Upcoming Changes for Adult Content: Answers to Questions

Oh come now Blondin, you have GOT to be joking. You are essentially saying people should abandon things?

On one hand you are telling people they have to move. On the other you are saying LL will not help aside from writing FAQs, including with moves that multiple owners?

As the owners of the servers, LL is the *only* entity that can do some of these things.

I am sorry, but this whole issue is turning into a farce. This has got to be one of the worst examples of customer management I have ever seen. I have no issues with the concept; make an adult region and put all adult material in it. That is fine. But the way it has been communicated is truely awful.

If you are not ready to announce to details of these changes then why release bits of information that only confuses people and leads to assumptions and panic. Why contradict each other when answers are given. It is just not helpful!

When you have worked out the details; what excatly is adult content, who is affected, how the moves will take place, when etc. then release the information and everyone will know what they need to do. They may not like it, but at least they will know. Right now we see shop owners, club owners, Art exhibitions etc. all wondering if they are affected and are just left in the dark. This does nothing other than to annoy people, and as you maybe can tell I am one of them.

Personally, I don't like equating porn with maturity or adulthood. If you are coarse enough to be involved in the porn industry, call it what it is. Mature adults are first and foremost responsible for their own actions.

If using other peoples builds then you will need to reposition them individually.

3) It has been suggested that picks to adult locations may not be permitted in profiles since profiles are intended to be PG. Could LL clarify the situation? If adult picks are not permitted, this will impact search ranking for adult places. How will LL address this?
ANSWER: Pictures and descriptions in profiles should be PG as per the TOS. It's possible to describe adult picks with PG terms.

1) Are there any clear, uncontroversial, unanimous agreed, examples of activities which are "mature" but not "adult"?
ANSWER: Nude beaches, Dance clubs with "alcohol" and dancing, combat sims, lingerie shops, private builds with furniture and accessories.

2) Some Linden's have suggested that only locations intended for "public" use with "adult" content need to move to the adult continent. Is this the case? If so what is meant by "public"?
ANSWER: Public would mean a build on the mainland that is intended to draw and host Resident traffic in such a way as to make it more of a venue than a residence designed for individual enjoyment. That said, mainland locations that have adult content on them may wish to consider a move to the adult continent, because that is where the adults will be. Residents who are interested in adult content will be looking there. Adult content can not be advertised on non-Adult land, so if you want your content found, it needs to be on adult land.

3) It has been suggested that picks to adult locations may not be permitted in profiles since profiles are intended to be PG. Could LL clarify the situation? If adult picks are not permitted, this will impact search ranking for adult places. How will LL address this?
ANSWER: Pictures and descriptions in profiles should be PG as per the TOS. It's possible to describe adult picks with PG terms.

4) Will LL assist in moving complex builds (e.g. large numbers of prims, prims over a large area, multiple permissions of objects, multiple ownership of objects) which can not simply be taken and re-dropped?
ANSWER: We have no way of directly helping in the move, but we will publish some tips on how to best accomplish it. We will provide what support we can but this is not likely to extend to scenarios such as this.

5) It has been suggested that profiles merely indicate whether an avatar is adult, without indicating whether this is via PIOF or aristotle. What is LL's view on this? If LL supports this idea, Will this be reflected in LSL functions?
ANSWER: This isn't part of the current plan, although it may have merit. It isn't on the roadmap, however.

6) Are there any plans to limit group membership to adult verified accounts?
ANSWER: Not at this time.

7) A major complaint is that a failed log on may result in a avatar expecting to be in a mature area (and hence maybe dressed in a mature manner or naked) being relocated to a random PG area. Some have even been ARed or suspended when for appearing naked in a PG area when they expected to be logging onto their (mature) home location or (mature) last logged on location. What plans have LL for resolving this?
ANSWER: We will relocate people to a safe region that matches the maturity they have set in their preferences. That means, most people will end up in Mature regions instead of PG. No more ending up naked in a PG sim.

It still appears that many people in world are still unaware of the proposed changes (not least of all because the blog headlines are no longer listed in the logon page). What plans (such as adding it to the message of the day) do LL have for advertising these change more widely? On a side note, given that important changes are still posted to the blogs, are there any plans to display these within the viewer again?
ANSWER: We are going to talk about it more when we do the Viewer RCs, as it will be part of the major changes in the UI that people will see. Announcements will be made via the blog and forums when new information is released in order to keep residents up to speed.

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>
2. Is there a better way to rate/flag search? <link>
3. Is there a better way of keeping minors off the main grid? <link>

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

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 fora 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.

How many threads does it take before LL realises this is a bad idea?
It would be far simpler to make the new land PG and have the rest of the mainland made mature...there are far more mature sims than PG ones. we would even be having a discussion about it...
"There is a new land called Ursula that is PG only, anyone wishing to relocate there can do so at a 1 for 1 cost."
see simple.
Drake

THIS PROBLEMS CAN BE ALL SOLVED BY ONE LITTLE, LOGICAL AND CHEAP CHANGE IN THE VIEWER!.

DEFINING OF THE "FROM THE OUTSIDE BLIND BOXES" - INVISIBLE CUBES DEFINING PRIVATE AREAS INSIDE BUILDINGS, SKYBOXES AND DOMES, WHERE IT IS NOT POSIBLE TO SEE FROM THE OUTSIDE, IF YOU ARE NOT INSIDE OF THEM!

1) Are there any clear, uncontroversial, unanimous agreed, examples of activities which are "mature" but not "adult"?
ANSWER: Nude beaches, Dance clubs with "alcohol" and dancing, combat sims, lingerie shops, private builds with furniture and accessories.

2) Some Linden's have suggested that only locations intended for "public" use with "adult" content need to move to the adult continent. Is this the case? If so what is meant by "public"?
ANSWER: Public would mean a build on the mainland that is intended to draw and host Resident traffic in such a way as to make it more of a venue than a residence designed for individual enjoyment. That said, mainland locations that have adult content on them may wish to consider a move to the adult continent, because that is where the adults will be. Residents who are interested in adult content will be looking there. Adult content can not be advertised on non-Adult land, so if you want your content found, it needs to be on adult land.

4) Will LL assist in moving complex builds (e.g. large numbers of prims, prims over a large area, multiple permissions of objects, multiple ownership of objects) which can not simply be taken and re-dropped?
ANSWER: We have no way of directly helping in the move, but we will publish some tips on how to best accomplish it. We will provide what support we can but this is not likely to extend to scenarios such as this.

7) A major complaint is that a failed log on may result in a avatar expecting to be in a mature area (and hence maybe dressed in a mature manner or naked) being relocated to a random PG area. Some have even been ARed or suspended when for appearing naked in a PG area when they expected to be logging onto their (mature) home location or (mature) last logged on location. What plans have LL for resolving this?
ANSWER: We will relocate people to a safe region that matches the maturity they have set in their preferences. That means, most people will end up in Mature regions instead of PG. No more ending up naked in a PG sim.

Hello Blondin,
please, do you know if Linden Lab have been considering solution describbed higher in my blogposts?

Untersberg
Pilatus
Rimpfischhorn
Sciliar
Erindale
Langholm
Todi
Schneeberg
Weissmies
Traunstein
Morgan
Larose
Wetterhorn
Titlis
Baturyn
Riel
Blinter

1. LL will never see this as a bad idea.

2. They aren't making it a PG continent because there would be no one to move to it. They might as well unplug the servers and sell them on eBay.

I mean really, how dull.

How about some names that reflect the nature of the activities. it will help us divide along interest lines and make it a lot easier for the deviants to find us in porn-u-topia

edited to add: currently Ursula is 156 regions, if you're only going to give us 20, what are you going to do with the rest? Make them PG?? lol

Ursula has over 250 sims on it...i checked

If there would be no one to move to a PG mainland, why are the "adults" having to move?
obviously someone has a problem with adult content. wouldnt it be easier to give them a new PG only home?

4) Will LL assist in moving complex builds (e.g. large numbers of prims, prims over a large area, multiple permissions of objects, multiple ownership of objects) which can not simply be taken and re-dropped?
ANSWER: We have no way of directly helping in the move, but we will publish some tips on how to best accomplish it. We will provide what support we can but this is not likely to extend to scenarios such as this.

Assumptions:

1. Search is broken.
2. Some people do not care to see anything involving an adult theme.
3. Underage people are gaining access to and using facilities on the main grid.
4. SL as conceived and implemented is an adult's only service.

Solutions:

1. Fix search. Enforce the ToS already in place so that "Mature" terms being used in non-mature searches are punished.

2. Make the new continent PG. Enact a voluntary move for all residents choosing to go there. Initiate a 1:1 land swap for their current land holdings with no tier incurred on either land during the move.

2a. Separate remaining PG parcels/sims attached to mainland and move them en masse and intact to be part of the new PG continent. Replace relocated sims with Linden protected land with a phased in auction over the next 6 months.

2c. Move all welcome area sims to the PG continent and strictly enforce the rules for PG areas. Require age/payment info verification in order to leave the PG continent for all new accounts.

3. Immediately end free/unverified accounts for the SL main grid.

3a. Conceive/enact a new age verification scheme that not only works, but also isn't invasive of data/information that most people are reluctant to provide online let alone a third party, and that also isn't illegal in some countries. Once such a system is in place, begin a phased in requirement that all accounts, not all ready verified, be verified within a given time period or leave SL. Anyone not verified within such a time frame will be suspended and ultimately deleted if failure to comply persists.

3b. Initiate a program allowing anyone with more than one account IE "Alt's" to register them to their primary account at no cost. Allow age/payment verification for the main account to propagate to all "Alt" accounts registered to that main account.

4. Institute an active and ruthless campaign to identify anyone who is underage on the main grid. Immediately delete the account of said individuals and anyone purposefully harboring them. (I personally have reported 2 sets of such individuals and yet the accounts are still active.)

Declaration:
The forced segregation of any segment or part thereof of any population within SL that has not been determined to have broken any rule is unacceptable. SL is an adult community and as such should be treated as such. People should take responsibility for their own actions and LL should take full responsibility for enforcing any and all rules laid out by them that have until this point been largely ignored.

The distinction between Mature and Adult content is nonsensical and not acceptable as by definition there is no such thing.

I personally vow to not agree, not assent and not comply with any rule or guideline that forces one group of individuals to curtail there business, life or experience or to suborn any of their rights to satisfy another when no law, rule or guideline has been broken. I hereby refuse to assist in defining what is or is not adult as it assumes that something is broken with the types of content that needs to be fixed.

Ultimately SL is a make believe community made of multiple parts and multiple personalities. It is not reality, To begin to treat is as such is ludicrous in and of its self. No violence, sex, death or other component to which one may or may not object, portrayed by Avatars can be remotely considered real.

While Linden Labs maintain that they do not wish to merge the main grid with the Teen grid, should such a desire become reality at any future date, implementing the PG continent now as outlined above would create a ready made environment with minimal further work needed to accomplish the goal.

Finally, with the exception of Linden owned land and Linden protected land, there is no such thing as "in public" in SL as all other land is owned by an individual regardless of the use that they may put it to or authorize it to be used for. As such no one has any right whatsoever to complain about anything seen on anyone's land or anything the owner may be doing with or on that land, provided that no rule, no law, and/or no guideline as iterated by LL has been broken.

If "cleaning up" the grid is what is sought as stated, then this is the only sensible way to do it in my opinion. Allowing the ADULT community to police and segregate its self as it see's fit is the only way to not create a bureaucratic and enforcement nightmare for the employees of Linden Labs.

[M]ainland locations that have adult content on them may wish to consider a move to the adult continent, because that is where the adults will be. Residents who are interested in adult content will be looking there. Adult content can not be advertised on non-Adult land, so if you want your content found, it needs to be on adult land.