Ariel Vuissent

I like Miami Beach for swimming, and I use "The Swimmer." (I think that's what it's called.) I like the animations - float, swim. I'm not a fan of the underwater swimming, but maybe that's because I haven't gotten the hand of it yet. I think it's the one from Waterworks, but I don't remember at this point...

Most of the malls that I've visited in SL carry specific types of items. What kind of item are you looking to sell? Have you tried inputting the word "mall" into search and looking for those with the highest traffic?

I would also be happy to volunteer, and will send you a friend request (if I remember) when I log in later tonight.

My avi doesn't really look anything like me. I don't want to be me on SL. I have several forms, but even the most "normal" one that I used more often isn't anything like me, and usually doesn't even have the same color hair. Her style is pretty similar to mine, if I could find those styles in RL; but quite a bit sexier than I'd probably feel comfortable in. (She does have an Indian flair are times, and I don't, but maybe that's because I can't find that sort of thing in RL.) I tend towards pale skin, which I have in RL, and usually a fairly dark hair, but other than that, we're not really alike "physically."

Almost all of mine is from Carrie's Lingerie. I may post a couple pics, when I have a change to get inworld and take them

I can only think of one store I'm loyal to based more on the "brand" than the items - but the items are also high quality. I need to branch out a little... I'm loyal to a few others, but it's because they sell things I like, and I know and trust the quality. I'll go elsewhere if they don't have what I want or need, but I buy a lot from them. One is a very niche clothing store - they do a specific style, and it's what they're good at, but if I want another style, I have to go somewhere else. One is hair, because they have tons of styles and the quality is high. One is skin, again high quality and a lot of choices. A couple are shoes. I find it difficult to branch out once I find something good, because often when I have in the past, what I got was much lower quality than I expected.

I'd rather the credits be clear, usually at the end of the post is where I expect to find them. The photography should show off the items to their best advantage, but it's nice when they're well-styled and artistic, with nice poses and settings. I tend to only read one or two posts in a blog, if there are no comments, only pictures and credits. I get bored and move on. The blogs that really get my attention have, along with the previous two things, some kind of comment or musing, being it witty, thoughtful, sarcastic, or just a short ramble. I like to know what inspired the photo, or what it makes the blogger think of.

I agree with both - a landmark in picks, and the store policy. The landmark should be OBVIOUS - I shouldn't have to scrutnize every pick to find it! I love stores that have the store policy and the landmark together in the same pick; or two landmarks, one with the store description, and one with the store policy. By store policy, I mean things like do they want a notecard or an IM; are there different people to contact for different issues, and if so whom should I contact for which issue; and do they offer refunds? Preferably the name of the store in the main profile page, as well, so I know I have the right person when I look at their profile initially.

The ones I mentioned actually come in 4 or 5 size options. The problem for me, at the moment, is that the smaller options, which best fit my waist and upper chest, don't account for the full size of my avi's breasts, hips, or bottom; and the larger sizes are much too large in the waist and upper chest. A "small" avatar must, according to the sizes offered, also have small breasts and slender hips, along with no belly; but a plump, luscious, or even average avi must have significantly more belly and body fat than I have. (I'll admit to being quite thin, with probably rather optimistic curves, but I like my avi the way she is, darn it!) The Pixel Mode dress is actually quite nice; I hadn't tried it on before I went to take those pictures, but I like it. I'll have to visit them again, myself, and look at what else they have in mesh.

I'm not much good with links, but here's a sample of three I've found. Pardon any derezzed faces/other parts...my avi doesn't always like to stay fully baked, I suppose! Sara mesh dress by Pixel Mode: This was a group gift, though I believe PM is selling differently textured versions in the store. I'm wearing the "default" size. On the left are the no alpha versions; the right is the alpha versions, front and side for both. Default fit me best overall, but look at how much is still sticking out without the alpha! Fiona mesh dress by Jane: I bought this in all colors, because I'm absolutely in love with it despite the fact that it doesn't fit all that well without an alpha...The top left is no alpha in the "fair" size, top right is with alpha in "fair," bottom left is plump size with no alpha, bottom right is plump size with no alpha from the side, so you can see the large gap between my chest and the dress. I had to increase my cleavage for this one to fit right even with an alpha; but just a little. (The black on the chest in the first picture is a bra; it was "indecent" without!) And finally, Kokomo, also from Jane: Though it would be nice to see a skirt. I'm in the petite size, which fits my waist the best. All the other sizes had an increasingly large gap between my stomach and the skirt waistband. I had to adjust my "saddle bags" slider down a bit, ultimately, to get it to look right at the hips. The picture is without the shape adjustment.

Breasts don't have to be maxed on the slider to be sexy. Prim cuffs on pants rock. Prims do actually have to be adjusted to fit; that skirt that could hold two of you isn't actually meant to hold two of you, so it's okay to resize it! Not all designers are created equal. Accessorize. Prim nails are good, prim feet are good, color matching is the stuff of nightmares but UI "show color under cursor" and a windlight setting are the best tools ever when it comes to color matching.

I would agree with all points! I love that you don't disregard anyone's personal choice; you manage to talk about things like shape and eyes and AO without pointing out "wrong" and "right," which is highly subjective. Might be nice to see some suggestions for places to find each of these things, rather than just a blog reference, but I like the points you made. Other less vital, but still imprtant pieces for me are things like eyelashes - which make a surprisingly large difference in the appearance of the ace and eyes, particularly on female avatars; and "unique characteristics," maybe a tattoo, elven ears, piercings, even two different colored eyes. Those things go a long way into creating a wholly "you" avi! (But aren't the "essentials," so I think your basic, getting-started 5 are perfect.) As an aside - Cherry, if you read this, check out Redgrave's vampire skins. I believe LAQ has some as well - VERY pale, and good quailty for both.

What message do you recieve when the teleport fails?

A cleavage layer is just a tattoo or undershirt layer (usually) in the same color as the skin, worn to cover the chest are and give the appearance of more cleavage. Some shops, like Redgrave, sell different "shape" options - more cleavage, less cleavage, natural versus unnatural, etc. When I get inworld, I'll take a couple of pictures and post them. ETA: Here's a comparison pic, if it'll work. Just a quick snap-and-edit job, but the first image has no cleavage layer, and the second is with the cleavage layer tattoo.

Blogs. I've noticed so many people lately using blogs to find new fashions - including myself! Hunts. I've found several lovely stores doing hunts - stores I probably never would have given a second glance except for the hunt. Marketplace. As many complaints as merchants have about the marketplace, I use it quite often to find specific items. I'll go through the "featured" section, especially for women's clothing, or surf for something specific, like a certain color or style of skirt. Midnight Mania. Get a board, and advertise it in some of the MM groups. Another way I found some good shops.

I'm not a skin designer, just a consumer, but I agree with you. It doesn't usually stop me spending $L in the store, if I like the skins enough, but I do wish more skin creators would include the tattoo layer for free. My current skin was $2100L (10 different make-ups, though, with and without hair base, so overall not a bad price in my opinion), and the cleavage layer was separate. I got so much in the skin pack that the additional cost of the cleavage layer didn't bother me much, but it would definitely be a bonus for it to be included! For $4999L, I would absolutely expect everything included - at least one basic hairbase, some different make-up options, a cleavage layer, maybe even a shape! That's a LOT to pay for a skin, in my opinion, when I can get a skin from one of the top designers in SL for $2100L. What was included in the skin you bought? How many skins (make-up options, etc.)? Any hairbase? You could send her a (polite) notecard voicing your complaints, if you feel that strongly. Especially since you don't intend to buy anything else from that shop, it might be helpful to her to read your complaints. Perhaps she can fix the issue for you; or perhaps, if she gets enough complaint notecards, she'll include a cleavage layer in her skin packs in the future. Even if it doesn't help you now, it might help others. If I were a skin creator, I'd love to know what people liked and disliked about my products - too hard to purchase, too expensive for what's included, great value, great quality, lack of something they wanted/thought was included. Even if it just led to putting a note on the ad - "Cleavage sold separately" or something like that - I think any review is a good review if it's written nicely. Constructive criticism is a good thing.

I agree; I always use the marketplace, or inworld search, and have never used teh classified's, but to each their own. I just recall reading a thread in which your JIRA was mentioned

There was a thread on something similar earlier, but I don't remember where. Something about the new inworld search requiring exact terms, and now showing plurals. So typing "bikini" in the new search will only get you ads that have the word "bikini," NOT those that only have the word "bikinis;" and vice versa. I believe there's a JIRA on this somewhere, as well...

I believe that for a viewer that requires separate first and last names, you use "Resident" as the last name if you don't have one. That might help you try Phoenix/Firestorm or Imprudence. SL no longer lets users sign up with a first and last name, so your last name is "Resident" for those viewers that require one. I think

Are you using the default SL viewer? I know how to fix this in Firestorm, but not V2.

Quality. I also like simple, classic, casual clothing, so quality is important to me. Which isn't to say creativity isn't a plus...Boudoir makes some fantastic, high-quality, highly creative clothing - but I don't have anything of theirs because it's not quite my style (although I am someday going to buy this fantastic, but $1200L, water dress...). I'm more a fan of places like Zaara, whose clothing has a definite niche but is generally classic lines with an Indian flair, and very high quality.

Tamara Artis wrote: that little area of arm under the shoulder (dunno how its called in english The nice term is underarm; the less polite word for it is armpit I agree - talk to your photographer. Ask them to fix the parts of the photo you don't like, or ask them why they didn't fix those parts in the first place. Tell them you don't like the photo and don't want to pay for it; better, set up beforehand that you won't pay for a photo you don't like. Tell them what you're looking for, specifically, and encourage them to ask questions if they don't understand or want more specifics. That serves two purposes - helps you get a good photo, and helps them learn

Failing to use proper grammar and spelling does tend to make people seem less intelligent. Therefore, the opinion of someone who does not use proper grammar and spelling may be less respected than the opinion of someone who does use proper grammar and spelling. There is a difference between a typo (of which I have made several while typing this, but quickly correctly those I spotted) and truly poor spelling and grammar. Just because I understand what someone is saying doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer to see the same thing written correctly - and I would probably take the opinion more seriously. I never make fun of people for poor spelling. I might, however, point out to someone that their opinion is of little to no value to me because it is garbled and poorly written. After one or two exchanges with someone's whose grammar and spelling are poor and who refuses to even consider another point of view, I don't blame people for finally saying "Your grammar and spelling suck, and I don't respect what you're saying, so I'm done talking to you." Naturally, it's important to consider that the person typing may not be a native English speaker, though.

Some people talk themselves up as SL's best photographers, show wonderful pictures in their portfolio, but in fact are terrible photographers. Maybe they even think they're great. Some of the wonderful pictures might be dumb luck, others might be "borrowed" from other photographers. They're not necessarily doing it on purpose, and I'll bet many of them absolutely love the photos they take and would be heartbroken to be called a bad photographer! Some is a matter of personal taste, as well; what you consider a terrible photo might to someone else be absolutely gorgeous. Live and learn

Two people have already let this guy know that his art has been stolen, so I'd say that's a pretty good start. The original character is ripped from a cartoon, so making profit from is already violation of copyright. Several people have reported him, and the original creator is "looking into it," so it will likely be taken down soon. Hopefully, anyway. Interestingly, every time someone criticizes the "creator" for having stolen the design and using it for profit, said creator disables their future customer support and updates, which is supposedly the reason they're charging in the first place - it says so in one of the creator's responses to a review of that nature. (The creator also says they had to edit a few things, so they also put the price of that work into the price of the item.) They also say that if they were to credit the original creator and share the profits, they'd charge twice as much (so their own proficts didn't go down, they'd just charge an extra $450L, which they'd give to the original creator. When in fact the original creator deserves a larger share in my opinion...) Regardless, report the entry for having been copied, and for violation of copyright since it's almost an exact match to the cartoon character, and see what happens. Unfortunately, there's no way for LL to monitor every entry in sites like Deviant Art and other artistic websites, so they can't prevent this sort of thing nearly as often as they should. They probably should have caught the copyright violation; but I think they often rely on users to report said violations, rather than policing such violations themselves.