Caliandris

I've been searching through the forums for a mention of the Metaverse Republic and I can't find any, which is strange because I think it is so your sort of subject.

At the SLBA seminar the other night I met Ashcroft Burnham, who is planning to set up a judicial system for SL. Initially I assumed this was like a mock court, and meant for training up lawyers.

But no... Ashcroft dropped a FAQ and an explanatory document on me, and it seems that theyhave decided to institute Judge Judy for SL - or even the Metaverse.

Here's an excerpt:
Metaverse Republic FAQ
2.2

1. What is the Metaverse Republic?

The Metaverse Republic is an independent, non-profitmaking organisation that will provide enforceable dispute resolution to SecondLife by means of a judicial system (in other words, courts) and a democratically elected Parliament.

2. Is the Metaverse Republic up and running yet?

No. We are still in the process of designing the constitution and technical systems. It will take quite some time before we are ready to go, since we must be very careful to get things right.

3. How will the Metaverse Republic work?

There will be courts, where anybody will be able to bring a case, and the outcomes will be decided by skilled, professional judges, and possibly also juries. The decisions of the court will ultimately be able to be enforced by the use of a banishment database. Anybody who, for example, fails to observe a court order, can have her or his avatar name(s) placed on the banishment database. Using sophisticated systems currently under design by our Techincal Team, landowners (both of individual parcels and whole estates) will be able to “subscribe” to the banishment database (for free), which will automatically eject/ban from that land all the avatars whose names are on the database.

All subscribers will be entitled to vote in regular elections to the Parliament (as well as the executive and a body called the Public Oversight Panel). The Parliament will, in turn, be able to pass laws binding on the courts. It will also be possible for entire local communities to subscribe en bloc by subscribing all of their land (such as a whole estate), and every citizen of that local community (whether directly a landowner or not) will be entitled to vote.

4. Will the courts only be able to deal with disputes between subscribers, or on subscribing land?

No: the courts will deal with all people who use the virtual worlds in which the Metaverse Republic operates. Creating artificial boundaries would serve only to undermine the effectiveness of the system and create unnecessary confusion.

5. Who are you to be making laws for other people?

Ultimately, we are not: because the democratic Parliament will, subject to some necessary constitutional limits, have the power to pass laws binding on all the courts, we are just setting up a structure within which people can make laws for themselves.

So... waddya think?
Cali

Eata

Great, bureaucracy from trumped up users with imaginary importance. Just what we need.

armozel

The truest democracy is the free market. Why don't they use to put together some OpenSim servers and put them on the OSgrid?

Love

It's easy to play "economy" in a virtual world. Much harder to play "government".

Lucifer Baphomet

Ashcroft has been flogging this dead horse for years.

He's a nice guy.. but this shit will never work.

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Khamon

Yeah, on first glance I thought somebody had necroed this from three years ago.

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Ten

If you can't find it, that means nobody cares.

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Joshua Nightshade

This is at least that old.

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Wulf

Government, No thanks, we already have a messed up one here in RL!

nothxmkaybai.

Psyke Phaeton

Law only works when you have an army or police to enforce it. Since everyone in SL is equally equipped it cannot work. The only police force in SL is the Lindens and its unlikely the judge could influence their decisions.

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Hypatia Callisto

He who owns the servers, makes the rulez.

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Charlemagne Allen

This is a government in the same way as the Alliance Navy is an army.

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Sooz Pascale

I'm a lawyer in RL. I can flat out tell you without any equivocation whatsoever that this...will...not...work...period.

Sooz

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Khamon

Ashcroft said as much when he answered "no, no, ultimately we are not."

prinţesă nină

i find the fact he uses the name 'ashcroft' to set up a government creepy and foreboding in its own right.

Hypatia Callisto

he's going to make us cover Lady Liberty's breasts

Cindy Claveau

I thought it was the Spirit of Justice?

No matter. It just demonstrated that boobs don't like being shown up by other boobs

Hypatia Callisto

I stand corrected. Yes.

YAY BOOBS.

Joannah Cramer

Ehh, it's not. Free market is perhaps rough equivalent of anarchy (no regulations beyond 'what the market can bear') and that's totally different beast from democracy.

You can easily have free market lead to monopoly/oligopoly whose political equivalents (oligarchy etc) are nothing like democracy.

Decadent

I remember the other thread discussing this like it was yesterday. So funny.

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Brenda Connolly

And how does he plan to enforce these laws outside of those "Artificial Boundaries" of non subscribers?

What a douche.

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Jellin Pico

I think it's the same flavor of bullshit people have been hacking up like furballs for years.

And obviously, anyone trying out for it will go to the head of the FIC list

CaleVinson

G'damn it!, where is my SC archive !!!!!!

To be fair to Ashcroft, there is an implementable deterrence/punishment element in his plan, namely that failure to abide by their justice system could get you banned in a BanLink type fashion from all land held by Metaverse Republic citizens (subscribers?, ???). Initially that deterrence will be no deterrence at all, but *if* the idea ever took off ......

That said, I'm more than happy with our current service-provider for arbitrary and inconsistent justice - keep up the good work LL!

Brenda Connolly

But then he said this:

Dnate Mars

Meaning if someone wasn't a subscriber they could still be brought up on charges. Most of the time it would be unenforceable, except for bannings.

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