Collective Wisdom For New Residents

[Dillon Levenque]

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Kenbro Utu wrote:

Thank you for rez day gift and well wishes.  Few of my friends from the early days of SL remain, so my rez days come and go with nary a nod, :smileywink:  though I never really celebrated them anyway.  

 

The lesson in tolerance was one that I learned myself from SL, and it influenced my RL for the better.  :smileyvery-happy:

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Ummm...would you mind sharing the present with Solaria? After reading your response I realized I biffed the reply: was intended to be to the OP. On the other hand what I said about your mention of tolerance was entirely true. I can't help but think that what we learn about that here translates in a positive way to RL.

[Syo Emerald]

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Pussycat Catnap wrote:

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Syo Emerald wrote:

I disagree that you can't judge someone by the avatar.

My you can't but I can pretty clear get a lot information from someones avatar. When I see their profile I already have enough to know if I better avoid them or not.

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That's the profile though. Not the avatar.

ANd I've even found my assumptions about someone based on their profile to be wrong once I was stuck in a situation dealing with them. But the profile is a better indicator than the avatar. Some people's avatar choices annoy me - others draw me in; but I've learned to realize that its not as reflective of who they are than I would have thought.

 

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Most of the time both (profile and avatar) match, but often the avatar can give a great hint on what kind of person you are running into.

There we have the "Non careing male newbie-look a like", who can be here for ages but still looks like he wandered out of some freebiestore around 2007. Mostly is profile isn't even filled out a bit and his attempt to chat start with "hi", a long silence following...if you have are on a adult sim he then starts to hit on you.

 

Then we have the invisible pony rider girl with a fish face. This kind of avatar has turned out to be quite popular among a specific kind of user. If they wear clothes they only wear mesh. Hair is from Magika or a similar brand, also only mesh. They often gatter in a specific kind of club and spend their time dancing and spamming gestures. If you open their profiles you can easily spot a use of odd fonts, mean blablabla and at least one sentence that underlines how great they are.

 

And that are only two examples.

 

Oh and speaking about tolerance here.....SL will never and was never a place of tolerance, especially when it comes to all that is not human. You can look like an hoe on crack, but don't you dare to wear a tail or anything else not human! Then you are not allowed in ballrooms, not allowed on roleplay sims, not allowed on many adult sims.....Oh, and nobody will hire you anywhere for anything!

[Solar Legion]

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Syo Emerald wrote:

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Pussycat Catnap wrote:

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Syo Emerald wrote:

I disagree that you can't judge someone by the avatar.

My you can't but I can pretty clear get a lot information from someones avatar. When I see their profile I already have enough to know if I better avoid them or not.

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That's the profile though. Not the avatar.

ANd I've even found my assumptions about someone based on their profile to be wrong once I was stuck in a situation dealing with them. But the profile is a better indicator than the avatar. Some people's avatar choices annoy me - others draw me in; but I've learned to realize that its not as reflective of who they are than I would have thought.

 

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Most of the time both (profile and avatar) match, but often the avatar can give a great hint on what kind of person you are running into.

There we have the "Non careing male newbie-look a like", who can be here for ages but still looks like he wandered out of some freebiestore around 2007. Mostly is profile isn't even filled out a bit and his attempt to chat start with "hi", a long silence following...if you have are on a adult sim he then starts to hit on you.

 

Then we have the invisible pony rider girl with a fish face. This kind of avatar has turned out to be quite popular among a specific kind of user. If they wear clothes they only wear mesh. Hair is from Magika or a similar brand, also only mesh. They often gatter in a specific kind of club and spend their time dancing and spamming gestures. If you open their profiles you can easily spot a use of odd fonts, mean blablabla and at least one sentence that underlines how great they are.

 

And that are only two examples.

 

Oh and speaking about tolerance here.....SL will never and was never a place of tolerance, especially when it comes to all that is not human. You can look like an hoe on crack, but don't you dare to wear a tail or anything else not human! Then you are not allowed in ballrooms, not allowed on roleplay sims, not allowed on many adult sims.....Oh, and nobody will hire you anywhere for anything!

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Boy, you've had a rough run there! I've not had many issues with people being intolerant of my own appearance choices .... and mine run the gamut! Most of the time though, I am to be found in one Anthro form or another .... Never had an issue with getting a job, being on sims ..... There's even a few "ballwoom" type places that don't mind one bit!

That said .... my advice to new users? That's a start: You're a user, not a resident.

Most of the rest has already been covered here .... though I'd tell a new user not to judge anyone by their appearance or by their profile or by the way they post in the forums. Base it on how they act while logged in.

[Kelli May]

Experiment, but first make copies

You can learn a lot about the way things work by right-click - editing them. Take it apart, re-colour, re-texture, poke all the bits. You will break stuff, but that's what back-up copies are for.

 

Report griefing, don't respond to it

Self explanatory, like "don't feed the trolls"

 

My Land, my rule

If a place says no furries you have to take your furry av off or take it elsewhere. Same goes for being naked where you should be clothed, clothed where you should be naked, tall, short, or anything else about your av, profile, age or behaviour that the parcel owner has decided. 

[Jasmyn Vaher]

Happy belated rezzday, Solaria!

Well...about my suggestions/advices for newcomers to SL; here are a few:

 

Don’t say or do in SL which you wouldn’t do or say IRL (example: To disrespect or belittle people, or to ask for money to strangers, to buy NOT needed stuff)

Don’t mix reality with fantasy. A good looking av, doesn’t mean a good looking person. And someone acting nicely in a virtual place where everything is easy, can actually be a  callous,  grumpy person with low tolerance levels when facing RL challenges

Don’t believe everything you hear. To say “I love you” is really easy. Sadly though;  too many times, especially in a virtual world, isn’t real

Don’t  try to hit on the most  beautiful or handsome avatar in the place, whilst looking as something the cat dragged in. IMO, it’s a matter of simple common sense… fact is  that, here, as well as in RL, looks, do matter

Comments like “Hey babe, nice ass...wanna F***” should trigger an instant crash in the viewer of the one saying it. It’s plain RUDE, stupid and brings me back to point 1

No matter how badly you want a partner/companion to share your SL with….don’t behave in a needy way. Same as in RL, in SL it’s a big turn off for most people

Most people loves to read profiles. It gives enough clues about someone, and can be a very good way to prompt a first contact…please. Fill your profile early on. For good or for bad, it will give others a glimpse of your personality and your wishes to interact with people, or lack thereof

Don’t be a hostile idiot….statements like “If you annoy my bf/gf/virtual mom/child/dog I will make your life hell” are among the most ridiculous stuff one can read in  a profile

Don’t take almost anything too seriously here. All but the real feelings of our fellow SL users should be taken way much lightly than too many people does. If you are an adult person, bring your RL maturity into SL. IMO; it’s a good recipe to avoid needless drama

Last but not least…don’t accept stuff from strangers. Quite often it can be annoying stuff intended just to bother and  grief inexperienced people

[Perrie Juran]

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Solaria Goldshark wrote:

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Perrie Juran wrote:

Don't turn your sky box (platform) physical. (Or any prim for that matter if you don't know what that does.)

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It was an empty box....I just had to check it.   It was like a wet paint sign.   I just had to touch it.

The good thing about clicking things that you have no idea what will happen if you do....you learn things really fast, or at least are entertained for a few hours trying to repair your own blunder.

I only recently discovered derendering things.....I was like "good grief!  When did they add that cool feature?"  That is to say I only thought it was cool after the hour I spent trying to get my couch back after I derendered it.

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/me laughs

It was really one of the first things I had built.  I had used a Mega Prim for the base of the Sky Box and had it set at 777 meters up.  The parcel next to where I was building was a huge Mall. 

I clicked 'physycal.'  The World went typsy turvy.  After I relogged I found the platform crashed into the Mall.  Thank heaven there was no one there when it crashed.  Lord knows how many Avatars could have been killed in that mishap.

 

[Kenbro Utu]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

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Kenbro Utu wrote:

Thank you for rez day gift and well wishes.  Few of my friends from the early days of SL remain, so my rez days come and go with nary a nod, :smileywink:  though I never really celebrated them anyway.  

 

The lesson in tolerance was one that I learned myself from SL, and it influenced my RL for the better.  :smileyvery-happy:

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Ummm...would you mind sharing the present with Solaria? After reading your response I realized I biffed the reply: was intended to be to the OP. On the other hand what I said about your mention of tolerance was entirely true. I can't help but think that what we learn about that here translates in a positive way to RL.

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/me pouts and hands over the gift, walks away mumbling...

[Syo Emerald]

I said user, because of all the survey-guys coming here and call us players....and resident sounds strange since new accounts aren't even allowed to have lastnames now. Ok and actually some always had given themselves some strange names, which sounded more like erotic-chat nicknames.

I worked in a club for a long time, got friends with the owner and some staffmemebers there. But at no point it was possible that I work as a anthro for them. I had to keep my human avatar for work. Lately I was looking around some other clubs, seeing if there is a job I would like. Got interested in one. Read notecard: Only humans, not even nekos are allowed. Instead tails were named in one line with blinking shoes and wings...seen as something noobish or bad to wear.

I haven't been to ballrooms in a while, stoped trying out new ones, since most a very strict. I only know two at this time who don't have a problem with nonhuman avatars.

On one of my exploring tours I found an adult hangout from my homecountry. All was fine untill I saw their rules..."No animal avatars" fine...I was there with my elf. Then another line saying only human avatars.... Its not always possible to say "oh I go somewhere else then.." because not every place is as good as another and on most you are alone or its the only one with that theme or language.

So, this is my wisdom for new residents:

If you don't want to be a plain human, expect to be restricted in the choices of friends, places and jobs of any kind. Get used to the feeling that you may have to leave a place you wanted to visit and prepare to have a much longer search for jobs and such things. Its a one way tolerancesystem.

And yes, I get a bit angry when I see some "human" avatars, who look more like monsters, but get accepted as humans.

[161488303349]

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Syo Emerald wrote:

I disagree that you can't judge someone by the avatar.

My you can't but I can pretty clear get a lot information from someones avatar. When I see their profile I already have enough to know if I better avoid them or not.

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yes same. if i get a random hi in my IM and thats all then i will check profile first

 

 

 

[Czari Zenovka]

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Syo Emerald wrote:

 

There we have the "Non careing male newbie-look a like", who can be here for ages but still looks like he wandered out of some freebiestore around 2007. Mostly is profile isn't even filled out a bit and his attempt to chat start with "hi", a long silence following...if you have are on a adult sim he then starts to hit on you.

 

 

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 I've met this guy!!!!!

[Knowl Paine]

 

• Second Life is a Business.
• Nothing is arbitrary in the Lab; words have meanings.
• There are hidden things, in SL.
• Money, does not always represent quality.
• Lindens, are just people, who are role playing for a salary.
• You can manifest reality, virtually, on digital realty.
• When you zoom in close enough, all matter is energy.
• Current can be negative.
• Atmosphere is Regional.
• Talk with a person for an hour or two, before offering Friendship; maybe you won't like them.
• Improve yourself, build your Character.

 

[SinfulPrince]

1.  Don't try to escape being a "noob" as soon as you get here. Enjoy it. Its the most awe filled time you will have and holds the memories that will be dearest. Like childhood its your "beginning".

2.   Push all the buttons. Its exactly the right time to make a physical object or link that door. Not only will you learn what stuff does and what such and such is for, but you have the least to lose material wise in this time if its a goof.

3.  Try things out that you "always wanted to". Situations as well as personaes or states of being. It will help this come true -->

"#3: Understand that, while you might arrive in SL wanting to just meet other fun people, ultimately you're going to learn much more about yourself than about anyone else."

4.  Do not be afraid of other people's opinions of your choices. Clothes, hair, other friends, roles.....for every one opinion there are always 6 others going the other way that you have not heard yet.

5.  Always make sure your second life is making YOU happy. When you decided to join the person you wanted to make happy was you. "You" were the only person you brought with you. So don't put that person second. Cut loose the people who make it suck for you.                     

6.  Never forget you can always change who you are here. And without even making an alt if you just want to.

[SinfulPrince]

"You can look like an hoe on crack"...

Side remark :  I love it when people say the unedited version-rofl

[Pussycat Catnap]

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Perrie Juran wrote:

Don't turn your sky box (platform) physical. (Or any prim for that matter if you don't know what that does.)

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No wait. Get inside your skybox, cam back a bit, edit it, and -THEN- turn it physical.

 

- Best down while recording video.

For extra lols, and maybe to get AR'd once or twice by some fool, -unlink- it first, then turn the whole mess physical - but this is only fun if you're sitting on one of the pieces...

 

[Dillon Levenque]

This is a bit of a derail but you have commented twice on this subject, and in fact it might be useful information for new residents (or users, if you prefer).

You took issue with those who spoke of tolerance in SL. I was, am, and will be till I stop talking, one of those. I meant tolerance of ideas. Tolerance of desires. Tolerance of who we are, RL and SL. Your dissatisfaction with people who don't like furries is understandable, but being a furry is a choice.  None of us are really furries in real life. That's an avatar choice.

There are RL males who inhabit female avatars here. There are RL females who inhabit male avatars here. I doubt anyone doing either of those things would be upset by finding venues that were exclusive to a gender that their avatar doesn't match. They certainly shouldn't be.

I frequent a club that has no particular ambience. It's just a club. One of the regulars is a furry (a big orange furry with rather alarmingly large teeth). Not a problem. If the club was trying to provide the ambience of an Elizabethan tavern circa 1600 A.D., I imagine that the person I mentioned would be asked to leave. I really don't think that sort of attitude is intolerance.

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

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Syo Emerald wrote:

There we have the "Non careing male newbie-look a like", who can be here for ages but still looks like he wandered out of some freebiestore around 2007.

Then we have the invisible pony rider girl with a fish face.

Oh and speaking about tolerance here.....SL will never and was never a place of tolerance, especially when it comes to all that is not human. You can look like an hoe on crack, but don't you dare to wear a tail or anything else not human! Then you are not allowed in ballrooms, not allowed on roleplay sims, not allowed on many adult sims.....Oh, and nobody will hire you anywhere for anything!

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True, and very furstrating, er frustrating.

Some of the avatars I've seen in ballroom sims make me wonder...

And I will say that many of the nicest folks I've met in SL have been, in order: Tinies, Child Avatars, Furries, Ferals, and Nekos. The Child Avatar one was a wake up call to me. Go back far enough and you can find me calling them out in various places online... then I started meeting some of them in situations where I had to be polite and had reason to not just TP away, and quickly found I was being guilty of judging a whole bunch of folks by my assumptions about their avatar style (Baby talk folks still unnerve me, but I do have some as friends).

 

Pony riders - I've yet to have a full conversation with one. I've not noticed any trend for or against mesh among them. My first thought was that the standard sizes wouldn't work for that shape, so they shouldn't be on mesh. But hip width is a rigged deform - so mesh will stretch with it.

( this page has all the dials that need to match the clothing for mesh: http://catnapkitty.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/mesh-clothes-dont-care-if-youre-tall-or-short-thick-or-thin-they-care-about-stretch/ )

- But to me Pony riders, and blond avatars over 6' tall: both freak me out for the same reason. And having now met many "blingtards" and "frankenbarbies" (blond avatars over 6' tall) that were very nice people... I'm not ready to call Pony Riders out until I can prove to -myself- that there's something wrong with them other than different visual aesthetics than me.

(again, go back a few years and I've got all kinds of comments about frankenbarbies out there... The look basically is tall, blond, busty, thin waist, spider legs, and often scripty hair/feet. Coined not by me - but during someone else's flame war against a person who had prim-boobs. And its not really reflective of the personality of the people who like to use it - its just a visual preference).

 

Keep in mind that the Pony riders might be judging a Furry just as harshly as they often get judged. Its easy to walk into "furry town" and see folks on glowing neon colors and strange leather outfits and come back with some harsh views.

Guys on noob-looks... some of them too, I can count among my friends. Drives me nuts that they don't even realize sometimes that they've never gone fashion shopping... But I've had engaging conversations with as many of them as with others I've gotten that blank bit or the 'it has the sexxors or else it gets the eject again' reaction... (if only I'd thought to screenshot that once resident I had as a neighbor on my second Zindra lot... I did for the first one, but those shots are not safe for public view.) Some people just really don't see any value in even setting a look for their avatar. Having a close RL friend who is full color blind, and needs help putting the jeans on over the underwear and not the other way around... I've long been aware that people with -ZERO- sense of style can still be interesting and engaging to talk to and hang out with.

 

I do have some dim views of some SL communities - not based on their -look- but on their conduct. The one I've been most vocal about the conduct of, has a look that many outside of it copy or buy items from, self included.

 

So... "wisdom for a newbie" out of the above:

Make your decisions about folks and communities based on what they do and stand for, not how they look.

Oh, and I'd also recommend getting to know them -inworld- before judging them by their forum / blog posts and stances. Quite a few folks express themsleves in forums and blogs in harsher or stronger ways than they do in person or inworld or even than they intend to. Many of us 'are read' sounding harder than we intend.

 

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

Your dissatisfaction with people who don't like furries is understandable, but being a furry is a choice.  None of us are really furries in real life. That's an avatar choice.

I frequent a club that has no particular ambience. It's just a club. One of the regulars is a furry (a big orange furry with rather alarmingly large teeth). Not a problem. If the club was trying to provide the ambience of an Elizabethan tavern circa 1600 A.D., I imagine that the person I mentioned would be asked to leave. I really don't think that sort of attitude is intolerance.

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Before you get too hard on Syo for her view on this subject, go buy a furry avatar (or a free one), and spend a month on it - going places and trying to be social.

Try furry places and non-furry places.

See how you feel after that.

Intellectually yeah - its a choice of cartoon style. But its not going to feel nice when you start seeing the cold shoulder folks will give you for no rational reason.

 

I also get it when I change my human avatar's skin tone... the darker I go, the less people will approach me - though I also notice some guys start IMing me with "man I wanna do a black chick," to which I just /facepalm... Cause maybe they do, but that's just the wrong way to being the flirting... As I noted once before, I have alts - so I know this reaction isn't against me, and I'm really not that famous either... much to my chagrin sometimes. Outside of the forums most folks have no idea who I am.

- So is that intolerance? After all, I could just be white. So am I 'asking for it' by choosing black, or my RL native american?

Inside of the context of SL, is this different than the choice of furry? Likely so... because it parallels to something in RL. But in a world where we can be anything, why so much hate against those who excercise that choice?

 

[Celestiall Nightfire]

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Deltango Vale wrote:

"Learn to be tolerant. In a world that is limited only by imagination and fantasy, you will find a

diverse range of ideas that do not match your own, but that does not make them wrong, it just makes them different.

"

----------------------------------------------------------------

This ^ should be displayed (bold italics) on the signup page, the login page and at every inworld infohub. It is the Golden Rule, the guiding principle, the mission statement and overarching philosophy of Second Life. If one cannot understand it, one should leave SL and play games elsewhere.

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But...but.....how can a diverse range of ideas (all different) not have some,or one, that are wrong?   If everything is right...and ok...then really nothing is...as then there would be no standard of "right" or "wrong".  It would just all be..."different".   

I don't adhere to the concept that all ideas are equal and "right".  SL is an extension of RL, and I don't toss aside my values, ethics, and standards when I login, nor do I expect others to do so.  

Now, that we've disagreed, and Kenbro and you, know that my idea is not wrong...just different....carry on!  *laughing*

 

[Celestiall Nightfire]

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Solaria Goldshark wrote:

Having past the four year mark.....(/me pouts that nobody sent gifts)

......I got to thinking:  What wisdom would I have to pass along to someone entering the world for the first time, all dewy and wide eyed.

What wisdom would you who have been here for a long time have to share with a new resident?

Let's call it "The Book of SL Wisdom"

...Perhaps we make a sticky.

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Oh, shoot..forgot to dispense wisdom...hmmmm...or did I?  ; )

Anyway, this is official wisdom:  

When you're in a sim...and some random guy IMs you with a witty pickup line, and your younger son (who is hanging over your shoulder to see how you fared in Robot Build contest)  says, "Mom, don't reply, it's some weird guy trying to hit on you!"    

Then minutes later, the same son reads the guy's profile, (which you've pulled up to look at) and says,  "Hey, wait, this guy is someone you might want to know, hurry and reply to him!".     Try not to laugh...as you've already replied...and your son was right! 

 

 

[Tari Landar]

My advice...some already shared..but I shall repeat..for **bleep**s and giggles..

Be nice. Yep, be nice. You want people to be nice to you, so be nice to them. Simple If you can't be nice..walk away. It's not as hard as we like to believe to simply walk away.

Get comfy. Find your comfort zone. A place you feel welcome no matter what. It could be anywhere..your own home, a sandbox, a club you go to, a sim that's typically empty, the middle of the ocean, in the center of th emost crowded sim you can find...whatever tickles your pickle. Make yourself a comfort zone. You may need it.

Push buttons. They're there for a reason, and it's not just decoration. Just know that in doing so, the following WILL happen...

Make mistakes. Yep, I didn't number this list, but if I had to, this would be #2. Everyone does it, and no one should feel ashamed. Though you might find others who want you to, ignore them. They're probably just not able to get over their own misgivings. At some point we all break rules(both written and unwritten), break objects and in fact do all kinds of things we probably shouldn't have done, or said. Eh, what do you expect, we're all human. It's not a character flaw, and should never be seen as such.

Along with the push buttons...try EVERYTHING. Really, try it, you might like it. You also, might not. You won't know until you do. Unless of course your own ethics, moral compass, comfort, whatever, prevents you from doing such. No one should ever expect another to venture away from those things if they do not want to.

Find the world, don't wait for the world to come to you. The grid is at your fingertips and just about anything you can imagine, is probably out there(or can be). Go find it!! It's not going to jump up and bite you on the ass. So take your ass to the bite instead

If you want relationships, go make them. Again, they won't come find you. If you want a bf/gf/so, go out and find one. Don't let others' horror stories scare you off. Sure there are tons, and probably more of those than the good fairy tale kind I have(mini brag..sigh..I love my fairytale online turned rl story ) But you know, no one ever knows which ones WILL or WILL NOT turn out "right". So, go for it. If it doesn't work, move on. **bleep** happens, no matter where you go. It's not the end of the world. Of course you can learn from others' stories, if you so choose, but please never take ANY(good or bad) as an all or nothing sort of deal. Nothing in life would ever work in our favor if we did that

Ummm....yeah I'll add to this when I remember what else I was going to say. I forgot. Ooops.

 

[Amethyst Jetaime]

You will see people with 'disclaimers' in their profiles saying that they log (record) chat and IM's and  just by talking to them you are giving them permission to share anything you say with anyone they choose.  These disclaimers are worthless. You can't join SL and agree to the Terms of Service then decide later that you are going to opt out of certain parts of it by putting such a disclaimer in your profile. Sharing your private conversation with anyone without your specific permission is a violation of the TOS and you can AR them.

You may go to on privately owned land (any land not owned by Governor Linden) only if it is open to the public but must follow the rules.  Not reading the rules is not an excuse.  Be aware that land owners and people they authorize to act for them have the right to boot you out at any time for any reason or no reason at all.  If you are not sure the land is open to the public ask.  If you do it politely even if it is not open to the public you may be invited in and make a friend.

You are not entitled to anything in SL other than what LL decides to give you.  You are not entitled to get anything for free, including being entertained.  Don't demand things or beg, its rude.  If a merchant or individual gives you something for free, be thankful.  If something is being sold don't ask for a free copy. If you go to a venue and are entertained try to tip if you can, even if it is only a couple dollars because the people that work there are not paid and rely on tips and the owner has expenses they must cover.

If someone is nasty to you mute them and ignore them.  Leave if you have to but don't retaliate because you will only escalate the situation. Realize that bullies and griefers only do it for the attention.  If you don't give it to them, they will eventually leave  you alone.  AR them and move on.

If you see people standing around and not talking and you say something to them, don't get upset if they don't respond.  They could be AFK or busy talking to other people in a private IM or voice call or even busy working on something you can't see.  Also if you IM someone or call them, don't get upset if they don't respond for the same reason.  If they don't just leave a message.

Before you talk to someone in voice be sure they use voice or you may just be talking to the air.  A lot of people don't use voice or don't use it all the time.  Ask in chat if you aren't sure.

Have fun but be respectuful of others.  You only are entitled to receive the respect you give others.

[Syo Emerald]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

This is a bit of a derail but you have commented twice on this subject, and in fact it might be useful information for new residents (or users, if you prefer).

You took issue with those who spoke of tolerance in SL. I was, am, and will be till I stop talking, one of those. I meant tolerance of ideas. Tolerance of desires.

Tolerance of who we are, RL and SL. Your dissatisfaction with people who don't like furries is understandable, but being a furry is a choice.  None of us are really furries in real life. That's an avatar choice.

There are RL males who inhabit female avatars here. There are RL females who inhabit male avatars here. I doubt anyone doing either of those things would be upset by finding venues that were exclusive to a gender that their avatar doesn't match. They certainly shouldn't be.

I frequent a club that has no particular ambience. It's just a club. One of the regulars is a furry (a big orange furry with rather alarmingly large teeth). Not a problem. If the club was trying to provide the ambience of an Elizabethan tavern circa 1600 A.D., I imagine that the person I mentioned would be asked to leave. I really don't think that sort of attitude is intolerance.

 

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In SL everything is a choice and I wasn't only speaking about furries but for non humavatars in general.

Being black is a choice, being burned like a toast is a choice, being blond is a choice, being female is a choice....but after all we all found an avatar we enjoy. It feels right to us and changing is like wearing a costume.

Now being human is set to such a high level....it feels like being different is wrong. I can understand some roleplay settings might not want certain avatars for storyreasons...BUT most of the intolerance places are far away from any kind of roleplay setting!!!

I bet every single person who is holding up their "Furry is a choice" and "SL is such a tolerant place" papers would not agree if the tables get turned and suddenly they are the one being hated and kicked out. Or if the club rule change to "no black people, no people with shape X or no humans at all".

Interesting is that I haven't seen a singel place which didn't allowed human avatars....

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

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Syo Emerald wrote:

Now being human is set to such a high level....it feels like being different is wrong. I can understand some roleplay settings might not want certain avatars for storyreasons...BUT most of the intolerance places are far away from any kind of roleplay setting!!!

I bet every single person who is holding up their "Furry is a choice" and "SL is such a tolerant place" papers would not agree if the tables get turned and suddenly they are the one being hated and kicked out. Or if the club rule change to "no black people, no people with shape X or no humans at all".

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I'll agree on both of these.

Most of the roleplay places with strong themes, will be quite friendly to a furry who shows up in their welcome area - only getting picky once you move off to the RP zone, and then the picky gets about the whole theme, not just the species.

The hostile places will take -ANY- WHITE human, no matter how off-theme. They just have attitudes - and they're usually not RP zones. You can talk it anyway you like: but a dance club, even a ballroom, is -NOT- a RP zone. Even Berlin 1920s is not a RP zone: its a themed live/hangout area (And another major classic wear themed area, Caledon, is furry friendly).

A RP zone, that's a place like "Hyborean Adventure" or "Deadwood City" or 'Gods of Valor" - places where you have to be 'in character' and 'in story' when you talk. Mention something like "BRB, making coffee" and you'll get people asking you not to disrupt the RP even sooner than if you show up on a purple furry.

A RP zone is running stories or its basically dead/on pause - waiting for the next story.

 

Furry places, even RP themed ones, tend to welcome humans and others. I think I -have- seen one that didn,'t. But it was empty when I went so I'm not sure, and this was a few years ago so I'm not even sure if I remember it right... Some furry places will have communities that 'feel' like they're not human friendly while letting humans be around - but I've not tested that; it was just a gut reaction.

 

[Dillon Levenque]

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Syo Emerald wrote:

In SL everything is a choice and I wasn't only speaking about furries but for non humavatars in general.

Being black is a choice, being burned like a toast is a choice, being blond is a choice, being female is a choice....but after all we all found an avatar we enjoy. It feels right to us and changing is like wearing a costume.

Now being human is set to such a high level....it feels like being different is wrong. I can understand some roleplay settings might not want certain avatars for storyreasons...BUT most of the intolerance places are far away from any kind of roleplay setting!!!

I bet every single person who is holding up their "Furry is a choice" and "SL is such a tolerant place" papers would not agree if the tables get turned and suddenly they are the one being hated and kicked out. Or if the club rule change to "no black people, no people with shape X or no humans at all".

Interesting is that I haven't seen a singel place which didn't allowed human avatars....

 

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I did not mean to suggest that there is no intolerance in Second Life. Of course there is. We're humans. Intolerance is, unfortunately, something we are really good at.

I have no advice on why some places have 'human only' rules if there's not a reasonable RP reason to do so. I agree it's a stupid attitude. But don't you see—that's not a Second Life thing, that's just a stupid human thing. The Second Life thing is that we can be non-human and mingle. I've mentioned my tigress friend. I have other non-human friends. I've talked with wolves. I've flirted with dragons. Hell, I've BEEN a dragon.

[Perrie Juran]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

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Hell, I've BEEN a dragon.

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Have you ever seen a Martian Dragon?

They flew off from our planet a millenium ago and no one from here has seen once since.