Expanded zone rating - pg, mature, XXX

Thought I'd toss in a little moderation, which generally amounts to gasoline in forums.

I was shopping the other day in a hair store in a mature sim, when a Domme and her girls showed up. She decided that an audience was just the thing to discipline her girls with, so proceeded to cage them both and lecture them, then and there. I wasn't in the least freaked or impressed - I was actually a little mad. Not for the girls - they bought their ticket, they deserve their ride. The Domme however was involving me, however passively, in their little sex play. Without my consent. She, more than the average vanilla couple, should know that consent is the name of the game. I'm not the hotly debated prude - I've lived D/s, including real life. Even so, I found this jarring and intrusive.

Anyone who knows me knows I tend to loudly lament the waste of this amazing playground of the imagination on mundane things like real estate speculation, and other trappings of the real world, including the highly visible focus on sex. I just find it a waste of potential, though I wouldn't ask anyone to stop based on my preferences. However...

Mature for me doesn't include any interest in having people screw on the bench where I'm talking to someone else. So, consider the following a solution for prude, non-prude, and "woohoo yiff me baby" sets...

PG - civil gentility and harmless fun - think Disneyland, with boobs - just not whoohoo boobies! You shouldn't have to fig leaf up your decor around adults as long as long as it's not explicitly sexual.
Mature - everyday life around consenting adults - the regular world in which most folks talk and interact - you can curse up a storm, wear revealing outfits, discuss sex and politics, smooch your honey - whatever their gender or species - and what have you
XXX - much like combat zones, your presence suggests consent to the house rules - be it the oft repeated gorean forced collar (which is also usually joined with "A no-drama zone", which I assume means "don't disagree with me", to the ordinanry bar scene where you can expect to have someone try to pick you up and have the right to decline, to whatever your particular sexual preference is.

It's a tough pickle all around - we're on the edge of the new frontier. The old laws of what is appropriate serve both to bind us but also serve to give a structure, a form to our lives. Principles, morals, ethics - situational, or arbitrary? What constitutes "appropriate" behavior after all? One person might find even the suggestion of homosexuality in their presence as an assault on their peace of mind, in much the way that say a swaztika would to another person.

Lines - draw them or not? As an artist, I know the power of a line to define a concept. It divides, deliniates, contains and excludes. It gives power to both the idea and the negative space surrounding the idea. However, in an odd bit of cooincidence back in college, the day we did the standard exercise of drawing an egg - shading it, then using our erasers to create the highlight, breaking the edge of the form, leaving it to the viewers imagination to complete the form from just the suggestion that that shading provided - we covered the same material in a slightly different form in my psych class, relating to the human mind's habit of completeing patterns. That night, we also dealt with the same thing in my film class - how often, it's far more effective to suggest a concept or image, rather than simply showing it outright. That day stands out for me suddenly very clearly.

While it can be shown through history that clearly defined rules and behaviors have built and maintained civilizations around the world, history has also shown that just because something has been done a particular way for a long time, doesn't mean it's right - thank you Mr. Gallileo. With this undiscover'd country from whose bourne (hopefully) many travellers will return, shall we define ourselves, or simply accept it all as data? Do we embrace order, defining ourselves by codified groupings, or let chaos be our guide, forcing us to "grok" each individual to be able to place them as an identity? In a world where the only constant is our name (I've been a partically sphere, a giant flexi amoeba, a robot, a variety of humans, and the odd animal - even *gasp* a human-animal hybrid - run away, Mr President!) our behaviors, more than status, shapes, and accessories, will be the only guide people have to hold us in their human minds as a defined individual.

Still and all - I'm a creature of my upbringing, and I tend to think of sex as a consensual communion between two or more people, and not something you impose upon the unwilling. So I guess you'll have to put me in favor of the three-or-more tier rating system.

Cheerio.
Soli

We may be, as you put it, "on the edge of the frontier" - but that does not mean that "anything goes, deal with it".

There are some commonly accepted standards and practices that most of the civilised world understand, and there is no reason whatsoever why SL should just turn into a free for all equivalent of the old Wild West.

After all, the Wild West got bought under control eventually, didn't it? Linden Lab should have learnt from real world history that when things are left unregulated anarchy breaks loose, and could have stepped up to do something about it before it became the problem that it is now.

Unfortunately, 'progressive management techniques' (in other words, we don't care) have killed off most hope of this world having much appeal for those of us who choose to avoid all the sex related stuff which is almost everywhere in-game.

Lewis

GEsh...XXX sim well i bet LLabs has looked in to this. But I think they might frighten off those that do play like this type of simuations.

What are they afraid of?

Those of us who prefer to have a less explicit SL experience are already labelled by the "PG" level rating - so why shouldn't they be labelled with an "XXX" rating if that's what they are really wanting in SL.

If they don't like the fact that everyone can see that they have chosen explicit content allowed on their land ... then don't buy land there, period.

Just think how much money LL would make if they said anything of an explicit nature had to move to XXX land.

Plus, of course, with all the explicit content moved to a specific area, those of us who do prefer a more mature (grown up, as opposed to adult) experience can travel freely without having to be concerned about coming across something we find offensive where there was no indication that it might be.

There isn't much decent PG land available despite the obvious demand for it either.

Lewis

Well frankly Lewis its is a good idea. But Those that are turned of by such content ( god fairing people i meant ) Might get the wrong impression is what i meant. Think about it there are so many underage in the game as it is. Dont you think it might draw even more griefters and such in the game?

Not to say XXX land prices with be SO $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and land barons would make one hell of a killing.

Yes, just as it was once commonly understood that the world was flat.

You're assuming a factual problem, and as for the wild west - it was settled down by a secular authority, that now makes the "moral" residents of the area pine for the days of old west, where policy was based on popular "moral" sentiment, rather than godless impartiality.



Well it hasn't killed it off for me - even though I find the emphasis on sex unseemly, I still find plenty to occupy myself with.

I think one of the reasons sex seems so popular is that people looking for sex tend to congregate - people with their own agendas, disperse. One of the things I think SL is sorely lacking in are places that offer an attraction, a reason for people to congregate other than sex or casinos. Hubs, centralized zones...

Time to take the levels up to Vin Diesel status!

You don't just have to have a strong religious conviction in order to wish to stay away from 'xxx' content.

If 'xxx' areas were only open to those with verified accounts, then those that want such content have to pay for it, and those who don't either do without it, or choose to upgrade.

It would also make the rest of the game safer for those underage because all the adult content they shouldn't be seeing will be tucked away on the xxx regions out of their reach.

Lewis

One additional rating is needed - "G" for all those SL age-play enthusiasts.

Yes, because apparently there are throngs of them mucking about! Funnily enough, I haven't seen one yet!

I think PG, Mature, and HOLY SHIT is more fitting.

I don't agree that a xxx category is necessary. We are all adults and a little nudity never scarred anyone.

That said, the incident the OP described was innapropriate and it was the fault of the Domme and subs participating. I am a member of the D/s community and frankly I'm often annoyed by the attitude a select few have that they can do as they please whenever and wherever they want and people should have to just deal with it.

One very important concept that the majority of people in the D/s lifestyle believe strongly in, is that everything is always consensual. If it is not consensual then it is abuse. The problem is that a small percentage do not understand that that means being certain your audience, if you choose to have one, is also made up of consensual witnesses.

While in our own sim, my partner can instruct me to bend over and take a spanking, remove my clothing and spend the day naked, call every person who walks through the door Sir or Ma'am..whatever we choose. People coming to our sim understand this, the come with the knowledge that by entering they are implying consent merely by acknowledging the name of the place. The BDSM Forum, you can't get too much more clear than that.

But outside of our own sim we are under an obligation to respect the wishes of the people around us. In fact even in his adjoining sim, a shopping sim with no name that would imply anything D/s related, anyone who runs into us would see nothing more than a nice friendly couple. Because we understand that people coming there are coming to shop and nothing more and we respect that. (Though you might occasionally witness me dashing past riding over the hills on my horse bare ass naked. It is a mature sim and dammit thats just fun )

But I feel that if more people in the D/s community tried to remember that the entire world around them is not made up of consensual witnesses then there would be less animosity directed at them. In the OP's situation, I would have had no qualms about IMing the Domme and suggesting politely that she remember that.... consent must be given or implied by all involved and that includes the audience.

Alls I know is I want my SL filled with wee-wees and hoo-has!




Did anyone even notice that PG stands for "Parental Guidence"????????

The three levels should be "Clean" "Regular" and "XXX"

I don't think for one moment I'd be "scarred for life" by happening across pixellated nudity ... but there are many reasons to avoid "xxx" content.

What about those who play at home with their family around that might see the screen, or those who play at work during their lunchbreak? I'm quite sure that if some of my colleagues saw some of the things that go on in SL their opinions of me would drop rapidly. I frequently show them my creations, or some of the amazing things that SL holds, and they are impressed... but I don't think my boss would be terribly impressed to see someone bouncing around my screen with a flexidong. That may result in my ability to enjoy SL at work (which took a while to get authorised in the first place) removed from me; not something that I am particularly keen on happening.

Lewis

Hey our club is always clean... I sweep up stray prims daily. But the wee-wees and hoo-has, they sometimes get away from me.

How would you go about defining the difference between Mature and XXX? I can't see how you could do that without making judgements on people's lifestyle choices and activities.

Does mature mean I can have sex in my home? If so, when does it become XXX? What kind of sex or activity would I not be able to partake in?

If it means not in public, how do we define a public space in SL? Almost all spaces are privately owned, even if publicly accessible, and the reality is spaces we consider private are still fairly easily publicy viewable.

What is unacceptable, or only appropriate in 'XXX', in an enforceable way, in 'public'? Me kissing a girl, ok? What if it's a boy? What if it's a furry? What if I've got a furry on a leash calling me Master?

PG sims. That's why we have them.

You will have to answer a prompt after the update to add XXX areas. If you plan on living any non-Ward and June Cleaver Second Lifestyle (Well, 40 year old virgins too), you will be shipped off to the XXX area. It will sort of be like XXXscape From New York.

Publicly viewable is, to me, out in the open. If you are in your own house, doing whatever, and someone outside uses the camera view to spy inside your home - that isn't publicly viewable, merely viewable to them if someone makes it that way, rather than the example given in the OP which is.

What happens in private between consenting adults is your business. When you're doing something in the open, publicly viewable, it becomes my business as you have involved me by your presence.

Lewis

Except there aren't enough of them.

Lewis

I get how the OP feels about the incident. There's plenty of things I would never consider appropriate for me to do by my personal standards, in what I consider a 'public' space. The point I was trying to make was, that in SL, what constitutes a public space is difficult to define, it's not as simple as what constitues a 'home'. The whole place is actually private spaces, that are mostly publicly accessible. And where the line is drawn is going to vary markedly from person to person, and culture to culture.

There are no commonly acceptable standards in the 'Western world', as you describe it. It varies enourmously from country to country, culture to culture, and individual to individual. Look at the fuss over Janet Jackson at the superbowl. Australians would have laughed and thought not much of it. Here it's normal for girls to walk around topless on the beach even with families around, in other places, that wouldn't fly. Scandinavian countries show some crazy stuff on normal tv.

The difference between PG and mature is subjective enough, but it's a lot more simple to get to grips with than seperating mature from 'XXX'.

The only private places are those that are explicitely made so, such as skyboxes 'protected' by security orbs, or those with ban lines around them.

Whilst perhaps it is not good form to just wander around someone's house (especially when they are home), I personally see anywhere (club, mall, etc) as public space.

When people roleplay (such as the D/s scene that sparked this post), then keep it within your own space or areas that are known to be friendly to that lifestyle. Outside of those areas, you should not expect to behave in the same way and not receive criticism for it.

Lewis

I so knew you'd say that. Maybe it reflects demand for them. I'm not sure there aren't enough of them relative to demand, I think it's more a case of, there's nothing cohesive about the organisation of the zones. One minute you're in a PG sim, then you fly into the next sim and it's mature. I can see how it would be difficult to completely confine yourself to PG areas, but nonetheless, they do exist, and surely enough to keep you occupied during your lunch hour.

Look at it the other way... less PG land (1283 plots) compared to how much M land (4834 plots) available means there is more demand, because it's already been bought? Certainly it would be nice if PG land was more grouped too.



Most of my time is spent working on my own land, or visiting friends, who understand that I am at work and will warn me if they are somewhere that may not be considered acceptable for me at that time.

Lewis