Scylla Rhiadra

Wow. To return the compliment, what a really clever and well-done image! This is beyond a mere "photo"! Beautifully done!

Steam

Cute cute cute cute! (And potentially wet. How's your sense of balance?)

No excuse! The busier you are, the more stupid you're likely to be.

I have to say, I've experienced much less of the "Give me the sekksies" variety of encounter of late than I used to. Maybe I'm looking old and decrepit? I suspect that reason, though, may be that the social places I go to all have a core of "regulars," and lots of chat in local to which I contribute. New people, and undoubtedly men on the hunt, do show up there, but it must be more intimidating to cold IM someone with an invitation to sex if it's obvious that they have "reinforcements" at hand, and are not there alone? I do get hit on, now and then, but nearly always tentatively and politely. I don't get nearly as many stupid conversations. I was almost coming to believe that maybe the culture in SL had changed. Good to know it chugs on as it was?

Almost as bizarrely, Maddy used to have an Emergency Backup Mother. But she is, after all, a trained engineer. Being in the humanities, I'm not organized enough for redundancies, and use scotch tape in an attempt to keep my originals from falling apart. So far, it's worked . . .

Awesome avatar. And beautiful pic! Very soft glowy! I didn't get that sweater . . . now I'm wondering if I should go back . . . 🙂

Thank you. And for being considerate and responsive! 🙂

[No longer relevant.]

You totally do not! (Suck, that is!) Your pics are interesting and a joy to see. And I think you're clearly developing your own style -- which is waaaay better than taking pics like mine. But thank you for the kind words! What little I know about SL photography I learned here, from the generous and talented people who post in these threads. So, you're in the right place!

I'm not religious. 🙂

Cute pic, and it pretty effectively captures the feeling of a pic taken in a club! I like the motion blur!

Hallowe'en isn't really my thing: I am easily grossed out by gore, hate violence, and get totally freaked out by jump scares. But I can do creepy . . . ! Thanks, Tarina!

A Dollhouse

Porphyry, I thought I'd responded to this, but I think the forum software ate my response. (Greedy, bad forum software!) In any case, thank you so much! I was sort of going for a cinematic look, so . . . yay!

While SL Jesus is seriously kinda hot, he needs assistance doing up his belt. Maybe this is some kind of parable?

Toeing the line . . .

Hmmmm?

The public can be very odd sometimes! But yes, I know what you mean, and it can look very good in some contexts! Yours does. Done!

Lovely use of light, Charalyne!

And it was a good, positive thread too! Grrrrrr.

[Reposted with minor changes because the original was "hidden" by the forum software] I am pretty agnostic on this suggestion, although I probably lean towards the response given by most here -- that it's unnecessary and unlikely to really accomplish what it is supposed to. And also that it would unfairly disadvantage some. Social engineering gets a bad name sometimes, and it can, of course, manifest itself in negative ways. But most of our RL laws are, in fact, social engineering: there are laws against violent or fraudulent behaviours because "we" have determined that these are behaviours we want to discourage. And when we have conversations about sentences and punishments, as for instance, capital punishment, the argument is usually less about ethics than it is about what makes the most effective deterrent for those behaviours. And social engineering is not exactly new, either in the digital realm generally, or SL in particular. Most social media programs, MMOs, etc., incorporate social engineering in the foundational base code, I think. Facebook, Twitter, online multiplayer games -- they are all designed to encourage certain kinds of engagement, and particular kinds of community, and discourage others. And, as the recent revelations about FB's algorithms make clear (as if we didn't already know), it's mostly about the money. What kinds of social engineering will generate the most revenue? SL is no different in that regard. I don't think LL has probably ever introduced a new affordance, rule, or constraint for ethical or moral reasons. It's always about money, and the continued viability of the platform. When certain kinds of activity were banned about 15 years ago, it wasn't because LL had suddenly determined that they were causing social harm: it was because there were serious threats of legal action, as well as a lot of bad publicity. When LL introduced a new rating system, when it closed down SL "banks" (i.e., ponzi schemes), when it banned gambling, and, now, when it got rid of gachas, it was always about external forces at work. I'm sure that there are many in LL who agree with these changes -- but it took governments who didn't necessarily have SL itself in their sights to trigger them. So, LL isn't going to institute enforced down time merely because it is worried about its customers. If something like this is ever instituted, it will be because some government somewhere has decided that it would be a good thing.

Well, I may of course be wrong, but I have the strong sense that Syn is not actually as new to SL as the age of his account suggests. Ironically, were he actually new here, I'd be more inclined to find his insights useful. Most of us here have been around a while, a fact that means almost by definition that we like how SL operates. We mostly just want it to do what it currently does better. A new person would give us some insights into how someone viewing the platform from a novel perspective sees SL. And we needn't agree with those insights to find them interesting and useful. I like seeing new blood here, personally. Despite our disagreements on some issues, we are, as a tribe, occasionally a bit of an echo chamber here, perhaps?

Nice composition! I like your use of the fire in the foreground!

Great pic, and a really nice looking avi! I don't "do" cowboy (or cowgirl), so to speak, but this is really nicely done!