL information on a person to you without a court order, which means you'd have to take the merchant to RL court.  Quite expensive and I doubt anyone is going to do this over a few lindens.

I agree with the PIOF only to cut down on throw away alts, but not requiring premium membership.  What added protection does that give anyone? None. 

[Madeliefste Oh]

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WADE1 Jya wrote:

The

only

way I see Linden ever changing their ways is if USA government passes one of the many aggressive new IP legislations in the works. Linden would then be force

d to

stop making a business off being accessory to theft by collecting their commis

sions off all these sketchy

transactions

.

 

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I see another possiblitiy as well.

LL not only gains from from IP right theft, it costs them as well. It costs them customers who decide not to participate in the virtual economy any more after being cheated, but nobody at the lab will have a sleepless night because of that. A cost they might be more sensitive to, it that of salaries of copyright agents.

The more the marketplace is used, the less selling stolen content in world has become attractive. So people trying to make some quick money by ripping honest creators, are driven to the marketplace as well to make some bucks. But many more eyes are watching there then in some vague sim somewhere hidden on the grid. It's often customers who own items of a creator that recognise stolen content, and are willing to warn the original creator.

Developments with picture recognation might also be good to hunt stolen content on the marketplace. Such a tools cannot be used in world, be migth become usefull on the marketplace.

Visibility of stolen content on the marketplace will lead to more DMCA reports then stolen content on the grid does, because the catch factor is much higher.

So maybe one day, when the legal department of LL claims they need more personal to handle all those DMCA reports, somebody in the position to make decisions  starts feeling the need to reduce the abuse.