[sldev] [META] How LL can profit from open source

[Dale Glass]

On Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 12:27:03AM -0700, Tim Shephard wrote:
> Simply - buy out SLExchange.
> 
> Get out of the hosting biz (a profound strategical error) and enter
> into the marketplace biz.
Great, and in the process alienate probably everybody who does business
in SL now. 

People scream bloody murder every time LL does something that looks like
it's benefitting some resident (like showing screenshots say)

> Enforce a license such that anyone who wants to develop assets for SL
> and use SL IP must either sell their assets through your marketplace
> or use advertising partnerships via your marketplace if they're going
> to use advertising as their source of revenue.
I think There does something of the sort?

Just that is the reason I'm here and not There (horrible pun intended)


I came to SL specifically with the aim of coding something, without even
knowing what. It just had a cool feel to it: to have a 3D environment
where to make things and have a huge potential userbase for them.

There? Well, no way I'm going there for that. Only way I could have
ended up developing in such an environment is if I first found it for
another reason, decided to stay and then had an idea for something to
code. And even then the requirement to clear it up with the company
would be a major discouragement.

> Enable a plugin architecture for both the client and server.    Let
> people sell plugins through your marketplace and take 10% off all
> revenue and more if it is advertising based.
That's terribly artificial. SL as it currently exists doesn't need such
a thing, I'm perfectly capable of selling my stuff on my own.

I could even sell plugins easily (if the license allowed it). Easy
enough, make a script that contacts a server on payment and returns a
newly generated download link.

> Not only will your marketplace be a great revenue generator, it will
> provide a great service for the community by vetting all assets for
> copyright infringement, quality, and viruses.   Both buyers and
> legitimate seller alike will flock to your marketplace as an efficient
> place to do business.
Right, because LL has shown so willing to moderate SL. 

No, from what I see, LL always had to be dragged kicking and screaming
to intervene in how the world works. Now it's hard to contact a Linden
at all, the world is supposed to be self-moderating. Which is something
I like really, if only there were better tools to get rid of annoyances
(I'm working on it), and LL made the sims stop crashing, it'd be great.

Try to imagine yourself in LL's position. Would you want to be stuck
between two people each arguing that it's the other one who copied their
stuff? I wouldn't want to touch that with a 10 foot pole.


> It's really the best model to make money off Open Source.   We have
> all the freedom of IP with a way to make money for those who are
> shepherding the community.
Is this sarcasm or something? The GPL makes it practically impossible to
sell software, excepting for support. Not that it forbids it of course,
it just makes attempts to enforce payment futile.



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