I was intrigued when I met two children avatars while working on the SL5B exhibit stories and spent some time talking with them.I decided to look into the children of sl. Why I wondered ?
I am talking about adults who are living as children in second life, some as role players, I was told they have decided to explore their inner child and live a children in sl.
So I asked my friend Myrtil Igaly to take me touring kid friendly sl.
There are several sims that are really kid friendly and are set up with fun games and places to go explore.
Our first visit took us to Nemo Beach on Goony Island where I met some other children having kid fun. One of my first new acquaintances was wearing a sign that said “ Alms for Orphan “ but Myrtil informed me he had a father in sl.
We took a walk around , meeting a mudzombie on the way who was quickly dispatched by Ricky Geesink, the non-orphan.
They led me to a raft on which we joined about 5 other kids for a ride across the lake.
On the other side we visited a the Vortex, a dj club that accepts kid, adults, furries or who ever wants to come to a party.
We then sto
pped at another sim, Rascal , where I got to see Myrtil’s store with all kinds of kid’s stuff to buy.Fergotten Dabu tried so to impress me by giving me fun items to use but I already had them, so he cried!
Our next visit was to a “teen “ sim, Undercity, New Babbage . It looked like a dismal inner city . I learned from Rai Fargis that it is part sci fiction and will become a role play place soon.
“It was a thriving city once, but people built an Artificial Intelligence for security which became too powerful and killed all adults so its only kids and teens here.”
There is a skate park , hidden places to play and lots of visitors.
I visited a children’s mall which had everything a child would need or want for sale. If you would like to adopt a child in sl it is possible too an Adoption Agency, of which there are several.
I was surprised to find that there are so many children friendly places to go and play.
From reading the SLC Blog I learned that they are really into policing themselves as children to be safe from predators and reporting such activity to avoid abuse.
The reason I decided to do this article was the strange policy activity toward children’s builds at the time of the SL5B which changed several times during the preparation and provoked many protests.
I visited the SL5B exhibit by Loki Eliot and friends and wrote about it in Childhood Dreams.
I talked to him after visiting his sim, Goony Beach, which he built for himself originally depicting scenery from his own childhood.
He said “I came to SL with no idea what it was, i chose a kid avatar becos thats what best expresses my personality and i stayed because i love to make things and create stuff.”
He made it for 6 or 7 friends who were some of the few children in sl at that time. Now the sim is a favorite hangout for the kids in sl who number in the thousands..
Take a look at the SLC Blog on the web, and visit the Vortex to get a flavor of the fun to be had and think of your inner child and be kind to the children of sl.
For some they are reliving their childhood like Loki, and for some perhaps having the childhood they never had in real life.
By Gemma Cleanslate
