Letting underage kids stay on adult SL

I have reported my 15 yr old son being on SL hoping Linden would do something about it. After submitting an abuse report I was emailed that they were investigating. Over a week later I received another email stating that they had investigated and resolved the issue but would not tell me what they did. Since my son was on again as of early this morning I know nothing was done.

I took it upon myself to contact the owners of some of the groups he belongs to and have managed to get him banned from 2 of them. One of the owners told me that they had reported underage users to Linden too but nothing was done either.

So why does Linden have a TOS that they don't enforce? How many underage children are accessing the mature areas of SL? I know a lot of people would say that it is the parent's responsibility and I agree but in my opinion if a site does contain mature content then they should be held accountable as well. In my case my son doesn't live with me so I can't access his computer to install any programs to bar his access.

I know many of you are up in arms about the age verfication proposal that Linden plans on implementing and I see both the pros and cons of the issue. What worries me is that since my son's father is paying for his membership even with the age verification my son will continue to be able to access SL so the verification will have done no good.

Something needs to be done about this widespread problem before something happens and some child is harmed.

um..

Does your son live with you?

No lives with his father.

Ahh I see. So his dad wont take the internet away from him for being in an Adult Place like Second Life.

Sounds like you have two problems: One is his Dad wont watch him; and Two, Linden Labs wont enforce the Age policy.

For the Second One Id recomend calling support. Since you are his mother, this is more that just an underage kid report.

Yes, age verification should help some with situations like this. Assuming his dad doesnt let him get at his Identification information.

Have you spoken to LL on the phone or just used the inworld abuse reporter?

You might try faxing some documentation that the situation is as you state it is, and sending email to [email]abuse@secondlife.com[/email] and [email]robin@lindenlab.com[/email] with something along the lines of a scan of a birth certificate or whatever might give LL reason to believe your statements

Is there any way that you can prove that you are the mother of an underage user that doesn't live with you?

Thanks for the info I will give it a try.

I would think you coud prove you were his Mother - Simply with a faxed version of his birth certificate.

Which would also have the added benefit of proving he was underage.

And if it was ME, ID make a second call, this time to his Dad, and give him an Earful!

I have a 16 year old and a 14 year old. I can sympathize. Good luck.

He knows. Said I have made it all up and that my son doesn't do that kind of stuff. Talk about an ostrich with it's head in the sand.

Can companies that hold CC info on file (like LL) request that the bank verify the owner? Not talking age stuff here - just asking the bank to ping the owner to verify that it's valid or telling the customer to call billing@LL.

If LL thought somebody else in SL might be using my CC, I'd be very, very happy to get a call from my bank, even if they weren't charging to it.

wow ..

You highlight a big problem, where do LL stand legally with no hard evidence that your son is the person controlling the avatar? The account isn't in your son's name and they can't simply take your word for it that it's true (I'm not doubting you, I'm just putting myself in LL's shoes).

From LL's point of view they've checked the account details, saw that they belong to an adult and moved along. I don't know what else they can do, especially if they email the person behind the account to confirm with him.

If people could report underage kids and LL immediately banned those accounts, that could be wide open to abuse.

No easy fix here other than your husband acting more responsibly.