About referencing work and screenshots

I'm a university student studying the various designs and builds in Second Life and I am wondering how to go about referencing works and screenshots that I take.

Will creators be offended if I use their work (in a purely objective manner and providing a reference) to refer to in order to prove my points/ make observations? Do they have any right to be? At my university we use the Havard referencing style which includes author name, creation date, access date, link source etc and as far as I know you can use any material in your research so long as it is referenced correctly. By "use" I mean refer to (not copy, modify or redistribute etc).

This seems complicated as any screen shot could consist of the work of many people and is also somewhat the property of Linden Lab (since the interface/ system is theirs). It may also involve other avatars who do not wish to have their "photos" taken.

Any suggestions? I know there are a lot of other students around researching Second Life, how have you referenced the work inside?

In the real-world, at least in the USA ..... if you take photos of a pubic location, then you can use them for objective and non-profit use. I.E. news media, reporting, docmentation, etc ...

And since LL seems intent on making their world follow USA laws ...

If you're worried about it, ask the creators in question. It's not that much trouble to ask.

And if I remember correctly, it is against or was against the TOS to take a picture/snapshot/screenshot of an avatar without their permission.

I've never given a moment's thought to people snapshotting my builds, or indeed meee! I'm open season for the SL papparazzi though they probably wouldn't be interested anyway!

The problem is that Second Life is not a 'place' or a 'location'. It is a digital service executing on servers locked away in a secure facility.

I would drop in on a Linden during their office hours (Inworld Office Hours for Lindens) and ask how you go about getting permission. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. If you're taking screenshots of somebody else's land though, you should ask the land owner. That's somebody's intellectual property (builds, textures, etc.) you're snapshotting after all. =)

Okay, thank you for your inputs!

I'll post the answer here when I receive it.. should anyone else find themselves looking for referencing guidance

Okay now I am confused. The calendar says there ared some staff online early Saturday morning however if you look for more info it says When: Sat Oct 13 1am - Sat Oct 13 2am (Weekly at 1am on Friday). Since Monday is blank I'm assuming all the dates have shifted a day ahead accidentally? I am at the location right now at 2am on a Saturday and no one is to be seen... a little help please someone?