Strong Content Warning: This article discusses child abuse and contains blurred explicit images.

Second Life users are in a frenzy over this article, published on Sunday, which details how a key member of parent company Linden Lab was participating in virtual sex content containing child avatars. Patch Linden, AKA Eric Nix, his husband, and several other high level members of Linden Lab staff are accused of enabling child abuse content to flourish in their privately owned virtual residences, ignoring explicit content involving virtual children, and creating a deeply toxic working environment at the company.

  • KeriKitty (They(/It))@pawb.social
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    8 months ago

    Okay, this article thing is like three million pages long; is there actually any child abuse content being thrown at people? Is there any way to see this stuff without being into it? I don’t understand how this is suddenly a problem now if it’s like, you’re walking around your virtual neighbourhood and BAM, CSAM in your face! Kinda seems like somebody would’ve noticed before now so I’m wondering if there’s some clarification I missed by not reading past the first couple of pages.

    • jarfil@beehaw.org
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      8 months ago

      Heh, I’ve read it all… I used to go onto SL like 15 years ago 😬

      is there actually any child abuse content being thrown at people?

      Unclear. The proof they give are drawings, and the possibility of adding IRL photos as avatar textures.

      Is there any way to see this stuff without being into it?

      Apparently yes. It claims the areas are not age restricted, and while some content might appear only when a whitelisted user is present, the content, and any avatar interactions, would be visible to anyone in the same place at the same time.

      • KeriKitty (They(/It))@pawb.social
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        8 months ago

        I’ve read it all

        Hero! <3 Thanks for digesting this for me/us :3 Also your avatar is friggin’ adorable ^.^

        I don’t really have anything to add, though. Better access controls seems sensible; grooming and trafficking are claims easily and often made (maybe they shouldn’t be, hm!) and hopefully are just BS.

        Edited to fix my ^.^-face :3