Points of interest in the new Terms of Service

2. ACCOUNTS

2.3 Account ID. You must choose an account name to identify yourself to Linden staff (your "Account ID", which will also serve as the name for the graphical representation of your body in the Service (such representation, an "Avatar", and its name, an "Avatar Name". You may not select as your Account ID or Avatar Name the name of another person, a name which violates any trademark right, copyright, or other proprietary right, a name which may mislead other Participants to believe you to be an employee of Linden, or a name which Linden deems in its discretion to be vulgar or otherwise offensive. Linden reserves the right to delete or change any Account ID or Avatar Name for any reason or no reason. You are fully responsible for all activities conducted through your Account or under your Account ID.

2.5 Account. By using the Service you agree that even though you may retain certain copyright or other intellectual property rights with respect to works you create (your "Content," as defined in Section 6.1 below) while using the Service (as specified in Section 5.3 below), you do not own the account you use to access the Service, nor do you own any data Linden stores on Linden servers (including without limitation any data representing or embodying any or all of your Content).

3. BILLING POLICIES

3.1 Account Types and Charges. You may access the Service through either of two types of accounts. "Basic Access" accounts require registration but do not at this time include an access fee or recurring charges for access to the Service for the first Basic Access account per unique user. Additional Basic Access accounts for the same unique user require a one-time access payment. Uniqueness of users is determined in Linden's sole discretion. "Premium Access" accounts require recurring charges for access to the Service, and may be arranged for varying billing periods as described in Section 3.3 below. In addition to the applicable access charges, recurring Land Use Fees will be charged to you depending on how much land you hold within the Second Life world.

3.7 Cancellation, Refunds, Reactivation. Accounts may be cancelled at any time, by going to the My Account page and clicking on "cancel". Upon clicking "cancel," your account will be cancelled within 24 hours, but you will be allowed to use the remaining time according to these Terms of Service unless your account or this Agreement is suspended or terminated based on our belief that you have violated or acted inconsistently with Section 5.1 of this Agreement. THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS FOR ANY UNUSED TIME ON A SUBSCRIPTION. At the end of a subscription period, your cancelled account will become dormant for 60 days. If during that time you want to reopen your account, you will be able to return to your My Account page and click the "re-activate" button at which time you will be prompted to review billing details to confirm that the plan you want is selected and that your credit card or other payment method is still valid. Linden may require a reactivation fee in the event Linden determines, in its sole discretion, that activation and reactivation of an account is being conducted in a manner designed to evade compliance with this Agreement or other Linden policies and procedures. If, for any reason, your credit card or other payment method cannot be charged or payment is withheld, your account will become dormant as if you had cancelled it.

3.9 Account Retention. While your account is dormant, unless you renew your account, any land held by your Avatar in that account will become public to the Service after 30 days. Any of your Avatar's objects remaining in the Second Life world will begin to decay at that time and your Avatar will lose them in their entirety. Avatars and inventory items held in your Account will be retained until the account has been closed and dormant for 60 days, at which point the account will be expunged. You understand and agree that none of the actions specified in this Section 3.9 will constitute a violation of any copyright or other intellectual property rights you may have in any of your Content, and for the avoidance of doubt you hereby grant Linden the irrevocable and perpetual right to take any or all of the actions specified in this Section 3.9 under the circumstances described.

3.10 Delinquent Accounts and Affiliated Accounts. In the event an Account is suspended or terminated for late or non-payment, in accordance with Linden's then in-effect billing and payment policies and practices, Linden may suspend or terminate any or all other Accounts held by you or your affiliates or otherwise related to such delinquent Account. Nothing in this Section 3.10 shall limit or otherwise modify Linden's right to terminate this Agreement under Section 7.1 below.

4. LICENSE

4.2 Service Provider. You acknowledge that Linden is not a traditional game provider; instead Linden acts as a venue and a service provider that may allow people to interact virtually regarding almost any topic, at any time, from anywhere, in a variety of formats. In addition, the Service may allow some users to alter the gaming environment on a real-time basis. Linden is not involved in actual communications between users or even in users' interactions with the virtual world of the Service. As a result, Linden has very limited control, if any, over the quality, safety, morality, legality, truthfulness or accuracy of various aspects of the Service. As a condition of access to the Service, you release Linden (and Linden's shareholders, partners, affiliates, directors, officers, subsidiaries, employees, agents, suppliers, licensees, distributors) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with any dispute you have or claim to have with one or more Participants. You further understand and agree that: (a) Linden will have the right but not the obligation to resolve disputes between Participants relating to the Service; (b) to the extent Linden elects to resolve such disputes, it will do so in good faith based solely on the general rules and standards of the Service and will not make judgments regarding legal issues or claims; (c) Linden's resolution of such disputes will be final with respect to the virtual world of the Service but will have no bearing on any real-world legal disputes in which Participants may become involved; and (d) you hereby release Linden (and Linden's shareholders, partners, affiliates, directors, officers, subsidiaries, employees, agents, suppliers, licensees, distributors) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with Linden's resolution of disputes relating to the Service.

4.3 All Data On Linden's Servers Are Subject to Deletion, Alteration or Transfer. When using the Service, you may accumulate objects, items, measures of virtual wealth or experience, scripts, equipment, or other value or status indicators ("Accumulated Status". THESE DATA, AND ANY OTHER DATA INCLUDING CONTENT (AS DEFINED IN SECTION 6.1 BELOW), ACCOUNT HISTORY AND AVATAR NAMES RESIDING ON LINDEN'S SERVERS, MAY BE DELETED, ALTERED, MOVED OR TRANSFERRED AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON IN LINDEN'S SOLE DISCRETION. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY COPYRIGHT OR OTHER RIGHTS YOU MAY HAVE WITH RESPECT TO ITEMS YOU CREATE USING THE SERVICE, AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANY VALUE ATTRIBUTED TO SUCH CONTENT OR OTHER DATA BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, LINDEN DOES NOT ADMIT, PROVIDE OR GUARANTEE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS (SUBJECT TO ANY UNDERLYING RIGHTS IN THE CONTENT), ANY VALUE, CASH OR OTHERWISE, ATTRIBUTED TO CONTENT OR ACCUMULATED STATUS OR OTHER DATA.

5. USER CONDUCT

5.3 Participant Content Ownership and License Terms, Including Participant Representations and Warranties. Participants can create Content on Linden's servers in various forms. Linden acknowledges and agrees that, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including without limitation the limited licenses granted by you to Linden herein, you will retain any and all applicable copyright and/or other intellectual property rights with respect to any Content you create using the Service. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you understand and agree that by submitting your Content to any area of the service, you automatically grant (and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant) to Linden: (a) a royalty-free, fully paid-up, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use and reproduce (and to authorize third parties to use and reproduce) any of your Content in any or all media for marketing and/or promotional purposes in connection with the Service; (b) the perpetual and irrevocable right to delete any or all of your Content from Linden's servers and from the Service, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and for any reason or no reason, without any liability of any kind to you or any other party; [snipped remainder]

6. CONTENT

6.1 Content. You acknowledge that: (i) by using the Service you may have access to graphics, sound effects, music, video, audio, animation, text and other creative output (collectively, "Content", and (ii) Content may be provided under license by independent content providers, including contributions from other Participants (all such independent content providers, "Content Providers". Linden does not pre-screen Content. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT LINDEN HAS THE RIGHT, BUT NOT THE OBLIGATION, TO REMOVE ANY CONTENT (INCLUDING YOURS) IN WHOLE OR IN PART AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON OR NO REASON, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE AND WITH NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND.

6.4 Second Life Currency. You acknowledge that the Second Life service presently includes a component of in-world fictional currency. You agree that Linden has the absolute right to manage, regulate, control, modify and/or eliminate such currency as it sees fit in its sole discretion, and that Linden will have no liability to you based on its exercise of such right.

7. INTERRUPTION OF OR CHANGES TO SERVICE

7.1 Termination. Linden has the right at any time for any reason or no reason to suspend or terminate your Account, terminate this Agreement, and/or refuse any and all current or future use of the Service without notice or liability to you. Without limiting the foregoing, in the event an Account is suspended or terminated for material breach by you (as determined in Linden's sole discretion) of this Agreement or the Community Standards, Linden may suspend or terminate the Account associated with such breach and any or all other Accounts held by you or your affiliates, and your breach shall be deemed to apply to all such Accounts. Upon request from Linden, you agree to delete any electronic or printed copies of information or software programs that you received from Linden. In the event that Linden suspends or terminates your Account or this Agreement, you understand and agree that: (a) you shall receive no refund or exchange for any unused time on a subscription, any Land Use Fees, any Linden Dollars (L$) that you hold, or for anything else (other than potentially receiving a refund for a portion of the initial land purchase price, as described in this Section 7.1 below); (b) Linden will attempt to sell at auction any land that you hold, and that any money received from such auctions will be applied to satisfy your existing obligations to Linden and others, as determined by Linden in its sole discretion; and (c) in addition to any money that you owe, you will be charged the lesser of (i) the aggregate amount received from such auctions and (ii) one hundred dollars ($100) (the "Resale Fee" as reimbursement for costs associated with the resale of land. Any money remaining from the sale of land after the repayment of your obligations and the Resale Fee may be returned to you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no money will be returned to you in the event that your Account is terminated due to suspicions of fraud, violations of other laws or regulations, or deliberate disruptions to or interference with the Service.

8. PRIVACY POLICY

8.2 Linden Observation. You acknowledge and agree that Linden, in its sole discretion, may track, record, observe or follow any and all of your interactions within the Service. Linden may share general, demographic, or aggregated information with third parties about our user base and Service usage, but that information will not include or be linked to any personal information without your consent.

13. GENERAL PROVISIONS. The rights and obligations of the parties under this Agreement shall not be governed by the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; rather such rights and obligations shall be governed by and construed under the laws of the State of California, including its Uniform Commercial Code, without reference to conflict of laws principles. The Service is controlled and operated by Linden from its offices within the State of California, United States of America. Linden makes no representation that any aspect of the Service is appropriate or available for use in jurisdictions outside of the United States. Those who choose to access the Service from other locations are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws. The Linden Software is subject to all applicable export restrictions. You must comply with all export and import laws and restrictions and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority relating to the Linden Software and its use. Any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or the performance, breach or termination thereof, shall be finally settled by binding arbitration in San Francisco, California under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with said rules. [snipped remainder]

What is going on with LL?

Someone just pressed the "Cover Your Ass Mode" button at LL.

Kinda makes you NOT want to create content, invent new things, sell or buy money, or even, really, buy anything. I put $100 a month into this game (or more) and nothing is assured except that I may be able to stand around and chat with friends. To me LL makes it clear--this is a game. So much for "stakeholders."

when it comes down to it, this is the best and most pressing bit of evidence that, in fact, Second Life is just the same as any other game on the market.

Really? Most MMORPGS don't let you keep your IP.

Most MMORPGs have strict content enforcement.

Most MMORPGs barely let you customize anything, much less make things from scratch.

And so on.

So you're bummed about the ToS... don't agree to it, then? That's the point of it

LF

As far as I can tell - from remembering what the old one looked like - the parts about Lindens ability to see and here anything that goes on in SL , part 8.2, go against what the MJW had brought up about privacy, I think. (I'm not sure, cause that wasn't an interest of my own, so I didn't pay much attention to it.) So I would say they are pretty clearly pinning down how they feel about that.

coco

Really? Most MMORPGS don't let you keep your IP.

Most MMORPGs have strict content enforcement.

Most MMORPGs barely let you customize anything, much less make things from scratch.

And so on.

So you're bummed about the ToS... don't agree to it, then? That's the point of it

LF

For me, this is a real watershed moment. Your right, I can't agree it is ok that they can delete anything, anytime they want, and I'd have no recourse. And I can't agree that it is acceptable that they refuse to commit to having as much responsibility to me as they desire me to have to them.

Long story short? I didn't click through and have to finally admit that Second Life just isn't for me after all.

Maybe when something comes along that is more consistant in matching their words to their actions... someday. This ToS just proves that Second Life isn't 'it'.

So I suppose this is goodbye.

Thanks for helping me settle it.

(waving)

I think this is precisely what has happened. Much of this completely destroys any confidence I had in Linden Labs really being interested in building commerce or the litany of other things Philip is always on about.... when it comes down to it, this is the best and most pressing bit of evidence that, in fact, Second Life is just the same as any other game on the market.