History/Adult content
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During the second quarter of 2009, changes to the way adult content is handled were announced. The basic thrust of these changes is to separate "adult" material from casual SL users who did not intend to see it. The changes include (1) creating a new land rating of "Adult", in addition to the existing "PG" and "Mature", (2) changing how the search function works (3) requiring "verification" to access the adult land and search settings, and (4) updating the rules of SL (terms of service, community standards, knowledge base, etc.) to go with these changes.
To make these changes required updates to the server software (version 1.26 and later) which hosts grid regions, and the client software (version 1.23 and later) which runs on your home computer.
This page compiles Adult Content info at-a-glance so you can easily see the history of what's happened and better understand what's to come.
Timetable
- Initial Announcement - 12 Mar 2009
- Release of 1.23 client software - 15 Jun 2009
- New Adult mainland opens for visits - 15 Jun 2009
- Move tickets for Adult Mainland accepted - 29 Jun 2009
- Full enforcement of new rules - approx 60 days after Move tickets accepted
Changes to Region Ratings
Previously there were only two ratings for regions on the SL Main Grid: PG and Mature, and they were open to anyone to visit. Now there is a new category, Adult, which only "verified" accounts with the right settings activated can visit.
Once fully implemented, Adult Content is supposed to be stored either on Regions on the newly built Zindra mainland "continent" or on private Regions having the Adult Region rating. Existing mainland regions will keep their PG or Mature ratings. Estate owners can set their region ratings as they choose, and it is expected they will change or create adult rated regions according to the demand for it.
Zindra Move
Previously existing mainland regions will not have their maturity rating changed. Therefore parcels with adult content will need to either move to the new Zindra continent, which is all adult rated regions, or to Private regions which are rated adult. The initial map of Zindra contains about 160 regions, although at least 507 regions have been mapped:
As of 25 Jun 2009, 130 private regions were rated Adult.
Existing venues which are significantly impacted by these adult changes may request a move to Zindra via a support ticket, starting 29 Jun 2009 at 10am.
For those who need to migrate to Zindra this link may be helpful:
Changes to Search
Starting with version 1.23, there are check boxes in most tabs in search for PG, Mature, and Adult. This determines what kind of regions your results will come from, and what words may be filtered out of your query. You can choose the checkboxes in different combinations (they are not exclusive), and use different settings on each tab. If you are not "verified", the adult checkbox will not be available (greyed out).
If you do not have the adult checkbox active, certain input words to search will be "filtered". That means they are ignored as if you did not type them, and you get a message about it in the results window. There are a few words which are filtered no matter what setting you use. These refer to banned activities such as ageplay and gambling. An additional 60 or so english words are filtered if you do not have the Adult box active, mostly referring to sexual activities.
Verification and Preferences
To use the adult settings, you will need to "verify" your account. This is done in one of three ways: (1) Use the age verification page on the SL website, (2) Provide payment information on the SL website, or (3) Provide payment information on the XStreetSL site (which is owned by Linden Lab).
Verification links:
- Age Verification Page
- Update Payment Info SL Page
- [TBD XStreetSL Info Page]
Once you have account verified by one of these methods, you are supposed to get access to the adult settings. You will need to go into Edit menu > Preferences > General Tab > Rating and choose "PG, Mature, and Adult" from the dropdown list. If you have a lower setting, then search and region entry or teleport will be restricted to PG only, or PG and Mature only.
Documentation and Software Downloads
Numerous changes have been made to Linden documents and software to incorporate the adult content changes. This includes the Community Standards, Knowledge Base, and Wiki.
Second Life Community Standards
In particular item 5: Adult Regions, Groups, and Listings (updated 25 Jun 2009)
Second Life Knowledge Base
Dozens of articles are being created and revised for the Adult Content changes. Here are some of the key ones:
- SL Knowledge Base: Adult-oriented content controls FAQ
- SL Knowledge Base: Maturity ratings: an overview - Restored with new content on 2009-04-21)
- SL Knowledge Base: Age Verification FAQ
- SL Knowledge Base: Age Verification Parcel and Estate Management Features
- SL Knowledge Base: What is the difference between PG and Mature land?
- SL Knowledge Base: Adult Oriented content controls: merchant meeting transcript
- SL Knowledge Base: Details for landowners on migrating to Zindra
- SL Knowledge Base: How to become verified as an adult
Second Life Client Software Downloads
Note: some people have trouble running this version of the software, you might want to check alternate clients:
Discussion of these Changes
Extensive discussion of these changes has occurred since they were first announced:
Blog posts
- 2009-06-26 - Zindra: An Update
- 2009-06-15 - Welcome to Zindra
- 2009-06-10 - Search and Adult Content
- 2009-06-01 - Adult Content Changes in Summary
- 2009-04-21 - Update - Upcoming Changes for Adult Content
- 2009-03-25 - Follow Up: Adult Content Changes
- 2009-03-12 - Upcoming Changes for Adult Content
Press releases
- 2009-04-21 - Linden Lab Ushers in New Era of Second Life with Initiative to Customize The Experience for Each User - Also available in French, German, and Japanese.
Brown Bag/inworld meetings
These are transcripts of "Adult Oriented content controls" meetings.
- 2009-05-11 - Followup definitions meeting transcript - Download MP3 audio
- 2009-04-17 - Definitions meeting transcript - Download MP3 audio
- 2009-04-16 - Landowner meeting transcript - Download MP3 audio
- 2009-03-27 - Merchant meeting transcript - Download MP3 audio
- 2009-03-25 - Educator meeting transcript - Download MP3 audio
- 2009-03-24 - Adult Content Forum Transcript - Download MP3 audio
Forum Threads
- Opened 01 May 2009, Closed 01 Jun 2009, 2,864 posts
- Opened 31 Mar 2009, Closed 01 May 2009, 7,408 posts
- Opened 17 Mar 2009, Closed 31 Mar 2009, 4,676 posts
- Opened 12 Mar 2009, Closed 17 Mar 2009, 890 posts
- Opened 12 Mar 2009, Closed 17 Mar 2009, 488 posts
- Opened 12 Mar 2009, Closed 17 Mar 2009, 365 posts
- Opened 12 Mar 2009, Closed 17 Mar 2009, 96 posts
- Opened 12 Mar 2009, Closed 17 Mar 2009, 1,044 posts
Forum posts by Blondin Linden: [Note: the official status of these answers is not known]
- 2009-04-28 - Keywords Qualify for Landswap.
- 2009-04-27 - Private Parties are OK
- 2009-04-27 - Living Above the Store
- 2009-04-26 - Blondin Linden Post 2392783
- 2009-04-14 - Blondin Linden Post 2390187
- 2009-04-14 - Blondin Linden Post 2390184
- 2009-04-08 - Blondin Linden Post 2384315
- 2009-04-07 - Blondin Linden Post 2383239
- 2009-04-06 - Blondin Linden Post 2382260
- 2009-04-03 - Blondin Linden Post 2379542
- 2009-04-02 - Blondin Linden Post 2378595
- 2009-04-01 - Blondin Linden Post 2376259
- 2009-03-31 - Blondin Linden Post 2375414
- 2009-03-13 - Nudity in Mature Regions
Issue Tracker
- Meta Issue for Adult content filtering problems - "To track any content that has been incorrectly marked as Adult by the search filters"
Other Summaries and Commentary
Adult Content FAQ
For Frequently asked questions about this subject, please see the related FAQ page.