The Different Types of SL Users

[Darrius Gothly]

---

Willow Danube wrote:

[..] So, who and what am I? 

---

Mom? Is that you?

/me ducks and runs for cover ....

[Alazarin Mondrian]

No I dea where I fit in your scale:

1] I'm a musician and live music performer in SL so from that POV I drag *alot* of my RL self into SL. OTOH, my avatar is a dragon, so that's already heading into fantasy and RP territory.

2] I don't generally bother all that much about other avatar's RL lives unless we end up chatting about such things by mutual consent.

3] I dislike intensely people who demand RL info out of me. I try not to interrogate avatars I meet as it's rude, prying, uncalled for and quite possibly illegal. That and there's usually more interesting things to talk about.

4] I like RP even though I'm not very good at it and have a tendency to lose track of things.

5] I accept avatars as they present themselves with as little or as much of the RL selves as they care to reveal. Given the nature of things in SL, an avatars' RL info is just as likely to be a work of fiction as their avatar.

[Tolya Ugajin]

I'm a 110.  My avatar is me, or at least me (in looks) 15 years ago and with contacts, I suppose.  If you know Tolya, you know the guy typing, or at least as well as most RL people know me.  Yet, I use SL solely as a social platform, to meet people, relax, etc.

[Willow Danube]

Darrius,

Run, my sweet child, run.. but you can't hide. Sooner or later when you are turning your boxer inside out to wear it, You will be coming back to Momma to wash your laundry...

I'll Wash your dirty laundry for you and i'll even make you some Yorkshire puddings. I'll pour you some milk and I'll even asked if you would like it with chocolate or honey.

And after your hunger is satiated, I'll take your fragile hand and lead you to your room. I'll strip you down, get you in clean pajamas and tucked you in.

I'll read you a story and sing you a lullaby song  After that, I'll kiss your forehead and whisper lovingly, "Good Night, My child. rest in peace"..... I'll will then slowly walked out to the door, turn off the light... turn to you and smile before I slowly shut the door..... Such is my love to you...

Always,
Your Mother

PS: It wasn't the Yorkshire puddings that has cyanide in it.

[Darrius Gothly]

[squashy Beeswing]

LOL, Willow.  That was delighfully sinister! 

[Mayalily]

@ Peggy, I don't think the OP was doing any harm.  The general discussion area says "discuss things as they pertain to SL and RL" (or something like that).  

However, Peggy I also agree with you that in SL we could not stay true to a particular number all the time, because there are variables, but I thought it was an interesting topic.

Also @  Peggy  /me wants to hang with Peggy and learn more about the live musicians scene. 

@ Ceka, I also agree that giving out info is dangerous on the net, but I also think a lot of people ask "where are from" either because it is hard to know what to say or they are trying to hack into your computer (I'm never sure which), although a better greeting line is "how are you and how long have you been on SL"; now that's a good conversation starter and that's what I usually say.    However, if you don't give a street address, but just say a country, I doubt someone could find me or hack into my computer? 

ETA:  Oh yeah, rezz dates.  The reason I ask how long have u been on SL, 'cuz guess what, my computer takes forever to load someone's profile, forever, so I don't read them, but I'd suspect the majority do read profiles or IOW 'can' read profiles without it taking forever to load one.  My own profile takes forever to load.  I have not read one profile in SL yet because of this issue of it taking forever to load, not one profile. 

Also, about the "where are you from" line, I often wonder if people are trying to trick me to see if I will lie and that's not appreciated. 

A better greeter line than would be:  What are some of your favorite hangouts.  I ask that one also. 

 

[Ceka Cianci]

---

Darrius Gothly wrote:

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

so much so that fap is considered actually having sex hehehehe 

---

Heyyyy ... My hand is now highly offended that you don't consider the "magic" we share together as sex. *harumph*

*GRIN*

---

Sorry..I am just frustrated with LL at the moment..My fiance canceled his account because even after he did everything they asked more times than he should have and even told them that he may have hit the wrong birthdate or did some sort of typo..

they still would not open up adult or moderate for him..

all the information they get from us is usless because it all hinges on their birthday slider..so really any kid can get in real easy with some fake stolen information..because they don't check it out..but someone legit better not make a single mistake or they are jacked around for days on end until they get so frustrated that they tell them to piss off basically..

[Mayalily]

awwwwwwwww, Ceka.  Can't he override this somehow by giving credit card/banking info, along with his driver's license or last four digits of SL number?

Tell him to get another email account and make sure all his birthday info and everything in that email account is 100% correct; have him double check all his info before he starts up that email account. 

Another way to possibly override this block is to set up a Paypal account maybe? 

I'm sure LL has it set up this way to not only to block kids from getting on adult grids, but also to help avoid credit card fraud, etc. 

Now if a kid gets ahold of Mom or Dad's info, well that would be blocked by the next time someone gets their credit card bill or uses their Paypal account.  I'm not sure what Mom and Dad would do to their kid for doing this, however.  Punished with no internet for a year or more maybe, who knows? 

[Ceka Cianci]

he gave all that information..SS number and creditcard number and DL number and even state ID number..

and was age verified 3 times with 3 different forms of ID..

he said 7 days back when they first noticed it being his birthdate that  he woudl just delete the account and make a new one if it would be easier..they said no ..just do this on this list..so he sent all this information again and agian and again..

today he just said..ya know..it's not worth it..their system just doesn't look at the information i gave them..just their slider for DOB..

so as a last ditch effort i asked him to make a new one..so he did ..they even finally said ..well if you are going to make a new one then make sure your DOB is correct..

he said..listen..i filed this ticket to correct it like i was told from the market place people to do..

now you are telling me what i have been saying this whole time..to make sure my DOB is correct??

So he made a new one and now has his account and is finally at our home lol

what a run around  lol

[Mayalily]

I think SL is worth it.  However, I've talked to some SL widows like me in SL.  They like SL, their significant other doesn't.

About all you can do is change your internet service provider and start all over again.  IF, he thinks SL is worth it.  And if you and your fiance think it's worth it to change your internet provider.   If not, we need a SL widows/widowers group. 

[Ceka Cianci]

you must have missed the part where i had said he made a new account and is in now hehehe

 

[Darrius Gothly]

No worries .. I totally understand. My RL daughter went through the same thing, eventually sending them a copy of her driver's license and some signed letter stating she wasn't lying.

I agree, it is VERY frustrating when you do everything absolutely right, and the only answer you can get is ....

 

 

 

... wait for it ...

 

 

 

 

 

"Talk to the hand."

(sowwy)

[Mayalily]

Oh yes I did miss that...  I thought you were talking about your real home (rofl).  But, that's great that's over.  But no, you can't have an email where you put in the wrong birthday whether it's intentional or a typo when you are on SL.  They need all the info to line up exactly as payment goes through your bank account or credit card.  So it all has to match. 

[Lanas Criss]

I’ll be easy and simply play along with the counting…

9- in the SL wild

6- in the forums

3- with the SL characters I collaborate with and dare to call it “work”

p.s. Willow is making me snicker… again

[Astringofcharacters]

Well I came into SL a 10, but I've been taken down a few pegs since.
It was sensational at the beginning though, when I just blithely became my avatar and answered RL questions with "facts" that fit her character. I just assumed that we were all tens, and understood that this was a wonderful fantasy world where we could be whoever we wanted.
Gradually I became aware that some people just had to be told which side of the proscenium you were on.
"Let's role play; you start." That's about the saddest thing I've ever heard. I'd thought we'd started when we first met. But ok, I get it. I just can't act. Can't turn it off and on. I'm just a deceptive fantasist, lying to these poor gullible guys who want to know if I really might look just like my avatar and live within driving distance.
I guess it was web profiles with their Facebook links that really brought it home to me that I could no longer play the game here.
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the way I liked to treat RL in SL. I still never ask.
What do I get? 5?

[leyna1488303852]

Hmm.  Not sure where I'd fall on the scale.  My RL significant other and I joined SL to help bridge the miles that separate us in between the times we spend together in RL.   We're definitely ourselves inworld as far as personalities go.  Even though I'm myself, I do seem to get completely immersed in whatever activity I'm participating in, whether it's at a dance club socializing, a community meeting, going boating, or talking with someone about shopping,  

When I meet people I don't talk much about my RL though, I'm a very private person by nature and prefer to just enjoy whatever we're doing in the moment.  I don't mind someone asking me where I'm from, I give a rather vague answer but at least they can tell what time zone I'm in.  In fact the couple of times I've asked someone what part of the world they were in was only after they'd asked me, and we were comparing time zones.  

Now I'm rambling. I'd say I'm a 5.   

[Astringofcharacters]

Oh wow, Leyna, I'd say you really hit the happy medium. You're using SL to be yourself with someone who knows you without ruining anyone else's immersion. Kewl

[SirRoss1488303619]

Im here in SL with my RL Girlfriend. When we are on SL, be it dancing boating exploring or just sitting on a wall; watching the sun setting over a body of water, I am totally immersed with my love.

We can see our avis 'cuddling' on that wall, yet there is a wonderful transformation that happens.

Instead of 'viewing' our avi's, we see feel smell touch the RL relationship we have *melting thinking of this*

With respect to that: I say Im *forgot the scale* just where I like to be with why I am on SL

 

Now with engaging in a convo with others, I have a few inner circle SL only friends. When we IM we chat about our RL day 10% of the time and about SL @ 90%.  Grade there would be a 5?

 

Edit: Example: I met a SL'r who is in the same profession as I was in RL (education) we talk a bit about 10% on 'shop' and the rest of the convo with SL. i.e building, events, community stuff etc..

 

Mathurin

 

[Melita Magic]

This one goes to 11.

No, I'll break some of the rules a little bit if I have known someone a very long time and trust them very much. 

I occasionally chat about RL things in a group setting, but in a vague way.

[Love Leonoase]

---

Courtney Sinister wrote:

You see it all the time, some people won't share rl, others say that is silly. Some ask rl questions on meeting, others resent it. Still others wonder what the fuss is about.

I'm convinced it is because there are 2 archetypes of sl use, and many shades in-between. I call my way of measuring this the "Immersion Scale."

Imagine a line with numbers along it. At one end is the number 1, at the other, 10.

1---2---3---4---5---6--7---8---9---10

Pure ones would use sl only as a social network. Their avatars are not "them" in any sense, even in a pretend one. They are merely placeholders for their rl selves. Ones don't roleplay, are free with rl info, voice often, and expect contact with sl friends outside of sl. They often think those near the other end are "fake" and have no rl

.

Pure tens use sl as a "second life" and immerse themselves in it. They are almost always "in character." They resent being asked about rl, "become" what may be a VERY different sl self when in-world, and may seldom voice. They think ones on the line lack imagination and do not understand the wonder of sl.

 

Most are somewhere in-between. Some are one type in one area of sl, and other types in other areas. For example, at a beach you might be just saying hello and asking where people are from and their age, then you might go to a club, wherfe you dance as your immersed self, but with frequent breaks from that into rl information about what you are doing or how your friend's work day went. Later still, the same sl user might go to a roleplay sim and totally immerse in their rl self.

Nevertheless, I find I can usually find a useful spot on the line for people I know, and it helps me understand them and how they feel about sl issues.

I'm a 7. What are you?

---

First off, you should get major props for this thread.  Thank you for making it.

This should be a standard introduction for people joining SL.  I am just now understanding this concept, and how important it is in regards to how various SL people relate to things, and I'm 6 months old.

I DID have people telling me a little about this before, but it was done in an extremely biased way, and thus I rejected it.  The way that YOU just presented it was completely objective, and that makes it a useful learning tool for everyone.

 

I lean towards the "augmentation" side of things, though I see the appeal of immersion.

One thing I don't like about immersion and text, is that you can very easily be setup for drama/bait&switch with it, and if you are doing text, there is a written record of everything you say.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel as comfortable talking freely when someone is essentially recording my every word.  I'd think it's pretty normal for folks to be extremely careful and contrived about what they say, knowing that every word is being recorded, and could later be used agains them.

 

Oh and I'd add that "augmentation" doesn't have to be strictly about "networking for RL". 

The same way you can play and engage fantasy with immersion and text, you can engage play and fantasy with augmentation and voice.  I think a lot of people don't understand, that when you are speaking with someone you do not know, it IS basically "fantasy", and this provides all kinds of opportunities.  Shy/insecure people seem to struggle and resent this, when in fact, it could be a great tool and help for them, to come out of their shell.

[Love Leonoase]

---

Courtney Sinister wrote:

It was not primarily meant to be a survey, but a way to discuss a real issue. There is a fair amount of conflict going on out there around what sl is and what it should be. I thought this might help people talk about it. Every day I see sl being pushed toward being a social network. Every day I hear arrogant asses saying "It isn't real!" "You can't really touch!" It has certainly gotten more that way since I started in 2007.

Your comments about how people don't fit one number on the scale seem to eerily echo my coments when I said the exact same thing. You could have just used cut and paste in fact. No one is trying to pin you down.

I based this roughly on the Kinsey scale, which is also not meant to be something that identifies a set permanant number for everyone, but which has turned out to be a very useful tool for discussing sexuality.

---

I agree with you.

I've seen a lot of tension and bickering between people who have these differing viewpoints on SL, and a lot of it is because one person doesn't understand that another viewpoint can be had legitimately. 

Once an argument or debate starts, instead of any productive exchange, it just turns into a war over which one is "better", and that is like saying which piece of art is better than another (subjective).

 

Personally, I see WAY more "immersionist" stuff in SL, verus towards augs.

I'd personally like to see more RP or themed sims, with an allowance towards voice.  I personally like a mix of things.

[Emma Geraln]

Varies, but around 8, I talk freely with my close friends about RL up to a point but I don't give my identity away except in a very small number of cases. If you meet around the grid it is unlikely I will reveal anything and the more someone presses me on first meeting the less they get.

However  there are 2 people in SL that know me irl.

[Mayalily]

lol, I know Courtney.  I think Willow knows what to do with the underage teenage avatars that sneak on here with their Mom or Dad's credit card and info WITHOUT their parents consent.   (rofl)  Yes, underage teenagers who try to sneak on here by stealing Mom and Dad's credit card info... just know u can run, but you cannot hide.  (hehehe)

[Canoro Philipp]

i would be around a 9.

my avatar is not my real life self, im the author of this character, just like Walt Disney is the author of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, he gave the characters different personalities, each one reacts differently to the same situation, they have their own way of thinking, they live their own lives in that fantasy world imagined by Disney.

for me Second Life is a fantasy world, in which my character lives, and thats what makes it interesting, is like reading a storybook that you dont know what is going to happen next because it its being written as you are reading it, simultaneously by thousands of authors all around the world.

sometimes i talk about real life issues because im asked about it, its inevitable that "real life" avatars are going to ask you some real life questions, doesnt hurt to give them little bits of info. that keeps me from being a 10.