Spotted in the Wild

[kali Wylder]

6 minutes ago, Randall Ahren said:

Yes, but you have injected yourself into the public sphere by posting on a public forum with a photo of your avatar. Therefore, that makes you a public person. Moreover, I have seen your avatar in-world and your forum photo looks just like your avatar. If you like, I can post a photo to prove it.

It's not necessary for you to prove to me that my forum picture looks just like my avatar, I already know this. But that still does not make me a celebrity. 

I feel pretty certain that posting a picture of someone without their consent is unlawful.  But I'm not a lawyer.  So I googled it and since laws are different depending on location I added California to the search since that's where LL is. To my surprise, my right to privacy was not as good as I thought it was

"You do not need permission from someone to take their picture if they are in public view. However if they in an area where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, you are not allowed to invade that privacy by photographing them. So for example you can't use a telephoto lens to peer into someone's bedroom." 

I'm thinking that this means you can't cam onto my land and take my picture without my consent, but if you see me out and about in SL, then I'm in public view and you're free to take my picture.  But this law does not address the bit about posting my picture without my permission.

Then I found this: Right of Publicity Laws. Many states, including California, have so-called "right of publicity" laws that limit the way a person's image can be used for commercial purposes. California Civil Code Section 3344 makes it illegal to use a photo or video of another person for any sort of marketing purpose in most situations without permission.

But then, that doesn't quite fit either since posting the picture here in the forum can hardly be construed as a commercial purpose. 

So I have to take it back, it's not unlawful as far as I know.  But it's still darned rude.  But since you didn't do it and you asked me first, sure go ahead, post it.

[kali Wylder]

3 hours ago, CaithLynnSayes said:

Who says that? Your feelings? Also, we're talking about avatars here. Not people.

My avatar is mine.  It is not me but it's mine and I have very strong feelings about her.  She's been representing me for 13 years now.  There may not be a law against it but I agree with Gabriele that there are social conventions and I'm pretty sure that taking my picture and posting it without my permission breaks those social conventions.

[Lindal Kidd]

3 hours ago, CaithLynnSayes said:

Why would i dictate anything? How did you get to that?

What Scylla is saying is that different people have different degrees of immersion in SL. Some feel quite violated if their avatar is. Others, like yourself, find it easy to step back and disassociate yourself from your avatar.

Either approach to SL is valid, as well as lots of places in between. But it's not right, or helpful, to try to push your view of it onto others as the "right" one.

[CaithLynnSayes]

6 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

But it's not right, or helpful, to try to push your view of it onto others as the "right" one.

I didn't. In fact i never do. I raise a point and try to explain my reasoning behind it. I never say to anyone what they "have" to do, unless they are my kids or husband  

[Akane Nacht]

8 hours ago, Randall Ahren said:

People who post on the forums are celebrities, like film stars, and must expect to see their photos taken and published by paparazzi when the paparazzi catch them out and about in public.

I feel like I should be richer... 🤔

[ValKalAstra]

Wouldn't all this be solved by just asking the person? "Oh hey, I recognise you from the Forums, would you mind if I post a picture?" For the record, anyone that finds me in the wild doing whatever, it's cool. Snap a pic, maybe tag me so I find it. If I'm in a public place, I consider that fair game.

 

[Marianne Little]

I have been very busy decorating. I do not look at myself at all.

Sometimes the cursor slip, or whatever the reason it, and objects I should place on the floor get attached to me. 

I am completely involved in decorating, so I don't think about swinging the camera and look at myself. 

Two, or three times the last days I found out that I was topless, and once I was bald. I lost my shoes. At least the alpha cut for the nipples made me decent. Sort of.

I am still in the mood for decorating, I haven't even had time to find a BOM shirt. To decorate is important. To be dressed is not important.

Ehrm. Please don't take my picture if I look like that?

 

[Robin Kiyori]

It costs 0 currency or hurts to just ask before posting. Some people (who are behind the avatars and are the most important partof sl interaction) are more shy then others. No need for a big fuss.

I on the other hand say. Good luck and godspeed finding this birb.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Robin Kiyori

[Da5id Weatherwax]

15 hours ago, Ceka Cianci said:

You guys, ya you over there!

Heed may warning!

Anyone tries sneakin up on meh, just know this!

Brake for tailgaters, huh? Ok.

*starts sketching out mental blueprints for a drivable mesh steamroller, gets almost as far as starting to rough out the math for how the various visible parts should move then pauses.....

wait....  driving that would hardly count as "sneaking" would it?

*junks project

Edited September 30, 2022 by Da5id Weatherwax

[Love Zhaoying]

I'll be out front of my parcel, on a poseball, scripting (if I am in-world).

Just don't shoot me when you shoot me.

[Lindal Kidd]

3 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Two, or three times the last days I found out that I was topless, and once I was bald

Yeah, this happens to me too, every time I do housework. Which is why I never do housework.

[Da5id Weatherwax]

I did snap a photo of a Linden with their hair and shoes up their bum once, just to prove it happened to them too

[Love Zhaoying]

29 minutes ago, Da5id Weatherwax said:

I did snap a photo of a Linden with their hair and shoes up their bum once, just to prove it happened to them too

Are we sure they didn't do it on purpose, to fit in?

[rasterscan]

It could suck your SL soul out doing that. Luckily there's a potion available on the MP to return it, a snip at 650

[Cali Souther]

I took and posted pics of people visiting TFC .... but in hindsight,  I should have asked if it was okay.

 

Sorry .... 

[Ceka Cianci]

17 hours ago, Randall Ahren said:

Yes, but you have injected yourself into the public sphere by posting on a public forum with a photo of your avatar. Therefore, that makes you a public person. Moreover, I have seen your avatar in-world and your forum photo looks just like your avatar. If you like, I can post a photo to prove it.

Even if it is seen that way by some in their own minds..

I'd be looking at it this way instead.. What kind of response is the person in the image going to have if i post this image without asking them first and will that break any of the rules?

Is it going to get a negative response from the person in the image.. If so, it's a good chance they could find something in the rules to throw an AR on it to have it at the very least, investigated.

It could be seen as, purposefully causing annoyance, which you'll find under the harassment rule.

That was just from doing a quick skim of the rules.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Ceka Cianci

[Kylie Jaxxon]

1 hour ago, Cali Souther said:

I took and posted pics of people visiting TFC .... but in hindsight,  I should have asked if it was okay.

 

Sorry .... 

This might be a little different though...members coming to the hangout, know that picture taking is the norm

Edited September 30, 2022 by Kylie Jaxxon

[Maryanne Solo]

"Slelebrity".... puhleeeez get it right. 😆

[Amina Sopwith]

18 hours ago, Da5id Weatherwax said:

I did snap a photo of a Linden with their hair and shoes up their bum once, just to prove it happened to them too

Of all the glitches, crashes and rez failures I've had over the years, I've never experienced this one. Someone had to show me a picture on here because I'd never, ever seen it and still haven't. 

I suppose I should feel fortunate, but actually I feel excluded!

[Charolotte Caxton]

On 9/29/2022 at 5:19 PM, CaithLynnSayes said:

Who says that? Your feelings? Also, we're talking about avatars here. Not people.

I think this is the disconnect. To a lot of us, myself included, our avatars are extensions of us, in that sense, us. Not a character or toy, although that too. Many of us take a lot of pride in our avatar’s appearance, so much so that I would dare say it’s one of the main things some people do here. So to have an unflattering picture of your avatar, or self, posted could be disheartening. 

So, to say avatars, not people, I think is incorrect. 
 

*by us I just meant SL residents. I don’t represent anyone. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Charolotte Caxton
Clarification

[Da5id Weatherwax]

There's a certain quantity of teacup-storms that arise when differing views of "the significance of an avatar" collide.

For my part, my avatar(s - plural - I dont always wear the same form) are all expressions of aspects of myself. It was always a goal that my primary human av would look a bit like "RL me" - maybe with a bit less of the slight gut I've developed as I got older but, in the name of honesty, not with a zero on the belly fat slider Until comparatively recently (with a little assistance from somebody with much more experience customising a fully up-to-date mesh body than I have) I never got truly close. In that regard, and I know I'm not alone in that here, my avatar is a bit more than "just pixels" to me, but I know other folks dont see it that way and so the lines blur a bit.

Anyone spots me in the wild they are welcome to post it. I might not be exactly recognisable unless you have tags turned on though I say that acknowledging that to others it MAY be "just pixels" and if I've got a problem with them feeling that way and acting accordingly, well, that would be my problem, not theirs, wouldn't it?

[Charolotte Caxton]

1 hour ago, Da5id Weatherwax said:

There's a certain quantity of teacup-storms that arise when differing views of "the significance of an avatar" collide.

For my part, my avatar(s - plural - I dont always wear the same form) are all expressions of aspects of myself. It was always a goal that my primary human av would look a bit like "RL me" - maybe with a bit less of the slight gut I've developed as I got older but, in the name of honesty, not with a zero on the belly fat slider Until comparatively recently (with a little assistance from somebody with much more experience customising a fully up-to-date mesh body than I have) I never got truly close. In that regard, and I know I'm not alone in that here, my avatar is a bit more than "just pixels" to me, but I know other folks dont see it that way and so the lines blur a bit.

Anyone spots me in the wild they are welcome to post it. I might not be exactly recognisable unless you have tags turned on though I say that acknowledging that to others it MAY be "just pixels" and if I've got a problem with them feeling that way and acting accordingly, well, that would be my problem, not theirs, wouldn't it?

Very eloquently stated. I would agree that to some our avatars are just avatars, but to some our avatars are just that, our avatars. 

[Bree Giffen]

What if someone replaces every single part of their original avatar? Can you still tell others you are the same avatar? Or is it right to say you are a different avatar and should be treated differently? 

[Gabriele Graves]

I just love the aroma of freshly minted pixels every time I login.

[Love Zhaoying]

9 minutes ago, Bree Giffen said:

What if someone replaces every single part of their original avatar? Can you still tell others you are the same avatar? Or is it right to say you are a different avatar and should be treated differently? 

That is totally up to you.. Your world, your avatar!

Personally, I may switch out all my parts between Neko and Feral..or different bodies and attachments but still Neko.  None of that means I am a different "person" in Second Life.

But if I use my one "Alt" LoveXiaoying, then all bets are off.