Upcoming Changes for Adult Content: Main Forum Thread

Private residences will explicitly NOT be rated adult, according to the Lindens. Yes there are all sorts of loopholes in this, that need to be straightened out) but the ground rule is there.

It's not the loopholes that are the problem, it's the false positives.

The funny thing is tentacles became popular from censorship, when a certain government made the depiction of a penis (photos or drawings) against the law. So tentacles were used instead. So in an attempt to remove what was considered wrong, they created something considered wrong by even more people, even more popular! XD

Which really I think is what's going to happen in SL. People will be told they can't show certain things, so people will find loopholes around it. I can't wait to see what people will come up with to be honest. I bet it will be probably something actually worse than what exists in SL today. Looking forward to it! Thankyou LL for helping us invent new smut!

Shockwave;

I doubt even a G-rated continent could work; Suppose I happen to wander in with a perfectly accepted religious symbol, a Hindu lingam? It only has everything to do with male fertility, and is essentially an icon of the penis... and commonly worn by some of the devout.

Censorship simply cannot operate as a half-measure; Either they need to nuke and pave Second Life right to the bare earth, restart it with clear definitions, and enjoy their empty homogenous world, or leave the diversity we've founded in place, lest they then have to attempt to make decisions that world governments have thusfar failed to even make with consistency.

'Skin stores, animations and the like will NOT be rated adult, even if they depict nudity. The implication being that if you sell sex animations you will only be adult-rated if you have a "sex room". Trying out animations in the store while full-clothed will NOT be rated adult.'

Really? well my ticket re sex beds did NOT receive a 'sex bed stores are not viewed as adult' i was directed to the forums of conjecture.....
So the most risque sex anims are ok providing you are clothed??? like a Domme outfit clothed? or will we have levels of animation and attire police?
Surely sellers of genitalia wil have to be adult..is that part of 'and the like' and only be adult if erect???
Even the descriptions of some animations can be pretty graphic or will we have to start using ****?

LL have said that the majority of areas on the grid aren't "adult" (by its definition), but have they fully considered the relatively high permeance of sex and adult behaviour in the social and enabling life of the grid?

Nah to be honest, when I hear brown bag I think about people using it to throw up into and I get that image each time I hear it... I don't know why, it's just what comes to mind. I vote 'brown bag' should be moved to the adults-only land.

'Skin stores, animations and the like will NOT be rated adult, even if they depict nudity. The implication being that if you sell sex animations you will only be adult-rated if you have a "sex room". Trying out animations in the store while full-clothed will NOT be rated adult.'

Really? well my ticket re sex beds did NOT receive a 'sex bed stores are not viewed as adult' i was directed to the forums of conjecture.....
So the most risque sex anims are ok providing you are clothed??? like a Domme outfit clothed? or will we have levels of animation and attire police?
Surely sellers of genitalia wil have to be adult..is that part of 'and the like' and only be adult if erect???
Even the descriptions of some animations can be pretty graphic or will we have to start using ****?

Private residences will explicitly NOT be rated adult, according to the Lindens.

Private Estates that are considered Adult will not have to move, but will have to flag themselves as such.

Thank you, you're my new heroine, you haven't got a wonder woman costume or a pirate outfit have you?

We call those "barf bags" here.

Reading what's out there on the issue I came across some ideas... Maybe this idea was said already, the forum is way too long to find out.

In another blog post about parcel improvements (Sorry I don't remember which) someone suggested adding the ability to make the content of a given parcel not viewable from the exterior when privacy was desired. While I disagree with with this solution because it would make the landscape rather horrid... I had a flash...

Instead of carpet solutions... why not have said content flagged!

A simple check box. "Adult content".. Check. And voila. Object appears as invisible to all those not interested in such content. Even better... A user not interested in adult content would not even have to download it. Saving precious resources.

Even better! Locations with PG, Mature AND adult content (Think skins, some clubs) could be visited by everyone without offending anyone.

Locations specifically offering adult content could still be flagged at a parcel level and blimmey... if you don't want to be in contact with adult content enthusiasts and go there then you're asking for it.

Complicated to tag all objects? Not really. As far as locations go, adult related objects make a small fraction of a complete build. Said flag could even be "No Modify" on bought objects with "No Modify" checked, making it even easier. And if you're going to offer adult content, it's your responsibility after all.

Could even work for avatars (i.e. strippers) the same way it works when muting. Maybe said avatar could be red instead. It would even allow for someone to enter adult mode and leave it. lol... funny idea.

Doesn't change the landscape. The "adult" location's "walls" would still be there and therefore the landscape would not be affected.

No costly moves to a new Sim.

Much like RL regulations, the advertising on the outside wall (provided it is not adult itself) could still explain what's inside and therefore not affect the finances of adult content owners.

If those not interested in adult content are offended by the simple possibility of it near them, it's simply bigotry, not wanting to accept part of the world does like and indulge in adult content.

As for the search... you don't need keyword searches. Just a clear definition and you can be certain those responsible will flag to stay out of trouble. Those against adult content will report any offenders presto. For those who don't flag... good riddance, they asked for it.

How complicated does it have to be?

~Cy

Request for Opinions Concerning Zoning and Sexual Content in Second Life

Dear residents,

Conceived in a moment of passion, born healthy and vibrant, Second Life has gone from playpen to sandbox to schoolyard so quickly that we at Linden Lab gaze tearfully at the pencil-lines that mark its growth. As Second Life approaches maturity, therefore, we feel the time has come to sit down with you and have a chat about the birds and the bees. In brief, we would like to know if it might be possible to improve the user experience regarding zoning and/or sexuality.

First, let me state clearly that Linden Lab is not seeking to impose social restrictions of any kind on the community. We recognize the unique value of the freedoms enjoyed in a virtual world - indeed, it was this insight that made us a successful company - so we won't be killing the golden goose for the sake of a hot dinner. Instead, we wonder if there might be changes that would improve the experience for some without diminishing the experience of others. To use a fancy economics term, we seek a 'Pareto Improvement' to the social environment such that some people win, but no one loses.

For example, the mainland was originally created with PG and Mature sims side by side. Over the years, this has led to an increase in abuse reports as residents with different lifestyles clash at the sim borders. Recently, we have sought to be more consistent when zoning new land - Nautilus, for example, is entirely Mature - but perhaps some of you could provide a clever solution to the problem of older land.

Another question that has vexed the policy folks at the Lab is 'sexuality' within Second Life. As might be expected, there are an increasing number of residents and organizations who would prefer the removal of sexually explicit content. While we recognize that Second Life is an adult environment by definition, we wonder if the growth of Second Life is being hampered by a public misperception of Second Life as 'pornographic'. Of course, anyone who has spent time inworld knows this is false, but we live in a media age in which branding is important. Perhaps you can help us.

A third question, related to the other two, concerns our own legal protection regarding minors. We believe that children should not be allowed on the main grid - this is why we created the teen grid - and we have wrestled with various methods of preventing children from gaining access. None is foolproof, but it is important for us to be able to enter a courtroom and defend ourselves against accusations of negligence. Therefore, we seek your opinions on what might constitute a set of legally defensible as well as practical methods of restricting the main grid to adults.

Before proceeding to formulate policy, we wish to ask you three specific questions:

1. Is there a better way to zone the mainland? <link to thread>
2. Is there a better way to rate/flag search? <link to thread>
3. Is there a better way of keeping underage players off the main grid? <link to thread>

We know this is political dynamite (and believe me, after pressing the submit button, I'm going out for a cigarette), but we think it is important now to solicit opinions from residents before attempting further discussions in-house. Remember that we are seeking a win-win solution. Perhaps that means doing nothing at all. We need your input.

In asking you in advance, we acknowledge that the collective intelligence of the community vastly exceeds our own. You, our customers, are perhaps the brightest minds to be brought together since the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. The insights from only one percent of 60,000 online residents represent the brainpower of 600 professional consultants. Imagine what McKinsey would charge us for that!

I look forward to seeing you in the forums,

Regards,

Blue

For what its worth, I'm glad to have adult stuff moved elsewhere. I personally don't want to be walking around a sim to run across some of this stuff. The x-rated content is part of what gives sl a bad name to those who don't understand it.

Moving that content will give avatars more choices.

Thanks LL

Before anyone foolishly quotes the above, I wrote it - not Blue Linden. I did so to provide an example of how Linden Lab is squandering the intelligence, dedication and goodwill of its residents. The forums would be 50% shorter and 100% more productive if the company had the wisdom to treat its residents as an intellectual goldmine rather than a herd of cattle. Forgive my sharpness, but no business succeeds without consulting the customer BEFORE a major change in business practices. No army conquers with low morale. I am not promoting democracy here. I am simply asking for Henry V instead of Hamlet.

Before anyone foolishly quotes the above, I wrote it - not Blue Linden. I did so to provide an example of how Linden Lab is squandering the intelligence, dedication and goodwill of its residents. The forums would be 50% shorter and 100% more productive if the company had the wisdom to treat its residents as an intellectual goldmine rather than a herd of cattle. Forgive my sharpness, but no business succeeds without consulting the customer BEFORE a major change in business practices. No army conquers with low morale. I am not promoting democracy here. I am simply asking for Henry V instead of Hamlet.

come and have a look at my shop and compare it to yours. you'll see i have pictures of naked women on the walls, some bound, i have bondage, discipline, pure sex toys, D/s things and sex beds.. all available for people to try out.

now i admit I never went down the route of appealing to the "wanna fuk?" brigade so my language used in the descriptions etc is on the (i was going to say adult but that has a whole new meaning here) ahem "normal" side of the fence. I admit that when people tell me they like to talk dirty I wonder about them. I can cope far better with the bug squshing shoe fetishists wanting to suck my 5 inch stiletto heel in rl than those who get off on "dirty talk" sigh I'm a boring kinkster...

but I digress.. If Blondin seems to think I currently can stay on my mature plot and not move to kinkyville then at least you have some kind of guideline you can compare your shop to or at least adjust your current framework of assumptions (dear god, i was about to say paradigm.. now there's a word I haven't heard in corporateland for a long time)

either hit me for a tp tomorrow (saturday) or check out my profile classified or picks. Blondin went through my mainstore at emery.

Ok went, well now i am more confused....was Blondin in role and blindfolded? or would the store qualify as adult only if the furniture was being tested? unfortunately the added dilema is having a store where our target customer base is/visits..i.e. Pornoland or still in mature basically for those that can't /won't verify? Would a furniture store be deemed 'better' because it had to move? if an animation is still allowed in mature is it too tame lolllll Providing allowed, maintaining a store in both locations would probably be the answer tailoring content with a keen eye on accounts.

From 3pm to 5pm pacific,..

At my club:

payment info traffic scanner:
scanned avatars = 29
no payment info on file = 15
payment info on file = 0
payment info used = 14
29 keys, 50810 bytes free

At my store:

payment info traffic scanner:
scanned avatars = 34
no payment info on file = 16
payment info on file = 0
payment info used = 18
34 keys, 50238 bytes free

Yup, the changes wont affect me at all, I'll only lose half of my customers/patrons. Not counting the half of my employees that will no longer be able to come to work.

Yessir LL, this is a brilliant idea.