M-rated avatars disinvited, then re-invited, to Linden’s birthday bash
By Eric Reuters
Linden Lab’s identity crisis continues unabated. On one hand, the Second Life Grid seeks mainstream acceptance from real-world corporations as a place to market brands and hold meetings. On the other, many of Linden’s earliest and most loyal customers use the virtual world to explore aspects of their personality that can make other people viscerally uncomfortable.
The tension has come to a head once again around plans to celebrate Second Life’s fifth birthday later this month. In May, Linden sent out a “Calling All Cultures” invitation on its official blog to the birthday party, held around the theme of “celebrating the cultural diversity of Second Life.” But as Massively.com reported, the company changed tracks and barred Second Life’s ageplaying community from the event. A ban on Goreans and sadomasochists soon followed.
Ageplayers, broadly defined as adults who craft avatars that resemble children, have been at the center of controversy over the past year. Several media investigations have focused on allegations of child pornography within Second Life, prompting Linden to ban “broadly offensive content,” including depictions of adult-child sex. Many ageplayers insist there’s no sexual component to their roleplay, and having a Second Life as a child is as legitimate and moral as a furry or robot avatar. But British authorities told Reuters last year they considered all ageplayers fair game for possible criminal investigation.
According to Massively’s follow-up report, Linden said possible legal ramifications of hosting ageplayers on their sims led to the reversal of policy. But Linden’s decision to abandon its “calling all cultures” invitation provoked a negative reaction among Second Life’s users, and the company partially reversed its reversal. In the latest iteration of policy, Linden says the event itself and the exhibits are PG-rated, but urged Second Life’s residents to submit their exhibit ideas for Linden review. Two “SL Kids builds” have been approved thus far.
The more Linden Lab attempts to appeal to a more generic audience, the more it risks alienating existing customers. Whether to position Second Life as a tool for business and education, a hang-out for marginalized subcultures, or try to be both at once remains one of Linden Lab’s greatest challenges for the year ahead.
