I sometimes use intentionally "ugly" avatars in Second Life.

[FairreLilette]

24 minutes ago, Orwar said:

dendrophilia

Dendrophilia is not in my dictionary.  And, btw, what are those last two emoticons?  One looks like tacos 😃 and the other I have no idea, a grape cone maybe?  A cone of grapes?   

Edited March 12, 2021 by FairreLilette

[Rowan Amore]

12 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Dendrophilia is not in my dictionary.  And, btw, what are those last two emoticons?  One looks like tacos 😃 and the other I have no idea, a grape cone maybe?  A cone of grapes?   

A party cracker and some other party thing.  

[Amina Sopwith]

2 hours ago, FairreLilette said:

Dendrophilia is not in my dictionary.  

Love of trees. 

[Rat Luv]

3 hours ago, Amina Sopwith said:

I wonder what would happen if I made another hideous av (or just resurrected the old one, in all her circa 2007 glory) and returned to Gor, but this time played it dead straight.

Hmm.

Please try this and find out (and send me a TP)

[Selene Gregoire]

On 3/7/2021 at 2:51 PM, Doc Carling said:

Though to be dressed silly or to look like a failed genetic experiment is a very difference.

They can be the same thing Doc. I mean, how often do you get to see the offspring of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy?

Only in SL. 

[Silent Mistwalker]

On 3/7/2021 at 4:52 PM, Rolig Loon said:

My "good old days" are a little older than yours, so don't bother playing the age card.  I know what I looked like during my first weeks in SL.  It wasn't pretty.

I don't remember thinking of myself as especially ugly, though.  After all, most of the people I met looked sort of like me. As you say, we looked as good as we could.  I suspect that the difference between you and me is that I didn't feel "forced" to accept what I looked like. I played with sliders for a while but didn't do anything serious about making a "pretty" shape for over a year. Since then, I have modified my shape and changed favorite skins many times but I do it because I'm curious what I would look like with a bigger nose or longer legs.  I'm still me.  Recently, just for the heck of it, I used one of those free AI-controlled programs on line to work backwards from my current av's appearance and try to create a more "human" image of what my av would look like if I met her in RL. Here she is:

In RL, I'm another 40 or 50 years older than this image, but she looks like someone my inner self could be.  (Just nothing like what I really look like in the mirror in RL.)  As far as I am concerned, all of the images of my avatar from the early 2007 image above to this reconstructed version are reflections of who I feel I am inside.  Some of us are pretty; some aren't.  They're all me, though, and I'm happy with them.

 

 

It's probably just me but the image looks to me to be in her 30s so that would make you in your 80s or 90s. I thought you were in your early 70s. 😬

The resemblance is pretty cool.

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 minute ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

On 3/7/2021 at 5:52 PM, Rolig Loon said:

In RL, I'm another 40 or 50 years older than this image, but she looks like someone my inner self could be.  (Just nothing like what I really look like in the mirror in RL.)  As far as I am concerned, all of the images of my avatar from the early 2007 image above to this reconstructed version are reflections of who I feel I am inside.  Some of us are pretty; some aren't.  They're all me, though, and I'm happy with them.

It's probably just me but the image looks to me to be in her 30s so that would make you in your 80s or 90s. I thought you were in your early 70s.

 

30s plus 'another 40 or 50 years' would be 70s to 80s -- so the 70s are covered there.

 

I was thinking the picture looked late-20s to mid-30s, so the 40-50 years would get that to the 70s

 

[Rolig Loon]

2 minutes ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

It's probably just me but the image looks to me to be in her 30s so that would make you in your 80s or 90s. I thought you were in your early 70s. 😬

I am always terrible at guessing ages. In my own mind, my av is maybe 34 or thereabouts, so an extra 40 years would make me 74.  There are days, though, when I feel ten years older and (mercifully) many when I could swear that I am at least 10 years younger.  I see other people the same way, especially in photographs, where lighting and camera angle play funny tricks. I figure that if I get within a decade of a person's real age, I'm doing pretty well.  

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

 

30s plus 'another 40 or 50 years' would be 70s to 80s -- so the 70s are covered there.

 

I was thinking the picture looked late-20s to mid-30s, so the 40-50 years would get that to the 70s

 

 

To me she looks mid 30s to mid 40s. But then most people think I'm in my late 40s when I'm in my early 60s. 😊

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, Rolig Loon said:

I am always terrible at guessing ages. In my own mind, my av is maybe 34 or thereabouts, so an extra 40 years would make me 74.  There are days, though, when I feel ten years older and (mercifully) many when I could swear that I am at least 10 years younger.  I see other people the same way, especially in photographs, where lighting and camera angle play funny tricks. I figure that if I get within a decade of a person's real age, I'm doing pretty well.  

Personally, (and if you haven't read my post to Lil, please do so) I don't feel a day over 30 until my body decides to remind me. 

Cameras hate me in RL if I know you are taking the shot. 

 

Oh and on topic: I'm not exactly attractive in RL, neither is my avatar. As for what other people think about it, yes, it matters and no, it doesn't matter. It matters because humans need feedback. It doesn't matter because what other people think isn't who I am.

My avatar is me. I am not my avatar.

Edited March 13, 2021 by Silent Mistwalker

[Zzevir]

On 3/13/2021 at 3:35 PM, Selene Gregoire said:

They can be the same thing Doc. I mean, how often do you get to see the offspring of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy?

Only in SL. 

Every Sunday night we share a shift. 

[Drake1 Nightfire]

On 3/7/2021 at 7:26 PM, Doc Carling said:

That gets us to nowhere.

And you smell to coffee.

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

I usually use a normal, boring, fully-covered, unsexy, human female avatar with realistic proportions.  It is actually rather boring.  I am drawn to unusual or different avatars though.  I like the imperfect and consider it more approachable.  The absolute best friends I've made inworld were made because I found someone I could talk to about more than fashion and expensive mesh heads (I use mesh head and body that no one ever sees because I never take clothes off).  I enjoy the company of happy, quirky people.  Long live the misfits and artists of SL!

I never would have met my partner if I had chosen to only judge him by his avatar.  In fact, I would have missed out on a lot of really fun and intelligent people if I decided to only talk to those I found physically attractive by my own personal standards.

So, if you ever see me in a dance venue and you're dressed as a chunky zombie tarantula with pus oozing out of your exoskeleton,  I will dance with you and judge you by your personality.  I hope you're witty and friendly.

[ballparkdogg]

I always remember the dude who used to wear the demo clothes out to clubs in SL

[Amanda Crisp]

Speaking for myself, I think its wonderful for people to be able to express themselves through their avatars.

My ONLY exception to that was the one time someone tried to intentionally disrupt a Photoshoot I was involved in and “beauty-shame” the models. That was annoying and - as it turned out - misdirected since this was a “for charity” shoot and not the SL Big Fashion they were after.

But I also support freedom of political expression; even when I’m not drinking the kool-aid being served 😉

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Amanda Crisp