Stop age discrimination NOW! (PLEASE READ)

/me runs off to fix a sudden chocolate craving

It is possible the OP is not underage but rather BARELY of age.

And the 18+ policy affects her directly becuase all her freinds who are not yet 18 cant use the service.

Someone who is 18 could easily still respond in a manner with things like "I think im very grown up" Maturity isnt a switch its more of a gradual process.


Ohh and for those people who claim to know 16 year olds that act more mature than adults - this is a bunch of nonsense. They just know how to control their behaviour and their responses better than most 16 year olds. After youve known that child long enough their lack of actual maturity shines through.

/me agrees. And the teen grid should become the under21 grid

Just to add to this because it hits "close to home," my parents used to always say "We'll tell you when you're older." Which always peeved me because I was the 4.0GPA student, well rounded, mature and never in trouble child so obviously I felt like I could handle anything.

Then when I was about 19, they let all the skeletons out of the family closet and it was so insane that I finally understood why they wouldn't have told me that kinda stuff when I was a little kid. Even at 19 I was like "holy crap, I am not ready to know these things." I'm 25 and I still just don't want to know about certain "adult" topics. I appreciate my parents from shielding me from all of that for so long.

The 18+ rule is about protecting kids. Not discriminating against them.

I don't even know what to think of this one. I remember being a kid......I remember those feelings.....the frustration......feeling like an 'adult' and not being treated like one. I remember how passionate I felt about certain things and .... looking back.....some of it was just the angst of youth....the process of maturing.

Now...I am an adult..... and I understand 'why' all those rules and laws are in place. I wont say I agree or disagree because every human being matures at a different rate.......and it isn't for one person to say when we are or are not ready to be exposed to certain things.

Problem. Some minors....are NOT going to be able to handle certain extreme adult content....it will effect them badly. Some will be okay....but there's no way to know which ones.

Solution. Laws limiting minors exposure to potentially damaging content. In order to keep the peace with the masses....you have to create some kind of boundaries.

This is the wrong place to be whining about Laws that have been set in place for ages...SL is only complying with those laws. It has NOTHING to do with SL. As strongly as you may feel on this issue.....you're wasting a lot of energy here. If SL didn't comply....SL wouldn't exist at all, because they'd be shut down.

Oh definitely - everyone who is 16 THINKS they can handle all thise adult stuff just fine. They dont realize why theres rules put in place until later.

Its just the classic lack of perspective on how the world works. The perspective can only be gained by living life.

I am not sure if its already been said but having minors on the grid worries me.. for example I don't want to get cosy with someone and unknowingly be committing a crime because they are underage and have done a great job in disguising that fact. I would feel sick to my stomach in that kind of situation and that would be really unfair. I know that could happen now and its one thing I am very, very wary of... but opening up the grid knowingly to those underage would make this situation even more rife.

I would be a mess if it ever turned out I was getting cosy with someone who was underage

Some 16 year olds probably can handle adult material, better than a lot of adults. But the Law says otherwise. case closed.

I like breathing, so no

Another problem is theres no way to know who can handle it or not - the ones that could would probably not be the ones up on a soapbox claiming they could.

I could say something here but it will only backfire, I've already been decribed as trouble once today

Case to be said for getting cosy only after getting to know someone ...

My mum often suffers from age descrimination.

She is physically quite small and is technically a senior citizen, and she has a small appetite. Yet time after time, restaurant managers refuse to allow her to order a children's portion because she is, according to them, "More than 12 years old." They insist that she must order a full sized portion at two or three times the price, forcing her to pay money for a quantity of food that she could never eat in one sitting. It causes her a lot of distress because she was raised to never waste food, and yet they are serving her on one plate what she feels would feed a family of four.

It's a violation of the charter of human rights to discriminate on the basis of age (at least, it is in Canada, I'mnot sure if that human rights thing is local or international). How can I get these restaranteurs to understand that little old ladies should be allowed to eat a small portion of grilled cheese if that is what they reallly want?

BTW there is at least one restaraunt I know that has a 'seniors menu' which offers simple wholesome food in small portions. More places should take note of that.

To bring this back on topic, I feel LL should add a Seniors Grid, so that people like my mother could have the choice of accessing an online virtual 3d world, but one where she would be safe from all the wierdness, sexuality, violence, and chaos that could exist on the regular grid. With a smaller economy, prices on the Seniors Grid might be lower as well, and then we wouldn't have to listen to them perpetually complaining about how everything is so much more expensive than they remember. To further accomodate my mother, the Seniors Grid would need a special download of a very simple version of the SL client... preferably something with only two buttons (log on, and quit). All in-world functions would probably depend on use of the Voice function, so she could tell someone else what she wanted done.

And, apologies, I'm rambling and just generally IBTL.

-Atashi

LMFAO ... they spend it all on tea, biscuits ... tin of meat for the cat ... these Senile Delinquents ...

nods wearing those 50's satin jackets,....

WOW! There's a thought.
Zimmer frame with hover and particle effects.

And nobody would complain about lag!

i could only get through the first page, lots to read, but i already know how its going to end up. Most people are going to say 'Its illegal in RL for minors to see porn.' and the OP is going to say 'but thats like caging minors and calling blacks blah blah blah' And i have to agree with the people saying its illegal. I'm sorry but i wouldnt want MY CHILD to see things like a handjob, or porn, or avatars having sex. Why would i? Yes, they can see it in day to day lives, but come on! This is an ADULT GAME! its not like we are all playing 'Elmo's Land of Candy' and telling the kids to get out. This is adult graphics and adult situations. Children dont need to be exposed to that. Its the law. Its not discrimination because the child isnt going to stay a child all of its life. Its a sense of protection. If the OP cant see that, then maybe the OP needs to do some research. Law is Law. In the US and other areas it is ILLEGAL to let children be exposed to adult material. Unless you are going to try to battle the law, then you dont have a case here.

Aside from that, i dont see the reason to be age verified, i think that if LL kept teens in the teen grid instead of wanting to merge the two, everything would be fine. Going along the same lines of what i said above, its an ADULT game, there is no reason why we should have to protect the minors in an adult game because there should be NO minors here.

There is a difference between requiring verification.

And saying its okay for minors to Access the grid.

Age verification is simply one way way to make sure minors dont access certain content- its seperate from whether or not they should be allowed to access that content.

Atashi - where I am, tons of restaurants have senior menus. It's just smaller portions at a lower price. It's at least as common as a kid's menu. A handful even have a low-cal menu for those of us who could easily eat a full portion, but are suffering from a lifetime of eating full portions (if you catch my drift).

OP: the fact that you compared age restrictions aimed at preventing minors from accessing adult material to Jim Crow laws is absolute proof that you are too immature to handle adult content. Experience true injustice; educate yourself. You will likely never want to make that comparison again. I'm not indicting you for making that comparison because I am certain it was made out of immaturity and ignorance and not hate, but you should understand that they way you made your argument and the analogy you chose to make was offensive to people who have suffered legitimate injustices.

I believe this is a common concern and sentiment among SL users. Well said.

Funny, that's exactly how I felt when I was 18. I'm twice that now, and in retrospect, can see that most of the stuff that I did when I was 18 and thought I knew better than my elders was dangerous, stupid, illegal, and quite possibly detrimental to my own longevity.

The Age of Consent exists for a reason; I honestly believe that people under the age of 18 are not fully capable of making healthy decisions. I know I wasn't. I was a stupid little girl. Can you honestly say that a girl of 16 who decides to have sex for the first time is making the right choice? I can't. Can you honestly say that a boy of 14 who drinks his first bottle of Jack Daniel's is making an intelligent choice? I can't. Sex, voting, smoking, enlisting in the military; all restricted till 18. Drinking, to 21. Adults made these rules for a reason. Adults have had time to consider what teenagers are capable of doing to themselves and have hence decided that people under 18, for the MOST part, are not capable of making informed, rational decisions.

Mind you, I'm not saying that there aren't a lot of smart, wise, and capable teenagers out there. I'm sure there are. I only know that I wasn't one of them and I'm actually lucky that I'm here and physically able to type this post. I fully agree with LL's stance on age "discrimination." I just don't agree with the way they're handling it.

Technically, isn't being mistreated for being underage known as child abuse? You gonna knock LL up on charges of child abuse for kicking kids out of the porn warehouses?

This thread has to be a joke, right?

If not, the sense of entitlement has reached Crazytown levels.

I think the OP complains way too much about an indefensible argument which leads me to believe the OP is not 18-or-older and is trying to change the rules so they and their friends can get to see adult content.

Just their statement that they are very mature leads me to believe they are under 18. If they were 18-or-older they wouldn't need to make that statement.