jbredmound Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Courtesy of Slashdot, The Law of Virtual Worlds.Applying old legal concepts to the new realities may not be as easy as some think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluttermagnet Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Courtesy of Slashdot, The Law of Virtual Worlds.Applying old legal concepts to the new realities may not be as easy as some think.Hi, jb- This document was about a 500K .pdf download. I got about 1/3 through it last night before sleep overcame me. It may be a while before you see many reply comments flow in on this one. It's a bit much to digest in one sitting. So far, I was finding it interesting enough and relevant enough that I will probably eventually finish reading the entire 101 pages. Others may well make do with the abstract and then move on. These guys have some good ideas about the coming pervasive virtual worlds and the very real concept of real value of abstract (virtual) assets. I completely missed out on that whole era of computers as gaming platforms, the D&D roleplaying, and so on. It is amusing to read about virtual world IP changing hands on Ebay. What a hoot! I'm not putting it down at all, it's just amusing. No doubt, parallels to the Matrix will be forthcoming. There will be connections made to the overall IP debates, the DRM controversy, and so on. Already, the Firesign Theatre has done parodies about big corporations and IP- "...US Pork- We own the idea behind the idea of..." (and so on) IP rights and fair use seem to have become hot button topics lately. Maybe the whole idea of the 'personal' computer has been nothing more than a straw man- something to be withdrawn later when they have everybody hooked into and invested in the idea of 'home computing'. Then they pull a series of hardware and software platform switcheroos and leave everyone sitting in the dust, memories of end-user autonomy and 'rights' only a happy (and fading) memory, the new landscape more resembling the environment in Orwell's 1984, but shifted about 50 years further into the future. I think that one of the most overarching, macro trends today is the slow, systematic disenfranchisement of Joe Average and the ever increasing concentration of assets and power into fewer and fewer hands. It would seem to be an almost irresistable historical force that reasserts itself time after time, culture after culture. There is bound to be a whole lot more bellowing and screaming about DRM and other such issues of control and autonomy in the coming years. For all the difference it will make.I found the comments by the head of Lindows elsewhere in this forum about the rise of Microsoft to be quite revealing. This fascinating and often ugly narrative about that rise can serve as a cautionary tale, but gives little comfort or hope that such historical trends might ever be arrested for the good of the majority. As Mr. Scrooge so ably puts it in late December every year, "Bah! Humbug!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbredmound Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 Sorry...forgot to tell you it was a book. But I thought it was a good book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Wow, Cluttermagnet!All I can say to that is. I love camping and hiking and if it comes to that, I will get to do a lot more of it <_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluttermagnet Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Here is the forum thread with the comments by the CEO of Lindows about the rise of Microsoft Michael's Minute: Gates at my Alma Mater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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