Socially|Mundane

I like Ciaran Laval's writing a lot. However, sometimes I just shake my head and chuckle. Ciaran's recent post at Your 2nd Place:

The adult content policy threat was this evening raised to level 5 after a rather large dragon revealed that Jack Linden measures reaction to policy by the number of im's he gets.

[snipped a bunch of diatribe]

Level 5

Human-to-human communication in at least two large estates, probably includes mainland, people start to frown and the first uttering of "Class Action lawsuit" is made. A couple of groups are formed but fall out due to not liking the name the other group is using. Someone creates a Jira post, Jira politics aren't far behind and the proposal goes through the "This doesn't belong here", "Oh yes it does" dance. Strong signal pandemic imminent.

[From Linden Lab adult content policy threat raised to level 5 | Your2ndPlace]

Okay. Fair enough.

So I replied there and I post my reply here, but with a little more editing and vetting to clarify what I was trying to say over there:

**********



I ask people all the time:

"Please show me where in the United States Constitution that it stipulates you have a RIGHT to not be offended?"

It's not there.

You have no such right whatsoever. So if you are offended then leave the presense of the offense.

However, Linden Lab is a privately held company. Linden Lab does offer that "right". In fact, it's been in the Community Standards more or less since the birth of SL.

The point being, people do have a right (in SL) to not be offended when in what is reasonably assumed to be 'PG' spaces in Second Life. Yes, yes any land rated as "mature" is supposed to be allowed to have "mature" content.

However, if I happen to be shopping for something insignificant such as... oh, I don't know - how about a lamp? ...and I teleport all around the grid and keep landing next to gigantic posters of male and female 'intimate' body parts presented in a fashion that might (although doubtfully) cause Hugh Hefner to blush shame, why should I have to put-up with that?

The primary source of "offense" for reasonable people has to do with all the deviant imagery. No, it's not necessarily the deviant behavior so much in itself. We all know it happens and people will do those things. Fine. Whatever happens in your bedroom, leave it there, please?

It's the deviant imagery (or ideas and mental images of same) being thrust into one's face when they walk around the corner of a building or TP into some mall looking for a lawnmower (or lamps) or something and it's constantly thrust into my face every single goddamned place I go to the point of just plain sickening levels.

Who the hell has never heard of "Kinky-O" (which has really high-prim, ugly-built stuff that is way over-priced anyway)? A lot of people are just plain tired of it.

Let's play a little game, shall we? Imagine in first life that everywhere you go, there is a gigantic billboard that insists you must get and try Viagra. Every store or supermarket or mall you enter has giant Viagra posters plastered on every single wall, easily seen from across the other end of the building. Every magazine you open has an advertisement on every third page for Viagra. And every tall building  three or more stories high has a 50-foot tall mural of... Viagra. Now swap "Viagra" for anything overtly sexual and often considered "deviant" and usually with full-color nude (and sometimes obnoxious) illustrations.

I am first to admit that I am no saint in-world. In fact, my in-world 'lifestyle' would likely put the majority of SL residents off. But even for me: Just Jesus Christ almighty, all the sex, sex, sex, sex every damned where you look can really get tiring pretty quick.

It's one thing to search for [insert deviant activity keyword here] and go off looking for it. It's an entirely other thing to not be looking for it, but have it flashed across your screen no matter where you are and where you turn and especially when you're not looking for it. Is it offensive? No. Not to me. It is to some. But I'll bet for most... it gets tiring, redundant, numbing.

So, as for Linden Lab's 'policy' of segregating all this stuff to it's own corner of the world where everyone will know where it is (and where it is not, thankfully,) which would you rather have? Linden Lab can ban all deviant activity and turn Second Life into "TeleTubbies World" for all... (which they, as a private company that owns the Second Life grid completely and wholly can do) Or, corral all that stuff into it's own place on the other side of the tracks where: those looking specifically for that stuff can easily find it, and those not in the mood for that stuff won't turn a corner and have a gigantic mural extolling the virtues and ejaculation, urination and defecation features of some prim cock and pussy shoved in their face when they are looking to attend to something else - hell, anything else.

All you people whining about this "policy" of segregation:

Get.

A.

Fucking.

Clue.

I say let the whiners whine.

I frankly believe Linden Lab is being incredibly flexible in regard to this whole subject. They are being incredibly generous. They are not shutting all this stuff down - even though they can and many would say "they should".

I just wish people would stop looking the goddamned gift horse in the mouth.