Linden Lab's Daniel Linden has posted an expansion on the age verification system. It's still short on a lot of the details people are asking for, though. Daniel provides the basic premise, "Credit cards do not provide an adequate means of age and identity verification, making real and robust age and identity verification vital."Vital it may be, but is it even possible under the circumstances? That's less certain. There's no way to tell if the information used for verification actually belongs to the person being verified, is there? I could obtain the details of a non-SLing friend or relative, for example. There's no way for Linden Lab's verification provider (announced to be Integrity Services) to demonstrate that I am or am not the person described by the provided details - the best you can say is that I had access to them somehow.
It is stated explicitly that Linden Lab does not store the information used for verification. It's implied that they do not even receive it, but that their verification provider uses and destroys the information that is used for verification. As far as we know from what has been said, the only information that Linden Lab receives is your age, your city/country and that you are (or are not) 18 or older.
Linden Lab is working on a system whereby someone can query your age or city/country information, with your consent only. That is, you would presumably get a popup asking for your authorization. Considering the number of times I get asked "ASL?" (it took me years to figure out what that meant) I can reasonably expect my sessions to be littered with these requests if that is the case.
This 'vital' verification process apparently takes under two minutes and "Age and identity verification will replace 'Payment Information' in-world." - You may begin howling now.
Gone then are my dreams of telling people that I'm a 55 year old hermaphrodite truck driver with a body-hair problem.
Your age-verified status does not limit your access to PG or M sims, but only from mainland parcels or private sims that the owner has flagged as Adult Content. (Of course there's nothing to stop you looking, we presume, you just can't cross the chalk line)
As for what constitutes adult content, we're given the same unhelpful definition: "'Adult Content' is that which is overtly, graphically, or explicitly sexual in nature or intensely violent."
I can't define it, but I know it when I see it? Considering how global Second Life users are, the above is not a useful guideline.
1. Another Town Hall next week? With who this time? Oh no!
The name of the service provider was announced only after 2 blog posts and after being requested by commenters several times. LL has demonstrated not to be familiar with what a press-release is.
Daniel is aware this is a minefield and very hot topic with Intl. residents and still comments on the official blog time out at 100. The second post about Age Verification filled up in minutes. LL believes this will pass. I found out I disagree. What LL is asking for is going to force a lot of ppl to abandon the game. On this topic some are going to leave. They are just getting used to the thought as I can witness. Residents enjoy anonimity, if you have to win them to full disclosure you have to have a strategy. LL has a few individuals pushing for a move and no 6-Millions-strategy, as usual.
... what is adult content? Is a skin adult content? Only in Texas? Can we dance with furries or is that prospectively a "bestiality" act? Will borderline products sell on 2 sepate channels or are skipped altogether? Will a new underground economy sprout out of this? Lots of juice.
There is not a law in the USA that explicitily enforces protecting minors from mature content in online services. An attempt at screening the SL population, behaviors and habits? Perhaps.
Find a good bunker the day this database is being sold to public or starts leaking to the press, especially if you work in the USA.
Posted at 9:56PM on May 7th 2007 by starcomber Vig