I'm wrong more often than I'm right, as what the Hell do I know about these things, but this is how it seems to me things might evolve:

LL Grid (including mainland and islands)
Islands owned by corporation or individuals which are hosted on their servers but connect to the LL Grid
Islands owned by corporation or individuals which are hosted on their servers which don't connect to the LL Grid
Pocket spaces hosted on private servers which connect in a limited way to the LL Grid

So - one could arrange to have a small area hosted somewhere. That would allow a person and a short list of friends to access a private area with no fear of being barged in on, while the greater grid would be accessible. That would end the privacy troubles involving peeping Toms taking screenshots, video, or the like. No one would need to worry about their poseballs getting worn out or have need for ban lines. Hosting companies could do this - provide a variety of sizes in small areas that ordinary people could afford - exactly the same as what they do already but with the tie-in to Second Life's LL Grid.

A business, say a casino or an X-rated shop, could be on its own server if it desired and have its own rules of entry, presumably. They would need a LL Grid parcel to connect with SL, but that parcel could look like anything (I mean, for instance, it might not be flagged Adult and contain no X-rated content, just be the portal to an X-rated shop).

I'd like to see everywhere open, with privacy areas for people who want them.

Labels: Cogitation, Second Life