The United States VS Second Life

Well I think you guys need to put morality out of this discussion. What really matters is if you get caught doing something that is illegal and you are at risk for prosecution in your home country. The age play people I've seen haven't been up to anything sexual but if I saw it like I said I'd run away as fast as I could, not for morality reasons but for simple prudence.

For those who say the age of the players doesn't matter, honestly you are depending on a backwoods jury, judge and prosecuter to determine that (possibly, worst case scenario), so are you willing to take that risk?

With the open registration process, Second Life isn't a closed society anymore it is open, and eventually law enforcement will probably take a look inside.

It was never a closed society before.

Also like to point out that America is not the only country that is against the abuse wether it be physical, verbal, or sexual against a child...

Oh all income is taxed and needs to be reported. There are exceptions but do not think Second Life is exempt.

You are correct, but you dont' report what you make with play money.

I believe it was a reference to child-play sexuality.

I have not made any income from second life. Still if people get in trouble for role-playing on Second Life it puts the other forms of COMMUNICATION at risk as well. You might as well close ICQ, etc since they can too be used for "cybersex". Think this subject makes great political blather but otherwise nonsense. (politician) "If you elect me to the ****** I will clean up the internet of those ***** and make it safe for the family."

Oh not that it matters, I do not engage in this type of role-playing. What I do is not your concern.

Thats exactly my point.. It isn't anyone's concern what anyone is doing, role play is just that play..

Unless it's sexual and with minors... then it's a crime.

very very true, and than if he is on the net doing it he'll get caught that much faster..

In the case of the Free Speech Coalition v. Reno 1998

The court ruling:

The question presented in this case is wheter Congress may constituionally proscribe as child pornography computer images that do not involve the use of real children in their production or dissemination. We hold that the First Amendment prohoibits Congress from enacting a statue that makes criminal the generation of images of fictitious children engaged in imaginary but explicit sexual conduct.

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Briana Dawson

Uh huh. So those few people who are making 6-figures in REAL dollar income off of SL don't have to worry about it?


Right. Really the only people at risk might be the Lindens in that case since LL is an American company, but SL is structured so that what residents choose to do with our time is up to us. LL only enforces those violations which are obviously illegal and which are reported to them.

When was this decision handed down? And was it the Supreme Court of the U.S.?

Briana Dawson

You do have a valid point there.

Who's using 'play money'? Play money is defined as money with no value, and the Linden has real value. Certainly the Linden doesn't meet all defintions of money but it certainly meets some:

- Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or a unit of account. - Wikapedia

- A means of payment or a measure of value. - vpsource

- This is the equivalent of all the goods and services of a collective. Instrument of capitalisation and mobilisation of value and as instrument of release of debts and obligations. - www.gruposantander.com

- Anything that serves as a generally accepted medium of exchange, a standard of value and a means to save or store purchasing power. - www.tgbr.com/tgbr/terms.html

- The accepted common medium of exchange for goods and services in the marketplace that functions as the unit of account, a means of deferred payment and a store of value. - www.mcwdn.org/ECONOMICS/EcoGlossary.html

- Any commodity or token that is generally acceptable as a means of payment for goods and services. - www.econ100.com/eu5e/open/glossary.html

- anything that is generally accepted as a medium of exchange - www.ots.treas.gov/glossary/gloss-m.html

- "What you buy things with." It is a medium of exchange, in terms of which the value of all goods and services is expressed. - www.canadiancoin.com/diction/m.htm

- A symbolic representation of wealth. Used for exchange in place of actual products or services. - highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072549238/student_view0/glossary.html

Anyway, this whole defintion of 'money' is irrelevent to the IRS, they don't tax money they tax income in any form. It doesn't matter if you are paid in dollars or chickens.

Yuck, I'm being sucked in here. (slapping self on the wrist). The reason I started this was to explore vulnerabilities, not to argue if something is legal or not. I know they are related but I was trying to avoid arguing the details.

ok ok, i'll say you are very correct, but i demand one more definition!

meh its all in fun regardless..

Well, that's true <giggle>

Linden Labs is very rich company. From what I understand of american law, Linden could afford best and many Lawyer for represent them.

My guess is, the majority of politicians don't really understand how the internet or how modern technology influences other people's life and so they try to make an attempt to regulate as much internet as possible.

It is up to the actual owners of the virtual universe to actually take care of other issues.

From what I remember of LL's capitalization, they are far from rich. As for lawyers, places like Second Life are completely new with regard to law just as it is with regard to economics or socialization. And unfortunately, most lawyers are fairly conservative and do not take to change very well. If I was LL, I'm not sure how much faith I would put in my lawyers. Or at least I would be looking for lawyers that have proven they can keep up with the Internet revolution, yet still understand politics.

It's only kind of related, but Steve Jackson Games is another case where a game company was nearly shut down by government action.

They were developing a roleplaying game (pen and paper kind) based on the theme of computer hacking. Somehow, the govt had decided it was real, and raided their company offices, and took a significant amount of computer hardware and records. This very nearly destroyed the company. I'm sure full details are available on their website.

http://www.sjgames.com/SS/ <-yep

So, moral of the story is, the government doesn't even have to have a real case to do serious harm to SL. There's a bunhc of archived documents on the net and law there too

In plain simple understandable English this means..?

Quoted for truth.

And for the record, I was never that worried about SL as a whole (although it could be shut down, but that is by far the less likely outcome in the case of federal involvement). It's what could happen to individuals that scares me.