The Limitations of Liability

Despite the fact that we are unable to easily assign blame in cases of virtual harassment, we can—and should—consider the limits of our liabilities as instructors. Despite their rarity, such incidents do occur; therefore instructors considering Second Life should have a plan in place for what to do if virtual harassment occurs during class time.

Michael Bugeja (2008a), whose commentaries on technology frequent the Chronicle of Higher Education, has raised serious questions regarding the length to which academics can be held responsible for harassment, assault, and violence in virtual worlds: “[F]ew of us—even campus lawyers—know how the law applies in virtual realms vended by companies whose service terms often conflict with due process in academe” (p. 18). Further, he noted, institutions may not even be aware that instructors are purchasing Second Life educational islands, asking students to meet in Second Life or other virtual worlds, or requiring students to agree to a company’s terms of service (p. 18).

In this case, what institutions don’t know may in fact hurt them, for if students are harassed or otherwise victimized while in a virtual site for educational purposes, the institution may be at fault. For Bugeja, Second Life is one of the more worrisome virtual environments simply because of the looseness of the site’s terms of service; indeed, Linden Lab is able, but not obliged, to resolve disputes among residents, and historically the Lab has stepped aside in many instances of conflict among Second Life participants.

We may also need to be concerned about whether our students’ actions may result, for example, in a costly educational island being deleted. In July 2007, “Woodbury Island” (owned by individuals from Woodbury University in California) was deleted after repeated warnings from Linden Lab executives regarding aggressive violations of the site’s terms of service. Such an instance illustrates why instructors should ask students to fully read the Second Life terms of service and community standards documents before ever entering the site for the first time as a class. This way, the class as a whole can discuss any questions that have emerged before embarking on the Orientation Island tour and settling in to the site.

Woodbury Island's previous space in Second Life. Image courtesy of kjarrett on Flickr.