Scylla Rhiadra

Yeah. You try to sound scary, Maddy, but I've seen your props: pup tents, pillows, and cosy blankets. Oh, and your "front end loader" is a plushy. But nice try.

Oh, I am absolutely sure. And I get it (well, sort of . . .): it's part of the whole appeal. I think, with the vital caveat that I speak as a non-kinkster, that my own approach as Domme would be that my sub should have to acknowledge their responsibility too. As much fun as it is to pretend / RP complete and abject subservience, the sub is the ultimate origin of power in the relationship (as I know you know), and that vital fact needs to be recognized and built into the scene, even if it is never deployed, and is conveniently and consciously "forgotten" during actual play.

Were I a Domme, I would actually not permit a sub to waive all restrictions. That is literally undercutting the central premise of BDSM and D/s, which is about power exchange, consent, and, yes, care. Most of the Dom/mes I know or have known in SL are pretty brutal in their characterization of "the scene" in SL, precisely because there are so many here who have no idea of how it is supposed to actually work.

Yes, WITH CONSENT. But consent isn't something that you just give once: to be true consent it has to be ongoing and engaged. In BDSM and D/s, that is most usually achieved by establishing boundaries ahead of time, but also through having failsafe mechanisms such as safe words that enable the sub to withdraw consent at any time, no matter what. RLV has mechanisms that allow you to opt out for exactly the same reasons. https://www.them.us/story/kink-101-bdsm-and-consent

Not a bad explanation, except it leaves out the part where the person selling the NFT tries to torch the actual Mona Lisa because that will increase the market "value" of the NFT.

This makes sense. Another attraction of HUDs is that they integrate a text explanation with an image much better. (It might be a different matter if you could embed an actual image, rather than a link to it, in a notecard). Alright! I'll give this some thought. (And start looking for HUD-driving scripts . . .)

Agreed. Someone -- I've forgotten who and where now -- had the excellent idea of including a standard HUD in the next round of new avatars, with the express purpose of teaching them how to use one. I think that's a brilliant idea. Were I to do this as a HUD, it would be along those kinds of lines.

It doesn't. Blocking is not really a remedy for stalking. In fact, as you have pointed out, it might actually make stalking easier. We have other (very imperfect) tools that work against stalkers, but they are mostly related to land permissions. Blocking is about harassment and abuse. I don't entirely disagree with this. But the problem is that "Adult" is used as a designation for a great many sims that actually have little or nothing do with sex. I go to "adult" sims all the time: none of them are about sex. We need a much more granular or at least enforced rating system. Right now, many places are "adult" largely as a precautionary measure. With respect, that's the perspective characteristic of someone for whom sex is the most important, or at least a very significant draw of SL. There are a very great many of us who aren't here for that. I don't myself get the appeal of RPing or representing as a child here, but SL is fundamentally about having the power to be who you want to be -- and that should include being a child. Banning that option merely because there are lots of people who want to engage in sex here is unfair to them. Sorry, Sandor: it probably sounds as though I'm picking on you. I'm not: these are interesting questions.

The difference being that I'm the one who has done the blocking; at best, the blocked person could take advantage of that. What they can't now do is initiate a process that renders them invisible to me. In other words, they can only take advantage of my actions, not themselves proactively put the pieces in place to stalk me with premeditation.

It was one of my first "projects" in Second Life, actually. We had talked about doing something like this in the SLLU Feminist Network (which is why it was specifically "for" women), and foolishly volunteered. As I was still reasonably new to SL myself, I was able to see the issues somewhat from a noob's perspective. Serious question, Rolig: were I to redo this, would it work better as notecards with linked image (with an online version), which is what I did originally -- or as a HUD that covered part of the screen only, but had more accessible images for explanation?

It could still be quite easily gamed using map views and such. I'm not sure how radar works on blocked avatars either. Someone unaware that they are being stalked is unlikely to make use of other means to check for the presence of the stalker, whereas the stalker knows what they are doing. I certainly agree that there are harms that could be avoided enabling oneself to be derendered by others, but consider some of the uses to which that might be put. Imagine a snapshot of someone in an adult region for instance unknowing standing beside a naked child avatar, for instance. Yes, the snap would have to be taken by someone else -- an alt perhaps -- but that kind of thing could be all too easily managed.

Unfortunately, as obviously beneficial as this might be, it would be a tool that would undoubtedly be used for harassment, griefing, and most especially stalking. I think the half-facetious "pushing" thing that some have mentioned would only be the tip of iceberg. Years ago I produced a guide for noob women in SL that was (indeed, still is in a few places) available in-world, and that featured a very prominent section on this subject. I should probably update it, as it's now more than 12 years out of date.

Ok, I THINK view angle is in the Machinima sidebar under "Camera," nearish the bottom. Field of View, f-number, and Focal length are in the same sidebar, a bit higher up, under "Depth of Field."

EDIT DUH. Sorry. You're talking about BD. I actually do have that info somewhere, but not on this computer. Sorry!

I'll concur with Charalyne: I like your slightly geeky avatar a lot. And this is a GREAT pic! Such a lovely photo of both of you! The angle and composition is great! Of course it's ok! It's a wonderful pic of you! Lunaea is right about the eyes! Beautiful. For some reason, I associate your pics with this range of tones, Walelu. Sort of warm and exotic.

I am not going to argue with Taya: she's a professional and, in my experience, knows whereof she speaks. I absolutely do not. However, Myra Wildmist did a super series in Kultivate on simulating different lens types a number of years ago. This is what she says: My default setting for most of my pics simulates a medium telephoto lens (70-135mm).

The genocidal speciesism on display in this thread is matched only by the equally virulent and misogynist attacks upon very large breasts. Can't we all just get along? Can't we stand, hand-in-handpaw, nipple to nipple, and work together to confront the real threat??? You know what I'm talking about. Yeah, you do. Animesh ****s. They're everywhere. And they're starting to scare me.

No they wouldn't.

Yes! And it has a really busy and very eclectic schedule of DJ sets, pretty much every night of the week I think. It's not "packed" in the way that Fogbound is, but it's pretty popular, and it's a good, friendly, chatty crowd whenever I'm there. The selection of music is pretty eclectic too. When did it close? I started going there in 2013 -- and then again when I came back at the end of 2018.

Not far off, Lindal. Maddy usually does her windowsill gifting in-world, but I'll sometimes get offerings on Discord as well. Below is a sample. Sometimes she leaves good stuff . . . and sometimes she leaves derelict vehicles.

There are at least three different common forms of teleportation 1) a "SLURL," which looks like a web address (a "URL"). SLURL will look like this: "http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon Oxbridge/98/178/27/". Click on it in an IM or group notice will teleport you to that place 2) A "Landmark," which is a descriptive pop-up or box that will tell you a bit about the place (usually), and has a "teleport" button 3) a teleport pad or object in-world that you either touch (click) or sit on -- it will TP you to the announced destination. Sometimes it will give you a menu of destinations to choose from You can make your own Landmarks (in the "World" menu) if you are at the place you want to remember and return to, or you can be given them by people in-world. Double-clicking on the world map will also TP you to that place (be a little careful about where it is taking you!). And, as I mentioned, people can send you TP requests, or SLURLs in their IMs to you More information here:

Great pic, Taya! Very stylish! I love the pose!

Style! Fascinate-Her. (Man Style)

WHYYYYYYYY?????

I have a good friend who DJs regularly on Friday nights. He has no host to help him, and so he takes on those duties himself . . . and then some. He participates in open chat, telling stories and prompting people to tell theirs. And, because there are generally more women then men, he undertakes to dance for 20 or 30 mins each with the women who don't have dance partners, sort of rotating through the single women in the crowd. All this while managing the stream. He doesn't get especially large crowds: 15 people would be a pretty "good" night, and that undoubtedly helps. I go pretty much every Friday night. I am not, to be honest, into the music he plays at all, which tends to be "mellow" folk / soft jazz with, occasionally, a bizarrely Scandinavian inflection. (Finnish tango bands, and Swedish covers of the Beatles, and an abomination called "The Minnesota Tango," which he plays every show.) And I suspect that most of his regulars are not especially into the music either. HE is the appeal: he works tirelessly to make the evening a fun communal experience. His efforts to ensure that all the single women get a dance, and his funny, kind, gentle chatter are what make the evening, because they transform the place from a dance floor full of individuals into a friendly community. And the result is that his regulars are very regular, know and like each other, and socialize outside of Friday nights. It's not just about the music, and it's certainly not about the tips. It's about the community he's built.