Upcoming Changes for Adult Content: Motivations and Goals

"Does that mean that there can be no dance clubs, stores, music venues, beaches or parks at PG sims anymore ?"

Yeah, see that's the big problem here (well besides that the lindens couldn't be more clueless as to how the populace their world contains thinks and feels)...there are plenty of places in SL that the above mentioned places co-exist together on the same sim or near each other over sim borderlines with nearly no problem, outside of the occasional complaint by 1% of the populace.

Now people will have to choose one or the other and segregate accordingly....all for stupid children. I vow right now PG or Adult, if I learn you are a child in my sims you will be banned. Go play WOW or something, we don't want you here.

Sorry, but the left and the communists were/are just as likely to endorse censorship as the right, they just don't get the press. Of course that doesn't fit into your hateful world view.

Hand Out Condom's in school, yet don't tell the kids what they are for?
I remember my curiousness was quite rampant when I was young, and when Dr. Michio Kaku featured Second Life in his Visions of the Future: The Intelligence Revolution Series. I had to be here.
So I suppose by making this curious Adult Content Rule very vague and flimsy you are hoping to avoid half naked avatar collisions during business meetings, 1rst Rezz days, and while showing Mom around the shoe store. Well, shielding Mom from reality does not appeal to me much. She is not that old, but very intelligent, and telling her that everyone on this planet is a precious jewel like myself just seems to be wrong on a fundamental level.
When things appear to be going to the trash, is it not a good idea to teach your young about tolerance, and value of diversity?. Instead of trying to put the wool over their eyes so to speak. Boy oh Boy I was a curious kid.
Don't need a debate really, just thinking that it may be better to be aware of human activity, but to try to hide it could be contributing to the ignorance of centuries old questions. There is value in trash, but there are also many harmful waste products there that some are not able to fathom yet, so I would rather face reality on this global stage, and take the good stuff about life; dump the crap.
Get Real, and educate the young; for they are our future.

From what I have seen over the time that I have been part of Second Life, I have seen problems come and go and noticed that people do not understand what exactly is going on and yet crying and screaming because they have nothing better to do. This problem is a perfect example of this because people do not understand why what they are doing is wrong. Much like something that the people crying about as being wrong is doing something wrong as well What they should be doing is going to the person who owns the sim they “accidently” teleported into telling them that it is wrong they feel they can go to Linden Labs to make Second Life a better place. This is the root cause of all that is happening, one person’s belief over another, I believe I can do what I wish in the sims that I go to, if I am in a sim that does not allow it I refrain from it and wait until I am out of that sim. This is the responsible adult thing to do. What people do when they do not like it should be to go elsewhere that does not have it yet people think they need to make all of the Virtual Reality of Second Life squeaky clean to their liking and dam everyone else’s opinion of the matter.

One person’s opinion does not make a discussion, it makes a demand. We are here as a group to have fun in our own special ways and one person’s belief should not be outweighed by another because they do not like something. If I do not like something much like a television or radio, I walk away, turn it off or just get away from it. We as a society on Second Life should stand firm with this belief as much as anything else. If we do not like it, Walk away, do not demand that the people who run the whole thing to do something about it because you said so.

In this case I may have a possible solution to this problem.

Seeing how Linden Labs has decided to possibly attack the problem with the Adult Content areas being subjected to a designated area or even uprooted as some think it will and shipped off to Adult Reservations or "Scarlet Lettered" as an area for adults only. This is not because they are thinking of merging the Teenage Grid, it is because people who feel they want to just party or socialize and do not wish to see someone walking in the door with another avatar following on a leash and wearing nothing else, because their Real Life Partner would think they were there for sex and do not want to defend the playing of this “Game”.

The solution is simple, if Linden Labs wishes to change something, change the Map and make it so that M or PG is apparent on the sim so that people who are looking for them may find them easier. If the M is seen on a sim that means that Adult activities are allowed, if it has PG then that means only PG level activities can be done and have monitors to prevent Adult activities from happening if wanted by the owner. This way the people who do not like the activities can complain to the owner of the sim and not Linden Labs. Every time someone goes crying to Linden Labs about something they feel Linden labs should do it causes more pain that it is worth.

Any Mature area is meant to be for anyone who knows that they may encounter something that they do not approve of and move on away from it understanding that it is something someone else enjoys and leaving it be instead of complaining constantly about it until they get what they want like a sniveling brat who holds their breaths until they get their way.

Children are not allowed to join the main adult grid. If the sex offender cannot be trusted to take his place in society, then he belongs in prison. You do also realize that the term "sex offender" has been expanded to include things such as public urination in the alley out behind the bar and a 16 year old girl texting nude pictures to her 15 year old boyfriend.

No comment




(want to rejoin the British Empire ?)

Children are not allowed to join, correct. There is the possiblity that they're here though and I've heard many folks who talked to minors here. The only thing stopping them is that they sign up anonymously with an email address. Who's kidding who?

And yes, I was talking about mostly adult sex offenders, not those preying on those minors who supposedly don't exist here.

About the trust issue and sex offenders. They kind of can't be trusted, but since there's doubt, that's kind of why they make them register as sex offenders.

And it's the government's and LL's job to determine what a sex offender is, if a urinator gets thrown out with a rapist, I'm all for it. And you should be too. This sounds like advocating them which is kind of creepy.

I'm already a citizen of the Commonwealth, thanks.

Wait a second. You're saying that someone who is intoxicated and in pain and lets go in a dark corner where they think they won't be seen, and gets arrested for public urination, they SHOULD be treated as a "sex offender"? Are you effing serious?

And how many of those subsequently re-registered anonymously or with fake names?

LL's plan does not help with this North Carolina rule, as those sex offenders who are willing to reveal their real identity to LL are unlikely to be in SL in order to repeat in RL whatever their offense was - indeed if they are in an adult area they may be trying to enact whatever thier offense in SL instead of having to do so in RL.

Your iceberg analogy is a good one - what you are doing is chipping of the tip of the iceberg because that is the bit you can see whereas actually that is the safest bit of the iceberg (since you can see it), and it is the hidden ice under the surface that you should really be worried about.

Matthew

No, apologies if that came out that way. I mean whatever the government decides a sex offender is, is a separate issue. If some folks that are relatively innocent get labeled with those who really are predators, then so be it. That's another battle on another battlefield. It might be unfortunate, but I'd rather see them gone by legal definition than not gone at all.

I agree children should not be allowed on the main grid - and would oppose any proposal to merge the teen and main grids. I also fear that if LL did merge the grid they would concentrate on protecting children from accessing inappropriate adult content, and fail to protect children from inappropriate adults - and the headline "Young Johnny finds pixel porn on SL" seems to be far less serious than "Young Johnny is groomed by pedophiles on SL".

As for child avatars - as these are not real and cannot be harmed either physically or psychologically, I have no problem with these on the main grid *provided* that there is an adult behind the avatar.

Matthew

again, you can believe damage control now, or what Phillip stated openly less than two months ago. They are going to fold the kids in with us, and i won't believe otherwise until i hear a retraction. He said plainly the days of separate content for adults and the teens is coming to and end.

I couldnt agree more!
If Linden lab is going to do THAT, they finally do something RIGHT.
I fully support your idea, its fantastic!.

I really hope not - at the moment LL can ride out the usual pedophile media stories by pointing out that (RL) children are not allowed in SL. By merging the grids LL would not only lose that defense but would be open to accusations that they were complicit in turning SL into a hunting ground for pedophiles - the media would crucify LL and SL and no parent or school would let a child near SL.

Matthew

It's a world that is broadcast and accessible via the physical means you stated. But to many it is a world, and btw it is billed as such, even in its name.



How will they stop this happening? The *most* publicly accessible areas i.e. sandboxes and malls, NON adult freebie malls, etc. are where I have seen this type of thing happen. The more 'open' the sim, the more griefers flood in. None of the proposed changes will stop this.



I agree with the first part - that seems a very low estimate/assertion. As for short skirts, are we back in the 1950s? I agree that a lot of 'fashion' in SL tends to the micro mini, and it gets old after a while. But so what. Should even virtual women cover from head to toe so that someone isn't "offended" or thinks "dirty thoughts"? Also btw, you do realise a lot of those more extreme examples turn out to be RL men...masquerading as a female avatar for one reason or another. Or their idea of a RL woman?



Their filters already don't work. Their filters are already not "policed" so I am not sure what adding a third option to search will do.

They've stated that "for now" anyway, they are not changing or moving the teen grid. But how would having floods of tweens rushing into SL *stop* or *slow* the griefing including those big waving what-nots in public places? Who is more impressed by things like that - kids or adults?

My brother and I used to laugh hysterically at toilet ads on Tv. See what I mean? (We were *kids*)



Sounds judgmental. If you think it's sick, don't tp there from search.

Unless, of course the eventual plan is to ban adult content altogether.

A *lot* of people will simply quit. Not only 'adult' shop or sim owners, but others; look at the domino effect going on in the RL economy - a few people lose it, we all eventually do. Land prices will drop, people will be unable to afford tier - that this is being done after a lot of sims already vanished due to the tier increase/OpenSpace thing, makes me question whether abandoned land is what LL *want*?

By the time these 'kids' grow up enough to spend money in SL, it might already be a thing of the past...I still don't see why kids are being courted at the expense of already paying customers/land 'owners' in SL, but maybe once the REAL announcement is made it will be clearer.

(Could be someone's bought into SL and LL are contractually unable to say more at this time??)

No?
How about this.. i have a sim full of furniture.. and a small area that i sell beds in.
my clientel would now be limited to verified avas only.. or i would either have to buy another sim for the beds or move them to the ghetto... either way i lose a lot of money.

Like i lost on the SIM repricing and then the openspace fiasco..

Also remember one thing, LL is notorious about being vague and changing their minds and upping the ante...

the openspace script limit has still not been announced... and its fast approaching the next price hike.

All this talk about sex ... but most of mature activities are non sexual.. the odd swearword..flirting.. a prim cigarette.. hell over 50% of gestures will probably fall in the mature area. Skins IMHO .. the shops have explicit naked pics of the products.. what comes next... stars and mosaic? or compulsory painted on undies?
drinks.. joke doobies.. tshirts with offensive (mildly or otherwise) stuff on them.. or short short Ts where half the boobie shows... or jeans where you can see the panties.. or semi see-thru clothes... group titles .. titlers.. (yeah i can see someone being banned because of one of those rediculous titlers where other ppl can input something)

the only way to police all this and more.. is to turn your ordinary sl citizen into an infomant.. and we know that even now, this is abused...that and word filters.. and item filters .. ie censorship.. on a wide level

police state.. phhht. whats free about that?

I still say make the new continent the gateway to purity .. and let ppl venture forth into the filth if they want to.
I really dont see the need to upheave the whole shebang for a prudish few.... unless of course LL has a hidden agenda.. and the whole shebang isnt really part and parcel of that.

There is a common factor to almost all the well received (by residents) resident suggestions. They all suggest staying with the current PG and Mature ratings. However, introduce better ways of (intelligently) policing them, letting people see what the rating of places/objects are, thinking more intelligently about placement of PG and Mature sims on new continents etc.

Matthew

Sorry, what I meant to say is...yes, make a PG grid, but instead of making it entirely separate (like we have with the teen version) develop it where you access the adult grid with filters. Providing this could be done, which I believe it could.

The grid everyone is using right now would go unchanged, but would be renamed to reflect that it is a Mature version. I hope that clarified any confusion.

that can really be the only goal. In order to make any assurance of safety for people under 18, they can't allow us to carry adult content around in our inventories. It isn't geographically set. i can drop adult content anywhere there is build rights, and i can wear it anywhere, period.

so, content moderation is the only sure way of them creating the kind of grid Phillip described in that interview i have quoted here twice already. I will expect another bombshell about July. I think we are on a timetable to a new SL, and anyone it will outrage they secretly want to lose anyway.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1047748741&play=1

That's their vision for second life. Fewer users, bigger checks, no bad PR from slavegirls and BDSM sexytimes. Fanboys will no doubt differ, but the writing is on the wall to read. No one will buy them out, and they can't imagine to expand publicly with the kind of press they'd get hosting what htey host now here.

This is the same sweep-and-clean undertaken in places like Las Vegas, only we don't get to keep the casinos. Sadly, the people they want rid of most are the ones who more often than not tirelessly create content and interest in their little dog and pony show.

BINGO!

And use IM just like they do in internet chatrooms already...How will ANY of this stop that. It might almost make it easier. They will know kids can't be in the 'adults only' areas...

No - you can ban all the adult content, make the entire grid PG, ban all content if you like, but if you allow adults and children to freely mix on a single grid, inappropriate adults will still have access to children.

The only way to keep children safe from online grooming within SL would be to have an area in which only children (and screened adults) are allowed, and not allow children to leave that area - mmmm, that sounds a little like, errr, the teengrid!

Matthew

What I can't understand is - if it's bringing in money and membership numbers are increasing, then how has it been *bad* PR?

Announcing that kids are welcome in SL now, and that they will only be in certain areas, is like setting out a bowl of catnip for pedophiles. Jmo

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1047748741&play=1

PS I thought all virtual corporate meetings were followed by virtual hookers...Maybe that tiny "reprobate island" is meant with that in mind.

I kid.