Just an Idea

[ReallyReallyGoodMeat]

SL is in many ways like RL, what i`m coming too is if we meet someone in RL we don`t know who they are unless they tell us or I tell them who I am i:e totaly annonymous. Why can`t we in SL choose to be this way and not have our names displayed above our heads, and no way of non friends being able to check out our profiles. I know the option is there to hide names above heads but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

[Ted McGregor]

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ReallyReallyGoodMeat wrote:

...  but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

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That can be achieved only if you own/control the land and would mean no one else, watching from outside that land, would see you. You can set yourself, and friends visiting, to invisible to the outside world.

In all other places of SL you are an object like any other with information for anyone to see. It's inherent to the system.

[Pussycat Catnap]

In RL I can remember you by your face, posture, and mannerisms - even if I don't know your name.

In SL with a mouse click you can change all of that - but not the name.

The end result is pretty similar.

 

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

Could always make an alternate account.  I have 25. ()y

 

 

[Syo Emerald]

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ReallyReallyGoodMeat wrote:

SL is in many ways like RL, what i`m coming too is if we meet someone in RL we don`t know who they are unless they tell us or I tell them who I am i:e totaly annonymous. Why can`t we in SL choose to be this way and not have our names displayed above our heads, and no way of non friends being able to check out our profiles. I know the option is there to hide names above heads but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

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Or you could just turn of the computer, lock the windows, close the curtains and sit in a dark corner of your room. = ultimate privacy

[Ren Toxx]

If you meet a stranger in RL and inmediately ask him his name, or he tells you, he’s still a stranger, you don’t really know him any deeper. He may be John or he may be Mark, but you still don’t know where he resides, what he thinks, whom he likes to mingle with or what life he leads.

And yes, SL has us all pre-tagged whether we want it or not, and our profiles are open for all to see; but you can choose to leave yours blank of any public info, you can choose to have no one but your friends to IM you, and let no one that you don’t trust know what you are.

[Dresden Ceriano]

How very selfish of you to wish upon a complete stranger denial of the knowledge of how good your meat really is.

...Dres

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Terrible Idea. 

In RL when you meet someone how do you know they are telling you the truth when they give you their name unless you demand to see ID??  At least in SL people can't lie about their name.

Profiles are really important.  It is where most people look to see if you may be someone they'd like to be friends with.  It is where people go when they need to contact someone about business.  Name tags are important too.  How would you AR someone if you had to?  How would people address you or thank you for a tip? (yo thanks?)

I have good friends that radically change their avatar's appearance like people change underwear in RL.  How would I ever recognize them without a tag?

If you don't want anyone to view your profile just leave it completely blank.  Set your privacy settings so no one but people on your friends list can IM you. If a stranger talks to you, block them immediately. Turn off tags in your viewer so you can play this game.  Don't expect to make many or even any new friends though.

[Qie Niangao]

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[...] I know the option is there to hide names above heads but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

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This is much less fun than one might think, or at least that's my experience of the version of role-play where we pretend not to know the other person's name until introduced. That approach makes for more realistic dialog, I suppose, when everybody is playing along and the situation is highly structured. But more generally... well, I tried to follow that rule for a while, with random people I met anywhere on the grid, and not only did I seem willfully stupid, but worse, it ended up seeming downright rude to the other person.

Unless you have some special plan for how to make this work, you'll be seen as conspicuously anti-social, simply by not greeting others by name before being introduced.

We could try to figure out why it works that way. I might guess that it's due to needing artificial social cues (e.g., pre-knowledge of names) in an environment where so many of the natural cues are degraded or absent.

[Ceka Cianci]

Oh man are you gonna hate the technology coming to an RL near you in the future..

Just wait until the real world becomes a social network where they can click their hologram thingy and look your profile up as they pass you on the street..

they already have it where you can point your phone at things and get info..

:matte-motes-nerdy:

We next Muhuhuhahahaha

[Dillon Levenque]

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Qie Niangao wrote:

---

[...] I know the option is there to hide names above heads but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

---

This is much less fun than one might think, or at least that's my experience of the version of role-play where we pretend not to know the other person's name until introduced. That approach makes for more realistic dialog, I suppose, when everybody is playing along and the situation is highly structured. But more generally... well, I tried to follow that rule for a while, with random people I met anywhere on the grid, and not only did I seem willfully stupid, but worse, it ended up seeming downright rude to the other person.

Unless you have some special plan for how to make this work, you'll be seen as conspicuously anti-social, simply by not greeting others by name before being introduced.

We could try to figure out why it works that way. I might guess that it's due to needing 

artificial

social cues (e.g., pre-knowledge of names) in an environment where so many of the

natural

cues are degraded or absent.

---

Of  the surveys, studies, and explorations of SL that I've seen advertised here, I've not seen that particular subject addressed. That at least would be an interesting study. It might just turn out that the name thing means nothing; we connect or do not connect based on what we say. In SL, visual cues count but we're all so good looking they really don't mattter.

[Madelaine McMasters]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

---

Qie Niangao wrote:

---

[...] I know the option is there to hide names above heads but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

---

This is much less fun than one might think, or at least that's my experience of the version of role-play where we pretend not to know the other person's name until introduced. That approach makes for more realistic dialog, I suppose, when everybody is playing along and the situation is highly structured. But more generally... well, I tried to follow that rule for a while, with random people I met anywhere on the grid, and not only did I seem willfully stupid, but worse, it ended up seeming downright rude to the other person.

Unless you have some special plan for how to make this work, you'll be seen as conspicuously anti-social, simply by not greeting others by name before being introduced.

We could try to figure out why it works that way. I might guess that it's due to needing 

artificial

social cues (e.g., pre-knowledge of names) in an environment where so many of the

natural

cues are degraded or absent.

---

Of  the surveys, studies, and explorations of SL that I've seen advertised here, I've not seen that particular subject addressed. That at least would be an interesting study. It might just turn out that the name thing means nothing; we connect or do not connect based on what we say. In SL, visual cues count but we're all so good looking they really don't mattter.

---

I'll discount the OP wanting to do this for nefarious reasons. What griefer wouldn't want this ability?

How on Earth would you greet someone if names were not displayed?

"Hey you with the curly hair and droopy Mr. Wiggly, put some pants on!"

"Welcome to Hippiestock, Ms... no wait a dog-gone minute here, you all look like flower children!"

I expect you'd have to practically bump into someone you wanted to greet. Immy has the right idea, just create alts for those anonymous anti-social outings. And I think it would be reasonable and fair for people to consider nameless avatars as anti-social.

The last thing I'd do to keep a low profile is go out in SL public absent a name. This would be the equivalent of going out in RL wearing a sheet over my head. Well, that's a bad analogy. I've actually done that. This would be the equivalent of going out in RL wearing my cousin's wig, which makes me look like a minature Howard Ster...

Gah, never mind.

 

[Kelli May]

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Madelaine McMasters wrote:

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

---

Qie Niangao wrote:

---

[...] I know the option is there to hide names above heads but I for one would like to go out and explore SL and no AV other than a friend would know who I was.

---

This is much less fun than one might think, or at least that's my experience of the version of role-play where we pretend not to know the other person's name until introduced. That approach makes for more realistic dialog, I suppose, when everybody is playing along and the situation is highly structured. But more generally... well, I tried to follow that rule for a while, with random people I met anywhere on the grid, and not only did I seem willfully stupid, but worse, it ended up seeming downright rude to the other person.

Unless you have some special plan for how to make this work, you'll be seen as conspicuously anti-social, simply by not greeting others by name before being introduced.

We could try to figure out why it works that way. I might guess that it's due to needing 

artificial

social cues (e.g., pre-knowledge of names) in an environment where so many of the

natural

cues are degraded or absent.

---

Of  the surveys, studies, and explorations of SL that I've seen advertised here, I've not seen that particular subject addressed. That at least would be an interesting study. It might just turn out that the name thing means nothing; we connect or do not connect based on what we say. In SL, visual cues count but we're all so good looking they really don't mattter.

---

I'll discount the OP wanting to do this for nefarious reasons. What griefer wouldn't want this ability?

How on Earth would you greet someone if names were not displayed?

"Hey you with the curly hair and droopy Mr. Wiggly, put some pants on!"

"Welcome to Hippiestock, Ms... no wait a dog-gone minute here, you all look like flower children!"

I expect you'd have to practically bump into someone you wanted to greet. Immy has the right idea, just create alts for those anonymous anti-social outings. And I think it would be reasonable and fair for people to consider nameless avatars as anti-social.

The last thing I'd do to keep a low profile is go out in SL public absent a name. This would be the equivalent of going out in RL wearing a sheet over my head. Well, that's a bad analogy. I've actually done that. This would be the equivalent of going out in RL wearing my cousin's wig, which makes me look like a minature Howard Ster...

Gah, never mind.

 

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If you think greetings would be difficult, try a conversation with more than one person. There's very little to show just who is speaking in chat, other than the name attached to the speech. It's possible, using RLV, to remove the ability to view names (they are replaced by generic descriptors like "somebody", "an avatar" or "some person"). Trying to keep track of who said what is almost impossible and nothing like reality.

[Dillon Levenque]

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Kelli May wrote:

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If you think greetings would be difficult, try a conversation with more than one person. There's very little to show just who is speaking in chat, other than the name attached to the speech. It's possible, using RLV, to remove the ability to view names (they are replaced by generic descriptors like "somebody", "an avatar" or "some person"). Trying to keep track of who said what is almost impossible and nothing like reality.

---

 

Yes, of course, you're right. In my initial response I was only thinking of a two-person encounter. I'd totally overlooked the fact that most of the time there are more than two people present and in SL there's really no other way for us to know who said what.

[irihapeti]

I have name tags turned off

if someone says Hi to me then cursor over them. just so can include their name in the Hi back

if I was a hostie or customer service or something like that then I probably turn them on while I was working SL. But I dont SL work so

is not a biggie for me to know who are people I might see