It's a Jungle Out There

    I've known this for a while, but...I only started thinking much on it. Strangely because I found an elephant prop, but also because of some happenings today. But, SL, just like RL, is a place full of a variety of people; some good, some not so much. The only difference is, it may be a bit harder to tell the difference with the anonymity that the virtual world provides. Some people obviously just want to play their mind games, while others will just outright be cruel. Now, I've been lucky enough to not have to really deal with this type of thing, but I know some who have. It causes burnout and pushes good people from SL.
    Probably everyone is here to have fun, but some of those people's fun is not so much for others. The thing about the Internet is that it makes the world smaller. That is good in the fact that you meet some wonderful people, but not in that you can meet some awful people as well. I've met some of both kinds, but I haven't had anything really 'dramatic' with the latter. I'm only hoping I'm not jinxing myself here. The 'politics' of the realm changes from place to place; sometimes it's a power game (which happens on RP sims more often than not) and sometimes it's simply to make someone break. Second Life is so close to being like the real world in the aspect of how people act, yet some do not realize this and remain naive. There are the good and bad. There are those who honestly care and there are those who will drop you quickly.
    Things move quicker with the virtual realm it seems. That's...not really a good thing from my POV, since that can also lead to someone getting hurt faster. When I've scanned through profiles, I see people parterning and unparterning so often and so fast, it isn't funny. I know there are exceptions, but I'm simply basing off what I see. Relationships, friendly or romantic, take time. As it is, with the two who are my dearest friends I've met through SL, it took me...probably about 6 months before I actually spoke to one in a more 'friend' type way. And the other? Well, I'm not sure. We hadn't even IMed until maybe after a month or two that we were on each other's lists for roleplay purposes. In both cases, though, it took time. And that seems to be something that many forget. I know there are people who also take time like they would in real life, but...I've seen enough to know that many do not. Many do treat this as if it were a video game where there are only NPCs, maybe even forgetting their feelings in the process, and someone gets hurts. Even the ones who remember, there are enough who use the 'invisibility' given to them to just hurt people because they can change accounts whenever they'd like and never be bothered with it again.
    I'm hoping you keep this in mind and, please, do remember that SL is like RL which is definitely a jungle.

On a slightly lighter note: here's the elephant prop I found! :D

Sexuality and SL

    Okay, I know people are all about 'bigger is better' and all that kind of stuff, but...there should be a limit... Like...a legal limit or something. So, what brought this on was the fact that a bit ago (yes, I've been bad and am only doing this about a week after the fact) a friend gave me a gift card to a hair shop. I went after he had logged and...well, the place was nice but I rezzed next to a person who was taller than I am in my RP form. And my roleplay-self is...six and a half feet tall, I think? And then there was the fact others were just as tall and had giant chests and behinds. I mean...I think only one or two other people were proportionate and normal. Granted, really pointy ears and six and a half feet aren't normal, but, well, I hadn't bothered to shrink and de-earify.
    So, this makes me wonder: why do so many people wish to be so...sexualized? This thing really just bugs me because, honestly, SL already is considered some place for cyber-sex and the like. Should people really be playing to that stereotype? I know some people are simply here for that, but what about the rest of us? I, for one, am nearly afraid to tell my RL friends I am in SL. I have no reason to be because I simply roleplay, take pictures, and explore different places with friends. None of that- Okay, well, I'm not saying the roleplay is entirely innocent...but, in all fairness, my character is married and has two kids...so it can't really be expected it's completely 'clean'. As well I've a good relationship OOC with the person I roleplay that with, so it's not like it's just...slut-behavior. But my point still stands. And I know there are others who are hesitant to tell people they know in the non-virtual world they are in it. Probably they worry, at least I know I do, that the first question will be "Isn't that a giant virtual orgy?" or something similar to that. It's just awful since SL is much more than that.
    Second Life may be the place where you can look however the hell you want, but...people shouldn't try and be...someone's sexual fantasy... Well, unless the person specifically created the avatar to be their fantasy...in which case...that's something different. There should be some form of reality, even if it is on a computer. It can help keep your interest and, also, people tend to think not so nice things about people who have giant chests, giant asses, and a tiny Barbie body. Well...some people don't, but most of those are classified as creepers. Some not, sure, but...most, yes.

 

Fun, not sex-fun. That's what we should focus on!

    There also should be a way that people could know more about the other aspects of SL instead of immediately thinking 'sex'. I'll admit, when I first joined I thought it would be heavy with that, but the reason I joined was because I also knew there was online roleplay and...thought I should check it out and see if I could find something to my liking that wouldn't immediately end up in virtual sex. I did find a place. And...while my roleplay isn't G-rated, it's not like anything is happening purely for any one's pleasure, it happens for the story. Not to mention, most scenes for me end up in fade-to-blacks. So...that still doesn't fit with the whole sex-stereotype of SL. And i know others are like that, too. Now, I'm not SL should be completely devoid of sexuality (since nothing, even RL, is), but it shouldn't have that shoved down your throat. In certain places it isn't, but in others...it is, very much so. It's arguable that's like in RL, but...it's a lot more prominent in the virtual realm. But I'm rambling now, so, back to my point: better advertising. I'm really just hoping that someday soon there will be something that shows the other, less risque aspects of SL.
    I also hope people will stop with having huge everything, but...one step at a time.