Public lives and private communities: The terms of service agreement and life in virtual worlds

Debora J Halbert

doi:10.5210/fm.v14i12.2601

Abstract

This paper argues that the terms of service (TOS) agreements, also sometimes referred to as end user license agreements (EULAs), governing virtual worlds have important implications for the political and legal structures under which our virtual selves will function. This essay will focus on four key political concepts central to all TOS agreements studied. These concepts include contract language governing speech codes, intellectual property rights, privacy, and the relationship of the gaming world to the real world. If indeed these agreements offer governing constraints for people functioning in virtual spaces, then not only should their anti–democratic construction be considered, but as people spend more time in virtual worlds, these structures will become increasingly important to many aspects of our virtual identities.

Highlights

This paper argues that the terms of service (TOS) agreements, sometimes referred to as end user license agreements (EULAs), governing virtual worlds have important implications for the political and legal structures under which our virtual selves will function
These concepts include contract language governing speech codes, intellectual property rights, privacy, and the relationship of the gaming world to the real world. If these agreements offer governing constraints for people functioning in virtual spaces, should their anti–democratic construction be considered, but as people spend more time in virtual worlds, these structures will become increasingly important to many aspects of our virtual identities
Scholars predict that the boundaries between virtual and real worlds will continue to blur as our virtual lives as gamers and Internet users intertwines with our offline identities (Wark, 2007; Lastowka and Hunter, 2004), creating speculation about the future legal and social implications of virtual worlds (Balkin and Noveck, 2006; Barfield, 2006)

Summary

So why play?

Castronova (2005) has documented the evolution of synthetic worlds and his research suggests that an important shift is occurring. The more intense your guild within World of Warcraft, for example, the more is expected of you in terms of game time and if you cannot fulfill it, there are plenty of other players waiting for their turn It is not uncommon for a high–level player to need to play the game hours each day in order to maintain their status (Loisher, 2007). Social connectivity seems to be a primary reason for using these sites (Ellison, et al, 2007), though there are differences in race, ethnicity and college education related to usage that could have implications for digital inequality over time (Hargittai, 2007; Moriarty, 2007) As these gaming and social networking spaces evolve into more sophisticated communities, a host of questions regarding the legal, social and political structures are emerging. It is to the TOS agreements and privacy statements that this paper turns

The structure of the virtual

Speech codes

Intellectual property rights

Privacy

The non–virtual world

So what does it all mean?