Jack Linden: Child Avatars Welcome In Adults-only Continent!
by Alphaville Herald on 27/06/09 at 9:48 am
But sexual ageplay is not
by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk
Friday, Jack Linden delivered a stunning rebuke to anti-child avatar advocates, saying
“Child avatars are allowed on adult land as long as they are account verified like any other Resident. Those choosing to represent themselves with a child avatar do not represent a minor as the account holder. Not all adult land is going to be hosting adult content either. There is plenty of protected land on Zindra that will technically be adult but safe in terms of content.”
The Lab’s Zindra update was serious setback for those who would impose minimum height requirements on avatars visiting the Zindra Adults-only continent. Jack Linden did take pains to point out that sexual ageplay isforbidden everywhere on the grid – but this is unlikely to appease theanti-child avatar activists. Look for Jack's child-friendly news to inspire even more incoherent outrage concise, closely reasoned think pieces such as an audio soliloquy published, then removed by well known community activist and protest group disorganizer Vryl Valkyrie.
Sources speculate that some of the uproar over virtual children may be motivated by certain players’ economic interests – and for those who depend on land values on the Mainland or running sex-based businesses, fighting the children has a certain logic. For porn moguls, keeping Second Life from developing a pedo-playland image is important to avoid bad publicity-driven real life crackdowns on the Lab's virtual garden of cyber delights.
Land barons and outspoken rental agents heavily invested in the viability of the current non-adult mainland may also find the news that Zindra is to be more than a porn palace troubling. Concerns that the Linden-induced mainland churn will reduce demand for the current mainland as players flee are understandable – experienced players are all too aware of the Lab’s track record of devaluing existing land owners’ investments.
The mainland seems likely to suffer a drop in demand even if Zindra is unpopular. Jack Linden also announced “we can essentially peel your parcel (terraforming and all) off of the current mainland region it calls home and put it on a brand new Private Region” – so residents unwilling to move to Zindra have the option of being scraped off the mainland and dropped into a private island with a discounted setup fee.
With the land move request process starting monday and scheduled to run for three weeks, the real drama has only begun.
Maggie Darwin
Jun 27th, 2009
I suppose my writings on the Second Life blog have me pegged in the mind of many as one “anti-child avatar advocates”…but in fact I just felt that the Zindra refugees, having been exiled for their adult content, simply deserved to be left alone, not needing to look out to see if they were within sight of a child avi lest they be deemed to be committing a bannable offense.
I think it’s thoughtless, intrusive and rude in the extreme to wear a child avi in Zindra. A private estate that wishes to avoid this can ban them by rulemaking, but in mainland, Linden Research is the estate owner.
Jack’s rationale that “there’s plenty of protected land that is ‘technically’ adult with no adult content” ignores the fact that content can be *worn* as well as *rezzed*, so that there’s no guarantee that Linden protected land in Zindra will not have “adult content”.
I guess LL didn’t want yet another child avi uprising for SL6B like the one they had for SL5B. So the story seems to be: child avs can go anywhere they want, and making sure no trouble is caused in Zindra as a result is everybody else’s problem.
I wonder why child-av content is privileged over adult content in adult only land?
Ciaran Laval
Jun 27th, 2009
No adults on Zindra within their own parcels will be deemed to be looking out for child avis, the sexual ageplay policy makes it clear that placing a child av within touching distance of a sex bed is an offence on the part of the child avi.
Wearing content in areas where such content should not be worn however is the fault of the person wearing the content, the infohub in Zindra has the usual no sex or violence signs.
Zindra is not an adult content only continent, never was intended to be and never will be, it’s to replace what people thought they were getting on mature land.
Orion
Jun 28th, 2009
Well lets see here… Combat is considered to be an adult activity now and needs to be moved over to Zindra. By banning child avis from Zindra you’re also saying that they’re not allowed to participate in combat. This whole thing isn’t just about moving porn off the mainland but any and all content that shouldn’t be witnessed or participated in by those who are under age RL. If that doesn’t scream “Hey folks! Make room for real life kiddies on the grid!” I don’t know what does, but then again that’s a whole other story and likely to be LL’s next dram-o-rama. Have fun with that folks and good luck putting up with even more mindless dribble as the noobies over there start getting younger and younger – literally!
IntLibber Brautigan
Jun 28th, 2009
Orion,
Combat is NOT considered to be an adult activity. There are plenty of combat groups on the teen grid, even, and have been for years. LL has specifically told me that unless combat RP involves extreme blood and gore effects, it will be regarded as standard PG role play fit for teens and adults.
Ranma Tardis
Jun 28th, 2009
This is getting more STUPID by the minute.
Something is defiantly going on here by do not know for sure. Why make a new “adult” continent and than start placing all sorts of bans on it? I never could understand the Lindens at all!
Orion
Jun 29th, 2009
@IntLibber
So I guess its safe to say that any combat system that revolves around Nerf guns and whapping your opponent with a giant q-tip would be acceptable for the regular mainland. How about the mainstream combat systems like DCS that go splattering blood and gore all over the place when your opponent is hit? Sounds like extreme blood and gore to me!
T.Sewell
Jun 29th, 2009
Firstly, I am not anti-child avatar… BUT I do not feel that child avatars should be allowed in a place that is SPECIFICLY made constructed and with full intents on having adult activities! I sincerly do not even get the whole idea of having a spereate place for adult content in the first place as we are ALL suposed to be adults. All I see in this is them setting themselves up for future allowing teens in the main grid. And if when this happens… I will no longe play this game.
Sigmund Leominster
Jun 29th, 2009
It is curious that even if we know that a child avatar is really an adult pretending to be a child, we find that more disturbing than say a pixie avatar… or a mermaid… or a monkey, a banana, an egg whisk etc. The form of an avatar is mutable and represents a collection of pixels under the control of the owner, yet some “collections” are to be allowed and others should be banned?
I suppose we could advocate the vetting of avatar forms so that people are not offended. If we can’t cope with child avatars, I suggest we also stop old avatars too. And fat ones. And ones in wheelchairs. And Goreans…
Then we march on virtual Poland…
IntLibber Brautigan
Jun 30th, 2009
@Orion,
LL’s words to me were of the effect that torture and butchery type practices would be considered adult but ordinary combat would not. SL militaries, which makes up the vast majority of the market, typically use the Linden Damage system provided by the client, not any custom combat systems like DCS or CCS or WARPS. Specialized combat systems are used by a much smaller market segment unless you are getting into specifically gorey role play sims like the vampire communities, which are clearly adult, but then again I’ve never considered sucking blood from someones neck or engaging in cannibalism to be valid combat. Having been in the combat community for two years, I can say I’ve never seen a scene that I would consider to require an adult rating (other than some furries yiffing on Harlequin Salome’s desk in Dorien during Operation Crucify This).
Inmaculada DeCuir
Jul 1st, 2009
I’m not a child avi – but I am short in SL terms. Most people in SL are between 6ft and 7ft which is quite quite insane. My avi is about 5ft 2 with shoes on, 5 ft or just under without.
I spent some time looking at myself and wondering if I could be misinterpreted as a child avi, and after quite some time decided that it wasn’t possible. I’m not carrying around a teddy bear or skipping around in a cheque dress. That said, comparing myself to the other “towering giants” around I doubt it would take much for an abuse report to be filed along with a photo – which even further distorts proportions.
I too am looking forward to be exiled to the new continent and then promptly banned, I guess some things never change….
Orion
Jul 1st, 2009
@IntLibber
I don’t know and honestly I don’t care anymore. Linden lost my patronage as a paying customer ages ago when they started changing the rules and acting more like the 3rd Reicht of the virtual world instead of a neutral service provider. The most I use SL for now is as a glorified instant messenger and periodically I’ll log in with the graphical client to ooh and ahh over all the overpriced prim garbage floating all over the place and maybe to grumble about the roughly $250usd worth of useless pose rezzers and other toys sitting in my inventory – bulk returned from when my sim was yanked after the OpenSpace fraud. If they want to ban a bunch of adults who like to dress and act like kids then its their choice to make. They’re a private company and they can do whatever they like. Albeit past precedent has shown that’s exactly what they do even if its not in the best interest of the technology, their own company, or their customers.
Ranma Tardis
Jul 3rd, 2009
If Zindra is not a place for having sex and “adult” activities than what is it? There is plenty of room for the non adult things on PG and mature land.
Why did the Lindens bother to make it at all?