Ajay McDowwll

Signing on to the Jake body's ease of use. It's currently my male alt's preferred body. He owns Gianni, Jake, Kario, and Legacy (both the original and Athletic)... and he ends up defaulting to Jake mostly because of a) creator support, b) ability to shape it how I like, and c) the hud. Legacy is absolutely a beautiful body, but both the complexity of the body itself as well as the hud keep me from making it his default. That hud makes me want to eat glass.

That's not a demo issue; it's the writing that's on each individual layer on the Maitreya body (clothing, underwear, and tatoo) when it's first put on, and requires that you go to the "Layers" tab, click on each layer, then click "clear" or "clear layer" (whatever the wording is; I'm not in SL at the moment so I don't have the hud in front of me)

Don't do this; it won't work to clear the layers.

Yeah, that's been an issue for ages. I think when we were all using variants of the starter avatar (the default or system avatar), that the thick eyeliner was en vogue, and it's never really left. It might also be an issue with delineating the eyes, and with the system avatar those are less clear without the eyeliner. This is why I put forth my suggestion that the starter avatars include a fully mesh avatar with the ability to learn to customize in a manner similar to how the purchased avatars work. If folks get too frustrated with how they look, they'll leave. If they have the ability to learn how to do so, even if it's just a stepping stone to a full-out purchased body and head, it would help with user satisfaction and retention.

It looks like you're wearing a clothing, tattoo, or underwear layer that you haven't cleared. Go into your Maitreya hud, to the "Layers" tab, click each layer you're wearing, and clear the layer. That should remove the lettering.

My skin for Maitreya works well on the Lucybody. I don't have that avatar inworld at the moment so I can't examine her fully, but I did check when I put the Lucybody on her, and I didn't see any misalignment that was evident.

One of the biggest issues faced by new residents to SL is avatar customization; I know this from extensive socialization with people new to SL, as well as folks who tried it once and decided to nope on out because the learning curve was just too high. That's also one of the biggest draws a virtual world has to retaining residents. I'm active in SL, Sinespace, and a few other virtual platforms, and I can guarantee you that if I can't customize my avatar to an aesthetic that pleases me, I won't be spending much time in that particular virtual space. If anything, the Lab should have mesh avatars available that are more comparable to the popular mesh bodies on the grid -- both in form and customization methods -- which would enable new residents to learn how to customize their avatars to the current state of most people on the grid rather than giving them a system avatar that many just give up on and leave, never to return. I recently created a new alt to see what onboarding is now like in SL, and although the experience was improved from my last alt's creation, one thing that's missing for new avatars is information about how HUDs work, how most residents end up customizing their avatars, what alpha layers are, why you use them... I mean, you learn to walk, cam, go into mouselook, how to buy things, how to talk, but the serious work of current avatar creation isn't even touched upon because all of those products are only available commercially rather than being included as part of the "starter package". There was no information about changing your avatar's skin, none about changing hair, none about actually changing an entire outfit, going from no clothing to alpha layers and the attendant mesh clothing pieces afterward... y'all, this is basic stuff every other virtual world offers, and meanwhile new resident tutorials for those entering the grid barely touch on them, if they do at all. All this to say, I don't think a more simplistic, cartoonish starter avatar is at all the solution that is needed.

No, they're not all alike and they don't all have the same end result with shaping. As mentioned earlier, Gianni's legs have a smaller default than, say Belleza Jake's. When my male alt moved to Jake, his Gianni shape had his thighs at 100 and it looked absolutely absurd on the Jake body. Best thing to do, as Marianne said, is to just get demos of all the male bodies, try them on, adjust the sliders to make a shape you like, and get the body that works best within your personal aesthetic.

I second the Lucybody midnight mania board. I got it for my latest alt, and with the less than 200 linden BOM relay it's really the best deal out there. The neck mapping works well with the universal neck, and I can't see any neckline with my alt's mesh head (HDPro, which I actually did pay full price for). I realize 197 lindens isn't "free", but it's about 1 USD, which is the best rate for a body as flexible as Lucybody.

I'm like a few other posters, in that I stared at the question trying to work out what was being asked. The only interpretation I can come up with for your query is that you're ultimately asking why we... take our partners in public where they can see other avatars they might find attractive? Uh... I'm almost speechless. Are we supposed to just stay isolated at home to avoid even the possibility of either of us seeing another avatar? SL would be really boring if all we did was stay at home, gazing into our partners' pixelated eyes, all out of the fear of someone cheating. I'm truly baffled as to why the question was even raised.

To add to the comparison, here's one of my alts wearing a DeeTaleZ skin. She's in a Catwa HDPro head, but the EvoX skins for DeeTaleZ are constructed similarly (I have some of the free EvoX heads, and play around with skin demos on them, so this isn't just me guessing). The top picture is the DeeTaleZ Alina skin straight out of the box, no makeup. The bottom picture is with the makeup (tintable eyelid and tintable lips) that come included in the skin package as tattoo layers, so you can wear or not as you prefer.

I know when I returned to SL, I found Skell Dagger's blog Virtual Bloke to be really helpful if you're trying to get up to speed with mesh bodies, heads, and the like. I'm currently quarantined while I await the results of my PCR (COVID exposure plus symptoms... oh joy), so I'm inworld more during the day than I'd usually be if I could go in to the office. Feel free to look me up; my online status is public, so you can see if I'm around.

I'll check Seraphim for the weekend sales galleries, and if I'm bored I'll hit some of the big shopping events, or if I'm in the store and see something that's been released at an event that's still ongoing, but it's not a normal part of my SL on my main. The exception for me, as for others it seems, are the themed events like We ❤️ Roleplay, Midnight Order, etc. I do some light RP, and finding new medieval/ fantasy options is still fun. But most of the clothing events feature clothing that either closely mirrors things I already own, or stuff I wouldn't wear... so no thanks. I do take my male alt to some of the men's events, because he doesn't have a ton of clothes yet (well, he does, but he doesn't). That said, seriously, he doesn't need 50K pairs of sweatpants and sneakers. Good grief.

I usually put my avatar in jammies then put her to bed before I log off. That's restricted to my main, though. The rest of them I just TP home and then log them out. I like knowing they're going to be where I left them when I next need to bring them inworld. For me, it's just part of a routine. Avatar goes to bed, and I'm less likely to log back in and stay up way too late, thereby proving the saying that SL = Sleep Less

I do my best

I'd post a new picture, but my partner looks like he did in the last one I posted, as he changes clothes maybe (MAYBE) once a quarter? I guess there's only room for one fashionista in this house lol

I second Seren; I use DeeTaleZ for myself and all my female alts. The makeup is a separate thing, and can be added or left off as you desire. I wear Catwa HDPro Queen (I like the hud-based lipsticks in it better, and it's just more "me"), I use the in-hud lipsticks and blend them down so they're more of a tint than a solid color (more the glosses on the left than the full lipsticks that are on the right side of the lips portion of the hud) and maybe throw on eyeshadow if I feel like it. 10/10 would recommend DeeTalez for either HDPro or the EvoX line. They're gorgeous skins, with a ton of flexibility.

Yes, I've read your blog and I enjoy reading about your adventures You definitely have a diversified group of alts, and it works beautifully for your SL

LOL -- yeah, they're siblings. They're all just younger. I'm the eldest in both worlds

Well, and families have different levels of resemblance. My RL sister and I are very similar through our faces, especially our eyes and our general expressions. The primary difference (outside of age) is our haircolor and eyecolor; she's a blonde with brown eyes, and back when my RL hair had pigment, I was a brunette with blue/green/grey eyes. Our brother is a redhead, and his facial construction takes more after our father's side of the family, so the resemblance there even when taking gender into account has always been minimal.

My alts are definitely siblings. The majority are on my case about how they don't get out, they need more clothes, blah blah... so they don't come out much. One can only handle so much bickering My male alt, on the other hand, is frequently present inworld, and has more of a differentiated personality than the girls. It's still clear that he's me, but he's essentially "me if I were a dude". His mannerisms are different, he avoids emoticons... but he still joins in the gripe-fest about the fact that my wardrobe is far, far more extensive. He will never be pleased. Poor lad.

For you, perhaps. That's not how I work things. We're all "siblings", so there's going to be family resemblance. The two on the far ends were deliberately clones; the one on the far right is an exact clone, and the redhead just has a different haircolor and skin. They're very publicly me, so I saw no need to differentiate other than the minimal areas where I felt like it. The brunette is a simple example of the fact that I'm not very creative. She also has different skin and hair, and slightly different facial and body shaping... but again, see "not very creative". (it's how I'm wired; I'm fine with it) Not everyone is trying to create an entirely different character, do things that one avatar wouldn't do, etc. I realize others have dramatically different alts, and although I don't make that choice, I am totally fine with others living their Second Lives as they wish. *shrug*

/me goes inworld to check her Japanese style teahouse... (I don't think it's mine -- mine is full of cats, but it does allow rezzing lol)

This is how I am. I am more than happy to talk to anyone, but I rarely initiate IMs because I'm pretty sure everyone else is busy lol My personal view of privacy in SL is that it's primarily a polite fiction. We rez in naked half the time, so our pixels are never truly completely covered (unless one wears BOM undies all the time which, even with my rather modest SL default, I rarely do). Nothing we do inworld is unrecorded, more or less... so I just take the world as that and go with it. My homes are open for folks to wander through if I'm not home. Shoot, I took the trouble to decorate them, so wander away! I do, however, take a perverse amount of joy in making sure all my publicly accessible homes have strictly G-to-PG rated furniture. As Matti said, if you want the adult animations, go get your own We have one parcel that's no-see, which is where I usually change clothes. It also has an aggressive security orb with a limited field (not much over the top of the house, spanning the whole parcel that's surrounded by a wall of trees), and it does the trick. Sure, someone could hover JUST outside the range of the orb and cam in... but that's why the Linden Gods gave us the ban function. I'm pretty open about who I am RL, and my RL picture is on my first life tab. My husband and I met inworld, so we've already recklessly crossed the streams. But I also respect those who prefer to keep aspects of their personal lives private. I take people how they present inworld; if they care to disclose more, cool. And if they don't, that's also fine. I don't go into people's houses uninvited (my open properties have it in the land description that wandering through is fine, although if I'm home one should knock), I don't pry... I just try to treat people the way I'd like to be treated.

They all whine. Every last one of them. Even Forg, who easily gets the most time inworld out of all the rest besides me (I mean, I need a dance partner sometimes when my husband isn't available!). That boy has four bodies (Gianni, Jake, Legacy, and Kario) and clothes for each, and yet he still gripes! I suffer, truly.