Before I go any further with this blog, I want to thank some ppl who, during the past year, helped change me from a newb into a more or less responsible citizen of SL. There are two Brits (or, more genteelly, English dames - French pronunciation, heh) who are extraordinary scripters and builders: Debbie Trilling and Melanie Milland.
Debbie (sometimes referred to behind her unreligious - not to say sacrilegious - back as Our Lady, Queen of All Particles) instructed me early on on how to use land permissions to maximize my enjoyment of SL. Debbie, an outspoken advocate of open source, is the origin of and is responsible for many of the interesting effects seen throughout SL. [visit the Exploratorium, Exploratorium (128, 165, 251); the Particle Garden ~ the Art and Science of SL Particles, Zebulon (98, 96, 26); Splo, SploLand (60, 207, 32)]
Melanie is a maker of RL corsets :), malls and dance halls, elevators, sex beds with prayer poses, and SL bots that behave like real avis. (She cloned me at one point, tho I haven't seen myself running around anyplace as yet. I'm told I remain in the parts bin.) [Goangeo Land management, Auric Mall - Clothing Art Furniture Bondage BDSM Beds Fashion, Auric (117, 91, 44); Elevate!, Auric (169, 131, 50); M-Designs, Auric (176, 119, 50)]
These two gentlewomen remain awake so far into the night doing their taxing but rewarding work that I have to believe that, if they are at all representative of the British population as a whole, traffic in England must be very light during the daylight hours. LOL!
Then there is Duggy Bing, a Lothario who uses his wonderful collection of animated cartoon animals for indeterminate purposes (which I guess Debbie could explain). [Cartoonimals, Comatose (209, 35, 251)]
Also, I must mention Magda Magnolia, a Second Life mentor and a person dedicated to helping. If you're ever in an SL jam, Magda can get you out, and you will probly get a really neat freebie as well!
Last but not least, Noelani Lightfoot takes REALLY good pictures at her Quixotic Photography and operates a neat gallery. [In Camera, Renovatio, Osterhout (15, 239, 549)]
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
An Immersed Persona
Okay, it’s not a dichotomy. Even the most immersed person extends her real existence into SL by virtue of her predilections and other personality traits. All SL existence is on an RL > SL continuum. The two are not mutually exclusive in any sense. So the whole immersion versus extension debate is nonsense and not worthy of further discussion, right? No.
Can a person extend her real life into SL, using SL as a means of expression and as a means of generating income that can be used in the real world? Of course. Can one’s real friends or lovers be SL friends and lovers? Definitely. Can one embrace her SL existence as a complete alternative to that in the real world? Probably not. Can a person create an alternate self, albeit one that depends upon the real world for sustenance, and isolate that virtual self from a real life in the real world? Totally.
So the difference in modes of existence is the extent to which an individual integrates her real existence into SL (or doesn’t), and this difference produces really different kinds of second lives and SL experiences.
- ppl who work RL jobs in SL
- ppl who work in SL for SL rewards
- ppl who meet RL lovers in SL
- ppl who substitute SL relationships for real ones without extending
- party mavens
- exhibitionists
- masters & slaves, sadists & masochists
- ppl who blithely walk in and out of SL – just visiting!
- land of paper dolls – dress me up!
- narcissist’s dream – watch me dance!
- model builder’s paradise
- scripter’s heaven
- photographer's studio
- playground for sexual perverts
All of this more or less unencumbered (depending upon degree of immersion and the availability of RL resources) by the financial, social, and health consequences that would occur in RL. And you needn’t worry about the Kurt Vonnegut truism: “Be careful what you pretend to be, because you are what you pretend to be.”
Except, of course, as it applies to your virtual self. And except when you start referring to your real self by your avatar’s name. (heh.)
Can a person extend her real life into SL, using SL as a means of expression and as a means of generating income that can be used in the real world? Of course. Can one’s real friends or lovers be SL friends and lovers? Definitely. Can one embrace her SL existence as a complete alternative to that in the real world? Probably not. Can a person create an alternate self, albeit one that depends upon the real world for sustenance, and isolate that virtual self from a real life in the real world? Totally.
So the difference in modes of existence is the extent to which an individual integrates her real existence into SL (or doesn’t), and this difference produces really different kinds of second lives and SL experiences.
- ppl who work RL jobs in SL
- ppl who work in SL for SL rewards
- ppl who meet RL lovers in SL
- ppl who substitute SL relationships for real ones without extending
- party mavens
- exhibitionists
- masters & slaves, sadists & masochists
- ppl who blithely walk in and out of SL – just visiting!
- land of paper dolls – dress me up!
- narcissist’s dream – watch me dance!
- model builder’s paradise
- scripter’s heaven
- photographer's studio
- playground for sexual perverts
All of this more or less unencumbered (depending upon degree of immersion and the availability of RL resources) by the financial, social, and health consequences that would occur in RL. And you needn’t worry about the Kurt Vonnegut truism: “Be careful what you pretend to be, because you are what you pretend to be.”
Except, of course, as it applies to your virtual self. And except when you start referring to your real self by your avatar’s name. (heh.)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Who I'm Not
extension
A mechanism used to defeat the disagreeable. Cup your hand as if you were holding a fire hose to your adversary. Once the enemy is in sight, bark profanities and insults.
Pouring your beer into your mouth with you arm fully extended above your head. Best done in groups...
noun. device used to add inches to small penises for very pathetic losers. [common in SL]
Once again, the source is the Urban Dictionary (bracketed item added). Anyway, in Second Life(SL), an extensionist extends her real life (RL) into SL. I don't do that.
A mechanism used to defeat the disagreeable. Cup your hand as if you were holding a fire hose to your adversary. Once the enemy is in sight, bark profanities and insults.
Pouring your beer into your mouth with you arm fully extended above your head. Best done in groups...
noun. device used to add inches to small penises for very pathetic losers. [common in SL]
Once again, the source is the Urban Dictionary (bracketed item added). Anyway, in Second Life(SL), an extensionist extends her real life (RL) into SL. I don't do that.
Who I Am
immerse
To plunge, dip, dunk, sink
immersive marketing
The application of immersive technologies to the process of exerting new points of brand presence through the creation of virtual simulations.
Recto-cranial Immersion
The Liberal malady of having your head encased firmly in your (or someone else's) rectum.
Hmmm. These are the three definitions that are in the Urban Dictionary, my only source of information on these matters. I am not in advertisiing. I am not a "liberal," nor am I a "conservative." Therefore I will stick with the first definition. My identity in SL is me. Whoever you pretend to be is probably who you are. (And this is tru in RL too.)
To plunge, dip, dunk, sink
immersive marketing
The application of immersive technologies to the process of exerting new points of brand presence through the creation of virtual simulations.
Recto-cranial Immersion
The Liberal malady of having your head encased firmly in your (or someone else's) rectum.
Hmmm. These are the three definitions that are in the Urban Dictionary, my only source of information on these matters. I am not in advertisiing. I am not a "liberal," nor am I a "conservative." Therefore I will stick with the first definition. My identity in SL is me. Whoever you pretend to be is probably who you are. (And this is tru in RL too.)
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