With Linden Labs’ plans to move adult content to it’s own area in Second Life away from the rest of the Metaverse, opposition to “adult content filtering” quickly came about and is starting to organize. Among those spreading the word and trying to get people against these plans is Xantaruis Cain. Recently, I had a chance to talk with him at his gun shop, which had both a notecard giver for his group’s proposal, and a package with items such as protest signs.Bixyl Shuftan: So, you're been trying to help organize the protest against Linden Lab's "adult content" plans?
Xantarius Cain: Yes. That's correct. We're in the process of organizing a series of protests. Right now, we're putting together a notecard of questions for the G-Team, which is apparently tasked with handling the adult content changes. And, of course, we're putting together a small information packet to be distributed by the signs we'd like to ask our supporters to carry at the protest(s).
Bixyl Shuftan: Why do you feel Linden Labs’ plans are bad for Second Life?
Xantarius Cain: As I see it, there are a few reasons why this move is bad for Second Life. First, this change alters the essence, for me, of what SL was supposed to be about. Linden Labs’ goal of creating a world where they as a company intervened as little as possible, allowing the residents to decide how to create and run the world, has already been eroded. This will continue down the same path as eliminating casinos, for example.
Second, Linden Lab has not been clear as to why this is necessary. I've heard claims that there is a small percentage of users who would like to have content filters put into place. But this small group seems to have a lot of power, which seems more than strange. What I believe is that Linden Lab (feels they need to) do this in order to make Second Life, which has a reputation in the mainstream media for being mostly about sex and sex clubs, more appealing to government organizations and universities. I see a few reasons why this alone is a terrible idea. Linden Lab has always maintained that they believe virtual worlds will be the future of the Web. I tend to agree. The problem is that they have not done their research. They fail to understand why the Web was a success.
Simply put: the web was not filtered. Although nations attempted to control it, it was out of their control. This is not the case with Second Life. The steps Linden Lab proposes will most-certainly hurt the product (Second Life) in the long run. The aim of the company should be, as it once appeared to be, to set Second Life as the standard (via OpenSIM, etc) for virtual worlds. If they impose artificial limits on how the residents can use the service, it will NEVER be a standard. Some other corporation or nonprofit group will enter the market, splintering the user base. This hurts Linden Lab, and Second Life.
Third, this WILL CHANGE the behavior of the Residents in Second Life, and that's very bad if you value the idea that behavior in the virtual world should be organic, not some artificial thing that comes about as a result of what users can and cannot do. This is because they are anonymous. Taking this anonymity away from them by requiring that they "age-verify" themselves so that they can gain access to adult areas of the world will completely alter their behavior. They may be less likely to agree to age verification, and will thus have no access to the content they wish to view...
Now, some will say, "What about those who would engage in illegal behavior? If you aren't doing anything illegal, you have nothing to worry about." Not true. You have a lot to worry about. If someone is breaking the law, and Linden Lab, or the U.S. FBI, or whatever legal organization, needs to find you, they can. Your IP can be paired with your avatar. Your ISP will honor a warrant to trace the IP to you. This is how it works right now. But age verification gives Linden Lab all the power. They no longer require a government's involvement to find out who you are. They will have that information. No warrant. Nothing. Just them and your information. Many will have a problem with this and will opt out. And this hurts Second Life by basically removing a whole class of people from the game.
To put it simply, Second Life was about a Libertarian society. It will soon be about something else. And that's sad. :-(
I also think this is a slippery slope...what's next? Guns? Violence? Will I have to move my store eventually?
Bixyl Shuftan: Good points. For those who don’t know, what forms are the protests taking?
Xantarius Cain: The protests ... we're focusing on gathering a group of people (using the "Revolting Adults" in-world group) to head to some of the Office Hour events held by various Linden Lab employees. It will likely be several protests over several weeks.
Bixyl Shuftan: Was there a date set for the protest yet?
Xantarius Cain: The first will be either this week or next, but nothing solid yet. We're still working out the details.
Bixyl Shuftan: How many do you think will participate in the protests?
Xantarius Cain: that's the big question, isn't it? (laughs) I have a theory that most people prefer to complain and do nothing. Electoral politics in my own country tell me this is true, but I think we have a real shot at getting a good group of people who are in the group (Revolting Adults) to join in on the protests, since it was founded for this purpose and they joined in order to get information about protests.
Bixyl Shuftan: How hopeful are you that the protests will cause Linden Labs to change direction?
Xantarius Cain: I'm hopeful that we can get Linden Lab to change direction on *some* of the proposed changes, at least. But a complete reversal? We might be fighting a losing battle...but I like that sort of battle. At the very least, Linden Lab will NOT say that they did not hear from anyone on this. They will NOT say that the majority of Residents wanted it. And they will NOT say that they didn't steamroll over the wishes of the Residents.
I'd also like to note that no Linden Lab employee has been assigned to the JIRA ticket that was opened for this. That has caused many to feel that LL doesn't care what they think. My guess: They probably don't care *enough* to change their minds because they see government and university money in their future.
Bixyl Shuftan: Do you feel if Linden Labs goes through as planned, people who have been here for a while will start to leave?
Xantarius Cain: That's a tough question. I do not think that those who are not affected will leave, no. They might complain. They might be upset. But it will be the principle of it (as it is for me). I do think that people will be much more inclined to leave if a competitor creates a virtual world that is similar to Second Life but more (1) democratic and (2) libertarian. There are others who are leaving now. They won't give Linden Lab their personal information (age-verify). I shouldn't say *now*... what I mean is that they have already said that they will leave.
Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else to add?
Xantarius Cain: I think I've added most of what I would say at that part. I would add this: Like anything else in life, if you are unhappy with something, you stand up against it. Failure to do so will tell those in power that you either (1) support them, or (2) do not care. Either way, they'll move forward and you'll live with their decisions.
And so the interview ended, with Xantarius going back to his business.
Bixyl Shuftan
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