Bad news of the day: They're thinking of merging the Teen Grid into the main one

Truth. The atmosphere that allows the Adult and sex based creations are part of what allows the feneral edgy creativeness that makes SL. It's something different than the junk we have been buried under in RL. Now if the same junk is going to come to SL, there is no need to come to SL.

They can Disneyficate themselves right out of business.

This is what I've heard as well, and it's been in the works for some time with little success. *Something* will happen, but what it'll look like it anyone's guess at this point.

Didn't stop them the last time when making a decision that threatened significant loss of business.

Oh dear, I don't really think it's a good idea. I have no problem with verifying my age, I don't care. But teens can be such a pain in the ass to be around. And the concern with the adult content of SL is going to be a huge problem.

What a dumbass idea SL

Philip Linden is right. The current system of age verification hits a big snag with seventeen year olds which is probably why we should let them on to the main grid.

Here are two reasonable examples. A professor is teaching a college course with a main grid SL environment. Maybe the student has to go to chromosome island and take the genetics quiz and win the t-shirt. He has a freshman student with a December 1 birthday and it is late August. What does he tell that student to do? "Well you're eighteen now," he tells her and off she goes to complete her course requirements. If she does more, kids will be kids...In many jurisdictions she's of consenting age anyway, so the biggest problem is that an honest kid commits fraud.

Second, in Maine public library staff mee via SL. This makes sense. Who wants to drive over ice covered country roads in winter. Library staff include pages some of whom are sixteen and seventeen years old. The pages should be at the meetings. They come to their boss. The boss says: "You're eighteen now ladies."

I think changing the age verification system to allow for those who have employers on the grid or are enrolled in a course on the adult grid to come under the wire early would clear up both of these problems.

Alternatively, LL could set everyone's eighteenth birthday to be January 1 of their senior year of high school or equivalent. With everyone turning eighteen on the same day, there would be no reason for any one to have to lie about their age to migrate with their friends.

And there are tons of people a year or two under eighteen on the grid. I know where they hang out. I like the music in their club and it's a huge place. It's rated PG and utterly respectful.

I don't see why teens can't operate by the same basic rules as adults: Sim ratings don't work. SL is lawless. If you see something untoward or offensive, LEAVE the area. If I remember myself as a teen, I will be far more likely to be offended by some of what I might see than my more laissez faire adult self.

I'd by the way be very uncomfortable with a thirteen year old running around unspervised on the adult grid, but I'm pretty blase about what a sixteen or seventeen year old might see.

I also wonder how many adults stand around and gawk like we imagine the worst teen offenders would. Don't all raise your hands at once.

"Sunshine, lollipos and rainbows.........."

Word.

Considerling a baseline global understanding of PG is not so understood...

How will these areas be monitored? By the kids parents? LMAO....

I think if this avenue is opened up LL will be facing some hard media coverage of how pedofiles have easy access to children and how LL allowed this......If it were my company no way in hell would I merge.

Just my opinion....

I can not even believe they are thinking of this...

People are slap happy to AR you.. and I see a witch hunt on the rise.

Like they do now?

It will be nice to see them change their shoot first ask questions later policies, whenever that happens.

And so the age verification system will work now too?

Here is my summary of The Grid Merge, I have just recently transfered over from the Teen Grid (Late December 200 and i've got some info to share with all of you.

http://danielvoyagerblog.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/teen-second-life-grid-merge-is-near/

Feel free to leave your blog comments. Also feel free to check out my Second Life collection of snapshots on my flickr stream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielvoyager/ -

It's not their delicate sensibilities I'm worried about.

I do not want to talk to children in SL. Ever.

I especially do not want 15 year olds hitting on me.

No children on the main grid, ever. If they need something for work or education, set up something outside the main grid for them. I do not want then wandering over to Tentacle Orgy Island after their library staff meeting.

I know some pretty mature teenagers - maybe they'll offset this a bit then.

Yeah, probably like they always check things out carefully before they lock out an adult accused of being underage - and we have heard that happens.

What they say they do/will do and what they actually do can easily be totally different.

NO!!

When making a joke like "yeh, and they say size doesn't matter" can be treated as harassment?

Stick to text, then, where you can prove what you say. And always ask everyone "are you underage" before you start talking to them, oh, and add "are you a cop". And don't forget to ask the same questions every time you meet so that you've got an up-to-date log... maybe this could be added as a macro...

There has to be a CCR song in there...

Let me ask something that i feel really is an important question...


Why do you guys care?

I for once am not going to set my BDSM shop to anything but PG, as it is currently, there is no product pictures that violate the PG rules anyway there.

They are just kids for god's sake, nothing to care about unless you have your own.

How about the items, are they PG? I don't think many parents would be happy about their 13 year old walking around a BDSM shop, virtual or not.

BDSM shops, anything they could possibly see, myself being ARed etc. doesn't bother me that much, I could live with all of that.

But having a 12 year old daughter, the one and only thing that DOES bother me is chat. Sorry but there is no way in hell I will ever let my daughter join any online experience where there is the ability for 40 and 50 year old guys to talk to her. Look at MySpace and everyone else, they have done all they can to limit the contact and yet LL is going to open the doors? How long before the headlines read that some 13 year old is raped and murdered by someone she met on Second Life?

This is a really, really bad idea.

I can understand why LL might want to merge the grids. I can understand why the teens want to merge the grids. Heck, I can understand why some parents already in SL would want the grids to merge.

I don't want it. At least not until LL can prove that they are reliable, mature and responsible enough to handle the situation.

I want to see an outline of what they plan to do to make the merger happen and I'd like to see it NOW, so I can decide what I'm going to do. Are they going to PG the WHOLE grid to accommodate the kids? Are they going to simply create continents that are Mature OR PG?

One thing they could do is study Neopets. Neopets requires a parent's written permission to allow minors to chat with ANYONE. In this case, they could require a parental consent form to allow minors to chat with anyone 18 and over in IM. Also, they could require a parental consent form for minors to leave the PG or Linden owned areas. If LL wants, they could set this requirement to the 13-15 year olds and let the 16/17 year olds off the hook. This way, if little precious does something that Mommy and Daddy doesn't like, LL has their written consent to cover their butts with.

Do you have any clue what a false accusation of sexual harassment/propositioning of a minor could do to you in RL?

I have seen kids make that accusation against adults that have pissed them off in one way or another. Even when eventually tossed out, it totally messes up a person's life and costs them an extreme amount of money and time to clear their name.

The last thing I want to deal with when experiencing my "Second Life" is being a PARENT. As a sim owner, I already do far more policing than I care to. I run a "PG" sim...but a sim that caters to ADULTS who prefer to conduct themselves in a PG, polite, manner.

I do NOT want it to become my job to "card" people at the door. I am sure there are teens who manage to slip through and be a part of the main grid, but many are weeded out because of their lack of emotional maturity and actions.

My daughter is grown now, but when she lived home with me and I was responsible for her, I either limited or restricted her access to sites that cater to open chat as SL does. I did this as a parent, but many parents do not and are unable to. I do not want this responsibilty passed on to me and I don't want to feel responsible if someone on my sim addresses a child in a manner befitting an adult.

If Linden Labs INSISTS in compremising ALL OF US this way, by merging the grids, then I must INSIST on increased tools as a sim owner. Easier ways to ban an individual when the grid and search is blocked and not working....the ability to ban by IP address...etc. We all know whats needed.

Charity Colville
Owner of Sweethearts Jazz

I do not want "Your world. Your imagination." to be dumbed down to the level of not offending the exceptionally naive parent of a 13 year old.