What do Second Life's new content ratings actually mean?

That's the question we've been getting asked since the announcement of the new definitions of PG, Mature, and Adults-Only content for Linden Lab's Second Life. We've been working on that question ever since. Interestingly, the new published definitions allow some content that was previously expressly forbidden.

According to Linden Lab, "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."

Well, until now.

The new definitions now allow "Representations of intensely violent acts, whether or not photo-realistic (for example, depicting death, torture, dismemberment or other severe bodily harm)" in Adults-Only rated areas, whereas previously they were expressly forbidden in Second Life at all.

Adults-Only regions also permit "photo-realistic nudity". We must assume that that means imported photos or video streams, as no Second Life avatar or skin would meet the basic definition of photo-realistic.

Lastly, Adults-Only regions permit "Expressly sexually themed content, spaces or activities (whether or not photo-realistic)". That seems straightforward enough, though a bit fuzzy.

Obviously, having been relegated to Adults-Only areas, none of the above will be permitted in Mature or PG regions.

That leaves only the question of what is permissible or impermissible in either PG or Mature regions. That's the big question we're being asked.

We're sorry to say that we can't figure it out. Granted, it's supposed to be a working draft, but even so it is particularly hazy.

Prior to this, we had three essential definitions of PG and Mature content ratings: Documents published by the Lab, public policy statements by Linden Lab staff members on the blog and in-world, and actual enforcement actions by the Linden Lab governance team. While these three sets were similar enough to have some considerable overlap, they remained inherently contradictory and confusing enough to cause confusion and occasional distress.

It's hard to find any two Second Life users who agree on the definitions of PG and Mature in Second Life, and even then, we wouldn't expect that to match whatever definitions and criteria that Linden Lab uses for enforcement.

We're even less certain about the division between PG and Mature now. Linden Lab has previously indicated that it does not wish to make any clear delineation available, which is somewhat understandable. Given a hard line, some few people will step right up to it and be as disruptive and offensive as is practicably possible, without actually crossing that line. Unfortunately, blurry definitions only seem to perform a disservice to the majority who do not engage in such behaviors.

All we can do in response to your queries at the present time is make an educated sort of guess as to what is intended, based on what has been written.

We've already covered Adults-Only. PG, we believe means, essentially "All-ages", "Safe For Work", or is roughly equivalent to the MPAA "G-Rating" or an ESRB "E For Everyone" rating.

Linden Lab says: A Region may be designated PG so long as it does not advertise or make available any content that is suggestive of any (even mildly) sexual or violent themes, or references to social drug or alcohol usage.

The MPAA says: A G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture. ... Some snippets of language may go beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions. No stronger words are present in G-rated motion pictures. Depictions of violence are minimal. No nudity, sex scenes or drug use are present in the motion picture.

The MPAA's G-rating seems the best fit, and uses very similar language to Linden Lab's PG description.

As for Mature? By a process of elimination, it must represent anything stronger than Linden Lab's PG but milder than Linden Lab's Adults-Only.

Taking the Lab at face-value, a lot of users were asking for Adults-Only content-ratings. We rather think that even more users are asking to have the guesswork and risk taken out of the ratings system.

	Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.