How many people have a Second or Third Avatar? and Why?

[InsideOut Clip]

I am just curious to how many people have created Multiple Avatars and why they decited to do so?  Is it allowed? or is it frowned upon?

[Madelaine McMasters]

---

InsideOut Clip wrote:

I am just curious to how many people have created Multiple Avatars and why they decited to do so?  Is it allowed? or is it frowned upon?

---

 

I have three avatars. I created Maddy first, then I created a "Sugar Mommy" account to carry my payment details, with the hope that "security though obscurity" isn't just a cute rhyme. And finally, quite against my will, Snugs was created to hound me through mists of SL.

Do I frown upon multiple avatars? No, that's Snugs' job.

[InsideOut Clip]

So are your other Avatars ... well ... like different people to you?  do you consider them to be "real" just as if they were a separate person?

[Syo Emerald]

---

InsideOut Clip wrote:

I am just curious to how many people have created Multiple Avatars and why they decited to do so?  Is it allowed? or is it frowned upon?

---

Of course its allowed and I would even say its the norm that people have more than one account. Many merchants and builders have a business account, for example so they can work peacefully and keep it seperate from their main account, which they may use for other things.

Others have a second account because they want to roleplay a different character than they already do on their main account, or because they want their accountname to be more suitable for roleplay. Some also outsource a certain avatar style. And then of course you have people with a second account for all the naugthy stuff. :catvery-happy:

[Marktel14]

To anwser your first question yeah, I've met  plenty of people that confess to having "Alts".  I even had a boss in SL who would sneak her alt in just to see that we where doing our job.  I don't think there is anything negative to having multiple accounts.  It's like an extra layer of trust that you can tell people when you feel close enough to.  

As for do I see them seperatly, yes sort of.  I made an account to help out a friend that was doing Bloodline and that avi has a story and stuff.  My DJ avi has connections so I can DJ and have a regular flow of Lindens.  Then I have MY Avi, which s for me to have fun with.  3 avis all diffrent and no frownie face.

[Adana Ember]

I have 10 that I actively play with. Maybe they are slices of myself, or of who I imagine myself to be, but none of them are real ... any more than dolls or story characters are real.  I think I would like to write stories about them because they do spark my imagination...

 

That being said I recently discovered this: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Alt_account_policies *sigh*

[InsideOut Clip]

When I first started in 2008 I was unclear that it was premitted to have more than one "legally" ... and I did create an "Alt" I used it for work ... My "Alt" became my "working" avatar and my original was for personal use.  My "Alt" was a Hostess at a club ... not a dancer ... and for a nice ballroom atmasphere ... LOL ...

So when I created her ... I made up the information and she is/was just a figmant of my imagination ... lol ... my Cyble ... LOL

When I started a new job in RL I was unable to work my SL job anymore and did not get on as that Avatar for almost a year.  Now that it has been so long I cannot remember what the "made up info" was and I am unable to get back on as my "Alt" ... any suggestions?

 

[Marigold Devin]

Officially anyone can have up to five accounts (avatars) per household. I have some registered to this address, and some to my alternative address (I usually use the computers at my brother's house as I don't have internet connected at mine currently).

This account is my first and my main, and the one I identify with.  The other accounts I have I rarely use. I have occasionally posted on these forums as my main second alt, Echo Hermit. She was created originally to be a male avatar, but then I just felt she should be blonde and has taken on a whole personality of her own!

Maybe I have multiple personality disorder. It would be easy enough to change my main avatar into different-looking people or non-humanoid avatars, but I never liked to do that. I test things with my Marigoldspare avatar, and that is, and has always been, in the form of a cat, one of the library avatars we all have in our inventories.

More often than not I have created a new avatar simply because a name popped into my head and I fancied making a new avatar with that name. Most of my alts sit in a virtual cupboard gathering virtual dust and virtual cobwebs.  They have occasionally been used as photographer's props, or if I have been locked out on my main account (ie when we had a ghosting problem a few years ago), it was handy to just be able to log in on an alt.

[InsideOut Clip]

Another thought pops into my mind ... My whole family is/was playing this "Game" ... and if a "Household" is only allowed 5 "Alts" then what if there is more than 5 people in your family?  Is that conciderd "Alts"? ...

[Sephina Frostbite]

Make a new one and have fun!! I dont have any alts but thats because I love spoiling this one.. and I like my look so much all my alts would look the same lol.. so no reason for me to have them.

[Lewis Luminos]

I have six. One was my very first avatar which I stopped using when I made this one in 2008. Another one was an experiment in creating an avatar that looks as near as possible to the way I look in RL. It took me three years to get it right but I find it very "uncanny valley" and I don't like using it much. The others were made for roleplay.

[Saraya Starr]

I have my Main and I have five alts, all made for different reasons, some for roleplay, and some because I was just bored and wanted to try something different.  All but one now are gathering dust, and I use her when I just want to be left alone

So go ahead, make an alt or 2, you may find it fun to explore different sides of yourself

[Janelle Darkstone]

I have one main and six alts, mostly used as characters in photo stories.  Occasionally I go undercover on an alt to explore places through a different set of eyes.

Sometimes I go

.

[JaedenDelanaire]

My alts have never been anything more than an extension of myself, but on the occasion that I control a gender other than my own IRL, friends have noted that I behave differently. Different suits tend to call for different mannerisms. One alt has a feminine name and holds all of my female skins, animations, AOs, etc., and the other is male, holding the gender opposite to my other. I use them for RPing, and both of them represent a plethora of characters--all I have to do is change skin, shape, hair and outfit and use a different titler and BAM, I'm in business. 

 

[LaurelLance89]

I have three, one female and two male avatars. I made my female first and she is the one I spend most of my time on. I made a male avatar that can be a child or teen/adult, just for fun. My third is also a male and I made him with the intentions of trying out bloodlines, but I am not active with that one yet, need to wait till I have the money for hud and avatar look.

I do think of them as 3 different people. Rather you consider this a game or virtual reality, it isn't real and I don't consider it to be me in SL or take anything seriously. I log on to have fun, roleplay and even make friends. You have to come into second life knowing what you expect to get out of it or you might forget SL isn't real life.

[cheeseburgerpickle]

I habitually create accounts and then delete them; I've done this for years. The most accounts I've had at one time is four, and three of those were created for specific purposes, and weren't really 'me' as such. In all honesty, I've stopped doing that now because it gets ridiculously expensive and I can't help but mess around and spend money on each avatar to make it look the way I want it to, and of course that kind of thing is endless. So I'm down to one account for now, and for the forseeable future. 

I have no problem with alts, obviously, and as someone else mentioned, you can tell your closest friends about your other avatars, and it does create a level of trust between those who know a particular avatar is yours. I see it as just a normal part of SL ('normal' being a relative term in SL). 

[Pussycat Catnap]

I've got 5 premium accounts.

- I've created new accounts just because I wanted a different look, and a given look is strongly attached to each.

So I have a neko, a rabbit furry, a faun, a fox furry, and one that was made to buy a cow furry avatar I ended up being kind of neutral on and so became my "try any look that seem interesting" alt.

 

The 5 rules has been tossed out a number of times - but keeps showing up on the wiki as well.

 

The official TOS mentions nothing, and the community standards says:

 

https://secondlife.com/corporate/cs.php

 

Alternate Accounts

While Residents may choose to play Second Life with more than one account, specifically or consistently using an alternate account to harass other Residents or violate the Community Standards is not acceptable. Alternate accounts are generally treated as separate from a Resident's principal account, but misuse of alternate accounts can and will result in disciplinary action on the principal account.

[LollipopSweetness]

I have more alts than most people have grains of rice with their Chinese food. lol  Just make an email for each individual account, helps keep things nice and streamlined.  Each of my alts are different in personality and looks, yet all are inherently parts of me.  Not sure if that means I have multiple personality disorder or what, but there you have it. lol

My current main account owns and operates a fairly well known store in SL, so she is kept strictly for business, I have an alt I use for accounting purposes, a couple of alts I use for photography, setting animations, etc. for the store as well.  You know how sometims you see adds with like six or more avatars upon whatever the item is?  Yeah, I use alts for that and yes I can run up to 10 avatars at once, pain in the a** but I do it.  Easier than paying people and having to deal with telling them where to stand, how to look, getting everyone online at the same time, etc.

I have some alts that do the naughty stuff, some that have major RP bio's in some large RP communities as well and I have both male and female avatars (though I am female in RL), also have a few furry ones, robotic ones, fetish ones and some I made specifically because I thought of a name I liked and wanted to claim it in case I choose to play on it at a later date, like this avatar I am writing with now, I just liked the name.  SL is about having fun and being who and what you want to be.  As long as your not hurting anyone else it shouldn't matter if you have one avatar or 100 avatars, just constantly remind yourself that the people behind the avatars are real, they deserve to be treated kindly and always put forth an effort to not treat anyone in a way you wouldn't want to be treated yourself.