Note: This review of Teen SL was written by Tecno Tiger, a 16 year-old experienced Teen SL resident. Only the worst grammar and spelling mistakes have been corrected.
Second Life is divided into two grids – the Main Grid (for 18+), and the Teen Grid (for 13 – 17). Both run exactly the same software.
For more information about this and other worlds please contact info@daden.co.uk., visit www.daden.co.uk or IM Corro Moseley in Second Life.
Teen Second Life is a great environment for any teenager, (teenager being 13 to 17 years old), to have fun, escape from reality, learn or just relax, with the freedom to choose. I have been a Teen Second Life resident for over two years, and I can still remember the days when the teen grid (TG) wasn’t open 24/7.
I really enjoy being a resident of Teen Second Life, and it’s great for meeting new people from all over the world, and working with them within the game. An amazing scripter who I feel is one of the best on the teen grid is Jontte Gremlin, who isn’t English, but can speak fluent English and script some of the most advanced programs on the teen grid.
Like everything in real life, Teen Second Life has some downsides that the main ground hasn’t. There is reasonably strong censorship on the teen grid, as all sims are PG. The main theme of Second Life is that it’s built by it’s residents, but censoring is needed when there are 13 year old children playing. Smoking, drinking and general drug taking is banned on the grid, even animations of it. You can imagine a 13 year old picking up rude words from Teen Second Life, then using them in real life and getting in trouble, and saying they learnt it from Teen Second Life, likely getting the whole grid shut down. Linden labs are very good at keeping teens in line, the same way they use punishment on the main ground. A teenager on the main grid turned them self in and was transferred to the teen grid, but the Lindens missed a sex bed that was in the residents inventory, The resident gave it to a lot of teens, but Linden Labs quickly caught on, and banned the resident. Anyone who still had it had their account temporarily banned, and their inventory wiped. Getting your inventory wiped may not sound that big if you’ve never played Second Life, but it is possibly the most important thing you have in the game, next to land.
Some teens think that the teen grid is a burden on Linden Labs, because Linden Labs are actually losing money from it. This is because there are only a handful of resident owned islands, all the rest are owned and paid for by the company. And this is something that teens often forget, Linden Labs is a company and they are losing money to give us a place to play, so teens should respect that. Although the teen grid is small, it’s growing quicker then the main grid did at the same stage. The most well known resident who owns an island on the teen grid is Tin Bling.
There are also several educators who have set up an island on the TG, and the only over 18’s on the teen grid, apart from Lindens are adults who have had full criminal background checks, and are labelled as approved adults. Global Kids, based in New York has three islands on the Teen Grid. I really like what Global Kids brings to second life. Almost all the topics they work with are chosen by teens, like global warming. They also do machinima [ films made using gaming technology such as Second Life], with a whole island dedicated to it, with different sets and props. Eye4you alliance have also set up an island which they are relying on teens to help with.
There’s so many things that I like to do in Teen Second Life. It’s great building your own product, and realising that people like it when they spend their Lindens [the in-world currency] on it. Seeing how teens don’t have jobs, most rely on stipends [ a weekly/monthly amount given by Lindens] for money. I love going to the battle sims and playing with different weapons, and looking at what people are building in the sand box. Another great thing to do is play games like Teengo by Ming Chen, (a spin off of the well known Tringo [a popular Main Grid game like Tetris]), and Word Spill by Bob Bailey.
With Second Life comes many other things which I enjoy seeing. Websites like the Second Life Herald are great to read, and listening to the podcast SecondCast, is very entertaining, and funny. The Linden blogs are a great read as well, (especially Torley's), and I’m able to write my own blog all about Second Life.
Changing Lindens to cash and vice-versa has stronger restrictions then on the main grid.
Even though teens can easily find things to moan about on the Teen Grid, they need to remember that people on the Main Grid will never get to go there, so we should enjoy the strong community we have before we go to the Main Grid for the rest of our Second Life days.
Written by: Tecno Tiger
Tecno's blog is at: http://www.tecnotiger.blogspot.com/
© 2007 Daden Limited
