What happens to your avatar when you log out?

[Wulfie Reanimator]

11 minutes ago, Talligurl said:

It all depends on your approach to SL. Not everyone shares your approach. For those of use who maintain a separation between SL and RL, my comment is logical, for those who cannot, then obviously your remarks apply. I always am clear to everyone what my approach is, so no one is decieved. Not everyone looks at SL the same way. 

I understand the point you're making but I don't think you're wording it in a way that is easy for others to understand, without them having to unnecessarily challenge your perspective because they lack context.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Rat Luv]

When I first joined I thought people marked 'away' were logged off and that their avatars stayed in the same spot until they returned. I would see others pushing AFK residents into the water, or trapping them...so I would try to find the quietest corner of the sim, or hide behind a hill, before I logged off, lol. 

[eyeye Afterthought]

20 hours ago, DJAlanRocks said:

Maybe it's a dumb question but I wanna know what you think. Do they stay in SL an have adventures with out you? Do they go to some place like purgatory, waiting for you to return? Do they interact with other offline avatars?  I am working on a story and want to hear your thoughts. 

Your imagination could truly run wild. Like what happens to your real body when you go to sleep, does it go robbing shops or naked swimming? Watching a friend going offline at the end of a session can be pretty spooky at first, like they just disappear and go nowhere, don't exist any more.

My av isn't logged in currently, it's nowhere, but when I first used to log out, I always parked it up somewhere as if it was going to stay there all night motionless without me. 

[Saskia Rieko]

I believe they sleep or are in a kind of coma and have weird dreams about a weird place called real life and then wake up and remember their dreams and think "oh, so you can actually drink coffee without spilling it all over your face and it even has a taste!" and then they come back to SL, disappointed that it was just a dream. 

[Talligurl]

55 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

I don't think you're wording it in a way that is easy for others to understand,

Or maybe I am wording it in such a way as to stir people up.

[Jordyn McGregor]

1 hour ago, Talligurl said:

It all depends on your approach to SL. 

I agree.

Although you have to be either a complete narcissist or sociopath to believe the people behind the avatars don't matter.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Jordan Whitt

[Rowan Amore]

21 minutes ago, Jordan Whitt said:

 

Although you have to be either a complete narcissist or sociopath to believe the people behind the avatars don't matter.

I agree with this 100%.  I've always maintained a separation between RL and SL and I make that very clear in my profile and when interacting with people.  I've had 3 partners in 10+ years.  2 were exclusive and 1 was open, all by choice.  I agree, to say when your partner logs out they cease to exist is, frankly, disturbing.  Using it as a reason to do whatever you want when they aren't there if you've agreed to be exclusive begs the question, why even have a partner?  If it's an open relationship, sure, do what you want but to say the person doesn't exist?  Wow

[Pixie Kobichenko]

You know you’ve seen Avis disappear, but they’re still there, watching.  They’re the whispers!  (But seriously when I was new to SL for the longest time I didn’t realize that our Avis did disappear, that maybe they stood there where we left them.  Would have explained people who just mill around landing points). 

 

[Talligurl]

36 minutes ago, Jordan Whitt said:

I agree.

Although you have to be either a complete narcissist or sociopath to believe the people behind the avatars don't matter.

They do matter. I never said they do not, which is why I let people know my approach from the start. I am not telling anyone I will do one thing when they are online, then sneaking around doing something else when they are not. I also do not intentionally do anything to.hurt people. There are of course people who do not share my approach, and I let them know we are not right for each other in SL. Those who see things the way I do however exist, and these are the people I keep in my SL. I do not pine for them when they are logged off though, nor do I want them pining for me.

[DJAlanRocks]

I appreciate the responses, and I know that avatars appear to vanish when we log out. I love the idea that they stay in, off line avatars hanging out and having adventures, maybe they go to a place that is black and empty, waiting for their owners to return.

What happens to deleted avatars?

[Rolig Loon]

5 minutes ago, DJAlanRocks said:

What happens to deleted avatars?

I assume you are familiar with purgatory ....

[panterapolnocy]

7 minutes ago, DJAlanRocks said:

What happens to deleted avatars?

2 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

I assume you are familiar with purgatory ....

I'd take a bit brighter approach than a purgatory and would say, that... the thing that happens to them is exactly the same as the one, when you log off - you just severe the "link" between the avatar - link which is the "account" itself - and the real person, but this time permanently (or semi-permanently, if you decide to reactivate the account).

[Jordyn McGregor]

42 minutes ago, Talligurl said:

They do matter. I never said they do not...

No, you actually said people "do not exist" after they log out.  Kinda implies "not in SL, you don't matter".

42 minutes ago, Talligurl said:

I am not telling anyone I will do one thing when they are online, then sneaking around doing something else when they are not. 

Considering your choice of significant other and how you both are, and judging by the conveyor belt of supporting players in pictures you post...it would be a HUGE leap to even THINK you could or would be monogamous.  That being said, there is nothing wrong with open relationships or being sexually extroverted.

42 minutes ago, Talligurl said:

Those who see things the way I do however exist, and these are the people I keep in my SL. 

I thought you only kept potential customers around. 

The people I want to keep around in my SL actually care about me as a person, and accepting of the fact that in return I care about them too.

42 minutes ago, Talligurl said:

I do not pine for them when they are logged off though, nor do I want them pining for me.

When my partner isn't online, sure I miss him, but I keep myself busy with other things (inventory, shopping, pictures etc). 

Your comment was that there was no reason to be faithful to someone you make a commitment to because when they log out, they cease to exist.  My best friend in SL logged out one day almost five years ago, and then passed away.  She truly did cease to exist. 

I found your analogy insulting and quite hurtful.  

Edited February 7, 2021 by Jordan Whitt

[Rolig Loon]

20 minutes ago, panterapolnocy said:

I'd take a bit brighter approach than a purgatory

Purgatory may be thought of as a state of ambiguity, of betweenness, which can sound depressing.  It is also a state of yearning, in which there is hope of greatness just beyond your grasp.  Hence the illustration of the purgatory of sainted souls.  So, a deleted avatar may be in hope of being brought back to life one day, remembered by the RL being she was tethered to earlier.  Or she may hope for a graceful transition into the Cloud, where she will find a perpetual community of liberated beings.  Either way ... a bright possibility.

[Lindal Kidd]

15 hours ago, Talligurl said:

When my RL husband goes out the door and goes to work, he is still existing even though I can't see him

How do you know that?

[Rowan Amore]

3 hours ago, DJAlanRocks said:

I appreciate the responses, and I know that avatars appear to vanish when we log out. I love the idea that they stay in, off line avatars hanging out and having adventures, maybe they go to a place that is black and empty, waiting for their owners to return.

What happens to deleted avatars?

They end up in Dante's first circle of hell.

[Talligurl]

13 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

How do you know that?

Well he brings back money people pay him for working, so I am assuming they wouldn't pay him if he didn't exist.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

When they are not logged in, our avatars exist in a glorious and wondrous state of in potentia: wonderful and powerful substance (code) without shape or form. They are wondrous in this state because they, unlike we merely physical beings, can become and be anything. They have not yet been confined by form, restrained by rendering, confined by the choices we make. They are like unborn gods, all powerful simply because they have yet to be limited by algorithm and our choice. They mean everything, and nothing, at the same time.

Of course, as shapeless potential, they aren't a whole lot of fun to play with. And that's why our role -- what Aristotle called entelechy, the giving of form and shape to something that has heretofore existed only as potential -- is so important. Ours are the choices, ours is the will that activates and makes real all of that powerful potential. Just as code is meaningless until it is parsed, manipulated, and applied by an application, so too do we give our avatars meaning.

The moment our avatar rezzes is like a new birth, bursting with boundless possibilities, because we suddenly find ourselves empowered to shape that potential anyway we wish. The world, as Milton wrote, lies all before us.

What will we become? How will we deploy this power of potential? In what directions will we move this boundless power to realize and create something that did not previously even exist in form? Each choice we make diminishes that potential somewhat . . . but residing within our ability to make choices, we share, momentarily, in the split second before we choose, the boundless and godlike power of potential.

 

Alternately, our avatars are reduced to a whole bunch of incomprehensible binary numbers recorded on a magnetic disk somewhere that we can only access if we don't forget to pay our ISP. Philosophy is still undecided.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Talligurl]

3 hours ago, Jordan Whitt said:

you actually said people "do not exist" after they log out.

Actually if you go back to the OP you will see the question is what happens to our avatars? It is the avatars that "do not exist" not the people behind them. 

3 hours ago, Jordan Whitt said:

I keep myself busy with other things (inventory, shopping, pictures etc).

These are the things I do most of the time, regardless of who else is on.

 

3 hours ago, Jordan Whitt said:

Your comment was that there was no reason to be faithful to someone you make a commitment to

No if I were to make a commitment I would honor it. My remarks are an explanation as to why I do not make those sorts of commitments.

 

3 hours ago, Jordan Whitt said:

My best friend in SL logged out one day almost five years ago, and then passed away.  She truly did cease to exist. 

I found your analogy insulting and quite hurtful.  

I am truly sorry, My best friend in SL had a stroke, and for a while I was quite worried about him, he has since recovered enough to come back to SL, which I am very thankful for. I certainly never intended to hurt anyone by sharing my personal approach to SL. I had compared people's avis with my RL husband. Real life people never vanish, this includes the RL people behind the avatars. 

[Madelaine McMasters]

20 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

When they are not logged in, our avatars exist in a glorious and wondrous state of in potentia: wonderful and powerful substance (code) without shape or form. They are wondrous in this state because they, unlike we merely physical beings, can become and be anything. They have not yet been confined by form, restrained by rendering, confined by the choices we make. They are like unborn gods, all powerful simply because they have yet to be limited by algorithm and our choice. They mean everything, and nothing, at the same time.

Of course, as shapeless potential, they aren't a whole lot of fun to play with. And that's why our role -- what Aristotle called entelechy, the giving of form and shape to something that has heretofore existed only as potential -- is so important. Ours are the choices, ours is the will that activates and makes real all of that powerful potential. Just as code is meaningless until it is parsed, manipulated, and applied by an application, so too do we give our avatars meaning.

The moment our avatar rezzes is like a new birth, bursting with boundless possibilities, because we suddenly find ourselves empowered to shape that potential anyway we wish. The world, as Milton wrote, lies all before us.

What will we become? How will we deploy this power of potential? In what directions will we move this boundless power to realize and create something that did not previously even exist in form? Each choice we make diminishes that potential somewhat . . . but residing within our ability to make choices, we share, momentarily, in the split second before we choose, the boundless and godlike power of potential.

 

Alternately, our avatars are reduced to a whole bunch of incomprehensible binary numbers recorded on a magnetic disk somewhere that we can only access if we don't forget to pay our ISP. Philosophy is still undecided.

As you know, my partner hasn't much time for SL these days, so we stay in touch via Discord. We're both seasoned chat rugrats, having cut our teeth on IRC long before SL.

What has become clear to us over the past few months is that the "Your World, Your Imagination" soil of SL isn't as fertile as "mere words". As someone who grew up listening the radio rather than watching TV, and found the picture to be ever so much clearer, this comes as no surprise.

When we are in SL, we use precious little of its resources, to minimize loss of potential from instantiation. We retain as much in potentia as possible by committing only what's necessary to the limited virtual reality SL provides.

[Profaitchikenz Haiku]

1 hour ago, Lindal Kidd said:

How do you know that?

I believe there are apps you can install on your partner's phone to keep an eye on them. It's a bit like sneaking a listener script into a wedding ring in SL...

[Profaitchikenz Haiku]

I remember when I first joined SL I spend ages hunting for safe places to leave me in when I logged out. Somehow it seemed to matter, and after all these years, it still does.

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

The avis go to the ultra secret LL HD-Plus 360 Avatar Box Ye Storage System 2000. 🤣

[Rowan Amore]

Here's where my av goes.  OLD pic.

[Silent Mistwalker]

7 hours ago, Rolig Loon said:

I assume you are familiar with purgatory ....

 

I always thought it was more like Limbo.

 

 

Or The Sims.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Silent Mistwalker