Should LL ban Escorts?

There's no such thing as Escorting in Second Life, it's really just Phone Sex/Cyber Sex.

Legality is not the issue in the escort question. The queston revolves around what sort of image LL wishes to project with their product. It's been a pretty free environment until recently, but that appears to be changing quickly.

I believe that LL would like to de-emphasize the view that SL is some sort of online porn venue. There is an increasing perception, fueled by salacious stories in the press, that this is the case. To be honest, there is a lot of fairly crude content out there (I wish I had a L$ for every crude proposition and/or exposed prim cock I've encountered). I think you female avi's will support me on that.

It is about public relations. LL will still make out in a huge way if they can drive sex play underground, and thereby pave the way for the grand joining of adult and teen grid in one vast pg rated entity which will be quite attractive to RL investment from major corporations and business venues.

Example: SL Itunes and virtual Ipods for sale at the virtual Apple store.

Gambling was doomed, but went first because of the legal issues. There is more to come.

Cyber sex is not illegal. (Online gambling has questionable legality)
Cyber sex does not suffer from a major social taboo. (Ageplay has a social taboo against it.)

As long as the red light district traffic is increasing their profits and not illegal or gaining negative press, escorts and such will remain.

It does gain negative press, it will be driven undeground. They won't ban it though.

No more than it did a year or so ago- it's not gaining negative press.... it's just something the papers like to pull out when they're looking for problems with SL. There's always going to be some bad publicity- the level of difference between "crappy interface and boring" and "lots of people are having pixel sex" seems to indicate that even bad press, when covering interesting and desirable behaviors (People like sex. Sex is generally colored with positive emotions when your average person thinks about it) is good press. There's only so many different ways to cover SL in the media without boring the socks off the listener- and no one wants thier product associated with boredom.

They're looking to broaden the appeal of the platform globally, sex will take a hit. If we could still gamble I'd wager about it.

Irrellivant.

Escorting/Prostitution in SL is not.

What it is would be writing a story. In this case, an erotic story. Unless LL wants to ban litature (very slipper slope there), then there is no way to ban "escorting" within the SL platform.

This is a whole different level than the gambling ban. Gambling = exhange of money through various means. L$ can be exchanged for USD, so is an exchange of money (forget teh arguements of wether the L$ has value. It's gambling the same as it is with casino chips in Los Vegas.)

There is no "sex" in SL. There is interactive erotic stories, and pixelated porn. Nothing more.

~Jessy

I tell you what Jessy, I'll wager you a cup of coffee that sex will take a hit. The writing is on the wall.

Ok.

This is bloody SIMPLE LOGIC, that apparently 90% of the people here CANNOT MANAGE.

Gambling was banned because it's REAL GAMBLING.

Prostitution in SL is SIMULATED PROSTITUTION.

Comprende?

Simulated gambling would be a slot machine that plays random cheer/cry animations and occasionally showers the avatar with particle effect coins, but gives out no money. That is NOT what was going on, but it would still be perfectly legal.

Sex, drugs, guns, I don't care what the hell you list, is NOT sex, guns, drugs, whatever. It's pixels that simulate it. This stuff is NOT illegal. You see it in movies and television and read it in books all the time. Heck, you see gambling in these places too. But no REAL gambling takes place. Nobody REALLY has sex, or gets shot, or gets high. It's all just pretend. Gambling in SL wasn't pretend.

I'm really, really bloody sick of having to point this out. It's so self-evident people should be embarrassed to say it, but nooooooooo. I have to point it out time and time again to people who think they have cleverly found the way to get LL over the proverbial barrel, or who like to make fantastic predictions of doom and gloom to sound wise or important.

Enough! It is NOT the same, and no amount of chicken-little antics will make it the same!

About the only thing I can see is them banning advertising of Escort Sevices and Brothels.

There is no law againt sex. There IS a law against internet gambling.

However, if LL wishes to "polish" their public image, then yes, they may try to take sex out of the mainstream media.

Fools errand there.

Sex is in any platform. WoW, NWN, AIM, YAHOO, MSN, Skype. LL can take it off the advertising bit, but it's still going to be there. Unless LL wants to hire a couple thousand Lindens to do nothing but read chat/IM logs all day long.

The ban on gambling isn't going to stop gambling either. It's just going to take it out of the limelight. Think there won't be 'speakeasys'? LL can only move agsint what they know and LL knows for a fact they can't police the entire grid. They're going to leave that up to the narcs that will rat out the gambling due to having a "high moral fiber" and "wanting to do the right thing".

I'll take that wage on the coffee. Escort Services may take a hit (though I doubt it) but sex in SL never will.

~Jessy

And Reitsuki Kojima and I agree on something

~Jessy

I don't think that most of the posts are saying escort services are illegal. That is not the point.

The point is, will LL try to drive sex underground to make the product more attractive to mainstream investment.

I don't think a rational discussion of this matter calls for such an emotional response. Sex will continue in SL. It just may become more difficult to advertise the services and attachments required, especially for non-mainstream activities such as slavery and bondage.

Causing problems for the men who play as women is only half the point, though. Voice will also make it a lot more embarassing and awkward for the actual women, too.

Actually, it pretty much IS the point, as almost invariably the statement goes something like "Well, gambling is illegal in the US, but so is gay marriage/prostitution/drugs/etc".

Everyone whip harder! This horsie is still twitching!

There's no law against Gor, there's no law against ageplay, there's no law against Gothic Lolita clothing. If we were still allowed to wager, I'd win

Well it's not the point to me. This is really a question about what the product owners (LL) want to do with their property. Despite many delusional feelings otherwise, the ownership here is all one way.

There is a law against ageplay when it involves transmitting computer-generated child pornography.

Child pornography isn't ageplay. If there are children involved, where's the ageplay?

OMG, where is this thread headed? I thought the endless ageplay discussions ended months ago.

Actually, "virtual" child pornography counts too.

We've been through this...

Emphasis on the words >computer generated<. There doesn't have to be a real child involved, since the images are computer generated. In fact, the law in question was specifically designed to eliminate the need for the police to show that a real child was involved.

That's still not ageplay. People using child av's are engaging in paedophile play. Ageplay is about adults, who still look like adults.

Anyone who needs to use a child av for this sort of fantasy is engaged in paedophile play, it's nothing at all to do with ageplay.