Recently I have had a number of people requesting that I allow child avatars at friends-grid and I want to discuss this openly and honestly.
It is not my place to try and push my morals and values upon others....however, as a grid owner, it is my place to learn the laws of every country involved. In this situation, I need to understand the Child pornography laws of not only where our servers are located, but I also had to research and learn the laws of every country we have residents and guests from. We currently have residents from 30 countries and guests from another 35. People who say "laws dont apply " are incorrect on this subject. You may have servers in one country.....but all the laws of your resident's countries come into play also.
A good thing to remember is that because you have gotten away with something for 10 years does not make it legal. You may never get caught....and then again.....somebody with a grudge may turn you in.
I want to point out a recent post by Jerralyn Franzic . Jerralyn showed the cutest childs outfit ever! ....and she also made the wisest statement ...."I don't understand the hatred towards child avis in Open Sim. Sure, they shouldn't engage in adult activities and maybe not hang in Adult sims but otherwise, what's the problem?" Personally I would love to see kids riding ponies at my farm....and having fun being mermaids. If everyone in child avi were to abide by Jerralyn's statement, there would not be an issue.
However, lets talk about reality. Not all child avis are simply riding ponies and playing in the water. The simple truth is that many (not all) of these child avis are having sex. Some grids use this to boost their traffic. In some countries, including US, the graphic illustration of a child online having sex is 100% illegal. You see, it does not matter if the person behind the computer is 12 or 52......the visual computer generated depiction of a child (child avatar) involved in sex is very illegal in a number of countries. 18 U.S.C. ยง 2252 Many people will say their countries are different....and this is stupid. I did not make laws........but I need to abide by them. Before people jump on this and criticize me ....I would suggest you read the laws of your country....your servers country...and the laws of all your residents or guests. There are many misinformed people on this subject. I am not saying the laws are right or wrong......but learn the laws.....then comment. You need to learn laws for your servers country...and all your guests countries. This post is not about morals......it is about laws....of all the countries involved.
I have spent over 200 hours reading international laws. Some countries allow things that others do not. However, you have to consider all the laws because of guests.
In closing....do I hate kids and kids avis......nooooooo. I would love to be able to allow them to come to friends grid. However, this is a less than perfect world in which we live, and I have to look at the potential liability of allowing those child avis. Because of that, Child avis are not allowed on friends-grid......no exceptions! I am sad....because there are some wonderful people in kids avis that I do not get to have visit.
Friends-grid is an Adult community and we are looking for adults, with adult avi's who want to make this their main opensim home.
| Sodasullivan: I think this is the proper way to address this issue Safine. You are setting the rules YOU are comfortable with on YOUR region. I am fine having my region open to everyone as long as they agree to fol... 8 months ago |