Anti-Social Contracts

9/24/2007 Anti-Social Contracts, with law Professor Joshua Fairfield, explored the limitations of the current state of contract law in virtual worlds. Fairfield specializes in the law of video games, online regulation, virtual world economics.

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We were delighted to have Joshua Fairfield speak to us on the uses and limits of contracts in governing interactions in virtual worlds. This event was a must for the many Second Life residents who are interested in creating governance structures (like Metaversed Republic) as well as for people interested in the scope and power of Linden Lab's Terms of Service.

http://metanomics.metaversed.com/files/images/fairfield.preview.jpg

Key Links

Speaker Bio

Professor Fairfield joined the Indiana Law faculty in the fall of 2005, bringing a spirited pedagogy and a strong interest in the intersection of computing technologies and law to his courses in commercial law. Before earning his JD magna cum laude from the University of Chicago in 2001, he directed the development of the award winning Rosetta Stone Language Library, a leading language teaching software program for educational institutions. After law school, Professor Fairfield clerked for Judge Danny J. Boggs at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He then joined Jones Day in Columbus, Ohio, where he litigated cases in commercial law and software/technology law. Before coming to Indiana, Professor Fairfield taught comparative law to LLM students at Columbia Law School.

Professor Fairfield is regularly quoted in national and international media on information technology topics including the law of video games, online regulation, and the law and economics of virtual worlds. You can view Professor Fairfield's research at the Social Science Research Network.

More info on Prof. Fairfield.

Additional reading related to social contracts in virtual worlds:

Those who aren't too familiar with the political, governmental and commercial problems residents face in virtual worlds should read Second Life blogger Gwyneth Llewelyn's excellent summary of the big controversies.

I also suggest a careful look at Linden Lab's Terms of Service and Community Standards. Some legalese, sure--but an essential contract to understand in the metaverse.

I enjoyed this interview with Desmond Shang, who talks about how he has governed his "independent State of Caledon in Second Life. He also makes some remarks about the Metaverse Republic, which has some ambitious goals about inworld governance.

Finally, take a look at the paper that forms the substance of this talk: Anti-Social Contracts: The Contractual Governance of Online Communities.