It is not only question whether we are in action or just watching, it is also question whether we realize that there are real humans behind all those avatars we meet. First life tab on profile is rarely populated. And most often it is go away don't ask message. Maybe another picture from second life. Very few times I was presented to the face that could respond to the person on the other side of the grid. On this side of the grid is my first life tab:
No, I don't feel the urge to reflect my RL activities, behaviour, look or whatever in SL. Like you have those wings and everything in RL. In RL, I am mutant octopus that occupied the keyboard and monitor.
Answering machine will not take your message but thanks for calling.
There is reasonable need for insisting on privacy on the internet and especially in second life. But, all those no approach messages are keeping us far away. That is something like nature of our world. But then suddenly, someone leave the photo in the profile. Someone leave a bit more than usual of the real life person.
It is shocking. For me at least. It always make me stay there for a moment. Sometimes it can harm even the slightest role-play. Sometimes it doubles the bond between avatars. It depends on what we do in second life, on relationship and activities, on the game we play if you like to put it that way, with particular avatar. In some cases seeing the real face is one step towards knowing each other. In other, it is too much info that collides with the illusion of virtual world. Beside "the game we play" there is probably factor of compatibility of human and the avatar. It is not just mere resemblance, there is no need for avatar to copy the human. But, to live together they need to be in some way compatible. Which form that compatibility will take is the question with many possible answers. What's your thoughts and experiences?
Perhaps something like those warnings in rear view mirrors about objects being closing than you think, might be useful in SL:
‘Avatar may not look like its operator’, or something like that.
Is there a sarcasm emoticon that could be put into the 1st Life tab? Something to go along with the text ‘Yeah, right I AM a beautiful young gal who spends all day online and am waiting to meet you’.
Or is it cynicism, I can never tell the difference.
It is hard time to all the big guys of SL. :)
Maybe there should be the sign on avatars. Kind of warning to all those whose oms forgot to teach about living in metaverse. But, why do we have to wers signs ’cause their moms haven’t done their job?
There’s this saying … not words define who you are, but your actions.
I think keeping 1st-life away, especially on the profile tab is a way of saying “judge me by my actions, not by who I am in first life”
To me this is almost a spiritual question, like do you want to interact with the real life person with all his/her restrictions (job, familiy, money, …) or with his/her soul, dreams.
In fact I feel, that leaving RL out of the equation is more intimate, more direct … the essence of the person will show through the interaction in many ways, what they like, how they spend their time, how they treat people, that kind of things. If that is different from what they are in real life, maybe it is because real life restrictions keep them from being what they truely want to be.
I must admit I never thought about it as that level and kind of intimacy. But you right. Interaction of two avatars, striped and uncluttered of real lives, physics and most of personal histories can be very rewarding.
Three is some kind of truth in each and every avatar walking the grid. Kind of artistic truth.
That is the first thing I realized when I started “playing”. And after two months of SL experience, i felt the urge to clear everything i wrote in the 1st life box, being tired to be asked “hey are you really the girl in the picture?” and “are you really a stock market analyst?” It’s so hard to really understand that I don’t want to think/talk about those things? As Nicholaz wrote, I prefer to interact with people’s dreams and if meeting after months of chat-line can be shocking, I really don’t want to know how could it be after SL.
So, off you go 1st life box!