The Fans Against Intolerance is an in-world group looking to stamp out nastiness and bullishness through discourse, information and community support.
But my blog post isn't directly about the linked issue - that's been dealt with directly - but more a wider issue, one of how intolerance is used within the digital world of Second Life, or how it's used "out of world".
There is a wider issue here: "avatars" of people in Second Life shouldn't be using external blogs to make attacks and accusations that couldn't be made in-world for fear of breaching Community Standards Clause 1 , which deals with unfair defamation. Linden Labs should be looking at discouraging this - even if they legally can't stop it - as it's reflecting on their product, and reflecting badly. This is a popular tactic.
I would be very happy (in a real fantasy world) if this became policy. You could still blog as your avatar, but only within the frame of Second Life's terms of service, given that identity is in some part, reflective of their product. Of course this could most likely never legally work, so bullies exploit this moral loophole. And that makes it something only the community can address.
Digital bullying needs to be stamped out, and that can only happen if people refuse to accept it.
If you're interested in joining this group in-world, click here: Fans Against Intolerance. There are surprisingly few active anti-bullying groups in SL, but several that have been attempted. I encourage you to support this.
