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Is Second Life only Role Play?


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I just joined Second Life today out of curosity. I know that role play is a big part of second life. But is second life only role play? Is everyone on Second Life role playing all of the time or are there places where people are expected to be themselve and not playing someone else?

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Second Life is not all devoted to role playing.  It's actually a chat platform with graphics in which you can build your own surroundings and your own second life look with your avatar.  Many in second life never role play (I'm one of them) and just enjoy living in a tiki hut or a castle or anything in between; enjoy meeting people on the internet from all over the world and chatting with them.  But, just because I don't officially role play, such as playing vampires or zombies or soldiers or sci-fi stuff, doesn't mean my avatar is an exact replica of my real life self physically.  Most residents of second life improve upon their looks and may choose to wear clothing they could never afford and would never wear in real life or change hairstyle and color just for fun.  In my case, my look changes, but I am still the same person in second life as I am in real life when I chat with others.   My opinions, feelings, interests and the way I express myself are the same.  I am also a female and not playing at being another gender as others in second life (mostly males playing females) may choose to do.

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There are a lot of people in SL that have never role played and aren't interested in it.  Most of these people are 'themselves' in SL, other than as Pam said their SL is more their ideal then RL.  Some of them though play their avatars like characters in a play.  These folks tend to look more on SL as a game, while the former group view it more of an extension of their RL in a virtual world.

Personally I am myself in SL.

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My guess is the majority of SL residents aren't involved in role play, but there's no easy way to prove it. I don't consider playing ourselves in SL as role play, since we do that in our real lives as well. SL is a platform; we build and do what we want with it. It can be used as a social platform (though I don't think Linden Lab thought of it as such, or they would've built better chat tools), for role play, for creating, for business, ... whatever you wish, as long as you don't violate the Terms of Service.

Use Destinations and the search tool to look for things you're interested in - odds are good there's something you'll like.

 ETA: Argh, this was meant as a reply to the OP. I forgot that only the Reply button at the top of the page is safe to use for that.

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Like the others have said, some do and some don't. I belong to a RP sim, when I am there, I am the character I have created for myself. Once I leave the sim, I am myself. My avatar is designed to look like me when I was about 20..(I sooo wish I still looked like that!) 

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I'm not roleplaying in Second Life. There is far more to real roleplay than just having an avatar. I always find those assumpetions kind of irriating, when I think how much effort I put into the roleplay I do outside of SL and some think. Makes me wonder, if they even know what roleplay is.

If someone here talks to me, they are talking to me...not some ficitional character and of course I will act like me. What I can't stand is, when people force their roleplay on others.

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Welcome to SL, Sara.

No, most people don't RP. Well, as one of theother said already aren't we all playing a role, in both lifes? I don't know about them but I know I don't. In SL I'm the same as in RL only younger  (not even half my RL age), aggressive lesbian socialist, kinda rich, spoilt, bratty loudmouth and some say I'm even kindasorta sexy. So yeah, exactly how I'd love to be in RL.

Is that roleplay?

Oh, and I gotta say SL is not a chatroom at all. At least not for me. My time in SL is too valuable to waste it away with chatting. The stuff I have to say I say in forums and on my blog; in world I set most groups so that I don't get any notices/IMs from them.

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Sara,

As you must know by now, Second Life is more than Role Play (RP). Second Life is a platform, and people use that platform for many different things. There are some areas that are only RP, and some people who use Second Life (SL) only for RP. There are reenactments of historical battles, made up battles involving medieval knights, space travelers, or future soldiers. 

On the other hand there are many people like me for whom SL is at extension of their Real Life (RL). In RL I am a mother, wife, Episcopalian (Anglican), and attorney. In SL I am the same. I do not have an SL relationship or SL kids, and I do not practice law or give legal advice in SL (or here), but I do engage in conversations about kids, legal practice, etc. and I go to worship services in SL. In all of those I am myself and what I say is not made up.

One of my hobbies is making SL clothes and wearing them. In general, the clothes I wear are the same as what I wear in RL (professional and other), except that I have some in SL that I cannot find in the right color and size in RL. I do have some of my designs that I would like to have in RL but haven't seen yet. I also have a far bigger wardrobe in SL than I could afford in RL.

Sometimes people appear at non-RP events with their RP avatar and clothes. For example, in a worship service there is sometimes someone who looks quite different from his RL self, but what he discusses is purely RL. I was once in a discussion with several other lawyers about the technical aspects of electronic submission of court pleadings. One person in the discussion was a older, female appeals court judge. She appeared as a young, male, medieval knight. Yet, what she said was her true opinion about the subject from her perspective as a judge.

Of course, many people are not quite the same in SL as RL. People with physical handicaps may do things they cannot do in RL and appear in SL without the handicap. Some people wear clothes that they would not wear in RL. Many people enhance their appearance in SL. I would not consider that role playing. Some people do things in SL they would not do in RL, such as go to a bar, meet someone, and have sex with a stranger.

There are people who RP the opposite gender in SL. That is OK where gender doesn't matter or where RP is expected. However, I don't consider it to be OK to enter into a romantic or sexual relationship being dishonest about one's gender. I know it is done, but I strongly disapprove of the practice.

Marybeth

WORDPRESS

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Welcome to the wonderful world of Second Life, Sara

A lot of what I do is roleplay (usually a dominant to my submissive friends) but there are lots more things to do inworld than that. People go to dance clubs, explore beautiful sims, race cars, shoot zombies, or even find resident made replicas of famous landmarks...all as themselves.

It may seem that roleplay is all that goes on here because that's a lot of what you see, but if it's not for you then you don't have to do it. It's all up to you....

Good luck

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Starling Cazalet wrote:

I think everyone in a way is rping because we really dont act like ourselves in here. 

We all act diffrently in different place. I act differently in church, in a meeting with clients, and at home. That doesn't mean that I am rping in those places. If I act differently in a particular place in SL I am not playing a role but just responding to my environment.

Marybeth

WORDPRESS

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Starling Cazalet wrote:

I think everyone in a way is rping because we really dont act like ourselves in here. 

I act the same way on SL as I do in RL in the same type of enviornment. When I am talking to some others at an SL club I act the same as when I am talking with others in a RL club. When I am discussing a Bible passage on Sunday in SL I act the same as when I am in a discussion at Adult Sunday School in RL.

If I were a Christian in RL but a Hindu in Sl, or vice-versa, that would be rping.

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Starling Cazalet wrote:

I think everyone in a way is rping because we really dont act like ourselves in here. 

Statement like this make me cringe. Thats the mentality of people who excuse bad behavior with "its just a game". (And I promise, I didn't roleplayed that I dislike this!)

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Syo Emerald wrote:


Starling Cazalet wrote:

I think everyone in a way is rping because we really dont act like ourselves in here. 

Statement like this make me cringe. Thats the mentality of people who excuse bad behavior with "its just a game". (And I promise, I didn't roleplayed that I dislike this!)

The follow-on from that kind of claim is "I was just acting in-character! *hurt expression*". I've seen it in RL roleplay and I've seen it here. Griefers take part in RP and create the most ridiculous and antagonistic character they can imagine and go out to cause (the wrong kind of) drama. They often turn out to be power-gamers and rule-lawyers too, because they need to protect themselves against in-character retribution. 

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This is a virtual world where anything can be possible.  So take everything with a grain of salt.  If you want reality, then stick with the real world.

 

I once met Barack Obama in Second Life.  Am I supposed to act like it really is Obama?

 

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I have been involved in roleplay in the past. In RL (well, non-internet, not really real) I have been a civil war reenacter, playing the role of a wife of a soldier. I have been involved in rp in SL. I enjoy role playing, both on SL and off line.

However, if I am not involved in rp in an rp area, I am not role playing. I play myself. What I say to others is real, how I behave is the real me. My avatar looks somewhat like me. There are a few differences: in SL my boobs are slightly larger and better looking and I have a little less weight. Also, in SL I don't have a birthmark on my butt. However, except for those things, I am myself. I have engaged with other mothers in conversations about raising young kids, and what I said was my true experience and opinons. I keep rp separate from everything else.

That said, I know that in SL, like the internet in general, you can't be sure about other people. The person you meet may be the other gender. The lawyer or doctor you meet may be someone not in that profession, so don't assume the advice is correct. Of course, the same is true in RL. It may be harder in RL to fake one's gender, but it can be done. It is pretty easy in RL to lie about one's profession and to give advice without knowing what you are talking about. So take everything, in SL or in RL, with a grain of salt.

In SL people should keep rp separate from other activities, When not in an rp area, please be yourself.

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AnnAdams wrote:

It may be harder in RL to fake one's gender, but it can be done. It is pretty easy in RL to lie about one's profession and to give advice without knowing what you are talking about. So take everything, in SL or in RL, with a grain of salt.

Very true. It is harder to fake gender in RL, but I have known of it being done. I know of one guy (NOT ME!) who met a good looking girl in a bar. One thing let to another, and eventually he found out that she was really a he.

So take everything, particularly SL but also RL with a grain of salt.

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RobertThorp wrote:

Very true. It is harder to fake gender in RL, but I have known of it being done. I know of one guy (NOT ME!) who met a good looking girl in a bar. One thing let to another, and eventually he found out that she was really a he.

So take everything, particularly SL but also RL with a grain of salt.

No one who passes that well in RL is "faking it".

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Kelli May wrote:


RobertThorp wrote:

Very true. It is harder to fake gender in RL, but I have known of it being done. I know of one guy (NOT ME!) who met a good looking girl in a bar. One thing let to another, and eventually he found out that she was really a he.

So take everything, particularly SL but also RL with a grain of salt.

No one who passes that well in RL is "faking it".

I always enjoy the "Is it a Boy or is it a Girl" quizes.

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Coby Foden wrote:


Perrie Juran wrote:

 

I always enjoy the
quizes.

Hum... "
Your Score:
You got 2 right out of 8 questions.
"  :smileysurprised: :smileysad:

Very difficult guess the gender of the cats from the photos provided there.

Why don't they take the photos from the back, tail in upright position?  :smileyvery-happy:

There are other clues. Ginger cats are far more often male than female. Calico and tortoiseshell cats are almost always female. This is down to the way red coloration is expressed on the X-chromosome. 

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