Do a virtual sex crime in Second Life, do real time
Second Life is becoming a haven for sexual deviants and misfits, with a number of authorities around the world investigating sex crimes committed in the popular online virtual world. If the perpetrators are found, they may find themselves doing real time.
In addition to playing host to legitimate gamers, Second Life has quickly become home to various sexual deviants and sickos. Cyber sex is reportedly one of the most popular activities in Second Life, with the virtual world playing host to numerous sex clubs and bordellos. There’s even a shopping center where you can browse for available escorts.
To give you an idea of the mind set of some Second Life players (I won’t call them citizens), a popular pastime for deviants is to set up naked male avatars, which they rub up against female avatars. The mind boggles.
But some sickos go even further, with reports of child sex, rape, and stalking.
Last month prosecutors in Germany started investigating Second Life players involved in virtual child sex.
German TV news magazine, Report Mainz, uncovered a child sex pornography ring, where users would pay Linden Money, Second Life’s currency, to see pornographic images of children and buy sex with other players posing as children in a virtual sexual practice known as ageplay.
Engaging in this type of activity online is surely going to be indicative of whether someone could act out these sick fantasies in the real world.
Now police in Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands are investigating allegations of online sexual assaults and stalking, and trying to decide whether these activities constitute a real crime.
“There is clearly no consent to harassment or anything of the sort — quite the opposite, it’s off limits,” explained British legal expert Graham Smith to the The Times.
Linden Labs has issued a statement trying to discourage sickos.
The diversity of things to see and do within Second Life is almost unimaginable, but our community has made it clear to us that certain types of content and activity are simply not acceptable in any form.
Real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depiction of sexual or lewd acts involving or appearing to involve children or minors; real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depictions of sexual violence including rape, real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depictions of extreme or graphic violence, and other broadly offensive content are never allowed or tolerated within Second Life.
Of course Linden Labs is relying on its users to notify it of any breeches of its Community Standards policy, and it promises to take swift action against anyone who has been found to be involved in unacceptable activity:
Individuals and groups promoting or providing such content and activities will be swiftly met with a variety of sanctions, including termination of accounts, closure of groups, removal of content, and loss of land.
Gee, that will show those pedophiles and rapists. How about calling the police Linden Labs?
It’s becoming very apparent that Second Life is becoming the place to go to indulge in every type of sexual perversion. It’s time that Linden Labs started becoming more proactive in ensuring that its members don’t step over the boundaries.
Issuing ineffectual statements just doesn’t cut it.
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June 2nd, 2007
So, you’re saying sexual perversion is bad?
June 2nd, 2007
How about for your next article, you call for the arrest of Counterstrike players for terrorism and mass murder?
June 2nd, 2007
Sooo…. you want me to call the police and say what? Someone, somewhere in the world, simulated a crime? And you want them to get right on it?
Yeah, cause they don’t have enough to do what with the real crime, genius.
June 2nd, 2007
This is the most pathetic excuse for “content”
I’ve ever seen. Please take your fear-mongering
and self-righteous attitude off of the internet.
We have far too many idiots like you passing
laws to “protect the world.”
I hate 2nd Life but this piece of shit site is infinitely
more useless, judging by this uncredited propaganda
piece. Might as well match your cowardice with the strength of Anonymous.
June 2nd, 2007
I thought I had seen all the pathetic page-view whoring that the world had to offer, but this ludicrous, uncredited, fear-mongering piece of drivel has to be among the worst. What a total crock — what a transparent bid for increasing a site’s page views. For shame…
June 2nd, 2007
Distribution of child porn is indeed a real-world crime.
Lumping that in with the behaviors you are actually attacking here to bolster your nonsensical argument is disingenuous in the extreme. You are by definition condoning the prosecution of Thoughtcrimes. You directly state that you would like to see the police to haul away people for what they MIGHT be capable of in the real world. This is fascism of the worst kind.
Annoying sickos need their accounts deleted no doubt, but what you suggest is frightening and poorly thought out in the extreme.
June 2nd, 2007
So….you are moving resources from investigating REAL LIFE crimes to bunch a bunch of stupid nerds who beat off in their mom’s basement to this ridiculous stuff.
My solution to the online cry babies:
If there are too many jerks on Second Life, stop playing the game! When enough people leave Linden Labs will get the hint and clean things up…or not. Either way you aren’t there. No one says you have the right to play this retarded game. You do have the right to have you REAL LIFE body not violated.
All of you need to stop wasting so much of your real life sitting on your fat asses in front of the computer.
June 2nd, 2007
Now, I’m cool with people finding REAL child-porn distributors through this stuff. Actually taking advantage of kids that can’t protect themselves is pretty low and I’d like to see the folks that make and distribute the stuff go in the clink.
Trouble here is the ‘ageplay’ description has been applied to way too many things. Ageplay, as it’s defined by people who are relatively mentally stable, involves one adult roleplaying as a child. This happens a lot in real life and it’s completely harmless. It’s -weird- with a childlike avatar on SL, but still pretty harmless. Only dig for the real thing, folks. Realize perversion’s not crime until it hurts someone, and all’s well.
June 2nd, 2007
What wacko decided that e-crimes such as the rape of imaginary characters warrants attention by real-world police?
Anyone who enters Second Life (due to a lack of a Real Life, no doubt) immediately knows that it’s a safari of deviants. If they don’t want to get molested by virtual perverts, they can bug Second Life’s admins to do something about it or they can unsubscribe. Better yet, they can buy a weapon using e-dollars (or whatever they’re called) and virtually castrate the imaginary rapists. (But oh, they might get arrested for imaginary murder of a fictitious character, so scratch that idea).
June 2nd, 2007
“People who do insufficient research and write irresponsibly” would be a better headline.
June 2nd, 2007
So this Second Life thing is really captivating for tedious, introverted dickheads who find WoW too competitive or something–not to mention the real horrors to be found in the actual physical world. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s become a home for deviants since participating itself is an indication of maladjustment.
Tell you what: Send the virtual police to enforce the virtual laws of this virtual place. Have a virtual judge sentence the condemned after he’s found guilty by a virtual jury of his virtual online peers. He can then serve a virtual sentence in a virtual prison for a virtual life or or so. While in “prison” he can toss some virtual salad and learn to shoot virtual heroin. I’m sure the ordinarily sexless nerds are popping their corks over this. Oh, the possibilities. Just don’t bother coming out from under your rocks, you semi-autistic wastes of life. . . . first life, that is.
June 2nd, 2007
Linden LAB. Do your resear… oh wait. This is a blog. Never mind, I am off to read the news.
June 2nd, 2007
I dont mind poor writing when it at least makes a cogent point.
You don’t even pull that off.
I’ll never visit this blog again. Don’t quit your day job.
June 3rd, 2007
And advertised on the same page we have:
Wanna Date Cute Girls?
First Learn How To Make Money And Girl Will Find You After That
forexinsiders.blogspot.com
Sexy Girls At The Beach
Find out 8 tips to win sexy girls. Enjoy sexy girls now at the beach
m24m.com
Kinda makes you wonder…
June 3rd, 2007
adding my name to the list:
second life sucks, but this site sucks more
June 3rd, 2007
Indicative of what they would do in real life?
That’s a pretty strong accusation to pull directly out of your ass. If you ever meet a girl who likes to act out rape scenarios, I don’t suggest you test this theory of yours.
June 3rd, 2007
I cannot believe the responses to the article about the child avatar. What we think is what we truely are. Pretending here affects attitudes, in ourselves and in those we engage. If you, or someone you cared about, were ever messed with as a child, you would not think it was so horrible to deal with perverts who do these things. What Linden suggests does not even come close to the kind of justice that a victim would choose to deal out.
When you teach, the first thing you must deal with is attitude. Until you have developed a proper attitude about a subject you will not be able to teach it. If the attitude here is so tolerant of such activity, as seen in these replies) it is scary. In every way possible, the message needs to be proclaimed in every social venue: society does NOT allow these things and considers those who do them to be deranged. I reinterate, attitude is the first step.
June 3rd, 2007
Ok first of all..Second Life is a fantasy world. It is a place to act our people’s fantasy that they can’t do in real life. Many people have different fantasies. I don’t think that the majority of people should be called a sicko or perverted because they have fantasies. Yes, there are those that are indeed need of professional help. In fact, i would go as far as to say that everyone has some sort of fantasy that others may find to be sick or perverted. BUT, most people have the common sense and intelligence to decifer between what would and what is not legal.
Secondly, who is to say that something is obscene or offensive? We all have our beliefs and morals. What one person may find to be normal is offensive to others. There was someone at my work that got offended because of a sign up at my work that read “Your mother doesn’t work here! Clean up after yourself” I didn’t find that offensive..but that peron did. My thinking to this is, if you don’t like it…then don’t visit! No one is holding a gun to your head to visit Second Life.
June 3rd, 2007
You Fail, James. Your position would make the writer of the book “Lolita” a pedophile who should be in jail, rather then a brilliant novel by a critically acclaimed author.
If you can bait a second life, No, ANY internet pervert into meeting you in real life for the reason of having sex with a 14 year old. I am more then happy to let the police arrest them. If you can get an internet pervert to give you photographs of children being sexually abused, by all means, go ahead and report them to the police. These sorts of actions have a definable negative effect on society. There is incontrovertable, physical proof that those people are going to harm children if given the chance.
Catching perverts is fine, but you go farther. You advocate finding every person on the net who has an intrest you find deviant, and label them criminal because of it.
I’ve got a friend who’s a pervert. Shes of legal age, and has a fantasy about being raped. According to you, Were she to act out this fantasy in second life (or in real life) with another consenting adult, she is being sexually assaulted, and her boyfriend is a rapist. In this situation, rape is not whats going on. People are playing make believe, as people are generally encouraged to do in virtual worlds. Should my friend and her boyfriend be arrested for this? Of course not. They are both adults committing a consentual act.
If you don’t like what people are doing in their bedrooms, perhaps you should stop peering in their bedroom windows, you voyeuristic pervert.
June 3rd, 2007
I’d much rather see the sicko pervs doing unspeakable things to each other (including images of children) in a digital reality (remember, it’s just bits!) than hurting kids or whatever in the real world where real people and kids would get hurt.
Censoring 2nd Life is as silly (and likely counterproductive) as censoring video games. movies, music, or literature.
June 3rd, 2007
I’d much rather see the sicko perverts doing unspeakable things to each other (including images of children) in a digital reality (remember, it’s just bits!) than hurting kids or whatever in the real world where real people and kids would get hurt.
Censoring 2nd Life is as silly (and likely counterproductive) as censoring video games. movies, music, or literature.
June 3rd, 2007
Yeah, i agree with most people on here…
2nd life is dumb, and people that are being perverts on an online game is creepy, but this whole article just makes you sound retarded. I’m sure after writing it you glanced it over and felt very satisfied with yourself, but cmon…
maybe your momma told you that jesus can read your mind and that makes you feel guilty and find yourself better than everyone else, but lets open the doors of self-observation and admit something together here. you suck as a journalist.
June 3rd, 2007
leave 2nd life people alone. what harm are they doing?
June 3rd, 2007
Engaging in this type of activity online is surely going to be indicative of whether someone could act out these sick fantasies in the real world.
‘Surely’…surely?
Super-awesome journalism here, backed up by fact, well researched and attributed. I’ll make it a point to never read your poorly written, misspelt and assumptive articles. Again.
FPS gamers all want to shoot people every day.
RTS gamers obviously act out world domination every day…are you thinking what I’m thinking Pinky?
The mountains of literature on asstr.org is obviously confessional material about what they want to do…not fantasy. Surely not.
Dude. Dont ever go to a medieval fair. Those people act out COMBAT! WITH SWORDS! What a sick fantasy to have, cutting people in half.
YOU pretend ONLINE to be a journalist. Now thats sick.
June 3rd, 2007
You have to be careful and watch what your kids are doing online. The cant play outside now the cant hardly play inside etheir
June 3rd, 2007
You have to be careful and watch what your kids are doing online. The cant play outside now the cant hardly play inside ether
June 3rd, 2007
You’re a moron. You lose at the internets. Turn yourself in now for self rape, as your comments are nothing but self masturbatory fascism.
June 4th, 2007
wow i feel dumber for reading this tripe, oh and please let me know when you’ve decided what the state religion and required ideology will be
June 4th, 2007
ahahah rofl author got pwned!!!1!!1
June 7th, 2007
Hmmm, you rub up against me, you’ll discover I carry
Magnums! I am powerful, inquisitive, ready to meet danger. I hunt lowlife humans in SL. Don’t spoil the world of retired detectives.
But, in real life, I’m a sleepy old dwarf, futcing with old iron, teaching others how to make the most of what they have. A survivalist.
Hey, we’re compiling lists here. Don’t interfere.
July 12th, 2007
Hey, you might want to also check out Red Light Center, where sex is the primary goal!
There’s a product review over at…
http://thevirtualsexreview.com/review-red-light-center
July 23rd, 2007
Did anybody else notice that parts of this article are just cut&paste from others 0.0 [the beastiality article]
SL gets a massive freak immigration boom every time its in a buisness mag, those office idiots and get-rich-quick buttholes saw anshee talking about money and they all come in trying to get virtually laid.
Point is, they are online, its a damn game
its a game
its a game
its a game
even if you make enough money in it to “put food on your family” its still………………
A GAME
August 10th, 2007
Hmm, I was going to flame you, but what’s the point? Everyone else pretty much covered everything worth saying, and you’re obviously a fanatical nutcase with no interest in hearing contrary opinions anyhow. There’s absolutely no reason this article should be taken seriously.
October 20th, 2007
there was a time when i bought into the dribble you spot but i have found that everyone has some dark thoughts or fantasy the trick is keeping them as just that i have never played this second life nor do i intend to but i have come to terms with desires that would lead most to consider me a pervert but i will never act on any of these desires not only for fear of jail but more impotantly to me crossing a line of morility that would destroy me by the way you seem pretty self rightous so you probably know the bible pretty well it is filled with stories of devient behavouir such as incest abraham married his sister lots daugters had sex with him after the destruction of sodem one of davids son raped his sister and of course there is other devient behiever solamon was married to hundreds of women many were underaged in when david was about to die his men wanted to bring him a young virgin to cheer him up and it is pretty clear he practiced this behavoir so if you get to heaven chastice these and other pervs that the bible describes as great men of god
March 17th, 2008
Wow, you’ve turned me away from this blog in one amazingly ignorant move :D Cheers to you sir, for being narrow-minded enough to write this. You are hereby forbidden to procreate by the general concensus on suspicion of severely retarded “content…” X-D
April 7th, 2008
soooo Stupid….
July 3rd, 2008
Wow, its good to see so many sensible people who can tell real life from nerd fantasy. Although has anyone noticed that the comments go on for about 5 times longer than the article itself. Mind you, there’s a LOT to say….
December 22nd, 2008
make money for young virgin
December 22nd, 2008
play game
July 23rd, 2009
We all know the people that play this game are lacking something in their real lives… so if they feel the need to create a cartoon and have sex with pervs from all over the world let um.
I have the unfortunate pleasure to know a woman that plays. Her cartoon is a beautiful read head named Lacey, in r/l she is 4′11″ 200 pounds, frizzy hair, freckles, wrinkles and cant get a man….. need i say more.