What our critics are saying

1. It will slow the process down.
   

   True, very slightly, but isn’t teleportation much faster than walking? Flying? Is a slight delay worth it to ensure residents truly want to enter mature areas? We think so.

2. No one reads these things anyway.
   

   Perhaps they will with the right education campaign and graphic, at least they are on notice.

3. The SLACR notification will acts as a form of censorship.
   

   We do not want censorship any more than you do (and perhaps less). The reminder should only be there to ensure mature individuals want to be in a mature location.
   

4. I own a mature oriented business, I am afraid I will lose customers.
   

   You only should lose people who didn’t mean to be there -- how many of your customers are there by accident, now? Instead of driving away business, the notice will make it even more clear exactly what business is available.

5. International (non English-speaking) residents won’t understand.
   

   Do they understand the Terms of Service? Our graphic is bold and obvious, a reminder of “red-light” districts that exist around the world. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_red-light_districts

6. You want to shut down mature areas, make SL “acceptable” for online learning only, “clean up the neighborhood,” etc.
   

   We don’t want to clean it up, we just want people to know when they are entering a mature area. Like it or not, SL has become an area of tremendous growth -- and mainstream advertisers and educational institutions are all staking their claim.
   
   We just want a more accurate representation of the mature areas so those that seek it will find it; and those that don’t, wont.

Real-Life Precedents

• Video games have ratings; The ESRB rating system can be found at:
  http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp
  
  
• The Motion Picture Association of America ratings can be found at:
  http://www.mpaa.org/FlmRat_Ratings.asp
  
  
• Many Cities and Towns have zoning ordinances to be sure adult-oriented businesses are in a geographic area that can be properly policed and protected.
  
  
• Bars and Convenience stores ask to see ID before they will sell you alcohol or cigarettes.
  http://www.wecard.org/
  
  
• Casinos require ID before you can gamble.
  http://rose.casinocitytimes.com/articles/966.html

If you enter an adult-only business in first life, or watch an NC-17 movie or play an AO videogame, you know what to expect. There is nothing like this currently in Second Life.

Because of the various opportunities in second life, every teleportation can bring new adventure but the user-created nature means the mature content can vary considerably.

Mature areas of SL should be “rated” by requiring a click-through to be certain that the people
entering those areas know what they will be encountering. We used the symbol of a “red-light district” as the warning so there is no confusion about the area a resident is about to enter.

• Click-through notice makes certain teleportation to a mature area is intentional and understood.
• It protects residents who might not realize they are entering mature areas, such as receiving TP invitations from others.
• It protects those already there, by ensuring that no one who enters will be offended.

Why there's a problem, and why it's YOUR problem too

Adults might inadvertently enter mature areas who don’t intend to be there. They could be offended by what you choose to say, wear or do. If enough of them complain about the mature areas of SL, Linden Labs might start imposing censorship to protect their relationships with large corporate clients.

Imagine the board member of a new corporate resident, trying out Second Life for
the first time, who inadvertently enters an area with adult content….

• As the population in Second Life grows, clear communication becomes an even more important issue.
  

Minors -- who are not supposed to be on the main grid of SL at all -- that enter mature areas without full understanding. If you engage in commerce in mature areas or, as an individual you are involved in a sexually suggestive conversation or activities with one of those minors you could potentially face real liability. By relying on the SLACR Warning, you have some protection.

" How could I have known they were a minor? Not only did THEY violate the TOS by being in the main grid, they also knowingly went into a part of the grid with
adult content."

Parents who are supposed to be monitoring their children also have ample warning about the area of Second Life their children are about to enter. As the red-lightbulb comes on the screen, so too should a lightbulb appear to them.

• The Terms of Service protect Linden Lab from liability, but do not protect individual residents.

About the SLACR Team

The SLACR team began as a student group in the CyberOne class at Harvard Extension School. We are not University students – we come from many backgrounds and many countries. All of us work full-time; some of us have families of our own.

You may have met us already in Second Life. If not, feel free to look us up!

crislc Amdahl -- "brainiac"
(blog)

An un-certified geek, Cristos finds the CyberOne class so interesting because it teaches how to turn class concepts into direct action. The SLACR Campaign is a textbook example of how to do that -- at least, it would be if there were any textbooks on the subject.

Off-world, Cristos works as an Information Architect/Usability Designer for a market research company in Cambridge, MA. In addition to coordinating the SLACR campaign, Cristos has been trying to absorb LSL through osmosis. If you've signed the petition at the SLACR Kiosk, then you've seen some of his work. He is enrolled in the CyberOne class through Harvard Extension school.

Tempus Folsom -- "vox"

Tempus has traveled many careers and paths, and honed his skill with clear and direct communication in all of them. He produces almost all of the content you'll find on this site, and is a master of applying empathic argument techniques to both the written and spoken word.

In addition to offering his writing & recording skills, Tempus originally suggested the idea for the SLACR Campaign. He is an enrolled student in the CyberOne class at Harvard Extension School.

Marty Mehring -- "the guts"

Martin Hannigan is currently employed as consultant at aleading carrier of voice and internet services in the Caribbean. He has worked as a senior member of technical staff/internetengineering/operations management at Bell Atlantic, Level(3) Communications, INTERNAP, Microsoft, VeriSign, and others.

Martin has been active in the Internet community since 1988,collaborating on the design and implementation of many national andglobal networks that are in use today. He was a founding member of the Internet Special Interest Group at MIT in Cambridge, MA (the first such ISIG).

Martin lives in Boston, MA US, and is an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. His *nix skills, and a corner on his dedicated server, keep this campaign ticking. He is an enrolled student in the CyberOne class at Harvard Extension School.

Kenny Hubble -- "image smith"
(website)

Ken Hudson is an artist and media consultant from Toronto, Canada whose works explore the intersection of technology and the individual. He is currently establishing a SL presence for Loyalist College in Canada, as well as pursuing his own creative works (available at http://flyingdogshow.com).

Ken is not an enrolled student in the CyberOne class, but is very pleased to join as an "At-Large" participant. He generously offered his help to the SLACR Campaign, and is responsible for the idea of our "red light" icon. He also produced the SLACR logo for this website and the SLACR kiosk.

Our Mission

Our goal is to convince Linden Labs to add a clear "adult content" reminder before a resident enters an area with mature content. The reminder should include a graphic, should be easily recognizable in all languages, and should require residents to click through it. This will ensure adults do not inadvertently enter a mature area. It also acts as a warning to minors (and parents who may be nearby) that they are entering a mature area.

There are many reasons that you might not agree with the SLACR campaign. Some of you may ask why we have a right to ask Linden to do this. Some may view this “reminder” as the first step leading to censorship in SL. Many residents wonder why this is a problem at all.

We are regular SL residents, from many backgrounds and countries. Some of us are just out of college, and some have children of their own. We come from the United States, from Canada, from Mexico; but we are all committed to improving the world of Second Life.

We believe that “improvement” means improved access and improved communication. Censorship, wherever and however it is attempted, is harmful to both access and communication. Our campaign is not to “clean up the neighborhood”; instead, we think that these reminders will make neighborhoods clearer than ever.

We recognize that this is a problem we cannot afford to ignore. As Second Life attracts more residents, especially international residents, clear communication becomes more important than ever. And although Linden Lab has worded the Terms of Service to protect themselves as a corporation, individual residents are still exposed to legal action.