Not immediately, it doesn’t… the code that’s been released is the client code only, *not* the server code. Of course, having the client code makes it much easier to reverse-engineer the server, and I fully expect that at some point we’ll see versions of the client which connect to other, user-hosted grids. That’s still some way off, however… and when it happens (not if, but when), users will need to bee *extremely* careful where they download from – since people can now very easily make versions of the client that could send your username/password to an attacker when you log in.

But you’re right, it’s a huge, huge step. I, for one, applaud LL for this decision.

That said, I think the “natural evolution” scenario you describe is likely to happen, and this move by Linden Labs is great, good news.

Some useful articles:
http://taotakashi.wordpress.com/2007/01/08/history-is-made-second-life-client-now-open-source/
http://blog.webreakstuff.com/2007/01/second-life-client-open-source/
http://www.kittenlulu.com/?p=474
http://marshallk.com/?p=353

(sorry for baaad engliisch

I missed that last month the Kansas State Library held a staff meeting in Second Life. What a great way to introduce folks to SL. KSL staff were also smart enough to create a t-shirt with their name on……