Elysienne Nebula

Technically totalitarianism is any system (specifically system because the ideologies can vary, despite what political partisans will claim) that seeks totality over human social and personal life. Hannah Arendt defines it far better than I could however and she compares and contrasts both the Soviet and 3rd Reich systems as examples of totalitarianism. Let's not dilute the definition by implying that imposing rules/norms equals totalitarianism. In the latter, the former can certainly be used as mechanisms to achieve totality, but they're also useful as mechanisms to ensure that rule of law can function in a democracy. It's much like a knife - if you can excuse my analogy. You can use a knife as a weapon and some are made to be that way. But they are also useful tools that have enhanced the lives of billions.

I suspect that the residents now using the jigglebit HUDs are the same ones who used nuclear bling and face floodlights.

Oh darn! Did I miss another Olympics?

It is. I always found it odd how some people in democracies (especially people right now in the USA) pretend that they themselves have nothing at all to do with how authoritarian their government is. In a democracy, the government is a reflection of the people. You don't want an authoritarian government? Stop being authoritarian and stop electing authoritarians. This has nothing to do with party either, although hardcore partisans will claim otherwise and blame either the other party or the other side of the perceived political spectrum (left or right).

We have to be careful when discussing power dynamics in our societies, lest we find some monsters staring back at us from our own mirrors.

Ala Folie is a good shop for dresses, skirts and so on. (Everything from casual to haute.) Don't know who Kate Middleton is, sorry. I suppose I could google the name. My newest fav shop is Zenith. Definitely worth checking out. Tetra is also worth checking out. The Maitreya Lara body is best to start with as every bit of clothing has a Maitreya (Lara) version and there are A LOT that are Maitreya (Lara) only. (There is also full support and free updates.) As for heads, Lelutka or Catwa - you'll be really happy with either. You could also try LAQ. Do a lot of demos from as many makers as possible. I think that's a good start.

Wow, Purplemoon. I miss that place!

I'm very late to this conversation, but yes, in SL you have to be very clear especially when mentioning fun and even then, some people won't get it.

When it's that bad, I just tp right back out. I'm fairly certain that I'm not the only one who does.

Scarlet Fey's store in Sindaria has a lot of outfits that work well for the Viking look. They're pricey but high quality. I highly recommend the place. The only other thing besides price is that the outfits are usually maitreya lara only. There are other stores as well, such as the one on Folkvang. It's mostly furniture, buildings, and artefacts (like runestones and such) but there are outfits too - mostly classic body outfits but you could use the system layers with BOM. I know of a couple other places that you could check too but I will need to get back inworld to retrieve their names and sim locations, etc.

Not really. (Mongolia is Buddhist, by the way.) It depends on the context and your motives. If you do get past customs wearing one on your neck, people on the street will not assume your religion. On the other hand, there are a lot of contextual clues that will impact their perception of you and what, if any, spiritual traditions, you practice.

Wow. Such an honor to post in this venerable old thread!

I don't feel strongly about it but it would be nice to have MP not cluttered with so many gacha item resell listings. To be fair, I've purchased a few gacha resells when there were no other options. I've also played gachas from time to time when they had really cool (at least to me) creations on offer. I've also tped into a store, seen a row of gachas and no ordinary vendors, and promptly tped out. So I have a sense of both sides of the argument, at least from the customer point of view. It's tempting to take a strong side either way but that doesn't matter. Gacha is going away, regardless.