RE: The Last Four Digits of Your Social Security Number

Exactly.

Wonders how many people have the same last 4 digits

Don't trivialize the suffering of the ACTUALLY oppressed by comparing it to age verification for a game you're addicted to.

I'm personally getting tired of the hip commercial "activism" where demanding our rights now means free video games and mp3s.

This is not a government or country, it's a computer game/platform/3d chatroom/whorehouse/whatever and you have the freedom to play or not.

http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/05/07/more-on-identity-verification/

If Integrity wants any part of my SSN, I fear the quality of my SL is going straight into the toilet.

Age and identity verification will replace ‘Payment Information’ in-world. Credit cards do not provide an adequate means of age and identity verification, making real and robust age and identity verification vital. Land owners will be free to allow or disallow access to their owned parcels based on this verified or unverified status.

If I was just forbidden access to the new Adult flagged areas, no big deal. But if I'm going to be treated like an unverified citizen across the grid, at the whim of PG & Mature landowners, after having & using payment info for almost 4 years. My original account is a Lifetime Member that paid the one time fee to hold 4096 land tier & get 500L stipend. I maintain 2 additional paid premium membership accounts, this one being the newest.

The big IF for me, which has yet to be answered, is exactly what will be required to verify.

*edited to add...
Had to share this, cuz I so needed a big laugh atm!

I just got a yahoo IM:
maybe a naked picture is all they need

If there's grass on your av then you can play SL? Isn't that how the old saying goes?

Not sure I get the grass thing, but maybe that's your point.

daniellinden Says:

May 7th, 2007 at 2:58 PM PDT
Though there may be variation from country to country, in the United States verification will require a name, address, date of birth, and the last four digits of a Social Security Number. Internationally, most Residents will be asked for a name, address, date of birth, and a passport or national ID number. In some cases, additional details — like a county name in Ireland or a middle initial in Mexico– will be requested.

Very sad news, which I can only hope gets changed before they implement.

I'm going to miss SL...I foresee LL implementing this (they have the all the speed and agility of a supertanker turning around in harbor...so there's no turning back now), and I do not trust them, nor a 3rd party company, enough to give out something that is not replaceable for me.

If, just if, my identity data IS compromised at LL or whichever 3rd party company they use (if Aristotle/Integrity falls through for some bizarre reason), I cannot go and get a replacement.

If I use a credit card, or similar type of account that can be closed and cancelled, I will suffer much less...


...I'll just have to leave, I guess...most depressing...

This might be a part of what SL's headlong drive for identity verification:

http://www.computerworld.com:80/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9018758&intsrc=hm_list

There are people in SL making more than $5000 USD a year I'm sure. And Aristotle is perfectly poised for such information to the IRS. If they want Amazon and Ebay to pony up information, what makes you think they also wouldn't want LL to do the same?

Something to comtemplate anyway.

Post conspiracy theories in 3...2...1...BREAK

Actually I'm not complaining about age/id verification...........I'm one of the ones who have been screaming for it. But the fact that information such as SS# are being requested do give thought to exactly why is that? A drivers license number would work just as well for a comparison to a name, address, zip code and DOB.

I'll verify unless someone can find a link to a credible site showing me that Aristotle is not a trusted site to give such information to. In fact all the press I've been able to find points to the fact that it is a reputable business.

But, I'm still digging.

You're probably partly right, Peggy. But, in light of news that there are now more Residents logging on from Germany from the USA, consider also the following:

http://tinyurl.com/2e3bxu (translated from the original German at http://www.swr.de/report/presse/-/id=1197424/nid=1197424/did=2146960/1ehhkmz/index.html)

Well, cHeX if age/id verification cleans some of that out too.................I'm all for it.

But another topic another time..........I've ranted on that subject too.

1. OK, I haven't read all this thread, but I ws under the impression from the first blog entry that the last 4 numbers of the social security was going to be something optional, with a lot of other things you could choose for verifying yourself.

But now on the new blog entry we have this flat statement from Daniel Linden:

"Though there may be variation from country to country, in the United States verification will require a name, address, date of birth, and the last four digits of a Social Security Number."

and

"Internationally, most Residents will be asked for a name, address, date of birth, and a passport or national ID number. In some cases, additional details — like a county name in Ireland or a middle initial in Mexico– will be requested."

From this blog entry, it sounds like you WILL part with those last four social security numbers, along with your name, age, and address, OR your travel in SL WILL be restricted.

(Didn't we already have to put name, address, and date of birth when we first signed up? Or anyway, when I first signed up, two years ago?)

2. The blog also says:

"Linden Lab will not store any specific, identifying information. We’ll keep less exact information as a way to allow Residents, if they should so choose, to share verified aspects of their identity with others in Second Life — ie, not an exact date of birth, but an age (over 30) and not a specific address, but a city and country. Such sharing will, of course, be completely voluntary."

and

"Age and identity verification will replace ‘Payment Information’ in-world."

OK, this sounds even worse. Instead of my profile simply saying that I am verified as to payment information - or, now, as to age verification - now I will have to have my profile saying

1. My city and country
2. My approximate age

????? What the hell????

OK, I know I don't HAVE to get age verified. But as a merchant, it is important that customers know I am a known entity, and my profile stating that I have been verified has served that purpose in the past. (If that was to be something people would have, then someone selling goods certainly needed that.)

Now that has been changed to - giving my city and country and approximate age!

Am I misunderstanding it, or is one's choice between either allowing that info to be shared on your profile - or having nothing on your profile?

Surely some middle ground could be chosen for the profile, such as having the profile show as "age verified."

If we have to have either nothing on the profile or - for God's sake - our cities, countries, and approximate age, for God's sake - that will be bad.

I want people I don't know to know that I am reliable and known to LL.

I DON'T want every anonymous Tom Dick and Harry who wanders for free and unidentified into SL to know where I live and how old I am!

Sounds like my choice will be either tell those details to everyone, or don't let people know that I have been age verified at all.

My God, if so, these Lindens certainly do play fast and loose with personal information they think that I should be reasonably willing to share with EVERY TOTAL STRANGER IN SL.

Tell me I'm misunderstanding it.

coco

Coco I'm pretty sure you are misunderstanding about what info will show in our profiles.As i read the new blog entry, it will now say something like "age verified" rather than "payment info on file."

it does sound like they're going to offer more info than that though.



look out for fields like "verified", "location" and "age" in the part of your profile where the ratings once were.

Ummm:

Limitation of Liability

Your sole remedy against Aristotle shall be limited to breach of contract and Aristotle’s sole and total liability for any such valid claim shall be limited to, at the option of Aristotle, either the re-supply of the services again or the amount of your current monthly membership for the month during which the breach allegedly occurred. Subject only to Aristotle’s liability as set forth above, Aristotle will not be liable to you for any claim for breach of contract, breach of statute or breach of duty in tort (including negligence) or for any claim in equity or otherwise at law for any losses or damages whether general, exemplary, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential (including any claim for loss of profits) however caused which may be suffered or incurred by you or any third person or which may arise directly or indirectly out of or in respect of this contract or the services (or its maintenance) or by reason of any act or omission on the part of Aristotle to comply with its obligations under this contract. Notwithstanding anything herein contained or implied no employee, agent or director of Aristotle will be liable to you for any breach of duty or care in contract, tort, equity or otherwise in relation to the performance of obligations under this contract or in relation to the subject matter of this contract. To the maximum extent permitted by law all terms, warranties or representations, whether statutory or otherwise and whether express or implied, oral or written as to the state, merchantability, quality, fitness for purpose or fitness of the services and its maintenance are hereby excluded. Notwithstanding anything else herein contained or implied Aristotle is not attempting to exclude any of its legal liabilities under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993. This clause shall survive termination of this contract.


http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:VZ4SjkahtqAJ:www.aristotle.co.nz/help/termsandconditions.aspx+aristotle+data+%22privacy+policy%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us

Well, if there is a field for verified ALONG WITH those other fields, then I don't care.

I would just want people to know I am age-verified.

I can see no reason to - and a whole lot of reason not to - tell everyone my city, country, and approximate age.

coco

Unless someone is extending me a line of credit I would never give out that information.

Too much for too little.

This is basically what they promised us was coming when they were explaining the ad ban on gambling, and the New Age Verification system

This way you can get the "over 21" and non-US resident; for gambling.

Or the "US residents only" for the hidden age play types.

Putting it on the profile, what a mess.

Ths is what we get, I think, for someone deciding Second Life was the 3d Web of the future and not a Virtual World.

Actually the new blog entry about this topic just says they won't share or sell the info. It says nothing about the 3rd party company storing it. Though I think the above states it very clearly....Aristotle must have learned something from LL when it comes to contract writing.

I wonder when it's going to be that I can't be a trusted store in SL unless I'm willing to give everyone my name, address, age, and bra size.

I'm not usually much of one for the slippery slope argument, but this sure as heck looks to be going that way!

coco

Quite frankly whoever wrote that must be smoking crack if he or she thinks I am going to hand over my passport details to some third party in the USA just so I can access a computer game.

If thats the price of full access to SL it's far too high for this little black duck.

No Coco, no requests for clothing sizes.

The point is to make it difficult for minors to participate in inappropriate behavior, and for adults to enter Teen Second Life. Self-asserting age doesn't work, and even Visa says that credit cards are inadequate for verifying age: http://usa.visa.com/merchants/new_acceptance/merchant_responsibility.html

We will not sign a contract with a vendor who does not respect and hold similar views to Linden Lab about our customers' privacy. We will, however, make every effort to make sure that we're offering a safe and legal service.

Robin

the company you have picked to do verification also compiles and sells lists of people's personal data. Do you think that was a good company to chose to do business with? Are you going to spend lots of money in legal fees suing them on my behalf if they misuse my data?

Also, their chief claim to fame seems to be that their system is used by bud-tv. However that system has been demonstrated to be literally childishly easy to evade. Whats the point in invading people's privacy for a system that doesnt work?

I just don't understand the thinking at LL that assumed people were going to hand over their passport details willingly, let alone to a company like Aristotle.

regards

Why the last 4 numbers of my SSN?

I'd submit my DL#, even a photocopy.. all my info matches with my name, address & credit info that LL has had on me for over 3 years.

And, why will I now become an unverified after all this time, just because I will not offer up my SSN?

/edit
Yes, I also am having a hard time with this 3rd party that's been chosen to collect the info, for sure.