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Scylla Rhiadra

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Everything posted by Scylla Rhiadra

  1. Scylla Rhiadra
    I'm not bad. I'm just rezzed that way.
  2. Scylla Rhiadra
    With a score like mine, I'll be leading them!!!
  3. Scylla Rhiadra
    Yeeeeeesh. Might just as well permanently exile me to the cornfield now, and save time. ?
  4. Scylla Rhiadra
    I think this is exactly right, Love. I've often thought that LL doesn't really "get" the forums. They've certainly never figured out how to leverage them, or other forms of social media, as a means of strengthening in-world communities. At one time, it was pretty clear that they saw this place primarily as a way of outsourcing help (we had to fight like hell to get a General Discussion section added to this one). I know this is itself a bit of a derail, but I think that the life and soul of a forum is the sum total of the conversations here -- the history, the present personal and group dynamics, and the dynamic as the community slowly changes over time. Moderation is a really important part of that: a completely unmoderated forum is like the Wild West, or Twitter on a really really bad day. But careful and thoughtful moderation can actually nurture the community. And that CAN, or should, impact on our relationship with in-world as well.
  5. Scylla Rhiadra
    I think we're really on the same page. Self-evidently, it is up to the mods to decide what is deserving of a lock (or should be nuked). There's certainly no point in complaining: I think exactly once in my time here I got a mod to reverse her decision (and she sent me a very nice note too). But clarifications are important, because without a stable and consistent set of ground rules, it can be all but impossible to know whether something that isn't run-of-the-mill is going to be judged acceptable or not.
  6. Scylla Rhiadra
    I am not often around here, and so am in no way qualified to comment (although that's never stopped me before), but I was a bit puzzled by the lock too. It wasn't a particularly nasty thread (the mesh one is waaaaay nastier), and the discussion actually was, mostly, about discussing politics IN SL, or in the forums here. I mean, it's no great loss: the thread wasn't exactly a jewel or anything. I'm just, like you, a bit puzzled about the justification. Unpredictable moderation can make posting anything that isn't purely anodyne difficult, after all.
  7. Scylla Rhiadra
    Maddy, you are unerring in your analysis (and knowledge of the academic calendar). As always! And yes, I do know better. Here, universities are being inundated at the moment by a sort of storm of whining by a certain kind of conservative, upset that we aren't tripping over ourselves to provide a public soapbox for every right-wing YouTube celebrity with a nasty point to make. Ideas are free, Maddy! Let them go forth and multiply.
  8. Scylla Rhiadra
    "Politically correct" is actually a sort of moving target, though. Now that we're deeply into the era of "pro-sex, third wave" feminism, it can involve all sorts of stuff. The main and compulsory ingredient is, of course, "consent."
  9. Scylla Rhiadra
    Oh, I doubt that. MY conspiracy theories involve lush descriptions of strong but sensitive revolutionaries held captive by aliens-disguised-as-congressmen, who need to be rescued by a daring and intrepid feminist, before being whisked away to a romantic out-of-the-way spot for a long and satisfying bout of very hawt (but of course, very politically correct) sex.
  10. Scylla Rhiadra
    LOL, did you actually say "they started it"? Snowflake conservatives, and their pervasive culture of victimization. Toughen up, buttercup!! This ain't the playground anymore! ? Really, though, it's so boring. My corporate stooge is better than your corporate stooge, darn it! I'll say again: discuss ideas, not the ready-made, focus-group-tested talking point memos of one political party or another. It's ideas that will change the world, not professional politicians or parties.
  11. Scylla Rhiadra
    Well, ok. Two things. First, "spreading your political ideas" here -- or anywhere -- is not going to win you a lot of plaudits or admirers. If you come in here with a political agenda, and your sole purpose is to indoctrinate or persuade, then you're going to immediately evoke a lot of resistance. It's not merely not really a worthwhile thing to do; it's also ineffective. It will just put people's backs up. (Please believe me when I say that I speak from experience on this one.) IF, on the other hand, you have ideas and you wish to explore, and test against other perspectives and views, then -- assuming you approach this with an open mind, willing to change your own perspective as you learn more from others, and assuming that you make that clear from your remarks -- the forums can be (or at least were, in the past) a great place to have discussions. Second thing: no one is going to ban you for expressing ideas, unless they are overtly racist, misogynist, homophobic, anti-furry, etc. (Seriously, don't dis furries.)
  12. Scylla Rhiadra
    Unless you really want to. I mean, personally, I find family histories really interesting.
  13. Scylla Rhiadra
    Ok, no. Read what I said! If your conversation is going to be, like, "Was Talleyrand a two-timing cad and backstabber," or "Was it really wise to make dear brother Joseph the King of Spain," then yes, a lot of people are going to tune out. But the question isn't really "is politics allowed." Rather, is it advisable?
  14. Scylla Rhiadra
    Interesting question. There are two different approaches you could take. I think that posting about political parties and events and presidents is pretty boring and useless. A lot of us here aren't American, for one thing. And that kind of stuff only matters to people who vote. And most people who argue this stuff just post links to long boring articles that are just for or against one side or the other. But talking about political IDEAS is very different, and important, and a good way to learn things and get introduced to new ideas and perspectives about stuff that matters. Like, whether LL should bring back second names, or how bad/good mesh is. I myself have always avoided politics here, though, because this is a place to meet people and politics is bad for that. Most men don't like women who have politics or ideas. Like Ceka says, I try to stay corked.
  15. Scylla Rhiadra
    "Irony" is also an ancient Greek monster (eironeia, derived in English via the ancient Romans and the Latin ironia). And it can also bite. It really depends upon whether or not I've had my morning coffee. (For what very little it's worth, it was Scylla's incarnation as a monster that I had most in mind when I chose my name. I had many to choose from: mythology is replete with "monstrous females." I wonder why?)
  16. Scylla Rhiadra
    Sorry, Ceka! I wasn't trying to correct you; I was merely noting how subjective the experience is, based on one's own background and context. I don't know that I ever felt that SL was about "peace and quiet." Really, I think, I always found it pretty challenging, from all sorts of perspectives. I sort of like that challenge? You compare it to social media; on FB (which, to be honest, I don't use much anymore anyway), I am surrounded pretty much exclusively by like-minded people: family, friends, friends of friends, people with similar tastes and background and education. So, I guess, social media is where I find "peace and quiet," because nearly everyone I know there already agrees with me. I can nod my head approvingly at the politics and the news and the perspectives that come across my feed: they all just confirm what I already believe and feel. Whereas SL . . . well, it's full of weird people with different ideas. Weird Americans especially. (You do know that pretty much everyone else in the world thinks your nation is a little nuts, right? In a loving, caring, friendly sort of way, of course. ). And, again, that's a good thing. It's too easy to be complacent: I want to be challenged sometimes. And occasionally a good fight is invigorating too!
  17. Scylla Rhiadra
    Ah, but invisible to whom? Not to me: there were things about the culture, economy, and "politics" of SL that very much surprised me when I first experienced them. I suspect that this is true of many others as well. And that's actually a pretty good thing, I think. There are "filter bubbles" in RL, just as there are social media platforms: we seldom question the assumptions and occasional absurdities of our own culture because we either accept their premises without question, or are just too used to them to even notice. Finding oneself a "fish out of water" in a strange political culture is useful because it forces one to at least question one's own assumptions. Ideally, too, an "alien" to a society can contribute really needed critique to it by highlighting the questionable assumptions that lie at its foundation. Actually, a lot of really good satire works that way. Think Crocodile Dundee, but with a more probing and critical social and ideological focus.
  18. Scylla Rhiadra
    What Innula says above -- tempered by Rolig's caveats -- is, I think, pretty generally true: certainly, from the perspective of a Canadian (and, as neighbouring mice trying to live peaceably while uncomfortably nestled next to the restless American elephant, we are mostly reasonably well-informed about the culture south of us), Americans seem overall much more right-wing. That said, many European nations -- and to a lesser degree, perhaps, Canada too -- have their own neo-Nazi right wing cranks. What has always struck me most about Second Life's "political culture," insofar as one can generalize about it, is the heavy prevalence of a "libertarian" perspective. Libertarians can be, of course, either right or left (although, in the US, the right, again, seems to predominate, particularly these days), but the particular flavour of libertarianism that is baked or hard-wired into SL is of the Silicon Valley Techno-Utopian variety which, I think, tends to be socially "left," and economically "right." Think of the semi-mythic origins of SL, in Burning Man, and the tech-start-up world of the early part of this century. (One interesting, and to my mind distasteful, manifestation of this was the early prevalence of "hacktivism" and 4Chan-like groups in SL, of which the old Woodbury University crowd was the prime exemplar.) The economic system in SL is definitely free-market (with a few minor exceptions): caveat emptor is the rule, and there is next to no regulation of business practices, nor even much of the Linden. On the other hand, SL has been, certainly since the time I've been here, a welcoming environment for all sorts of identities, esp. LGBTQ ones. It was so long before social acceptance had become mainstream in RL America. This is why I am going to respectfully (and affectionately) disagree with Ceka's suggestion here: The libertarian biases of Second Life are hard-wired into the platform itself, as well as evident in places like Community Standards. As a Canadian social democrat and inveterate lefty myself, I've found SL to be simultaneously welcoming and congenial, and very, very alien at times.
  19. Scylla Rhiadra
    Sarcasm is no way to greet an old monster friend. Besides, you can hurt yourself that way: what if you had teeth like Charybdis?
  20. Scylla Rhiadra
    She's ok. Bit of a big mouth, though. And she could use some serious dental work.
  21. Scylla Rhiadra
    Yes, everyone, Now, be good or I'll throw you to Charybdis.
  22. Scylla Rhiadra
    This is nonsense. Everyone knows that Scylla is a beautiful, frighteningly intelligent, and fiercely passionate woman who is admired and adored by all who know her.
  23. Scylla Rhiadra
    Back when I had starry eyes, and energy, and time! Always lovely, Derek. You take care too! See you around.
  24. Scylla Rhiadra
    Well, yes, and no. It's a universally recognized truism that the default avatars in SL are not actually very "realistic," or at least representative, of RL body types. The women are generally statuesque and wasp-waisted, with gravity-defying large breasts; the men tend to be broad-shouldered and well-muscled, with nary a beer belly in sight. They are cartoonish (or if you prefer, "idealized") versions of RL human bodies, rather than realistic representations. (In fact, of course, trying to make your shape "realistic" in terms of height and so forth puts you at a hopeless disadvantage in SL: animations don't work properly, and so forth). Well, that certainly is a problem: a world without female bits is no world at all!
  25. Scylla Rhiadra
    Well, really, it's pretty accidental that I happened by as you posted this, but, hey, lucky you, eh? I really don't want to get into this debate here, in part because it's not an appropriate place to get into it, and most people would be bored out of their gourd by it, and in part because I've been discussing it ad nauseum elsewhere and am limp already with exhaustion. The one thing I will note is that the comparison of Shepherd's case to that of Dicarlo is really a false equivalency. Dicarlo was a tenure-track PhD teaching and designing his own courses. Shepherd, on the other hand, is a teaching assistant who is only a couple of months into her MA program. She's not a "professor" or even an "instructor": her job as a TA is literally to support and complement the professor's lectures. She doesn't have "academic freedom": it's not her course. Arguably, doing her own thing in tutorials represents a violation of the professor's actual academic freedom. This is not conjectural on my part: I've served as both a TA and an instructor (and TA supervisor) in courses somewhat like the one Shepherd is TAing for, in the same public university system as her. Most of the media feeding frenzy around this has demonstrated an astonish level of ignorance about what universities do, and how courses like this work. We don't know an awful lot about what actually happened in that tutorial, but on the basis of what I've read, I can reasonably confidently say that 1) Shepherd was given inadequate training, support, and guidance by her TA supervisor (i.e., the professor), 2) Shepherd did an inadequate job of contextualizing the video she showed (i.e., she didn't actually "teach" at all: showing a YouTube video and then telling the students to have at it in an undirected way is not "teaching"), and 3) the response of her TA supervisor, the equity officer, and the other faculty member was appallingly poor and a really obvious form of bullying. But "censorship"? Nope. University courses teach these issues, and deal with Peterson's views, all the time (even I have, in passing). This was just really poorly managed pedagogy and supervision.
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