Why are we hiding behind our AVATARS? I have revealed myself and this is why...

[Profaitchikenz Haiku]

25 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

That surprises me you are not aware of face searching software.

Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia.

And while you're at it, get a Bruce Lee body to go with it.

[Rowan Amore]

2 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

I've known about finding images from other images, yes, but not about how one would connect that to any RL information.

It's interesting that those who are pretty young don't seem to have as much fear around showing their faces or even revealing their identity online as older ones do. Not sure if that's good or bad.

I wonder how most of SL feels about it, and if they differ from other games or online communities. It appears that most on the forum don't think it's a good idea.  I certainly don't reveal RL stuff inworld...unless I know someone well. I had to reveal RL info when I worked for major RL companies here though, and would easily do so if it meant I'd get a good job. Once I discovered someone lived where I did and said "oh that's where I live"...and regretted it...felt paranoid for awhile.

If you have facial recognition software and you have someone's RL image, the chances are good you'll find them on one or another social media sites.  Facebook, Twitter.  The way people post selfies and whatever, where they are and what they're doing?  Wouldn't take much for someone to find out where you live and your RL info.

[Rat Luv]

8 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

If you have facial recognition software and you have someone's RL image, the chances are good you'll find them on one or another social media sites.  Facebook, Twitter.  The way people post selfies and whatever, where they are and what they're doing?  Wouldn't take much for someone to find out where you live and your RL info.

I haven't had any problems myself, but have heard some horror stories. Sadly there are people out there who will spend a week searching Facebook or Linked In to 'get someone back' for ejecting them from a SL club 

[Maryanne Solo]

Hiding? mhm yes. Let me tell you why...

Elite International artisans guild membership, (1800 members only worldwide at last count),
International copyright protection concerns for art,
International copyright protection concerns for music,
International copyright protection concerns for 3d mesh,
Personal privacy & safety concerns,
Absolutely rabid guarding of my business, personal & families personal data.

But most importantly = Nunya 😛

[Profaitchikenz Haiku]

1 hour ago, Rat Luv said:

Sadly there are people out there who will spend a week searching Facebook or Linked In to 'get someone back' for ejecting them from a SL club

Sign of a real loser there. A more creative response would be to open up a club of their own, wait for the target of their ire to saunter in, and give them the ban in return.

[Luna Bliss]

13 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

16 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

I've known about finding images from other images, yes, but not about how one would connect that to any RL information.

It's interesting that those who are pretty young don't seem to have as much fear around showing their faces or even revealing their identity online as older ones do. Not sure if that's good or bad.

I wonder how most of SL feels about it, and if they differ from other games or online communities. It appears that most on the forum don't think it's a good idea.  I certainly don't reveal RL stuff inworld...unless I know someone well. I had to reveal RL info when I worked for major RL companies here though, and would easily do so if it meant I'd get a good job. Once I discovered someone lived where I did and said "oh that's where I live"...and regretted it...felt paranoid for awhile.

Expand  Expand  

If you have facial recognition software and you have someone's RL image, the chances are good you'll find them on one or another social media sites.  Facebook, Twitter.  The way people post selfies and whatever, where they are and what they're doing?  Wouldn't take much for someone to find out where you live and your RL info.

That makes sense. It's easy to identify where someone lives on Facebook even if they aren't using their real name. Often you can easily ascertain where they live or where they went to school.

So many business websites post photos of their employees though, and so I wonder why they aren't so worried as we are in SL. Maybe our roleplay that replicates RL in many ways tends to bring out the stalkers to a greater degree. Either that, or we are really invested in SL being more of a fantasy world and don't want anything that would limit this factor.

[Silent Mistwalker]

14 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

If you have facial recognition software and you have someone's RL image, the chances are good you'll find them on one or another social media sites.  Facebook, Twitter.  The way people post selfies and whatever, where they are and what they're doing?  Wouldn't take much for someone to find out where you live and your RL info.

I tried several different photos of me, even a few that are on my FB. None of them came up on a reverse search. Not a single one of me came up.

And not one of the women that did come up looked anything like me.

I think they should have left that lump of coal in the ground a little longer. It's still a bit too decompressed to be a diamond in the rough yet. 🤭

[Rowan Amore]

5 minutes ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

I tried several different photos of me, even a few that are on my FB. None of them came up on a reverse search. Not a single one of me came up.

And not one of the women that did come up looked anything like me.

I think they should have left that lump of coal in the ground a little longer. It's still a bit too decompressed to be a diamond in the rough yet. 🤭

Most search engines in and of themselves won't work.

https://www.quertime.com/article/best-face-facial-recognition-search-engines-tools-apps/

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Outed at last . . .

[Silent Mistwalker]

11 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

Most search engines in and of themselves won't work.

https://www.quertime.com/article/best-face-facial-recognition-search-engines-tools-apps/

 

Funny that. I used the very first one listed on that link. The Google one.

I probably should have also mentioned the fact that the only pics of me on the net are those on my FB. I think there might be as many as 5 on there. That might have a little something to do with it. 🤭

[Rowan Amore]

1 minute ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

 

Funny that. I used the very first one listed on that link. The Google one.

I probably should have also mentioned the fact that the only pics of me on the net are those on my FB. I think there might be as many as 5 on there. That might have a little something to do with it. 🤭

I've never tried it myself nor do I know which software would return the best results.  I just know it is possible.  I don't have a Facebook account anymore.  The only pictures of me would be ones posted by other family members as far as I know.  

I guess my point is, that people should be wary of posting anything, anywhere that might be used by someone else to find them in RL.  

[Wili Clip]

I take it that most people live in countries where crime rate is relatively high and most people see many bad things happening to other people through news. So the need for feeling safe is greater.

It is a bit different for me living in one of the safest countries in the world. But having experience of being attacked and my business in SL so many times I see valid reasons for myself that I should have had a stronger need to stay anonymous.

I have a different personal theory and from what I am observing. As I came out and showed my face to all my customers and community and became more open and added realism. I believe that will lead towards less jealousy and attacks in case if I manage to grow my SL business bigger.

In any case I'll see.

It is known even from animal world that to be in the middle is safest as predators target animals that are either in the front or in the back. To be in the middle is comparable to being hidden and most prefer safety over exposure. Which is fine and actually natural.

We humans are very much part of the animal world. ^-^

Edited March 2, 2021 by Wili Clip

[Carolyn Zapedzki]

I am happy to reveal myself, I have always had my real life pic on my profile, and I have always been open about things when in conversation with others if certain questions arise about my real life. But no one owes us an explanation about why we do or don't reveal our real life selves whether that be by a picture or chat, we don't have anything to prove to anyone else unless we are really close to them and it has become part of getting close. Each to their own and we don't need to be under other people's scrutiny.

[Ceka Cianci]

In the animal world the predators will mostly look over the prey and go for the weakest, slowest and most vulnerable..

The ones that will take the least amount of energy, with the least amount of risk to take down.. They look for any opportunity which will give them the best chance of success..

 

[Wili Clip]

10 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

In the animal world the predators will mostly look over the prey and go for the weakest, slowest and most vulnerable..

The ones that will take the least amount of energy, with the least amount of risk to take down.. They look for any opportunity which will give them the best chance of success..

 

Yes you're right. My example would only work if the group of animals who are prey were equally fast, healthy and strong which in nature doesn't really happen.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Wili Clip

[Rowan Amore]

12 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

In the animal world the predators will mostly look over the prey and go for the weakest, slowest and most vulnerable..

The ones that will take the least amount of energy, with the least amount of risk to take down.. They look for any opportunity which will give them the best chance of success..

 

Exactly and why we instruct our children, the most vulnerable, to not post personal info on the internet.  I'm not sure why we, as adults, think this doesn't also apply to us.  You don't realize you've left yourself vulnerable until it's too late.

[Ceka Cianci]

6 minutes ago, Wili Clip said:

Yes you're right. My example would only work if the group of animals who are prey were equally fast, healthy and strong which in nature doesn't really happen.

The wild thing about the wild is, if one species kicks off a warning, it pretty much gets every species running..

We have that in us as well.. like if I was at work and someone started to run, everyone in the area that picked up on it would pause to see if they should start running too.. hehehehe

[Wili Clip]

11 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

Exactly and why we instruct our children, the most vulnerable, to not post personal info on the internet.  I'm not sure why we, as adults, think this doesn't also apply to us.  You don't realize you've left yourself vulnerable until it's too late.

Yes also true ^-^

 

[DooBeeDum]

I agree that if there is no good reason, no need to hide ourselves. But there are many good reasons. Safety for example, or real life profession, some may be public figures, you never know. I think I read in here somewhere about a hacker who succesfully made a mess over someone's rl computer years ago bcause she gave him too much information. He made a mess with family photos and friends photos (now I remember, I read it on other website, forgot the name, something like Second life rating for kids). We can be open about our rl, but NOT with everyone and with certain boundaries until we really get to know the persons well (exchanging information, not only 1 side information), even so, it is still not a guarantee tht it is safe. Also, people are different, they come to SL with different reasons, they have different lives, different background, different abilities. Not everyone is the same. We don't really know unless we are on their shoes. I used to work with traumatic ppl and lets say, different people. No, not everyone is the same. That is a good advice but too bad, in reality, it is not as simple as it sounds. There are also some people who come to SL just to live a fantasy, like being a cute bear, or some other animals, they may not taking SL seriously, and leave after weeks. They don't feel the urge to be themselves, they just want to 'play'. And many other types of people..

Edited March 2, 2021 by DooBeeDum

[RunawayBunny]

Not everyone coming SL to make friends or have chat & good time:

- Some people using it as a development and design platform.

- Some people offering services here or selling their products.

- I also meet university students who using SL as their research platform for their study "social relations in virtual reality"

So its not correct to categorize everyone under 1 title and ask them why they are hiding behind avatar.. They don't hide anything they simply don't have anything to share with strangers and here for different reasons.

[Akane Nacht]

12 hours ago, Wili Clip said:

I take it that most people live in countries where crime rate is relatively high and most people see many bad things happening to other people through news. So the need for feeling safe is greater.

It is a bit different for me living in one of the safest countries in the world. But having experience of being attacked and my business in SL so many times I see valid reasons for myself that I should have had a stronger need to stay anonymous.

I have a different personal theory and from what I am observing. As I came out and showed my face to all my customers and community and became more open and added realism. I believe that will lead towards less jealousy and attacks in case if I manage to grow my SL business bigger.

I live in a very safe country too. That's not really the point for me. If I wanted to be really under the radar I wouldn't post on forums, and I've mentioned things about my rl which I don't mind sharing, relevant to the conversation, and short of anything that would lead someone to my rl door.

But to my thinking, why give the world my phone number, unless I actually want to hear from the world? If I meet someone I want to be friends with, I'll happily share. On the flip side, why would I care what those who don't want to be friends with me think of me?

I get what you're saying tho, when you take away the anonymity, people do tend to be less hostile. Not sure that will work if it's one-sided, but, I wish you luck. 

[Gabriele Graves]

13 hours ago, Wili Clip said:

I take it that most people live in countries where crime rate is relatively high and most people see many bad things happening to other people through news. So the need for feeling safe is greater.

There is no country in the world where women are so safe they don't need to exercise caution in everyday life let alone the internet.

[Wili Clip]

4 hours ago, Gabriele Graves said:

18 hours ago, Wili Clip said:

I take it that most people live in countries where crime rate is relatively high and most people see many bad things happening to other people through news. So the need for feeling safe is greater.

There is no country in the world where women are so safe they don't need to exercise caution in everyday life let alone the internet.

I didn't know that women feel unsafe even in safer countries.

But then again when its about forming romantic relationship no one is really safe. One can get involved with a narcissistic partner and this comes out only later...

[Quenata]

19 hours ago, Wili Clip said:

I take it that most people live in countries where crime rate is relatively high and most people see many bad things happening to other people through news. So the need for feeling safe is greater.

It is a bit different for me living in one of the safest countries in the world.

In the entire real world, and of course the Internet, there are no safe countries from criminals, cybercrimes or fraudsters. Sweet speeches. with promises, economic and technical and even psychological moves, fake contracts, they will defraud people who believe in them. They are so confident in themselves and their impunity that they are not afraid to show themselves and again and again propose new projects for their benefit.

But the Internet also has great advantages, there you can find everything about those who can be a scammer in the past and present. 

Take care of yourself, second life peoples.

[Love Zhaoying]

Avatars? I don't even believe in meat bodies. We are all skeletons.