[MUD-Dev] EULA Structure

[Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt]

On Sun, 10 Feb 2002, Eli Stevens wrote:

> I am curious why MMOGs don't use EULA that structures the
> relationship between the user and the company as one akin to rent
> [...]
 
>   - 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).

There are also drawbacks;

   - Can you prevent a tennant from being hired to clean other
   peoples appartments? Does this constitute using it as a place of
   buisness (ie. hirering a person to level your character or boost
   its stats/eq).

   - Does the similarity work in favor of the tennant too? Tennants
   rights are fiercely protected by law (at least in Denmark), and
   making similarities with renting, would probably protect the
   tennant rather than the landlord.

> 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.

Even more so, i expect, given you'd loose both your Tri-gun wall
scroll, your computer desk, your computer, your dishes, your bed and
everything in there when youre thrown out (from the analogy MMOG)
and youre not even allowed to sell it for cash that can be used to
equip the next place you decide to live in.

For the players to have that attitude, i think they need to know
that they have posession of their virtual 'property', and some
security, provided by an agreement with the company or by
law. Something the current EULAs makes every effort to stamp out.

Hans Henrik Stærfeldt   |    bombman at diku.dk    | work:  hhs at cbs.dtu.dk      |
Address:                |___  +45 40383492    __|__       +45 45252425     __|
DTU, Kemitorvet,        | Scientific programmer at Center for Biological     |
bygn 208, CBS.          |  Sequence Analysis, Technical University of Denmark|

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