DeepBlueJoy

It is your second life. Just be a nice person., whatever pixels you're wearing. Whether you present as your First Life gender or not, is really not that relevant. Tell people or don't. Be male, female or something in between. I have friends who i know are not the gender they're presenting as in SL and a few I suspect are not. I have one friend who has transitioned since coming into SL -- she presented as male the first time I saw her, but no longer does so and with the new names, she has been able to change her name. Not sure how far her transition in real life has gone, but I think SL was a chance for her to live the gender she knew herself to be. Some people are transitioning. Some just enjoy being somewhat different from their real lives. The point is to be true to your self and enjoy yourself. People have shared with me their FL gender after a time of me getting to know them, some are just who they are. I don't think it matters. I have both male and female avatars and I play them quite differently, though that surprised even me! It's interesting presenting as male how differently I'm treated. I mostly present as my FL gender (female) but I am not going to explain to anyone why I have a male avatar or why I find myself channeling a more masculine self. I too am married and I'm not here for the sex or any kind of relationship other than friendship, so that doesn't enter into it in either gender. I have made friends as my 'man-vi' self who don't know I'm female and I have no reason to enlighten them different. It would just make some of them uncomfortable and cause a need for explanations I don't come to SL to give. In real life I'm a somewhat androgynous Cis, bi female, married to a man and though I'm not in any closets, I am pretty sure there are a lot of people who assume I am straight. My point is that I'm living my life for me and I am not trying to prove I'm X or Y. I came to SL to be myself but also to have fun with things like my blue hair. I am in SL to enjoy my SL. I don't answer to anyone here even more than in real life. Real life has some constraints, SL has fewer. As long as I am a decent person, I believe I owe it to myself to be myself. So... I say, Enjoy! Blue

THANK YOU DEEPLY AND SINCERELY! (and loudly!) 💯😍

I won't pay for in store demos. I would for one on MP. One simple reason. I have alts and friends I regularly buy stuff for... I cannot buy anything for another person that costs 0L. Why buy someone a demo? Because, if an item is 2,3 even 500L I may not want to buy it for them until they've tried it. I may not have the same brand of mesh body (and my alts all have different sets up b/c that's part of the reason I have them at all). So, a demo for 1L is fine. Paying real money for a demo? Not a chance. 1L is fine, however, because it means I don't have to try to remember the alt's log in or send a link to my friend for her to then have to log on and buy. Usually, for in store demos, I can bring my friend or my alt and they can get all the demo action they need. Most times, I don't really like to bother with in store gift interfaces b/c weird stuff tends to happen. If i want to buy someone something in a store, most times I pay them and let them buy it. Most of my MP gifts are from vendors I trust or they are usually not things where fit is an issue (home and garden, mostly)

i so wish I had a way to make head shapes and/or body shapes. My basic solution is that I've created several body shapes around the same basic head shape so instead of editing my body each time to wear some of my ultra slim/bustless clothes, I just wear my small bust version and my med bust and normal bust version. but, yes, I've often wanted to use shapes from some maker or other, and usually don't bother b/c recreating my head's look would be way too much work. Of course, separate shapes for head and body would make things even more complex.

I personally don't care if one necros a thread as long as the post is germane. There are trollish posters that post random, irrelevant crap to old threads and that IS annoying. Most old threads are long dead and the content is irrelevant and they should stay dead, but occasionally, I have posted to an old thread b/c the subject is very specific and sometimes is of interest to a small number of people -- who may have subscribed to the that old thread. I post to the thread b/c i think it's likely the people who wrote in that thread might be interested. Occasionally, I respond to a question that didn't get answered. I think there is actually value to specialized threads that stay open indefinitely. I created one on a writing forum I'm part of that is all about words that get confused with each other... and it still gets revived from time to time... it's become almost an archive of sorts. When it is revived, it often stays active for a while and then it dies down again. Someone thought it was so useful, they went thru the whole thread and made a list of the words and definitions.

Just put the big signs all over it so everyone knows we're wearing a demo. This is my number one choice. I don't care if any tester pictures I take have demo signs, they are documentary images, not art. If you must write demo onto the item itself, let it not obscure the use of the item or the ability to visualize the texture realistically. LAQ skins have a demo sign on the forehead, but most of the skin itself is visible. You can see how it falls all over the face, though the demo sign is a bit distracting. On the other hand, i see skin demos with lines and/or text repeated over the entire surface... and I cannot tell how shiny the skin is or how it really looks on the contours of the face b/c it looks distorted. If it's a piece of clothing, it's less problematic for it to be timed, b/c as long as it is a long enough demo for me to have it (a) rez completely AND (b) put on a matching top/accessories, shoes etc and see if they don't poke thru somewhere odd... but again, I can tell you the sense of pressure and the fact that I OFTEN don't buy items on the first try, means you won't get a second chance from me unless I'm already a regular, ENTHUSIASTIC customer. My question is why are you working so hard to irritate your customer? Generosity is remembered in SL, but so is inconvenience. I have given up groups because the landing point is far from the store and there's no way to tp there easily. I come to SL to feel BETTER not to be aggravated. That is the majority of people in SL. The rest come to be creative or to have a social life or some combination of all three. None of these will be motivated by vendors who waste our time, effort and energy. Remember: WE ARE TRYING TO GIVE YOU MONEY!!! Don't make it harder. The other day I gave a vendor 100L after she helped me when I had trouble with a 29L dress even though it wasn't her fault. She took time. She always helps people and people talk about it. I notice. I remember. I go back. It is not a lot of money, but I bet a lot of people have that impulse where she's concerned. I would buy her stuff for a lot more money too b/c it's well made.

Yes, of course, I take pictures of my various demos. I'm not stealing 'your' property!!! They have demo rings. I can't DO anything with them besides test drive... I want to see how each of them looks on me... it's clear from the ring around my foot, or D over my head that it is a demo, the point is not to USE or abuse the demo process. The point is to get a way of comparing something expensive like a skin or a body. When i went from system to mesh, I tried on maybe a dozen different bodies. One night I demo'd all of them for my friend, took pictures of each, then next day went back and took a look... And the next day I spent nearly 3000 linden. Of course it is reasonable for me to be able to SEE clearly what i'm buying. I still have those pics btw... I am occasionally frustrated by my body, but given what i see in those pics, would make the same choice again, given those options. Next time I body shop, I will probably do something similar, though now, I have something I like, I must get something I like better... I'm in no hurry. None of us would demo half a car (though some car vendors actually allow you a week to change your mind on a purchase), or look at a house with no roof or floor. We want to look at a fair representation of what we will use. We don't expect to live there... but we expect a REAL and COMPLETE picture -- literally even. As a professional photographer, I find it's often easier to see flaws when you have created an image or several images than just looking at your constantly moving avi. When i tried to photo the caged, head, it was impossible.. and so I kept my 2000 or 4000L

And there are even stores like LAQ that give away a single skin in all shades just for a free join... and periodic other gifts. And they aren't alone. And they aren't crappy skins... What fabulousness does this seller's skin have that people should just 'trust you' that it will look good on them? My experience in the real world is that there's not a single item in the world that looks good on everyone... even if it is gorgeous intrinsically. Humans are different. What suits is also going to be different. Add the way stuff like faces are rigged in SL? Demo!!

Things look different from avi to avi. This is true particularly for those skin makers (and also make up creators) who design with a particular head in mind, then throw in omega and/or BOM. Some skins and some make up is designed so it will look good on almost any head, some look good only on one or two specific heads. Also influential is how you've shaped your particular head. I see pictures that may or may not be retouched, but look fabulous... if you want to wear the exact shape the maker created. Well, most of us want our own look... Demos are therefore required for me for things like skin and make up, even more than clothing. I may wear a dress or top one or two times...(and come up with a work-around fit for it.) Skin, i tend to wear for extended periods. If it isn't fantasy skin, I wear it daily until the next time I upgrade. Skin either looks right or it doesn't. I may need to adjust shape to some degree, but the sliders must be able to give me something I like... and I can't tell that if I have no demo or I only have 10 minutes to work with. As for a demographic that can afford not to demo? I do have money. The reason is that I don't waste it. I'm generous to vendors who treat me right, and scorch the earth of those who treat me with disrespect. If you go to a store that caters to the wealthy, you'll notice most of them have more generous return policies and tend to be much more flexible and helpful than average. Satisfaction of the wealthy customer is more important, not less. There are fewer wealthy clients, and losing even one tends to be costly. Also, wealthy clients have greater capacity to share their experience with similarly powerful friends. They also tend to be people who set or influence trends. Thus, the vendor in SL who thinks she/he is too important to care about the customer may well go out of business if they build up enough bad blood. We may not be naming names here, but we can and will in world. In SL EVERY good experience can end up being a recommendation to a friend or group.

Please lose the 2 minute demo. I don't care how big the ring is or how colorful the demo note is, but in two minutes, sometimes i have barely looked at the item, maybe, my RL cat crawled on my lap, my BFF and I were busy talking and I was looking at her, not my outfit... OR... I'm waiting for the outfit to REZ. So two minutes... is a really good way to annoy me.

I won't buy a skin without a demo unless it's less than 5L (usually a gag or a gift) I don't tend to buy stuff with timed demos. I hate going to store, trying something on, and ending up nude. Occasionally, I don't even realize the demo is timed until it starts undeforming. If I'm there with a friend, I don't even realize what is happening b/c we're busy talking. Then magically, I'm naked! Just NO! I have absolutely no shyness, but I do have dignity. That 'noob wandering naked in a sim' thing is so not my idea of a good time. Just dumb. Particularly as some of the stores are not in adult regions. I also hate demos (particularly of skin) that have huge 'demo' (sometimes as a textured pattern) written all over the surface, particularly on the face! How can i judge texture and the way the light hits it, if i cannot see it all? Some head company came with a cage around the demo. DELETED with prejudice! Another had bits missing from the head. And these heads are 5000L, not 10L Really? I'm supposed to visualize and edit myself to fit something with obstacles that make it difficult to see the item? Or that expires? I'm not a thief. Don't treat me like one! I am black, so this is something I've really got a very thin skin about. I've been followed around in stores all my adult life. It is insulting. And I cannot imagine why anyone, anywhere, any race would not find it insulting. Self-Deleting and otherwise constructing your demos as though I'm gonna steal your stuff is just OFFENSIVE. I know there are idiots who will steal anything, but interestingly, those demos won't stop them, but they will annoy your customers. Picture this, I've actually had demos that I tried on, wasn't sure about (or didn't have lindens for) and took off and left in my inventory for weeks (or longer) before going back and trying them again -- sometimes with different skin, hair or other clothing... and buying. Expired demos get deleted the minute they expire, so they cease to be an advertisement of your product. Unless I was able to IMMEDIATELY decide i loved it like mad and had to have it NOW, I tend to walk out of the store and forget it (or tp home naked and pissed off!!!) (and lose the SLURL) One thing is true: I often follow random slurls to stores... If I end up naked and leave, I may not have the LM at all, even if I want to go back. Yeah, usually, i can dig it out of history, but why bother? If you want to send out demos that will sell: Do three things at minimum: 1) Give a full demo. Include Omega or whatever other bells the real thing will have and have it show colors and such -- I don't want texture surprise later on, even if the item fits. (I bought a dress the other day without trying on the demo b/c it looked lovely in the picture... then I discovered there were NO colors on the hud that I liked b/c instead of abstract patterns (i thought i saw in the picture), there were granny flowers). Fortunately, the dress was cheap. 2) Give me a demo i can see fully. I don't care if it has a squawking demo bird over my head or a 6 foot ring around my leg... just make it NOT cover ANY of the item in question (unless it's a full skin, and you're putting it around the ankle) It is fine if it is over the head or otherwise annoyingly visible... as long as it blocks NOTHING i will value when using the actual product. I am stupid and simple: I want to see what it will look like when I use it. Goes double when something is over 500L! If you send me a corset but not the flexi skirt, (one very expensive store did) I will not be able to tell how the gown works. I won't buy it. A lot don't work at the waist. When I get a partial demo, I tend to just delete and forget it. I figure the person who made this has something to HIDE! Or they're just greedy, mean-spirited and miserly. 3) ALWAYS put contact info into the demo, the fuller, the better. If possible, more than just your slurl - if you have MP put that in too. People move sims. I have dug out demos after a YEAR when I remembered or rediscovered an item or they matched an event I was going to, then I've had a hard time to find the store... except for those who included a way to find them. I love people who put updated picks in their profiles or slurls. I can usually dig it off the item, but occasionally, people leave the template maker as creator in the item, so that doesn't work. MAKE IT EASY. A notecard with maker name is therefore better than just a landmark. No Nos in demo land: no demos in cages. no demos covered in demo writing so you cannot see the texture. no partially crippled demos. no partial demos. no expiring demos. No non-existent demos for anything over 100L Also... really don't like demos I must rez to the ground when I cannot rez in your store! Yes, I know there's a work around, but why make me work for it when there are so many other things to see and buy! Or... If your store doesn't allow scripts... If I am gonna try on something with an applier, and I cannot use my HUD to unhide my body parts, I must leave yours store to try your demo... then you may have lost the sale. I know people rent on sims that don't allow certain things, but maybe it's time to boycott those really rigid landlords. Bottom line: If I must leave your store to try on your demo, I will probably not be coming back. Old stuff from MP I forgive, and anyway, I am usually on my own land when trying, so it's fine.

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love the idea that possibly being a squirrel was one of your salient memories! I don't think 10 days in a row have passed since I joined that i didn't log on, except for a brief period when my account was locked and no one knew why. That was a hard two weeks. Still have no idea why. There are weeks when I hardly am on but I always come back, but most weeks, I am on for at least a few hours, some weeks, many many more! My friends live here!!! Wish more of my real life friends were here instead of FB, which I abhor. Glad to know of other writers here. I was part of a writing group for a while but it folded. I must find another.

Wow... well, I was an online native before there was anything like second life. My first 'world' was a local BBS running on a dial up -- I think sysop had 24 modems. She ran Major BBS with money she got from early retirement from Kodak, I think it was... anyway, me and my partner joined in the early 1990s, and were an active part of it until he died and my life focused on a bunch of other things for a while. Fast forward a bit and the the nice man who I eventually married was kind enough to read Snow Crash to me as a bedtime story!!!! wow!!! Still one of my favorite memories of our early marriage days. It was then I remembered all the cool things about talking to people you've never met, except now, there was a visual reality to it that BBSes had not had - and I didn't really believe it could be real, but I wanted it to be! Somewhere in there, I heard someone mention Second Life. Then Science Friday on my local NPR station started to mention that they had a sim or a destination or something... (it was a while back). I kept meaning to and meaning to visit, and never did. Why did I finally decide to join in September of 2015, after knowing about SL for so long (probably pretty much the beginning?) I honestly cannot remember. Probably b/c i needed something to replace Facebook, which I had gotten off after I decided it was a time suck and a huge security hole... and too aggravating to boot! My first thing, of course, was to try to find Science Friday's destination. I never did. I looked that first day, but nothing. I was so new and so lost that I spent most of the next few months trying not to walk into or fall off things. I went to a bunch of really (mostly empty, I thought) pretty places and just wandered... Eventually (thanks Caledon!) I figured out how to take pictures... and started taking pics and have now taken thousands! My focus wasn't that strongly on things like dressing up and the idea of spending money here?? Well, I didn't have a lot to spare (and I was born cheap anyway), and I initially thought it was a frivolous activity, so I spent six months with no money... except for 250L someone gave me sometime in there... which I husbanded very carefully! Mostly so i could buy 1L items occasionally. (Things have changed a bit... fortunately) My initial focus was on my journeys (Inspire space park, Whimsy Beach/kaboom, Whimsy no limits (a different sim) and many more, some very strange... discoveries and I made several real friends, who are friends to this day. But from my first day, I knew I needed Blue hair, so I figured out how to tint the lovely hair that came with my rocker girl avi. I decided the religious underwear that came with my initial skin was not my style, so someone showed me how to change my skin within about 5 minutes of clearing the new comer entry way, and waking up on NCI (cannot remember which one). I quickly crafted a person that reflected my real appearance as closely as possible. (but didn't actually look a lot like me, thanks to the skin and the limits of the tech and my lack of skill). I wanted to create a fit/muscular, large breasted person which broad shoulders and large feet... and a cleft chin. I wanted to be 'brown' but that was hard to find... so I put up with a paler imitation for a while. (truth in advertising, it was supposed to be me at 30 - I wasn't perfect, but I was very happy with myself, so why try to look like anything else?) I never did become a builder, but I have become decent at making avi shapes, IMHO. 🤩 Eventually, I gave in and made myself a bit taller, b/c being 5'5" on the sliders meant I was near childsized in SL! I'm still relatively short. This (below) was the best I could do with no money... and I wandered the world with my sword until I met my bff, who started to try to convince me I could 'look better'. I thought mesh wearers were deformed snobs as most mesh avis had (and often still have) horrid proportions... so I was 'meh' about the mesh, but I utterly hated my hands and feet... and I had already started being interested in things like wearing wings and lovely flowing flexi things - so I started to be a little bit interested... And to leave the freebie box behind and visit places like Snowpaws and Brii. Below was my first profile pic: I was a slightly better version of the day one self... wearing my self-made top and my lovely free (self-edited and poorly positioned) blue hair... (I have a big forehead in real, so I was trying to create that look with free 'flat hair' and no editing experience!) This was taken in the skies of Gardens of Greenberg (greenburg?), which sadly, no longer exists... It was a winter wonderland... and I miss it so much! The second one is No limits Whimsy, also gone... and the last... I don't know where that was. I wish I could go back! This journey has been so much fun! It still isn't about being a clothes horse (though I have tons of clothing and look a lot different now), but i do express myself and be myself... and I have some friendships I never thought I would have. One woman made her husband drive 6 hours to meet me!! She's my BFF... something I never had before! This Second Life has enriched my entire life! I love this place... and me and my sword and my fugly boots...

Actually, I have tried it... and mostly the result is not quite what I was hoping for... I was trying to create a look that is not quite as androgynous as yours, but which was less 'harsh' than a lot of the males I see in SL. I often try to create faces that are based on real people, and the person in question was definitely masculine, but has less of a square jawed typical look... So I'll amend it to 'it's hard to create a typical male look' from a female head... But as you've proven, there can be exceptions. You look awesome, btw!! I actually would like to talk to you about the skin you're using... that is the other thing that makes it hard to get a less hangry/monstery or slacker/party boy look. I find the sexual politics in SL avatars to be an interesting insight into sexual politics in general, but it can get annoying fast, when you're trying to create a neutral, pleasant look in either gender, particularly when you're trying to create a look based on reality, not 'rugged' 'handsomeness' male stereotype or some kind of of 'female ideal', that apparently involves having *****ty(?) rubbery thick-fish lips and a completely vacant of brains expression. Some of these really expensive heads just look simian to me. I have no idea who finds that look attractive or sexy (haven't met many), but any man that does... is likely not on my list of ideal mate... even if i were looking to date in SL, which, I'm not. Maybe it's supposed to look 'ready for action' but that's not a look I'm after either! But I think I'm gonna try that free head you mention if i can find it still -- if it's flexible and responsive, it's worth looking into for either gender! I like how approachable your expression is. Thanks!

sorry. now i am the ignorant one. apologies!

DISREGARD THE POST BELOW. did not have all the info before jumping in and splashing egg everywhere!🙄 contains good advice that does not apply here!! I don't know what the problem is with the particular head you're using, but I have worn several mesh heads with system eyes from day one and never bothered with anything else, b/c there's many great system eyes out there and they aren't a pain to use and they aren't 'ruth eyes'. I have never had trouble with mesh heads and system eyes, and almost always have issues with mesh eyes and anything. It's just not worth the work. I have real life for that. You can get tons of very cool cheap or free system eyes on MP - some even come with both mesh and system in the box so if you ever feel the need to do the mesh thing, that option is there. Bottom Line: I recommend system eyes with whatever head you use - I find they un-complicate everything.

The only problem with an all in one mesh avatar (and I've had a few of those btw -- altamura made several freebies that were all in one) is that if you don't like the head, then you're stuck. Although the system head is hard to edit to make look unique, it lends itself to much more variation than every mesh head I've edited (and I've done dozens, both male and female). A lot of people like to change their appearance, and think their bodies are fine, but the facial appearance leaves something to be desired. Over time, mesh heads have acquired more features, but the bodies, not so much. Anyway, I think it's likely that people are going to want to have bodies with detachable heads as long as people don't all want to look the same. and as long as mesh heads are not infinitely editable. All vendors/creators have a look. You can see a guy with one of those monster men mesh bodies and you know who made it. I can often identify a Maitreya body without even checking to see if i'm right. The same is even truer of heads. So far anyway, seem to have a certain baked-in form. Every maker has a look and within that look, variations that are NOT very changeable in the individual head. It's why body vendors can sell between 1 and 3 styles of body, but most head makers make a bunch. Sadly, I can usually tell the maker of the heads, even when they're supposed to be different races, b/c people have styles and they tend to fall into those ruts. They make make big nose, small nose, but there's something familiar -- they're all 'related'. The mouths are all pouty in the same "I want to suck on something" way that I would not be caught dead wearing (for one example). Skin makers do the same thing. I think it starts when they enable certain parts of the musculature, so the sliders always work the same way on that maker's heads... so they have the same limits. You cannot build a cowboy boot on a running shoe last (the three dimensional form a shoe is built around). It's the same thing with the heads. You cannot build a man's head on female head form (for example). Heads aren't "elastic" enough from the base they're built on for 'one head fits all'. When that happens, we won't need head manufacturers... We will just build our own with the sliders, and buy shapes from people who are better at making those. Take me as just one example. I'm not white, and many of the heads that are available in SL are aimed at Caucasian women and I don't like how they look on me even when they're extensively edited. On the other hand, I'm pass for white light skinned in real life and i don't have African features at all either, so the 'African' look is not one i want either (at least not the variation that shows up in second life). I don't look either 'white' or 'black' (stereotype-wise, anyway). Like nearly everyone else, I want a relatively unique look -- and an avatar reflects some version of 'me' that feels 'ethnic' without forcing me into any box - African, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian or European, or any number of 'indigenous' peoples -- each of which are at least several different looks to begin with. You only have to look at a yearbook from anywhere - even one that is relatively racially homogeneous - to see that there's a lot of variation. It's already difficult not to see clone faces going around in SL b/c many if not most people buy a head and they're largely done... For lack of interest or ability or time or all of the above. Now, think if we bought one of say the 10 or 15 different bodies that get most use in SL with just one head that is as inflexible as the bodies are... and we'd have 10 or 15 different looks... with slight variations. I think Altamura is trying to do this more than most other body vendors... sell whole body packages that have it all (a variety of different heads/looks, mostly white)... but even they are allowing people to hide/detach the head that comes with the bodies that people pay so much for -- because even after buying a body with an integral head, people still want change. So... sadly, I think we are stuck with some degree of neck blend woes for a while...

I understand that there's something in the design of heads and bodies that is different, so the way they're put together can never perfectly mesh.

I think people get used to the inconveniences of mesh. They are told it's 'better' so they get bigoted about it. It is fine to like it better, just as it's fine to enjoy the simplicity of a system avatar. I wish people would just live and let live.

Rule 34. There is sex of it. not just porn... if something exists, there's sex of it. snorts.

I don't know what the stats are, but I know quite a few. If money is an issue, you can find free heads or free bodies all over SL and some of them are actually really well done, though they have various limitations. Altamura and Ebody come to mind for bodies. Altamura also has heads and bodies with heads. I like ebody best b/c it's very simple to use, but a lot of people find they like all the features in the altamuras, even the freebie ones. I think whether you go mesh really depends on what you are hoping to get out of SL. If you're big into dressing up, you will probably want to at some point, though some of the nicest clothes for some role play is older and not mesh oriented. If you're here to hang out, to explore or to build, the system vs mesh really is not that big a deal. You can look decent either way. System usually is less complex, but some system clothing can be very high complexity... so it really is up to what YOU want. Don't let people push you. There are avatar nazis out there. You get enough of that in real life. Do what you like. Be happy and ignore the idiots. I wore my system body for a long long time because I was happy with it. I only changed when I wanted things that were best worn with mesh bodies. I still wear my system body occasionally, though BOM has restored my old wardrobe mostly, I have system outfits set up that I still just wear. All the best, Blue

Then don't! You are doing this for you! I like playing with shapes and avis. I started on day one when I remade my initial shape and dyed my free hair blue. Not everyone likes this. If you have a look you like, then keep it and go on with life. It's not worth joining the crowd just b/c people get idiotic about it. I like my face, but you know what? I still miss my cleft chin, something that no mesh head (at least none I like) has, though you can buy very marginal tattoos, they don't look real. I have a cleft chin in real life. I look female. It looks natural. Apparently, in SL women must not have cleft chins. Idiots!

I did the same thing for a long time. partly because I liked my old head, and partly because I am cheap. I eventually spent 500L on a normie head, which comes with full Omega installed (no added expense to wear make up, tattoos or skins or anything else that is omega based). I can even use free omega evolved HUD to wear a bom skin or a system skin) There is a free tester that is fully omega set up so you can see if your chosen skin and make up work well with your head. If you decide to go with a 'normie head' (Marketplace), you will have to adjust your head shape some as you would with any mesh head, but I was able to get a look that was similar enough to my old head that I didn't miss it that much (and now, looking at pictures of both, I like the new one better) I'm a tryer-outer of things so I tried maybe 10 or 20 different heads before I gave up for another year... same as I had with bodies. I had almost given up on the idea of a mesh head until I found the normie head. I don't like any of the 5000 linden heads nearly as well as I like my normie head... which to me doesn't look like a lady of the night posturing for sex or a fainting maiden devoid of mental capacity. The vacant look is not for me. Most of the heads seem to ape some kind of beauty standard that is out of vogue with a touch of pronstar... not my thing. Love my normie head. Wish he made one for men too... Works really well with LAQ skins. Also have worn with a bunch of other skins including Fallen Gods. All look decent but I'm fond of LAQ anyway - that was what I wore with my system head. EDIT Finally just wanted to say this: I would not let ANYONE push you into wearing a mesh head if you don't want to. I think you need to do Second Life for YOU. There's a lot of body shaming in SL same as everywhere else. It's nonsense here same as in the 'real' world. If you have a look that suits you and/or you don't care, don't change! It's YOUR second life, not anyone elses. Some of my favorite people in SL look a lot like they did when they joined, some a long long time ago. I've found what matters more is the content of their character not the mesh in their avatar. Sometimes I wear my system body with my mesh head, hands and feet... because I have some awesome clothing I missed wearing before BOM. Actually, the system body is simpler to work with than BOM to me -- I tend to just save the whole thing as an outfit... (I have a separate shape that I wear when I wear my system body that makes it look more streamlined)

That is helpful for those that I have blocked, but not so much for those I didn't get around to blocking, but it does help that they remain in those lists. I won't be able to recognize someone who merely irritated me but I will still have protection from those who motivated me enough to take some action. It's better than nothing. Thank you for explaining.