Recent Comments:
'Serenity' Special Edition Specs and Cover Art!
Cinematical
May 15th 2007 1:56PM Actually, Joss warned back before the first Serenity DVD came out that they might be a second one coming later because he wanted a cast commentary but Universal wanted to rush one out before Christmas. So, forewarned, I wasn't bothered by double-dipping; I was bothered it might not sell enough to warrant the second release and I'm glad it did. And you know it'll be on sale for cheaper, when has the SRP ever been the store price? Amazon has it for $18 and Best Buy will prolly have it on sale the first week...
Just Askin': Project Open Letter aftermath
Second Life Insider
May 6th 2007 6:25PM I understand that they can't just throw everybody at the problems, I understand that the creative team is different from the programming team, I understand that fixing the problems is their highest priority, and I understand that managing a system like this has problems I can't even dream of.
In return, I'd like LL to understand that when they announce great new innovative features while I'm still stuck without teleports or IMs or half my inventory, I couldn't care less. I have absolutely no enthusiasm about sculpted prims or voice or any other new features and I don't expect to for quite some time; I'm far too busy being frustrated at just trying to walk across a street.
Is it a bird? No, it's a twitterer tweeting away
Second Life Insider
Mar 28th 2007 10:58PM As it happens I just posted a column about Twitter, and got a mention of Madam Malaprop's ingenius Device in: http://blogs.news-journalonline.com/247/2007/03/twittering_away_my_life_one_li.html
Being old in SL is no fun
Second Life Insider
Mar 14th 2007 8:51AM Like me, my av has a bald spot, gray in the beard, and a paunch. I haven't noticed it keeping me from having any fun, in RL or SL, but maybe others aren't as creative...
Beam me up Sheep
Second Life Insider
Jan 10th 2007 7:55AM There are plenty of Second Life Browncoats -- check out Washtown -- and we got no beef with Trekkies. As long as they play nice and don't get overly strict on shipping regulations, everybody's happy...
Permission to shoot
Second Life Insider
Jan 5th 2007 10:15PM Well said, and thank you. I didn't mean to imply that even the best intentions permitted wholesale copyright infringement, and I suspect we weren't that far apart.
Permission to shoot
Second Life Insider
Jan 5th 2007 8:18PM The U.S Copyright office disagrees.
From section 107 of the copyright act, the first factor to be considered when deciding whether a usage falls under Fair Use is "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;".
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
There are other factors, and even with the best of intentions you can't just more than a very small portion of a copyrighted work without permission, but intent does make a difference.
Anshe Chung bans photos -- or tries
Second Life Insider
Jan 5th 2007 8:09PM If we were talking about someone taking snapshots of Anshe Chung on her SL land or even on a street somewhere, I might agree. But I believe that here she was at public gathering to which the press had been invited. In RL, the press cannot take pictures of individuals and distribute them without permission. But the press can take pictures of individuals involved in newsworthy events, or individuals who are public figures.
When Ms. Chung stepped on that stage, she is no longer a private individual and she becomes fair game for photos. If she disagrees, she needs to go back to being a private individual and stay away from the media.
Permission to shoot
Second Life Insider
Jan 5th 2007 1:40PM If it's clearly a picture of the texture, used as a picture of the texture, and you didn't profit from it, sure. If you took a picture and ripped the texture from it to be used as a texture in your own work, I would consider it copyright infringement. As with many other gray-area legal matters, infringement is determined by a combination of amount of usage and the intent behind it.
Which is why the Anshe Chung situation is ridiculous.
She and her husband are going after sites that post pictures of the penis attack during her recent public appearance, claiming that since her avatar is her own creation, photos of it are violations of her copyright.
However, her avatar is also a public figure. News organizations can't take shots of individuals without permission, but they can shoot public figures without it, especially when that figure is appearing in a function open to the public. I'd argue that people should not take pictures of her in general without her permission, but once she gets up on a stage and starts talking all bets are off. If she wants to remain private, she'll need to stay in private.
