Can't they just 'change the channel'??

Below is the text of a post I made in the forums for Second Life (SL) concerning Linden Labs (creators of Second Life) decision to change the way 'Adult Content' is handled in SL, the post is entitled "Can't they just 'change the channel'??" and it is primarily directed at those people that have been pressuring Linden Labs about this subject.

Here is a link to the post itself for those of you that would like to view the original:

http://forums.secondlife.com/showpost.php?p=2366267&postcount=1783

So here's the text from the post then:

Ok that said, now let's be realistic, we all encounter 'adult content' in some form or another in the real world, how we deal with it is our own choice (those of you trying to force your opinion that adult content should be banned or whatever should reread that last comment 'our own choice'). In real life if we see objectionable material on television we always have the option of changing the channel (of course there is always the fact that for most people 'television program listings' are readily available, that would inform us prior to even turning on the television that the channel we are going to tune into may infact contain objectionable material!! Immediately giving the person the option of not tuning in to that channel). Additionally if you encounter 'objectionable material' on your private radio, you always have the option of turning the radio off or tuning in to a station that has material that you don't find objectionable. If you see a 'sexy' billboard advertising deodorant or underwear or some other product no one and I repeat NO ONE is FORCING you to look at it, you always have the option of turning your head away from it or simply ignoring it altogether, I may not like something that you enjoy viewing or participating in, but that does not automatically give me the right to force MY opinions on the subject matter on you and make you abide by my personal feelings on such matters.

My point is that 'objectionable material' is present all around us day and night, yet most of us manage to go through our daily lives just fine even with it there. Additionally the places search in SL notifies you that the place you are about to teleport to is an area where 'Mature' content may be encountered even before you actually go there, just like knowing that you are travelling through a 'seedy neighborhood' in real life should alert you to the fact that you may encounter things like strip clubs and porno shops among other types of possibly 'objectionable material', if it doesn't then maybe you need to crawl out from under the rock you've been living under for the last couple hundred years and look around, the real world wasn't created for just one particular type of person to inhabit it, nor was SL. I guess one thing I was thinking of when I began writing this post is the fact that here in the United States of America our Constitution was founded on the very principle of tolerance, not just tolerance of other people's religious background, but tolerance of such things as their nationality, their ethnicity, their social habits, their personal habits!!!

I guess another one of my points is that if you encounter 'objectionable material' in SL anyplace you ALWAYS have the option of going elsewhere or practicing some degree of tolerance, or of course even logging off, any of those choices may be YOUR choice!!

I'm not saying that there isn't some need for improvement in the way access to mature areas is handled, maybe something similar to the standard warning you find on adult websites, something to the effect that "By remaining on this property you accept the fact that you may be exposed to material that you may find offensive or distasteful, furthermore you indicate that it is not illegal for you be it due to age or real life locale to view or interact with material of this nature". And due to the fact that so many people on the internet do infact lie about their ages age verification is a valid idea in my opinion, and before anyone complains about that, consider the lawsuits you hear about on the news where a child managed to gain access to an adult site because the parent did not take a more active role in limiting that childs exposure to things of that nature. It's high time we made parents and even minors responsible for their actions or lack of action in matters of this nature, instead of just pointing the finger at the person that posted the information on the internet and trying to say 'it's your fault', maybe we need to give them the ability to say 'no it's your fault for not monitoring your childs internet access, or for not educating them about the fact that it may be illegal for them to access sites of this particular nature', there's been entirely too much finger pointing and not enough making people take responsibility for their own actions!!

Getting back to the issue of age verification, I believe Linden Labs has done a great deal to make it simple for anyone of legal age to verify their age and hence at least give some indication of whether they can legally view some of the material contained in SL. I myself utilized the Drivers License method of age verification, many other web sites that require age verification give you only one option typically, the use of a 'Credit Card' wherein the site will obtain the date of birth for the person holding the card. I realize that in many cases non US citizens may think that they can't use any of the age verification methods that Linden Labs has provided but let's be real again here, all across the world banks issue 'Debit Cards' or 'Credit Cards' and typically applying for them is fairly simple, in most cases with 'Debit Cards' from my experience you are often allowed so many transactions a month for free and then you may be charged a small fee, additionally most of these cards are usable at locations that accept 'Credit Cards' (including online age verification at websites, I know this from personal experience using my debit card for such a purpose). Additionally SL (not TeenSL) is designed for adults above the age of 18 anyway, so theoretically you shouldn't even be in SL unless you are 18 or older, if you are underage then as far as I know you are in violation of the terms of service agreement (viewed by some countries as representing a binding contract between 2 parties). Also I know that in the USA it is illegal for a minor to enter into a legally binding contract without parental consent (in most states at least).

Hopefully people will take everything I've said here (especially about your own choice to expose yourself to 'objectionable material' or not based on the choice you make to either stay in the region that contains said material or deciding to leave that region) in mind and realize that we each live our own lives our own way, as well we should be permitted to (even our SL lives). Again It's entirely up to EACH individual to limit his/her/it's own exposure to material they find objectionable, NOT force their opinions on such matters onto others, I feel this applies just as much in SL as it does in the real world.

Thank you everyone,
Aeronya Arai