Teens in SL

[tiger Silverfall]

I am concerned about the many teens that now in SL, much of SL is for ADULTS and not everyone who owns a mature sim keeps what they have or do on it strictly within the rules of mature ratings. Im am writing this after hearing that young girl was working and still is working in an SL strip club dispite linden labs being informed and chat log sent off with her admitting her age to another person, Firstly according to Tos rules we are not allowed to share someones age ...so as responsible adults firstly we report to linden, you would think that they would be quick to respond but the young girl is still working there ,,,so as responsable adults do we then inform the club owner ?

It seems to me that linden have made a huge mistake in changing the proof of age when you open an account and now very young teens have access to things that are adult content, after all you wouldnt give your young teen a porn magazine to sit and read, There is also alot more griefing going on cos thats fun for teens to do, It also leaves me very concerned about SL Relationships many of us dont use voice, dont share rl pics ( they can be faked) and dont use cam, so how can any of us be sure that the person we are involved with isnt a teen, unless we insist that we see the person on cam,

I know many will be thinking its down to rl parents to control there childs internet access but the reality is many parents dont and many do not understand or know of SL and the adult content , I feel its down to everyone to help keep children/young adults safe, I personally dont feel sl is the place for rl young people to be, 18 and over seems to be more appropriate. I curious to know what others feel about this

[HRH Andrew]

One of the daftest things LL ever did with SL was merge teen sl with ordinary sl... should have just closed teen sl down.

[Venus Petrov]

LL is responsible for the age-verification process.  Sim owners are responsible for putting a rating on their sims.  It is not the sim owner's responsibility to police age-verified residents who enter a sim and claim they are under 18 years old.

Who knows if someone claiming to be 16 is telling the truth?

You may question the wisdom in merging teen grid with adult.  However, it is a done deal now and LL has to deal with it.

[Sy Beck]

Have you considered the fact that LL have checked her out and that it was the case that he/she was lying to you and is really 20+ something.  I know from previous people who have posted here that LL take age seriously and usually suspend the account immediately and then check the facts.

[tiger Silverfall]

Hi sy,

This isn't something I was involved with personally, it was a friend and no honestly I hadn't considered that, and if that is the case, it would be helpful to maybe hear from linden saying the matter had been dealt with, when my friend told me of the situation, it just got me thinking about the whole teen sl subject, and I was curious to know others thoughts on the subject

tiger

[Caitlin Tobias]

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Venus Petrov wrote:

LL is responsible for the age-verification process.  Sim owners are responsible for putting a rating on their sims.  It is not the sim owner's responsibility to police age-verified residents who enter a sim and claim they are under 18 years old.

Who knows if someone claiming to be 16 is telling the truth?

You may question the wisdom in merging teen grid with adult.  However, it is a done deal now and LL has to deal with it.

---

^^ That.

 

And also, this may sound harsh, I am not in Second Life to babysit other people's children and the last thing I want to do when enjoying my leisure time online is wondering, or worrying even,  if some 'parent' knows their offspring is fooling around.

To be clear, I do not do anything that may get me or teens even in trouble, I live a sheltered SL on mostly G-rated sims.

Venus got it right in her last sentence.

[Ceka Cianci]

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tiger Silverfall wrote:

Hi sy,

This isn't something I was involved with personally, it was a friend and no honestly I hadn't considered that, and if that is the case, it would be helpful to maybe hear from linden saying the matter had been dealt with, when my friend told me of the situation, it just got me thinking about the whole teen sl subject, and I was curious to know others thoughts on the subject

tiger

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it's not our place to know what SL did with her account..

just as it is nobody else's business what happens to each of our own accounts..

they won't disclose information to one user about another unless a lawyer is taking someone to court..

a lot of people say they are younger than they are in second life..the accounts that are given to 16 and 17 year old's are not able to get on the mature and adult sections of the grid..

the age verification is to protect me and you and linden lab  to make sure we are in those areas with other adults..

if someone under the age of 18 lies and gets passed the age verification..it becomes that user and their parents that become responsible for the actions of that account,.

we can't expect the other users in world who go to those sections that are 18+ to be away from kids to all of a sudden feel they have to be on the look out for kids..

we are supposed to be looking at everyone in those areas as adults..if we get the feeling one may not be..our responsibility is to Ar them..that it where it starts and ends..

our work is done..we shouldn't be expecting follow up reports from LL..because it's none of our business..if the avatar is still there..then it is a good chance they were just fantasizing being a teen under the age of 18..

it's not fair to put pressure on anyone but the parents unless there are adults getting teens into areas they are not supposed to be getting them into..

the laws and the TOS are pretty clear on who is the responsible party when a teen lies to get into someplace they don't belong..

[Ceka Cianci]

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Caitlin Tobias wrote:

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Venus Petrov wrote:

LL is responsible for the age-verification process.  Sim owners are responsible for putting a rating on their sims.  It is not the sim owner's responsibility to police age-verified residents who enter a sim and claim they are under 18 years old.

Who knows if someone claiming to be 16 is telling the truth?

You may question the wisdom in merging teen grid with adult.  However, it is a done deal now and LL has to deal with it.

---

^^ That.

 

And also, this may sound harsh, I am not in Second Life to babysit other people's children and the last thing I want to do when enjoying my leisure time online is wondering, or worrying even,  if some 'parent' knows their offspring is fooling around.

To be clear, I do not do anything that may get me or teens even in trouble, I live a sheltered SL on mostly G-rated sims.

Venus got it right in her last sentence.

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i don't think you are being harsh at all..

i feel the world shouldn't be put under the pressure ..that parents need a bit more pressure put on them..it doesn't matter if a parent knows or doesn't know what thier son or daughter is doing..

it's still thier job to know as much as they can about them..to raise them to where they would not go against thier parents wishes when the parents are not around..

and when they do  do something wrong..deal with it rather than send them to a room full of toys like the internet or tv..

too many parents have the internet and cell phones and lots of other tech stuff doing the babysitting..

if they decide to be that kind of parent..then time to make them take responsibility for thier lack of being one..

so no you were not harsh one bit..

we shouldn't have to be feeling any guilt trip because a parent lacks the skills..it's a cruel world out there..bad parents deserve whats coming to them if they take the lazy way out..thier concerns shouldn't be dumped on us after something happens because they lacked the concern when it was needed..

[Sassy Romano]

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tiger Silverfall wrote:

I am concerned about the many teens that now in SL, much of SL is for ADULTS and not everyone who owns a mature sim keeps what they have or do on it strictly within the rules of mature ratings.

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Teens are not permitted in mature regions.  That's the end of that discussion.

If someone was in a mature or adult region and is under 18 then they have presented "age verification" information to the very poor system that LL have chosen to use.

However, LL isn't dumb.  They've outsourced that process so as far as CYA, they are covered.  It's not "their" fault that the age verification process doesn't work is it?

 

[Ceka Cianci]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

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tiger Silverfall wrote:

I am concerned about the many teens that now in SL, much of SL is for ADULTS and not everyone who owns a mature sim keeps what they have or do on it strictly within the rules of mature ratings.

---

Teens are not permitted in mature regions.  That's the end of that discussion.

If someone was in a mature or adult region and is under 18 then they have presented "age verification" information to the very poor system that LL have chosen to use.

However, LL isn't dumb.  They've outsourced that process so as far as CYA, they are covered.  It's not "their" fault that the age verification process doesn't work is it?

 

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the only way it would not be working is if they were 16 or 17 or younger and not using false information and it still letting them into those areas..

just because they can lie and get passed it with false information doesn't mean it isn't working..

because it was never made to stop anyone..because there isn't a system that can..it was made to put the responsibility on the one that lies to break into a section that they are not allowed..

if LL made a system that they presented as something that will stop kids from getting into those sections..they would open themselves up to a real big can of worms..

then parents could say..."omg your system failed!! it let my baby in the bad area and someone sexed them up!! you will be hearing from mah lawyer!!"

it's just like any other 18+ system on any site they have nowdays..do you agree that you are 18 or over..yes button  or no button..

i wish i could remember the words they said before you have to agree to the birth date..it was kind of funny and a little smartassish of them hehehe

something on the lines of ..this is us spelling out for you what it means when you agree..hehehe

i really wish i could remeber what it was because it was kind of funny coming from them lol

 

 

 

[Celestiall Nightfire]

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tiger Silverfall wrote:

I am concerned about the many teens that now in SL,.....

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I've never met an actual teenager in SL, and I've been here four years!   *laughing* 

[GothGirl Demonia]

I agree with this problem, this Age Verification thing has created serious issues, and security concerns for our grid.

As some RP Regions in Second Life such as Gorean, NOR, and other RP simulators which have explicit content in them are rated Adult, it has done a lot when Linden Lab Required ID to be VERIFED! Now Teens can access any adult area by simply clicking I agree I am over the age of 18, and get access to adult areas exposing them to Child Predators, Molestors, and possibly some very sad parents for the loss of their loved children.

I agree that parents are responsible for their children, or Teens under the age of 18 however not all parents are computer smart and Teens find a way into adult places sometimes, and so I feel that the company should do the right thing and try to prevent access to minors. Sure a Teen who is smart can forge an ID,  OR lie about their age and do adult RP with an adult still, or either way be exposed to child predators in any game, or service I know this, but we as adults should do our best to prevent such.

I came from the Teen Grid myself, I know some Teens Under the age of 18 as well, not all teens are bad there are some very respectful ones who respect the rules, even some that fought Content Theft on the Teen Grid before I knew anything about it at all, and hey I love those. Then you got your rude teens of course I try to forgive but somethings can be very hard to at times espically when some people create so much drama.

Security Wise Having adult land that required an ID, helped keep griefers from attacking a simulator, I will not say anything about anyone specifically, but some RP simulators I knew called NOR in Second Life, were attacked by Random Griefers, People attacked them using my name as a griefer out of Hate, I know the group who did it I filed AR's on each and everyone one of them, and I still got accused by some people I can't give names of here for being a griefer. Not only did they attack those simulators but they attacked some content creators in my name, people I never met in SL before, Griefed some random Gorean Regions places I had never been to before, and even caused problems for a specific person I just really met who has health problems in real life. * None of this would have happend had Linden Lab had kept age verification turned on to require ID, sure they might have got a couple of accounts in there to grief true, but not as many as they did because I got attacked myself an entire week from their regions people trying to play me against them, and cause me hate from people who create content in SL all for the Lulz.*

I have asked that Linden Lab, go back to require of age verification and actual ID, I have also requested that they give us last names back, or the ability to create our own default last name, and do something to get better control against griefers and those defaming and trying to ruin people with no evidence. Sure as one creator I spoke to said they will send notice about griefers and thieves in their group, I honestly dont mind if they do, but I care if they are not going to back up their evidence with something when they send out the notice that actually links, suspects or proves such LL should do something about it these griefers, and harassment in our grid.

The bottom line is that Age verification helped a lot of people against alternate account abuse as well, I know there are ways around that, but at least it helps prevent a lot of griefers from creating account after account for the sole purpose of griefing with them.

Imagine what it would look like on the Todays Show, or something if I took a laptop there and showed everyone how easy it is to be a child predator online in virtual games like this, how concerned you think parents would be, and imagine if I showed how easy it was on live television to bypass a Ban in almost any virtualworld game. I agree with remaining Anonymous on the internet, but someone has to have control over preventing abuse, and keeping the young ones safe as well.

Teens in SL is not a toal bad thing, but they need to know of the dangers of giving out RL information, and they need to know how to protect themselves, and stay to their PG area of the grid.



[Pussycat Catnap]

Just AR the person, daily.

As admitted teen in a strip club - that's a serious violation.

AR the venue too.

AGe-play is also a violation, so even if the person is really an adult, its still a ToS violation to play a minor in a strip club.

Eventually someone will get on it.

 

[Syo Emerald]

I don't care about teens, its their problem if they search for the wrong things. Its not that they might step all out of a sudden into an adult or very mature sim. They only get what they want and if naked avatars are what they want....its their problem and not the task of any other resident to tell them what is ok and what not.

Other thing: Its nearly impossible to guess someones age in a virtual world.

[Ceka Cianci]

@ General...

the only thing is..the OP says she heard it from someone else..

so it's all hearsay..

i would hope that she did not AR this person on hearsay like her OP made it sound like she did..

 

@OP i see you are a club owner..or at least at one point were..

i used to HM a huge club in SL myself that was and still is very popular..one thing you have to really look out for is people blowing smoke up your butt to cause drama to get on your good side..or just to cause it for who knows what motivations they have..

i'm sure you know this..but even the best of us that try to avoid it still get caught off guard by it no matter how much we put of the talk to the hand  animation hehehe..because it can come from anyone we know and from any direction..

just be careful with the information that people give you..especially if you are in a position that will up thiar spotlight..people will cut throats to get on your good side..

i never knew real drama until i was HM of the top club in Sl..i mean it came from all sides and a side dish of everywhere..LOL

just sift through it with a fine toothed comb to make sure there are no hidden agendas from the people you are getting the information from..even if you feel they are close to you..

i never knew who my real friends were until  i left my club lol even some old ones parted ways ..so just keep the radar on stun lol *winks*

[Melita Magic]

There have always been teens in SL.

Not much I can do about it.

[Cadillac91]

Welcome to the internet ladies and gentlemen, the new wild west. Let's be honest now, what good would it do to keep the little kids bound to a seperate grid? Cut off from the rest of SL? Eventually it would have led to rebellion. Those teenagers would have found a way around anyways, kids are smart. Why complain anyways? More teenagers..more careless spending, more careless spending= more happy people.