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

indeed... and as soon as you report the account is gone.

Those games are not safe because those seeking children... know they are there!

They hide behind the "experience may change with online play" catch phrase which provides some protection, but nothing like LL keeping the underage completely out of the main grid (for the kids and adults protection, as well as corporate cyoa reasons)

The problem is those very same creative people you want will probably have that creativity hampered by the do's and don'ts of Disneyfication. Everyone will have a list of rules and conformities that will make everything the same.

You will be required to wear mouse ears.

Which is why There never caught on even with user content...

The corporate vetting of it rendered a stifling impact on creativity

That's what the Teen Grid is for.

Cold day in Hell when that happens.

/me checks thermostat at home.

It looks like everyone took the disney statement literally. hehe

Brenda. I was one of those teens who struggled and felt trapped. All I can say is allowing me some tiny portal into this grid would have had the opposite of hampering me. I am hoping for the best for adults and teens if anything comes out of this.

I really need to stop reading this thread though. Some of the posts are really beginning to disturb me. Mainly the "Who cares about TSL? Why not just kill it? Please don't help them. I don't want to be bothered." kinds.

Unfortunately, I suspect that is LL's attitude too - hence why they want to merge the grids.

There are a number of arguments for keeping a seperate teen-grid but a successful teen grid will only work if it is managed properly, and if appropriate bodies (both commercial, educational etc.) can have a presence (with some suitable screening). That unfortunately needs active effort from LL (whose track record has been poor in even supporting teens trying to sign up for accounts etc.).

Matthew

You're probably right.. LL doesn't have the resources to bother much with such a small grid. However I think trapping the honest teens on the grid isn't quite fair either. Something should be done (fix TSL, or let them here ... partially) and I'm doubting they are going to do much investing in teen grid... so I can only hope for the latter.
If LL can't find away around the legal issues/mature content/etc there's really no other option than to leave the grids separate... Beause of those issues, I don't think they will ever merge them, but I just have some overly wishful thinking because I know it would be a better situation than what teens have currently.

Separation is really the only way to protect kids and adults online.

Sad but true people...

There is no mystical magical technology that can not be bypassed with enough effort by someone to get around in game limits (especially with the open source client... it's a running war hence the constant server updates for stability and security [to fix loopholes that they are using to grief and steal with])

The only real protection legally is not to merge the grids, otherwise LL and every resident with adult content is at risk of lawsuits and worse.

To have a government verify you id for what amounts to as recreation means that recreation will go the way of the dodo... Lets face it, easily most of the current subscribers and the possible subscribers they want to consider will not go through all the tedious paperwork and the like for a subscription verified by their government. To assume otherwise is naive at best...

Claiming because they get past the tools out there is a good reason is like saying it's a good idea to legalize drunk driving because people are out there doing it and getting away with it... It is a logical argument that fails on any reasonable level.

Just because they are committing fraud and possible identity theft now to get on... we should let them just get accounts with restrictions...

Is the same as saying they are getting on now, so might as well let them on with restrictions...

They are already restricted from the main grid, and yet they commit misdemeanors and possible felonies just to get onto it... and likely would still to get around the restrictions you place on the teen accounts on the main grid..

The fact that this "information" is coming from someplace other than secondlife.com means someone is talking out of their ass and not actually in a position of authority on the topic. I'll believe it when I see something official.



"Think of the Children" is the argument of last resort when the idea is fundamentally indefensible. That's not the case with this issue. A better question would be, "What about the adults?" I'd reckon that most Second Lifer's are child-free and of the opinion that children don't belong in the company of adults, and when they are, they should only be seen and never heard.

M has said that both he and Philip would like to see the grids merged, but I agree, that's not official, just makes it more likely to happen.





I'm not sure about that, what's the average age of a Second Lifer? However you don't need to have kids to realise that kids don't belong in an adult place, and the main grid is an adult place.

The average age of Second Life residents is 30-35, with about the same number of 20-30 and 35-45 year olds based on stats from 2007, with a near 50/50 split for gender (for some reason, I can't find newer figures even though I'm pretty sure they were produced and published... the marketplace webpage is fubar with lots of borken links pointing to the completely useless marketplace homepage...where are the current demographics these days?).

Strangely, though, it seems that parents themselves forget that kids don't belong in public, even places that explicitly prohibit minors like bars and universities. Had Public Safety at my college remove one family who forgot to get a sitter from campus yesterday...

That average age is no longer figured by LL due to the fact that the numbers are off due to alts and the like. Some lie to get on earlier than they should (and can be punted even after reaching 18 for it), others are older and chose a younger age out of pride.

And kids have every right to be in public, unless expressly forbidden by the location from being there. (Like SL forbids them from access until they are considered legal adults at 1

Ill be selfish here why do the teens need to be catered for other than what they have? Is there not other things they can do is homework other RL activities ( oh and yes i do those things also) When they turn 18 then they can come to SL and join in hell in RL we dont say let the teens go into a pub and hang out with adults trying to socialise with other adults and not having to watch what they say. I am aware kids are in SL and I have found more since the free unverified membership that before. Why as a land owner do I need to up my security banning free members cause SL may allow teens in ?

LL can't really say for sure what any of our true ages or gender is. They only know what we put in the signup box.

If that were the case, babysitters wouldn't exist. Unless your kids are perfect saints who stay quiet in public, hire a sitter or trade off with another parent in your neighborhood while you go run errands or have an evening out. Don't burden the rest of society with tripping over your kids just because you didn't consider the expense of raising children before having them.

AFAICT, the only way to ban "free" members on your land is to charge admission. Otherwise, it seems that you could ban people by whether or not they're age verified, or if they have payment info on file, but not whether or not they're a premium or free account holder. If I'm wrong, feel free to cite the documentation; I'd be interested in learning more.

Odd, no laws on the books saying kids should be kept at home ...

So it's your personal opinion they should be left there.

The title says it all: "MySpace Turns Over 90,000 Names of Registered Sex Offenders"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/technology/internet/04myspace.html?_r=1

course that is the ones they knew about.

It don't include the ones that are there under false data.

Just beacause there's no law saying that you shouldn't defecate into a bag and then offer it to your dinner party host at the table doesn't mean it's polite, acceptable behavior. Unless your kids are saints, taking kids out into public is no better. I'm so glad more businesses here are no longer allowing kids, supervised or not (off the top of my head around here, Home Depot, most coffee shops, cafes and restaurants downtown, the local grocery store, and all college campuses in town prohibit kids).

"Prohibit" kids?

You are saying I cannot take my children with me into the grocery store there??? Or into Home Depot, or the restaurants????

What city/town is this again? Because i do not believe it.

You are insane.