Is the Universal Avatar an idea whose time has come?

[Vanity Fair]

Is the Universal Avatar an idea whose time has come?

https://sansarnewsblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/28/the-idea-of-the-universal-avatar/

 

[Klytyna]

NO...

 

[MaggiJin]

The whole reason i joined this game is because my friend val told me i could make my avatar look like anything i wanted and i make it something that really speaks to me. having the same one as everyone else would be horrible.

[Pamela Galli]

17 minutes ago, MaggiJin said:

The whole reason i joined this game is because my friend val told me i could make my avatar look like anything i wanted and i make it something that really speaks to me. having the same one as everyone else would be horrible.

 That’s not what  a universal avatar is.

[MaggiJin]

1 minute ago, Pamela Galli said:

 That’s not what  a universal avatar is.

 Universal means everyone has it.

[Klytyna]

26 minutes ago, Klytyna said:

NO...

 

Let me elaborate... For the Project Stupoid Vomit Cam Avatar to become "universal" would require that ...

1. The Project Stupid Devs came up with an Avatar that anyone would WANT to use.

2. Devising a graphics engine, asset storage system, and scripting system (for objects you can interact with, things that are more than just a static unscripted prop), that ACTUALLY worked properly

 

3. Convinced EVERY rival Vomit Cam system to throw away their own avatar systems, content systems, scripting  systems, and graphics engines, and adopt Project Stupid's propriatary and generally inferior technology, while treating their own user base in a manner usually referred to as "pissing down your back and telling you it's raining".

Don't hold your breath while waiting for these 3 miraculousevents to happen, the answer to your question is a definite...

NO...
 

[Pamela Galli]

32 minutes ago, MaggiJin said:

 Universal means everyone has it.

Nope. Read the linked article.

[MaggiJin]

2 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

Nope. Read the linked article.

Theres really no other way to interpret it other then "everyone using the same avatar". thats pretty much what a UNIVERSAL avatar means.

[Pamela Galli]

4 minutes ago, MaggiJin said:

Theres really no other way to interpret it other then "everyone using the same avatar". thats pretty much what a UNIVERSAL avatar means.

This Is a discussion of the concept in the linked article. The article is not about everyone having the same avatar. If you want to make up your own definition that’s fine but that’s not what we are discussing.

[MaggiJin]

Just now, Pamela Galli said:

This Is a discussion of the concept in the linked article. The article is not about everyone having the same avatar. If you want to make up your own definition that’s fine but that’s not what we are discussing.

That is what the article is discussing.

[Pamela Galli]

3 minutes ago, MaggiJin said:

That is what the article is discussing.

quote: 

“one customizable avatar with inventory, which can visit multiple, vastly different experiences (“metaverses”).

[MaggiJin]

1 minute ago, Pamela Galli said:

quote: 

“one customizable avatar with inventory, which can visit multiple, vastly different experiences (“metaverses”).

one avatar. meaning everyone has the same avatar. "customizable" means nothing because you can just add 2 very similar hairs and claim "customizable avatars"

[eighthdwarf Checchinato]

Maggi, you keep misunderstanding it.

Everyone in SL has (at least) one avatar - but if this idea became reality, one could also visit other virtual worlds and games, etc. with their SL avatar. Or SL with the avatar you created for let's say IMVU, for example. You wouldn't need to create and customize a new avatar for every world you fancy visiting. Like, you would need to create only one avatar in total for SL, OpenSim, Imvu, Sansar, Sims Online, etc. - and could travel between these worlds, games and 3D-chatrooms at your whim, with the inventory automatically matching the visited world...

However, while I find this idea fascinating, I think that it won't become reality any time soon.

[Pamela Galli]

 You probably have to have some concept of what A metaverse is before you can understand the discussion. A universal avatar is one that you could take with you from second Life to  Sansar to high fidelity to sinespace etc. ,  along with your inventory. 

ETA Eightdwarf beat me to it.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Pamela Galli

[Pamela Galli]

26 minutes ago, eighthdwarf Checchinato said:

 

However, while I find this idea fascinating, I think that it won't become reality any time soon.

No, we will have flying cars and teleporters before universal avatars. 

[Hintswen Guardian]

1 hour ago, MaggiJin said:

 Universal means everyone has it.

I'm lost for words.

[MaggiJin]

41 minutes ago, Pamela Galli said:

 You probably have to have some concept of what A metaverse is before you can understand the discussion. A universal avatar is one that you could take with you from second Life to  Sansar to high fidelity to sinespace etc. ,  along with your inventory. 

ETA Eightdwarf beat me to it.

HAHAHA no. you'd still have the same avatar as everyone else just in more places.

[MaggiJin]

2 minutes ago, Hintswen Guardian said:

I'm lost for words.

Google the definition of universal.

[Hintswen Guardian]

Just now, MaggiJin said:

Google the definition of universal.

Oh I know what universal means. I also know what the article is referring to which, as everyone has pointed out, is different to what you think.

The way they mean universal is not "everyone had the same avatar" but rather "every system has the ability to use your avatar" just like certain blogs use Gravatar which allows you to set a profile picture which follows you as you comment on other Gravatar enabled websites. This is what they are referring to in the article.

[femhalf]

It's basically a universal identity, not necessarily an avatar.  This is just like Gravatar, except it was for forums and posts.  It was gaining popularity years ago, but then it became a nuisance and fell off.  People do not want a single identity all the time.  They want alts because of privacy.

Opensim already has this universal avatar idea.  You keep the same avatar, identity, and sometimes the same inventory (restricted across some opensim servers).  The article is basically calling for an opensource avatar, which has already been attempted but never caught on.

[Resi Pfeffer]

My avatar being able to login to other platforms, grids and games? 
I still prefer believing in santa claus.

[Hintswen Guardian]

28 minutes ago, Resi Pfeffer said:

My avatar being able to login to other platforms, grids and games? 
I still prefer believing in santa claus.

What's wrong with believing in something real?

[Anna Nova]

3 hours ago, Pamela Galli said:

Nope. Read the linked article.

Nope. It starts with SANSAR.  Hence it's rubbish, no point in reading it.

[HarrisonMcKenzie]

2 hours ago, eighthdwarf Checchinato said:

Maggi, you keep misunderstanding it.

Everyone in SL has (at least) one avatar - but if this idea became reality, one could also visit other virtual worlds and games, etc. with their SL avatar. Or SL with the avatar you created for let's say IMVU, for example. You wouldn't need to create and customize a new avatar for every world you fancy visiting. Like, you would need to create only one avatar in total for SL, OpenSim, Imvu, Sansar, Sims Online, etc. - and could travel between these worlds, games and 3D-chatrooms at your whim, with the inventory automatically matching the visited world...

However, while I find this idea fascinating, I think that it won't become reality any time soon.

So... Hypergrid?

[mikka Luik]

Key phrase being '... agree on some open standards'. The companies named won't do that without someone cornering the market and everyone else dumbing down to accommodate. Take a wild guess what that would mean. Or rather 'who' has the most users and what their offerings currently run on. Licensing what you could 'take' with you is another interesting nightmare.

Gravatar was interesting but died a death as no one found a way to monetise it, among other things. HyperGrid sort of works in a very limited way as is but its a tiny use case and bags of fun when grid owners fall out.

Not a bad idea but I wouldn't want one. Same as I don't have just one email.