Escort ads in Destination Guide? BAD! Escort ads in official Second Life Forum? GOOD!!!

[Griffin Ceawlin]

"... As a globally available service, Second Life is subject to many regional restrictions that prohibit advertising or promotion for some types of content and services, such as escorts and explicit content, including nudity. Because content listed in the Destination Guide can be seen by users of all ages and in all territories, no descriptions — regardless of rating — should contain explicit or overtly sexual language or imagery. Linden Lab’s guidelines for inclusion of adult-rated content in the Destination Guide aim to be consistent with the search-industry standards for advertising and search-engine promotion, as seen in these published guidelines by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo...

https://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/About-the-Second-Life-Destination-Guide/ta-p/700059#Adult-rated_Areas

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Relevant search-industry standards for advertising and search-engine promotion, as seen in these published guidelines:

• Google: When promoting adult-oriented content, you may not do any of the following: ... promote escort services or other services that may be interpreted as providing sexual acts in exchange for compensation;
• Bing: Disallowed adult content. For all advertisers, including participants in the Adult Advertising Program, advertising may not include keyword variations, ads or websites that relate in any way to... escorts...;
• Yahoo/Gemini: Ads for dating sites (including ad text, ad image or video, and landing pages) must not: ... Promote escort services.

(Just talking about escort here. The above services also have rules that disallow other kinds of advertising and keywords (Ex., Bing: "that relate in any way to illegal, non-consensual, denigrating, obscene or violent activity, including bestiality, brutality, torture, death, illegal drug use, cruelty, prostitution, pedophilia, rape, incest, extreme or shocking sex, child pornography, strippers/strip clubs, escorts or content that relates to persons who are, or are suggested to be, under the legal age permitted in applicable jurisdictions.")

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So escort ads are not allowed in the Destination Guide because "Second Life is subject to many regional restrictions that prohibit advertising or promotion for some types of content and services, such as escorts" and "because content listed in the Destination Guide can be seen by users of all ages and in all territories."

But escort ads are seemingly allowed in the Official Second Life Forums. Why?

Do the "many regional restrictions that prohibit advertising or promotion for some types of content and services, such as escorts" not apply here? Is content here not able to be "seen by users of all ages and in all territories"?

Seems quite the disconnect.

Beyond that, users posting these escort ads typically push the envelope as far as nudity or adult content are concerned. Many are far removed from a “General” rating ('Keep the content of your postings “General"'). Would these users be comfortable saying and doing these things in front of their grandmother or a grade school class???

Then there's the whole "Spamming is not allowed" thing. These users are undoubtedly advertising/promoting specific "services" within Second Life. And there simply is no "forum area... specifically for the buying or selling of" the particular "Second Life products or services" that these users are offering.

"Oh, no," you might say. "They're poor, downtrodden sex workers looking for employment."

But most of these ads are posted by users who own or are already employed by and promoting "escort agencies" or "clubs."

So what is the justification for two standards, LL, one for the Destination Guide and one for the Forums?

(And yes, I'm hoping someone from LL can inform me and think that this, the Forum Feedback section, is the place to ask the question. It is, after all, forum feedback.)

[Linden Lab]

Do to the volume of posts to the forums, we appreciate if you'd take a moment to report any content that may be considered unappropriate so that we may review and take any necessary actions or steps. 

best regards!

[Derek Torvalar]

'unappropriate'???

Bloody typical.

Is it any wonder then that posts get pulled and sanctions levied when those empowered to make those determinations are obviously incapable of comprehending the language.