Tinies, Babies, kids and more.. Please give me a breakdown

He's right though.........

I still believe!

There's the breakdown! She asked for it!

See, I dun have a problem with dat, really. If it fits the particulars of your "world," then by all means. I've also known of, an been to, sims where kids are under some restrictions. In the Scotland Sim, for example, kids are welcome anywhere *but* in the pub which, well, seems okay, no?

There's a lotta places dat I would not wish to go to, either, because they would not fit me.

But I do wish dat folks would not exclude kids jes because of "zOMG, Pedo!" or out of some other fear of the avatar type.

I always remember the elephant that walked into a house I was building in a sandbox and just as I was getting to like the elephant it changed into a tiny man th size of a rat.

Dang. That reminded me of a very tiny avatar, balding, age lines, maybe three feet tall, obviously a short man and not a boy: he was running around with a . . um . . his unit out, the unit being bigger than him, and he was screaming something like "doesn't anyone want to do it with a midget." I was quite horrified.

That also reminds me of another avatar, an incredibly old man, hunched, wearing a stained undershirt and stripped boxers. He was wandering around talking and acting like an old man and examining and commenting on the women.

Why? They aren't children.

The solution to this is simple.

Don't have SL sex with child avs.

if everyone just did that simple rule following step - problem solved.

Unfortunately, even if you don't respect the player's "role" as a child, the presence of a childlike figure in some adult situations could cause the image output from SL to constitute illegal pornography in some countries. Yes, that is kind of silly, but it's how the law works, and for obvious political reasons nobody can challenge a child porn law.

lol - I would never say such a thing to a real child... hell, I am not really sure there ISN'T a Santa anyway.

Never have, never will... too bad others couldn't help themselves though.

While I find the whole concept a little odd, as long as it is innocent, I really don't care if people want to run around as children. I think it's a bit weird... but people in my RL think I'm weird for logging into SL in the first place.

sounds like my grandpa o.o

See? Toldja



'zactly. We're all weird to someone. I mean, dun get Gor at all, for one example -- but if dat's what someone wants, go for it. I personally am not gonna go bopping by Port Costa (is dat one of the Gor sims?), but I'm not gonna tell 'em what they should be doin in SL.

An in those cases where we interact, say we come across each other at a store or event or someting, I'll be polite like I always am, even if it ain't my cuppa. It's jes no biggie to me.

Mari

I behave the same way... I might think it's odd, but that's about it. Some have lumped me in with people who really find child-av's disturbing. I guess it's easy for parties on both side to generalize and pidgeon-hole people.

I'd seen one of the poster's exhibition, and even bought a piece and the in-game book. I thought the work and care and talent that went into the images to be excellent. I also have no issue whatsoever with how adults want to spend their SL.

However, the images that I found best out of the show were the headshots for one simple reason: SL avatars are not plastic without limit and they make for odd looking children. I found the mention of the "uncanny valley" apropos because that is the sensation that I'm left with upon seeing the best tuned child avatars; there is just something geometrically wrong there.

Note well, I have an "unbuffed" adult avatar which the SL model also supports poorly. I recently showed someone an RL picture of myself and got the response "yep, that's you". I also look defective without a shirt on.

I suspect that this visual effect only intensifies the negative association with child avatars. Unfortunately, I don't see it correctable in the near future.

this has never been proven.

Its been speculated.

To date no charges have been filed regarding any sexual ageplay in SL that they have made us aware of. Even after the German media brought it to the German authorities.

So the legal scare is unecessary paranoia.

---------------------------

The real concern would be a Linden enforcement scare - being falsely AR'd, by someone who freaks out over seeing a Child Avatar in an adult situation on your land and ARs you.

You would hope the Linden could tell the land owner wasn't responsible if they didn't actively encourage child avatar sexual depictions. And only those who actually break any policy would be punished for any sexual age play activity.

However this assumption that child avatars cant even SEE adult materials is a bunch of nonsense and it is just made up by the paranoid.

/me nods

What yer seeing is limitations with the SL avatar. It doesn't squish down too well. The male mesh retains shoulders too big an "package" too big even at size 0. The female avvie has the same problem with chest and rear, as well as bad folding issues with the arm connection to the torso. Both have hands dat are too big, feet dat are a bit too big, an a head dat it hard to porportion correctly. Very hard to get around a lot of this, an it takes *forever* to get the shape jes so.

Mari

(Who, upon mention of "Uncanny Valley" and headshots from the exhibition, points ya'll to http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/10/reader-vote-sel.html )

It is also an incorrect aasumption. The LL policy is that a child avatar cannot participate in direct physical sexual activity. There is *nothing* about where they might be or what they might see, any more than any other avatar.

Mari

I wouldn't bank on that.

All the more reason for child-av's to be left in PG areas... would fit the role play better anyway.

Right... hopefully the policy would be enforced fairly.

It has less to do with the child-av seeing the material (except in the idea of role play, I suppose) and more to do with the image of a child in an adult setting. Some people would consider that to be offensive. As for my take on it... a child-av in a mature setting seems out of place. I might not be as afronted by it as others... but I can see how some would be upset about it.

I would agree as far as areas with actual mature content goin on within them - although I could see someboy child avvies wanting to "sneak in" with fake IDs or someting.

But as I've mentioned before, my home is in a mature sim -- and while I'm not in any mature situations there, nor do I end up exposed to adult content, I do have parents an the way I look at it, they have the option to do whatever they wanna on the land after us kids go ni ni.

Likewise, as someone who also builds, I might sometimes have to stop at, for example, Bits and Bobs to get their "brush hair" animation. They're in a mature sim and sell mature poseballs in there too.

Mari

Hah.

I can see that my brothers and sisters are falling prey to the outright propoganda, propogated by the vast, left-wing furry conspiracy! Anything different from an adult, human avi should be resitricted! It's the natural way!
Of course...those human avi's need to be of a certain *ahem* skin tone...and none of those freakish elves or fairies either! They're...unnatural.
It's patently obvious that anyone who wants to "play" something different from the norm is sick, and obviously needs help - much less VERY close observation by the authorities.

So...on behalf of those decent, normal folk...let me encourage you to embrace the philosophy of Linden Lab - be safe...be sanitized...be normal. Don't try to stand out from the crowd - unless you want to open up a shady savings and loan scheme and rake in the big bucks.

Or...form a griefer group, and run amok through the world, caging, orbiting and otherwise carrying out your sacred mission to eliminate the "different".

*rolls eyes*

Ever get the feeling we're living in a world that takes its paranoid vigilance to the ridiculous extreme?

I do.

No, not really. I do think, however, that we live in a world where people need to grow some thicker skin and realize that in people's difference in preferences, there will be differences in acceptance and tolerances between them.

It's funny to see people having such a hard time accepting people who have a hard time accepting people. It's rather ironic and more than a little amusing.

Some people push the equality thing so hard, that it causes further division than was there originally.

I am biased against the biased.... err...umm....huh?

lol - exactly

Which part of growing a thicker skin would be the one where child avs get lumped in with pedophiles?

If I wore a child AV I would be outraged people accused me of such, even tacitly.

You have even said things to the effect that they shouldn't be allowed on mature land.

Like they are somehow guilty until proven innocent.