Luna Bliss

Pet Peeve: I broke my bank account buying tattoos @ Fantasy Fairre! Well, not really a peeve...love the tattoos. An amazing selection this year at FF.

I have to agree here. Pile-ons seem to be a dopamine high for some, the desire to 'get' someone. It's sadistic. I would feel too guilty to do a pile-on...would feel abusive.

Maybe we could contact the creator of an item we would buy if it were mod, and politely request mod permissions. It could be that it's just not getting back to them that they're losing some sales on account of their no-mod choice.

Hard @ work on my undersea fantasy park:

Is Second Life primarily filled with people who can be defined as clinical addicts? Can anybody answer this without weird derails? If not, I think I'll go somewhere where it appears people have a few brain cells left. Like in SL, where I meet all kinds of people who ARE NOT ADDICTS.

Maybe not but if it follows a rough rule of thumb for other addictions, it would be 10% that are prone to it. The OP thinks , or at least presented as premise, "the real secret of second life" (the title to the thread, you know) is its addictive properties. Agree or disagree? Can we get back on track?

Okay instead of talking over an actual ex-addict and disregarding what they say. Be empathetic and listen to them. I mean you are talking over me disregarding my experience, and acting like you know all about it. Just because you have been an addict does not man you have any insight into how many people in SL are addicts in the true sense of the word.

What about when they refuse to go to work because it interferes with their online time? What about when a resident is snappy at family because they want food rather then them paying for another months tier? All kinds of ways the addiction can manifest and does that is negative towards those around them. If they seek professional help and get their condition treated with appropriate drugs all that goes away, so your issues are moot.

The title of this thread is "The Real Secret of Second Life"...and she goes on to point out addiction. I'm concerned about reading comprehension.

No one is judging them negatively at all, you are just reaching there. Most people just want them off the streets and in rehab centers, getting the help they need. And yes it is addiction, plain and simple. omg have you been living under a rock? Society has a terrible attitude toward addicts, assigning terrible blame to them, their addiction being seen as a moral failure, and never any blame assigned to a society that has a tendency to create addicts in numerous ways. It's only recently that they're portrayed as people worthy of help.

No one is painting SL in a bad light, they are just telling the truth. And who said that SL is filled with addicts? There are a lot of addicts in SL, who truly need actual help. That is the truth. This is what the OP said: "This is an actual conversation with a new account. Name is altered for privacy. [16:58] Charlemagne Allen: how did you hear about SL? [16:58] sfskfjweoweirweirwep: I saw it on a documentary about video game addiction." So you think this is portraying SL in a good light, like an attempt to discuss the positive aspects of SL? lol And I never said there are not actual addicts in SL who need help (for all types of addiction really). What I did say was that most residents of SL are not addicts.

Self-medicating isn't good and is harmful to the person doing it. So yes it is addiction. Please stop disregarding that. I mean I stated, I was chasing the high. How is that not being an addict? These people like myself, should be seeking professional help and not self-medicating. This nonchalant approach stigmatizes the need for one to reach out for help, I never said self-medicating is the best way to treat a medical condition. They need to seek help and obtain optimal brain functioning with professional help. I simply said I don't consider it addiction. Most importantly I would not judge them negatively as society often does when someone uses an illegal substance.

Please stop, you are doing harm every time you discuss addiction in hateful, unhelpful terms, victim blaming, shaming, and worse. Please. You, and some others (like the OP) are painting SL in a bad light when you claim it's filled with addicts. Most people in SL are not addicts. My pointing this out has no bearing on my opinion of those who are true addicts (as I've said before, I have nothing but empathy for their plight).

laaaaaaaaafs

Well, addicts tend to use what they are addicted to as a means to escape. So ergo, they are miserable. I mean I am an ex cocaine addict, and I used it to feel normal. I was absolutely miserable with an ADHD brain, that would have 300000 thoughts a second. This quieted it all down. And it made me happy and not miserable, until I came down. Then I would chase that high to feel normal again. I don't think people who take advantage of a chemical to make their brain functional are actually addicts, no more than I'd think someone who used drugs used to treat depression is an addict.

Why are you putting a stigma on a mental health issue? There are people who are actually addicted and can't differentiate between reality and fantasy. Who need help. I mean sure it can both be a good habit and an addiction, but the fact that you are disregarding any person who actually needs help and needs to get off of SL. I'm not "disregarding any person who actually needs help and needs to get off of SL", nor am I "putting a stigma on mental health issues". I'm pointing out that most people in SL are not addicts in the true sense of the word. Additionally, I don't like the OP painting SL with a wide brush and claiming SL is mainly about addiction. It's simply not.

I thought every 'addict' you ever met was miserable! Yes, every addict I've known (talking about someone actually addicted and not just embodying a habit they'd rather not have) has been miserable. 1. Miserable: severely unhappy or uncomfortable. Humans need to have a measure of control over their lives in order to feel happy, and so feeling out of control in major ways is threatening and beyond uncomfortable. Nothing spells 'out of control' better than true addiction -- addicts are a slave to something outside themselves, and often with dire consequence. Maybe you are thinking of another definition of 'miserable'. 2. Miserable: inadequate, meager, insufficient, pathetic It should have been obvious from previous context that I'm going by definition number 1, as I expressed great empathy for those with mental health issues repeatedly and have never condemned them or thought them 'pathetic'. When someone is an enemy, Love, there's a tendency to interpret their comments in a negative fashion, and you did this when you totally ignored context. I think most people in SL are simply choosing one habit/entertainment over another and are not 'addicts' in the true sense of the word -- addiction is a much more severe type of habit.

An interesting article on how to become "addicted" to the right things, although I still balk at using the term 'addiction' when developing a 'habit' seems more appropriate. Anyway, SL can become a good habit if you wish it to be so. https://www.deprocrastination.co/blog/choose-your-addiction

I should read all the pages before posting in threads. Seriously. For what it's worth, I used to be one of the most toxic people on the internet. All of the worst that exudes from people originates in pain, and when they try to connect with others as a way of easing the pain, and the toxicity leaks around and drives others away, a person who can't see that they are the one who needs to heal their own heart will tend to simply take it out on everyone else. It's a desperate attempt to cling to a false self-image created to explain why people don't like you without it being all your own fault. At least in my own experience it was. I was powerful, smart, capable, charismatic, and charming, and the rest of the internet were the pheebs. How dare they not realize how great I am? I'll show them all! Every troll I've ever met in SL was like meeting myself in a past life. Like looking at old pictures of myself. I like to think Second Life has helped me to make some positive changes in how I view myself, others, and the world. If it hadn't, my friends list would be empty. So yeah. I may not be all that good at being a friend, but then I hadn't much practice back in childhood when everyone else was learning how to do that. The difference between now and then is that I actually want to be a friend to others and not just have friends for myself. I loved hearing your story, and am so happy you are doing well now! ♥

The best solution to this problem we're discussing is for them to stand on stage using the Senra body with the Senra AO:

Twas an amazing Beltane:

The Beltane dance begins...