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One Journalist's Second Life
Jerry23 writes "The Second Life Community Convention site is carrying pre-release excerpts from O'Reilly Publishing's 'Only A Game: Online Worlds and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew Too Much' due out in 2006 (direct link to 10-page PDF). From the introduction: 'When virtual journalist Peter Ludlow was banned from the digital world of The Sims Online for being a bit too good at his job, it wasn't the end of the story but the beginning of the headlines that would capture readers around the world. Only A Game follows Ludlow's career as a virtual journalist as he and colleague Mark Wallace take us behind the scenes into not just The Sims Online but a fascinating universe of worlds that are far more colorful-and, at times, more disturbing-than their creators would have you believe.' As online *worlds* grow to earn their name, the last line of the PDF asks the million dollar question: 'How big is your game?'"
He's obviously ill-informed. All he has to do is log into Second Life for 15 minutes and he'll quickly discover that almost everyone is 25+. It's a game for people who don't want a game.. i.e., adults.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Funny thing is... 12 year olds aren't even allowed in Second Life. Heck, there's a whole separated world for 13-17 year olds with the primary world being 18+ ONLY. This is why even the free client still asks you for a credit card; age verification.