Friday, June 1, 2007

A conversation on "Keeping Second Life Safe, Together"

A conversation in IM with one of my friends regarding the "Keeping Second Life Safe, Together" LL blog post. This conversation occurred shortly after the LL blog post was made. Some of the bolding is for emphasis:

[21:37] CM:: http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/05/31/keeping-second-life-safe-together/ -- you see this crap yet?
[21:37] October Hush:: no I haven't
[21:38] October Hush:: what? no graphic violence??
[21:39] CM:: bye bye midian
[21:39] CM:: bye bye gor
[21:39] CM:: bye bye furries and nekos
[21:39] October Hush:: uh, yeah
[21:39] CM:: and demons oh my
[21:39] CM:: you cant engage in fantasy in SL anymore
[21:39] October Hush:: why bye bye furries and nekos?
[21:39] CM:: anymore
[21:39] CM:: bestiality
[21:40] October Hush:: oh come on
[21:40] CM:: its all on the downhill path
[21:40] CM:: the slippery slope
[21:41] CM:: nobody stood up for the kiddie sex because it was repugnant
[21:41] CM:: the casinos cuz they're fucking laggy
[21:41] October Hush:: right
[21:41] CM:: now "rape" play
[21:41] CM:: and combat/violence
[21:41] CM:: keep drawing a line
[21:41] October Hush:: yeah, that I don't get =P
[21:42] CM:: you don't have to "get" anything
[21:42] CM:: it will be taken from you

This conversation was continued the following day:

[19:47] CM:: i think the uptight prudish complainers are gonna go and knock one place down after another
[19:47] CM:: an sl style witch hunt
[19:47] October Hush:: exactly!
[19:47] October Hush:: this gives them the right to be able to
[19:47] CM:: they already torched all the age play places save one and thats completely gutted
[19:47] CM:: they closed abusers and victims down last nite
[19:48] October Hush:: oh really?
[19:48] CM:: a few PRIVATE members only pay to join vore/dolcett places were forced to close
[19:48] October Hush:: I didn't know that
[19:48] CM:: private sims
[19:48] CM:: private groups
[19:48] CM:: yeah
[19:48] CM:: with each "victory," they get stroker
[19:48] CM:: hah freudian
[19:48] CM:: stronger
[19:48] October Hush:: lol
[19:48] October Hush:: they got Strokerz, you say!
[19:48] October Hush:: ;-)
[19:49] CM:: yah. they're peeling back the edges
[19:49] CM:: at places nobody knows about
[19:49] CM:: but getting bigger and bolder with every day
[19:50] October Hush:: =/
[19:51] October Hush:: So, what can we do?
[19:52] October Hush:: I really am worried about this
[19:52] CM:: make everyone aware that this IS happening
[19:52] CM:: most people don't know
[19:52] CM:: the fuckers posted 3 or 4 new blog entries just to get that one to "scroll off"
[19:52] CM:: so anyone that hasn't logged in in a day or so wont even KNOW
[19:52] October Hush:: would you mind if I posted some of our IM in my blog?
[19:52] CM:: meh
[19:53] CM:: remove the names?
[19:53] CM:: clean up spelling and punctuation?
[19:53] October Hush:: I hadn't heard about the ageplay stuff until now
[19:53] October Hush:: yes, whatever you want
[19:53] CM:: nobody "likes" ageplay
[19:53] CM:: or admits to it
[19:53] CM:: its an easy target
[19:53] CM:: but the first bounce down the slippery slope
[19:55] October Hush:: yes, I agree

You heard it, folks...in case you were wondering if places were getting shut down...yup, they are. So far it's just ageplay places and extreme sex/bondage places. However, this is an issue that will affect pretty much all of us, and it's something we should take seriously. I'm not sure what else to do aside from spreading the word. You should do that too.

12 comments:

Judith said...

This is so close to my reaction to this announcement. I hate the fact that so many things are being threatened by this kind of thinking. I won't start to rant on about my particular view of what goes on in SL against what goes on in RL. I shall just sum it up by saying 'Live and let live' and 'If you don't like it, don't look.' If only people would remember those two things then everyone could coexist without the need for witch hunts, at least in SL - don't even get me started on the state of RL right now!

October Hush said...

Yup, you're preaching to the converted, as I imagine most of my readers will agree with this sentiment as well. However, I didn't know that places were getting shut down, and I didn't expect non-ageplay places to be the focus either. Anyway, there's so much I could write about this, but the above conversation sums it up fairly concisely. I'm trying to follow this saga as it unfolds. I'm not yelling that the sky is falling just yet, but I am very concerned.

As a glimmer of hope, we have to remember that LL needs customers, and we are the ones who give them money. If these draconian policies really do take hold, I have no doubt that we'll see a mass amount of users abandoning SL, taking their money elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this, Tober.

We all need to make sure our voices are heard, inworld and not just in the blogosphere. If LL doesnt have the guts to stand up for what is right and not give into reactionaries, then the majority of residents who are not like that need to stand up and make themselves heard. Maybe we can change it before it gets so bad we all have to leave because it's worse than The Sims 1.0.

October Hush said...

I agree, but I'm not sure what kind of action to take that would really make our voices heard in-world. A demonstration, perhaps? Abusing the AR system with things we find grossly objectional which really aren't? I'm grasping at straws here.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Most of us are indeed scared of what will happen now... And it's strange, as the Community Guide still says: 'Content, communication, or behavior which involves intense language or expletives, nudity or sexual content, the depiction of sex or violence, or anything else broadly offensive must be contained within private land in areas rated Mature (M).'.

Open Letter part II: Do not take away our sex, violence and gore? ;)

October Hush said...

That's a good idea, Vint, considering the first Open Letter did get through...sort of...

It at least got the publicity that the issues deserved.

Unknown said...

I still think it's just scare tactics and in the long run nothing is really going to change.

I guess it was to be expected a few heads would roll just to instill fear in the hearts and minds of residents.

Don't let it get to you!

October Hush said...

I hope you're right, Loki, but in the meantime, if and/or when this blows over, we should still keep an eye on what's happening. And showing opposition to this policy certainly will not hurt either.

Anonymous said...

yeah, since LL claims to pay attention to the "community," my guess is that they're paying attention to a small group of highly and easily offended people who are complaining all the time.

Silence from the rest of us makes us seem to agree. I'm sure some of the Lindens have read the comments on the bigger blogs and are at least somewhat confused now.


I hope it does blow over. But I'm not comfortable just hoping, I'd rather state my concerns and opinions clearly now than feel like I said and did nothing and it gets worse. There are plenty of rumors flying already--look at what Tober's friend was saying.

October Hush said...

By the way, Alex, I'm going to try to get more details from my friend, the next time she and I are in-world at the same time.

October Hush said...

There's also this interesting post, which may or may not be related to the above IM conversation with my friend: http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/06/04/linden-lab-silently-removes-content/

Anonymous said...

Oh! I didn't know that.

I agree with you, October. It should not happen in Second Life. What about free speech and liberalism? I don't wanna play in any virtual world full of rules and censure.
We do want to be free, at least, in SL.