[MUD-Dev] EULA Structure

[Eli Stevens]

This is obviously a branch off of the BSI thread, but I couldn't
find a suitable entry point to reply from, so I am just striking off
on my own.  :) Hopefully by removing any reference to the BSI thread
(except for those two ;) certain list members might be able to
participate in the discussion.

I am curious why MMOGs don't use EULA that structures the
relationship between the user and the company as one akin to rent
(as in I-need-a-place-to-live-I-should-find-an-apartment).  It seems
that there are a number of parallels between the two activities
(playing and inhabiting) that would bring a lot of favorable
precedent to the developer's side of the courtroom (assuming that
the developer wants to exert control over the game ;).

  - They have a similar pay structure.

  - If the terms of the contract are broken by the customer, the
  owner can legally remove them from the property.

  - The customer has no say in how the property is used after the
  termination of the business relationship with the owner.

  - The property cannot be used as a place of business.

  - Others can use the property if the customer wishes, but only for
  non-commercial purposes (the customer cannot sub-let the
  property).

  - The customer has no equity in the property after the customer
  has stopped paying the access fee (the customer is paying for a
  service, not a good, unlike buying a home).

Heck, I have put a lot of energy into making my apartment a place
that I like to live.  My Tri-gun wall scroll, my computer desk, my
dishes, my bed.  I have cleaned it, bought new light bulbs and
stocked the bathrooms with toilet paper.  And I have done all this
knowing that come August, I am back on the street.  If most players
had the same attitude, there probably would not be lawsuits about
this kind of thing.

Note that I am not sure what approach to player-player transfers for
cash I would prefer in in my own games, but like the tenant-landlord
relationship, I certainly cannot presume to tell the developers how
they should run their game.  I can tell them what would make me
happy, but that is not "should."  The kind of relationship described
above seems to be what most of the big players are shooting for.

Whee,
Eli

--
Give a man some mud, and he plays for a day.
Teach a man to mud, and he plays for a lifetime.




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