Southern California's Woodbury University had its Second Life region deleted over the weekend due to longstanding problems with griefers. The Second Life Herald has an interview with one of the administrators of the island, in which she says the owners were unaffiliated with TOS violations and that the real motivation behind the deletion is that "education and educational institutions are dangerous, people they are a place where people can think freely. They start asking questions and doubting authority." However, The Herald also published an article by Prokofy Neva back in April pointing the finger squarely at the administrators. Regardless of who is actually responsible, the punishment does raise the issue of culpability in Second Life.
Mark Wallace has an interesting take over at 3pointD, especially considering Linden Lab's current legal issues: "Instead, the Lab seems to feel that landowners (i.e., those making use of LL’s de facto hosting service) should be responsible for what goes on in their regions, but should not enjoy the autonomy that usually adheres to such responsibility. This is an unfortunate state of affairs, especially when the LL Terms of Service and Community Standards are so vague, and their enforcement so variable."
I'm not sure I entirely agree. It seems to me that the lack of autonomy here is directly related to a potential lapse in responsibility. Apparently groups of the Lindens contacted Woodbury U reps multiple times to talk about the problem to no avail. So while it's definitely an interesting case to follow, WU might not be the best poster child for resident rights and education in Second Life.
The Woodbury University professor associated with the group, Dr. Edward M. Clift, has not responded to our requests for comment.
Full email from Linden Lab to Woodbury Administrator Tizzers Foxchase:
Linden Lab has continued to find inappropriate uses of the Second Life region "Woodbury University" under your control. On the 16th of April, you were informed of problems with the activities taking place in the region. Many members of the Woodbury University group (which controls the region) have been detected before and after that date causing severe problems in Second Life, in violation of the terms of service. These problems include incidents of grid attacks, racism and intolerance, persistent harassment of other residents, and crashing the Woodbury University region itself while testing their abusive scripts. Due to the ongoing problems, Linden Lab has no option but to immediately close the Woodbury University region. If you believe that this notice has been sent in error, or that the details of this incident have not been adequately examined, please address your concerns in an e-mail to abuse-manager@lindenlab.com Sincerely yours, Customer Support Linden Lab 945 Battery Street San Francisco, CA
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