Scylla Rhiadra

The head does look good, but . . . What. Is. That. HAIR!!!

I take photography very very seriously.

There aren't enough wrinkles in a tattoo layer to do it justice.

That's because I'm ancient.

People in SL are a non-renewable resource at the moment, Love. It's bad conservation practice to eat them.

The people. Always the people. That's where the creativity and everything that makes SL worthwhile comes from. It's what distinguishes SL from the other cold, sterile, better-rendered and more efficiently-coded virtual environments out there. Without the human, none of this would be worth the screen space it's rendered on.

Well, this is kind of a new look for me . . .

In some ways, I think it's scarier than this implies, because I think we're reaching a point at which the tech is "running" the technologists. I'm always struck for instance by the attitude of techno-utopians to data. It's not merely that they want to "free" it. The cliche is that "Information wants to be free." The agency comes not from us but from the "information" itself: the impulse isn't the result of humans weighing the pros and cons, but represents instead a simple acknowledgment of the inevitable destiny of data itself. Accordingly, the task of we mere humans is to empower "information" to be all that it innately "wants" to be. Too bad for the human values -- privacy, for instance, agency and free will -- that get in the way. Having created systems that reduce all information to data and employ algorithms to "read" this that, at best, only mimic the enormously complex human processes of thought and analysis, we're now increasingly changing how we live to suit the system, rather than the other way around. It's easier, faster, more efficient, and it employs mathematical models that seem elegant and logical. Ethics is hard: we're still struggling with arguments Socrates laid down nearly 2500 years ago. How much easier to circumvent such questions and focus instead on what the tech does or does not empower us to do!

I'm not sure why you seem to be arguing with Bitsy here: this is pretty much exactly what she has said elsewhere above, and it's certainly the implication of the post from which you're quoting.

Pfffft. Dillon is entirely entitled to her opinion! She doesn't want your endorsement or approval! She wants your money.

Well, what the hell. It counts: I actually was listening to it a minute ago because of Dillon's post!

Coincidentally, I had a discussion with someone in RL about one of these -- "Money" -- a month or so ago! I am a little embarrassed to admit that I thought the tune was actually by The Flying Lizards. It was pointed out to me by a friend that it had been recorded by The Beatles. I don't think either of us knew it was actually by Barrett Strong until we googled it.

Yep, it can be complicated, time-consuming, and pricey if you let it. Of course, many people (all of them more creative and patient than me) really enjoy this element. As for myself . . . well, tinkering with sliders was fun for the first month or so . . . It doesn't need to be that complicated, though, unless you really want to customize your look. There are short cuts -- you can just get everything from one or maybe two makers, for instance, in which case compatibility of bits is much less challenging. Or go with a system avatar, and wear mesh clothing. Either way I think you should come back when you're done and post a pic here of what you've come up with!

Thanks Sara! The tee is just from the MP. I just found it, i think, by searching "tee" and "clash." Back in the day, I used to make my own system tees, mostly for myself but sometimes as freebies for my groups. I'd almost like to get into that again, ideally for applier tees, but I'm not sure about the learning curve involved. Maybe when BoM appears, it will, in addition to ending world hunger and bringing peace to the Middle East, also give me an easy way to start doing that again.

I love this look so much! Especially the hair and pants! Can you tell me where they are from? I need to get a bit more adventurous with hair styles. My friends would likely drop dead from shock if I appeared wearing something like that . . . but that's kind of a good reason to try it! (Not that I want them to actually expire. Just a little dead, maybe.)

I can't speak with anything like the experience or expertise of many people here, but I have recently been in your situation. I returned after many years of absence a couple of months ago, with a main equipped only with system and prim clothing, body, and sculptie/flexi hair. I decided, eventually, to plunge into mesh head-first, but it's my personal feeling that you can get by quite well using a system body with a decent skin, good mesh hair and sized, rigged clothing. I have an alt who is in precisely that situation: I haven't used her a great deal since I came back, but I think she looks completely acceptable. In my own view (YMMV of course), mesh head, hands, and maybe feet are more useful than a mesh body, unless you plan on getting seriously naked a lot. In some ways, mesh clothing actually works more easily on a system body because it invariably comes with an alpha designed specifically for the outfit. With a mesh body, you often have to mess with alpha cuts, fine tuning and customizing it for the clothes. It doesn't always work well. Mesh heads look amazing, but be forewarned that Bento heads are not infinitely adjustable with sliders. They each have their own distinctive look, and limitations, so demo demo demo. The biggest challenge in some ways of mixing and matching mesh body parts by different makers, or combining them with your system body, is finding skins and appliers that match. While you can often adjust skin tones on mesh parts by hand, it's annoying as hell and imprecise. Before you choose a skin or skin applier, make sure that there are compatible skins and appliers available for all of the parts that make up your body. There are also eyebrow, makeup, and tattoo appliers to consider if you want to get fancy. Others will be able to direct you to reasonably cheap mesh bits better than I can, but I'm using a very mainstream Slink physique body, hands, and feet with which I'm very happy, and a Genus Classic Bento mesh head which is (relatively) inexpensive, I think still, and appliers from The Skinnery. The Genus head looks great, but it does have limitations, and I'm endlessly messing with my shape to get it just where I want it. (I'm still not there!) ETA: I know next to nothing about stuff for males, alas. I don't think I've even seen a male mesh dangly bit, so you're on your own there.

I totally understand that. And the Vista store is HUGE. Were I able to get in-world today, I'd even suggest that I meet you there, but sadly I can't. If you can, though, I'd really suggest you try out the animations before buying. And there's no way of doing that, unfortunately, other than to jump on to the pose stands they have in front of each AO.

Oh come on, Love. You're better and smarter than that.

I use a Vista AO, which is enabled for Bento hands and heads; it's very good, overall. You can try out the animations before buying for each at their main store. Others might have better or cheaper suggestions, though!

Unfortunately, I think a really good AO, with mo-cap animations, is kind of a must. I say unfortunately, because a high quality one can be pricey. I survived for years on a cheap one that I cobbled together from so-so animations: the difference that a better one made was huge.

Cute!! Can you actually ski there? I need to start learning how to do these GIF things, so that I can capture and share my screen flickering just before the viewer crashes. *wry face*

Kinda, sorta, almost inspired by a picture of Patti Smith, except not really.

Well, I tried to take ANOTHER, very different picture, but it kept crashing, so I (and you, poor things) will have to settle for this one instead. Next time!

I think that this thread, if it has established anything, has at least demonstrated that the actual socialization of men in SL is extremely diverse, and that "loneliness," if it's an issue at all, is a a function of the individual's approach to community, rather than something that is gendered. And that's great. I've learned something! That's kind of what this thread was about.

I'd never articulate this publicly, of course -- and if you tell anyone I said it, I'll deny it vehemently -- but, yes, that's sort of my own sense too. I have no idea why, nor even a coherent theory. And it's certainly true that I do have some very chatty men on my friends list, and a few women who are much less so, so it certainly isn't a universal truth (not that there's any gendered trait that is). I'm sure that somewhere, someone has theorized that women are generally better communicators because they are "community-builders," work through collaboration and consensus, etc., etc., blah blah blah, but that seems pretty doubtful to me. But if it is true that women, generally, are more adept or more open to text communication in-world, it might go some way to explaining whatever discernible difference there is in how men and women socialize in SL. It's nice to see you again, Roxy, btw.