Law Society: Last Call for Charter Members

Once the Law Society of Second Life reaches 20+ members, we'll create a Group Forum in which most of the Society's discussion will take place. At that time, new enrollment fees will increase.

Our members are called Observers.

Who should join Law Society:
-- Students of law, economics, business and government
-- Landowners, entrepreneurs, developers, contractors and merchants
-- Artists, advocates, mediators, societal organizers, visionaries and consumers

What Law Society will NOT be:
-- A place or tool for you to vent or to advance your personal agenda
-- A political society that takes sides in disputes or endorses individuals
-- A vendor of advice or dispute resolution services

What Law Society WILL be:
-- A research group to observe and study Second Life's developing systems of self-government, contracting and dispute resolution.
-- A forum for respectful exchange of informed opinion.
-- A research database of examples of agreements, commercial instruments and case studies about problems and solutions.

Discussions will be moderated for consistency with the above goals.

In SL, search Groups for Law Society; enrollment is presently open.

Frank Lardner
Moderator

Ahhh, I didn't realise that's what this was about. I'm going to have to decline membership, I think..

I suspect my presence would most likely damage your cause, anyways.

Good luck, though.

there a fee *cough* all about money here nothing more lol

Blaze, sorry you won't be working with us. Some interesting things to study and to learn that we'll be sharing, so stay tuned.

Luminia, I understand your views.

Anyone: If you've questions or ideas about the vision of the Society I've set out above, please share them here unless you'd prefer to wait for the Group Forum to start up.

To the two new members who joined already today: Thank you and welcome to the Law Society.

Frank

Laws, rules and norms in SL could be seen as coming from the following sources. If someone thinks I left any out, please reply. I've stuck some working labels on them that other Observers can improve on.

First: "Real life" law. This would include international law, the federal law of the U.S.A. and the state(s) that might have jurisdiction. Enforcement tools include subpoenas, lawsuits, fines and imprisonment for violators. Benefits include a frequently safe, orderly and productive community.

Second: Linden Labs' law. The Terms of Service and the action decisions made by Linden Labs, to which all SL users agree as a condition of their use of the SL environment. Enforcement tools include account termination for violators. Benefits include a high frequency of safe, orderly, stable environment and grants and privileges for creators and residents.

Third: Consensual group rules. Private sims, land trusts, investment or savings organizations and self-government groups work out systems of varying complexity, some as simple as a sign with rules for visitors to a private sim, others as complex as a functioning municipal cooperative with representative government, profit sharing and the ability to issue debt and pay dividends. Enforcement tools include ejection or banishment from the sim or forfeiture of privileges. Benefits include an enhanced environment for fun, commerce, creativity and community life.

Fourth: Contractual agreements and commercial instruments. These may be as complex as the agreements that combine to make possible part of group three, but may also be as simple as a promise to repay borrowed money or credit extended over a certain time. Enforcement tools seem to be scarce. The benefits include opportunities for a richer experience for those directly involved in the transactions and consumers in general.

Fifth: Primary relationships standards. Within friendships and consensual cultures, norms of behavior develop. These might be as simple as expecting your partner to not "cyber around," or as complex as expecting that others in the culture closely follow the language and behavior habits used in a series of fantasy novels. Enforcement tools include persuasion, nagging, peer pressure and harassment, or "dumped and muted." Benefits include a richer personal experience and realization of emotional needs.

The first, real law, is the realm of lawyers and law students who have it well in hand.

The SL TOS could be a focus but may lack much to "chew on."

The third, consensual group rules, and the fourth, contracts and instruments, have rich potential are may be "transparent" enough to make objective study possible. Studying this area might include comparing the language used in agreements, the techniques for pooling individual's resources, and the ways of resolving disputes. That study could allow others to emulate or improve on past experience.

The fifth, relationships, are usually private enough that the relationships are hard to study for those on the "outside."

It is the third and fourth categories that I suggest the Society focus on to start. With greater understanding, we might enable an even richer SL experience and help Society Observers and friends have even more fun and excitement.

Have I missed a category? Does someone see another perspective to start with?

Frank

Thanks for sending that invitation, Frank. Your proposal sounds worthwhile, and your group membership includes some people I know first hand to be constructive and thoughtful, so that allays the inevitable skepticism concerning a new initiative of this type. There's a traditional suspicion in SL concerning what may appear to be self-appointed groups of residents possibly working to obtain special LL-approved authority over other residents. Your proposal doesn't seem to harbour anything like that, so I'll certainly accept.

My own bias is strongly toward individual rights, freedom and responsibilities toward other individuals. I usually find specific instances of that traditional suspicion in SL to be overblown, and I'm usually pleased with the hands-off role LL takes.

Thanks also for mentioning this thread, since I'm often too busy to check the forums on a regular basis. While studying your categories I noticed one possible omission: the non-codified norms of being a good neighbor. Pathfinder Linden highlighted the relevance of this concept to SL when he recommended the book Order without Law, How Neighbors Settle Disputes by Robert C. Ellickson. Good-neighbor norms are not immediately apparent to a new arrival, and we creative folks sometimes realize our own non-compliance only in retrospect. (Mea culpa -- sorry for that newbie scripting effort that lagged the whole sim. And giving that PI owner a newly made 'sandstone with the imprint of non-organic life' -- a 1024X1024 texture for her terrain. Ow, ow, ow, ow!)

From the list of your categories, summarized below, good-neighbor norms seem closest to Third and Fifth, but not really a good fit in either:


One additional thought -- as a non-partisan research group, the Law Society could be of great value in focussing discussion concerning the most ambitious self-governance tool we have so far: the SL feature voting system. LL is a company with finite resources, and we're all trying to get development effort prioritized according to our own preferences, so it often feels like a zero sum game. The SL feature voting system is an outstanding tool, but it's burdened by alt voting and a proliferation of similar proposals by users. Perhaps the Law Society could be of some service in facilitating improvement to this vital system.

Thank you again for the invitation Frank! I have not been able to get in world to accept the invite yet (lots of family in town this week for the holiday), but I will do so as soon as I am able!

Traxx, thanks for joining and your posting. The new category you propose was called "positive morality" by the legal philosopher John Austin ("Law as the Sovereign's Command", which he contended was not true law.

It clearly is something we could explore, as for those who accept certain norms as given may not understand those for whom they are wholly new and without foundation in their experience. This dissonance may be especially poignant given SL's broad range of tastes, cultures and geographical origins.

For example, I was exploring the fascinating Transylvanian private sim that is a fantastic maze of goth/vampiric play and commerce space. I entered one mansion (door unlocked) and bought some of the furniture on display, then went up the stairs. At some point, the words "What part of private do you not understand?" started to flood my message space. I got the message and went back until they stopped.

An effective sanction for me. Others might have simply ignored it. But it clearly conveyed the building owner's limits of the norms for visitors. Its a tool others might want to install or complain about. We'll see.

The ways various private sims devise to convey those norms with or without formal agreements and notices will be an interesting part of what I hope we'll discover and explore.

Frank

Hello Frank,

Thanks for the invitation - I have accepted and I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops.

In the list of objectives, I didn't see a specific mention of any kind of quantitative measurement. This could be in the form of agreement numbers or value measured against metrics of size for SL. One question I am interested in is whether we will see a greater or lesser use of more formal legal mechanisms over time and as SL expands. Will there be a need and/or desire to operate in more of a "big city" mode compared to what is rather like a village atmosphere now.

If you think that verges on the econometric, and is outside your view of the group, that's fine. It's just a suggestion.

Ferren, an econometric analysis would be an exciting and challenging endeavor. Figuring out how to gather reliable quantitative data would be one initial hurdle, followed by all the issues of categorization and characterization.

I'm not an econometricist (econometrician?), but think that there is room for them what are.

Frank

Frank, I've been thinking about what membership might require and having second thoughts about whether or not there really is a place for me there. Truth is, I'm always questioning why I'm hanging around SL in the first place. Escapism is one reason, but I think it's more than that. In SL I have this false sense of freedom... and although I realize it's an illusion, I rather like it.


However worthy such a study of SL society might be, it feels "too real-life" for comfort. I see regulation everywhere I go in the real world, and I understand that regulation is vital, but I'm thinking I'll bow out of the group and do something in SL that I never had the guts to do back in the 60's... be a hippie.

As of stipend event on 11/29, the Society had enrolled 29 members @L$25 and raised the enrollment fee to L$250.

Thanks for all for your support.

Frank

As of 1/2/06, Law Society had 31 members enrolled.
Of those, 29 enrolled @L$25, and 7 at L$250 (fee raised in November).
Some withdrew, accounting for the difference in total.

As trustee for the Society, Frank Lardner holds L$2275.