You'd have to have your head severely stuck in a virtual bucket to not know that it's that time of year again, and Second Life is gearing up to celebrate it's 5th Birthday, in a massive event, including the best and finest from all walks of virtual life. Only, it's not been that simple. Unfortunately, Linden Lab, in their great wisdom, decided that certain residents were too risky to be exhibitors and show what they have been up to, at this event, meant to display what we have done in our world, with our imagination. And at the forefront of these who would be allowed to visit the celebration, but not have their say there, are one of the most needlessly controversial and misunderstood groups in our virtual world, those with child avatars.

This has lead to the creation of KIDS5B, an independent splinter event, happening simultaneously to the main event itself, and allowing the kid groups of sl to show what they've been up to. It's a fantastic looking place, with boats, rafts, funfairs, railroads, skateparks, sweets, and so much more that it would keep even the most attention-deficit inflicted kid amused for hours. To allow a little more understanding into the precise roots of the event, and what's going on there, I caught up with Daniel Regenbogen, one of the organisers:

Voodoo Buwan: Would you like to explain why you felt the need to splinter off from the main 5th Birthday celebration?

Daniel Regenbogen: Well, that wasn't exactly our own decision. On May 30th, I heard that contributions by some kid avatars, like Loki Eliot and Marianne McCann, were rejected from SL5B, simply because they showed the life of kid avatars. I sent a mail to M Linden that was answered by Robin Linden, telling me that kid avatars would be allowed to visit, but not to contribute to the SL5B exhibitions. This angered many kid avatars, and out of this anger the idea of doing our own celebrations, Kids5B, was born.

Voodoo Buwan: Was any reason given as to why kid avatars would not be given a voice at the event?

Daniel Regenbogen: No. To quote Robin Linden: "I want to be clear that child avatars are welcome to attend the celebrations, and we look forward to seeing you there. We believe a community sponsorship, however, is not in the best interest of the event or of Linden Lab, so we have to respectfully decline your participation at that level." We guess it is because of some sensational media coverage about sexual ageplay. LL decided to cover their butts instead of taking a stand to support their paying customers.

Voodoo Buwan: How difficult has it been mobilising the child avatar community to organise this?

Daniel Regenbogen: Not difficult at all! Within 24 hours the group was started and the 1st SIM was made available by a sponsor. Work started almost instantly (and it had to, with only 3 weeks to go there was no time for lots of talking and making big plans). The support from the kids community was and is simply amazing. Sure, some had a different opinion about how to deal with LL’s decision, there was some stress and drama involved, but in the end I think we all came together and worked together to make Kids5B happen.

Voodoo Buwan: Have you had many people wanting to exhibit here that you considered inappropriate, given that this is a kids event?

Daniel Regenbogen: No, we didn't have to send away anybody. I think one of the reasons for the amazing support and participation is, that within the kids community many are fed up with the fact, that many people who see a kid avatar for the first time jump to the conclusion that there is some kind of weirdo or pervert behind the avatar - and they see Kids5B as the big chance to show what being a kid avatar really is for lets say 99 percent of all kid avatars. So, no, we didn't have to turn anyone down feeling that what he wanted to show here would be not appropriate.

Voodoo Buwan: So, this event is not only a chance for kid avatars to come together to celebrate sl, but also an opportunity for everyone else to get a better understanding of what it means to be a kid avatar in SL?

Daniel Regenbogen: Definitely! When LL decided to not allow us at SL5B, they actually gave away a chance to allow all residents to better understand us. Kids5B, as much fun as it is for us ourselves, is also a big invitation to everyone, kid, teen, adult, human, furry, robot, dragon, whatever. We are hoping to see many visitors from outside the kids community. I think there is no better way to get to know each other than to celebrate together and talk with each other. We are looking forward to that.

Voodoo Buwan: Finally, have you had any reaction from Linden Labs about this project? And would they be welcome to come visit?

Daniel Regenbogen: I don't know of any direct reaction. Thanks to all the support from residents from all backgrounds, LL changed the decision, and kid avatars now are allowed to exhibit at SL5B. Kids5B has a little "cultural center" there, that also works as a gateway to Kids5B. We offered the same to LL, to put up a gateway from Kids5B to SL5B, but to my knowledge, there was no reaction to that offer at all. Of course, everyone is welcome to visit us, and we would be happy to see a few Lindens here, too. On a final note: I'd like to thank each and everyone who helped with making Kids5B happen - you are amazing! And also a big thank you goes to everyone who supported the rights of kid avatars in forums, blogs, mails to LL and so on. It really made a difference.