An Open Letter to Philip Rosedale and the Entire Linden Lab team

OOh and "HERE's YOUR SIGN!"




for those of u that know who Bill Engvall is you know what I am talking about.

You can almost guarantee that any slightly shocking or twisted story involving the Internet will grab headlines. Occasionally you'll even come across a nice human interest story about a classroom using the Internet to research a science project or to communicate with children across the globe in a positive and meaningful way.

There are definite schools-of-thought about what children should and shouldn't be able to access. This seems to be more of a philosophical issue rather than a technical one.

How your family chooses to monitor your children's Internet activities should be decided by your family. There are a number of individuals and companies who offer advice and tools to help you find a level of monitoring that is comfortable for you.

there are filtering features built into the popular Internet browsers (the software you use to access the World Wide Web) that empower parents to limit their children’s access only to those sites that have been rated appropriate for children. Other useful tools are software programs that block web sites, newsgroups, and chat areas that are known to be inappropriate for children.

Yep Pen I've asked myself that many times.

Regnar is obviously very unhappy with SL in many ways.
I've never understood what makes a person stay in an enviroment that only brings them down and brings forth negative behavior and comments.

SL isnt for everyone and the maturity is in understanding it might be time to try something new.

OMG I just figured it out........

DId she get off the computer and call her dad a "Lame Ass!"

For those of you that dont know read, Beau Perkins Thread on WWII

..seriously one of the most asinine contentions I've heard yet in these forums.

YOUR children, and YOUR guest's children in YOUR home are YOUR responsibility...

end of story..go no further..do not collect $200...

please police up YOUR own mess in the future instead of copping out.

kthxbye..

Regnar,

Congratulations. You win the award for the stupidest forum posting in the history of Second Life. We have endured your whining posts in the past, always filled with innuendo and odd capitalization, but seriously this drivel you have just posted borders on libelous. Notice nowhere did you actually point to this horribly offensive posting. What that child saw on that computer is your responsibility alone - not Linden Labs, not anyone elses. Grow up and take responsibility for your own actions.

How is it that an 8 year old child knows a) anything about Second Life or secondlife.com b) knows to go to the forums c) knows specifically to go into the World of Second Life forum. Your entire posting reeks from beginning to end, and is beyond laughable. It seems the only lapse in judgement would be in who your friend chose to associate with. There is nothing open about your letter - it contains no openness, no point, and ultimately just makes you look foolish.

Cristiano

PS - I also did a review of the posts from the first two pages of this forum and see nothing that could traumatize a child. This really is just ridiculous.

LOL.

And don't forget... "Read those warning signs!"

Oh please!! They could very easily get on the internet and see porn too! maybe keep a eye on them better next time.

This may come as a shock, but its not up to the Lindens to play watchdog to minors. Its up to the parents to supervise what their children see, not Linden Labs. Allowing a child to peruse forums without a parent or guardian right there, is the true irresponsible action IMHO.

Do I feel good that a child saw mature content?
No.

Do I care?
No.

Do I think the parent(s) in this case were irresponsible and are looking for a convenient scapegoat?
Yes.

In short, don't expect the net, television or any other form of media to babysit your children, do it yourself.

-- Wolf

If it is his situation to take care of, then why are you here whining about it? He will be met with the same reaction you have been. Why on earth would he sit there with her and let her read forums for an ADULT GAME? It's his own damn fault. That is even worse than leaving the child unsuperised. SL is not a game for minors. This thing just gets more ridiculous with each posting by you.

Cristiano

One would assume that if SL is 18+, then the content on the SL forums just MIGHT be 18+ as well, even the public forums. Doesn't take an astounding leap of logic to figure that out.

It's simple--if it's not appropriate for a child to see, then don't give a child access to it. Meaning, don't leave the link in your favorites folder or browser history where a child can find it easily. And don't blame others for your own screw-up. Last time I checked, LL wasn't sending someone out to every members' house and cleaning out their browser cache for them. It's not their responsibility, it's yours and yours alone.

*steps off soapbox*

I agree With Cristiano, what IS your point?

And if the father was there with her then he must have been the one snooping in your bookmarks.
Hmmm thats something to think about. "Monkey see, Monkey do" I think that sums it up to who might need parenting skills refined.

But uh, still. You let a kid run around unsupervised on your adult-used computer.

There's TONS of junk he could have gotten into that might have set his virgin eyes a-bleeding.

You didn't take any precautions as to what he could and could not get into.

And so what if it said "this is a game for 18+?" That's going to stop him? "Well, I wonder why it's 18+...*click*"

You always heed written signs? Don't go in there Johnny, that's for grownups only.

That's just going to encourage him, if anything.

LF

Most swear words/phrases can be explained in the most cursory and brief terms to kids, and then you simply tell them not to repeat them. And if they do, you punish them. It's pretty simple. I know, I have two kids, and I teach them that they are in control of their actions, not some evil outside influences.

I think you're blowing this out of proportion, Regnar, if you want to try to make people on forums feel guilty because an eight year old saw a couple of "bad" words. The bigger issue is the example your friend set for his daughter of not taking responsibility for what he and his daughter were exposed to on the internet. If a parent constantly tries to pass the buck to others for his/her own actions, that's a far more serious situation than seeing a few "bad" words.

Also, this child will only be as freaked out by all this as her father (and you, Regnar) are. Kids take cues from their parents on how to react to things; if her father had shrugged it all off with a quick explanation and a "let's move on to another site now," it would have been the responsible way to handle this situation. (Could it be you are looking for an excuse to rail against LL for the "debauchery" that is going on here, and you used this girl as a shill? Now THAT would be reprehensible.)

The sky has not fallen and this child is not ruined, Regnar.

I agree fully, Beryl.

Oh, really, Regnar? Then why did you say this:

"Thanks to some irresponsible posters there is an 8 year old little girl that learned some new words. Now dosen't (sic) that make you feel real good?" -- Regnar Bell

That sounds like anger to me. Or at least trying to make us feel guilty.

Heh, this is a wacky-ass thread.

As a person who has had a young relative not only log in but actually strip my avatar down naked and tell people to "shut up" in game, I know what this is like.

Personally, I'd agree that the entire forum should be locked down to registered users only, as the forums do not represent the world very well (at least, that's my opinion).

However, nobody is to blame for this except the parents of the child. Yes, I'm "one of those people" who thinks that everything that happens to a child is dependent on what the parents do, and nobody else is to blame.

Oh well, sorry that bad stuff happened to the kid Regnar, but it's not anyone's fault except the kid's parents. *shrug*

While I still think he is a complete loon, Regnar brought up one point I am curious about. Why are any of Second Life's forums public? Neither There nor TSO had public forums, you have to sign in to see them? Asking this is in no way an endorsement of this ridiculous thread, I am just curious why LL chose to go against the trend.

Cristiano

I'll go one step further... I am not sure I even believe your story. Why? Because when I ponder over your previous threads in these forums, it just seems to make sense. If on the off handed chance it's true, it's still YOUR responsibilty to inform *daddy* that there are links to mature content on your computer. You obviously know that there is, one can tell by the content of your previous posts here. Next, it's *daddy's* responsibility to find out (perhaps by asking YOU?) if there are any links to objectionable content on YOUR PC before allowing an 8 year old to sit beside him while he surfs. By the way, thank the stars he didn't happen across a web site that threw penis enhancement ads or porn site ads at them. (there are many that do not indicate any adult content yet have pop ups for all kinds of sexually related material.)
In closing, Regnar, you do not care for SL in it's current state. That is your right. I would suggest just leaving and removing all links to SL as it's glaringly apparent you have major issues with it. *Hands Regnar some Windex so he can clean his plastic bubble... oh wait, you don't want to see out do you?*

<<1.Second Life's Main pageWas Entered By an adult With a child seated next to him.

2. The Adult Had never been here before.

3. There IS NO DISCLAIMER ON SECOND LIFE'S PAGE that this is a place for adults only.

4.He then entered the forums and saw the 7 Public forums.

5.He entered "the world of second Life forum" and thus saw the messages with the offensive language in them. >>

1. He shouldn't then have gone to any site where he was not familiar with the contents.

2. In that case he should have made sure that he went to a website where he knew there would be child-friendly content.

3. There is no disclaimer on many thousands of forums and other websites which might have 18+ content. Nor should there be.

5. If he was surfing for his own benefit, he shouldn't have allowed his daughter to lean over his shoulder watching - he might have found things far 'worse' than he did.

IMV if he was so worried about the content his daughter might see, then he was irresponsible to surf to an unknown site with his daughter leaning over his shoulder. There are parts of the internet which are designed for children. However, most of the content is designed for adults, and if you don't wish your children to see it then you have to supervise them in a responsible manner. Your friend did not. Rather than blame Linden Labs for his own failings, he should perhaps take stock of himself, and his own approach to the way he rears his child.

Dave,

<<As a person who has had a young relative not only log in but actually strip my avatar down naked and tell people to "shut up" in game, I know what this is like.>>

Remembering that log still makes me laugh.

The Internet, in general, if for adults only.

Have you not noticed that the only sites on the Internet that are rated are children's sites, not the other way around?

I have a question for you: Is your friend aware that coffee is normally served hot?

FACT: You are not allowed to post curse words in those forums.

OPINION: This is obviously the fault of the poster, not Philip. It's not Philip's fault someone broke the rules, just like it's not the police's fault someone robs a store.

...agree, this thread was utterly loony to begin with, but I imagine that some of the threads are public so that people can come and see some of what's going on as related by active players before they sign up. Even the teaser of a 7 day FREE account , to me, is sometimes not enough for me to take the time to check it out.

In my own case, I arrived after reading some of SL threads in the SA forums. No hijack...we all know what that was about so we won't go into detail there....suffice to say I became interested and hit the forums (and every other webpage I could find about it) to see just what was up with SL....

...and here I am today. It was good advertising, and mostly informative, and I can say the forums are what hooked me on the concept..and the 7 day trial clinched it...

Since we have come to terms with the fact that this is just another one of Regnar's cranky shout-outs, can we save our energy by not defending what we know is right and just move on? He knows no one agrees with him and at this point he's probably writing up abuse reports on anyone who disagrees; let's just move on and save everyone the trouble.