If AgePlay Is Being Restricted, So Should Gambling...

Im offended that you are offended that people get offended.

No Offense.

Smiles greatly no Offense taken. Cheers That is tooo cool

So what's next to be illegal in SL?
escorting?
far as i know prostitution is illegal in most states, and getting L$ for cyber sex, whether it be only text, or 3d imagery, is still a form of prostitution. This is a job that thrives very similarly to gambling.

Ageplay going down, i can understand to a degree.
While I don't forsee some cop looking over your shoulder while you play SL and going "You're under arrest for ageplay" the whole idea of sex with minors isn't legal, but as SL isn't real, and rather is a virtual world where you can be anyone and/or anything, while in fact still being an adult human...the point might be a little moot.

In the most basic sense you are two adults playing a game together. People do this quite often in the bedroom in reality and i don't see cops busting down doors, despite that there are grown men who like to wear diapers and get spanked for crapping themselves.

As for gambling, I'm not up to date on current online gambling laws.. I never knew what they were to begin with. Gambling is all over the web, and i really had no trust in it. in SL you are using real amounts of money, and i'm still rather leery of it. While i do not think it's immoral or wrong, i do think that in states where gambling is not legal, you perhaps shouldn't do it.

Many have pointed out that Escorting is closer to phone sex which is legal-

However Escorting is going to be curtailed quite a bit by the new Age verification system, As will Extoic Dancers, etc.

SO your whats next question is probably correct.

Yeah - escorting on here is like phone sex, not real prostitution.

And as far as putting up restrictions for kids getting onto the mature grid...I don't care how many safeguards you put up, children these days, raised in a virtual age are smart with computers. They find ways.

There is a fine line between censorship and plain stupidity. There are way too many perverts out there that victimize our children daily. And a majority of these perverts who have access to the internet, have in their possession, child pornography on their computers. Anyone who works in the legal community will tell you that.

So, if it's a proven fact that a pedophile, whom looks at images of an adult having sex with a child, will increase the chances of this person victimizing a child at some point in his life...would you still be for people engaging in age play on SL or against it?

I'm all for being against censorship when it comes to freedom of speech...but sorry, anything that remotely refers to a child being molested by an adult, fiction or non fiction, shouldn't be allowed at any extent...even if there is no victim.

Erm not that I do this stuff but I do believe in the whole Freedom deal, so yeah.

I read the rules they put in place for this interesting little act and how because it was illegal in countries.

"SL is running an elevated level of risk compared to a similar business that doesn’t run a monetary exchange,” Britton said. He added that the company could theoretically face criminal sanctions under the 1970 Illegal Gambling Business Act or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act."

Secondly, Furry sex should also be banned then as it is(I dont give a crap what any of you try to argue) Borderline beastiality there which is highly illegal just about everywhere in the world~

That's my two cents...off to something that matters.

Only if the two furries are different species.
Otherwise it's just animal porn.

Thank you for... um... whatever that was.

/me peeks at the definition of trolling.

Ah yes... that's what I thought.

"Borderline beastiality" is illegal? Really? I wasn't aware of this. I also wasn't aware that anthropomorphism was beastiality. I'll call Ralph Bakshi and let him know that Fritz The Cat is illegal "just about everywhere in the world".

Do you think about what you say before you say it, or just start typing and let the words string themselves together?

If you want to make a platform for companies and business you have to get in control of:

- Child Porn
- Prostitution
- Casino Gambling
- GOR and Slavery
- Furrie Sex

- Age Verification

I think everyone should be "free" as per definition... but not to forget about standarts and the moral viewpoints we also follow in Real Life.

Cheers

all of that exists in rl and yet business seems to be doing just fine there.

Just because something exists doesn't mean it's legal or morally acceptable, far by not.

In my point of view it was just a case of the people in charge not taking action, but that has obviously changed....

I feel sorry for those unfounded witchhunts breaking out, like ARing avatars just because of their size, or rather lack thereof.

But I feel NOT sorry for seeing an end to things like sexual (or even sexually-charged) ageplay under the mantle of "free speech" and "just harmless fun between two consenting adults"

There is a line which should never be crossed. You don't exactly know where it is, because it may be a bit blurred, but you definitely know when you're far into the wrong side.

The line you so eloquently pointed out was set by the US Supreme Court in 2002 when it struck down the part of the child pornography protection law that would have basically made anyone who dresses up like a schoolgirl a "child" or has sex with his/her girlfriend dressed up as said school girl a pedophile.

And can I ask? Did "god" reach down and touch you and grant you the power to determine what is morally and ethically acceptable?

It just amazes me that "depraved" (at least in the minds of the "Moral Majority" morons) built second life and now LL is turning on the very thing that constitutes the core of the economy.

Lets face it, its nice to pretend that SL is a wholesome place full of creative people rebuilding the bar form Cheers or the Deathstar but the reality is, SL is 70% about sex. Stores, Sex related Sims, dancers, escorts, animations. There is literally almost no where in SL that is not touched by sex in some way (PG areas aside but even they have shops that sell sexy outfits).

Broadly Offensive is a dangerous term. Tell you what, I find the prolifertion of religious and political groups in this game broadly offensive. I want anyone spouting religious propaganda or trying to convert people banned from SL too. I find it broadly offensive to be preached to by people who think their brand of god is better than mine.

I mean lets get really down and dirty. I do not support age play, do not participate in it, but its NOT illegal for 2 adults to roleplay it if they choose to. The supreme court ruled in 2002 that animated depictions of age play do not constitute child porn. As much as it repulses me that people enjoy sexually abusing children, age play is not the same thing.

If it was, any man/woman who has his/her wife or girlfriend dress up like a school girl would now be deemed a pedophile.

Its a similar issue to the KKK being allowed to march and have their free speech rights. Free speech for all not for some. Right, Wrong, Offensive or not, its a guaranteed RIGHT of any citizen of this country to speak their mind. DO I support the KKK, no, but any patriot of this country will support their right to spew their moronic propoganda. That is why we have off switches, legs, ear plugs and any other means of removing ourselves from offensive influences.

Don't like BDSM, D/s, goth, Furries, Ageplay, Dark Roleplay, Gor etc DONT VISIT THOSE SIMS. Its pretty gawdamn simple to figure out. If you live next door to one move, put up walls anything that will not force you to witness these "depraved acts"

Last I checked Mistresses and submissives were not breaking into yoru house, tying you up and forcing you to watch it.

As for "dangerous play" one persons danger is another persons kink. If two consenting adults want to enjoy a rape fantasy RP it doesnt hurt ANYONE.

Most of the "dangerous" play everyone is up in arms about (IE BDSM) follows a simple credo SSC (Safe Sane and Consensual) and is a hell of a lot more highly controlled than vanilla straight sex play. How many of you have asked your wife or husband to fill out a check list of things they do or dont enjoy? All good Dominants in SL have the checklist their pet/subs/slaves fill out. Most of them know EXACTLY where the line is and dont step over it. Most of the vanilla sex in SL is spontaneous spur of the moment grunting and sweating between two people who if they didn just meet 10 minutes ago probably never sat down to talk about limits.

SL is starting to remind me of England of the V for Vendetta universe. Already the witch hunts have begun, already people have been singled out and reported or harassed for their preferences. Remember Remember........

Ill leave you with a little poem that always seems to fit these discussions, funny that a pastor said it.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Pastor Martin Niemöller

Reading these replies are making me laugh so much.

In the end it will not matter if you are located inside or outside of the United States. The money is being earned/created on a server located within the United States. Lindens are the creation of an american company located within the United States and Lindens are like chips in a gambling estblishment. Linden Labs is accepting payment of currencies for Lindens. Linden labs is sending payment in exchange for Lindens.
Now there is income being generated within Second Life and it is not being taxed. This seems very unamerican to me. I seem to recall a certain Chicago Gangster who could not be touched. He was able to get out of all of the charges brought against him but he made one little mistake. He did not pay his income taxes and went to federal prison for a long time. Yes the IRS can bring SL gambling to a stop. They have the power to stop the trading of Lindens in its tracks and stop Linden labs from making payments. Then in due course they will make a set of guildlines for Linden Labs to follow.
All of you around the world saying it is the Americans throwing their weight around be still. The United States has venue on all activity that occurs within its borders. Oh one little thing, Americans are subject to US law no matter where they are located. They are sending the sexual perverts going to Burma/Thailand to prison in this fasion. The location of the crime is a non factor.
So when Philip gets a court order to do something he will have to abide by it or go to jail.

Pretty much how I see it. So hurry up and open up the servers. This way SL casinos can operate in the open from the UK or Hong Kong or whatever.

Age Play omg! What kind of sick perverted mind wants to even play a game where an adult is with a child. Think about that one for just a minute for US citizens your news is reporting numerous child abductions and sexual assualts. And you have to ask why age play is headed out!

There is a big difference between gambling and pretending to be a kid. Why would you want to run around in a child avi on a adult sim? Not to mention all the perverts that are on here. We all know how much sex permeates this game, it was one of the mainthings I realized fast. SEX Gambling Clubs Strip/Escort Clubs and alot of Stores. And again this is a "Adult" sim so wh be a kid? I think it's kind of disturbing. Sounds like you are angry maybe cuz you were age playing yourself. Wanna be a kid then do it elsewhere I say. Too much adult content/sims on this grid for "kids" to be running around where ever they like.

Me I tend to be a furry,but, I'm not a extreme furry nor do I hang out with the main furry cliques. And yes that's what they are cliques. In the end there are other's who push the limit's and don't excercise self control thusly abusing theirs and averyone elses "freedoms"
or offending others. Enough people complain and the big boss steps in. Then what happens? People complain about that. It's a no win situation for LL.

But what can you do when people run rampant? Someone has to bringorder to a chaotic world like it or not. If you find casino's offensive then dont go to sims that have them.
Comparing a casino to age play quite doesnt hold.

If anything blame the abuser's of age play.

People play children for many reasons. Maybe they never had a childhood due to disease.

Ok here is the thing. i know lot of people who age play and do not have sex. but a couple of bad apples on both sides hurt things. This is only how i feel. it seem to me the more people complain the more SL takes stuff away. Like open forum POOF we don`t have anymore.

I have learned the more people point fingers the more we lose. I do not think it`s fair for the people who age play to lose their rights as long as their is not sex in av.

i can understand why your not happy. but if we start pointing fingers we all may lose out.
We should all work togather

Hasn't this topic been flogged to death?

Can we let this thread die?

please?

lol. No? >.>;

I'm honestly trying to figure out the correlation between gambling and children avatars. It's ironic in that children in real life cannot enter gambling establishments. I hate SL casinos as well, and I'd love to see them get wiped off the face of the grid, but this topic is just retarded.

That's what I mean.

It IS retarded.. not neccessarily the topic itself, but some of the posts.

As for the correlation:

I believe the person was saying that because the ageplay debate is about someone's thinking their moral code is more important than anyone else's, they're allowed to say "Children avatars should be banned because it's sick and omg, teh pedlfiles and yadda yadda" and have it stick, why can't someone else's moral code say "Gambling is horrific and against my religion and it's a sin and bad for society and omg Gamblers Anonymous in SL omg teh suxxors" and have THAT stick.

Both are morally reprehensible to some people.

And that's it. It was hyperbolic, but there was a point... a point that has been gone over again and again and no one can seem to agree to disagree on this.

Which brings us back to the subject at hand. Can't we let this thread die?

aaah why so many peoples seems to care about things that are out of their mind boundaries?

This one time, at band camp...

Wishful thinking. If you are talking about your link to the article in the Christian Science Monitor then you need to examine quotes more carefully and diffuse them of any biases and suppositions that the writer of the article may have (which is hard to do when you basically share their agenda). When you take all the coloring that the article does by surrounding her quote with the writer's own speculations about the legality of gambling in Second Life, all that Jaclyn Lesch said was that gambling doesn't have to involve cash currency ("Regardless of how one pays for the bet, it is still a bet if it involves something of value. While not a credit card or cash, [virtual currencies] would still be a thing of value". That's the only part of the entire paragraph that is attributable to her. The rest of it are all the author's own words and even the author couches the illegality of gambling in SL in speculative terms. Notwithstanding your gross mischaracterization of that statement by saying that it means the DOJ has stated publicly that gambling in SL is illegal, DOJ has never come out with any official public statement that gambling in SL is illegal.

Just like TV..you don't like the show, you can change the channel. or turn it off. Same with you not liking something on SL. There is an exit button.