Sex Gen Removed!

OK, I have to back off here. Perhaps what they meant was more like "In addition to deleting copyright-violating content, legal content was inadvertently disabled". Even then it's not quite accurate, because legal content was also deleted, but that's hair-splitting.

A few facts would have been nice, but the lawyers were in control here, I suspect.

The DCMA claim wasn't false. It's not my place to say more of the background; others can say more if they choose. We've heard already though in person from some of the animators whose work was stolen and pirated.

Well, my speculation is that in dealing with a DMCA complaint they deleted the account of the pirate (all well and good). When they deleted the account they also deleted all items created by that account - which caused all the problems

This was either
a) someone selecting the wrong option when deleting the account
b) someone thinking deleting all items created by that account would be an effective way of removing the offending content without thinking through/realising the consequences

Matthew

Yeah, well, anyone trying to sell a used SexGen bed at SLX gets their listing removed for trademark violation. As if I couldn't call my Ford Truck what it is in a classified ad. No, we have to suck it up due to overzealous policing of your (valid) IP rights.

No, MLP doesn't violate any IP, but the animations that E. Capalini distributed along with it did. I fully support the animation makers who filed this claim, and any reasonable attempt to inhibit any further spread of this infringing content.

This theory has my vote. But again, it's all had a silver lining, because as a side effect, now a whole bunch of furniture, etc, creators have realized they have been sold / are using illegally pirated material, so now they can all get legal.

I suspect option B.

I suspect, though, that Linden Labs is getting good legal advice on how to handle this screw-up.

This mistake by Linden Labs opens it up to potential lawsuit by people who were really damaged. The TOS provisions that purport to immunize Linden Labs from any liability for anything they do are in danger of not being enforced in a court in a case like this.

The TOS will stand up to protect Linden Labs from mistakes it makes as long as they are honest mistakes occurring while Linden Labs is otherwise operating reasonably. When it comes to intentional acts or really bad negligence on Linden Labs's part, those TOS provisions are in danger in court.

Linden Labs's lawyers may have advised Linden Labs that the more facts they give, the more facts that could be used against them in a legal action against them. It may be frustrating to us, and a public relations hit for Linden Labs, but in the long run, Linden Labs absolutely does not want a bunch of lawsuits that take well-aimed shots at its TOS.

In some cases, some of those TOS provisions protecting Linden Labs from liability are only as effective as potential plaintiffs perceive them to be.

well we already know just from the people speaking with support that it was not inadvertent..
so ya they are spinning it..still it's nice to finally see some kind of blog on it..
it's been since what ?Saturday morning this started?

Many of the same animations being discussed in here were involved in that one, yes. But they use a mix of their own and licensed animations, and theirs seem to be missing from all this, so there could have been another source.

I picture the LL offices as a battle ground where one side the hacker elite, with AK47's is shooting it out with the other side, the sensible, who have pee-shooters, while the top brass hide, in separate opposing gang bunkers, some taking one side some another, trying to figure out how to best put the other side's, monster back in the box and portray how the various actions are 'inadvertent,' meaning they can't help it, "it's all too hard to contain," but "don't worry we do care."


They seriously need some actual leadership.

/me marks his calendar... this is a momentous day! Rebecca said something I wholeheartedly agree with!

I think that the action taken was deliberate but with some false assumptions such as that the EC created MLP script was only in use in conjunction with pirated animations.

That the impact of this action was much greater than intended and disabled a lot of other content was inadvertant.

Matthew

The blog post goes in one direction then veers to another. LL should police their own product instead of sending people off into real life legal arenas. Its just so stupid. This is not the internet and never should be.

oh i agree 100% with you..i mean they really don't do things like that on the weekend when everyone is away..
i'm sure they had to take their time to decide what to say in the blog..someone messed up fell asleep on the delete button lol

Edit..i am getting terrible at forgetting to quote lol

What this means is that what I have been saying now for some time is starting to make sense to you.

A thought re: sexbeds and why we didn't think to ask if it infringed.

We live in a SL world full of freebies. High quality freebies too, amid low quality ones. I couldn't tell you who most creators are of most of the freebies I've picked up, except for the few that have gotten my business afterward.

Are we to assume that all animations in all freebie boxes are ripped off? Every couch pose, every model pose? Where does it end? And clothing - yard sales... why should anyone buy from these ever again?

Needless to say, I am more apprehensive about it now and will refuse to deal with obvious resellers. Not known value adders, but straight resellers. Anyone that is in the reselling business should look at this weekend's events leerily because it probably damaged your business.

From reading this whole thread....my sentiments exactly. It was getting tiresome reading the same old waffle, whilst ignoring the plight of many furniture creators.

Stroker has completely lost my respect for him by insisting in a comment on the blog that ALL the deleted scripts were used ONLY with the pirated animations.

I guess Jamie and Celty will be happy to know their furniture and the furniture they sold to their customers isn't actually broken, then, because since they weren't using any of the pirated animations they could not POSSIBLY have been using the Lear-upgraded MLP scripts that listed Eva as creator.

According to Stroker.

Cristalle, when I first started out, I came across all them, too. But before basing my work on them, I brought up properties, and politely IM'ed the people that showed as the creator. It just seemed like the courteous (and sensible) thing to do, I guess. Sure glad I did way back when. Those that I never heard back from, I decided to err on the side of caution, like food -- if in doubt, throw it out.

Fortunately, this occured at a time when MLPv2 was still new and just starting to get out there, so Lear was able to redo the scripts at an early point in MLPv2's history.

Solomon,
Stroker is a business guy. (his giving away beds..was brilliant btw) He has opinions and makes sweeping generalizations, just like all of us. He also is the grandpappy of menu furniture (I remember when I thought menu furniture was soooooooooo cool. I wanted ONE bed in particular..it was AWESOME) and hes GONNA think that his product is better than anyone else's. He gotta. Its the law.

Mine is better than anyone else's too. *shrug*

He isn't *lying* he has an opinion..and maybe brushed with too wide of strokes.
There *are* businesses out there that LIE..flat out LIE about products.. as well as play with words to mislead. (number of animations, textures, copyrights.. the list goes on and on)

Its a big and topsy turvey moment for a lot of us... try to take things said, not personally.

That's good, Chaz, but the reality is that it is just human nature to have become inured to it under circumstances like these. I don't question that I can build with textures that I bought from the Gnubie Store. Even though that is not the best analogy, it's close enough for me to show that there is a lot of high quality free stuff out there for consumption and building and I wouldn't have questioned their use otherwise.

Right. Like his statement that EVERY case of the script being removed was one where the pirated animations were also included. And that is not the case. And insisting that it is, removes him from being a reasonable businessman in my eyes and into... well, won't say it because of forum guidelines. And Chaz is right up there in the same place, for the same reasons.

Solomon, no one else has dragged the conversation down to personal insults. Please don't either.