Could Verification Impact Free Artistic Expression?

I have a question - How will Age Discrimination affect artists?
I am concerned that this will immediately create censorship and banning of galleries display (horrors!) nudes or anything else that repressed indivdiuals might find suggestive. I am involved with the arts in sl and collect the work of many artists.
Ofcourse I am aware of main reasons why age verification is being introduced BUT does anyone have opinions on this specific impact on teh arts? Or wish to make a comment regarding how age verifying will actually create a static and vapid world lacking artists/dramatic situations/virtual pleasuring? Plenty of "builders" and scripters will be able to work in peace and quiet. The trouble is no one will be around to enjoy them.

Let the FUD commence.

Jig, I'm pretty sure that artwork, even nudes, are not "adult content". Now, if your "art" includes an animated statue of two people gettin' it on, you might maybe have crossed a line...

The line here is (IMO, because LL hasn't said) between "suggestive"...which would be OK...and "explicit", which would not.

No impact, if it's tastefully done artistic expression.

On the other hand, if your idea of "art" involves hentai tentacle monsters and underaged schoolgirls... Well, that better get restricted, if you ask me.

Simple litmus test. Ask yourself, "Do I think I could display this art in a RL major metropolitan art gallery, without generating complaints about it being "pornographic"? If you can't easily say Yes, then I'd not display it in an unrestricted gallery.

Well maybe we can invent the Mapplethorpeometer. Anything that offends Robert M is probably too risque for SL

Don't bother worrying or flagging your parcel. The worse thing that can happen is you would get some great PR if they gave you a warning about the art.

I guess I don't see the connection between the two issues, no matter where you stand on either. Limiting material to a mature audience isn't the same thing as censoring that material.

This is gonna get interesting. There are bound to be folks in-world who'd AR Mapplethorpe--think of the anti-NEA uproar in the US over Serrano. Whether the Lindens like it or not (and they surely won't), they're now the Art Police. And the folks who make those ARs are surely the ones who'll run to the media when, after the AR, their pet "perversion" still hasn't been moved behind an age-restricted barrier.

I guess the same problem has always applied to "Broadly Offensive Content." Perhaps age-restricted parcels makes it easier to placate the AR-happy faction: we don't have to abridge free speech by outright banning Playboy--we'll just move it behind the counter here where those "preverts" will have to ask us for it, and where we can make sure it doesn't defile virginal eyes (as long as they don't know how to move their cams).

Well considering the Elton John nonsense not long back, I think art is always going to be questionable and a matter of opinion no matter what the circumstances.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

I always get this one confused with the bit about "beams" and "motes." Or maybe it's those darn dust mites of yours!

Dearly Darlings,

The only time age was an issue for my own art was when I hit the age that my eyes started going. RL I just started using bigger brushes. In SL I use the camera functions and wish I could get even bigger images with that! As for nudes, etc., that has never bothered my having taken several live drawing and painting classes.

You all have a lovely afternoon.

Ever Yours,

Mrs. Showdog Tiger

Will you artsy types keep your smut in the back alleys where it belongs.

/me goes off to look for a pair of pants to put on the David statue.

RE the OP's post:

Firstly, there will be a banning of nothing--there are 'mature' sims for mature themes, and 'PG' for a more conservative crowd.

There is also Teen Second Life...

In all honestly, I believe age verification will enhance the overall experience of Second Life--that is, if it can help clean up some of the immature griefers out there. I don't mind a SL world full of 'adults.'

It was only a matter of time before this real life issue spilled over into SL. My own real life supposedly cosmopolitan American town was in an uproar not too long ago when a nude statue was commissioned for a prominent public area. (I hope I'm not giving too much RL info about myself away here.) Never mind that there have been nude statues all over Europe for millennia!

But the uproar died down and there have yet to be any reports of fatalities due to an overdose of bronze anatomy.

I am an artist in RL - or an illustrator rather, and I believe in free artistic expression. I believe it is the role of the artist to challenge established norms .. [cue cheesy swelling music], but I also believe Second Life is not an established norm. It is still in its infancy and a pioneer of all the virtual worlds to come. It is also a business venture and I want it to continue to succeed on those levels. So I do hope for self restraint when it comes to our free artistic expression. Artists should adapt their expression to the venue.

[Apologies to Strife if this has become too general a thread -- I guess it's a topic of great interest to me.]

hmmm well this is difficult, I work for two contemporary artists and if i printed out the names of some of their works, I would probably be banned for short while so censorship in one form or other already exists.

Age verification (if it works properly, in that adults can get verified and children cannot) is a tool that the artist can use to decide who gets to see his or her works. It gives the responsibility to the artist to self-censor, if he or she chooses, without some central authority deciding what is appropriate for minors and what is not. In that regard, it helps artistic expression.

Some artists may care that he or she has created a work that he or she wants only adults to see, and not children. It's the artist's choice. The artist has no obligation to use it in any particular situation.

Err pass that by me again ...

Some interesting points raised here which I think are VERY relevant to this verification business. Artists WERE coming to sl and I WAS/AM displaying some of their work in my home to which I welcome visitors who wish to see amazing SL created art. But verification will - inevitably - lead to other issues. Ofcourse we play in a world created according to the whims of a small group of people (who I hope are all age-verifying like crazy), and as a successful artist in my field in the real world, I anticipate lively times as this verification and moral codifying gets off the ground. It actually makes SL kinda exciting and convinces me that this "social experiment" is exactly that - an "experiment".

So I guess a Tribute to "Goatse" or "2Girls1Cup" is out??

I sell bdsm stuffs, thing is none of my displays show anything indecent, and any naked bit is properly censored.

I remain at a PG level right?

My home is also a gallery with some of my favourite snapshots of my time in SL displayed on the wall. All the pictures are well within PG guidelines except possibly the one where I'm naked in front of of a giant statue of a naked lady taking a shower at Burning Life 2007. I can't see that would be affected by any changes like age verification.

From my knowledge (based for instance on the whole 'burning life nudity debacle', and from the mouth of the Lindens themselves). LL's definition of what is considered 'mature' is very basic:

"It shouldn't show male or female 'bits'".

This means, a bronze art statue of a female with clearly visible nipples is as 'mature' as a full blown oral sex scene. (Excusez le pun).

That's a tough one. I think as far as rating it for adults, PG would be adequate. But since age verification is an attempt at restricting access to minors, you have to ask yourself the question: is PG an adequate rating for kids? A question you shouldn't have to ask, I know, but that is the question being asked when we are discussing age verification.

Since LL have clearly brought in age verification to cover their own behinds, presumably they will remove any content not flagged correctly. So they should really also produce a set of guidelines on the nature of content that needs to be flagged in this way to give residents a chance of avoiding finding themselves in such a position.

But is that definition based on the Mature/PG sim rating of old? Or is that a definition that is now attached to age verification? Before age verification, the definitions for mature and PG were based on an adults only population.

It's the definition of the PG/Mature sim rating.

I don't think there's a clear definition in what is considered a thing that's 'age check verfication' required. Except it's in the eye of the beholder.

The reason age verification and parcel flagging was introduced is not primarily to let minors into the main grid. It's to absolve LL from being part of any legal issues in these matters.

The basic premises of the age check/mature flag, is to lift the burden of making these calls by LL in the first place. It's up to the respective users now.

I think that LL will claim 'innocence' in the future, when a user complains about being confronted by something that he/she considers inappropriate. LL just hosts/provides a technical solution to only allow verified users to see specific content. They aren't responsible anymore when the offered solution isn't used correctly by one user, according to another user of the system.

This means that LL will refer the complainant to the option to directly confront the user, or use the RL legal system if a conflict can't be resolved. Ofcourse LL will comply to any official requests made by the legal offices, in these cases.

Basically the situation with nudity/mature will be the same as with money scams, DMCA etc.

What does this mean for art etc?
Basically the same rules now apply as any RL venue. As you can see a lot of artistic nudity in RL museums which don't restrict age, this also would be the case in SL. (The louvre isn't sued for showing nude pictures.)

Assume the sames rules as you would when displaying it in a public space IRL.
If you know your content is clearly meant to be visible/used for a mature audience only, flag the parcel.
If you want to allow content/art visible by minors, but know it could cause a conflict, clearly state this as such in the description of the place, and put in a 'warning' when people tp in.