Out of the closet: The Adult Community forum goes public

As Ciaran Laval reports, the Adult Community finally gets a visible forum section today.

This seems to be the latest step in Linden Lab’s long overdue acknowledgement that Second Life has a huge user base that engages in more “adult” activities, and does so despite mainstream media’s attempts to present us, tabloid-like, as a group that operates somewhere between the level of sleaze and the dirty brown overcoat brigade.

The Adult Content Forum itself isn’t actually that new – when Blondin was around, there was a closed-door Adult forum in which a selected few were able to participate. More recently (and possibly somewhat telling), since Amanda van Nuys (Amanda Linden) departed the Lab things have loosened-up somewhat.

• There is an Adult section in the Destination Guide
• At SLCC 2011, Viale Linden openly expressed a desire to see Adult content and activities better promoted
• There has been – albeit laden with controversy and still awaiting a final outcome – an attempt towards establishing an Adult Gateway which can direct those coming into to SL who are specifically interested in adult activities towards suitable destinations around the grid.

The new forum is subject to the usual Community Guidelines, which include specific warnings about posts keeping to the “General” rating, and that nude images, etc., should not be posted. However, this shouldn’t in any way hamper the use of the forum to discuss adult-oriented matters and themes – we all should be able to do so without resorting to the use of sexually explicit or vulgar language, etc. We are, um, adults, after all.

Whether or not the forum moderators will allow a little more latitude with this forum, however, should anyone stray near the edge, remains to be seen. Moderation within the forums as a whole has sometimes been akin to sledgehammer-to-walnut responses.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the forum develops now it is in the public domain. Coming on top of other moves by Linden Lab to make the Adult elements of Second Life more a part of the community as a whole and more obvious and easier for people to engage with at whatever level they choose, this should really be welcomed.

Kudos, Viale!