Jack Linden isn’t the only one setting up new programmes within SL now the Adult Change fiasco is “sorted”. Cyn is back, with an announcement concerning third party viewers.
On the whole, this can only be seen as good news: while open source viewers are not the root of all evil as some would have us believe, it cannot be denied that there are several out there that exploit weaknesses in the SL environment in order to make activities like content ripping easier. As such, it is right and proper that LL work with the community as a whole to develop the means of keeping such unwanted elements – Neillife, Cyrolife, and their ilk – well out of SL for the good of all.
However, this does not mean that all third party viewers should be condemned. While the usual voices can be heard again screaming the house down over the Emerald viewer in particular and to the exclusion of all else – again, it cannot be denied that open source development on the Viewer has also been a power for good. It has allowed those who experience uneven results with the “official” Viewer to find a degree of stability with one or more alternatives that has dramatically enhanced their SL experience; it has allowed those so-minded (and who can remember back far enough) to enjoy the benefits of some of the “old” UI that were lost when LL forced us into acceptance of things like the catch-all “Communicate” window (which was a terror when it first came out). Third party viewers have eased the use of legitimate API functions, they have provided improved menus, improved access to building tools (Imprudence being one of the first in this regard), and so on. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve introduced genuine bug fixes and helped clean up code far quicker than would have been the case had the Viewer remained closed – and in doing so, have directly benefited the “official” Viewer itself, as these changes and fixes have been fed back into the code – something those all too keen on screaming “ban the open source!” seem to forget.
So in this regard, policing third party viewer development, such as through the use of a register that places real life accountability against viewer code, can only be a good thing if handled correctly. There can be little doubt that those “honest” third party viewer creators – the guys at Imprudence, the team behind Emerald, those working on the various flavours of Cool Viewer – all will be the first to sign-up to a properly thought-out and implemented policy and registration / policing process.
To this end, and leaving aside the banshee wailing and biased finger-pointing that repeatedly singles out just one viewer for vehemence, there have been many very excellent ideas posted in the blogrum discussion following Cyn’s post. Anne O’Toole hits upon one important element, while others offer ideas for helping ensure the development process can be more properly integrated into SL – the worry that any policing could inevitably drain the patience of “legitimate” open source developers if it puts unreasonable hurdles between them and their goal of improving the SL experience for everyone. And while it may require a lot of technical input (and possible cost), Marine Kelley possibly hit upon one of the best solutions.
Right now, the real question is, will LL actually engage fully and openly with those most involved in the development of third party viewers? Macabe Maxstead from Imprudence raises a genuine concern with his question, and has every right to be worried when Blondin Linden announces that while there will be Brown Bag meetings – they will be run more-or-less like those for the Adult Content changes – i.e. open only to a select few, with the criteria for selection known only to LL themselves. That the latter were carried out as closed-door sessions gave people cause for much alarm at the time – alarm that was all too easily justified as it became clear just how little room there was for actual engagement with LL and discussion around their decisions relating to Adult Content.
It’s a cleft stick to be sure: no-one can justifiably stand against measures that control third party viewer use on the grid when the control is fairly aimed at reducing the ease with which those so minded can carry out malicious acts. But, by the same token, Linden Lab need to be prepared to engage fully with the open source development community to ensure that the actions they take both safeguard those of us who use Second Life and allow those passionate enough about SL to continue to work at their own expense to improve our in-world experience.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 