Underage Avatar and Sex

I know this is in the rules somewhere but couldn't find it, so I hoping that someone else can help me....

I know of someone with an avatar that is 17 and they are having sex with an avatar that is 29. According to everything I have heard this is agains LL laws. Is that true? Should I report both parties? Where is this written?

Thanks for your help!

AR the 17 yo.... and make sure they have given their age in open chat otherwise its only assumption

If you mean the actual person is 17, yes, they should be reported. You have to be 18 or older to use SL.

I'd say be -very- sure of your facts before you start reporting people. These sort of accusations are serious.

And did you mean the person is 17, or that's the age they're roleplaying?


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Aes

Unless there's a 17 year old on the main grid, why do you even care?

As I said, the avatar is 17, the person playing is an adult. I am 100% sure what is going on. However, I have read articles that LL is cracking down on this because it constitute child pornography.

okay this is simply another so called sexual age play thread, unless you can absolutely prove it to LL mind your own business

Well I don't call a even a rl 17 yr old a child. If they're not using a young child's av and their roleplay is in private, personally I'd be inclined to mind my own business.

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Aes

I appreciate all of your opinions but I am looking for Linden's rules on this.

If they can really make an avatar that looks 17 and not 15 or 20, tell them to leave the sex for a bit and start a business!

Linden's rule is you must be 18 to be on the Grid. IF you know the person to be under age, report them. Their account will be suspended whil LL investigates.

This is worded ambiguously. Do you mean someone who is 17 in RL with an avatar? Or someone of unknown age in RL who has an avatar that is described as being 17. And how, exactly, do you know? (If it's in their profile, then which tab of the profile?)

my avatar is actually 2 years old, didnt know sl is allready 17 years old o0

ask a Linden then not here in RA sheesh

Olivia did clarify:


So the avatar is not portrayed as under age of consent (unless it's higher in US than in UK?) and the person using the av is an adult on the adult Grid. I can't quite see atm why anyone would need to report anything.

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Aes

Isn't 17 underage? I thought 18 was an adult. I am not saying I am going to report anyone just trying to find out the rules. I know because I know the avie and it is in their profile. I am concerned because they are doing it on my land. I was told this could get eveyone within my family banned. I am not trying to start any trouble, just trying to find out the rules.

How do I contact a Linden?

Look, if they state in their profile that the avatar represents a 17 year old and the avatar is used in sexual role play, it's "ageplay" and against the TOS. AR the individual, as well as the avatar the ageplay is occuring with. Simple.

Edit: And do NOT let them do this on YOUR land.

How do you know? It matters more in this case than most.

LL prohibits underage sex because it's bad publicity and creates a host of problems. In the US, it is not child pornography (but might be illegal obscenity, and might be child pornography in other jurisdictions). See http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/11/13/clarification-of-policy-disallowing-ageplay/ for more details.

The reason I say it matters how you know is that it's really impossible to distinguish, in any reliable, objective way, the visual appearance of a 17yo av and 18yo av. Hence it could be either stupidity, ignorance of the rules, or an incredibly embarrassing typo (or other carelessness). I can't imagine any good reason for writing 17yo in the front page of a profile and then engaging in sex, except perhaps a thrill from deliberate flouting. Or perhaps an experiment to see what happens. Even if someone really did want to roleplay a 17yo for sexual satisfaction, it doesn't make any sense to put that into a profile.

On the other hand, if you're getting it from open chat roleplay, then it could be much more complicated. For all we know, it could be someone roleplaying a 20yo undercover cop pretending to be a 17yo hooker. Weird? Perhaps, but I think of some roleplay activities as "co-write, co-direct, and co-star in your own animated movie". I've visited some of the dark urban RP sims (without ever participating) and this sort of thing seems right in character for them.

In any event, I'd want to really understand where the 17 came from. As a courtesy to the participants, I'd even suggest telling them to change it to 18 as being preferable to an AR. At least give them a chance to fix things before creating a huge hassle for them.

You could just ban them from your land, and let them play elsewhere.

This is what I was looking for. Thank you. The person has been spoken to and told that it was against the rules and their response was "who cares. Its only wrong if it is rape and I am sooo letting him". I just wanted to make sure what the rules say to let them know for sure, and make sure I am not liable for knowing and not doing anything.

BEST answer yet!

That would fall under the "ignorance of the rules" category.

Depending on how well you know these people, and how much you want to show them consideration, your choices are:

a) send them that link, and ask to change the age to 18. Save a copy of this chat log.
b) ban them from your land
c) AR them

If you choose to start with a, and they don't comply, then at a minimum go to b or c. In situations like this, I haven't seen any reports of LL doing more than warning the landowners, but you never know. They would go after the landowner immediately if it were clear that the land was really being promoted or used this way by multiple people. But why even risk a warning?

I'm sure some people would start with b, and that's fine if you wish. I'm also sure that some participants here would start with c. However, since I really do think this is just ignorance of the details of the rules, I wouldn't do that without first giving them a chance to read that blog post and fix it.

What if someone's playing a 90 year old Dragaeran, a species from Stephen Brust's "Jhereg" cycle with a 2000+ year lifespan that is still considered a child at that age?

http://www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm

Since LL is in Ca and in Ca it is 18 (though in MANY states is FAR LESS) then it probably is 18 as far as their TOS is concerned.

Still... Maybe get a life (or even a second one)