The Chilbo Road Press

In the last few months, there has been much gnashing of teeth and angst displayed about the merge of the Teen Grid and the Main (Adult) Grid in Second Life.  Conversations in forums, on blogs, in group chats in-world and elsewhere have shown that a substantial (or at least very vocal) percentage of Main Grid residents have deep concerns about their ability to continue living their Second Lives without fear of reprisal or lawsuits if minors are permitted on the grid.

I say this is balderdash, making mountains out of molehills, and a very sad commentary on the democratic and civic nature of Main Grid residents who, I’m sure, were once teens themselves.

First, the teens have plenty of restrictions on where they can and can’t go, as Katharine Berry has tweeted; when you look at the map of which sims are accessible to teens, it’s clear that much of the world is off limits right off the bat.

SL World Map minus Mature and Adult sims.  Click image for larger view.

Second, there is no doubt that teens have always been on the Main Grid even if they were there in violation of the Terms of Service, and that has not posed significant issues up to this point even though those teens were indeed able to access Mature regions.  The teens who are coming over now are the ones who follow the rules and abide by the Terms of Service – the ones least likely to be finding ways to circumvent the rules and get into places they shouldn’t be.  The teens transferring now are experienced residents, content creators, and land owners, they have inventories and reputations at stake, just as much as we do on the Main Grid.

Finally, it is not only teens who find some of what goes on in Second Life offensive or inappropriate for public consumption, many adults have no desire to wander in on someone else’s adult activities either!  Adult regions are so designated to give everyone the ability to choose what kind of virtual experience they have – if you are violating the Terms of Service by not keeping your adult activities on Adult sims, you don’t just have the teens to worry about – you have me to worry about too!  Prudes of the world unite!  Ok, just kidding about that part.  But seriously, keeping adult activities in the proper place is the right thing to do for everyone – whether the teens are coming on board or not.

But beyond all those arguments, I guess what I find most disturbing about the noise and angst about teens joining the Main Grid is what it says about the kind of world those residents seem to want – a segregated world where your real world birth date is the single most important deciding factor about whether or not you can access the rich diversity of experiences and people that exist on the Main Grid, whether or not the huge marketplace of content and ideas is accessible to you, and whether or not you’re deemed “worthy” of being in mixed-age company.

That’s not the kind of virtual world that I want, and those residents definitely do not speak for me.

That being said, I work in education, so I am quite sensitive to these kinds of issues.   I fully understand that there is a certain amount of ill-informed hysteria that surrounds the issue of children’s online access.  But there are very real dangers that can’t be ignored, too – from predators who intentionally prey on the young and inexperienced, to accidental exposure of material that is more mature than a young person can handle.  Those issues are real and society has a legitimate reason to be concerned and to take steps to protect the young from that which they are unable to protect themselves.  Linden Lab also has a responsibility in this regard, and in my judgement, their policies are addressing the fine line between your (adult) freedom of expression, my (adult) freedom to avoid your expression, and their (teens) freedom to be a part of the metaverse.

And that, I guess, brings me to the crux of my point.  In the “real world” our various societies and cultures have made a complete hash of dealing with these issues – in the US at least, schools can’t use legitimately educational online services out of fear they might let kids stumble on something they shouldn’t, teachers get fired for posting pictures that adults in other professions wouldn’t think twice about, and in reality most kids have the ability to access any kind of material they want – without adult supervision at all!   The various laws, school codes, filtering policies, and every other attempt society has made to protect children are in reality often completely ineffective.  Nothing replaces parental oversight, involvement, and active engagement to monitor and facilitate a child’s safe interaction with the net.

That’s true of the web, and it’s also true of Second Life.

Hillary Clinton famously said it takes a village to raise a child, and I sincerely believe it is the responsibility of every adult Second Life resident to help us forge a metaverse that works for everyone – adults and children.  Those of us pioneering these new digital worlds have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and not repeat them – to do better in the worlds we create than has been done in the real world we inherited.   That’s part of the magic that brought us to Second Life, why should that opportunity not be afforded to those born before a certain date?

We have an opportunity to do better, and I hope we will.

- Fleep Tuque, Founder & Executive Director of the Chilbo Community

. . .

The Chilbo Community welcomes residents from the Teen Grid with open arms.  We are excited to see the new content, energy, and excitement they will bring to the grid and we hope they find many resources available in Chilbo to help with their transition.  Please visit and if you’re looking for a place to settle, we have plenty of starter homes and land available to teens, opportunities to contribute your talents,  and many community resources we invite you to enjoy.

Suggestions for Teens to Visit in Chilbo

The Chilbo Town Hall

If you’re looking for a welcoming community to join, Chilbo caters to residents of Second Life who are civic minded and interested in pursuing activities that enhance the public good.  We welcome activists, artists, creatives, and engaged netizens who are passionate about the metaverse.  The Chilbo Town Hall has information about how to join our community and our next Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 12th at 11AM SLT.  Please join us!  Location:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/99/202/120

Main Street shopping in Chilbo

If you’re looking to open a shop (or to do some shopping!), Chilbo has several commercial properties available in prime locations on Route 10, the Main Street in the heart of the community, as well as other shops and kiosks throughout our town.  For more information, contact Chilbo’s Commercial Director Chibi Lexenstar for assistance or visit the Chilbo Rental and Real Estate Office to see all of the options available – teen shopkeepers are more than welcome!  Location:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/217/245/115

Land available for tier donation or possible purchase in Chilbo

If you’re looking for land, the Chilbo community has several large and small parcels available in prime locations.  Generally we prefer the tier donation model to support community infrastructure, but we also have parcels that are available for purchase to teens.  All land in the Chilbo Community is subject to our Community Standards, for both tier donors and purchasers.  For more information about donating tier or purchasing land, please contact Mayor Kristine Kristan or Residential Director Maddog Eastering for assistance.
Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kuwol/32/176/101

“The Haus” Coffee Shop & Mad Wax Records

If you’re a musician looking for a place to perform or network, be sure to visit Chilbo’s Music District, including Mad Wax Records, a resource and group for live musicians, and Germelshausen Coffee Shop & Bakery (affectionately known as The Haus) where live performances are scheduled every week.  Talk with Kristine Kristan for more info about resources for musicians at Mad Wax, or MS Hawker to get on the schedule to perform at The Haus!  They’re also planning a street party festival to welcome Teens soon, stay tuned for details!
Location:   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/32/218/96

Chilbo Museum Center

If you’re an artist looking for studio or gallery space, visit the Chilbo Museum Center or speak with Chilbo’s Art Director and Museum Curator Corcosman Voom to find out more information on displaying your artworks!  Chilbo also has many fine galleries and studio spaces where we’ve hosted the works of some of Second Life’s most famous artists including Douglas Story, Desdemona Enfield, Misprint Thursday, and many more.  We’d love to host your art too!  Location:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/130/31/97

Insight Virtual College in Chilbo

If you’re looking for educational opportunities or interested in teaching, Chilbo offers a number of resources including Insight Virtual College, the Chilbo Public Library, and the Educators Village. Contact Dean Stargazer Blazer for more info about classes and teaching opportunities at IVC, or visit the Educators Village and Chilbo Public Library to network with professors, teachers, administrators and those who work in public education.  Are you getting ready for college and need advice?  Fleep Tuque can help you find information about colleges and universities who offer distance learning and traditional programs in Second Life, too!
Location – IVC:   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kuwol/104/49/89 Location – Chilbo Public Library:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/71/26/101 Location – Educator’s Village:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/29/95/67

ChilBowl Bowling Alley

Looking for places to just have fun?? Chilbo offers tons of places to just hang out and have a great time with friends!  You’d be amazed at how fun bowling can be!  ChilBowl offers awesome bowling lanes, an indie music stream with occasional live performances, and fun playable arcade games too!
Location:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/225/101/100

Church of SecondLientology

Right down the street is the Church of SecondLientology, an irreverent homage to one of Second Life’s most famous Twitter pranksters, @SecondLie – who always tells the unvarnished truth about.. well, nothing, but everything Second Life related!  Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/205/42/94

There are more places than we have room for pictures even – can you find them all?  The Brouwerbunker Untergrundkino secret underground movie theatre and Belly Dancing stage, the Chilbo Community Home, our community hostel for the homeless, the Sandbox for building, Shrubbery Amphitheatre for presentations, and the towering Oracle Tree that holds the secret of Chilbo’s beginnings…

We wish every success to the Teens coming to the Main Grid and we look forward to meeting you in Chilbo!

Misprint Thursday’s exhibit at SL7B

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed.   For one reason or another, things on the grid weren’t working quite right and I’ve got tight deadlines for several projects  and I found myself in a generally cranky mood.  Then various  groups started buzzing with talk about an SL7B exhibitor who had put up naked Barbie dolls and had the exhibit rejected -  the hew and cry of CENSORSHIP flooded my chat windows.

“Sheesh,” I grumped aloud, “This happens every single year, you’d think by now the people building at SLBs would learn to read the darned rules and follow them.  No nudity.  It’s not complicated.”

That comment received furious replies and though no one pelted me with virtual tomatoes, the tenor of the conversation was pretty much equivalent.  And before long it turned into the usual timeworn “Linden Lab sucks!” and “They’re killing Second Life!” and woe the sky is falling, and here I am furiously working on a project that in part my real life job and career depends on.  “What’s really killing Second Life is all the darned negativity,” I think to myself, “And everyone picking fights over things that we should have stopped fighting over a long time ago.”

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, someone posted a link to the comments (and just the comments) on Joonie’s blog about the exhibit controversy, and I popped off with an irritable comment of my own:

(Oh darn, I deleted it and didn’t save a copy.  Basically it said “If you break the rules, what do you expect?  No nudity.  It’s not complicated.”)

I tweeted something similar, and then I got back to work and went on about my day.

. . .

First lesson:  Never post a comment on a blog without reading the blog post first, AKA, don’t jump into a controversy without bothering to learn the facts.

Hello, you’d think I would know how to play in the internet sandbox by now, but just goes to show that even seasoned veterans do really stupid things sometimes.  Why I posted a reply to a list of comments without bothering to read the blog post itself is beyond me.  (I’ve never liked that Blogger separates the comments from the post, actually, now I know why.)

I’m sure I’m not the only one to make this mistake, and I think it is something that we all are guilty of from time to time, and certainly when it comes to Second Life, I’ve seen numerous cases where Residents or Linden Lab or both jump in with both feet before they know the full story.   It would behoove us all to take a step back and make sure we’re looking at the whole picture before forming an opinion.

Blogger separates comments from the blog post they’re attached to, which doesn’t facilitate Lesson 1.

Second Lesson:  Whether guidelines are reasonable or not becomes completely irrelevant if the way they are enforced is “hamfisted” at best, or horribly disrespectful at worst.

Upon learning the actual facts of the situation, it became apparent that regardless of whether Misprint Thursday’s exhibit violated the “No nudity” guidelines, how the situation was handled by one of the volunteer staff members was simply beyond the pale.   Misprint is a long term, well respected artist.  Accusing her of furthering pedophilia is so absurd that it is beyond absurd – it’s insulting, it’s ridiculous, and it would almost be laughable if it hadn’t actually happened.  But it did.

Further, they didn’t just remove the image that was judged to violate the policy (which is being hotly debated across the grid), they also ejected and banned her from her own exhibit and apparently from all of the the SL7B sims.  This is again disturbing on so many levels – the punishment doesn’t at all fit the “crime” and it seems very wrong to continue to display someone’s work but refuse them access to it.

Misprint Thursday’s edited exhibit sits atop a chain of ladders
thanking other SL artists who have inspired her..
~
Perhaps all the more ironic for being in the “SL7B Absurdity” sim.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Absurdity/29/15/29

As I said in a fascinating discussion this evening hosted by Manx Wharton at his exhibit The Pros & Cons of Population Control, I am sympathetic to Linden Lab’s need to have guidelines for the event.  It makes sense to me that they want the birthday celebration to be a welcoming experience for everyone and they made the guidelines for participation pretty clear before everyone began building their exhibits.

The analogy I used was this:  If I invite you over to my birthday party and invite you to come make posters, but I say no nudity, and you show up wearing a naked Barbie doll costume, or draw naked Barbie dolls on your poster, I think it’s well within my rights to say that doesn’t make me comfortable and ask you to get dressed or take down your poster.

But though it may be within my “rights”, it would be awfully rude and more than a bit bizarre to accuse you of being a pedophile and forcefully kicking you off my property, getting a restraining order, and leaving up the rest of your poster minus the Barbie.    I mean.. wha?

I think Manx was being kind when he said their response was at best “hamfisted”.  That is simply no way to treat a wonderful member of our community regardless of whether or not she broke the rules.

Third Lesson:  When you’ve made a mistake, apologize.  Sincerely.

When I popped off and posted that comment this morning, I had no idea what had actually happened.  My commentary and irritation was largely fueled by frustration with the rampant negativity about Second Life that has followed the sad news about Linden Lab’s layoffs.

The Doom & Gloom naysayers are having a field day and while I share in the concerns about the direction Linden Lab is taking, and I too worry about the future of our world, and I too mourned the loss of good friends and colleagues from the Lab, I refuse to believe that this spells The End for Second Life or the vision of the metaverse that inspired us all to begin this journey in the first place.

Now is a crucial time in this story, it is more important than ever for us to be engaging with Linden Lab and their efforts to steer us all on a good course.   It is more important than ever for us to be coming together, virtually and in person (at SLCC!), to talk about what’s next for our future, for our projects, for our world(s), and for the metaverse itself  in the next decade.   It would be a shame to let bumps in the road or silly spats detract from the Bigger Picture that needs our attention.

Looking out over the exhibits of Second Life’s 7th Birthday..

Nevertheless, in order to have any good dialogue, both parties must be coming from a place of respect, and the way Misprint was treated was extremely disrespectful.  It is exactly this sort of thing writ large in the history of Second Life that has garnered Linden Lab’s reputation for being a walking PR disaster with its own passionate userbase – people who love Second Life just as much as any Linden Lab staffer.

When you make a mistake, you say you’re sorry, and you don’t do it again.  Linden Lab desperately needs to learn that lesson. Especially the “don’t do it again” part.

And perhaps so do the Residents of Second Life.

To Misprint:  I apologize.  Sincerely.   And I won’t do it again.

~ Fleep