Child Avatars: Legal or Illegal in SL????

Actually, we - that is me an other kid avvies -- can go into mature sims, as mature sims != adult content 100% of the time. We can get into trouble if we end up in proximity of sexual content, but it is a very big gray area.

Heh! I've met a few who admitted to being 50+

And I have no problem stating I'm 39.

Best thing about getting older: The amusement I get from "yunginz" who think all this "retro" stuff is cool (like VH1's "I love the 70s" series"

Since you specifically qualify it as "very illegal", I just wanted to point out that it's actually not necessarily *illegal*. It is illegal in some countries, an untested gray area in others, and in yet others, there's precedent that such fictional representations are legal.
It is, however, against the ToS, which are the rules we agreed to abide by when signing up, and is one of the few areas where LL explicitly overrule their "follow the law of your own country" principle.

I came across Hillcrest College in SL, seems to me this role play is under 18's.
I would say they are sex role playing 15 to 17 year olds.
Love
June

I recall the day that the bright bulbs at LL decided to ban the letters "loli" from search and classifieds.

LOL I guess that will work.

Re-reading the blog clarification, LL curiously never states which age constitutes a "minor" (likely to avoid confusion with fantasy creatures).
I assume they use the US definition, but their actual description states, "Objective factors which will be used to decide include whether an avatar has child-like facial features, is sized as a child, has clothing or accessories generally associated with children, and whether, based on the circumstances, an avatar is speaking or acting like a child (e.g. “My Mommy says…”)."

I can hardly imagine the students at the college running around talking about their Mommy.

My point is that LL's policy seems to be aimed at young children; not at dressing up as a naughty cheerleader.
-In fact, going by local law here, "minor" is under 15 (with the age raised to 18 if there is a significant difference in age, experience, power or authority), so two students making out would be perfectly legal.

Edited to add: In fact, the clarification seems to switch back and forth between "child" and "minor", which, in my understanding, is not the same. Could somebody with knowledge of US legaleese comment on that?

This is not meant to try to interpret the ToS, or to "toe the line"; just some more or less random observations.

I think it's in my first life profile that I am 50.

The problem is that the law being applied isn't the law of consent - under which, yes, it's ok for two 16-year-olds to make out - but the law of child pornography, which states that it's NOT ok to take a picture of them doing anything sexual and post it on the internet. Unfortunately, EVERYTHING you do in SL involves sending a picture of that action (ie, the SL output) across the internet, and so behavioural standards in SL become a lot more restrictive.

Two 16 year olds, what about a 16 year old and a Adult?
June

Been there, done that, got married once I was old enough. Still going strong at that. (^_^)y

/me whaps you smartly in the shins with her cane and dodders off to the kitchen for some oatmeal and bran muffins.

While the policy was crafted with younger child avatars in mind, the "cut off" in LLs mind regarding sexual age play is 18; the same as the cut off for Teen Second Life. If you want to play "naughty cheerleader" and be on the safe side, then you hafta be older than that.

Mari

I'm 35, same as my human counterpart ... errr 36, just had a birthday. I'm 5' 4" and named Lolita. Every now and then someone accuses me of ageplay (nonsexual .. just accuses me of being a child avatar) and says I'm not allowed in their club/sim. I direct them to my profile where it says "businesswoman" ... I.E. NOT A CHILD.

Although, I do enjoy a couple of kid-friendly hangouts. They can be fun to hang around. It helps to remind me of my own youth and bring back cheerful memories.

Well when I got measured in SL I'm 6ft 7ins but my avatar looks a foot shorter than the guys. So if I were to be "normal" 5ft 7ins I would look like a child.
Love
June

THANK YOU!! A friend of mine invited me to "'Greenies" where everything is HUGE and your avy is like the size of a mouse and we were just enjoying the graphics... She added to the theme by giving me a child shape and we both took the the form of child avys for a few moments. It was CUTE, totally innocent and ANY OTHER thought NEVER crossed our minds. I took a screen shot, added it to my pics because I enjoyed it so much and later found myself having to take it off. Too many ppl accused me of ageplay and honestly...it never crossed my mind - it was all good innocent fun. Echoing your comment..."....Strange how thats become the way ppl think..." =/

I love greenies ... great concept.

Should explain the "29" thing is a running joke in the club I hang out in... when I'm playing my Vampire Av I say im 329 ...again.

I'm 44 in RL years... but do they really matter in SL? Naaa!

Yes, children AV's are Illegal unless licensed from Mari or Immy - they hold the copylefts to any av under 4' ;P

Uh... Yeah! ... And Toy owes us retroactive dues like nobody's business! (^_^)y

Ah, but Toy was grandfathered into the current licensing scheme. That, and she is really good with the wet towel whip. ^^p

I'm safely 4' 8" tall, by the Hangout ruler.

So Mari gets nothing.

Immy sure as HECK gets nothing.

I still got "that" picture. (=_=)

HA! Is that all you got on me? I'm not scared of you - dork!

I don't think that the blog is written with any degree of legal accuracy.

"Minor" is typically used in laws to refer to someone below the age of majority; that is, not having full rights as an adult. And every jurisdiction (every state in the U.S.) has a different definition of "minor," though under 18 is by far most common.

"Child" is rarely used in laws. In fact, where you see "child," you almost always see it in the context of "minor child."

In the medical community, "child" would refer to a person who is developmentally pre-pubescent. The term "child" has relevance when speaking about issues like pedophilia, because pedophilia describes sexual attraction to persons who have not developed secondary sexual characteristics.

An avatar accurately representing a 16-year-old person would probably be considered to be an avatar representing a minor, but not an avatar representing a child.

My guess is that the blog post uses the conflicting terms interchangeably because whomever wrote the post probably does not understand fully what the policy is actually meant to prohibit. Or, the person who wrote the policy is one of the many people who (alarmingly) do not know that the physical change of puberty comes quite a few years before one reaches the age of 18.

The problem is that SL doesn't work in quite the same way - it's possible to make an avatar who's short, and who talks like a child, but is fully "developed" in all other senses - does that indicate pedophilia?

Also, the law on "child pornography" actually judges based on age, not on physical shape (ie, "minor" status, by your definition..)..

I think I can see why they wouldn't like to get into the differences between those two..