Age verification in SL and the new 'ADULT' rules

"First, they came for the communists, but I didn’t object, I wasn’t a communist. They came for the Socialists, and I didn’t object, because I wasn’t a Socialist. They came for the Labour Leaders, and I didn’t object, because I wasn’t a Labour Leader. They came for the Jews, and I didn’t object, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to object"
(Pastor Martin Niemoller)

First things first. I implore ALL readers of the SL newspaper to search for Bixyl Shuftan’s excellent work (opens in new window) on the topic of age-verification in this very paper, and to read it carefully and digest fully.

Then I ask all readers of this paper to get the word out to their online friends about the matter, to point them in the direction of this paper, and urge them to join Xantarius Cain’s “Revolting Adults” group (it’s free) to register their objections to age-verification. Assuming the protests match my online times, you will see me on the picket lines.

Ladies and gentlemen, six weeks after my previous piece on the ill-thought process of age-verification, I’m back. While it has been hugely tempting to contribute other pieces to this paper on a variety of issues relating to SL, I have resisted, spending the time wandering the sims of SL with a view to a follow up article on how, exactly, it might affect my -and your- Second Life.
Until this week it all seemed rather much of a storm-in-a-teacup because, despite my best efforts, I had only discovered one sim from which I was denied access on the grounds of it requiring age-verification. My best efforts to be denied entry to orgy theatres, BDSM sims, freelance escort clubs and so on all failed, and my febrile imagination eventually gave up on trying to find “adult” sims from which to be turned away.
However, that changed this week, and I’m angry. Now, to quote from Pastor Niemoller’s poem, they ARE coming for me.

Your correspondent is a keen naturist/nudist, in real life as well as in SL, and likes nothing better than a week soaking up the sun in Spain or Croatia without swimming trunks on. Part of the appeal of SL was the chance to indulge, virtually, in long dark winter months and dream of the next naturist holiday planned. Not all SL naturists are the RL variant, but along the way I have met and enjoyed conversations with RL naturists with whom I’d share experiences, tips on good restaurants and so on, and for me it appeared to be an example of SL at its very best -a social networking facility from which valuable knowledge could be utilised back in RL.

This week, rather sadly, came the news that Manatee Naturists is to close, although I’m not altogether certain that this is related to age-verification, but rather the result of dwindling numbers. It’s a shame. Back in those dark winter months, as a newbie, I was able to log in and share a little while with fellow naturists, dancing naked in the sun with people who have become firm SL friends, and with whom I converse regularly.
Sex? Well, no. We danced naked in the sun and discussed the global economic crisis, pretty much a replication of interaction at a RL place, where the nudity is incidental rather than central.
This week comes notice that another naturist sim, Sunset Cove, is going to opt for the adult route, their group notice suggesting that it might be best to do so now because Linden Labs will charge for this in the future. This is where they DO come for me. This is where the time comes to add my voice to the “Revolting Adults” group and object any which way I can.

Readers are advised to read Firehorse Rearwind’s article (opens in new window), also in this paper, on the topic. I paraphrase:

“You can’t wander through a pg shopping mall with your xcite bits swinging, although as a European I have to wonder why anyone would be offended by nudity”.

Well said, that man.

There are global cultural differences, and Linden Labs broad-brushstroke approach takes little account of it. As another European, I have to say that it’s sometimes rather more surprising to see a bikini top on a beach in RL, such is the widespread acceptance and toleration of bared female breasts (and in front of children and adolescent boys, too!) To us, it’s normal behaviour. Now, do I invite one of my SL female friends to join me on one of SL’s many beaches, and chat away on a variety of subjects while she sunbathes topless? How can a beach sim possibly designate itself to mature or adult in such circumstances? How can Linden (or sim owners) even make it workable? Oh, I forgot: they’re based in a country where Janet Jackson’s nipple caused more public comment and outrage than the rather more disturbing pornography of violence, usually referred to as “the news”. Pictures of dead Iraqi’s=OK. Janet Jackson’s tit=a scandal.

As Bixyl points out in his questioning of Blondin Linden, pony players have succeeded in having their roleplay removed from the filter system because they argued that there doesn’t have to be anything sexual about pony play. Here’s some news for you, Blondin, neither does naturism, either in RL or SL. One excellent naturist sim, Harbour Village, perhaps reflects RL naturism more accurately than anywhere else in SL. Not a single sex poseball exists on the sim, just as you’re not likely to see any acts of intercourse on a RL naturist beach. But according to Linden Lab’s rules, Harbour Village should be adult.

What a bunch of mixed, confused, “make it up as we go along” messages we’re getting from Linden Labs. Slavery and whip marks, in the context of a Gor sim, may be OK? But the naked human form is not. Combat zones, guns, grenades and such like are OK? But female breasts (or the genitalia of either sex) are not.
Pony players may be satisfied, for now, at their exclusion from adult filtration but, mark my words, and those of Pastor Niemoller, Linden Labs will be coming for them shortly.

Despite my European identity, which renders many of the elements of age-verification useless, I could attempt to age-verify in an instant. But I won’t. I may, perhaps, just take to wandering the malls of SL with my xcite bits swinging, until the Linden Labs Nazis come for me, too.

Submitted by Howie Lamilton

The notices are going up!

Age-verification in SL apparently beckons, in early May. And, my, but the natives appear to be restless, as a quick shimmy through blogs and out-of world websites demonstrates. Of course, much of this comment is mere speculation. Truthfully, no one -perhaps even Linden Labs themselves- seems to be entirely clear as to what age verification really means, in terms of access to sims, and more importantly, how it’s going to be implemented and retain the confidence of users. It would appear a policy of “suck it and see” seems to be the best way to describe the entire policy: Linden Labs will introduce it and then see how or if it works and tinker endlessly thereafter.

I have spoken to people who believe that age verification is going to be necessary for “mature” sims, which means about 99% of all sims. One person I spoke to was under the impression that any form of “nudity” would require users of sims to be age-verified. This meant that freebie shops showing skins for sale would even fall into that category. From what I can gather, this is not going to be the case (although, as with every element of the entire age-verification thing, no one can really be sure how it will manifest itself). Linden Labs are, apparently, going to introduce a new ‘Adult’ category, above and beyond ‘Mature’. Although I cannot be entirely certain, I’m guessing that ‘Mature’ will include, for example, nude beaches (and freebie shops), while “Adult” may include orgy venues and BDSM sims.

However it eventually shakes down, it all seems a little ill-planned. We know that minors are barred from the grown-up version of SL, yet this demand for age-verification seems designed, in part, for the purpose of protecting minors from potential predatory paedophiles. There can be no complaints, from anyone, on this issue. It is right, it is good, and it is important that minors (who shouldn’t be there in the first instance) are still afforded as much protection as they can be afforded, even if they are contravening the terms and conditions of use by logging into the grown up version of SL.

What I’m less enamoured with is that age-verification seems like a sop to ‘outside forces’, self-styled moral guardians, making demands that SL cleans up its act. While protecting minors is vital, demanding that SL conforms to some code of morality defined by others is most definitely not acceptable to most users. People use SL to create their fantasy life and fulfil their dreams, a fact borne out in the way that most people are virtually siliconing, botoxing, and working-out their avatars to make it the land of the beautiful people.

If they wish to create the cantilevered breasts or impressively proportioned genitalia they lack in RL, what’s the harm? It is escapism. It is a dream. It is fantasy, and it is entertaining relaxation time.

Chaining a submissive girl to some instrument of torture and gang-raping her is not my idea of fun but, hey, if that’s the fantasy of consenting adults who can fulfil a fantasy/dream (albeit with cartoon characters), then it is not for me to judge. Personally, I find the entire thing incomprehensible, but I’m not going to judge the morality or fantasy of others. I cannot accept that, and neither should you. It is vitally important that users make it clear to Linden Labs we all understand and accept the need to protect minors (who shouldn’t be using the grid anyway) but we will not stand for interference from a self-styled morality police.

And that brings us back to the age-verification issue. How do we ensure the matter of being confident that there are only “consenting adults” involved? Why have Linden Labs embraced this ridiculous third party age verification system when a global standard -the purchase of internet hard-core porn included- would be a credit card?

On that issue, I need to make it clear I am a European user, so the matter of social security numbers aren’t really applicable to me. But I am led to believe that giving your social security number to a third party is actually an offence in some states (of the US).

My “data” has previously been verified by my credit card company. My use of that card creates an audit trail. My purchases, of whatever and wherever, are traceable. Is there really any need to adopt any other sort of system? What are the benefits of Linden Labs chosen method of age-verifying, over that of the credit card system? The fact that a street-wise kid can probably borrow Dad’s credit card. Yeah, but will the same street-wise kid not borrow Dad’s social security or passport number?

The person fulminating over the fact that “nudity” demanded age-verification brought up the matter of “cultural differences” in what is judged to be acceptable and unacceptable. “I can go to a beach in France where topless women are my expectation and norm”, said SL resident Jimmy Humbridge, “but that is not the case on US beaches, by and large”. While Jimmy’s fears appear at this stage to be unfounded, it does raise the issue of local cultural acceptability. Could someone, for example, rezz some poseballs that replicate a woman being stoned to death or a man flogged, things that do happen in real life and are understood to be part of the justice system? It’s a horrible idea, to the overwhelming majority of western SL users, but possibly unworthy of comment by some other SL users.

The real world is diverse. There are many elements of it we embrace or deplore, but we implicitly understand (or should understand) that it is impossible to impose our values on others. Their reality is their reality, and ours is ours. I do not wish to be judged on my views to nudity within SL anymore than I wish to judge others views on submissive females or instruments of torture.

In the end, the age-verification issue is fraught with dangers from a lack of a clear indication of what it entails. At this stage it would seem that users should desist from age-verifying until the nuts and bolts of the matter becomes much, much clearer.

Submitted by Howie Lamilton

Sanity, Not Sanitation

by Deltango Vale
“[We] cannot play the role of arbitrating personal grievances or defining behavioral standards. This is particularly important as Linden Lab becomes more international. We don’t want to force a California-centric set of rules on the virtual world.” - Linden Lab, December 2006

Linden Lab seems to have got its knickers in a twist regarding sexuality in Second Life. While seeking to improve the ‘user experience’ by segregating residents based on their sexual preferences, LL’s proposed policy changes have instead opened Pandora’s Box. The blogs and forums groan under the weight of hair-splitting detail concerning the best method of classifying sexuality within Second Life, but Linden Lab asked the wrong question.

Background:

The establishment of anonymous accounts in June 2006 opened the doors to underage players. This resulted in international legal scrutiny, increased exposure to legal liability and damaging media coverage. Linden Lab responded by intruding into residents’ sexual relationships and expelling two consenting adults for underage roleplay - even though no underage players were involved. Refusal to close the anonymous accounts and dogged insistence on an ineffective and unsound ID-based age verification system cost Linden Lab considerable political capital with no benefit.

Many of us who came into SL in 2006 (and brought money with us) were horrified by the policy changes of 2007. The deal was that LL would provide a basic property rights structure and act solely as a referee in property disputes. We sighed with relief when LL reassured us that they had no intention of applying overarching codes of morality on the community. I also vividly recall LL announcing that we there would be no change in gambling policy. Then came 2007 and bitter disappointment. All the reassurances given only weeks before were abandoned as Linden Lab slammed the gearshift into reverse. For thousands of people, the trust and faith they had in Linden Lab was badly damaged.

During 2008, the company’s reputation slowly began to recover. Yes, the openspace pricing model was flawed and, yes, there was a second round of mainland supply problems, but at least LL were not bungling policy anymore. The micro-parcel issue was resolved within reason. LL seemed to be developing the ability to handle complex issues...then bang! We are back to square one with a crude policy on social behavior.

The Right Question:

The right question, then, is a) how best to prevent underage players from mingling with adults and b) how best to zone the mainland in a tolerant and efficient manner? Needless to say, eliminating anonymous accounts solves the first part of the problem. Instead of creating a complicated system of filters to prevent kids accessing adult content, keep them out of SL altogether.

As for the second part, when constructing the mainland, Linden Lab established a patchwork of Mature and PG sims such that a loud BDSM club can open next to a quiet, residential home. The introduction of a third sim type, ‘Adult’, though badly named (all SL is adult by definition) - let us call it ‘Xtreme’ instead - makes sense. Constructing an ‘Xtreme’ continent and allowing residents to migrate there - at their own choosing, at their own pace - also makes sense. It may take a year or two, but I believe most ‘Xtreme’ players will prefer to be free of the moral harassment they receive from PG residents.

The New Problem:

As has been known since the dawn of time - articulated again recently by the US Supreme Court - one man’s obscenity is another man’s beauty. To attempt to codify the wide range of human social norms into a regulatory system is counterproductive. At best, it will generate high monitoring and enforcement costs; at worst, it will lead to confusion and conflict within the SL community.

Context and Perspective:

1. Second Life is virtual, voluntary and adult

Seeking to apply RL standards to a virtual world is silly. There is no safer place on Earth than the privacy of your RL home. It is voluntary in that one must sign up for an account and it is adult in that everyone in SL is an adult (or should be). That means one has passed through puberty, has learned to relate to people and become responsible for one’s decisions - including the decision to be in a virtual world with other adults. As an adult, one recognizes and accepts that people have different styles and tastes and that rudeness or harassment should not be confused with sexuality.

2. Creativity needs variety, complexity and synergy

Second Life is unique in catering to a broad, international population of adults. Because of its richness and diversity, SL attracts a wide range of entrepreneurs who provide a wide range of services to a wide range of residents. The organic nature of this mix is itself creative. The functionality of a BDSM collar may benefit another entrepreneur making improvements to a ‘PG’ hugger; Gorean silks may generate new ideas in traditional fashion design; techniques learned to make vampire animations are transferable to dance animations. As for ‘deviant’ behavior, Penicillin was the result of dirty dishes. Post-It notes were a mistake. Lord Byron was a scoundrel. Virginia Woolf was a manic-depressive. Alan Turing was a homosexual. History is littered with the corpses of the brilliant heretics.

The founders of Second Life understood this. They recognized the organic nature of the IT industry and that ‘creative destruction’ had to be embraced rather than shunned. They were amazed by the fall of IBM and inspired by the Burning Man festival in the desert of Nevada. They built Second Life - against all the odds - and it was hugely successful. Sadly, in 2007, the regulators, lawyers and bureaucrats arrived. All this organic stuff had to go, they said. The time had come to strip away risk and uncertainty, to seek the lowest common denominator and penetrate the mass market. I summarized the spirit of this new direction in my profile: “In the name of safety and security and to protect residents from themselves, all activities requiring intelligence and maturity will be banned.”

3. Don’t micromanage the rainforest

Getting rid of snakes may seem like a good idea, but they play a vital role in the natural ecology/economy. Without the snakes, there are too many rodents. Importing hawks to solve the rodent problem disrupts other birds, causing a new problem. Soon, like a vast cascade of dominoes, the whole ecosystem goes out of balance. Hiring 1000 managers and forming new committees to provide more control only makes things worse. In an ever-descending spiral, the managers scramble to repair the ever-increasing damage until the rainforest is finally paved in concrete. Problem solved.

Conclusion:

While my criticisms may seem harsh, I feel it imperative to warn Linden Lab of the long-term consequences of ‘cleaning up’ Second Life. Yes, improvements can be made in the property rights structure to enable residents greater privacy and control - I am very much in favor of this - but Linden Lab does not seem to realize that the lowest common denominator is poison for any creative enterprise.

I implore Linden Lab to note the howls of protest against this new policy drowning out those voices raised surreptitiously beforehand in its favor. Please reflect on the nature of the world you have created - that became a wonder before you began meddling with it. Please remember that Second Life is virtual, voluntary and adult and understand that Disneyfication will buy you at best a temporary advantage before the whole edifice slides gently into banality.

"Age Verification Failed"

After Linden Lab announced the availability of the new Release Candidate viewer, and also an article about a new Knowledge Base article of the week, on their official blog, there has been a lot of complaining amongst residents.


Many of us have tried to get verified on www.secondlife.com and also many have failed. And today Linden Lab has given an update about this, confirming that there are indeed problems, primarily with non-US based residents. However, this reporter also heard from US based residents that they have been experiencing the same problems.

Of course we can't complain about this, because, as Linden Lab clearly states, they are still in the test phase, or Beta stage. And because of that, the only thing you can do right now is either wait it out and hope for the best, or to let Linden Lab know that you are unable to verify your age. And according to that latest LL blog entry, that is exactly what they want.

So please, we call upon you to do 2 things:
The first one is not to use the new Age Verification parcel options, because you might ban some people from your land who might otherwise be perfectly legal to see your adult content.

The other one is to go to www.secondlife.com, log in, go to your account details and click on the right hand side of the screen on 'Age Verification'. Fill in your details, and if you don't succeed, please send an email to the ID Verification taskforce of Linden Lab.

As Linden Lab announced, verification during the beta period is free. After that, getting yourself verified may cost money. But when certain groups of people (like from certain countries) are unable to verify and are not able to use the free option, that might even be considered discrimination. However, because the whole age/identity verification is already a controversial topic amongst residents (there even have been protests), Linden Lab will probably be very careful about this, and hopefully they will have a beta version online soon, that works for everyone.