Troll of The Year: The Linden Ageplay Allegations Controversy

 

SL news is full of people accomplishing great things and helping others. Unfortunately, one of the biggest news stories this year was caused by a single individual whose accusations led to questions about some of the Lindens and Moles and resulting in policy changes which irritated many.

In late February, a number of residents were taking about an article that accused a number of Lindens and Moles of taking part in ageplay (sexual roleplay between an adult and a minor) with avatars designed to look like young teens. While the writer claimed to be well-known, a search of his name didn't point out other articles. Prokovy Neva, no friend of the Lab, would state that aside from a real-life name or two mentioned, there was no real evidence anything in the write-up was true. As one commenting in the Newser would say, "Anyone can make any claim they want about anything. And in SL, its also easy to create evidence of anything - you take a picture then add awful textures to replace the innocent ones on their wall. Sorry, but in this postPhotoshop world, having a picture is not sufficient to hang someone. Anyone can take any picture in SL and edit it to look like anything else."

 

Eventually, the Lab would take the discussions seriously enough to start investigating, reminding people, "we have a zero-tolerance policy against sexualized ageplay" and they were taking the accusations seriously. On May, Linden Lab announced changes in their child avatar policy, notably that they could no longer be nude and needed a "modesty layer," and could no longer enter any sim rated Adult, even if the location had nothing of a sexual nature. The later led to a number of complaints, particularly because some residential sims were labeled adult out of fear the Lab would boot consenting adults for what happened behind closed doors. The change in policy would affect the Burn2 festival as it had allowed both nudity and child avatars, notably Marianne McCann who helped out at the event. But with the new rule, she could no longer attend. 

Bellissaria chat would be quiet of blue dialogue from the Lindens and Moles for a while, and for a time those named in the article, notably Patch Linden, would keep a low profile for a while. Many cheered when he reappeared, but there were a few going along the lines of "hide the children!" 

Yours truly is not going to mention the man who caused all this by name, or psudonym, but he is our "troll of the year" for 2024. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Linden Lab Reported To Be Investigating Charges Made Against Employees In Article

 

 In at least a few circles of Second Life's residents, there's been some discussion of an article written by a "Robert Bartos" with some serious allegations against a number of Lindens and Moles. Yesterday in New World Notes, Hamlet Au stated that "two highly credible sources" told him that the matter is now being investigated, "both the accusations themselves and whether they have defamatory intent. That's all that can be reported at the moment."

Two readers sent the editor a link to the article. But the more it was read, the more reason there was for skepticism. There wasn't much of any proof to the allegations. The author himself was unknown. 

Activision/Blizzard Sued By California, Charges of Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

 

Activision/Blizzard, the company behind some of the world's most popular games, is the target of a lawsuit filed by California. Filed by the state's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the company is charged with having a "frat boy" culture in which not only are women paid less than men while working similar jobs and promoted less often, but are "subjected to constant sexual harassment."

The allegations are not limited to simple jokes, but include "unwanted sexual advances," being groped at "cube crawls" in which men drink plenty of alcohol then "crawl" their way around cubicles where women work, and more. Activision/Blizzard is described as not investigating the numerous complaints made by women employees, and those who complained were sometimes retaliated against, including being subject to layoffs. The lawsuit also describes, "In a particularly tragic example, a female employee committed suicide during a business trip with a male" who brought sex toys with him.

Activision/Blizzard has denied the allegations, a spokesman issued a statement saying the filing contains "distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard's past." He would go on to say, "Over the past several years and continuing since the initial investigation started, we've made significant changes to address company culture and reflect more diversity within our leadership teams." Blizzard's President sent an email to employees saying he would be meeting with a number of them about the "extremely troubling" charges. Activision's President stated "there is zero tolerance for this sort of behavior." But over twenty Blizzard employees have spoken out against this response, including one lead game designer, "The statements made by [Activision Blizzard] do not represent us. We believe women, and we will continue to strive to do better and hold others accountable. Actions speak louder than words."

Players themselves have responded with actions such as in-game protests in support of the women involved. It is not yet known how many are canceling subscriptions in response to news of the lawsuit.

Sources: PC Gamer, Yahoo News, Aboutlaw.com

Bixyl Shuftan