Could we write a script to stop underage people visiting mature land

1) Ask for credit verification. Not the best, but not every 11 year old has a credit card.

2) Have parents watch their kids for once; this will never happen.

3) Stop worrying about it. Kids will see much worse things on their high-speed connection than virtual barbies licking each other via poor animations.

I got one.

When a new user enters SL, tell them there is an agreement they need to agree to, in order to join up. When they agree to it, it's like virtual signature. Make part of that agreement be that you have to be 18. If it isn't possible to really secure that the age is true, when it is found false then kick the underage people to another SL set up for them. I say we call that one the Teen Grid.

I suscribe to idea 3. 2 is a good idea but like you said, it doesn't often happen.

I had read about some new students touring a school for blind children. The guide pointed out a sharp overhang that a blind person could bang their heads upon. When asked "why do you not pad that overhang?" the guide replied "the world is full of sharp corners that have no padding and by protecting students from this we'd give them a false sense of security".

As has been brought up, it is the duty of parents to monitor their children and help them interpret what they encounter. I've taken my child on tours of SL, I ensure that I know what she is doing and how it affects her - on the net or in realspace. That many parents abrogate their responsibilities does not impose an obligation upon the rest of the world to cover for them.

And, yes, as was noted above, if SL is the worst a kid with net access can expose themselves to is SL, they aren't trying very hard.

What exactly are we trying to achieve?

If you want to pixelate with someone, should you not talk to them first and check maturity level(even for a 5 minute relationship)? No fun pixelating with someone who does not understand what you are doing!

If you sell xxx stuff, perhaps you need to wrap it in a plain brown paper bag. Reminds me of how things were in my youth! (I was born in 1944)

Perhaps the xxx folk need to pool their resources and have some third party validate peoples' ages and issue them with some sort of digital certificate (Verisign, here is your next big opportunity). Then all clients must present this digital code. Still not infallible, since 15 yo Johnny might well break into his daddy's pc and use said digital code.

The myspace case is, I believe, about rl contact. I wonder if anyone has really been prosecuted for internet activities against minors not involving rl contact?

Many of you are confusing the problem with griefers with problems with underage access. I think they are two separate problems.

Teenage kids are pretty resourceful, and I don't think this problem will ever go away. But if I were a teenager now I would be much more interested in real life porn with rl models than in pixelating with someone who might or might not be of the desired gender.

Just my $L3 worth.

Ed

I don't think the verified status flag should be readable by any avatar or script. It's just data about a private contract that has no place in SL. It's not even teh equivalent of letting others see you buy something with a card in a store. It's the equivalent of buying something with a card ina store and then re-broadcasting that transaction on the store's publicly viewbale TV screens during all hours.

However, as a way to use that data, how's this instead...

- The status flag is invisible to any script, and should be hidden from public view (as it was before).
- All land owners have the ability to erect ban lines based on this status flag.
- neither the land owner nor any third party needs to see teh status flag this way; it remains purely within the server. Only observers who see teh avatar bounce off the (to them) invisible ban lines might suspect anything about card details this way.