SL5B - No Kid Avatars, please!

Pony!

Newsflash!

Sex exists!

Report at 11!

Where shall I report to you at?

LOL ...

its a US news thing, short for "there will be a report at 11"

I had gathered that

How do I go about linking my blog comment to other blogs? I've never investigated/done that before...

http://secondlifesolomon.blogspot.com/

Utopia:

The word comes from Greek: οὐ, "not", and τόπος, "place", indicating that More was utilizing the concept as allegory and did not consider such an ideal place to be realistically possible. It is worth noting that the homophone Eutopia, derived from the Greek εὖ, "good" or "well", and τόπος, "place", signifies a double meaning that was almost certainly intended. Despite this, most modern usage of the term "Utopia" incorrectly assumes the latter meaning, that of a place of perfection rather than nonexistence.


Rebecca, who do you think is here if not a pretty wide cross section of society? I have a very large circle of people I know. Most are in their mid 30s to mid 40s and from all walks of life. Are they going to call for massive regulation?

As for your other claims, I can't tell you when I last saw a noob running around naked with his pecker hanging out. But then I don't hang out at free sex areas, could it be that the places you visit color what you see?

This is precisely the perception of Second Life that the media love to sink their teeth into. That "SL is a Porn environment, full of people into porn.." .. "and the connection with people role playing children and having sex". And it is just that - a perception. The connection to the members of the community who are largely the subject of this thread simply does not exist in reality. It's a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

When we talk about sex, predators and children, we're talking about an issue that is:

1) Entirely unrelated to the general "kid" community in SL, who operate above board, transparently and openly, without ambiguity.

2) Not in any way unique to Second Life.

Predators know, to a large extent, that Second Life's main grid is populated (mostly) by adults. There are challenges in fact posed by Second Life which make it a much less than ideal place to find victims, compared to many other realms of the Internet where the population is known to be more within their target age range, and the accessibility is less hindered, with a more favorable risk/reward ratio.

That's always been my belief. I just don't see pedophiles and child predators having much luck in SL, for the most part. Most of the questionable acticity is between adults in wharever avatar the may be controlling. And as distasteful as it may be, and even though the law differs on my opinion in many places, as far as I am concerned, it isn't real. I can't equate any SL cartoon image with RL Porn of any type. This is just hysteria drummed up by crusading political hacks, and muckraking reporters, I refuse to call them journalists. And as usual, we the public fall for their bait everytime and look to storm the gates of the Bastille, without knowledge of the facts.

In any case, it is still a spineless decision on LL's part, bred partly out of their unwillingness to be more active in the world they created, and also of their usual insensitivity to their customers.

Slightly offtopic, I know, but I'll forward this suggestion to Flea. ;D

Back on topic, as far as I know birds are still welcome at SL5B, but this bird ain't going, LL's gotten a bit too fascist for me.

QFT

Why would the child sexual predators look in Second Life -- when there are places like Myspace?

Or the bathrooms at Congress.....

okay I cant read this entire thread attempted and failed.



I would say that d) is debatable. I know on many occasions that what was happening to my Morgaine in private IM has definitely sent some sensory stimuli .

I think that SL should stand up for SL and not cower down to the media hype. As in protest maybe we should just all show up in a Barney suit.

I have a kid alt and I rarely take her to places that aren't kid friendly(exceptions made for hunts and freebies-gotta shop!). The rare times that I've seen the morons who like to wear their attachments outside their pants, I react as my candid kid self and yell, "Gross! Nobody want to see your ugly weiner!!Get outta here!!"

It's pretty effective.

Ya, I usually say somethign like "Um, you might wanna put dat make in yer pants"

Those who were at the Bay City parade wrap up might recall me teaching a newbie how to remove one of those ugly prim things after saying something like the above

When people with little or no actual SL experience make statements like this, it's understandable. But when someone who presumably has a fair bit of experience within SL makes a statement like this, it's sad and inexcusable.

No one is saying that there are no people in SL seeking something sexual. No one is even denying that they're a significant group and a significant part of the SL economy.

But describing SL as a "Porn environment" crosses the line into hyperbole, and is an injustice to massive number of participants - likely a majority - who have nothing to do with that aspect. It's unfair to the many people for whom sexual activities are only part of what they do here. As others have suggested, if this has been your experience, you're not getting out enough. I can't remember the last time I saw anything inappropriate or sexual in-world unless I was specifically looking for it.


No, what this is about is the mass hysteria being fed by people who blow these issues out of proportion to the real SL. Face it, no network news is going to put out a segment on a sim that highlights the artistic talents of a resident. The news segments on SL that deal with sex come from the reporter's or show's bias towards sensationalism. We must not allow that bias to influence our thinking, and neither should LL.

As for people feeling concerned just from seeing child avatars at some benign SL location, yes, that will happen. But their concern isn't right, it's ignorant.

I still honestly don't understand what is so disturbing about the sight of a child avatar.

In the time I've been in SL, I've seen a naked, pregnant av running through an orgy room, urinating as she went, more sex-scripted barnyard animals than I cared to count, and far too many girl avs who have chosen "rape-sl*t" as their life goal.

Now, if I had seen a kid av near any of this, I would indeed be very upset and I understand the concerns about adults, who are already bent in that direction, using SL for nefarious purposes.

But the uproar seems more about the mere existence of kid avs.

Why is there even a question of why an adult would want to walk around SL as a kid rather than a Supermodel, a Dark elf, Greenie, Gorean slave, or anything else they've dreamed up?

I wonder what would happen if the "approved" builders all set up their displays... then showed up to the event as children....

!!!

QFT

Simple rule of RL life applies: Live, and let live.

Meaning, if they aren't in violation of the TOS, what avatar they choose and why is nobody else's damn business. It's really just that simple, but some people with head problems just can't let it go.

sounds like a plan to me.

Looks like the made a blog.. that dosent answer the question lol

SL5B: Birthday Expanded and New Submission Deadlines

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 11:20 AM by: everettlinden
Five years of Second Life is a big milestone. Together, we’ve created a remarkable community, platform and collaborative world and there’s a lot to celebrate.

Or... Include some last minute changes to the displays, like tree houses with tire swings. (^_^)

Or, as a subtle sign of support... A pair of abandoned kid's sized shoes laying on the floor/ground of the display. (o.o)

Well, that blog entry certainly says that there is no blanket ban on all exhibits by people with child avatars, but what it _doesn't_ say is anything about exhibits _involving_ child avatars - those by SL child groups etc.

Did't I say it would be late and carefully worded?

If anyting, buried deep in there, it does sound like a softening of the previous stance, while not truly admitting such a change ever happened. This also jibes with things I've heard while out in the grapefields.

I now wonder if I might just be able to present. There's always a hope.

Mari
(who put the more cryptic comment in the other thread on the topic. Or did she?)