Opinion: I’m a PG
by Jessica Holyoke on 16/11/09 at 7:00 am
by Jessica Holyoke
When the creation of an Adult Content policy first started being discussed by the Lindens, a campaign started saying "I am Adult Content." Residents were up in arms about losing their access to Adult Content. And it has happened more than once since I have become a resident here. But if everyone is Adult Content, are we losing out on being PG?
There are a large number of adult experiences on SL, most of which you have read about in the Herald. But there are also a large number of PG experiences on SL. One of my favorites is going to a church service with a vampire. But having a policy come down from the Lab changes things.
What I see now are people making stringent rulings on their land on what is or is not PG.
Bikinis are not allowed in a sandbox, people are upset over a bit of tush sticking out from under a skirt, ads for bikinis are being torn down. And what's worse is I've seen this as a complaint: a person has a pick or a classified ad in their profile for Adult or Mature content. If they go to a PG sim, some are saying that should not be allowed because they are bringing adult or mature content into a PG sim because its in their profile.
This is worse than the ghettoizing that the Zindra adult continent brings. It appears that the puritans of SL wish that those who engage in Adult or Mature activities either not visit PG sims, visit them as clean alts, or remove the content before they get to the PG land.
We can argue about tools and filters as much as we want, but do we want to take away one of the magic things about Second Life?
Its possible to be everything that is within us here. Sometimes that means we go to a lecture or an art show and sometimes that means running around without pants. And if our avatars are us, not a she but a me, then why should I abandon myself for any part of the time I'm on? Or make a partial copy of myself that takes parts of me away from all my friends?
Mary Elizabeth
Nov 16th, 2009
There needs to be a middle ground. A pick for an adult club is one thing, but a photo of RL or SL cocks or whatever is probably across the line.
Miss Petunia Amaryllis Courtney Taliaferro, Second Life League of Decency
Nov 16th, 2009
“It appears that the puritans of SL wish that those who engage in Adult or Mature activities either not visit PG sims”
Why, my dear Miss Holyoke, it is but step one in the glorious plan of expunging all filth. First you put it in a ghetto, then…well,
Step two: permaclothed avatars in PG regions, though the adjective “permaclothed” is overly moderne and crass. After step five we will begin systematic cleansing of the language to remove all IM-talk and grammatical impurities.
Stage three: Expunging of all “Mature” regions (oh, those slipperly slopes of sin!). Then The Great Wall of Smut goes up. Once one enters an adult region, one may never leave.
Stage four: Progressive lagging and reduction of services in all adult regions until they become unworkable.
Stage five: When the smut-addicted leave SL and the adult regions empty, Linden Lab shall reclaim the land, cleanse it of all residues, and convert it to PG only.
Stage six: Saintly Life, our new virtual world.
A few Herald readers have hinted that I might be a satire of these brave cleansers of filth who are remaking SL, one region at a time…why, nonsense.
Our own rulers, Linden Lab, speak encouragingly about a business-friendly mainland. Business-friendly = no smut. Enjoy your perversions while you may, madame!
Senban Babii
Nov 16th, 2009
Funny enough I witnessed an argument just last night at an infohub (PG) about exactly this issue and it got quite heated with ARs flying around because one single person said ‘fuck’ once in open chat.
The puritans need to loosen up a little and realise that PG does NOT equal Disney. Of course it all depends on how you define ‘PG’. Here’s how it stands in the cinema industry in the UK for reference although whether a cinema context can apply is another question.
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/592459/index.html
I think a simpler and perhaps more workable system is to simply say “would I do this in this context if this were a real situation?” But then perhaps we need to remember that SL is NOT RL and is not meant to be a reflection or representation of it. Is there perhaps an official definition of ‘PG in SL’ anywhere do we know?
I think it’s also worth remembering that ‘PG’ or Parental Guidance is a set of guidelines aimed at children and what they should and should not be exposed to. Not counting those who sneak onto the grid obviously but how many children are there on the grid? Everyone is supposed to be 18+ so why are there PG areas in the first place? It makes no sense…..
All Seeeing Eye
Nov 16th, 2009
You can be banned from SL for having anything over PG in your profile. The policy has been that way forever. In fact the way the policy is you should not even be able to create a pick unless you are standing on a PG parcel in a PG region.
Jumpman Lane
Nov 16th, 2009
i’m xxx! and evil 2!
Emperor Norton
Nov 16th, 2009
and someone would go to a PG reason,..why?
Senban Babii @ “Everyone is supposed to be 18+ so why are there PG areas in the first place? It makes no sense…..”
So the Linden’s investors, corporate and educational customers can pretend this is not teh intertubes. In practice it was the Liden’s don’t want sex clubs rezzed on the mainland, nothing to do with the avatars crawling around it. It more sounds like PG rating and the new way for wannabe cyber cops to be dicks to everyone.
Melanie spad
Nov 16th, 2009
funny,I thought only adult ppl could create a account for SL.
for me the teengrid is 100% PG all others are mature or adult,now its changing,sl is going to be for teens only and the bad ppl that are adult in rl and sl needs to hide themselves that none PG member will ever see them in SL anymore?*gg
what is adult and whats pg? a elf with translucent dress is…what? a invisible sex attachment is just to see if you search for it with strg and t..so..is it adult if unvisible ? no cant be until a PG member ( we remember…which must be adult in rl too) doesnt search for it at my Ava,loool…huhu..and if they find it they feel insulted and needs to make a AR fast..becuase they found finally what they searched for but didnt want to see*grins..shocking but why they searched for it?
Sorry I still dont check why a real adult person isnt able to act as a adult in sl..dont wanna see boops? dont look at it..you dont want to see Ava in Bikini? dont go to the beach aso.
Do we really need a ghetto now ..being premium member to just walk in a very small area in sl? Kick all pseudo adults out..back to Teen grid or disneyland and kick all adult out that arent able to act as adults in sl.
Ari Blackthorne
Nov 16th, 2009
“… a person has a pick or a classified ad in their profile for Adult or Mature content. If they go to a PG sim, some are saying that should not be allowed because they are bringing adult or mature content into a PG sim because its in their profile…”
This has been going on since 2006. What’s so newsies about it.
There always will be idiotic knee-jerk reaction and the balloons who overreact and both combined. Just as well. if it’s their parcel (or they have some kind of management powers) they they have the Right to Association.
The simple fact is they can kick you out because they don;t like the creator who made the skin your wearing. Doesn’t matter.
Though I suppose this, which has always gone-on since SL time began itself, makes for good blog-fodder.
So thusly: I concur. Damned those Adult-rated people coming into PG land! I say we grab the pitchforks and torches and call on Tenshi to lead us! OH! And Stroker’s shrill whiny voice to shout out out message, too!
Oh wait, Stroker is all about pixelsex isn’t he?
Okay, never-mind.
Scylla Rhiadra
Nov 16th, 2009
“PG,” “Mature,” and “Adult” are all, of course, misnomers, as Senban and a few others have noted: “PG” in particular makes little or no sense on the face of it. But it is the names that these classifications have been given, rather than the concepts that they represent, that are nonsensical.
Speaking personally, I would have no objections to see public nudity and even sex in “Mature” areas (it’s violence that I object to), and I don’t particularly mind “vulgar” language, unless it becomes excessive. However, not everyone comes to SL for sex (actually, the majority probably don’t, although they may find themselves drawn to it once they get here). And people DO have different sensibilities and come from different cultures. The content classification is an (admittedly clumsy and imperfect) attempt to accommodate this fact. Does being in SL mean, for you, the freedom to run around nude and jump on every set of “lovescene” poseballs you see? Well, fine, there are places where you can do that. But there are also places — refuges, if you will — for people who DON’T want to be exposed to your pixelated butt exposed in its full glory. I don’t see why their needs are any less important than anyone else’s.
In a civilized culture, we do our best to accommodate the needs and sensitivities of as many people as possible, without unduly trodding upon the freedoms of others. In a more perfect virtual world, we wouldn’t need rules handed down by fiat; people WOULD be sensitive to the sensibilities of others. Sadly, however, SL is far from a perfect society. It seems to me that a classification system, as awkward, overly-rigid, and badly implemented as this one is, constitutes a laudable attempt to provide something for everyone in SL.
みみか 王
Nov 16th, 2009
I simply wish to not exist at all to people who are so easily offended, and vice versa. They can live without me, and I without them.
Jessica Holyoke
Nov 16th, 2009
Scylla,
Hi! You do have a point, which wasn’t what I was trying to make. Using the church example, I wouldn’t want to go to church nude or pantless. My point is that just because I want to be naked over here on the nude beach shouldn’t mean that I’m unwelcome over there, dressed appropriately, in the church.
And part of that goes back to the profile issue. Someone mentioned how profiles need to be PG in search. And that is a rule that has been around for a long time. However, classified ads show up in the profiles of the person who makes them. Meaning if I have a classified for adult material, its going to show up in my profile, no matter where I am. If I favorite a place that has adult material, then the land description might have adult material, no matter where I am. My point is, we can’t always switch off the adult material and we have to realize that filters and tools cannot do all the work for us and that sometimes, as adults, we have to be able to click the small X, even if we are on PG land.
Yes land owners have a right to ban or allow access, but it needs to be balanced with what are the rights of the public to access a public space.
Scylla Rhiadra
Nov 16th, 2009
Hi Jessica, thanks for your response!
Yes, it was not your article so much as some of the posted comments that I was addressing. There is a disturbing and growing intolerance of those who favour a lifestyle built on a different “classification,” whether it is PG or Adult. The author of the comment above yours may be the poster child for this kind of attitude. It is, unfortunately, fostered by segregation of the sort that Zindra in particular necessitates. Should more of the “Facebook” crowd enter SL (although I am dubious that many will), they will mostly be of the PG/Mature persuasion I suspect, and the line dividing “Adult” from PG and Mature will sharpen even more. Sadly, SL culture is splintering: it is already fragmented along the lines of voice/no voice and immersionist/augmentationist. I suspect that Adult/non Adult will become yet another fissure, as “Adult” residents are increasingly unwelcome in non Adult areas.
The profile issue is going to cause more and more trouble, I predict. My own view is much like yours: yes, the 2nd Life profile page should probably be kept “clean,” and the profile as a whole should not include depictions of RL nudity or sex. But someone who is profile stalking and checking out picks and even groups is a little like the guest who rummages through the medicine cabinet while visiting a friend: if you are going to probe more deeply, you had better accept some personal responsibility for any shocks that result from your nosiness.
Bucky Bee
Nov 17th, 2009
There go the prudes again. You can always tell who’s a prude, because they begin talking about adult issues by saying “I’m not a prude, but…”
Non-teengrid SL is only for people 18+. For the prudes out there, that means everyone, meaning EVERYONE, in SL is an adult. Period, end of discussion. If some of those adults can’t take being adults, they should go back to Amish country where they belong. SL is about – or should be about – free expression of ideas, including sexual ideas. If I see something in SL that’s too weird or freaky for me, I just ignore it or go somewhere else. Why? Because my perceptions of things are about *me*, and not about *them*. It’s up to *me* to deal maturely with things I encounter as I go through life, not freak out like a child whenever I find someone behaving in ways that aren’t my personal favorite ways. That’s the problem with prudes… they all think that “freedom” means *their* freedom to take away *your* freedom.
Maybe we should have a special Prudia Island, where the infantile sex-haters and self-loathers can get together and sing Up With People songs together at church picnics, or whatever those creatures do when they’re not trying to put the rest of us in a ghetto.
If someone doesn’t like your picks, mute them. End of drama, and end of their influence over you. Ultimately, that’s the one thing the prudes really seethe over… being ignored.
Miss Petunia Amaryllis Courtney Taliaferro, Second Life League of Decency
Nov 17th, 2009
My dear Bucky Bee:
I shall begin honestly.
I am a prude. Proudly so! You said,
“Maybe we should have a special Prudia Island, where the infantile sex-haters and self-loathers can get together and sing Up With People songs together at church picnics, or whatever those creatures do when they’re not trying to put the rest of us in a ghetto.”
Be still my beating heart…oh, the sweet strains of paradise! You forgot the doily-making competition, but you have given me a new name for the continent of Zindra, after we have remade it into something pure and…cleansed.
Utterly cleansed.
janeforyou Barbara
Nov 18th, 2009
The whole “Aduld-Mature-PG” tingy are just confusing,, not even The Lab can define whats what.. i asked.
And i bet that 99% of the SL member got no idea on it.. and prolly only half of the SIM owners know how to set this diff settings, besides the search on all of this are totaly messed up, you get sex clubs popping up if you search in PG only, it all depedns on how you kayword stuff.
Its all become a totall mess! hehehe.
Overcast
Nov 18th, 2009
Need a whole new ‘PG’ world.. that would be the only fix that would work.
Prof. Archie Lukas
Nov 19th, 2009
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Who are these PC idiots?
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/me loads his sawn-off shotgun
Ciaran Laval
Nov 22nd, 2009
This isn’t an issue that is going to go away, something will happen, the logical thing to happen will be that picks will no longer show on the website search. At one stage, adult keywords in your main profile meant there would be no HTML result for a profile search on the website, such as someone’s profile wasn’t showing up because they had the word “Submissive” in their profile. I don’t know if they’re still doing this.
As others have said profiles are supposed to be PG in nature, but, now that LL have created adult land, where you can use explicit terms to advertise, they themselves have encouraged non PG picks and it would be rather unethical of them to disallow such picks as picks are a factor in search relevancy.
Having said that, this is LL we’re talking about, they haven’t done much homework on the adult issues and they have stated that “Business friendly mainland” is on its way, whatever that means!
Paula Dix
Nov 27th, 2009
I could never understand puritanism… it looks like religion to me (another thing i cant understand). And, like religion, i can accept it while they keep inside their limits. Meaning: if they think sex is horrible, then dont do it! Oh my godess, then how puritans have children? Hypocrites are they.
Like with religion rules, they should be imposed only to the religion followers. These people have to learn to respect other groups ideas and above anything, the idea that we *must* have freedom. Its the only way *they* can keep having their rules!
So stop harassing people who likes sex, to talk dirty or anything else short of griefing. If you dont like something youre seeing in me, please, dont look at me. If you dont like the way I talk, please, dont get around me, this way your pure ears will be preserved.
Innocence is to not see evil all around. Which means, people who scream “evil” every second is full of evil. Everything in life can be made in an innocent way. Sex is the first of them. And possibly the one that gives more innocent pleasure, so go on!
>Paula Dix
Mony
Dec 7th, 2009
I hope we don’t start covering penises and boobies in statues. Eeerrr THIS has been know to happen before in SL. But I also agree that citizens need to be reminded that no everyone finds as funny or appealing some stuf. Those things should be carried in private by consenting adults, in public, we need to be respectul of others.