Intolerance - Don't marginalize, belittle, or defame individuals or groups. Don't use derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident's race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.
Examples
You fly in to Sandbox Wanderton and see a tent labeled "4chan Field HQ." Beside it is a ceremonial pole with the severed heads of two furries stuck on it.
You see giant party hats start moving through Sandbox Cordova. Each one is issuing chat spam that says "PARTY HAT (INSERT ANALLY). HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIGGERS."
Harassment - Don't behave in an offensively coarse manner, don't intimidate or threaten, don't do unwelcome sexual advances, and don't annoy or alarm others.
Examples
You're in Sandbox Goguen when suddenly you see hundreds of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pictures appear, moving outward from a central point, while a sound file plays "It's Raining Men" over and over.
You're in Sandbox Goguen when a resident starts shouting and IMing the following: "hey could i possible borrow like 100L? I'm new and i want to try to buy something"
Assault - Don't shoot or push anyone in a non-combat area, and don't use scripted objects to prevent people from enjoying Second Life.
Examples
You get orbited.
A nearby resident gets caged.
Disclosure - Don't share personal information about Residents without their consent, including gender, religion, age, marital status, race, sexual preference, alternate account names, and real-world location beyond what they show on their Resident profile. Don't remotely monitor conversations, post conversation logs, or share conversation logs without the participants' consent in Second Life and on the Second Life Forums. NOTE: Even if someone has a statement or disclaimer in their profile, that still does not allow you to post conversation logs without the consent of all parties involved. Here's more specific information and some exceptions from the Residents' privacy rights page:
Sharing or posting a conversation inworld or in the Second Life forums without consent of all involved Residents is a violation of the Terms of Service.
Posting Second Life chat logs or Residents' personal information on Internet websites outside of Second Life is not a violation.
"Conversation" means text that originally came from Second Life chat or Second Life instant messages.
If it's totally unattributed, then it isn't considered disclosure.
Disclosure of something that is "patently false" ("Bob Avatar is from Mars") isn't a violation.
You can remotely record conversations if you provide sufficient notice to the Residents recorded. Proceed with caution, provide documentation on your efforts to inform all parties they are being monitored, and find a secure area before recording begins.
Residents are not punished for sharing or posting a comment such as "Bob Resident said, 'You're the greatest!'"
Examples
Someone puts down an invisible probe that records chat conversations in the area and sends them back to a remote location.
You have a public or IM conversation with someone, and later they copy/paste what you said into public chat without asking you if it's okay.
Adult Regions, Groups, and Listings - Adult content, activity and communication not permitted on the mainland, but are permitted in private regions or on the Adult Continent Zindra, not on the mainland, must be conducted in regions designated as Adult, and will be filtered from non-verified accounts. Other regions may be designated as either "Moderate" or "General." Maturity definitions are here. Note that avatar names and information in Resident profiles should be rated General.
Examples
You're in Sandbox Goguen, which is rated PG, when suddenly you see hundreds of pornographic pictures appear, moving outward from a central point, while a sound file plays "Chocolate Rain" over and over.
You're in Sandbox Island, which is rated PG, when suddenly you see two residents having sexual intercourse.
Disturbing the Peace - Don't disrupt scheduled events, repeatedly transmit undesired advertising content, use repetitive sounds, followers or self-spawning items, or other objects that intentionally slow server performance or inhibit another Resident's ability to enjoy Second Life.
Examples
You're in Sandbox Cordova when suddenly 57 Wild Slime Follow Drones zero in on you and follow you everywhere you go, squeaking all the way.
You're in Sandbox Island Extension when suddenly a whole group of cartoon cows and chickens cluster around your feet, bumping you and moving you around the sim.
NOTE: the new Terms of Service apply to all of Linden Lab's "interactive entertainment products and services" now, not just Second Life. The links in the "Related Policies" section 12 modify the ToS to set up additional requirements for SL.
2.2 Linden Lab grants you certain licenses to access and use the Service while you are in compliance with the Terms of Service; Additional terms may apply.
Additional terms may apply to certain elements of the Service (“Additional Terms”); these terms are available where such separate elements are made available on the Websites. If there is any contradiction between any Additional Terms and these Terms of Service, then the Additional Terms shall take precedence only in relation to that particular element of the Service. For examples of such Additional Terms, please see Section 12 below.
So, for example, ToS section 6.1 (vii) says that users agree not to "Post, display or transmit any Content or conduct or host any activity that is sexually explicit, or intensely violent." But the Maturity Ratings Policy does allow adult content within Second Life.
3. Eligibility to use the Service
3.1 Age Requirements for the Service
Users who are at least 18 years old may use any public area of the Service in accordance with the Maturity Ratings. Users under 18 may access the General area of the service in accordance with Maturity Guidelines. The ToS discusses users under 13 years old. Linked from the Maturity Ratings page, the Age-restricted content page states that users must be at least 16 years old to register for Second Life, but that users 13-15 years old may be allowed if they are restricted to the estate of a sponsoring organization as specified in the Teens in Second Life policy.
6. Conduct by Users of the Service
Read and comply with the Community Standards.
6.1 Don't do anything illegal. Don't harass residents or violate their privacy.
(i) Don't break the law or violate anyone's rights, including Intellectual Property Rights;
(ii) Don't impersonate anyone or any group without their consent, or misrepresent your affiliation;
(iii) Don't stalk, harass, or engage in any sexual, suggestive, lewd, lascivious, or otherwise inappropriate conduct with minors on the Service
(iv) Don't post anything that's harmful, threatening or harassing, defamatory, libelous, false, inaccurate, misleading, or invades another person's privacy;
(v) Don't post, display, or transmit Content that's obscene, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable
(vi) Don't post, display or transmit any Content that's sexually explicit or intensely violent
6.2 Don't do anything that's harmful, impedes other people's functionality, invade other people's privacy, or negatively impacts the network.
(i) Don't use software (viruses, etc.) that can harm harm Second Life or people's rights. Don't use software to collect data or personal information about people without their consent;
(ii) Don't post junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or similar solicitation;
(iii) Don't impede or interfere with people's use of Second Life;
(iv) Don't use any cheats, mods, hacks, or any other unauthorized third-party software to cheat in any competition or game offered on the Service, or to disrupt the Service or the experience of any users.
(v) Don't try to get unauthorized access to other people's Account, password, land or content;
6.3 Additional rules of conduct apply to users of Second Life
(i) Don't use robots or other automated means to increase traffic
(ii) No gambling in Second Life. Review the Gambling Policy
(iii) No banking in Second Life. Review the Banking Policy
(iv) Don't post anything containing sex or violence or other Adult content under the Maturity ratings, unless it follows those ratings
(v) Don't violate the Second Life Mainland Policies, which are incorporated into the ToS
(vi) Don't violate the Maturity Guidelines (sexually explicit content in a General region)
(vii) If you're an adult, don't impersonate a minor to interact with other minors. Don't stalk, harass, or engage in sexual conduct with minors, or arrange to meet a minor outside Second Life, if you know they are minors.
Don't do anything that violates the Teen Safety Guidelines.
(viii) Don't do anything to encourage or represent sexual "age play" (using child-like avatars in a sexualized manner). Review the Age Play Policy
8. Privacy and Your Personal Information
Check the Privacy Policy (the section entitled "Information Displayed to or Collected By Other Users" has been removed).
11.4 This Agreement and the referenced Policies are the entire understanding between us
You acknowledge that no other written, oral or electronic communications will serve to modify or supplement this Agreement
You can helpfully inform people that the special ToS modifications they put in their profiles ("by talking to me, you give me permission to share your chat logs") are null and void.
12. Related Policies
Official Information and Policies Portal - Links to official LL policies
Age Play Policy - defines ageplay and the penalties for violators
Alt Account Policies - "Five accounts per household"
Banking Policy - defines inworld banking, what Linden Lab will do to prevent it, and why
Billing Policy - explanation of billing and pricing policies that apply to fees and charges for Second Life
Blake Sea Code of Conduct - describes some of the special rules that apply to regions that are part of the Blake Sea area.
Brand Center - guidance on how to promote your Second Life contributions without implying that Linden Lab endorses them
Community Participation Guidelines - conduct on LL official websites outside of the Second Life grid
Community Standards - the "Big Six"
Fee Schedule - pricing within Second Life (was not included in the previous ToS)
Gambling Policy - defines prohibited games that meet the Linden Lab definition of "wagering"
Intellectual Property Policy - about trademarked, copyrighted, and celebrity material in Second Life
Mainland Policies - describes changes Linden Lab may make on mainland parcels, includes policies on ad farms, land-cutting, and misuse of bots
Maturity Ratings - very specific definitions of what constitutes General, Moderate, and Adult designations (formerly PG, Mature, and Adult)
Marketplace Fee and Listing Policies - rules and fees for listing items for sale on the Marketplace
Policy on Third-Party Viewers - very specific requirements for users and developers of third-party viewers (viewers not developed by Linden Lab)
Privacy Policy - self-explanatory
Residents' privacy rights - talks about SL residents' rights and concerns
Snapshot and Machinima Policy - gives broad copyright permissions for snapshots and machinima, asks for respect of resident privacy
Trademark Guidelines - what to do if you want to use Linden Lab's trademarks
Who are Lindens? - talks about what to do if someone is impersonating a Linden
The following policies were linked at the end of the previous ToS:
Adult Content FAQ - provides clarifications to the basic information about adult content
API Terms of Use - user agreement for using the two Second Life Application Programming Interfaces (Registration API and Exchange Risk API) - discussed in section 4.1
Bot Policy - summarizes Linden Lab policy on bots - discussed in section 6.3 (i)
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) - Linden Lab responds to allegations of copyright violations in accordance with this US law - partly incorporated in section 7
Online Safety Guidelines - "basic precautions for a safe inworld experience"
Pricing List - price list for transaction fees, premium membership, land use fees (tier), land purchase fees, and Value Added Tax
Skill Game Compliance - this is an FAQ page that discusses Linden Lab's policy on whether a game is a game of skill or a game of chance
Voice Chat Privacy - contains information about the level of privacy in Second Life voice chat
Welcome Area Guidelines - special rules for Welcome Areas and Infohubs, e.g., no sex, nudity, or offensive language even if the Infohub is rated Mature.
Anything that violates the above LL rules probably warrants an Abuse Report.
Rev. 2 2014-01-02