GET AGE VERIFIED IN SECOND LIFE NOW - TIME IS RUNNING OUT...

{Editor Marco's Note: Dear Readers: I am hard at work building a new commercial website for my funny articles. It will be free, like this one. Not only will it contain my Second Life humor, but funny articles about a variety of other topics. It should be ready by July 1st. Meanwhile, I am reposting some of my older articles.}
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This article was compiled/written by Toothfairy Tizzy. Please contact him if you have any questions.


IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THIS NOTE IS SIMILAR TO ONES NOW BEING PREPARED AND SENT OUT BY OTHERS ACROSS THE GRID TO CUSTOMERS AND FRIENDS - IM SORRY IF IT HAS DUPLICATED ANYTHING YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED. HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE PRUDENT TO TAKE SOME TIME AND FOLLOW THE LINKS ON THE FORUMS SO YOU CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

In March 09, Linden Labs announced they would be making changes to the way people would access content in world. In brief: anything deemed "adult" will only be available to people who are "verified adults". One would really have to be living on another planet not to be aware of the changes LL is implementing while you are reading this note.

Second Life is not just abt sex. However, the following is important reading, if roleplaying and cybering are things you enjoy inworld as the ramifications of not being age verified will impact you personally.

Plenty has been said on the forums about WHY LL is doing this - you can believe what they tell us, or not. Either way, the changes are going ahead, and will be live and final in a couple of months time, and nothing we say or do will influence LL's ermmmm..... change in marketing direction. So, its time to get verified in time for a smooth transition!

Once these changes are in effect, and you are age verified, and you are using the viewer that incorporates these changes, you will need to goto EDIT/PREFERENCES [after you log in] and tick the ADULT box so you can SEARCH for and access mature and adult places, events and objects to purchase.

We will try and summarise how the changes will impact you, our customers, in a concise and blunt manner:

- If you want to enjoy cybering in SL you need to be age verified.

- If you want to go to clubs/beaches where nudity isn't an issue you need to be age verified.

- If you want to go to a dungeon and participate in any form of BDSM you need to be age verified.

- If you role play and enjoy a Gorean lifestyle, you will need to be age verified.

- If you yiff, you will need to be age verified.

- If you want to try out sex poseballs with your partner in a store, you will need to be age verified if they are only for sale on ADULT sims.

- If you want your profile to spell out your sexual peccadilloes, you run the risk of someone filing an Abuse Report against you.

- If you want to use SEARCH for something LL deems Adult, you need to be age verified.

NOTE: unofficial list of "adult" keywords can be found here:
http://www.slapt.me/wiki/index.php/Adult_Content_Keywords

- If you want to buy a dildo, or a penis or any sexual attachment, you will need to be age verified if they are only for sale on ADULT sims.

- If you are renting a parcel on a SIM that for any reason has to be reclassified as Adult, then you will need to be age verified to access your own parcel, regardless of what you have rezzed on it. Adult classification is SIM-wide, it affects the entire SIM and everything on it.

- We feel it would be risky business to set land at MATURE, and that the ADULT setting will offer all of us, merchants and consumers alike, more protection from the moral police who WILL go around MATURE regions checking on us and WILL file Abuse Reports. LL's response to those is usually to ban and answer questions later.

The above list is not complete by any means. But it gives an idea of how you may be affected by the changes that are soon coming.


There is currently a JIRA asking LL to cease work in progress on these issues. You may wish to read it and vote:
http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/MISC-2727?

There are conflicting reports on exactly who can do what and where, but its clear that to get to any adult region you will need to be age verified.
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Below is a far more detailed explanation of what the changes mean and links to more information. The text comes from here:
http://satiateddesires.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/second-life-adult-content-changes-how-theyll-affect-you/

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Its divided into 2 parts:

* Residents
* Business owners

Of the two, business owners are the most seriously impacted.

Ultimately though everyone will be affected by this, even those of you who are (or think) you're decidedly pg.

This post comes with a warning though. The final definitions haven't been released yet, but it's unlikely they will change much from what we're seeing at the moment.

The information used in this comes from the LL responses in their thread on the SL forums and the following LL sources:

The maturity ratings page is the most important - it details their currently proposed policy.

* About Maturity Ratings:
https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417&task=knowledge&questionID=6010

* Adult-oriented content controls FAQ:
https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417&task=knowledge&questionID=6032

* blog post with provisional dates:
https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/blog/2009/04/21/update–upcoming-changes-for-adult-content

* There is the forum thread where you can post your questions for a LL representative to answer:
http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=314444&page=1&pp=15
warning - this is a *very* long thread.

* There is a summary of the key points and links in the second life wiki:
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Adult_Content

Some basic information first. This applies to everyone who wished to access or provide what LL define as adult content.

The changes are likely to be implemented around mid June. There is a new viewer (1.23) that anyone who wants tosearch for adult content must download. If you use any third party viewer that hasn't included the adult modifications or chose to remain on an old official viewer then you will no longer have access to the adult content search. You may not be able to search but if you have LMs or someone TPs you then you will be able to access the adult continent.

If your avatar doesn't have any verification on file then you will not be able to view or access any adult content, even if you use the new viewer.

There are two types of verification: Age and Account.

* Age verification comes via the Aristotle verification system and can be found here:
https://secure-web20.secondlife.com/account/verification.php?lang=en

LL doesn't receive any details of the information you give to Aristotle, they just receive a flag from Aristotle saying you've successfully age verified using identification that confirms an age over 18. You are then able to access the full range of adult content if you wish.

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https://secure-web20.secondlife.com/account/verification.php?lang=en

* Account verification requires you to give LL your payment details - credit card or paypal or to have given your payment details to XStreet SL.

{NOTE FROM MARCOPHOTO UPSHAW: The above credit card info is NOT true, as of May, 2, 2009. I just became age verified, using my Illinois drivers-license number. The form listed documents you could use. NONE of the ways included a credit card number. However, The first time I submitted it, my verification failed because I used my legal middle initial. It went through when I removed it. I then verified my alts.} As to the rest of the info in this card, I do not know. I did not assemble it. I am just commenting on this supposed credit-card info. Apparently LL made a change in their plans.
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Once you have successfully entered these you are account verified. You will be able to access all adult content but will not be able to access any land that has an age verification requirement set by the land holder. Account verification in no way demonstrates you are an adult because credit car companies explicitly exclude the possibility of this in their terms of use. LL though have decided that an account that has been payment verified can be considered adult and therefore can access adult content.

You may think that adult content is just porn and that this isn't going to affect you in the slightest.. Then read the About Maturity Ratings linked to above - or better still, read this:
http://shdragon.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/we-are-not-adult-content/

You may be interested to see the list of words that LL will be using to filter adult content out of search - these are the terms they are using to define adult.

You can see the list here:
http://www.slapt.me/wiki/index.php/Adult_Content_Keywords

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU AS MAINLAND OWNING RESIDENT.

The approach appears to be “consenting adults in private”, so if you're on mature land then move everything that might be sexual inside and it looks like you'll be fine.

If you want to advertise your land in places, events or put a classified up and use any of the adult keywords to describe it or if the activities of your open house fall on the adult side of the fence then you need to consider moving to the adult continent or using words that will pass the adult keywords filter.

If you do that though and your actual activity is adult then you can be ARd if someone turns up and is offended. The moment you make your land public access and advertise it in any way, if it falls foul of the policy then you're at risk. Even if you only do it once a year.

If you are unhappy that you cannot fully use your land in the way intended when you bought it, you should consider lobbying LL to be considered for the land swap offer. A move to the adult continent will retain your freedom of choice regarding your land use.

At the moment LL are not intending to take any active steps against land speculation, so if you cannot take advantage of the land swap offer you may find yourself at the mercy of the speculators later on if you decide you wish to move.

IF YOU LIVE ON A PRIVATE ISLAND.

Your land owner has to make a decision whether to change the maturity level of the island or stay as it is. A mature island cannot have adult parcels on it, so if your activities are considered adult and the landowner doesn't want to change the rating then you are going to have to either adjust your lifestyle or move.

There will also be those who are affected because the landowner wishes to change the maturity rating to adult but certain residents do not wish to live with the restrictions on access that this imposes.

In all private island cases you must talk to your landowner.

IF YOU'RE A BUSINESS ON MAINLAND YOU OWN.

This impacts you considerably. The approach taken is that if your parcel is not considered extreme in content then you can stay where you are. However, you can no longer advertise using adult content words. If you chose to stay and use euphemisms to work around this then not only will it be likely that your potential customers will not be able to find you but you may also find yourself ARd if someone turns up expecting something more PG than you are offering. In this case the policy of the kb article will apply when they review the AR.

If you're confused by this, you should be. I consider it to be extremely dangerous for anyone who is selling or offering non PG goods or services to remain on the mainland. Despite LL assurances that if they detect vigilante groups ARing businesses they will take action against them, on past performanc it appears unlikely they will do this.

The current process outlined by LL for those who wish to move (and remember, LL aren't forcing anyone to move - you are a liberty to stay on your parcel or to close your business down).

* At a time yet to be announced they will open a list for people to register for the move. At the moment it appears you will need to lodge a support ticket.

* Either your parcel will be inspected to see if it does fit the adult criteria or they may allow everyone to move. there is no current definitive answer to this yet.

* If you are allowed to move you will be asked to provide a list of 3 places in Ursula that you consider suitable. At the moment they will not consider adjusting the parcels for non rectangular shaped plots nor will they guarantee you'll get the same size of plot as you'll be giving up.

* They will then advise you of the plot you have been assigned and you will have 9 calendar days to move all your items from the old mainland plot to the new. At the end of the 9 day period they will reclaim your old mainland plot.

Currently they have agreed to allow you to leave a LM giver to your new store for a certain time period. The time frame has not yet been specified.

What else you need to know: This has not been clarified yet, so we can only go on what has been said in the forums.

* Adult business classifieds will only appear in adult search results, even if there are no adult keywords used and you are advertising pg items.
* Adult parcels that are set to show in search will no longer show in the places tab - only in all. You'll be paying the same as the pg mainland for less exposure.
* They will not help you move your items.
* They will not change your landmarks. This impacts on those given out, those in your vendors, xsl boxes etc etc.
* They will not divert your classified LM
* They will do nothing to help you update your XSL listings
* They will not update peoples picks to your shop

If you're a business who rents premises on the mainland or a private island.

The you're in the same situation as private island residents. If your landowner is not going to move to the adult content then you need to find new premises, adjust what you sell to fit the mature guidelines or close down.

This will also be an issue for those who wish to remain on the current mainland and their land owner has decided to move to the adult continent.

That's pretty well it at the moment. Supposedly LL will be updating and reissuing their policy sometime in the next few weeks. Hopefully then we will have a clearer idea of what is happening although the thrust of this is unlikely to change.

IF YOU'RE A PRIVATE ISLAND LANDOWNER

It now appears you do not have to physically separate your sims. You will have to flag the appropriate maturity rating for each one. So you will be able to have adult rated land physically side by side with pg or mature.

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We hope that this information is of use to you in knowing if you need to verify as an adult in order to continue to enjoy SL as you have done so far.


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Wow, you gotta read the crazy, funny stuff this guy writes!
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