I'm one of those dangerously liberal European types. I don't have any issues with protecting under-18's (in fact our laws about protecting under-18's in education are stricter than the USA's and I whole-heartedly support them) but, once they reach adulthood, there's a limit to how much you can reasonably protect them. If they can marry, should we really stop them seeing naked bodies if they really want to? I'm not thinking in class here, but at home or online or wherever. Other teachers disagree with me on that - said I was a dangerously libeal European, didn't I?
What has raised the teachers' ire on the SLED list is a facile article commenting that SL is simply and solely a means for exposing teens to "seedy side of life" with no redeeming features. There's no mention of a separate teen grid. There's no mention of the use of private islands and keeping users, adult or teen, protected that way. There's absolutely no comparison to content on the internet. There is an implication that this is all deliberate and the "dirty bits" are hidden to lure the kiddies in and trap them.
I'm not saying SL is perfect, although if you don't go looking for it you don't always bump into porn: I've been into a random mix of about 15 sims today and not seen so much as a naked avatar in 6+ hours. I was searching for images of mud through google - you can probably guess what half the pictures thrown my way with safesearch off were like.
What really rankles, at least for me - school governors and the like will read the 60 seconds article and assume they know it all. Explaining that the guy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about when it all looks so neat and plausible is so much unnecessary hard work. SL offers a huge range of possibilities. Perhaps the journalists and those they're trying to stir with paranoia just can't ever admit that exposure to seedy things in life is part of growing up. Saving it until they can do it all, and more, in real life is irresponsible - run that one by me again?!
1. I tried to contact the author and editor at the article you wrote about, but the "Contact Us" page seems to be broken.
I'll post it here, in case he reads these comments. Anyone else who would like a tour of Second Life from me is welcome to contact me as well.
From Article: Second Life
(http://www.60-seconds.com/191_secondlife.html)
Fred Showker,
Thank you for your article on Second Life. I'm an avid fan of Second Life and various forms of publishing (both from a hobby point of view).
If you haven't already, I invite you to try Second Life for yourself, as your article seems to be devoid of direct experience in Second Life. While I agree with a few things in your article, I think you might find Second Life even more interesting if you were given a personalized tour.
You can sign up for Second Life at: http://secondlife.com. May I suggest that if Second Life seems daunting you may like to someone else present while you are learning how to use it. For me this sort of discovery-sharing is not only pleasurable, but having two points of view when learning is often helpful.
Once you are "in world" make sure to do the walk though on the first island you are placed on: Orientation Island. When you are ready to explore, do a Search (from Second Life's bottom tool bar), and using the people's tab, search for me, type in: Gando Thurston. You can then contact me with the "Instant Message" or IM button in my profile. When you contact me, remind me of who you are and tell me you would like a free tour. Be aware that I might not be "in world" at that time, but I will get your message the next time I'm in Second Life.
I'll answer any questions you might have about Second Life and I will take you around to some of my favorite places while showing you how to use various tools in Second Life. Later I will help you to find any sort of place you would like to see first hand.
I'm not affiliated with Second Life's creators at Linden Labs; I do own property in Second Life and explore all aspects of Second Life regularly.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me in Second Life via IM (Instant Message).
Posted at 6:26PM on Apr 2nd 2007 by gando