I've just come across a picture from #LbsaPlaza which shows a sign that reads all the avatar-related things that are forbidden on the Plaza sims on #OSgrid. Quote:

• No nudity
  
• No child avatar/NPC/etc
  
• No sex
  
• No sex toys
  
• No BDSM devices
  
• No spankers
  
• No exposed underwear
  
• No diapers
  
• No lingerie
  
• No private parts
  
• No exceptions

The sign also says that all OSgrid Plazas are rated G. Remember that the General rating in #SecondLife corresponds to PG, but in #OpenSim, there used to be and still are sims that are unironically both Adult-rated and G-rated, for the Adult rating is often only used as an attempt at keeping child avatars (= paedophiles) out.

So far, so good.

Now you might argue that this list is a counter-measure against rampant trolling, and that the sims which represent OpenSim's oldest and biggest grid should really be squeaky-clean. But the mods at Lbsa Plaza have been described not only as so ultra-conservative that they're openly, unashamedly and aggressively racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic and transphobic, spewing hatred at whatever opportunity they get, but also as prudish, up-tight, strait-laced pseudo-Puritans. "Pseudo" because real Puritans actually weren't as up-tight as commonly believed.

So not only is this list meant seriously, but it can be expected to be both taken to its logical extremes and expanded and escalated further in the near future. Both can easily mean trouble for female avatars.

"No private parts" in combination with "no exceptions" should be expected to mean that female avatars can't go commando on the Plazas. Sounds hard, but still fair enough. Keep in mind, though, that there are plenty of "Athena-rigged" mesh skirts and dresses that cling to the body so tightly that any mesh knickers will clip through.

But if whatever can be seen when camming under the skirt of a female avatar wearing underwear counts, then "no exposed underwear" plus "no exceptions" essentially means no skirts or dresses. At all. For under a skirt or a dress, underwear is always exposed. Only to whoever can look up the skirt or the dress, but still always. And with camming, anyone can look up any female avatar's skirt or dress and see what's underneath. Remember, "no exceptions!" Your underwear must NOT be visible from ANY angle.

Now, keep something else in mind: Some of those big mixed freebie sims that offer Second Life clothes don't offer any jeans or trousers or leggings or outfits containing either, only skirts and dresses. Maybe the sim builder considers them too concealing and therefore not sexy enough, maybe the sim builder simply hasn't found any. If you do all your shopping at such sims, you're stuck with skirts and dresses. And this often also means no skirts or dresses longer than micro-mini where the hemline doesn't go lower than three inches below your crotch.

What can you do then?

Well, you may go look around for freebie stores that offer jeans or trousers, and be it in outfit boxes. Wear these instead of skirts. And to be safe, go find long enough tops that neither bare your midriff (you'll never know when that'll be banned) nor collide with your jeans.

If you absolutely have to wear a skirt or a dress, you have two choices.

Either forgo underwear and alpha out your entire hip area. But you have to remember alpha-ing it out whenever you go to a Plaza, any Plaza actually. In fact, if you're an OSgrid resident, alpha it out before logging out, for when you log back in, your home sim may be down, and you may end up at Lbsa Plaza.

Or put more effort into covering up. Forget knickers, wear leggings. Or opaque tights if you can find any.

No, not nylon for three reasons:

One, nylon is sheer. It lets your underwear shine through which remains a bannable offence.

Two, nylon could be filed under lingerie. This means you could be banned if a little bit of it is visible on your ankles between your jeans and your shoes. "No lingerie" isn't explicitly limited to lingerie in plain sight, it isn't limited at all.

Three, all this doesn't matter anyway to anyone with a Second Life body who only ever wears mesh clothes. You cannot wear mesh nylon tights over mesh knickers, you cannot wear mesh nylon tights underneath about 99% of all skirts and dresses, and you cannot wear a mesh skirt/a mesh dress over mesh nylon tights over mesh knickers at all.

Most female avatars on the Hypergrid would never wear layer clothes. They either have a pre-BoM mesh body, or they do have a BoM-enabled mesh body, but they still don't wear layer clothes. Maybe it's because they believe that BoM is just a fancy new way of applying skins, make-up and tattoos. Maybe it's because they consider layer clothes as outdated as alpha masks. Maybe it's simply because they don't know where to get any layer clothes. Today's freebie stores are all mesh only except for the few pieces of lingerie in the Athena 6 body boxes and that one Athena 6 box with some additional layer lingerie. So they're stuck with mesh.

So they have to go and find mesh leggings. Even if they do find a box with leggings, however, they'll end up discovering that these leggings clip through all of their beloved skirts and dresses. So they have to go and find skirts or dresses that leave enough space to wear something underneath.

Of course, everything would be easier with layer clothes. BoM enables you to wear a mesh skirt over layer leggings over layer tights over layer underwear with no problems at all. It lets you wear leggings or tights underneath everything. No more clipping than if you go commando. You just have to know where to find that stuff, and you must not have a problem with wearing something that's potentially even older than Athena. By the way, it comes with the advantage of definitely being legal. To my best knowledge, nobody has ever stolen layer leggings or tights from Second Life.

Speaking of Athena, there is one big problem with this body that may make wearing layer leggings futile. Athena has a pussy slit in its mesh. Mesh leggings can cover it up. Layer leggings can't; they'll give you a cameltoe. I can see cameltoes or even layer legwear on mesh bodies being banned next, especially if people start obtaining old layer leggings, putting them on their Athenas and then walking around Lbsa Plaza with cameltoes just to troll the mods.

At least a ban on cameltoes won't hit smooth-crotched #Ruth2 v4. A ban on layer legwear on mesh bodies would affect that body undeservedly. A general ban on layer legwear would lock out every last classic avatar, male or female, unless they got themselves mesh clothes from somewhere. In fact, it would make all avatars illegal that are decked out in only what can be obtained from the Plazas.

Okay, so you want to wear mesh jeans instead to be on the safe side? Well, just about all "Athena-rigged" mesh jeans are skin-tight. It's only a question of time until they're being considered too risqué.

For those of us who play immersively and dress their avatars accordingly (like wearing something warm on winter sims), next summer will become difficult, for covering up sufficiently under skirts or dresses will mean wearing too much in the heat. Better get yourselves some shorts, but not too short ones. That is, unless they'll get banned, too, for being too skimpy. Or keep away from the Plazas for two or three months.

By the way, these rules also ban working on outfits within the confines of your home if it happens to be on one of the three homestead Plazas. That's right, you have to constantly cover up underneath your skirt even inside your house with closed opaque curtains. If a mod comes in and decides to cam into your bathroom while you're putting together a formal evening outfit, and he can see your knickers under your floor-length evening gown, you're toast. Banned from all Plazas on the spot and forever. In fact, even changing clothes isn't allowed on the Plazas because your undies may be exposed for a few seconds. You have to do that on third-party sims.

Last but not least: Cary Bean's old Deva Moda sakko outfits, as "business formal" as they are, are forbidden at Lbsa Plaza, too, if you wear them the way they're supposed to be worn. Yes, even if you wear them with the included pair of trousers instead of the included miniskirt or the additional pencil skirt that you can hardly cam underneath. The reason is because the layer tops that come with these outfits don't fully cover up the lace that ligns the upper edges of the bras. This falls under exposed underwear, at least for those who know these garments well enough to be able to tell what on the avatar's skin is underwear and what isn't. If you want to play it safe, leave the bra off.

#OpenSimulator #Metaverse #VirtualWorlds #VirtualClothing