How has the new TOS changed your life?

[Chic Aeon]

I've been away for the most part lately over on an unnamed grid building and learning, but I do check the forums a few times throughout the day and log in to check on LEA7 and sometimes if I am a good mom, my kitty. I was over at the Realms this eve in alt form and noted that it was bizarrely empty. That happens from time to time, but I have noted other changes over the last couple of week and wanted to put those down on paper and ask others for their observances.

This is not meant to be a "the TOS is bad" thread. We have been there and you can certainly comment on numerous posts if you feel the need. What I want to do, especially since I have taken a sabbatical from blogging, is to jot down my observances and ask you as merchants for yours. What has changed in your life since the TOS of mid August.

 

For me:

Anyone that reads the forums knows that I have quit uploading and building in SL. I still have my shop, but nothing new is going on there. I still caretake MOSP and add things that come my way from blogging to the environment. Beyond that? I am pretty much gone.

It is interesting seeing the Second Life world from afar. Perspective is a good thing and being not too close to the action gives you a different viewpoint. Here are some things I have noticed.

* Many of the big name builders are still producing. I have my theory on that mentioned elsewhere. No need to go into particulars. SOME of the middle ground folks (and I guess that includes me) are building and some are completely silent. Whether they have left the grid or simply stopped producing, I really don't know; I haven't checked. My rough estimate is about half and half.

* In the beginning there were only a few folks paying attention to the changes. Then there was CG Textures and later Renderocity and of course Astral's notecard campaign (which personally I think did the most good getting the word out). Then the blogs that had been silent picked up the cause for whatever reason and joined in the "what the **** is going on?" questioning.  Most of the "casual users" that LL has been trying to attract the last year or so had no idea there was anything wrong. But lately, the last couple of weeks -- I have noted a change.

* My sales are down somewhat these last two weeks although they had been good up until then, not that I care all that much these days. I sell homegoods for the most part so my customers are folks that are planning on sticking around and making a place for themselves in this world.

* A roll play sim I am familiar with has had a steep decline in usage over the last two weeks where before it was booming.

* A personal (small sampling)  poll of designers who make template and texture type items for  wholesale shows their sales are down by a lot.

* PRIME waterfront land at ridiculously low prices is not selling (oh my). And of course regular lots have been hard to get rid of for some time.

* I and others are now taking their money out much more frequently than before (some daily!) partly because of the more than a week of ongoing "unscheduled maintenance" and LONG waiting payout times.

* And the Realms are quiet - LOL.

 

You put these things together and that tells me that more folks know what is going on and whatever their personal take on what it might mean -- are worried. Some are leaving. Some are holding tight but are cautious. Some are loosing interest in SL altogether.

 

So my question for this thread as I really do want to know, is -- how has the new TOS changed your life and what do you see around you that makes you believe there are some quiet but important changes going on amidst the populous.

 Edit: this can mean your SL life or you RL or both - you choose.

 

[Stella Gravois]

The TOS change hasn’t changed much for me actually. As a template designer I am and have been uploading a lot of material. Some of it I have digitally watermarked. I have seen my sales drop somewhat in September (compared to September last year) but they are back on their feet again in October. In my opinion that ‘September dip’ could well be caused by more trivial reasons, like the mild autumn, the lack of new releases on my part, the on-going financial insecurity due to the crisis…..  I haven’t spoken anyone that was leaving or had stopped creating, but perhaps I have not been looking very well.

You write that you and some other are taking out money more regular now, even  daily, based on the maintenance and long pay-out time. Mentioning this in the context of your post implies that there is some connection between the TOS change and the urge of getting your money out of the game. To me this smells like panicking based on nothing but a premonition. It might even be the cause of longer pay-out time, I don’t think Linden Lab has increased the number of employees that take care of that pay-out.

To answer your (double) question.

How has the new TOS changed your life – It has not changed my life

And what do you see around you that makes you believe there are some quiet but important changes going on amidst the populous – I see nothing, so I don’t share your believe

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I don't see much change at all.   Most of the people that are non creators or hobbyist that I have asked about it say either they were not aware of how the TOS effect creators IP rights and/or they simply don't care. None said it curtailed their buying or, in the case of the hobbyist, creating.

Sales are cyclical even in the best of times, and it hasn't been long enough since the change to provide enough statistics to really draw any conclusions about any effect the TOS change has had on overall SL sales.  I doubt it has other than for individual merchants who have stopped creating,  In the short term, people that are still creating new things probably won't see much change unless its an increase in sales due to other's not creating.  It remains to be seen what long term effect it may have.

 

[Rya Nitely]

Hi Chic,

I still haven't uploaded anything since the changes. I haven't released any new items. The change in ToS came at a time when I really needed the break anyway. I've been working in SL consistently for too many years. So it gave me a reason to stop.

Sales are about the same I think, but not creating has also made me less aware of sales. Although I am a little surprised that my business is running quite smoothly without any effort from me. I always thought I had to keep putting in effort to maintain it - but it seems not. When I think about it now - I took out my money this month, I paid my partner more than usual, and I paid my tier - so I think I'm doing about the same as usual.

It's been over a month of doing nothing in SL. I only log in for the occasional customer support.

In time I will get back to creating again. There are texture sites I can use freely. I have one items - a lovely italian gondola - all ready to sell after some fine tuning. Usually, I would be dead keen to release a new item, but this has been sitting there untouched for over a month.

I'm not too concerned about the ToS and the impact on my intellectual property rights, because I don't believe LL will want to sell my items anywhere.

It also seems to me that some of those who voiced the loudest concerns weren't really creating that much anyway - so it would have had very little impact on them. But a big impact on people like you, and on me too if I hadn't reached a point where I needed time out.

Those creating for income would be giving up too much to stop because of this.

Those creating for the love of it will probably just do what they always did. Texture sources would be the biggest concern but most won't see it as an issue.

I've lost a bit of respect for the whole SL thing now. Although I always worked under the knowledge it could crash at anytime. When I do get back to work, it will be more aggressively to just grab what I can for as long as I can - grab every cent I can pump out of it. As I said, I've lost respect now.

 

[Rya Nitely]

Grammar -

we all do it (or most of us anyway), use the wrong words, DCMA instead of DMCA, Labs instead of Lab.

Effect instead of affect. 

What effect does it have on you? <- noun

How does it affect you? <- verb

 

[Stella Gravois]

LOL Rya, now kill this mental picture of mine, where you resemble my old English Teacher - Grey hair in an old fashioned knot... a pair of glassed, smal, round - piercing eyes (no not pierced )....

But I love the spirit of never giving up to fight the decay of grammar!!!!

[Rya Nitely]

I have chalk on my hands and face, a long cane in my hand and tapping those words on the blackboard 'Repeat after me...'

[Stella Gravois]

Hahahahah  :smileyvery-happy: Now the mental image has stuck !

[Freya Mokusei]

My personal opinion on this issue is that the ToS change itself provides no risk to my IP, and no reason for me to be concerned or change my behaviour as either a creator or a customer. I won't be justifying my position for this, though, sorry.

I also work alongside long-established creators and hang-out providers, and have not seen anyone else adjust their behaviour either. Myself and many of my clients have very little faith or support for LL (in many cases, in authority in general), and caution is primary to our production method where IP is concerned. We've discussed the issue a few times and always end up at the same conclusion. Despite this caution our production has increased to fill gaps in markets that had been decaying since before the change of ToS.

Admittedly I have very little to do with the 'Suburban' Second Life experience - family, homes, gardens, romance. I couldn't speak for changes to these types of product or user.

I've observed the userbase reaction to the changes closely, and I do have concerns about the effect on newer or more easily-swayed creators - whether an effect on the economy takes place will mostly depend on them. Moderate damage to the in-world economy is probably possible with this kind of occurance, but the reaction to this news has not been as severe as it could be. I ascribe most of this to the general difficulty involved in informing the SL userbase of anything.

[Pamela Galli]

To me, the TOS has miniscule impact compared to, say, the veritable flood of ripped mesh being imported into SL. I simply cannot create new mesh content as fast as they can upload. Entire stores of ripped professional quality spring up overnight. Few buyers and bloggers know or care whether a product is ripped or not. There is really no way to determine it without spending a lot of time poring over 3D content sites -- many of which are full of ripped content themselves.

 

The new model of user imported content has replaced user generated content, and that is just not going to work very well for original content creators. 

 

 

[Rya Nitely]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

To me, the TOS has miniscule impact compared to, say, the veritable flood of ripped mesh being imported into SL. I simply cannot create new mesh content as fast as they can upload. Entire stores of ripped professional quality spring up overnight. Few buyers and bloggers know or care whether a product is ripped or not. There is really no way to determine it without spending a lot of time poring over 3D content sites -- many of which are full of ripped content themselves.

 

The new model of user imported content has replaced user generated content, and that is just not going to work very well for original content creators. 

 

 

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Oh yes, I remember now. This was the haystack - the ToS was just the last straw

[Chic Aeon]

Pamela - I am sorry to hear that there is so much theft going on. I did see a panel discussion (SL - opensim etc.) on AViewTV the other day and the owner (?) of Avination mentioned that they have an upload cost primarily to deter folks from uploading ripped products and that ACTUAL content creators can get upload tokens or something to offset upload costs. So it seems they are aware of the problem and at least trying to curtail it somewhat. I haven't been there in many, many years.

Most of the folks that I blog for are long time original mesh creators (and long time creators before that) so hopefully I am not "advertising" for the bad guys. Certainly not my intent.

Rya - breaks are good. New horizons are good. Sticking around is good. I am glad your business is doing well while you are gone. Mine until the last couple of weeks was very much in that boat. (yes a pun sort of *wink*)

 

And to the rest of you that put your thoughts on this thread. Thank you. I appreciate your input.

 

We each take our own road and choose our own comfort level.

 

[Magnet Homewood]

I am no political commentator, but what if the recent US crisis to get the nation's debt limit increased and end the shutdown led to some of this quietness?

Maybe people are waiting for a deal to be struck and the US to get back to 'normal' and be paid for the jobs they do, and decided to cut back a bit from 'luxury' spending in SL. Hmm, who knows?

As for me, I have seen no noticeaboe change in SL whatsoever.

[Czari Zenovka]

The new TOS hasn't significantly changed my life.  The following are changes/additions, etc. I have made since learning of it:

*I have not built nor uploaded anything new to the MP.  I was in a bit of a "creative slump" that began at the end of last year so I can't blame the TOS for that *but* even though I still have no great urge to create/sell, even if I did I would not do so until/unless this TOS deal is sorted out.

*My MP sales for items that were uploaded prior to the TOS are about average; I tend to see an increase in sales during the holidays due to the type of items I sell.

*Even though none of my items are worth anything for LL to grab, I did attend the initial meeting of content creators and joined the group to be in solidarity with SL content creators.

*I have a profile pick on the issue for awareness

*I respond to questions on the issue.  I was recently asked my opinion from someone and, after giving it, the response was "The content in SL is so poor compared to other MMOs (this constant comparison to "other MMOs" is really getting on my last nerve) that LL has no interest in the content here."  Well, I tried...lol.

On the plus side, I have done more exploring in SL like I did when I first began and don't feel like "Oh I should be making something" hanging over my head.  I have not noticed any decline in attendence at the places I frequent.

Edit: Typo

[Czari Zenovka]

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Rya Nitely wrote:

I have chalk on my hands and face, a long cane in my hand and tapping those words on the blackboard 'Repeat after me...'

---

Ooooo, kinky

[Phoebe Avro]

The festive season is apon us, it will soon be Halloween and then Christmas and since people only have so much money it could just be that people are gearing up for Halloween, my sales have trippled at least because of Halloween sales in the last 4 weeks!

[Toysoldier Thor]

I have not uploded any new content since the TOS.... not ART sculptures / Artworks for my inworld art gallery or other exhibit, nor any non artistic content (i.e. commercial content for MP sales).

Its too late and impossible to get any content out of LL's cluches from pre-Aug TOS... so might as well let this content continue to generate revenue for me.

Will anyone notice any direct impact on LL's revenue stream because of those that have stopped uploading new content?  I would say NO... as it will take some time for the reduction in new creator content to be significantly noticed by LL. 

But since LL has made it very clear that it now has ZERO RESPECT for the IP rights of the creators that made SL the success it has become to date.... the titanic ship is slowly turning and creator content  (except for those that generally don't care what LL does with their content, or, those that have to risk what LL does to their content because they NEED their revenue, or, it was not their content in the first place to care about the TOS - all ripped/stolen and LL has rights to illegal content anyway) will dry up / move to other more Creator IP friendly locations etc.

Sadly for LL, once the ship starts turning, LL's possible decision to change their mind and fix this issue to stop this turn will likely be too late... as they have already proven that they cannot be trusted with creator IP rights.  They are only changing their minds because the public / legal / legislative pressure might become too much to stand by their position.

[Chic Aeon]

LOL. I had to smile at that "content not worth ..." comment from someone. If it is so bad, why are they here? Except for a couple of stellar new mesh with material items, there is nothing of mine that I think LL would want either. For me it is that slap in the face thing, and indeed a lack of trust.

And, that comment about money taking longer BECAUSE more folks were taking it out was a very smart assessment I think. But since Lindex is the only way folks CAN take money out now (giving the lab total control in that area), the problem IS a problem for whatever reason; and for those that need to pay RL bills waiting two weeks for money to arrive at their banks isn't very handy. I used to leave money in Lindens for a very long time and cash out in what to me would be big chunks. I simply don't feel secure doing that any longer. That is the truth.

I will say that should things get resolved (obviously from my point of view as many are not concerned at all it seems) I will have lots of new content to upload .  And if things get worse instead of better, it has been a good ride.

So for now at least I am pretty much one of those "casual users" that LL has been after. So they got their wish I guess. :matte-motes-grin:

[Dartagan Shepherd]

Well, like Darrius I've halted a large project. Ironically it depended on the objects remaining unique and exclusive, so the TOS is a showstopper for me personally.

Orignally I'd slowed down because of some nonsense with LL support and funds, and dumped our region. Upon waiting for the marketplace to handle unique items and get rid of some bugs and waiting out land impact calculations to become more realistic starting a couple of years ago I decided to take some of my SL time and apply it to something else.

Now 2 years later I've become passable on guitar and keyboards which is something I've always wanted to do. I can't say it's been a loss because it's opened up a world of music for me.

On the other hand, I'm still waiting for the marketplace to support no copy items with direct delivery, land impact to be more reasonable and now the TOS to change. There's no sign that any of these will actually happen, so it's hurry up and wait, the day jobs and practice, practice, practice.

[Sassy Romano]

The TOS hasn't changed me because I don't upload much.  However, you can be sure that probably 99.99% of the users don't know the change and even if they did, they'd just upload anyway as they probably won't have read the TOS in full on 3rd party sites prohibiting content upload or the one on SL.

I have largely stopped creating for the purposes of selling though because in my view, LL are not putting any time in on the things that would make a difference to the majority (mesh deformer) while fiddling around on things that make little difference.

I'm still waiting to see a good example of pathfinding other than the novelty of watching a box move around.  Where are all the NPC's that we were told would be enabled?

I'm still waiting to see a true benefit from SSA, long bake times for me, grey avatars for just as long if not longer in busy sims as before, regular bake fail, blurred textures.  As an end user I don't see it.

Particle ribbons?  Whose pet project was that? 

Meanwhile the mesh deformer that's already complete remains pushed under the rug and I just don't see the value in wasting my time making multiple models  that still don't fit so as a result i'm not bothering to make anything except for me.

So apologies for digressing, it's not the TOS that has changed me, it's LL's inability in running the platform for a user community that it doesn't understand the core needs of.  They don't care, just want to make iPad etch-a-sketch and milk the cash cow called SL.

[Darrius Gothly]

I have not uploaded anything new and have halted upgrades and changes to existing products (except for bug fixes and necessary repairs). I have put a stop to a new project that had (IMO) quite a bit of promise. My reason for replying to Dart's post was because .. I'm going to describe in general terms the project I halted.

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Dartagan Shepherd wrote:

Well, like Darrius I've halted a large project. ...

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One of the biggest problems in SL is Content Theft. Also known as Copybotting, it is rampant and very difficult to stop. Since the Viewer is Open Source and it must download virtually entire copies of content in order to display it properly, the existence of "Thieving Purpose" Viewers is guaranteed. Unscrupulous people with some measure of technical skill can modify the source code of the Viewer to deliver content created by others, intact and ready to be copied and stolen, without any extra effort on the part of the CRIMINAL whatsoever.

This is especially true for Artists .. those wishing to display and share their artwork in Second Life but NOT wanting to deliver it into the hands of crooks and a_S_s_H_a_T_s that have no regard for the property of others.

Then one night, while sitting around letting my mind dance across the wonders of The Glycemic Index and how Inversion could revolutionize my posture and eliminate my back pain, I was struck by an idea that would let artists share their work by uploading it to an external website, sell "Display Licenses" on the Marketplace and still keep their artwork intact and inaccessible to crooks.

Display Licenses could be created for time limited display (the artwork would vanish after the license expires), transferable (saleable to someone else but once sold could not be displayed by the previous owner), unlimited time (can be displayed forever but might not be transferable) and even permanent exclusive (allowing one and only one point of display in SL).

It would have given Artists a method to share their artwork, get the much needed exposure that struggling starving new Artists truly need .. and still cover their backside by not allowing anyone else to lay hands on their original work.

But since the change in the ToS, I've put that project on the backburner. Instead I've started developing an encryption system that cannot be cracked (easily .. I hope) yet is rapidly encrypted and decrypted. However that system is completely outside SL and any other LL property because .. quite honestly ... the stuff that comes from my brain and my effort is also stuff that I control.

Uploading it to SL essentially gives that control to someone else. And that someone else has told me up front that they not only don't have to tell me what they do with my stuff, but they've said they don't even have to PAY me for it.

With apologies to Scrooge: Bah-HUMBUG!

[Madeliefste Oh]

Since the new TOS I'm reading novels again, I watch much more movies and I play games now and then. And in the meanwhile I'm chewing on this TOS. I still did not decide to either swallow it or spit it out.

I planned to finish some projects I was already working on. But while doing so I felt more and more doubt that my future is in SL. I don't feel inspired to create at all. It makes me sort of depressed.

At ease I'm rebranding the meshes I made for SL. I'm going to offer them as 3d models under my rl compagny name. It's a lot of work to change the logo on all components, make new product pictures (renders), generate 360 degree-pictures, and to adjust the meshes for invironments outsite SL.

I'm not aiming for SL clones like InWorldZ, Avination or Kitely. I have accounts in those worlds from the beginning, but I never set up shops there. I'm happy to upload my content there for my SL customers and provide them with additional licenses to use and sell their creations based on our sculpties and meshes in these worlds. But I see it more as an additional service that cYo is offering to her SL customers, then as a serious source of income.

More then a year ago I started creating in CloudParty. I liked the challenge, it's very different from SL, smarter in some aspects. In those days there was no marketplace yet, so commercially it was not interesting. Still I played around there now and then. I uploaded my meshes and played with the material system.
I like the concept of CP, it has potential in my opinion. But it's still all very beginning, the user base is small. Too small to start a business that aims for a specific target group. I like CP from creators point of view, but from commercial point of view I don't have to be in those worlds that have not proven yet they can reach the big audience. CP has a marketplace now, but I haven't uploaded anything there... because who is buying? There is not enough shopping audience to make it worth my time investment. But when it happens that CP becomes a hype, I will be happy to create for CloudParty.

But I doubt that there will be one new virtual world again in the future that will hype like SL did in 2007/08. I think all virtual worlds (with user generated content) are doomed to be a marginal phenomena, unless a compagny with a very large userbase (like for example Twitter or Facebook) starts it's own virtual world, that might cause a return of the promise that SL once was.

When I look at the bigger picture, I see virtuality becoming more and more a part of peoples daily life. About ten years ago, when SL just started, it were different things, you had reality (in your life) and virtual reality (in your computer). During those last ten years the border between them has been fading. Whether we are here or there, we are still the same person. The pc changed for the laptop, the laptop changed for the tablet or the smart phone. Children grow up now while with a device that is a more powerful computer then universities had 20 years ago. And new devices like Google Glas will mixed virtuality even more with daily live. The border is blurring. In that trent a virtual world as a thing on it's own, where you can choose to draw a strict line between your real and your virtual life, is becoming something 'old school'. It does not fit in the future trent of mixing realities. Will a virtual world still be attractive in this age? Yes, for some people it will. But it's a small group. It will not become main straim, because main straim is more and more about living in both realities at the same time.

Since the new TOS I don't feel inspired to create anything at all. Something is in the way.I feel uncertain, I'm not sure what it is. It's like I sit brooding.

Turned by SL I learned to make 3D models. And because of that SL was the natural habitat for my 3D models. Although Linden Lab is not the business you wish for as a merchant, I took it for granted, I loved to create in SL and I loved to show and sell my work in SL, despite LL.

But now I'm not sure anymore. I don't feel any fire to create. I did not decide yet, which direction to go. I still keep the door to SL a bit open, maybe I'm going to miss it and still decide to take the gamble and start uploading again. I might as well decide to start making models for 3D printers. My future is in 3D models, products that can stand on their own, apart from Linden Lab who wants more of my rights, then I want to hand over to them.

This was not the deal when I started here as a content creator. And though I still give the current LL the benifit of the doubt, I'm touching in darkness when it comes to the future. What will happen to my creations and the rights I granted, when LL comes in the position to sell SL? Or when LL gets bancrupt for example, what will a curator do with my content and rights? I signed that TOS. I digged my own future grave.

I still hope for a new TOS that can motivate me again to create for SL. And I hope it won't take too long, because in the meantime I'm brooding, and when the new egg comes out I might be lost for SL.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Chic Aeon wrote:

 

So for now at least I am pretty much one of those "casual users" that LL has been after. So they got their wish I guess. :matte-motes-grin:

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*Keeps my chair firmly in the circle with you - as one of the casual users*

Got any popcorn?

 

 

[Chic Aeon]

That was really a good read. Thanks very much. I am more or less where you are. I am very happy to have found CP and like you I am not very interested in OpenSim worlds as I doubt any would stand up to Sl even if we have "marginal mesh" LOL. It is still VERY pretty  here -- thanks to so many talented content creators.

So we'll see what happens. I plan to be here to the end whenever and however that happens. And if SL outlasts me? Well that's OK too *wink*. There are plenty of great memories here. Most have little to do with the folks that run the platform though.

And while I don't have popcorn, I do have gluten free homemade banana chocolate cookies -- if those will do .

[Rya Nitely]

Hi Madeliefste, I enjoy reading your posts - very open and honest. I'm sorry to hear how you feel. SL will be losing some great creators.

But I can relate. I don't have the energy for it anymore either. I'm drained. We've always put so much more into our creations than we get back - and you need to be very inspired for that. That inspiration has been drained out of us. And for me, it isn't just the ToS. There are so many other things about SL that has drained me of my motivation.