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Scripts for free?
Scripters (or scriptors) are the Second Life programmers. They usually have some background in Real Life programming and have just discovered the joys and wonders of dealing with an awkward event-driven state machine with inconsistent library functions. If this paragraph sounds like gobbledigook to you, STOP READING! You won’t find this very informative anyway.
In the Real World, we have two major ways of dealing with software development: you either secure your code (ie. no one can have access to it) and license it (ie. people pay you to use it, and you give him/her some guarantees or maintenance and support), or you can put it into any sort of Open Source agreement: you retain the copyright over your software, but anyone can get the source code and distribute it freely (however, nobody can SELL it for you).
In Second Life things seem to be more hard to do. Actually nobody pays for a nice script! This is NOT the reason why all scripts are free - the nicest ones aren’t - but simply because a script usually needs an object to work with. This means that a non-building scripter will have a very hard time trying to sell his work.
What i usually advise to scripters is that they join forces with an object designer. Objects get their value enhanced greatly if they have a few scripts inside - like chairs with a script to point avatars towards the correct direction, or candles actually emitting light, flames and smoke! And who wants to buy a gun that doesn’t shoot at all? Working together, scripters and object builders complement each other and both profit. Sure, it’s the object that gets sold, but it’s the scripter’s work that enhances its value. After all, who wants to have a wonderfully designed car if you can’t drive it in SL?
hi iam so glad to hear that scripts are free. So i will love to know if u can give us some places where we can find scripts for free. Iam sure there are a lot people like me with the same problem. trying to find some expesific script but we dont know where to go.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:33 pmLathone, I might not have been very clear about the issue of “free scripts”. What I mostly meant is that people usually don’t sell scripts in “packs” or “standalone”, but scripts are almost always sold within a scripted object. This mostly means that anyone entering the career of SL scripter/programmer should be aware that people will not buy scripts, but scripted objects.
There are, however, a few places in Second Life where you can grab a whole bunch of scripts for free. A good starting place is New Citizen’s Inc — search for NCI under the Search button, and teleport to their group of sims there. They have tons of freebies there — as well as valuable information for new users — and I hope you’ll find what you need there!
Another good starting point is, of course, the LSL Wiki, which has a script library, and the Official Second Life Forums, which also have a group for exchanging scripts (as well as tips and tricks).
June 12th, 2007 at 9:34 pmThank you for your help. Well I’m thanking you now but I have a feeling in a few days I’m gonna be cursing you for starting my new obsession. lol J/k Thanks
June 18th, 2007 at 10:05 pmGreg
Just a note, the GPL and most other open source licenses, do allow for the software to be sold by people who obtain it from you (whether they obtained it off you for free, or for a price)
The quick way to remember this is remember the saying “Free as in freedom, not free as in beer”.
-k.
October 10th, 2007 at 1:00 amI aslo host a blog with free second life scripts.
August 10th, 2008 at 4:03 pmhi iam so glad to hear that scripts are free. So i will love to know if u can give us some places where we can find scripts for free. Iam sure there are a lot people like me with the same problem. but we dont know where to go.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am