Age verification - Is LL implicitly opening the SL adult grid up to minors?

One thing I haven't seen discussed much in the uproar over age verification is the bizarre idea that, even though SL is supposed to be adults-only (except for the teen grid), only some areas will require age-verification. I can see several inevitable effects of this change:

1) Areas not marked as "adult" will be considered (by the general public) to be de-facto PG areas, since they can be easily accessed by minors and are expected to not contain overtly "adult" content.

2) There will be a great deal of confusion over what the rules are in a "mature" (but not "adult" parcel/sim, since the guidelines for what must be marked as "adult" are pretty much the same as the definitions previously given for "mature" (vs. PG) content. In the end, I suspect that the "mature" rating will become even more meaningless than it already is.

3) Regardless of what the TOS says, many minors (and possibly their parents) will see this change as an assurance on the part of LL that non-adult areas are safe for minors. This could well lead to serious liability issues for LL. "You have the ability to restrict access to this particular content/group/activity but you didn't, therefore you are choosing to open it up to minors."

4) Residents will be open to risk themselves as more and more minors come into SL and the rules for conduct and behavior in non-restricted areas are not clearly defined.

5) Minors could be put at risk if SL becomes an all-ages playground and predators see an opportunity to hide behind the TOS. ("Honest...I thought so-and-so was an adult since the TOS says so - um, yeah, that's it."

It just seems to me that LL is treading in very dangerous waters here by instituting an inherently contradictory age policy. In practical terms, either SL is open to minors, or it isn't. Creating restricted and unrestricted areas leaves the impression that LL is fine with having minors on the adult grid and is making accomodations for that.

I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this aspect of age-verification. (The legalities, safety and cost of the verification process itself have been discussed endlessly in other threads, so please let's not get into that here.)

I dunno. Perhaps:


From: http://informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=199203108

Of course not!
They are trying to create an EXTRA barrier to keep the minors out!
(Because they feel forced by the prudish outside world to do SOMETHING.)
It is bad enough as it is, please do not reverse the argument and make things even worse.

seems like they will be making some money for selling everyones info to this spam company, which is the bottom line.

Well...if SL is to become an 'internet platform' like it is envisioned (visit the metaverse rather than a stale internet page), one day it will have to be opened to all persons of all ages.

I see age-verification as the first step to that and always have--since the day it was announced. I just didn't feel like adding to the fire of naysayers.

BTW...I am against the type of info they're requesting...not age verification as a rule.

Well said Annie and I myself totally agree with this view of things. With the age verification issue it just comes to show that LL IS indeed disregarding their TOS and basically just making anyone who is not age verified seem to be a minor.

These are very dangerous waters to tread as there are many legal systems across the national boundaries in which this system could breach. Well yeah it can be said that SL was made and owned by a company that resides in the US currently but then again there are tons of non US residents who has invested interest in this game.

My thoughts are, to put it plainly, that if this system is going to put into place, it could just mean a whole lot of people, who have genuine interest and passion for the game, leaving as a result and opening its doors to many other anonymous people who aims to bend around the corners just to get that "adult" action on the side.

Its just a false sense of security which has SUCCESSFULLY made a whole lot of people angry which I think is perfectly valid since we are talking about personal information.

Sorry - I was just pointing out what I see as some serious problems with the plan as it is. I didn't realize that there was some universal concensus/argument that I'm supposed to be supporting (reverse whose argument?), regardless of my own opinions.

They will have to. It's what their new Corporate Masters will want. And in all fairness, it's probably the prudent business move, moneywise anyway. But like most of their decisions so far, it's a question of whether it will be handles the right way.

By treating Unverified Accounts like they are not over 18 ~ imposing Adult content restrictions.


The are implying that those who arent 18 are not violating the rules.


This is simple appearances. If you treat people who arent verified as underage - then you are saying some must be underage.


That probably doesnt change their responsiblities. But the OP has a point.


However -
I think they will wait on letting teens on any shared grid areas until this Myspace stuff sorts out -- http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20070515/states_ask_myspace_to_expose_sex_offenders_name-id-103723.html

When LL made the decision to allow unverified accounts (and hey, I have an alt on one), they opened Pandora's Box.

In the search for on-line predators hunting children, I think the focus needs to be on Teen Island. Is a predator going to hunt on the adult grid, where child avs are probably run by amoral moneygrubbers catering to any sick taste for L$, or law enforcement personnel? I think he is going to lie his way onto Teen Island, where the avatars are mostly all uner 18 (maybe a lot under 1 and they can engage same in "innocent" conversations where they find out where the kids live...I think pedophiles on the adult grid are on it not for hunting, but for entertainment. It might be useful, then, to keep an eye on them, and track them. But if I were a cop, I think I would pretend to be a 13-year-old on Teen Island and troll there for these creeps.

But now we have certifiable creeps doing their child-molestation fantasies on the adult grid, and some unknown number of minors wandering around on it. Most are probably late teenagers, and less at risk because they have probably already seen it all on the Internet anyway, but there COULD be a few prepubescent kids on the adult grid getting an eyeful, and then some.There probably are. Hey, besides predatory pedophiles, I do not think I would want my kid getting his or her early impressions of sex from the kink fantasies played out on the adult grid. Do you? We NEED age verification on the adult grid. But we do have to be careful about how it is done.

What's really ironic about this whole thing is that my adult friend has a 13 year old son who is interested in SL. I told her about the Teen Grid and she asked, "Why don't we just use my information for him and get him onto the adult grid? I'd rather my son be in the adult grid with a responsible chaperone than the teen grid with total strangers..."

I could only laugh. It's completly obvious that this age verification will never work, ESPECIALLY when parents are actively GIVING their consent to their kids.

A few people have suggested that SL is moving towards having one grid. Corporations would surely be happier with one grid.

Personally I wouldn't. One thing that kept me away from SL was the thought of kids running around, then someone told me I was being silly and that there were two grids, one for people 18+. Hence I signed up.

The idea that kids and adults can mix is a dangerous slope considering the fuss regarding myspace and such like, if age verification is intended to allow adults and kids to mix then I think that's going to cause far more problems for LL than the recent troubles have.

Well there is a wonderful opportunity for you as a parent to provide them with that.
And do it before they are 12, because you don't want to know what 12 year olds are doing out there in RL these days.

if this were about online predators and children having access to the grid, it wouldn't be OPTIONAL.

this is about segregating the adult content even further into the shadows.. so that their corporate interests, or children, can be allowed by Linden Labs to roam the grid without "seeing anything really dirty".

I agree with the OP's interpretation of this situation. This new system only exists to allow minors access to the adult grid. This is LL trying to cut overhead by having only one grid to maintain. It'll cut overhead alright. I know at least three major businesses that have or are considering closing their doors.

I personally don't want minors in my second life.

I think Robin said today that the Teen Grid isn't going anywhere. Sounded like they're considering a mini-grid that's 13+ but will not change the TG or AG rules.

There is a transcript of a meeting between Robin Linden and residents in which she confirms that there is an idea to experiment with an altogether new area open to persons 13+.

Boy, do I agree. Parents are the first, best line of defense. And in the area of instilling character and values, they are the ONLY defense.

I just don't want LL to be seen as feeding the evil, and getting destroyed as a result.

I really think they should just go back to how they had it when I signed up (in 2005) where you gave your cell phone or credit card # to verify. Sure it's not foolproof but if someone under 18 has access to either of those items then it is the parents' responisbility to monitor their actions. The current mechanism will only alienate people and cause more problems.

Personally I think there should be a setup in place where teens and adults can roam the same grid. If you are verified to be over 18 you can go to certain places people verified as being under 18 can't go and vice versa.

Also someone verified as under 18 has no chat ability with someone verified as over 18 unless it is verified (by the person's parent or guardian) that this person is allowed to talk to them.

Really that's the only way the whole "metaverse" idea will be able to happen in my opinion.