Adult content has always been a part of the Second Life experience. In this it is fair to say that not only have Linden Lab been aware of it given that the main grid is for “over 18s” – they have tacitly promoted many aspects of adult content in order to increase their user-base (look at the number of adult content references in the welcome areas for proof of this).
But…..sensitivities exists, and not just with regard to protecting minors – there are many users in SL who would just as soon they were not confronted with “adult” activities at every turn – whether those activities are sexual in nature, incorporated BDSM or are “simply” related to combat environments. Therefore, it is fair to say that some level of control to limit the risk of unwanted exposure to “adult” material should be part and parcel of the Second Life experience.
So it is no surprise that Linden Lab today make this announcement. On the surface it sounds pretty reasonable – almost a straighforward tightening of existing controls (we are, after all, already able to remove adult content from the results of searches; there is already something of an age verification system within SL, etc.).
However, appearances can be deceptive. Anyone with even the slightest interest in “adult” content reading this announcement and following the included links should have every right to feel concerned at the alarm bells the Lab’s words set clanging away.
Firstly there is the announcement of the intent to “relocate” those Mainland users with “adult content” to a new region within Second Life. Then there is Linden Lab’s amazingly broad description of the term “adult content”. so broad is it that it is actually hard to see where the line will be drawn, given that even photo-realistic skins could now be classified as “adult”, and thus the creators of such products with Mainland stores could be forced into relocating.
Of course, various individuals within Linden Lab (such as Jeska linden) have been quick to leap in with assurances that only “extreme” adult content will be affected. But where do you draw the line at “extreme”? While I think it fair to say that the majority of us view harsh sexual representations such as gross torture, snuff, gore, etc., as extreme; it is equally true than some people not involved in BDSM find mild whippings or floggings unacceptable, while others view any form of BDSM practice as “deviant” and quite possibly “extreme”.
Then there is matter of combat simulations. Where do they become extreme? Is shooting someone and seeing blood splatter from them extreme? Is decapitation in the field of combat extreme? Some may well say yes – and yet scenes such as this are precisely what is seen in many, many computer games, not all of them rated over 18 and thus not regarded as “adult content”.
And that’s the problem. While few of us would by-and-large disagree on what constitutes “extreme” acts of violence when taken to the obvious extremes of mutilation, etc., there is an awfully big grey area in which one person’s enjoyment is another person’s anathema.
So how then do you establish guidelines that are not going to be equally open to subjective interpretation and could lead to the unnecessary and involuntary forced relocation of Mainland users to a new “adult themed” continent.
And therein lies another rub. Not only would the forced relocation of Mainland users create a huge upheaval in people’s Second Lives (not to mention the associated ill-will towards Linden Lab it will generate) – it could quite possibly start a stampede towards private sims that could effectively kill-off large tracts of the Mainland. Even with the price differentials between Mainaland and private islands, there are doubtless many who will take a gamble and sell-up their Mainland holdings and move to private island sims rather than end-up in a glorified ghetto.
So what is the alternative? Some have suggested that, rather than creating an “adult content mainland”, Linden lab sould move in the other direction – create a wholly PG environment, possibly in the new Ursula content, and restrict all new SL users to this continent until such time as they opt to become Age Verified and/or place Payment Information On File.
However, it is not a complete answer. What about those who already have a stake in the Mainland and who are sensitive to any number of “adult” activities? They’d be unaffected by the creation of such a new PG-rated continent, so it could be argued that such a move fails to address the position in which they find themselves. Again, one of the major arguments roled out by early supporters of this proposed approach by Linden Lab is that it will mean that people are no longer “at risk” of buying a mainland parcel for their home and then finding they suddenly have a sex club as a neighbour – but these arguments are invalidated on two counts:
- Mainland is already zoned between Mature and PG: if people opt to purchase land on a Mature rated sim, then they must be aware of the risk they are taking in doing so
- Even under the new proposals – if the vague guidelines suggested by Jeska Linden et al are observed, then a move of “extreme” adult content won’t make one itoa of difference to where the majority of Mainland sex clubs are located because they won’t meet the classification of “extreme” adult content as given.
Does this mean that such people are stuck with their situation? No. How to re-align the Mainland to suit all sensibilities is a headache – and it is one of Linden Lab’s own making for failing to properly consider the nature of “adult” and “mature” activities from the outset and defining guidelines that were so vague as to be worthless. Again, one of the simplest guidelines that could have been adapted was that all Mainland residential land must be rated PG. That would have avoided many of the problems people now face vis-a-vis finding themselves with sex clubs sitting next door.
Even so, establishing a G or PG continent for new users offers many benefits over an ill-conceived move of Mainland adult content to its own continent:
- It provides an acceptable environment for SL users of all ages – this being a particular concern given Philip Rosedale’s statements that he would like to see the main grid and Teen Grid “come together” in the neasr future
- It provides a suitable environment for those corporate entities who wich to have a presence within SL but who are concerned with the more adult elements of the game with a safe environment in which to set-up shop
- It could provide an environment where Mainland residents with concerns over Mature content could voluntarily relocate to (OK, this is’nt a perfectly straightforward thing, given the complexities of land ownership and rental, etc., but it could be worked through)
- It provides a focal point for the who revamp of the “first hour experience” for new users
But it is not perfect. Doubtless there are those who would view such a G/PG-reated continent as the perfect target for mass griefings of the IACFPA* variety, which would totally undermine the function of such an environment. But it has to he said that such a risk aside, this step is infinitely preferably to what amounts to an otherwise forced relocation of what is liable to be – whether Linden Lab and non-adult oriented users like it or not – a very large section of the SL community.
But right now, this matter is simply too important for any of us with the remotest interest in adult activities -whether we engage in BSM, whether we enjoy lumping each other over the head with sharp bits of metal or pumping holes in one another using bang sticks, or whether we simply spend our time as nude models – to remain quiet.
So I strongly urge all of you still reading this blog to follow the link above – read the announcement, check-out the linked FAQs and then make sure your voice is poisitively heard in the forums.
- It is important that any definition of “adult” content is properly conceived to achieve a genuine balance of interests, rather than a Lindenesque interpretation of “resident’s interests”
- Whether or not you own land on the Mainland, input into the relocation debate is important if we are to prevent a potentially damaging route march of enforced relocations and the possible creation of a “ghetto continent” and sub-culture within SL.
*IACFPA – the Infamous Ashe Chung Flying Penises Attack, when a press conference with Anshe Chung was disrupted by the appearance of hundreds of flying penises….
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