Second Life

And one more point, unlike a face-to-face conversation (or its simulation), a forum such as this does not require an immediate response -- one can spend an hour or two or even a whole day thinking about the response.

To Crash and Chiroptera,Yes, you're both right, I definitely see something like Second Life as a chatroom substitute, not a discussion board substitute. I won't be exploring this possibility myself, no time, but it would be an interesting challenge for someone already involved in simulated worlds.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director

Ahh yes, that is perhaps the best part of a forum. I would make little to no sense if my responses had to be instant.@ those who have checked out the site:I find it an interesting idea, but only have to ask if it is dial-up friendly or not... Poor me and my 16th century Internet technology... I recall reading about Columbus' frustration with it when it was first invented Max

It's not necessarily a bad idea. Some people do like chat, after all. And this gimmick here might make it more interesting for some. There might be some people who like chat but would find this thing too distracting; on the other hand there might be people who don't ordinarily like chat but would find this thing cool.Me, I'm not a big chat person, so I'll wait to see if anyone else starts something and then makes it sound interesting.

Remember picture phones? They are common now, but when they first came up twenty years ago, few people wanted them. The idea that whenever someone calls me they can see me as I look when I just got up is...well...frightening! I agree with Crash and believe that some mediums of communication serve the function better than more advanced types.Its like radio vs Television. Have you ever wondered why narrated audio stories on radio are often preferred over actual videos?Keyword: Imaginationsometimes, Percy...when talking with you, I find comfort in imagining a smart Dilbert Cat rather than having to actually get to know you face to face! Thats just me, though. How many of you like talking to my little Pac Man more than actually seeing a bored middle aged guy with messed up hair?

Second Life uses avatars, ones that you can design and modify yourself, so everyone would have whatever appearance they liked. I'm attempting to build my 2nd life avatar to actually look like me, but that takes money. You can buy money with a credit card, or you can earn money (not sure how that works yet).I spent another hour in 2nd life last night, and though I think I came across as a wet blanket most of the time, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. Most of the 2nd life avatars have an exotic or outrageous appearance, but I saw one girl whose appearance was shy and demure, and I was of course drawn to her. She said she was working toward a more exotic appearance, that in real life she had been a lap dancer, but had recently became a beautician because she was too old for lap dancing - have to face facts, as she said. I kept peppering her with questions, and she asked if I was a cop in real life. I LOL'd, but thinking about it now with my role here, maybe I am, if this is real life.She said she was looking for work as a lap dancer and that maybe she'd see me again and said goodbye, and there was no one left at my location, so I teleported to a nearby location that on the global map said there was maybe 10 people there. It turned out to be a place where you could get small amounts of money. Sitting in a bean bag chair earns you $1 every 15 minutes. I sat down in one and struck up conversations with nearby people, but most were "away" (haven't figured out how to be "away" myself yet).I quickly became bored with just sitting in the chair and so got up and walked around. The chair area was adjacent to a sex club area. People were walking through and I tried to strike up conversations but was getting no takers when I saw a completely naked women, so I walked up to her and said, "What happened to your clothes?" She said, "I'm playing." I said, "Playing with what," and she jumped on this contraption that held her arms and legs down splayed out wide. I gaped and did nothing."Jeez," she said, "just take your clothes off." "Jesus," I said back, "why should I take my clothes off for someone I don't even know? How do I know you're even a real girl?" She somehow interpreted this as meaning I didn't know how to take my clothes off (which I didn't, but that was beside the point), so she explained how you take your clothes off (right click for a menu). Her avatar name was Vella, she attends art school in Holland, and she was with a friend, Mops. Mops, who was dressed, and Vella, who did eventually put her clothes on, kept breaking into Dutch, which was a little confusing. Mops is married with one child who said she loves her hubby, but she got huffy when I asked her if hubby was in 2nd life, too. "I'm here, what more do you need?"The sex at 2nd life is silly, unrealistic and ridiculous. I don't see the attraction. But meeting people and talking with them is fascinating. That may be a problem, though, because I think most of the people are there for avatar sex, not conversation, and so I might be out of place. I don't want to know people in their 2nd life, I want to know them in their 1st.--Percy

Definately NOT real life, for me at least. Did you ever play role-playing games? (D&D, etc.)From your post it sounds like not, which could explain the lack of detachment, but I can't tell for sure.

Avatar sex sounds a bit out there! I agree with you that meeting people in their first life is much more satisfying.If I wanted sex, I would definitely venture out into the real world rather than a virtual internet world...but I never grew up with the internet and I never engaged in role playing games either.I much prefer hanging out in our old fashioned non sexual chatroom!

Is it normal for a virtual community to have terrorist and hit squads? According to their own virtual newspaper there is an org. called Second Life Liberation Army( SLLA )SL SHOCKER! - SLLA Hires Freelance Hit Squads Oct. 31st 2006

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Addressing the dearth of entry level jobs in SL, the Second Life Liberation Army today placed a bounty on a number of high-profile commercial contractors involved in bringing RL to SL. In a terse communique, the avatar rights and SL terrorist group called for “unrestricted warfare” in Midnight City with a L$500 bounty for filmed mayhem in the sim.

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'Second Life Liberation Army' Targets Brands Dec. 7 2006

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The SLLA, consisting of about a dozen veteran members, is believed to be the first national liberation movement of its kind seeking political rights for virtual characters, known as avatars. The group really pulled into action when Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life, allowed the creation of unverified accounts.

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They have their own demands Second Life Liberation Army-The only response to injustice is to fight!

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The Second Life Liberation Army (SLLA) was formed as the 'in-world' military wing of a national liberation movement within Second Life. The movement contends that political rights should be established within Second Life immediately. As Linden Labs is functioning as an authoritarian government the only appropriate response is to fight.

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Here is the blog with links on who is covering them Second Life Liberation Army-The SLLA is a national liberation movement working towards establishing citizens rights within Second Lifethey actual came up with a way to nuke areas!
Virtual terror strikes Second Life

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The virtual bomb blasts in Second Life explode in hazy white balls, blotting out portions of a screen and battering nearby avatars, animated figures that are residents' proxies in the virtual world.

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six(sic)six

Actually, no. It's about as erotic as making a circle with the fingers of one hand, inserting your extended index finger into the circle, and moving back and forth.That is, it's a representation of sex, but it's not a particularly sexual experience.

I had an hour to kill earlier this afternoon while a build completed, so I visited yet again. Everyone I ran into was either French or wouldn't talk to me. I guess Americans don't come on line in any significant numbers until later in the day, though the English were conspiculously absent. No conversations today, I didn't get beyond "Hi".Like I've been saying, and as Crash confirms, avatar sex is super boring, but surprisingly, no one seems that interested in talking.--Percy

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The reasons that I don't see myself at EvC Second Life very much are probably the same reasons I don't spend much time in the chat system here. I dunno, am I missing something, maybe?

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Well, chat here is more informal, and it's more like a phone conversation.We do talk about things that are not EvC related, and in general have a pretty good time, crack jokes, etc.I've often thought that if you (and Dan, and a few others who don't chat) were to be in the chatroom along with me and a few other people who are very amusing in chat, it would be a hugely fun, nerdy good time.

Well, I've spent about an hour each day at 2nd Life since I last wrote, and I've learned a lot. Current impression is that the place is not the big sex party I originally thought it was. After visiting maybe 40 regions (squares on the global map) I've found only two sex clubs. I'm sure there's more, I've been purposefully random instead of methodical in order to build up a reliable overall impression.I've met a few really nice people: a senior in high school from the Pacific northwest, a pharamacy manager, and a personal trainer from Germany. They share my inability to comprehend the attraction of avatar sex, and so we were able to talk about other things.People actually live in 2nd life. Last night I spoke to the builder/manager of a small village. She built all the cottages herself and rents them out. I asked her lots of questions about building and she said it wasn't too hard.And so last night I took a stab at building. I definitely don't have the hang of it yet, but looking at the work of other people who were playing at building nearby me you can create some amazing things. Not just buildings, but cars, fountains, helicopters, roads, clothes and food. I visited a house on an island with waves crashing on the beach.I still think it has some great potential as a chatroom. We could have our own restricted region with a meeting hall, and of course anyone interested could build houses or whatever nearby. You'd be able to see people (imagine my avatar in 3 dimensions!) instead of just read a list of names. People could split into groups that you could see. Private IM'ing is possible, too.I'm hoping I can interest someone in joining me there. Let me know!--Percy

I think it would be an interesting experiment as well. Perhaps I'll check out Second Life and see what all the brew-ha-ha is about.Greg P.

I'm interested in the concept, but my Flintstone computer doesn't even come close to the system requirements.I don't particularly care about the 3D graphical side of it - I see everything in 3D anyway.
I'm more interested in the "role-playing" aspect (but not in a D & D way). Why would I want a Second Life that's just an extension of my First Life?

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