Scylla Rhiadra

Derek Torvalar wrote: Maryanne Solo wrote: The LWL. Wow to resurrect the one thing that the worst cognitive disorder sufferers, mysoginists and cellar dwellers detested most of all lol. Even funnier that it was strictly a social group for having fun amongst members and lots & lots of it at no one elses expense. This group was targetted by the haters purely because it did not exist to belittle others as their own groups of imaginary friends did. Given that most of the small minded, grossly offensive bullies & haters were either perma banned by LL or hated themselves right on out of here (and most other forums) It seemed they were all gone. -> Seemed <- :smileyvery-happy: From memory I dont recall the OP was ever a member. A little fact conveniently overlooked by the authorities on everybody elses SL. Have a nice day Derek. Everyone else sure will! \0_ My reference was not specifically aimed at the formal SL group Solo, but at the informal category of individuals who happen to share a number of particular traits. As it happens the members of that formal group did include members from the latter. If your memory did serve, you would realize that the formal SL group did not pre-date the first reference to that latter category of individuals, and more to the point, the group was created as a response to the frequent reference to that latter category of individuals by the more insightful members that used to inhabit the GD forum on a regular basis before entropy took its toll. As for the mission statement and practice of the members of that formal group goes, their tacticcs were certainly not above reproach and they did their fair share of harassment, bullying and other reprehensible behaviour. The notion that the formal group was 'targeted' speaks to the narcisisstic ego-centrism of the members of that group. And I wasn't really concerned whether Scylla was ever a member of the formal group or the more general category; it is immaterial to the point I was making. And for the record, Mr. Chairman, I have not, nor have I ever been, a member of the LWL. I think I was invited once, but I'm a solitary luncher, mostly.

Qie Niangao wrote: Gadget Portal wrote: Some trolls don't even realize they're trolls. It's great. They must realize it. This is, however, an apparently new genre of meta-ironic trolling. Who knew the "feigned stupidity" style would work so well with the "topic nobody cares about" riff? No points for difficulty, but I'd rate it high on originality. Floral notes, oak, with a finish of itchy palate. Excuse me? You think that this "feigned stupidity" thing in combination with the "topic nobody cares about" theme is new? I beg to differ. And you, Mr. Niangao, have been around long enough to know better. (Enter the disguised old fart troll to inform me that there was nothing "feigned" about my "stupidity." I also know how to play it straight for others, after all.)

Dillon Levenque wrote: ColonelObvious wrote: No, Scylla only promotes very specific things that may or may not fit her own personal agenda, although she accuses others of doing or not doing the same thing. I guess you have to be a feminist to understand. Wow, out of what woodwork did you just crawl? I've seen less than a dozen posts from you, all made LONG afer Scylla pretty much vanished from this forum, yet you seem to think you know all about her. That kind of thing usually only happens when someone who doesn't have the guts to post under her/his original SL name alts up. Is there a different explanation in your case? ps: don't bother trying to suggest you were here earlier as a Captain: the same question applies to that alt. We had a much better class of troll here in my day. (As I am sure this particular troll could attest from personal experience.) ;-)

"Thank you all for being here today, and for sharing with us your time and your quiet reflections upon this day. For those of us old enough to remember that terrible day clearly, and perhaps for all who commemorate it, December 6, 1989 holds a host of very personal meanings. It is from this day, 25 years ago, that I date my own self-conscious emergence as a “feminist,” but it is also a day that still resonates with a terrible sense of sadness and horror. I don’t want, however, to dwell upon that today. Tomorrow, the struggle for equality and social justice will continue, as it must, but today I want to answer the hatred of those who believe that the lives of women don’t matter with the only thing that can defeat such hatred. I want to answer it with hope. Because when I think of the lives of these 14 young women, I am filled with hope. And I want to remember them, and their courage, and their determination to live their own lives as they chose, because it is these things that give me hope for a better future. I want to remember Sonia Pelletier, from St-Ulric, Quebec, who was looking forward to returning to her home town, and her family, to start her own engineering firm. I remember Anne-Marie Lemay, who sang in a rock band, and Anne-Marie Edward who loved skiing so much that she was buried in her ski jacket. I remember also Annie St-Arneault, who wrote poetry, and Annie Turcotte, who loved messing about with cars. I will not forget Barbara Daigneault, who had the opportunity to work alongside her father as a teaching assistant, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, who had moved to Canada from Poland with her husband, her high-school sweetheart. Geneviève Bergeron played the clarinet: I will not forget you, nor will I forget Hélène Colgan, who died beside her best friend, Nathalie Croteau. I celebrate the lives of Michèle Richard, who was about to be married, and of Maud Haviernick, who lived with her long-time boyfriend in Laval. I remember Maryse Leclair, one of the top students at the Ecole, and Maryse Laganiere, who had been married for only three months at the time of her death. We cannot ever forget why they died, but it is even more desperately important that we remember how they lived, and that these young women enjoyed joyful and fulfilled lives, that they were loved, and are terribly missed, and that the way that they chose to live was an affirmation of what feminism is really, ultimately, all about: the right of women everywhere to live lives of their own choosing, free of prejudice and fear. And so, although we must continue always to fight to achieve that end, I believe we must also choose, deliberately, consciously, steadfastly, not to dwell upon the hatred and fear that led to the death of these beautiful and valued young women, but rather upon the hope embodied by their lives. When feminism succeeds, as succeed one day it must, in banishing the hatred and fear of women that still, even today, scars our culture, it will have succeeded not because we were driven by these qualities, but because we hoped, and believed, that things could be better. Remember them, celebrate them, honour them. And let their greatest, most important legacy, be the sense of hope in which they lived, and that still today drives our struggle for equality and justice. I would ask you now to join me in observing a minute of silence to remember and honour these 14 women."

Thank you for this, and for the bumps. It is appreciated. :-)

TDD123 wrote: Scylla Rhiadra wrote: The world is sadly full of gray little kindergarten cops luxuriating in a sense of their own self-importance. They are harmless enough, fortunately. Therefore it's all the more tragic you abuse a massacre to link it to a 'sole attack on feminism', while the victims were never associated with that. Will you also remember the man present in class who took his life afterwards because he witnessed these events ? 'Enjoy' your vigil. Ooops. Your agenda is showing. I remember -- and mourn -- the senseless death of any man or woman even when I don't know her or his name. Were you a more nuanced reader, and one not so blinded by your own reductive view of "feminism," you'd have picked up on that rather key word, "equality." It is a fundamental tenet of feminism that the lives of all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, or class are equally valuable. I will not be "enjoying" my vigil. Today is a day that is still, 25 years later, one that resonates with horror and pain for me, as also for many thousands of women, and men, throughout my country. But I appreciate your good wishes.

Derek Torvalar wrote: TDD123 wrote: Then perhaps we better have moderation decide what to do with this. LMAO 'Mr. Smiiiiiith, Janey is putting the red crayons in the spot for the blue crayons!' Hey TDD, are you the new forum tattle-tale? If so, then you are remiss in your duties as the GD Forum is replete with inappropriate threads that need to be deleted and/or moved. God, whatta bunch of babies. *sigh* I wasn't even going to bother commenting on this, to be honest, but thank you Derek for doing so. The world is sadly full of gray little kindergarten cops luxuriating in a sense of their own self-importance. They are harmless enough, fortunately. Perhaps I can take solace in the reflection that this little "victory" probably made his day.

Madelaine McMasters wrote: My last semester of engineering graduate school ended in December of 1989. I remember the École Polytechnique story, but it was not a galvanizing moment for me. As I recall, the murderer was (pardon the crude condensation of his condition) nuts. Thirty years earlier, Ed Gein made Wisconsin famous after killing two women and stealing numerous female bodies from graves. Police found lampshades and chairs upholstered in women's skin. Two years after École Polytechnique, Jeffrey Dahmer got us into the news again after killing numerous men and boys in similary gruesome fashion. Both of those men were... nuts. It's a tragedy that lives were lost, but I can't draw larger conclusions from the actions of nuts. Gein was fixated on women, Dahmer on men. I don't think either was a reflection of society at large. It's the actions of sane people that give me pause, as there are so many of them. Just as I was beginning to hope that recent scrutiny of the behavior of athletic programs and fraternities would finally bring to light their disproportionate population of misogynistic asshats, Rolling Stone magazine tosses a wrench in the works in the form of craptastic reporting and editorial misjudgment in a story written by a woman about a woman. Dammit, dammit, dammit. This vexes me as much as watching my college girlfriends swoon over (well, actually under) basketball players who dropped crumpled $20 bills (the smallest denomination used as packing material for the "complimentary" athletic supporters they received from athletic supporters) for $3 slices of pizza to avoid an aneurysm trying to compute the tip. Fortunately, we are not always our worst enemies. Nor are the fellas. And finally, I didn't "dare" to study engineering. It was and is what I love to do. I don't ever want to meet an engineer who entered the profession to be daring. I want to meet engineers who, like me, love what they do and want to make a difference. Carry my best wishes with you to the vigil, Scylla. Thank you, Maddy. That the gunman (whose name I will not mention) responsible for these deaths was "nuts" I will not for a moment dispute. It is hard to imagine anyone capable of shooting 28 people in cold blood not being deeply disturbed. And yet, disturbed as he may have been, he did not choose to shoot mail carriers, or corporate executives, or fire hydrants. He deliberately targeted women, and, what is more, left a manifesto explaining why he did -- because he blamed them, and their "feminism," for his own failures. The point is not that a single lunatic hated women. It is that he lived in a culture that provided him with a ready-made scapegoat for those failures. Decades of public discourse -- even in the days before a resurgent fundamentalist right-wing, and the currency of the term "Feminazi" -- had identified for him the "enemy" responsible for feeling inadequate as a man. His culture did not, does not, condone the killing of women -- that's where the "nuts" becomes relevant -- but it did inform him that, if he had failed to become an engineer himself, it could be blamed on those women who had succeeded. The gunman himself is really a symptom, rather than the disease. And his actions, wildly out of tune with what was acceptable as they were, are an index of a broader, deeper, and ultimately more troubling (if less murderous) problem with our culture. Your point about "daring" to be an engineer, in relation to your own experiences, is entirely to the point. I used the term "dared" somewhat ironically: it should not require daring, of course, to undertake a career path associated with another gender. When the gunman announced to the women he had sequestered from the males in one of the classes that he was "fighting feminism," one of the students, Nathalie Provost, replied, "Look, we are just women studying engineering, not necessarily feminists ready to march on the streets to shout we are against men, just students intent on leading a normal life." And that, really, is actually what feminism is ABOUT: its aim is to allow women and men everywhere to go on "leading a normal life," whatever their choices. Feminism isn't a club or a political party: it's a set of values. And of those values, the only one that ultimately really matters is this belief in the right of everyone to equal opportunity and treatment. Interestingly, two decades later, Provost (who was shot four times, but survived) articulated the same conclusion: "I used to see feminism as a conflict between men and women, but it's not that for me now. ... It's making sure women have an equal chance." December 6 was an enormously important day for me. It's the day when I first consciously started thinking of myself as a "feminist." That was not because I adopted a reductive view of violence against women, or the events at École Polytechnique. It was because I suddenly realized, in the face of the madman's shouted insults at these women before he killed them, how very, very important equality -- for everyone -- was to me. And really, it will be that commitment, and the memory of these women, that I will be honouring today.

TDD123 wrote: Scylla Rhiadra wrote: I myself simply want to remember 14 young women who were brutally murdered. I will do so tomorrow, at the SL vigil, We can have this discussion another day perhaps. But not now. Perhaps, when organizing such events, you'd better post these in the Upcoming Events and Activities-section of the forums instead of General Discussion. Perhaps I don't think a memorial vigil to 14 murdered women belongs in a section of the forum devoted to upcoming DJ appearances at virtual clubs or open casting calls for modeling agencies. But thanks for the advice. :-)

Thanks, Derek. And I apologize if I assumed too much about your attitude toward these women. I probably won't be here too much -- I'm really only here to do this vigil. But, with the Fall term just ending, my doppleganger may be around a bit. So perhaps we can chat then. Take care. :-)

Derek, I am too weary and too saddened by my memories of that night to get into this with you. Believe it or not, I'm actually not interested into turning this into a "teaching moment." I myself simply want to remember 14 young women who were brutally murdered. I will do so tomorrow, at the SL vigil, and tomorrow night at the RL one. You are most welcome not to attend either vigil, as their deaths clearly hold no meaning for you. We can have this discussion another day perhaps. But not now.

On the evening of 6th December, 1989, a gunman entered Montreal's École Polytechnique, and murdered 14 female students and staff, wounding 14 others, all but four of them women. These women died because they had dared to study in a field -- engineering -- traditionally reserved for men. They died because their murderer, as he himself expressed it, hated "feminists." This Saturday, 6 December, 2014, at 9am SLT, you are invited to a brief vigil to commemorate, honour, and, above all, remember these young women and what they represented. Please join with us in celebrating their tragically shortened lives, and in vowing to continue to strive for equality for all. The vigil will be held, as noted above, at noon SLT, at the FIMS Virtual Collaboratorium. For more information about the Montreal Massacre, you can visit this site which features a documentary video: http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/features/remember-14/ Thank you. I hope to see you there.

LlazarusLlong wrote: Scylla Rhiadra wrote Maybe Sy thought that I actually *was* Anita Sarkheesian? I doubt that Sy confused you with another self-serving sufferer of victim syndrome, if only because Sarkheesian has no sense of humour. Even if your own was principally demonstrated by using a male alt. Yes, Pep was a creation of pure comic genius, even if I do say so myself. ;-) I'm curious about your accusation(s) of being self-serving. You mean, as opposed to the utterly selfless game company CEOs and designers who have devoted their lives to doing Good Works gratis for the benefit of gamers everywhere? Sarkheesian is a blogger, media journalist, and polemicist. And like anyone who works in those fields, she wants to be read, discussed, and paid attention to. So, yes, of course she's self-serving, if by that you mean that she is probably happy to see her public profile raised, and her ideas discussed broadly and publicly. If by "self-serving," you mean that she's raking in millions . . . I very much doubt it. And it would take a very special kind of cynicism, of a type with which I will not accuse you, to imagine that she deliberately provoked vile and often frightening responses from the more misogynist elements of the gaming community merely to capitalize on them. Let's not forget, too, that Sarkheesian's fame -- or notoriety -- is almost certainly solely the result of those attacks. If sexist gamers see her as a dangerous monster, she is one of their own making. And in this particular case, I'm definitely rooting for Frankenstein's creation. Have I been self-serving? Well, sure. In the same way as Sarkheesian, but with very much more modest goals. As for "victim syndrome," that's BS. I wouldn't be a feminist if I thought women were merely victims. (I feel I should end with a joke here, to undercut your claims that I can only be funny posing as a male, but . . . well, you know. Feminists != humour. Right?)

Ceka Cianci wrote: Wow,That's a name i haven't heard in a long time.. Scylla. I think the last time i seen her was at the first hippystock hehehe Yeah, well . . . if you say my name three times, I magically appear in a cloud of acrid and sulpherous smoke. Or potpourri. Something vaguely nauseating, anyway. I very much doubt (pace Perrie) that Sy was baiting me here, although he might possibly have expected a response from that doppleganger chick who has occasionally posted here in the last year or so, pretending to be a Canadian feminist, but actually managing to be little more than a pale and insipid imitation of me (am I right? Am I right???) But his post is an interesting, if deliberately inflammatory one, and as I happened to run across it while quietly forum stalking, it's worth a quick response. ("Quick"? Heh. Who am I kidding?) Unsurprisingly (to the few of you still here who know me), I like Anita Sarkheesian. She's smart, she's articulate, and she has been astonishingly resilient in the face of a horrifying firestorm of threats and criticism. I'm not a gamer, so I can't comment very directly from personal knowledge on her main message, but the vile and violent response to her work from a sizable and very vocal element in the gaming world -- and to women in gaming generally, through Gamergate -- suggests that she's on to something. In other words, the response of those who have threatened and villified her and other feminist critics of gaming culture pretty much provide all the needed proof that that culture does have a problem. There's not much, I think, that's really new or radically brilliant in what Sarkheesian has said. But she's a very effective gadfly, and, whatever else one might think of her, she's got people talking about misogyny in gaming. And that can only be a good thing. I'm not sure how relevant Gamergate, or Sarkheesian, are to Second Life. I suspect not much, generally, because this is a world where the content is, of course, user generated. But for that very reason, I find the slightly smug assertions I have occasionally heard that there is no misogyny in Second Life rather amusing. There is a great deal of misogyny here, but it tends to be a direct reflection of RL attitudes, rather than hard-coded into the platform (as it is in GTA, for instance). Given that tech types are such a large percentage of the residents here, I would be interested to know how much of the sexism that one does run across is perpetuated by the "brogrammer" culture (remember that computer science is one of the very few academic disciplines that has seen an actual drop in the percentage of female students over the past few decades, although there has been a slight recent rebound, I think.) As for Sy's other point about the forum . . . well, I'll confess to finding this place a bit boring these days. I'm not sure if that is because of moderation or not. Certainly, there was a time when just about thread I posted was being pulled by incredibly overzealous moderators, but that lasted only a shortish time, and it's not really why I stopped posting here, nor am I sure that it is why the community here has changed. Because, that's what's happened. It was never really about individual posters here: it was always about community, and the larger social dynamics. And on the old GD forum, and in the earlier days of these forums, it was an exciting place, and a really vibrant community. But it was also frequently extremely toxic, and not always very accepting of newcomers. The community here now seems, from what i've seen of it, to be a nice and very well-functioning one. That's a good thing, surely? And if I find it a little boring, that's surely a reflection upon me, rather than upon the group that set the tone here now. If the people now here like it the way it is -- and they must, because they have made it this way -- then who am I, or anyone else to tell them that they are wrong, and should change it? Right. Time to step back into my sulphurous cloud. :-) (PS. Maybe Sy thought that I actually *was* Anita Sarkheesian? Cuz she's a Canadian feminist too, after all. Ok, half-Canadian. And ten years younger than me. And waaaaaaaay more effective. But still . . .)

haxeonelove, what Treasure Ballinger doesn't tell you above is how much time and work and effort she has put into helping others and advocating for those with disabilities in Second Life. She's on the Board of Directors for Virtual Ability in Second Life, and is estate manager for Cape Able, a residential sim for SL residents with disabilities. She's an advocate in both RL and SL. She's also one of the most relentlessly cheerful, positive, and sweet people I've ever known in SL. I admire her a great deal. You could do a lot worse than looking to her as a kind of model for making SL fulfilling, not just for yourself, but for others too.

As self-indulgent and boring for most of you as it will undoubtedly seem, I hate missing old friends. Sooo . . . Hugs to Canoro, and Dres, and Love, and Dillon, and Celestiall! :matte-motes-smile: (I hate these smilies.) And just as a parting shot at relevance . . . it is outrageous, obviously, that the government (any government) spies on us. They couldn't do this without judicial authorization if we were on the phone, but apparently harvesting us like we were a junk crop is fine online. But the real disturbing thing, surely, is that LL hasn't just let this happen. They invited them in. So much for the free spirit of Burning Man, eh? kk, enough! Byeeeee! :-)

My. That sounds exciting and dangerous! Are you an operative, or just a freelancer? Unfortunately, Mum told me never to go to Hemmingway's with someone less that 48 hours old. And I always listen to Mum. :matte-motes-grin:

(I'm sort of kicking myself that I didn't do this as a parody thread. I seriously think I've lost my touch. I might have even dragged Richard out of mothballs, kicking and screaming. You know, "Stunning Revelations as Online Tarsks Revealed to Be in Employ of Insect Lords." Or maybe even something clever. Oh well. Next time . . .)

A world without trustworthy erotic manga, or clean tissues, is nowhere I want to be. This has been waaaaaaaaaay too much excitement for me! I'm outta here for . . . well, probably a very long while. I have to go write up that debriefing report on forum alts now. Hugs and kisses. It's been really lovely seeing some old avatars. Take care all. :-)

*sigh* My fingers slipped. And I'm out of practice keeping the local grammar nazi happy.

/me waves back at her favourite Martian. The existence of Barry (the John the Baptist of crack-smoking mayors, who merely prepared the way for the Greater One) is grounds for commiseration rather than consolation. ETA. Edited because I'm not REALLY a dumb blonde. I'm just drawn that way.

Oh god. Why did I ever admit to being Canadian? Yeah, he's a tool alright.

i jest perfer to pertend im a reel dum blond. *giggle* It may not get 'em off my tail, but at least I can take satisfaction in knowing that, somewhere, some idiot who thought that working for the NSA meant being James Bond will think he's found his perfect girl.

Storm, I am increasingly convinced you are right. It's the reason, I suppose, for my outrage fatigue. Increasingly I'm giving up on the "global" part, and thinking locally, I guess.

I see the OP hasn't been back to respond. Perhaps he's found a "classy" Mumbai girl to his taste, and is otherwise occupied.