Openspaces and Land Barons: Who is Really to Blame?

I'm bucking the trend and not going after Linden Lab(R) with all guns blazing in relation to the current Openspace debacle. It's not that I don't believe LL haven't made some mistakes - and I outline them below - but I am seeing many, many posts from "landlords" and "renters," which shouldn't be happening. Why? Because the original terms for the use of Openspace clearly state the following:

“It is therefore important to understand what these regions are; they are provided for light use only, not for building, living in, renting as homes or use for events.” http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/09/21/information-about-openspaces-void-regions/

This suggests that there should be NO Openspace landlords. It appears that many people took the opportunity to buy cheap land but then use it to rent out in order to make a profit, expressly against the conditions of purchase. I suggest there are three basic mistakes made here by Linden Lab(R):

1. They should have been more proactive in clamping down on the renting of OS land much much sooner. They let things slide too early and the problem just escalated.

2. They have penalized everyone who owns OS land at the expense of those who abused the system. I do not know how many people stuck to the rules and how many broke them, but the demonstrable reality is that everyone has been hit. it would have been political better to identify and sanction those who were clearly manipulating the OS concept and leave the others as-is.

3. There is no “grandfathering” allowed. Folks who bought in good faith have to face the increases as well as new buyers from January onwards.

Such errors are costly in PR terms and the OS landlords will exploit this. Many renters who are about to lose their homes are blaming Linden Lab and not their landlords. In fact, many of the protest in-world are, I suspect, organized by landlords. By pointing the finger at LL, they can not feel guilt or remorse for their customers. I also note that not one of them has yet suggested reimbursing their clients - they seem to be Ok with making a profit themselves while calling for a Linden Lab "bail out."

Openspace always seemed to be to be the Second Life(TM) equivalent of “Green Space” or “Green Belt” property - a way of slowing the urbanization of server space and maintaining some “natural” environmental features. Almost like a private version of the US National Parks system or the UK’s National Trust.

Sadly the Openspaces have now become fields of war rather than fields of green and only some flexibility on the part of Linden Lab is likely to make the outcome much more than bitter and acrimonious.