Identity Verification and Flagging Parcels for Restricted Content
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 3:58 PM by: everettlindenOn August 29, we announced the beta test of identity verification (IDV). As Robin Linden explained, the goal of IDV is to increase trust, by enabling Residents to voluntarily verify parts of their identity, and giving content creators and landowners the ability to restrict access to content that is inappropriate to minors. In this post, I’ll expand on restricted content and how to flag your parcels.
What is defined as Restricted Content?
As a general rule, Restricted Content is any content that is explicitly sexual or excessively violent in nature. For guidance, consider AO-Rated (Adults Only) video games or R-rated movies.
What is the meaning of “flagged as having restricted content”?
Estate and parcel owners will be asked to flag the presence of restricted content on their land. This flag restricts access to verified Residents only, and provides notice to adults that content within may be objectionable to them. It also provides an added layer of protection for you, your friends, or your customers from being involved in inappropriate contact with minors who have gained unauthorized access to Second Life.
Note that if you are in a PG region, the parcel flagging system does not allow you to have restricted content. Restricted content is only allowable in Mature regions.
How to flag your parcel as having restricted content
The land must be on a region that is marked Mature (PG regions cannot be marked with Restricted content)
From the menu, go to World > About Land > Options. Under ‘Land Options’, check ‘Restricted Content’. The tooltip should read ‘Your parcel information or content is considered inappropriate for a minor’. Unchecking ‘Restricted Content’ will remove the ‘Restricted’ flag from the parcel.
What happens if I don’t flag my restricted content?
We strongly encourage estate owners and parcel owners to flag any restricted content and restrict their parcels to avoid minors inadvertently accessing it. If you are an estate owner, make sure that your parcel owners are flagging restricted content properly.
If Residents and businesses choose not to do this, land containing adult content that is not clearly marked will be easily identifiable by the community. Resident can raise concerns directly with the landowner or with Linden Lab via the Abuse channel.
As has always been the case, Residents are morally, socially and legally responsible for their actions and content in Second Life. Clearly, any illegal activity or content will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.
So, flag your parcels and do your part to increase trust and safety among your fellow Residents in Second Life.
Consult the Knowledge Base under parcel flagging for more details and updates.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:05 PM
And thus, freedom dies.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:05 PM
i own a house can i have sex in it?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:07 PM
I am an adult and I will NOT verify to”build trust”…. because Linden Labs has not done enough to gain MY trust.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:07 PM
Well OK, if we do this how do we get folks certified if the varification system is not up and ready to roll! Kinda like getting the horse before the cart , wouldn’t you say!
September 18th, 2007 at 4:07 PM
But, from what I understand, this is an entirely voluntary act? So we can choose to NOT restrict our land, or opt for verification on the terms SL is setting, which if they are demanding our social security numbers in whole or in part, is illegal on their end right from the get go.
Bliss
September 18th, 2007 at 4:08 PM
I do not see purpose in doing this…many of the children who play, play with permission from parents, sometimes perhaps badgering parents to get their own way…sometimes parents using thier child to take brunt of thier illegal actions.
this responsibily should belong to the community…we can monitor behaviors and tell usually if they are a minor.
getting to know someone, rather than looking at the little L’s which can be paid, is important for us all…
especially the sex industry, should be aware, and should take the time to make sure their product is not bought by a minor.
i think we need to elaborate on another plan…
many ppl prefer not to give out information which others can misuse, and face it, it is too easy for the phishers to fool employers, and get in position to do harm.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:08 PM
Question: What is the difference between “mature” and “restricted”? What content can be on mature without triggering the TOS *strong suggestion* that it be flagged restricted?
In other words, why not just limit access to “mature” parcels to those verified, and skip this extra layer of flagging?
Maybe because Linden Labs knows it would trigger another exodus, like the Gambling Ban did?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:09 PM
#1: Freedom dies? Are you completely off the rocker?
Nowhere does it force you to do anything, nor take ANY kind of freedom away.
Don’t be daft, man.
GAWD, I’m so fed up with all this Linden-bashing.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:09 PM
Congradulations.
Now please tell us stuff we havne’t been told. Like when is it goign to be implemented and what will be required to verify age.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:09 PM
Sounds to me like everyone with a Mature parcel is advised to go ahead and restrict their parcels — especially if you allow anyone to rez an object, use voice, or even chat on the open channel when you’re not around.
I admit, it seems to me to make more sense to restrict all of SL from miners per the TOS than to try and push this to the parcel owners.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:10 PM
It would be nice to have an explicit statement of whether owners of parcels containing nudity, sexual, or violent content will be punished/banned if the parcel is not restricted, or if we are just being “encouraged” to do it.
The vague language is unsettling.
Nudity, sexuality (usually), and (depicted) violence are not “illegal” so statements like “Clearly, any illegal activity or content will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.” are meaningless.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:11 PM
what happens if I flag my own parcel restricted but am not age-verified myself? Will I be locked out of my own land?
NOTE: I am not about to hand my personal details over to a company — http://integrity.aristotle.com/ — which proudly boasts its ability to supply such data to anyone who can pay — http://integrity.aristotle.com/ (do a whois to verify that these are the same organisation).
September 18th, 2007 at 4:11 PM
Bliss>> What law are they breaking? I never heard of a law like that. As a matter of fact I use my SS number, the last four didgets of every time I check my checking account balance over the phone.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:11 PM
And to #7: The difference between mature and restricted is clearly the same as between an R rating and an XXX rating. Simple, right?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:12 PM
Great job Lindens! As I understand it, currently identity verification is only available to concierge residents in the “beta test.” So any non-concierge resident who reads this blog entry and tries to be a good citizen by flagging their home due to having certain “pose balls” present, will then be ejected and banned from their own homes, correct? Wow, that was REALLY well thought out!
September 18th, 2007 at 4:13 PM
oops, the second address was:
http://www.aristotle360.com/
September 18th, 2007 at 4:14 PM
Wow here we are again. OK when will this go into effect? I am sure thousands of others are asking this same question.
Does this include stores selling things with adult animations? Does this include adult scripted objects in your private residence in a pg sim? that of course can be accessed when you are not at home if it is above the 150m elevation.
Would appreciate some more clarity on this.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:15 PM
I also don’t see the “Restricted Content” option on my parcel.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:16 PM
i have a sex bed in MY home do i need to flag it? oh my this is getting way to hard to understand .all i wnat to know is can i have sex in my bed in my home on the land that i rent? thats all !!!!
September 18th, 2007 at 4:21 PM
I can’t see sandbox owners flagging their land as adult… Where would all the people who make the adult content build???
Actually… They could use the adult parcels… as there will be so little traffic, the lag will be gone.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:22 PM
I’m verified but it doesn’t show up anywhere in my profile.
How can a parcel tell who is verified and who isn’t?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:24 PM
kk #15 richard - with you on this. I have one for fun way up in the clouds for the private use of my partner and I and she will most pos def not be into verification. is it mature if its not being used? could do with a little more verification. if an unused (ie idle) mature item is hidden away in a sky box that only we know is there (because its up at 1000m say) - do i have to flag? cos if i do i am out of here with much regret. we’ll find somewhere else to play
September 18th, 2007 at 4:25 PM
And, how does this effect those who rent on mature land, that do NOT wish to partake in this violation of personal identity?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:26 PM
ok sorry to post twice but - i have a certain “adult” attachment. will i have to flag myself one day?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:29 PM
oh my god i’m going to have to flag my pen**?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:31 PM
The questions are simple and I would like a *Linden* to answer.
1 - how can unverified persons from countries like Argentina, Brazil and others from South and Central America verify?
2 - how can people from Europe verify if in some countries it would be illegal to give out their ID numbers?
3 - Is verification free? Surely you realize that people seem to ve UNWILLING to do the verifications as it is; if you charge it even less people will verify;
4 - how can you say this is a “voluntary act” if you won’t be able to access the parcels of mature content unless you verify? This is a “forced”, imposed, induced voluntary action, don’t you think?
“you don’t need to verify, but unless you do, you can’t go to the places you used to go before…” Hey, what about some honesty here? Say it is mandatory for people who wants to access mature content and get over with it already. Better a bold truth than an insinuated one…
Having said that, I am against verifying, I am +25 years old, I too live in a third world country, but I *WILL* verify. As long as it is free and my documents, taken in my country of residence - in South America, currently - becomes valid.
Heck, our paypals aren’t accepted by LL, what assures us people from third world countries will be able to verify? :p
Peace.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:32 PM
This is becoming to complicated. This whole it takes a village to raise a child mentality is lunacy. This is an adult site pure and simple real life minors should not be anywhere near the site. It shouldn’t be up to me to supply more real life information and have to pay for the lindens to verify this information so I can access adult content. If you want to protect minors it’s real easy. Don’t let them run wild on thenet without adult supervision. No excuse for it this day in age with all the monitoring software plus parental control software. If Linden labs does goahead with this fiasco I see no reason for the age play restriction not to be lifted. If they are verified adults. Either way Linden Labs needs to restore parential responsability and makes parents responsible for what their kids access on the net.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:32 PM
What I would like to know is how this is going to stop anyone from using their camera on the outside of the banned parcel to see what’s inside or will they restrict rezzing and text to each parcel separately. I have a small 512 my neighbors can hear any voice or see any text or picture they want with a small move to the camera.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:32 PM
who defines what is or he is not material restrictive. In SecondLife there are members of many different cultures. Some cultures are but restrictive that others.
For example, in Europe, it excessively seemed to us exaggerated that in the U.S.A. they censured 10 seconds of the delivery of the Oscar because an actress had taught a sine.
Nevertheless, to a Muslim that him could seem inadmissible.
Could be inadmissible in the U.S.A. a photo of a woman with too much decollete? , And a neon with suggestive curves?
(This translated message to using google, excuses if it seems writing by a Martian)
September 18th, 2007 at 4:32 PM
Hum, R-Rated movies are a lot more inclusive content wise than AO rated video games. AO rated video games would garner a NC-17 rating, not an R rating.
Which one is it?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:34 PM
No blog posts since Saturday - then 3 come along in one go? Two more and the “A Change to the Terms of Service” will get hidden to history
September 18th, 2007 at 4:36 PM
Noting again - an R rating could very easily include the skins trade and soft-core sexuality in SL. Seems like its getting more and more vague all the time :/
Not against the verification though. I’m just very sceptical of this new rating system, which threatens to turn SL into a world of banlines. I really wish this system was object based and not land based.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:36 PM
While I understand and welcome the need for some contol of potentially offensive and / illegal content in SL, and in particular paedophillia and rape themed material, surely enforcement of the existing terms of conditions, and in particular a better response to abuse reports, would be considerably more effective and welcomed than this approach? The potential pitfalls of age verification, not least identity theft, makes me very nervous, and I fear this could be a confusing mess waiting to happen. Yes, all residents need to feel both free and safe in Second Life, (and also recognise their own responsibility in this) but surely the structure is already in place for this? It simply needs enforcing.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:37 PM
Right. I would think a verified paypall account or creditcard should be enough verification. And what about weapons? I have a (bloody) combat zone and I sell guns and I’m sure most of the visitors are kids. Should I eject them? Or is it like real life where we prefer our kids to watch violence & murder then ’sexually explicit material’?…
September 18th, 2007 at 4:37 PM
#8-”GAWD, I’m so fed up with all this Linden-bashing.”
Obviously Ron Crimson(Linden) is a brown nosing suck up willing to have a third party share his personal information to a paying customer of http://integrity.aristotle.com/
Clearly Ron supports LL’s inability to verify when someone signs up and agrees to the TOS.
LL doesn’t need to C.Y.A. as long as there have lackeys like Ron there to do it for them.
I agree with the ‘cart before the horse’ statement as this blog is half-baked and only serves to stir the pot already boiling.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:38 PM
Come on people. Don’t take this so seriously. The Lindens are simply trying to protect themselves and the community.
I think this is a great idea.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:40 PM
And since Second Life is restricted to all minors, this entire excercise is redundant, as the minors are the ones that are illegally accessing contents not intended for minors. Oh right, those legally allowed to access the contents should disregard their privacy to provide a safe environment for trespassing minors, illegally accessing Second Life. How appropriate is that?
“As has always been the case, Residents are morally, socially and legally responsible for their ” OWN ” actions and content in Second Life. Clearly, any illegal activity “BY A MINOR ” or content will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.”
- The minor is reprimanded by his parents and nothing needs changing.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:40 PM
Oooh making people take responsibility for their own actions…you Lindens aren’t really Americans are ya? If you are, you have a lot to learn. Tsk tsk…
*smirk*
September 18th, 2007 at 4:40 PM
On a grid that SUPPOSED to be “over 18 only”, why is all this necessary?
QUOTE: It also provides an added layer of protection for you, your friends, or your customers from being involved in inappropriate contact with minors who have gained unauthorized access to Second Life.
Why doesnt Linden Labs apply all this crap to make sure the kiddies stay on the teen grid where they belong?
Wide open registration and “trust” dont seem to blend well together.
Yeesh.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:43 PM
After this is rolled out in it’s final form will there be some sort of grace period that land owners.buisness owneras will have before marking their parcels restricted without being ..whatever the plans are to do to places that should mark but wont, as that has not been made clear…Anyway will there be a grace period for this say a month at minimum, but preferably until the amount of verified accounts reach a point where one can sustain their business. I realize this is a tightrope, you need places to flag up so people will verify up, but if places flag up before enough people bite the bullet and verify up it could have a horrible impact on individuals busineses. Are there any plans in the works to post the gross number of verified accounts so buisneses owners can better guage the status of the endevor. No business owner wants to flag if there are only 1000 people verified.
I would like to see LL come out a little better on this, explain to people in detail what info is needed, what will be done with it. A statement from the third party checker would be nice. Them also telling what they will and will not do with the data. Let people know this is onfo that their cable TV company, cell phone company, and any # of other services they use already use to verify their identity, and that most people do not have issue with that even though they have no idea who is providing the matchback data for those companies or who is handling thier data storage service contracts. You could get alot more people to verify and make an overall happier popualtion if you would drop the cloak and dagger routine on this and talk to us like the adults we are.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:45 PM
Considering that Aristotle’s so called verification doesn’t actually work, and that the restrictions don’t actually protect minors from viewing inappropriate content, and given that no minor is actually meant to be on the main grid anyhow…
LL need a PR exercise to clean up their name because they have failed so miserably to enforce their own TOS - and this appears to be it.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:49 PM
I am certified just to have it all over with, but to me it’s all very confusing and yeah here i go again wining about european standards
But i really don’t understand what to flag as adult. I bought mature land because I know that culture in this part of the world is mostly far more liberal than what we see in the conservative parts of the world. So what’s the deal with restricted content? I didn’t know there was a level more to mature?! Ok you can become like very old but who are we trying to keep out with restricted content as there is already mature. I would understand if mature land would only be able to be visited by verified accounts I really get mixed messages. I understand that you can’t protect second life from minors from getting in but I don’t understand what a minor is allowed to see in your parts of the world if we have even more restricted as mature.
I bought mature land because it would keep me safe from any wrong doing on my sim and now at this time it shows I could have just bought no mature land.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:51 PM
lol AO video games and rated R movies are nothing alike.
R:profanity, some nudity, violent action (shooters, scary movies, ect… things people can access whenever they want)
AO:more or less porn. (leisure suit larry, playboy mansion, ect)
the movie rating that would be better suited would be something like, i dunno, X. Or hardcore porn posted all over the place ( I could understand that).
¬.¬ really, LL, if you ban combat sims, your pretty much saying to the population that plays there “hey go find somewhere else to play, or give us all this UNNECESSARY INFORMATION”… Shooters (explicitly violent) are available to ALL AGES. Explicitly adult content IS FOR FREE ON THE INTERNET TO ANYONE!!! I could name 15 sites (that i make up lol) in as many seconds.
Also, i trust your third party group about as much as i could throw their staff. I speak for everyone when i say that. You have been questioned about them constantly, and have failed even the acknowledgment of the concerns of your customers. Really brings up questions about LL, now dont it?
Also, I’d like to restate the widely known fact that NOT EVEN HARDCORE PORN SITES ASK FOR AS MUCH INFORMATION AS YOU DO!!!!! If someone wanted to get porn, they could use google and find whatever the hell they wanted for FREE. Or they could subscribe to a porn site. A little more expensive, maybe, but its far easier to do that than get it through SL.
I’ll prolly make more posts on this pestering you to an answer, or finds a way to spam your support (lindinlabs.com).
Quotes supporting my side (and nearly EVERYONE in SL):
#1:
And thus, freedom dies.
#3:
I am an adult and I will NOT verify to”build trust”…. because Linden Labs has not done enough to gain MY trust.
#6:
i think we need to elaborate on another plan…
many ppl prefer not to give out information which others can misuse, and face it, it is too easy for the phishers to fool employers, and get in position to do harm.
#10:
NOTE: I am not about to hand my personal details over to a company — http://integrity.aristotle.com/ — which proudly boasts its ability to supply such data to anyone who can pay —
oops, the second address was:
http://www.aristotle360.com/
#14:
Does this include stores selling things with adult animations? Does this include adult scripted objects in your private residence in a pg sim? that of course can be accessed when you are not at home if it is above the 150m elevation.
Would appreciate some more clarity on this.
#17: (this one puts one of my concerns forward)
kk #15 richard - with you on this. I have one for fun way up in the clouds for the private use of my partner and I and she will most pos def not be into verification. is it mature if its not being used? could do with a little more verification. if an unused (ie idle) mature item is hidden away in a sky box that only we know is there (because its up at 1000m say) - do i have to flag? cos if i do i am out of here with much regret. we’ll find somewhere else to play
September 18th, 2007 at 4:52 PM
I will state this plainly.
Had LL stuck to their disclaimer and TOS instead of “giving in” to the pressures of people who wished to force their RL moral, ethical and religious standpoints upon free adults with the capacity to have their own moral, ethical etc standards, LL would not be wasting time, effort, and money in implementing a process that will place them in a legal/political minefield and cause a chunk of their user base to leave than give up their freedoms or violate their country’s laws.
Just today, I had to re-agree to the TOS before access to SL could occur. In the that contract are disclaimers of LL essentually not being responsible for the adult’s actions occuring within the system in regards to moral, ethical etc behaviour and that bluntly put SL is simply a system to allow adults to interact on a larger scale. It also makes me agree that I am infact an adult. If LL sticks to their disclaimers and the rest of the red tape we have all agreed to both on first making the account and then periodically when the screen pops up; then this Verfication system is overtly costly, both in losing patrons and their spending in world, as well as time spent to create and impliment a system that seems to me to be redundant and the risk to gain ratio far too high.
As for the Verification system itself. It is common standard business practice to cut out the little guy to appease the larger majority for more ( in theory) profit. However, though I realize that the “New world” is on the lower end of the statistics for use of SL with Canada and the USA for instance being on the last rungs of the ladder, it is bordering on discrimination to make systems that both are redundent. limiting freedoms and against the law for them to take part in. Since LL refused to stick to their guns regarding their disclaimers and allowed RL laws governing only one country to affect SL play etc, it is also bordering on hypocritical to give sway to one due to them being part of the Majority of users and ignore laws governing privacy and anti-terrorism, in another simply because they are the “little guy” on the ladder rung of concern.
Again I realize that the “new world” only makes up for approximately 15 % if that of SL use but if LL ever wants to actually expand the market that way…. show some love instead of making alot of us feel ignored.
The last comment I wish to make is this. The disclaimers and the TOS make me agree to a binding contract that I am indeed an adult, thusly my actions, behaviour and the like are known to others as having an adult behind the computer monitor. It is a unconcious standard assumption that on the Adult grid, with the adult disclaimers etc that an Adult is on the grid. The question that seems to never be answered is why limit access of an Adult on an Adult system, due to them possibly being a minor when the larger concern are Adults on the TEEN GRID! I believe it is unfair for my rights as a free thinking adult suppressed when there is the larger concern of adults on the system made for minors. A minor gets on the adult system, then by the disclaimers and the TOS go after the parents… if the parents didn’t know about it, point to the disclaimers if they raise a fuss…. and cry lawsuit against the parents because by their negligence their child has falsely entered into a binding contract. Get the parents who are not paying attention, than harm the rights/freedoms of adults by traversing a legal/political minefield I do not with any degree of certainty believe LL will survive. In my humble opinion the bigger problem lay with Adults on the TEEN grid made for minors, than negligent parents who’s kids sneek onto the adult system.
Anyways. Take all I said with a grain of salt or as a pound of gold, its just one Adult’s opinion from the “new world” on the matter after all.
Take care and be well
-Ara.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:53 PM
I myself am a member of the TG and I don’t care about the MG, sure i would like intergrid commerce because this is clearly a precusor to it. I think that if they do finally instate the intergrid commerce what they should do is make a small continent in which Teens can buy MG items that aren’t adult rated. This continet can be PG only and it has potental. I know for a fact that that some TG residents not me personaly but some do have MG accounts and they use them mainly for shopping for higher quality items. Sure there are a few people who use them wrongly but this is where the continent in which teens and adults can conduct business. The rest of them MG can be restricted to teens. This isn’t so difficult to do and come on a freaking teenager came up with an idea that works fairly well while Lindens are coming up with a more totalitarian system that will force people to do things they don’t want.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:53 PM
So if someone decides to hump in the woods around my house and some bluenose comes by and complains, will I be locked out of my account for not flagging my whole sim as adult?
Clearly, any illegal activity or content will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.
Whoa whoa whoa!! Illegal? WTF did that comes from? What does verification have to do with illegal content? Nothing!
September 18th, 2007 at 4:56 PM
I dont like bashing Lindens around and I will not be in any trouble at all because I don’t have anything on my islands that could trigger some sort of abuse…
But I don’t like this at all. Agree wit 28 Tulincarchta Myhr, The minors are the ones that should not be here in the first place. Are the Lindens afraid of any lawsuits or?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:56 PM
Oh, one more thing. Where is this third party’s representative to talk about the entirety of what they do, both in regards to our information and in regards to their company as a whole. After all, all I have ever seen is LL speaking for them. If there is a representative of that company going over the complete process of what is going to happen, it will quell more fears and the like from the population. The company hiding behind LL being the ones to deliver the information to the population of SL is what is causing alot of grief.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:57 PM
Obviously Ron Crimson(Linden) is a brown nosing suck up willing to have a third party share his personal information to a paying customer
Wow… a complete class act you got going on there.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:58 PM
From the TOS…
‘Linden Lab retains ownership of the account and RELATED DATA’
Guess since LL own the data, they also own the content and are therefore responsible for it. Anything I do, create or say in SL is data and related to my account but hey, none of it is mine. If LL want ownership, then they can damn sure take responsibility too!
September 18th, 2007 at 4:58 PM
This will certainly clean up the popular places list. Will we be getting free pitchforks and torches in our library folders to use against places that refuse to flag their content?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:03 PM
Ooh, that should be fun - is a genuine witchhunt considered to be violent or is it just the virtual burning at the stake that should be flagged?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:04 PM
I Agree 21
Well I wont be around soon, as I am well over 18 and wish to point out I can never be verifies because
(1) In the country I live in it is illegal for the Publi Serive under the Privacy Act to give out passport or drivers license details. (If they do it is jail) So if the Person checking does get that information it can onlt be either illegal or that checking authority is Government sponsored.
Therefore for me I cannot be verified it is impossible. bessides the fact that if my passport is abused by anyone in an ilegal activity who do I sue Linden ?
In my country it is illegal to issue a credit card to anyone under18 so my card is valid enough.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:05 PM
Sorry LL but your not going to make us Estate owners who have alot of islands go and check on every residnet we have, to make sure they have there plots flaged or taged. We will not do your job and don’t even start trying to put it off on us to do.
IF you want us to do your work then you had better pay us.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:05 PM
thanks LL
September 18th, 2007 at 5:05 PM
I agree this is way to confusing on what should be flagged and what cant. With the failure to rezz problems we had in the past hate to risk setting down an adult item each time I use it and possibly lose it. Or have to worry about someone coming in my house and being offended by a sex bed in it. Or little underage johhny or sallys parents catching them using my house without my permission when Im logged out. Might as well clear up the confusion and make everyone have to do it.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:05 PM
Please stop the trust nonsense. It does not enrich trust. You really need to stop trying to imply that a verified avatar is more trustworthy. The process is hopelessly flawed and you’re conveying the wrong message.
It’s good for giving yourself some cover regarding restricted parcels.
It’s rubbish for revealing rl information or enriching trust.
How about some honesty on this issue? People have told you why it’s not trustworthy and yet you keep banging the trust drum.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:06 PM
I refuse to flag my property or give LL my Social Security number.
(BTW, in California, where LL is based, asking for your social security number is illegal unless you are applying for credit)
September 18th, 2007 at 5:06 PM
Considering I can currently move camera a complete sim away and swing it into any home, area, or adult business that is restricted to me, this seems like a moot method.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:06 PM
I just logged in and although my land is in a mature sim, there definately isn’t a check box called “restrict content” in the about land, options, land options menu. There is a “mature content” check box. I’m not really sure how to comply…… ?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:07 PM
This is taken from the Social Security’s website about giving out your SS #:
You should treat your Social Security number as confidential information and avoid giving it out unnecessarily. You should keep your Social Security card in a safe place with your other important papers. Do not carry it with you unless you need to show it to an employer or service provider.
We do several things to protect your number from misuse. For example, we require and carefully inspect proof of identity from people who apply to replace lost or stolen Social Security cards, or for corrected cards. One reason we do this is to prevent people from fraudulently obtaining Social Security numbers to establish false identities. We maintain the privacy of Social Security records unless:
* The law requires us to disclose information to another government agency; or
* Your information is needed to conduct Social Security or other government health or welfare program business.
You should be very careful about sharing your number and card to protect against misuse of your number. Giving your number is voluntary even when you are asked for the number directly. If requested, you should ask:
* Why your number is needed;
* How your number will be used;
* What happens if you refuse; and
* What law requires you to give your number.
The answers to these questions can help you decide if you want to give your Social Security number. The decision is yours
September 18th, 2007 at 5:07 PM
Yeah, I still don’t understand this. If LL is so concerned about inappropriate content reaching inappropriate eyes, then they should simply demand identity verification from all members, and not allow anyone who hasn’t verified to access the grid.
To do otherwise is reverse-violation of the TOA - they are tacitly saying that they are not enforcing their own age requirement rules.
I sure hope LL has good lawyers…
September 18th, 2007 at 5:08 PM
Thus implying what has already been mentioned: the verification process is illegal by nature and ‘appropriate legal action’ would require LL to sue themselves and report any verified account ;-D
September 18th, 2007 at 5:08 PM
mm wow.. sl was so fun… i see all the cool places being forced to flag and then normal ppl who dont weant there informarion to go to a 3rd party company wont and so no ppl will go to cool places anymore and sl will die i see this happening everythere and sl will slowly die…
1st lets look at the reasons we are doing this.. to protect minors… ok… well 1st when you agreree to the rulkes your saying you are not a minor so what mi9nors are there…?? sl speeks of trust well trust that ppl wont lie about that then
2nd lets look at your 3rd party company http://integrity.aristotle.com/
they have been cought giveing out personal info so why would we trust them at all? im not about to watch my credit fly away
3rd… lets look at the chance there are kids in sl… ok.. basicly this is pointles becuse its ez for a kid to grab there moms id and just use that same as they could grab there moms cc and use that so… now instead of 50$ may be missing from the mom her credit is going to get fed over becuse http://integrity.aristotle.com/ gave out her info..
4th.. http://integrity.aristotle.com/ will only use a code.. funny thing about codes is they normaly work 2 ways if you redirect the code back from where it came from… you end up with the information you started with.. so… i mean think about it… thats how codes work once you figured out the prosses of how the code was made..
5th… there was no need to go this far… my god whats thenext step ll? put fingerprint readers or how about just take a blood sample…
I’m sorry but this is not even funny.. this is not helping sl at all.. this is riping sl up if anything…
you say its totaly optional but then you also say ppl will get in trouble as well if they dont…
alot of ppl from dif contrys cant even do what your asking them to do…
im not even sure your alowed to even ASK for any part of a ss#…
i realy like sl and im sorry but im not ever giveing my information to a 3rd party company… i hope noone dose this becuse if noone dose it it wont work becuse i thought this game was about our world… our imagination..
i think it might realy be like
sl, ll’s world and you will like it how we tell you to like it =p
September 18th, 2007 at 5:09 PM
We’re suppose be all adults already. I am sorry but I am not going to give you my social security number.
So I can’t be nude or have any nudity on my land based on your rating to even change or fix body parts or even a 0.10m tall avatar nude beach with adult rating? Doesn’t seem fair.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:11 PM
In this day and age where you can find out anything about anyone, and you already have our credit card numbers you would think you would be able to find out who is who already without additional information like our social security numbers.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:11 PM
No, Why should I be banned for not giving you personal content?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:12 PM
I don’t know, Richard. I think a pen** with a flag on it might be kind of attractive.
coco
September 18th, 2007 at 5:13 PM
As others have pointed out, how is flagging a parcel that has mature content going to be effective on the mainlaind when you stick PG sims in the middle of mature ones? Sounds like you may need to start relocating alot of regions for this to even be remotely effective. Perhaps to a PG only continent?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:14 PM
Since I am bound by national law not to provide such information as a social security number to any third party and no third party is allowed to register or use this information for any purpose, to me this entire discussion is academic. Even if I wanted to have my account verified, I wouldn’t be allowed to do so.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:15 PM
“As a general rule, Restricted Content is any content that is explicitly sexual or excessively violent in nature. For guidance, consider AO-Rated (Adults Only) video games or R-rated movies.”
So that’s what, any sort of adult activity between av’s even if they’re in their own parcel really, if an unverified kid (and seriously there will be more super verified minors with this pathetic verification process anyway) can cam in from a parcel away, heck you’re not flagged?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:16 PM
our freedom is over, and this world lost a big part of realism.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:18 PM
but seriously, are you ristricting our free romance too?
If personal indoor sex is prophibited, the whole purpose of land owning dies!?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:18 PM
I have a question, Does Linden labs even care what we think? Honestly No as long as they get there money at the end of the month thats all that conserns them, they dont give a crap about safty in Second life. They only care about that 20$ they can get out of your pocket that we will be required to pay to get our Identity verified (from a acompany who btw is known for seling personal information)so in the end not only is our identies stolen but we are paying to have it stolen! sounds like we the paying customer are getting shafted, i wonder what happend to the term “the customer is always right” i supose over teh years its been confused by the quote. ” we are the borg we will add your biologial and technological distinctivness to our own, Your culture will adapt to service ours, resistance is futile”
September 18th, 2007 at 5:18 PM
Last i checked i didnt have pull out my ID to rent a R rated movie from block buster… and again you throw this word “trust ” around. I have been a resdint here for over 2 years. There are residents i trust and and those i do not . and i did not need to see there real life identification to put that trust in them. Nor will i expect any one to require the same of me in order to “trust” me.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:19 PM
“Even if I wanted to have my account verified, I wouldn’t be allowed to do so.”
@55. you probably will be able to verify without providing sensitive information. Others have.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:19 PM
A suggestion for how to evaluate your land content through analogy:
What can you have on your land before it falls under the heading of “sexually explicit” you ask? If you leave a videotape of explicit pornography in your RL home within easy reach of anyone who enters there, whoever finds and plays that tape is accessing sexually explicit material in YOUR home. In SL, if you leave sex animations (poseballs) on your property that anyone can use if they find them, then is this not a similar scenario? Personally, I think that constitutes leaving sexually explicit content for public consumption on your property and should be flagged accordingly.
The sad fact is (I was told this by someone who was told this by LL staff) that approximately 23% of players on the adult grid are under 18. I myself recently met someone while mentoring in a welcome center who admitted to being 12 years old. Do YOU really want some 12 year old girl (or boy) wandering onto your parcel and hopping on a sex poseball??? I pride myself in being part of a COMMUNITY in SL, and I would hope that most citizens regard themselves similarly, so I urge you as individuals to stop thinking solely about your own needs for a moment and consider the fact that every day, underage players ARE being exposed to explicit content in SL that they may or may not know how to fully comprehend.
I don’t like how this new system has been presented to use either, but I DO BELIEVE that in principle, it is necessary and morally responsible. This may be the policy that ensures Second Life’s survival in the long run, not undermines it.
(and NO, I am NOT a Linden Lab employee, nor do I have any vested interest in the LL policy making agenda. But I DO love my SL experience and place great value on it, and wish to see it survive these periods of policy making. We are ALL learning how to live our SL and to handle delicate issues.)
Peace to all
September 18th, 2007 at 5:19 PM
How does “flagged as having restricted content” differ from “mature”?
if “PG” relates to the MPAA film rating of “Parental Guidance Suggested” and as you have previously implied, “Mature” relates to the MPAA film rating of “Restricted”… would not it make more sense for “Flagged as Adult Restricted Content” to relate to the MPAA Film Rating of “NC-17: No Children under 17 Permitted”??
September 18th, 2007 at 5:20 PM
Can someone explain to me how you would report questionable restricted content on an Estate, when under Estate Governance all ARs go to the Estate Owner and not Linden?
Or is this one rule for mainland, another one for the land barons?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:21 PM
#41. Don’t hold your breath waiting for those. We are still waiting for our mules.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:21 PM
Obviously LL has come to the wrong conclusion that teenagers will keep SL running. Oh! Nice idea!!!!
September 18th, 2007 at 5:23 PM
@60 LOL - verifying an account without submitting sensitive information and thus not providing verifiable information identifying a legal entity - in this case: a person - would be a waste - both due to the purpose of verifying an account and of the time invested in providing the non-sensitive information
September 18th, 2007 at 5:23 PM
number 53 i have installed a red flag on my hips as we speak look me up sometime
richard zhichao
September 18th, 2007 at 5:23 PM
I don’t think I should verify just because some parent cannot take care of their children.
Internet isn’t reliable baby-sitter and we aren’t being paid to take care of other people’s children.
What happened to responsible parenthood?!
Also, let’s not forget that hormones won’t wait kids to reach 18 to “kick in”. If kids were educated about sex in their early teen days, rather than have a paper bag shoved down their heads, probably the absurd amount of pregnant teens would reduce. It sure works well in some countries I have visited during my career of Human Rights Representative.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:24 PM
A nice long blogpost where LL takes the time to realisticly answer each of the questions raised here 1 by 1 would be nice. As important as this is to the customer base I think we deserve that sort of time and attention from LL on this matter. LL’s push and stand back stance on this makes it look very much like something LL wants to get out for PR and legal protection, but that they do not expect the customer base to accept or truely use (voice anyone?).
September 18th, 2007 at 5:24 PM
Hey I got an idea!
Why not have a teen grid for minors and the main grid for people with credit cards and age verifed data?
In fact. Instead of having an ID verified flag on SL, why not make it that you can’t log in without a verfied ID? A bit like having a credit card … but more modern and costly …
September 18th, 2007 at 5:25 PM
I don’t think I should verify just because some parent cannot take care of their children.
Internet isn’t reliable baby-sitter and we aren’t being paid to take care of other people’s children.
What happened to responsible parenthood?!
Also, let’s not forget that hormones won’t wait kids to reach 18 to “kick in”. If kids were educated about sex in their early teen days, rather than have a paper bag shoved down their heads, probably the absurd amount of pregnant teens would reduce. It sure works well in some countries I have visited during my career of Human Rights Representative.
We could very well call the attention of LL to this. Other people’s kids are responsability of their own parents. Not yours, not mine. Responsible parenthood: Think about it.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:25 PM
I WANT THE FLAG FOR MY WHOLE REGION SO I DO NOT HAVE TO POLICE MY RESIDENTS PARCELS. DO NOT SIGNIFIGANTLY INCREASE MY EFFORT IN POLICING DIGITAL CONTENT UPON YOUR GRID. I honestly dont care if French people cannot view nazi swasticha by law.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:26 PM
trust has nothing to do with it…. LL just sells it to us that way, hoping residents will buy it. LL is doing this because they dont want any lawsuits and lose money.SL is a commercial buiness after all.
Personaly I dont mind giving a part of my soc.. nr to LL, but like #10 said: I am not about to hand my personal details over to a company — http://integrity.aristotle.com/ — which proudly boasts its ability to supply such data to anyone who can pay —
He has a good point there…
September 18th, 2007 at 5:27 PM
yea.. to #62… you realy think this is gong to stop kids from going in there moms stuff and geting her id and stuff?
theres no 100% sure way to stop minors…
i say that if anyone should be punished its the kids parents and the kid the kid knew what he/she was geting into sao why sould we have to risk our credit to a 3rd party company thats been cought or… i feel realy sorry if there are kids on here becuse there parents are going to pay the price when there kids grab there moms ids and ss#s and the parents pay the price… this dose nothing at all there is no point just read my post at #51 if you want to understand what i mean..
September 18th, 2007 at 5:27 PM
yet again WTF?
where do u get voluntarily?
if somone voluntarialy flags there shop/land/ect.
then i must involuntarily verify to enter said parcel
as a “content provider” i would not want to force people to verify by flagging my land if i were seling somthing classified as adult content
it would coust in trafic and sales to do so
doubt you are going to get many voluntiers
it didnt fly the first time
hope it crashes and burns this time as well however …
no one asked for windlight got that anyway …
no one asked for voice (the existing programs worked fine as an overlay and i didnt have to listen to other peoples voice conversations)
and we got that crammed down our throats as well.
perhaps it might be a good idea to get more resident feedback before wasting time and efforts to make an unstable enviroment even more complicated.
oh and while im at it some sims still have attachment issues when u rez in all the attachments get dumped to center. maybe the servers should be required to update to connect to the grid.
because heavns knows i cant connect without downloading one on a semi regular basis.
oh and last i checked…
tos covers your behind and im operating on an 18 + grid
so maybe you should tell people involved with such content to cover thier own behinds.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:28 PM
This is just brilliant. Mature content must be flagged on a parcel, otherwise the owner risks getting an AR, BUT age verification is, at best, in it’s infancy with a tiny tiny percentage of users even *knowing* how to go about doing it.
So, in order to avoid AR’s, anyone with a business that sells items like skins, basically has to cut off access to all but a miniscule number of residents.
Linden Lab is redefining horse before cart, and wrecking businesses to boot. Hope they are proud.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:28 PM
I thought there was a teen Second Life. Why all this restriction on adult material in an adult Second Life? I know when I am in a PG region that I am supposed to behave as if children are around, no nudity, no cussing, nothing explicit, all PG. I also know that when I am in a M region that all goes. I realize that Linden Labs is in the US, and as an American I am *EMBARRASSED* by all the continued restrictions that Linden Labs continues to put on a game that I signed up for due to the FACT that it was for 18 year olds and over. I am beginning to feel a bit like a scolded child, and that is not what I pay for each month.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:29 PM
On the other hand why worry. LL doesn’t take griefers seriously .. so why will they worry about a couple of pose balls that you left out?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:29 PM
As I recall, minors are not permitted into Second Life anyway, so why is this even an issue? Is Linden Labs planning on eliminating the Teen Grid and merging it into the Main Grid?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:30 PM
WTF mate?
WTF….
I’m not giving out my SS number…. go sit on your thumb and rotate.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:31 PM
Umm, excuse me but…?? Isn’t SL adult grid for adults and minors aren’t allowed?? So, what is all this about minors?? Seems to me SL wants to punish all us adults who pay and buy, and build, and…..just cause a few minors are on the adult grid?? Toss them off!!! And don’t we have to verify we are in fact adults?? So…find a minor, toss them, and go after their parents!! Why should we or SL be responsible for someone else’s kids misbehaving??