Reporting Underage Accts

I'm hoping some of my fellow residents can help me out on this one.

Recently it has been brought to my attention that someone not of age is playing in SL...now ..this of course is not unheard of....but what DOES concern me is this child is engaging in deviant sexual practices (also not unheard of) in game.

Aside from rumors about this person being significantly underage...there are of course the obvious signs....

No payment info
Only on during after school hours
Child like voice.
RL pic in where they appear to be 15 or 16

I have never been one to report someone as I always felt it wasn't my business....and theres always the "what if I'm wrong!" factor.......but is there any way lindon can intervene and make sure this person is of age?

Thanks in advance.

If you choose not to report them I would highly suggest you stay far, far away from any areas they are in. It may be unlikely any repercussions come from it if you don't, but if things get ugly it can get very, very ugly.

This is pure speculation. Other then knowing the actual person behind the av no one really knows what age that person is. All the "signs" mean nothing.

People always have smothing to say, something to gossip about. Trying to play detective and guessing isn't proof. And pure proof which I'm sure no one has is what's needed here. So until then it's all speculation and speculation doesn't mean squat.

I'm not sure if there's an official process, you can see if the abuse report option has any valid categories that fit, otherwise you should file a support ticket to get Linden attention.

If they have actually told you that they are under 18, I think you should report them - otherwise it is just a suspicion and circumstantial evidence. I think you use the normal abuse reporting function, but set the abuse category to "age".

I met long ago (when I didn't know the function of Report Abuses) some 13 years old kids. But they really seem innocent so never thought anything else.

Nowadays, if I met some less than 18 person I will report it... Yeah, I know there are 15 years old ppl mature than 30 years old, but think being in here at this age will not give them anything good...

Anyway, when I recommend to go to TeenSL, they all say they have tried, but they need parents perms or whatever... So it's easiest coming to Second Life.

If that was an obvious sign SL would be full of underaged residents.



Or after work hours



Child like? Wouldn't match with your next point:



A 15 or 16yo doesn't sound like a child but like a teen. Maybe voice morphing software, bad headset or whatever?

I'm of very legal age but I'm carded all the time because I don't look like it.

Sorry, I don't see obvious signs here. I don't even think there are obvious signs other than someone actually telling you he is underage (heck, even with that you can't be sure, I personally know someone who told me and others he was 15, he was AR'd for that but was able to prove to LL that infact he is NOT underage and it was just a joke).



In case of an underage AR LL will shoot first and never ask questions later. The reported person will have BIG trouble getting back into SL even with perfect proof that he is of legal age. I have seen this happening to friends of mine, took them WEEKS to get back, lots of phone calls (especially nice if english isn't your native language). That's bad for "normal" residents already, but add a business to that and we easily could talk about losing big money.

Even knowing without doubt someone to be underage I would not automatical AR them but look at the actual case in question - getting kicked out of SL could cause more damage than letting that person stay. But that's a different topic already...

FROM THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

We take the problem of underage Residents who aren't allowed to be here very seriously. If you find someone under 18 years of age who shouldn't be on the Main Grid, here's what you need to do:

First, make sure they've actually admitted their underage status within Second Life, in their own words in chat. For example, "I'm 14" is clear evidence. We can't accept hearsay or rumors, so "I heard that so-and-so is a young teen" or "That griefer behaves like they belong on the Teen Grid!" don't count. "Confessions" on external instant messaging programs or any areas outside of Second Life itself can't be investigated either.
Inworld, use Help > Report Abuse to bring up the abuse reporter tool.
Click Select category and choose Age.
Enter the required information as indicated, and please be specific. If you recently heard an underage admission in chat, copy-and-paste the snippet into the Details field. If it happened earlier and you don't have a chat record, just mention as much as you remember to help us know what to look for.
Click the Report Abuse button and our Abuse Team will investigate it and take appropriate action. Thanks for your help.
In most cases, teens found on the Main Grid will be transferred to Teen Second Life, and their inventory will be cleared. This is done to discourage "shopping accounts" created for the purposes of bringing stuff across grids.

Accounts found to be 12 years or younger are too young to be on Second Life, sorry.

Judgment, use it... seriously.

I've known a few teens to be on the grid, so what? I'm not resposible to LL to report it, and only would if my conscious dictated it... AND I could 'prove' it (via their own statements).

Treat people the way they act, and only act on facts... two really good policies

AR'ing someone for being underage without any sort of proof will just lead to the AR being ignored.

If they feel there is enough doubt they'll suspend the account pending verification (which usually involves sending LL some real life ID) after which they'll either get relocated to the teen grid if they're underage, or stay on the main grid if they're an adult.

Anyone under 18 on the main grid is physiologically immature by default or they'd be mature enough not to sneak into places they know they're not supposed to be.

School hours in one country is lunch break in another... or middle of the night somewhere else...

In many cases this doesn't happen instantly though. I think that LL are alert to the possibility of someone who is in reality an adult, logging into the main grid, claiming out loud to be underage, getting themselves ARed and transferred, and thereby effectively getting a Linden sanctioned teen grid account for whatever dubious purpose.

Agreed with all of the above. I ran across a couple of female avatars one time that were shopping for a particular item (PG leisure item). One was commenting on the price and how she might obtain the money to purchase one. The other IM'd me to ask my opinion on the matter and if there were ones around that cost less. I directed them to a few other known vendors of such product with lower-cost alternatives.

The av that sent me the IM told me she was the other av's aunt in RL and admitted to the other being underage (16 if I remember correctly). Both were newish, but not "today" new. I helped them as much as I could and gave her advice on not admitting the age of the other as she could be pushed out of the grid, etc. The younger av was very mature in carriage and honestly sought to pursue her interests in the adult grid because she couldn't find anything in the teen grid of a similar nature.

One thing I utilize a lot in making any determinations in such a case is to look at the list of groups a person already belongs to. In this case, the younger av had several groups, all related to the potential purchase in question and all very PG-rated. This is not to say she didn't hang around more mature-themed places at times, especially when not escorted by her "aunt", but I thought I'd leave that one be.

In my opinion, its all a judgement call. Yes, I know being under 18 means you shouldn't be in the adult grid, but if someone appears to be in here for honest reasons such as this, I'll let it alone.

I had friend who is much older then me who was reported for be underage she is in her late 50s.
She just had to prove her age by sending copy of something verifying who she is and lost use of her account for several days,etc.
The thing is some rare people even if they are there twenties or even if they are eighty years old have very young sounding voices.
When I was over thirty lot of strangers thought I was teenager, some people just don't show their ages like other people I never understood that even at 42 because even then my hair was starting to become salt and pepper like.
I wouldn't say something unless I was absolutely sure.

Is our Second Life world such a cesspool that we must try to remove kids to protect them?

I was wondering about this myself. I had someone recently tell me in IM that they are 13. Honestly, I don't believe them. Mostly because the conversation was almost like baiting me to see if I would report them or not. It was very strange.

I saw it as: they could just be saying that me to see my reaction or to see what I would do. I could go around telling people I'm 6 or 10 or whatever...doesn't make it true. If I had actual proof that they were underage, I do feel an obligation to report it. But if someone just says it to you, how do you know they are serious? It would be different like in the OP where the person stating they were underaged was engaging in adult activities, that's creepy and should be reported. But if I'm in PG land and someone makes an age statement out of the blue, who's to know its true? He could have been one of those sociologist wannabes that wander the grid studying us all...

Am I wrong? If I am, then I needs to be contacting the lindens...

Thank You.

Case closed.

Besides, what business is it of anyone and I mean anyone who plays sl whether another is a certain age? You don't know. You're guessing and by guessing you'll bring problems on someone who might be older then you. And for what? Because you thought they were underage? Please!

Play yourself, worry about yourself and yours and let the rest take care of themselves. This would be a better world if people learned to mind their own business. Everyone has their own problems and situations to deal with without snooping unto someone elses business.

It's not like you're making a difference cause you're not so let it go. You'll find you'll have a lot less stress and worry if you keep to yourself and not worry about the next guy.

Gee, but the flip-side of that is, do we want everybody on the grid, everywhere, to have to constrain themselves to content that's appropriate for any kid?

In this particular case, though, I think we can be pretty certain the subject resident is *not* underage; otherwise, she would have to be extraordinarily stupid to use an actual picture of herself in her profile. I bet, rather, she's at least 40.

You don't, you don't know they're joking either which is why the account gets suspended until they turn over some information one way or the other. If they were joking, it'll be the last time they try that .

This is one of the things that each individual must decide for themselves, but if it was me and I felt the discomfort that the OP is feeling, I would report it. I would go by what my gut feeling is and the OP feels uncomfortable about the situation for whatever reason.

I think more people slip away down the rabbit hole because we turn away from them than people suffer inconvenience because someone steps in because of concern.

If there is a small chance that this person is needs help in some way, than the act of filing an AR is a small step to take.

Rumours? Deviant sexual practices (sex with dead bunnies?) No payment info, "school hours"GMT/EST/PST?),child LIKE voice, APPEAR to be 15 or 16??????? Is this what you are basing this on. Did you ask this person how old he is? Even then, many people don't say, or they lie about their age. There is no danger here - there's a handy little button at the top-left of your screen used to instantly quit. Sorry, but with the info you provided, there's no way I would report this. A nosy neighbour once "reported" my aunt(RL) to the police because they thought she was on drugs (she has medical issues and shakes/slured speach, etc.) Do what you feel is right, but ask yourself first WHY you seem to be so disturbed about this. Is it really keeping you up at night? Are you truly afraid for this (15or16 y/o) guy? Or are you more interested in all the brouhaha you might cause? If your heart tells you to report him, then by all means...

I put my 17-yo daughter on the main grid, because I felt that there, I'd be able to give her more help learning SL, more help financially, and keep an eye on her myself, instead of having her on the teen grid, that I'm unable to access. She will frequently come to the club I manage because she feels comfortable there...while we have strippers, they don't get naked very often...and if they do, she goes somewhere at that time. But most of the regulars at that club know she's 17, and are ok with it, because she carries herself appropriately. Ironically, a couple of them will contact me if she's there and someone is making obvious moves on her, just to let me know, and they are protective of her. Overall, I really feel she's better protected on the main grid.

I agree that there are certain areas of SL that minors shouldn't be in...hell, there are many *I* shouldn't be in. But unless you see a minor being extremely offensive, or in an adult situation that could harm them emotionally...I'd stay out of it.

I agree.

In RL I was a "mandated reporter" for some years. That means that because of my job I was required by law to report any suspicions I ever had of any child being being neglected, abused or otherwise in danger. I still feel it is the responsibility of all of us to protect all children.

In SL I was a bit alarmed when the young woman avatar, with me in my shop (which at that time had a sex toy merchant next door) who had been begging me for a job (even after I made it clear that I was not going to be hiring anyone for anything in the foreseeable future) told me she was 16. All I knew was what she said and that her behavior was not very adult. And that if it were my own 16 year old child I might not want her her exposed to some of the stuff that goes on in SL. I definitely did not want to be with her if say someone in full bondage gear wandered in. I immediately tp'd away and reported her.
On the other hand if she had had her rl mother with her...

I'm curious as to whether the rumors are a result of someone(s) other than you interpreting these "obvious signs"

I'm not sure how valid any of those obvious signs are.

Most people are No payment Info
Most people are on only after "school hours"
Many people have voices that would fall into a higher range than "typical"
And how can you tell from a still photograph whether someone is 16 or 18?


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I have two teens at home.

My 15 year old son is 6 feet tall, and his voice would be deep for an adult. He has no trouble passing as 18 in Real Life.

My 17 year old daughter is regularly assumed to be in college when she goes to functions at the University.

-on the other hand-

My daughter's friend(17) is tiny, has a high pitched voice and has trouble passing for 12. When she is 19 I doubt shell even look like she could be in high school.

-and-

My 35 year old brother sounds like a teenager and still gets carded at bars.

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The time to report someone for being underage is when they say to you specifically that they are underage.

I find this irresponsible.

And Ill tell you why - From what I have been told -

Reporting someone as underage results in their account being immediately suspended. It remains suspended until that person provides proof of age via fax's photocopies of driver's license or Birth certificate.

Presumed Guilty until Proven Innocent.

Investigated based on Rumors.

Call it what you want, but it is an intrusion on their privacy and denial of service based on a "hunch".