It's The Law!

One of the problems existing in Second Life® is resolution of disputes as well as basic laws within the virtual world. While Linden Lab® provides “Terms of Service” and “Abuse Reports”, these primarily deal with issue between residents and LL and griefing and from various inworld reports are usually ineffective. There is no way of dealing with basic laws or disputes between residents other than to work it out yourself. Linden Lab® has had a hands off attitude with regard to resolving disputes and more so, do not get involved at all with issues between residents and private sim owners.

In particular, when renting land from private owners, tenants are at the mercy of the owners. While there are good owners, there are certainly a number of unscrupulous ones as well. A tenant can be evicted and have their land reclaimed for no reason or just because the owner wants the land back. The tenant has no recourse and no legal system to protect them.

In addition, business owners conduct their affairs with the understanding that the parties they are dealing with will uphold their part. I use contracts quite a bit in my dealings especially with booking performers for events at my nightclub. However, a contract does not carry any weight as there is no way to enforce it or receive damages should it not be honored.

While there are lawyers in Second Life® they are for the most part helpless. They can contact another party on your behalf and attempt mediation however if the other party is unwilling, they can simply ignore the lawyer.

There are a lot of disputes occurring in Second Life® everyday from landlord/tenant issues, dishonored contracts, issues between customers and merchants, and I’m sure you can come up with more. Virtually everyone has been affected somehow.

I think there does need to be a legal system within Second Life®, one with bite and power that would be supported and backed up by Linden Lab®. Linden Lab® has already stated they don’t want to be involved and are not here to police, so I think the residents should take up the challenge albeit with the full support of Linden Lab®. I would like to see a council created from the residents whose purpose would be to design a simple straightforward legal system and dispute resolving mechanism.

I am not proposing a policing system as I don’t really feel policing would be effective and to have officers visiting or investigating for the most part would be fruitless, not to mention the time and effort involved in training individuals. As well, this would lead to more RP which has its own set of issues. No, just a simple legal system with an eye to resolving disputes. Lawyers could be involved to make sure that it works fairly.

While I’m not sure of the intricacies of such a system, I do know that it can’t be run or chosen by the Lindens, as it would then become a reward system for their cronies. I am surprised; with the number of attorneys in Second Life® that such a system has not been proposed. Or maybe it has. Laws are created to protect individuals and their property and it’s time Second Life followed suit.

It’s the law.