Adult sims & content…
OMG! Linden lad is planning huge changes which will effect Java Island and lots and lots of vendors, other islands and mainland!
From the blog:
From its beginning, Second Life has been an open place where Residents can explore a wide variety of creative pursuits. This has resulted in a vast amount of amazing content inworld, and has helped make Second Life the exceptional place it is. It is very important to Linden Lab that we support and preserve this creativity and openness as our community continues to grow, and as the range of uses for Second Life widens.
At the same time, we must ensure that all Residents can enjoy the virtual world. In particular, it has become clear that some Residents are interested in pursuing certain “Adult” activities in Second Life that others would rather not casually encounter. To address this, over the next few months, we will need to implement some changes around Adult content to ultimately give all Residents more control over their Second Life experiences. We believe we can implement a better system than we have now for managing this content — one that is respectful of everyone’s personal preferences, yet does not detract from the creativity and passion that define Second Life.
The system we build will have three main features, which we will describe in great detail over the next few months. First, it will provide a way to geographically separate Adult content and activities to a part of the “mainland” designed to accommodate these activities (Estate owners with Adult content on their land will be required to flag their content; they will not be required to move). Second, it will filter search results, so that those who do not wish to see “Adult” results will not. Third, it will require that those who access or see “Adult” content (whether on land or in search) have had their accounts verified – such as by a payment or age verification method.
The core goals of this initiative are to improve Second Life for everyone – by giving Residents more control over what they see, and by providing the best available method to make Adult content accessible only to those who ought to (and who desire to) access it.
We understand this may sound like a major change for some Residents, landowners and merchants. However, we are committed to ensuring that all three of these features are implemented easily and efficiently, so merchants and other landowners will not be disadvantaged, and Residents’ freedom and creativity ultimately will not be impeded.
We also understand that this effort will hinge on manageable guidelines and definitions. Simply defining “Adult” content is not easy — its definition can vary across different geographic and personal boundaries.
During the next six weeks, we will seek input from many segments of the Second Life community. We will introduce guidelines and define what “Adult” means, we will explain how to designate and “flag” this content, we will introduce the “Adult Continent,” and we will implement technical changes to make this process as efficient as we can.
The remainder of this post will address some of the questions regarding the anticipated changes and outline how you can participate in defining the new policy. Once we’ve gotten your feedback, we’ll announce the new guidelines and next steps. In the meantime, we’ll set up specific subject categories in the forums to allow you to submit your comments and ideas.
So now what?
We have four key guiding principles to work from, and we’d like you to consider them and share your thoughts:
1) We will create clear and consistent definitions of what constitutes adult content, in line with our Community Standards,
2) We will enable easy, reliable, and consistent ways to be able to access content by type – the goal being to ensure that Residents can choose what they want to see, purchase and experience.
3) We will implement effective Resident services and dialog to ensure that those who provide Adult goods or services can continue their activities without long-term disruption or loss of business.
4) We will implement account verification systems that provide an additional level of assurance for providers of Adult content that only adults are able to access their content. Such a system might be tied, for instance, to a verified payment method like a credit card, a validation by our age verification provider, or another credible method of validation.
How can you participate?
Long term we now have some decisions to make about the experience that is Second Life. We know we haven’t thought of everything, given the vast amount of individuality and expression that exists inworld. So we’re turning to you to help us see what we have missed, and to help us shape this change. Receiving feedback from you is vital in regards to minimizing economic disruption and meeting as many of the diverse needs of our community as we can. So let’s discuss!
We’ll meet in the forums, and we’ll reach out directly to several constituents as well as to the thought leaders who will undoubtedly emerge here. What comes from this process will not be perfect, but it will be better for our coming together to make the plan happen.
After several weeks of these discussions, we’ll announce our detailed plan, including the timeline and process for separating Adult content geographically and in search results, and for account verification.
There’s obviously a lot to discuss, and so rather than having one long comment thread here, we’re opening discussions in the forums (see below). Please join us there after reviewing the Adult-Oriented Content Controls FAQ and the Maturity Ratings FAQ for additional insights regarding the difference between Mature and Adult; anticipated impact, and other details not covered in this post.
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If account verification also be needed to access Java Island it would mean you, as a visitor, you MUST have payment info on file or have your account age verified…. This means the end of alt accounts and no more new residents dropping by… No more privacy either…
This plan and prolly new policy, is a bad idea and will lead to a decrease of (new) residents, mature islands and mature content creators/vendors. Thank you so much LindenLab… first the Open Space disaster and now this.. not to mention the difference in USA/non USA taxes and grandfathers sims. So far, not so good.