Linden Lab Official:Adult Content FAQ

Warning: This is a draft of a proposed "Official Adult Content FAQ." It is currently a working draft and is not "official" yet.

Please add questions and comments to the talk page.

Overview

This article provides clarifications to the basic information on adult content provided in the SL Knowledge Base:

Important: The information here is not intended to cover every possible situation or question. Linden Lab reserves the right to review individual cases and make determinations based on specific circumstances in line with general policies.

Frequently asked questions

What does "advertises or publicly promotes" mean?

The maturity ratings distinguish between publicly-promoted adult content, required to be on Adult regions, and implicitly non-public adult content, such as private homes with a sex bed, that can be located on Moderate land.

Adult activities cannot be advertised or publicly promoted on Moderate land. Such activity must occur privately, behind closed doors on Moderate land (see below), and is forbidden on General land. These restrictions apply regardless of whether the parcel has hidden avatars.

Advertising for SL search using adult words clearly requires being on Adult land. Other ways to advertise or promote include renting signs inworld, listing on events, buying ads in newspapers, distributing flyers or notecards to passersby, and so on.

Private invitations to friends are not considered advertising or promoting. Inviting everyone in a small private group that you control would probably not be considered advertising. However, inviting everyone in a public group would most likely be considered a promotional effort.

What does "behind closed doors" mean?

Adult activity on Moderate land must be conducted "behind closed doors," meaning that you must make every reasonable effort to ensure that the parcel is private. The parcel should be:

Set to group or specific individual access only.
Hide avatars (turn off avatar visibility) for the parcel.
If the land is group-access only, the group should not be freely open to join.

Parcels that are not entirely Adult

There are several ways a parcel can be not entirely adult:

Mixed content in a public area: for example, a store that sells a variety of items, some of which are adult in nature, but those are not advertised explicitly or provided for public adult usage. This would require a Moderate rating.
Mixed public and private use of a parcel: for example, a store at ground level which only sells non-adult items, and a skybox above, which is residential, and contains sex furniture. The landing point is at the store only. This would require a Moderate rating.
Mixed use by time: for example, a parcel that is normally a private residence, but occasionally advertises an adult event. This would require an Adult rating. If on Moderate land, the event must not be advertised and must be kept behind closed doors.

Is simple nudity without sex Adult?

Depending on context, nudity may not necessarily require an Adult rating. For example all of the following could be rated Moderate:

A nude beach without sexual activity.
Skin vendors showing a nude skin to display the product, without specifically sexual content.
Nude art that is not sexual.
Strip clubs that do not use adult words in search or host sex furniture .

Non-erect genitalia may not be considered Adult, depending on the context. For example:

Hanging out at a nude beach would be fine.
Walking around pants-less on the mainland just to expose yourself to others would be inappropriate.

Non-sexualized depictions of nudity (basically, the images most skin-makers tend to use) are Moderate NOT Adult.

References:

SL forums archive, Blondin Linden, 04-22-2009 11:18.

SL forums archive, Blondin Linden, 03-13-2009 12:59 simple nudity, with explicitly depicted but non-erect genitals, is not automatically "adult".

Strip clubs

Strip clubs in general are Moderate. However, they are Adult if they:

Use adult keywords in listings and in search.
Have sex balls and backroom sex areas.

Reference: SL forums archive, Blondin Linden, 04-22-2009 11:23.

What words are filtered in search?

To prevent "gaming" of search results, we do not provide a full list of filtered adult words. Nonetheless, anyone can test individual words on the Second Life Search page or with inworld search. Certain words are always filtered, regardless of maturity setting; additional words are filtered when the adult checkbox is not selected.

Are child avatars allowed on Adult regions?

Yes, child avatars are allowed in Adult regions, as long as they are controlled by a person who has verified themselves to be at least 18 years old. However, the policy prohibiting sexual ageplay and rules against proximity to sexual content still apply.

Since Adult regions by design will often contain sexual content, child avatars should use caution in visiting Adult regions.