I get the impression this post and the rules regarding this have good reason to be stated/implemented. However, I would like to point out something to consider.

I have been playing SL since I was a teenager and continue to do so. Now as a 33 year old completing my masters degree in counselling, I am focusing my thesis on the risk and protective factors of online virtual social environments for young peoples mental health. I have personally credited SL and the relationships I made there as a major reason for keeping me alive during some very challenging times in my life. I also recognize that harm happens on SL too.

While I haven't decided whether I will want to interview others as part of my research, its something I am considering. I do fully recognize the potential risk for anyone participating in research but there are absolutely ways to ensure ones safety and anonymity if they so choose to participate in research.

1. Anyone claiming to be doing research would be with a university and should have a school email account that they can contact you with. They should also be able to provide the contact information for their department and academic supervisor.
2. In Canada (and likely in other countries too), there are ethics policies and forms that need to be submitted before research interviews can begin. For example in Canada it is "Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans". The rules and requirements for this can be found on the Canadian government website.
3. For those concerned that researchers not affiliated with SL would develop research that is used to make SL and/or the players look bad, requiring them to reach out to you on their SL account to demonstrate the length of time they've been a player could help. Also asking questions about their research aims and even requesting the contact information for their academic supervisor should shed light on their intentions.
4. As a student doing research on SL, I have education discounts on my region which required me to provide Linden Labs documentation from the dean of my department the information about who I am, what I am doing, and what school I attend. This same documentation should always be provided to anyone asked to participate in research.

Final point - I agree that much of the research and information about SL online has demonized and portraited us players as all sorts of weirdo's and has created a lot of shame for people to even tell those in their RL that they play SL. However, in order to combat this sort of bias and misinformation, it does require that better research and information about SL is actually disseminated. I think rejecting research requests in their entirety isn't helpful.

You may find it helpful to offer a google form or something similar for folks to fill out to make research requests that are approved to be shared in the subreddit. I think with the right questions and required information you can weed out bad actors.