Marybeth Cooperstone

"But yeah, someone could report you for being nakie in a G sim if they wanted to." I think anyone reporting someone for being naked in a dressing room in a G area would get about as far as someone in RL who reporting me to the police for being naked in the ladie's shower room (individual showers behind curtains) at health club. Marybeth FLICKR

This morning I was in a room clearly labeled "Ladies Dressing Room" in a G area when I tried on some partially made panties with only the outline around the legs and waist to check that they line up correctly. In other works, I was just about naked below the waist. I know that someone could have camed in to stare at me. Naturally, I would not like it, but I take that risk. After work (in RL) I went to an indoor pool for some exercise. and then took a nice warm shower. Some pervert could have had a hidden camera or peep hole to get his jollies. I would like that even less, but I take the risk. Then I drove home (again in RL). Some drunk could have crossed the center line, hitting my car. That I would really disliked. But I took the chance. There are perverts out there, just as there are drunk drivers. I do not like the idea of someone looking at my naked avi in SL when I think that I am in a private place. I think that it is very rude. But I think even less of RL perverts and drunk drivers. However, apparently there is nothing wrong with being naked in a private place such as a dressing room in a G rated area any more than in a shower at the local health club. As far as I know, there is no such thing as an automatic nudity detector, and if (in SL) someone reports me for taking off my clothes in a dressing room they would have to explain how they knew. Just like RL. Marybeth FLICKR

There are lingerie stores in G areas. There are dressing rooms in G areas. As far as I know, there is no automatic dectection of exposed "parts"; it would be up to someone to report it. I have been nude in dressing rooms or private places in G areas while making shape adjustments or checking half made lingerie (I sometimes try a bra with only one side, or perhaps only the edge made, before I complete it). That does not seem to be a problem. In RL, if you were in a G area, for example, an elementary school, and exposed yourself you could certainly be arrested and maybe labeled a sex offender. However, if you were in a teacher or staff restroom in an elementary school, appropriate for your gender, and someone had a hidden camera or hole in the wall, saw you, and reported you, that person would be the one with a free ride to the police station and perhaps free room and board for a while. I would assume the same applies in SL. If you are somewhere where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy such as a private room or dressing room, no one could complain that you were undressed. Yes, someone could cam in and look at you. That has happened in RL; there have been people arrested for it. I don't know if anything can be done in SL to prevent it. Same with RL. Marybeth FLICKR

Elizabeth, Depending upon your beliefs, you might want to join a church or religious group. I am often go to the Anglican (Episcopal in US) church in Epiphany Island (Epiphany (103, 153, 49)). We have a number of services so people around the world can take part, both on Sundays and other days of the week. You do not have to join a group, just show up and meet people. See http://slangcath.wordpress.com/. I am sure that other churches and "faith communities" are also on Second Life. Aside from that, there are other groups on SL where you can meet people. Just spend some time looking. Marybeth FLICKR

From Sec. 10: "This does not apply to survey research however which by its return is accepted as an expression of consent to participate". This appears to be "survey research" and therefore either Sec. 10 or the entire document does not apply. This survey seems to be a genuine attempt to learn about Second Live and its participants. However, when Iwas an undergraduate at a major US university I had to conduct surveys (stopping people in public with a clipboard in hand) to ask such things as if they preferred chocolate or vanilla and if they were male or female. Then I would do correlation analysis and calculate confidence, etc. This was so I would learn about statistics and analysis of data. It was very worthwhile. No one cared about flavor preference, but teaching us about data analysis, significance, confidence, etc. was important. If you were experimenting on people, with even a small risk to them, there are ethical considerations such as informed consent, are the dangers justified by the value of what is learned, etc. But not for simple, voluntary surveys. Marybeth FLICKR

Done. This survey seems to be very legitimate and brings back memories of the surveys we conducted (with clip boards at the shopping centers) 100 years ago when I was in school Good luck in your university program. Marybeth FLICKR

The same thing was discussed in a thread on the Fashions section: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Fashion/Basic-Slips/td-p/1898879 I pointed out reasons I would like to wear them in SL and sometimes wear them in RL. To summarize: In RL I have some dresses and tops that are semi-transparent and designed to wear over a slip (solid, no lace) of the same or similar color. Also, in RL, some of my skirts are very uncomfortable because they scratch my legs. Slips are more comfortable. There are also the reasons that Attica listed above. In SL I have made semi-transparent tops that I wear with camisoles (solid, no lace). I would like to do the same with skirts (my SL dresses are a combination of tops and skirts). However, in SL you can only wear one item on the skirt layer (unlike other layers where the "add" function works). See pictures in other thread to know what I am talking about. But most of the time, in both RL and SL, I do not wear slips. Marybeth FLICKR

I like realism. Clothes that I make and consversations that I have are very real. However, anything permanent I would not like, and I would leave SL if it were that realistic. As far as getting pregnant, at least that can be avoided by not doing certain things or using protection. I am glad that certain things are not realistic: I can TP to different places very quickly, in less time than it takes in RL to walk to my car, I can change from night to day (and vice-versa) instantly, I never get colds, flu, or worse, I don't have periods. Marybeth FLICKR

AnnAdams: "I have seen a number of semi-transparent tops, worn with solid camisoles underneath, and some dresses worn with full solid slips in RL." I have noticed the same thing. More use of semi-transparent tops with solid cami's in RL, but not for sale in SL. I wear them in both RL and SL. " Is it possible to make semi-transparent clothes in SL?" Yes. In GIMP you set the opacity for a layer to something less than 100% I usually use about 95% for light weight material not really intended to be transparent, and about 60% for things that are intended to be transparent. This is for making tga files for use on "system" clothing. "Can you modify (assuming you have MOD permission) an article of clothing in SL to be semi-transparent?" As far as I know, you can't (at least with system clothing). The opacity (or transparancy) is set in GIMP or photoshop before the tga file is uploaded. The picture below shows me (my avi) with a top that is about 40% opacity - exagerated to show effect. The dark cami under it is about 95% opacity. Note that the bra underneath the cami slightly shows through. I am wearing a slip that is 100% opaque. If it were about 95% you could barely see my pantie underneath. Marybeth FLICKR

I make clothes (hobby only, not for sale) in SL that are similar to what I wear in RL. One of the things I wear in RL is a dress that is somewhat transparent, with a slip worn under it. However, in SL you can have only one item in the skirt layer (unlike other layers). So, what I have is, for the top, a 75% opaque blue top with a yellow cami under it (just like in RL). For the skirt I cannot do that, so I had to make a skirt texture with two layers. The top layer is 75% opaque blue and the bottom layer is yellow, very slightly shorter. My SL dress looks like my RL one. However, unlike the RL dress and the SL top, on the SL skirt I cannot mix and match colors. For example, in RL I also have a dark blue slip I sometimes wear with the blue dress. I have some SL slightly transparent tops that I can wear with whichever color cami I want. But that won't work with skirt/slip combinations. Regarding slips - If, in SL, you put on a slip and then a skirt, the slip disappears. But if you take off the skirt, the slip will immediately appear. Regarding Bras - I am one of those who wears a bra in SL. Most of the tops I make are at least slightly transparent, so the bra makes a slight appearence under the top. Just like in RL. But even when you can't see it, I wear bras in SL. I don't can't explain why. There is nothing to hold up in SL (and little in RL:) ). I also can't explain why I wear very nice looking (some might say very sexy) bras in RL even when wearing a suit and nobody can see the bra. I just like to. Marybeth FLICKER

Marybeth: " I will be wearing the white one (earlier post) tonight." Vicki Adams: "Did you have a romatic evening wearing the white one?" Very romantic. I was not on Second Life or anything else on my computer last night This kids were at their grandparents for the night. Hubby took me out to a nice restaurant. Later, I wore the white nighty, and, well, ....... :smileyhappy::smileysurprised::heart::smileyvery-happy:

Here is what I just made for SL but would like to have in RL. I will be wearing the white one (earlier post) tonight.

No matter how bad his day was and how much is on his mind, when my RL hubby sees me wearing a RL nighty like this, he forgets about his day and gets excited. I made this SL nighty to look like my RL one:

This is one that is very close to what I frequently wear in RL:

Flickr

I log out of SL with my avi fully clothed and not in bed. When I have finished whatever activity I am engaged in (not in bed or unclothed), I log off and do something else or go to bed. However, I couldn't resist the opportunity to show off my nightie I created in SL to look almost exactly like the one I frequently wear in RL (and wore last night). I usually wear in RL and make in SL sexier nighties, but they would likely be censored by the board censors.

I don't usually go to bed before I log out. I do get dressed before I log out though if I'm naked. Yes, it is very important to not log out naked. You never know the circumstance in which you may log in again! I log out with my avi dressed and not in bed. When I get through doing something (going to a meeting, having a discussion, etc.) I log out.

And I am a hetorsexual female and I have hetrosexual male friends who do not seem to have any intention of being other than just friends. Some are also friends of my husband. Likewise, my husband has some gay male friends and I have some lesbian friends. We are simply friends. Nothing more.

Most likely your income and your expenses would be reported as business income. Again, you should talk to a tax professional about your taxes, how to report it, etc.

In the US, a good rule to follow is that any money you receive as income is reportable and taxable as income. However, if that is income derived from Second Live business or work, you may have some tax deductions. Also, the way you made the money may determine how you report it (and related deductions, if any). The best advice, and the only advice I can give, is to talk to a tax professional. Does anyone know if Linden reports to the IRS L$ converted to $ and paid out via PayPal or other means?

At one time there was a place in SL that claimed to be able to put your face on your avatar. You would submit a photo, with your hair pulled back to not cover any of your face. I don't know if they were any good or not; I never tried it. But shortly they were out of business. A friend had a friend of his create my avi from some pictures - front face, profile of head, front and profile of full body (wearing a bikini). I understand that it was rather difficult and took time, but that person did an excellent job.

I do not wear fake feet ever. Also, in Second Life my avi does not wear fake feet. Maybe I should. The default feet are kinda ugly (so are my RL feet ) But I don't pay much attention in SL to my feet and shoes.

Susan: " I know that Marybeth just uses color..." No, Sometimes I also use the usual techniques, shadow and shading, to give hems a little depth. What I was saying is that it really doesn't matter that much. I have seen shirts, skirts, and other things in the store, and the real garment really had easily seen hems. The I looked at the same item on the web site. In that photo the hems were not visible or they could be replicated only with a slight change in color or, on some things, making most of the shirt about 95% opaque and the hem 100% opaque. So it really depend on how much you want to put into it. I like realism, but I don't see a need to show detail that is often not seen in photographs on the web of the real item. But it can be fun and challanging. That is the reason I like to make SL clothes anyway.

It all depend upon what you want to put into it. Looking at photos of shirts and other items on web catalog sites for stores, and enlarging those pictures, I see many types of hems. Many are barely visible, or not visible. For some a there is only a slight change in color.For some a change in opacity, with the hem being more opaque, will work. For others some depth would be required. That can be done in GIMP. Some hems involve a small shadow next to sections of the hem. Larger items such a shirt colors and pants leg cuffs may require more advanced techniques such as mesh or prims.

I use the Robin Wood UV templates which are neither male or female and can be downloaded here: http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLPages/AVUVTemplates.html I have never made male shirts (I only make clothes for me). I would expect that you would simply draw some things such as the neckline differently. But the the templates themselves have no gender.