Ask a Child Avatar

[Magneto Bashly]

5 minutes ago, Ingrid Ingersoll said:

That's against the TOS for reasons that have been discussed ad nauseam. 

I am aware of the TOS changes, I was simply pointing out that there are times when it is justified , and I have expessed this with second life. and Yes I do follow TOS to the letter. I always have and I always will

[Magneto Bashly]

5 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Dear Child Avatar

Do you feel sometimes that some resident's Inner Child might be lonely and depressed and should be visited by their adult for some nurturing? 

LoL not sure if I understand the question, are you saying that when a child avatar feels depressed and lonely their adult alt should visit them? 

[MissSweetViolet]

3 hours ago, Lilbap said:

1) The ban on adult land. 

As a whole, it doesn't bother me. I only miss my old home sim, I mentioned it was functionally Moderate with the rules but was set adult because people didn't understand the ToS and thought a sim had to be adult if hanky panky was going on inside people's homes.

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

I'm all for it, I just wish gals would stop showing up places with their cooters showing. Like I was on a M sim the other day some chica shows up with a open front dress held together by front lacing. I don't expect people to change their SLs to accomidate me, but like M is the only rating sim I feel comfortable in. G tends to be, in my opinion, more young than I am comfortable with. For someone to come in all flapping ugly in the breeze feels like I have to retreat even when they're in the wrong. If I say, "This is a mature sim, could you please cover up," I get snarled at, "KIDS SHOULD BE BANNED!" Come on, I follow the rules, you can too!

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

For the most part, I try to get along with everyone, so moderate sims are kind of my space. The really young presenting tend to stay to G sims and the creepers tend to go to the A sims I wouldn't have gone to in the first place.

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

I have trouble finding shoes that fit, rig more shoes please, its not 2000.

5) The modesty layers. 

Oh boy, here's where I'm going to get heat. I'm non-binary and asexual RL. In SL I wear a boy skin because it doesn't have drawn on girl bits. I do wear modesty layers, but I really don't see a point, if I were to take off my underwear I'm smooth as a store maniquin down below, no boy bits, no girl bits. Some days I have boy energy, some days I have girl energy. I don't understand why I would need to wear a bra if I don't have the upper bits either. I don't see guys waddling around wearing Seinfeld Bro's when they're bare chested.

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

Mostly, I find it more amusing than anything else. I could literally RP on a sim where people are mowing people down with machinegun fire dressed in Hugo Boss uniforms, but having to wear a silly bra because someone might derender my clothes seems kinda crazy. I mean, if my looking like I'm 11 upsets someone, I feel it should be on them to mute and derender me. Because the moment I complain about someone treating me like the scum of the earth for having the termarity to log in and try to be happy all I get is, "Just block them," like that solves the issue of them trying to hurl hate and false accusations at me in public.

There's actually great news for for 5.; SL did state that BoM can work now, and if your avatar has no female attributes, you do not need a top; https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000173097-child-avatar-faq#Q%3A-Can-we-use-BOM-modesty-layers-instead-of-the-ones-described?

https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000173097-child-avatar-faq#Q%3A-I-use-an-infant-or-toddler-avatar.-Am-I-required-to-have-an-upper-modesty-layer?

[Lilbap]

Its the whole "does not present as a female" bit that I'm not 100% sure on. They/Them is a lot more typing than he/she over time. So I err on the side of caution and wear a bandage around my ribs. 

Edited June 25 by Lilbap

[Whisperwind Snowpaw]

6 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

I've a series of questions then for all the child avatars. It's been 7 weeks since the child avatar TOS changes of May 2nd and the June 30th deadline is only days away. 

@Sadvhi @Madi Melodious@Magneto Bashly @NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard@Lilbap@Sydelle Zanzibar@PheebyKatz

I'd like to think of this as the aftermath discussion. 

Breaking down the changes, how have you been effected by:

1) The ban on adult land. 

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

5) The modesty layers. 

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

For the adults wishing to participate 

1) Have you noticed a marked change in the number of child avatars out and about? Has there been a change in the amount of child avatars you see in Moderate sims? 

Well, let me give it a try:

1) full of 'oh crap!' moments when I realize I'm still in my child avi and the store I just entered (a clothing store, a skin store, not a sex shop) is on A region. I usually demoed anything anywhere, but now I grab and TP home. Sometimes I get lazy and don't come back to purchase even when I like which, all in all, is saving me some L$, so no problems here.

2) I actually like this one. Wish it could be better enforced though, because I'm on a Linden Home ranch and my next door neighbor has a huge dick statue, literally it's a massive 2 meters tall phallus with balls on pure PBR chrome reflecting the sun, and I'm a 1.6m teen girl with my bedroom window overlooking it. But he's not breaching ToS and I'm not moving (even if I wanted, there are no more ranchs available at the moment)

3) I never saw many kids around, aside from Golden Sun which had amazing mall and awful lurkers. Sad thing though, I used to go to a school with strict discipline (I'm not saying spanking or D/s, it's like a normal school, with regular people, and none of this "everybody is a winner 2000+ mentality"), just a place to be with other kids where we had dance lessons (I finally learned the name of some movements), discussions about politics, talk about cartoons, like my own childhood school from decades ago, minus the handsy caretaker. Sadly, we had a rise of trolls since March, and, with things that happened since then, most people fled the sim afraid of fake reports, me included, specially because the trolls where on a G sim, naked and... you know... with 10 day old accounts running around. Sim admin banned them, just to see a few more storming again a few days later. So the kids I saw went from few to none at all, including G sims. Friendships remain, but using our adult selves or scattered throughout the grid. Bitter aftertaste. 

4) I love dressing up. I spend around 80USD every month on SL shopping alone, and go from fantasy to urban to cyberpunk on a daily basis. But clothes and rigs for kids are harder to come buy. Rebirth used to be promising (not Reborn, close name, other brand) but some third part clothes are now better than the signature brand, and definitely no Cheezu, HimeDream or Addams ever rigged for it. But the last update is full mod, so I finally managed to make my Casper-inspired ghost avi with it.

5) My main concern here is not the layer itself, is the corporate washing the finance sector is.... ok, this is a topic for another place (and falls into my RL work area) so I'll save everyone a 2 hour powerpoint presentation about child labor on mining operations on East Timor or something. Modesty layers work. I just hope my ghost avatar doesn't fall short of it (I mean, she doesn't even have skin, it's just a volumetric translucent shape of a not-textured human). Right? Right?

6) Well, my knee hurt a little this morning but... oh, about this? Mixed feelings. Too soon to tell. I feel like more will have to be lost before it gets better, but as with anything human, it's a process.

SL has been therapeutic for me. I spent a long time depressed, and the first new piece of clothing I bought to myself after 5 years was for my avatar, few days before I managed to enter a GAP and buy the very same pair for my actual RL butt. I've met people from different cultures, learned about TV tropes from all angles, laughed about the most silly memes that would never have reached my hands otherwise. Found a way to make peace with my demons, and saw first hand wth is an UV map.

Hope this crazy ride can go on even longer still.

 

[Magneto Bashly]

10 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

I've a series of questions then for all the child avatars. It's been 7 weeks since the child avatar TOS changes of May 2nd and the June 30th deadline is only days away. 

@Sadvhi @Madi Melodious@Magneto Bashly @NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard@Lilbap@Sydelle Zanzibar@PheebyKatz

I'd like to think of this as the aftermath discussion. 

Breaking down the changes, how have you been effected by:

1) The ban on adult land. 

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

5) The modesty layers. 

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

For the adults wishing to participate 

1) Have you noticed a marked change in the number of child avatars out and about? Has there been a change in the amount of child avatars you see in Moderate sims? 

Question 1 Answer: The restrictions that have been put into place, as far as not being able to be on or visit an adult sim or region doesn't effect me much, if at all. I am in favor of this change, because If explicit Sexual content can only be found on Adult Sims that is a blessing to the child community, we no longer after to worry about teleporting into a sim that may be questionable. An example would be you have a family club, store or what ever on an adult sim, but the rest of the sim contains sexual content, we no longer have to worry about that. So yes I am in favor of this change. 

Question 2 Answer: Not allowed to be around nudity is not a bad thing within itself, after all I can remember family beaches that I had walked into, and found myself walking right back out because I saw adults full nude with children fully nude, in a public setting, I always thought that was somewhat questionable. so this doesn't really effect me as I have never been around nude adults within second life as a child. There is a difference in a parent giving their child a bath, where the child is naked for the bath, and being around a nude adult, if people can't see the difference in those two, then I don't know what to tell you.

Question 3 Answer: I will go to a moderate sim, if and when I need to, no problem, most content will continue on, going to moderate sims, so I will not be changing how I view them sims.

Question 4 Answer: I don't really see any change here, I think content will still be more then available for us, however the days of making children's clothing with a big old budge in the front are over, I never did like that, it always looked wrong to me. But I do see and I do think creators will be more aware of the changes when making items.

Question 5 Answer: The modesty layers, are not that big of a deal now that they are in the form of BOM, in real life you have underwear on, so I do not see how having to have them on your avatar would matter much. I have always kept my body covered up or alfaed out because I know there are people out there that would de-render my mesh clothing, it a problem not only for us but for everyone in second life.

Question 6 Answer: Well when it comes to the protection of children both real life and virtual I am in favor for having a safe environment in which to reside in.

The Nudity restrictions on child avatars I do not agree with, I do not support, I still think children avatars should be allowed to have a bath naked, as long as it is in the privacy of there homes, having to have a modesty layer on in the bath tube is just stupid and unrealistic. I think children having there diaper changed again at home, there is nothing wrong with a moments during the diaper change of being bare bottomed. Same thing for potty training or going to the bathroom.

When people make the attempt to take normal childhood nudity and make it into something sexual I have a problem with that. I have voiced my concerns to Linden Lab on why it a bad idea and why there should be an exception.

Now then over all I feel the changes are a positive thing, if they serve as a protection, but at the same time I do not feel the changes will stop people that have bad motives in there mind and heart to do what ever it is they do.

At the end of the day, they own the platform, they own the servers that we log into, I am all for protesting what you don't like but at the end of the day you have to comply or take the chance on getting banned at some point. And for most of us the 2nd is not even an option.

There will always be changes within second life, some people will like them some people will not, but one thing for sure the hate towards our community must end. We have a right to be here as much as anyone else.

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

26 minutes ago, Magneto Bashly said:

The Nudity restrictions on child avatars I do not agree with, I do not support, I still think children avatars should be allowed to have a bath naked

This thread has been enlightening. 

[MissSweetViolet]

12 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

I've a series of questions then for all the child avatars. It's been 7 weeks since the child avatar TOS changes of May 2nd and the June 30th deadline is only days away. 

 

I'd like to think of this as the aftermath discussion. 

Breaking down the changes, how have you been effected by:

1) The ban on adult land. 

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

5) The modesty layers. 

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

For the adults wishing to participate 

1) Have you noticed a marked change in the number of child avatars out and about? Has there been a change in the amount of child avatars you see in Moderate sims? 

[I removed the @ in case I'd be double pinging anyone]

1; I feel good about it. It was much needed in my opinion and my Starries HUD is always on while in child form and will TP me away if I end up on Adult land without realizing.

2; Fine with this one as well.

3; Most of the places I go when wearing my child avi are already General, or are sims I've been going to for years and know I'm safe. So not much has changed.

4; Since the update that BoM is fine, I feel pretty good. I feel like everything should work pretty much as before for me.

5; Mostly good, I still wouldn't mind confirmation that it's okay to alpha for clothing though [unless this has been addressed while I was away].

6; Overall pretty good, I think things have evened out pretty well, BoM layers are now a valid solution, we are more protected from trolls, and those who are on adult land have protections in place for them. 

Edited June 26 by MissSweetViolet
Punctuation correction.

[Magneto Bashly]

7 minutes ago, Ingrid Ingersoll said:

This thread has been enlightening. 

I'm sure there will be some that don't agree with my comments on that, and there will also be people that do, but hoply m comments will not be taken out of context!

[brodiac90]

These are my own thoughts on the questions I posed. 

1) The ban on Adult land. 

This has made pretty much no impact on me. I was initially concerned about accidentally ending up in Adult land but now I've adjusted my preferences to only allow for G and M content, I am much more relaxed. Similarly, a number of kid creators in the community have come up with various solutions. The only time this part of the changes ever comes up is if I want to take a flight or cruise. Now I make sure to check with the captain what the flight path will be which can sometimes be a pain as people don't always understand why you're asking. 

2) Nudity rule

I agree it is a necessary rule and I'm glad that places like the family nude beaches that promoted nudity amongst children and adult avatars together are now illegal. I've no way of investigating whether they're still a thing without endangering my account, so perhaps someone could tell me whether they're still a thing or not? Unlike Magento, I disagree with nudity for baths, diaper changes or going to the toilet etc. No other game would allow children to be nude. SL is not RL. It is a difference of opinion though and people are entitiled to them so long as they comply with TOS. 

The rule does have other far reaching cosequences though and of all the changes is probably the most impactful, even more so than the ban on adult land. What it effectively does (especially on Moderate sims) is make it so you can never really truly relax. You always have to be assessing the sitution to ensure you're not near nudity, which I will elaborate on in point 3. 

3) Moderate sims 

I've found myself going to Moderate sims less and less just because I can't be bothered with the hassle of them. Yes, child avatars are allowed on Moderate sims, but LL has also said we're not allowed near nudity and Moderate sims allow public adult nudity, so one must always be on the look out to ensure they're not breaching TOS. I now find myself camming around a lot more before I enter places on M sims while having to wait for avatars to fully rez in to check their state of dress. This obviously slows things down and makes navigating Moderate sims more difficult and more of a chore. Even if there are no offending avatars and content, you can never truly relax because the situation could change at any moment. In this situation we really are 2nd class citizens. 

4) Availbility of content

Still no update from Tweenster, thankfully Toddleedoo and Tweeneedoo updated fairly quickly. I'm not sure about other kid creators so perhaps others could chip in with answers to other bodies? Thankfully LL have relaxed some of the requirements. Being able to use BOM underwear which we can buy (and do not have to rely on a creator for) has made the issue a lot less complex and stressful. The safest option is to use a body with the built in modesty layers, so using my Tweenster avatar with BOM briefs somehow still feels a bit less safe than my Tweeneedoo for example. 

5) Modesty layers. 

Now that LL have explained what they actually require and have clarified language like 'cannot be removed,' I honestly don't care about them one bit. People will wrongfully think this is the most impactful change out of all of the recent child avatar TOS changes, but as I've explained above, the rule about child avatars not being near nudity has actually had more of an impact on my SL than this one ever could, and the annoying thing about the not being near nudity rule is the fact that I'm dependent on others. I can ensure I wear undies, I can unsure I don't go to adult land, but I can't control if someone comes up to me naked on a Moderate sim. I guess it's just something I'm going to have to deal with and keep a watch out for, but as I said before, it really does make you feel like a second class citizen. I guess it's just the price we have to pay to keep child avatars in SL.   

6) Overall thoughts. 

I think LL had good intentions and pretty much agree with everything they have done. Where I strongly disagree is in how they executed and communicated the policy changes. The amount of stress, anxiety and confusion that was caused after the initial changes were made was phenonimal. People have left SL over this, people have lost friends over this. Where I do give LL some credit is in how they listened to the feedback they were given and how they adjusted course when they were presented with logical arguments. Was it perfect? No, but it's darn sight better than what we originally had, although no child avatar will have fond memories of that time - the amount of hate we recieved as certain people took LL's actions as open season on child avatars, was immense, particularly the trolling of out spoken child avatars who expressed their concerns on the forums. Someone tried to lure @Madi Melodious to adult land in order to get her account banned. That was outrageous and still boils my blood to this day even nearly two months later.  

Edited June 26 by brodiac90

[Sydelle Zanzibar]

19 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

I've a series of questions then for all the child avatars. It's been 7 weeks since the child avatar TOS changes of May 2nd and the June 30th deadline is only days away. 

@Sadvhi @Madi Melodious@Magneto Bashly @NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard@Lilbap@Sydelle Zanzibar@PheebyKatz

I'd like to think of this as the aftermath discussion. 

Breaking down the changes, how have you been effected by:

1) The ban on adult land. 

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

5) The modesty layers. 

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

For the adults wishing to participate 

1) Have you noticed a marked change in the number of child avatars out and about? Has there been a change in the amount of child avatars you see in Moderate sims? 

1. I used to shop on A land sometimes. And due to this change i set my settings to block me going there. I made some "shopping" avatars (a ghost and a chalkboard) in case i really want something there but i hate wearing them and so i just avoid it now. Its not common enough to bother me anyway. The only irritation so far was my sister invited me to shop-n-hop and happened to be in an adult area and she didn't notice and we spent awhile trying to figure out why all TPs were not arriving. Another shop-n-hop store was NOT in the adult area and gave gift cards only useable in their A only store.  So Overall I occasionally feel slightly annoyed, bot nothing serious. 

2. I didnt wanna be around nudity anyways so... YAY! Its always been one of the good reasons to be a kid. Also I dont RP that heavy so no need for baths. (I guess i stink?)

3. My home community and my Second Escape Business are both on M land. The rules in those places didn't change, everyone seems the same as before. I did put up a sign... it says "NO NUDITY... No Butts about it!" Before, i didn't have a sign. That sign is the main difference in everyday life, i just see it there.  I don't know why I didn't have one before. I guess it never occured to me nude people would go running around my M land? I mean Once a few years ago a person wearing only a lady body part Avatar was there and she apologized to me for it but that's the worst that's happened in the distant past. I'm sure the sign will do not much of anything. Maybe it will get a laugh.

4. Rebirth took a long time to update their body and everytime i asked about it people got all annoyed. I didn't feel like waiting on something without even an announcement of what to expect so I swapped to Teen Turf. I have mixed feeling about it. for one, i think I look like a more realistic 12yo with more accurate proportions. But I also have more chest than I ever have in all of SL... so the new TOS made me be more grownup looking with more boobs than before. seems almost the opposite of the intended effect? Still I look more like several RL 12yos I know. To make matters more awkward, there's less Teen Turf clothing and they actually include a notecard with what adult clothes fit. and adult clothes are just less childlike. NOw that i got it all set up though, Rebirth released their TOS compliant body now. I think i'm too tired of editing my looks to go regress back to 11yo. see... now i feel awkward no matter what i choose. Maybe later.

5. Modesty layers. I don't care. I asked loads of questions at first cause it was worded super weird, but now... i wear BOM layers all the time anyhow so I bought me some new undies. My BOM tights over my BOM undies no one is gonna derender and see anything anyhow. It all became an excuse to spend more lindens on loads of shopping. haha I also got some skins with it built in, but so far they dont match my face skin and looked so bad i took those off. Maybe when they make more of them.

 

Overall, my feelings are "Meh. What alot of hoopla over nothin!"

Edited June 26 by Sydelle Zanzibar

[Sydelle Zanzibar]

7 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

3) Moderate sims 

I've found myself going to Moderate sims less and less just because I can't be bothered with the hassle of them. Yes, child avatars are allowed on Moderate sims, but LL has also said we're not allowed near nudity and Moderate sims allow public adult nudity, so one must always be on the look out to ensure they're not breaching TOS. I now find myself camming around a lot more before I enter places on M sims while having to wait for avatars to fully rez in to check their state of dress. This obviously slows things down and makes navigating Moderate sims more difficult and more of a chore. Even if there are no offending avatars and content, you can never truly relax because the situation could change at any moment. In this situation we really are 2nd class citizens. 

i think this affects me less as i really do stick to my own few places most of the time. And a good portion of places i shop, I'll be there alone. At Shop n hop i hopped directly to shops and out again, instead of wandering slowly around to  all the stores with my friends like previous years, even though i dont think i have seen people at it ever wandering nude, but maybe im just not observant enough?

[Sadvhi]

22 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

Breaking down the changes, how have you been effected by:

1) The ban on adult land. 

The only time I visit adult sims is to fish. I created an adult male alt to fish on adult sims after the changes.

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

When I was fishing on a moderate sim wearing my adult male alt, the person hosting was naked and using a lewd gesture. Which makes me very wary of visitng Moderate sims now as a child avatar.

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

Yes, I am very wary of visiting any sim that is not specifically geared for child avatars so rarely leave my home now.

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

The owner of Toddleedoo immediately set to work on updating the child avatar bodies that I use, so I haven't ever had to worry about not complying with the TOS.

5) The modesty layers. 

I love wearing modesty layers and am thrilled with the new rules. I used to just alpha out my chest and pelvis but I found out that people would still be able to see my body parts that way, so I now wear skin that has the modesty layer baked in and also alpha out my chest and pelivs so feel doubly protected:)

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

I am very happy with the new TOS and all the changes, as the existence of "child friendly" nude beaches and risque clothing for child avatars was something that greatly troubled me since I first learned of their existence. 

[Magneto Bashly]

17 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

2) Nudity rule

I agree it is a necessary rule and I'm glad that places like the family nude beaches that promoted nudity amongst children and adult avatars together are now illegal. I've no way of investigating whether they're still a thing without endangering my account, so perhaps someone could tell me whether they're still a thing or not? Unlike Magento, I disagree with nudity for baths, diaper changes or going to the toilet etc. No other game would allow children to be nude. SL is not RL. It is a difference of opinion though and people are entitiled to them so long as they comply with TOS. 

 

It's okay you don't have to agree with my views, that is what makes everybody different, I just ask that they be respected.

[PheebyKatz]

On 6/25/2024 at 12:40 PM, Arielle Popstar said:

Dear Child Avatar

Do you feel sometimes that some resident's Inner Child might be lonely and depressed and should be visited by their adult for some nurturing? 

Yes. Sometimes we have movie nights together, sometimes we read a book, sometimes we just hang out. My adult is named The Typist. We're friends.

[NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard]

On 6/25/2024 at 9:54 AM, brodiac90 said:

I've a series of questions then for all the child avatars. It's been 7 weeks since the child avatar TOS changes of May 2nd and the June 30th deadline is only days away. 

@Sadvhi @Madi Melodious@Magneto Bashly @NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard@Lilbap@Sydelle Zanzibar@PheebyKatz

I'd like to think of this as the aftermath discussion. 

Breaking down the changes, how have you been effected by:

1) The ban on adult land. 

2) The not being allowed near nudity rule. 

3) Your usage of Moderate sims. Do you go to these less than you did before? How is the experience? 

4) The availability of content - think avatars being updated specifically. 

5) The modesty layers. 

6) Overall how do you feel about everything? 

For the adults wishing to participate 

1) Have you noticed a marked change in the number of child avatars out and about? Has there been a change in the amount of child avatars you see in Moderate sims? 

Here are my answers to these particular aftermath discussion questions:

When it comes to child avatars being banned on Adult Sims, I think that's pretty reasonable since I prefer to stick to General and Moderate sims. The rule on not being allowed near nudity also is logical as well, after all... its for the best since I believe this could make things safer for those with child avatars. 

I still go to Moderate sims and I don't think much has changed. I do sometimes see other child avatars on Moderate rated sims but that depends on the areas I go to. So it may not always be the same.

For the availability of content, some things may not always be available for all avatars right off the bat. However, with the modesty rule in affect, many have stepped up and updated their bodies to have modesty layers. 

On the talk of Modesty layers themselves, I don't actually mind needing one and I've just simply went along with it. I've even put one on my Toddleedoo avatar. 

Overall on everything, I've just been doing my best to go with the flow and watch as it all happens. I  have to do my best to follow the policy. I may of been worried and perhaps slightly concerned about it at first, but with further clarification provided on the policy by the Lindens, it made things a little more clearer.

These are my answers to this set of questions, done to the best of my ability. 

[brodiac90]

It's Alive!!!!! Lol 😊

I am happy for this thread to go back to its original remit so if you have any questions for myself or any other child avatars then please ask away. 

[Katherine Heartsong]

2 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

It's Alive!!!!! Lol 😊

I am happy for this thread to go back to its original remit so if you have any questions for myself or any other child avatars then please ask away. 

Okay, I do have one!

I think I understand or am aware of the often-sited/often-assumed main motivations for RL males to live/explore SL as a completely female avatar (like I do).

And also understand that in SL your avatar can look like anything; from stick figure, to robot, to furry, neko, animal, monster, dinkie, beast, wildly exaggerated human (height, size, looks), child, etc. I am super curious to ask ...

If one is in SL primarily as a child/kid avatar say 12 years old or less—i.e., spends the large majority of your time in one avatar, not just has a kid avatar as one in a huge collection of alternate looks—what would you suggest/feel are the primary motivations that users in SL represent as child avatars? I know they'll vary from person to person, but what are the key ones do you think?

Thank you to @brodiac90 and @Madi Melodious and others for keeping this conversation enlightening and sane.

Edited July 11 by Katherine Heartsong

[NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard]

27 minutes ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

Okay, I do have one!

I think I understand or am aware of the often-sited/often-assumed main motivations for RL males to live/explore SL as a completely female avatar (like I do).

And also understand that in SL your avatar can look like anything; from stick figure, to robot, to furry, neko, animal, monster, dinkie, beast, wildly exaggerated human (height, size, looks), child, etc. I am super curious to ask ...

If one primarily is in SL as a child/kid avatar say 12 years old or less—i.e., spends the large majority of your time in one avatar—what would you suggest/feel are the primary motivations that users in SL represent as child avatars? I know they'll vary from person to person, but what are the key ones do you think?

Thank you to @brodiac90 and @Madi Melodious and others for keeping this conversation enlightening and sane.

I think one of the key points may be for just wanting to relive their childhood, or maybe perhaps its fun to be a child avatar on Second Life. I think its pretty fun to be a child avatar on Second Life. 

[brodiac90]

48 minutes ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

Okay, I do have one!

I think I understand or am aware of the often-sited/often-assumed main motivations for RL males to live/explore SL as a completely female avatar (like I do).

And also understand that in SL your avatar can look like anything; from stick figure, to robot, to furry, neko, animal, monster, dinkie, beast, wildly exaggerated human (height, size, looks), child, etc. I am super curious to ask ...

If one is in SL primarily as a child/kid avatar say 12 years old or less—i.e., spends the large majority of your time in one avatar, not just has a kid avatar as one in a huge collection of alternate looks—what would you suggest/feel are the primary motivations that users in SL represent as child avatars? I know they'll vary from person to person, but what are the key ones do you think?

Thank you to @brodiac90 and @Madi Melodious and others for keeping this conversation enlightening and sane.

What are the reasons behind people choosing to exlusively present as child avatars? 

It's a very good question and the answer I suspect is very different to those who play both adult and child avis or those who only use child avatars sparingly. 

For all the exlusive child avatars that I've met and known the answer to that question seems to be. "It's just what feels right," and that can mean lots of things to many different people. 

For myself, it's very much about making new memories. As a warning my answer is typically a mood killer but oh well you asked. I had a horrorific childhood. Like if you can imagine it happening, it happened, bad. Both my RL parents are dead and I lost them at a very young age and then everything that happened after that. I don't say this to be 'Woe is Me,' and all that rubbish it's just the facts. Facts that change who you are forever. So it's not so much about reliving childhood as actually being able to experience one for the first time in a postive way. It's also about having a family. The family I never had.  

Beyond that, it's really about embracing the fun and more innocent side of life and seeing things in a more simpler and less complex way. 

 

Edited July 11 by brodiac90

[Katherine Heartsong]

1 hour ago, brodiac90 said:

What are the reasons behind people choosing to exlusively present as child avatars? 

It's a very good question and the answer I suspect is very different to those who play both adult and child avis or those who only use child avatars sparingly. 

For all the exlusive child avatars that I've met and known the answer to that question seems to be. "It's just what feels right," and that can mean lots of things to many different people. 

For myself, it's very much about making new memories. As a warning my answer is typically a mood killer but oh well you asked. I had a horrorific childhood. Like if you can imagine it happening, it happened, bad. Both my RL parents are dead and I lost them at a very young age and then everything that happened after that. I don't say this to be 'Woe is Me,' and all that rubbish it's just the facts. Facts that change who you are forever. So it's not so much about reliving childhood as actually being able to experience one for the first time in a postive way. It's also about having a family. The family I never had.  

Beyond that, it's really about embracing the fun and more innocent side of life and seeing things in a more simpler and less complex way. 

 

Thank you for your elegant response!!!

[Cristiano Midnight]

1 hour ago, brodiac90 said:

What are the reasons behind people choosing to exlusively present as child avatars? 

It's a very good question and the answer I suspect is very different to those who play both adult and child avis or those who only use child avatars sparingly. 

For all the exlusive child avatars that I've met and known the answer to that question seems to be. "It's just what feels right," and that can mean lots of things to many different people. 

For myself, it's very much about making new memories. As a warning my answer is typically a mood killer but oh well you asked. I had a horrorific childhood. Like if you can imagine it happening, it happened, bad. Both my RL parents are dead and I lost them at a very young age and then everything that happened after that. I don't say this to be 'Woe is Me,' and all that rubbish it's just the facts. Facts that change who you are forever. So it's not so much about reliving childhood as actually being able to experience one for the first time in a postive way. It's also about having a family. The family I never had.  

Beyond that, it's really about embracing the fun and more innocent side of life and seeing things in a more simpler and less complex way. 

 

Thank you for such a wonderfully honest answer. I have talked to others who present as exclusively child avs, and many of them have said something similar. It is a way to live out a childhood that they feel they missed out on for various reasons.

A long time ago when I had an animation business, I made a pregnancy AO. I would often meet people who were very into SL pregnancy, and they would often have a similar story. They couldn't have children in RL, or they lost a child, or something like that. SL gave them a way to experience something in a way they could control and enjoy in a safe way.

I think that is the beauty of SL and something that has kept me here for 21 years. There are so many similar stories of people being able to overcome something or experience something in SL that they are not able to in RL. That gets lost sometimes in the arguments about different communities, avatars, etc. There is a power in that.

[Madi Melodious]

I started as a child avatar back in 2011 to compensate for a loss.  That child grew up, fell in love, and got married. 

This is child avatar 2.0.  The reason I play a child avatar.   I want too.  I don't have any real motivation other than I simply like this shape and size.   An there really isn't much more to it than that.

[Sydelle Zanzibar]

7 hours ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

Okay, I do have one!

...

If one is in SL primarily as a child/kid avatar say 12 years old or less—i.e., spends the large majority of your time in one avatar, not just has a kid avatar as one in a huge collection of alternate looks—what would you suggest/feel are the primary motivations that users in SL represent as child avatars? I know they'll vary from person to person, but what are the key ones do you think?

My primary avatar is 11/12 years old. I do have adult alts but i rarely play them, generally for specific things then back to my main. My primary reason is like others "it feels right" but maybe it feels right for different reasons?

I'm the age i am because too much younger and it would be weird if I'm going out alone places, older and it loses the whimsical feel of childhood for me. 

I don't actually roleplay that much, i have a SL father but he is not a roleplayer at all,  but we hang out he helps me with projects I'm doing and runs interference if i get anxiety about stuff. My childhood was not a bad one, it was great, but my mother was quite strict leaving me with less freedom than my peers. Being a kid again lets me do kid stuff that was forbidden to me as a RL kid like wearing shirts with skulls on it, running amok, riding bikes,  playing with "dangerous stuff" (you know like trampolines, fireworks and shooting myself out of cannons! The sillier the better.) I COULD do that stuff in an adult  avatar, but it just feels wrong, like I should act more my age or something. I like the way it feels to skip around and just play. 

[NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard]

We should do our best to stay on topic by the way, this thread is not for ranting, its for asking child avatars questions. 

Edited July 12 by NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard