Definitions
- Online Computing Freedom - Online Computing Freedom is the ability to choose and change your service provider(s) of virtual world services at will, to take all of your data with you, and to modify or retract the data you have entered
from non-favorable service providers. An increase in user freedom means
increasing the power of the users and decreasing the power of the
service providers. A user who is enjoying Online Computing Freedom is
not locked-in to or constrained by a service provider to which he has
entrusted some of his data.
- Freedom - (for completeness, we provide a general definition) Freedom is the right, or the capacity and ability, of self-determination as an expression of the individual will, not subject to the coercion or constraint of another as a result of the exertion of their power [dict.org] [Wikipedia] [Wikipedia] [Webster]
- Free Software - Software is Free Software if it confers certain freedoms on the its users [gnu.org]. Those freedoms allow the user of the software more control over the things he does with software. This is increasingly important, as more and more of our lives depend on software. Software that has been made Free under the GNU GPL guarantees that it will continue to be Free Software [gnu.org]. Free software has much greater potential to benefit society than does proprietary software [gnu.org].
- The Real World - The "real world" is the world we experience with our senses apart from the assistance of technological communications systems such as the internet. We intuitively understand the notions of "human rights" and "ethics" in the real world. Some view the internet and the services that we use online as products (i.e. entertainment products, news products, personal productivity products). However, as society comes to depend on the Virtual World as an extension of the Real World, a part of living, rather than as a product one optionally purchases, a whole set of new ethical standards are introduced.
- Life's Activities - A reference to "Life's Activities" in this context is specifically a
reference to those activities in real life which (increasingly) have a component in
the online (virtual) world. Some of life's activities are: to express one's self, to communicate, to organize, to learn, to conduct business and engage in commerce, to explore, to create, and to find entertainment.
- The Virtual World - In the context of the SharedUniverse
Project, the "Virtual World" refers to online extensions to life
activities from the real world. Ethics, morality, and social
sensibilities which apply to the real world should be extended to
similar activities in the virtual world. The "Virtual World" refers to
just about everything that happens on the internet. The terms "worldwide web" and the
"internet" refer to the technological means by which this occurs, but
the term "virtual world" emphasizes that the activities are an
extension of the real world. This is a much broader usage than simply
referring to a "3D Virtual World" as might be customary [see Wikipedia].
- Virtual World Services - Virtual world services are services which enable us to accomplish life's activities using technology such as computers, networking, and telephony. i.e. e-mail, instant messaging, video conferencing, discussion forums, blogging, etc. These are the services which allow us to act and interact in a virtual world.
- Increasing Dependence - Humanity is adopting online virtual world services and becoming increasingly dependent on them. When a new online virtual world service appears, it is treated more as a commercial service offering. You can take it or leave it, and if the service provider requires you to agree to inappropriate terms (in the EULA), you generally accept them without resistance. Often, the service is offered at no charge in order to spur adoption, because the value to each person is increased if the number of people participating increases (i.e. the "network effect"). However, as adoption increases and people increasingly depend on the services for the extension of real life activities, the ethical balance tips away from the rights of the service provider to the rights of the user. Consider the public policy issues regarding telephones for a well-understood example of this.
- Every Person - Online Computing Freedom is an issue of basic human rights. The online world is simply an extension of the real world. Therefore, the freedom we are working to protect and extend are familiar and basic freedoms that pertain to all people without discrimination.
- Partially Free Virtual World Services - tbd
- Free Virtual World Services - tbd
- Full Stack of Virtual World Services - tbd
- The Virtual World infrastructure - tbd
- Silos of Functionality - tbd
- Commercial Service Providers - tbd
- Users' Data - tbd
- Users' Services - tbd
- Content-Management System - tbd
- Community Management System - tbd
- Community Supported - tbd
- A Reference Installation - tbd
