Age check needed

Well, thought this kinda thing would happen...

A male AV followed a friend of mine home, and started demanding sex and also asking about a job. She happened to ask his age.

"13"

. . .

She reported this to Abuse... but come on Lindens!

Robin, Philip??? You NEED to verify age. The credit card worked fine, why break it?

I would much appreciate a post from Robin or Philip explaining why they opened the grid up to anyone of any age without any verification.

Actually the credit card verification has never been foolproof, although it does make it much more difficult to create an account. Opening up the registration process and at the same time adding more options (including payment options, such as debit cards, which are pending) does mean more people can access Second Life which in the long run is a good thing. Much like the Internet, we believe that a free and open system is the best way to encourage diversity and innovation which are at the heart of Second Life's magic.

That said, we are committed to upholding the terms of service with respect to age and the separate teen and main grids. As I explained here, we will continue to enforce the age policies. If you have a chat log where someone admits to being underage, please send it to us in an abuse report. We will hold that individual's account until they provide us with proof of age. Teens will be moved to the teen grid; adults on the teen grid will be permanently banned.