Why the gun fetish Linden Lab?

The login Message Of The Day: "You can attach things to your avatar in many places Attachments may be cosmetic or they may be functional -- like weapons or jet packs."

Okay, so at least the shooting gallery in the welcome area is now a distant bad memory (enter SL, enjoy the sound of gunfire). But with less than 0.5% of the land permitting gun-play, the near global impoliteness of bearing arms, heavy sanctions for use of weaponry and the fact that SL is possibly the worst first-person-shooter game ever created, why?

Why does the newbie inventory still contain "popgun"? Why these repeated messages regarding guns? Why was the first incarnation of the newbie destinations for the sandbox designed with a gun as the central graphical element?

Who there has this fetish, and could you please drop it?

Thanks from me and every resident that I have ever met.

Why not? Many people own and enjoy guns, and a lot of fun has been had in PVP areas.

OP has never met me, true, but he definitely doesn't speak for me, or, coincidentally, most of the residents I have met.

Used responsibly, guns are fine. Used irresponsibly, AR the fucker.

I love guns in RL and SL. My only issue is the ban on self defense in SL. In RL I can shoot anyone who is threating my life or the life of others. Why can't I shoot people in SL who are shooting at me or my friends?

A few reasons why not: as introductory messages they are fairly inviting players to engage in conduct that is widely disliked, is a suspendable offense almost everywhere (which also means much more work for the abuse report folks and liaisons), and sends the message that gun-play is a significant part of SL.

I take no issue with the fact that you enjoy PvP play with (presumably) consenting players. I have a Seburo myself which I use as a tool for removing stuck, abandoned, physical objects when needed and for ocassional zapping a friend with "dummy loads" for general silliness.

By contrast, the sex industry and BDSM appeal to a much broader segment of the players (not my cup of tea, but live and let live), unlike guns, cannot blow a player off-world and yet gets none of the Linden "advertisement". People attracted to such have no trouble finding purveyors, nor do people interested in gun-play.

However, I've never had to sit on fast-rez cube to avoid random acts of sex, nor have I ever had to direct people engaged in sex to a place where such is more accepted. Contrariwise, I've had to do quite a bit of that with gun wielders, some of whom seem genuinely unaware that they are violating the Community Standards or the community standards.

That's a damn good question which the Lindens have never satisfactorily answered (or to my recollection even unsatisfactorily answered).

I think you got 'em there, Intro.

Tomorrow, I'll see an ad: "Did you know you can buy animations to simulate bondage and anal sex? See your friendly neighborhood poseball vendor today!"

It'd beat the snot out of reminding us that we can simulate violence.

I think guns are a good intro because they show the capabilities of scripting/building in a very familiar way. I've long thought that a noob familiar with gaming, would be more likely to stick with SL if the first night they were introduced to a good Frag Foo'ing.

Promoting guns in SL is not the same thing as promoting griefing. If anything it promotes gaming. Everyone here is an adult, and the gunplay policies are pretty clear.

It's an interesting question. My first pass at it: The emphasis on guns is a nerfed way of "transitioning" online gamers and PC/console shooters into the milieu of Second Life without losing their interest right away - "Don't worry, potential new customer, with your BFG, you can still chew up the scenery and pretend you're leveling up in Second Life!!!!"

And hopefully, by the time they realize they really can't, they're hooked on other aspects of the not-a-game, like sex, BDSM, Goreanism, and - just possibly - building and scripting....

Peace Out

i like using guns and shooting ppl and they shoot back, but i always have a fear that they will report me...

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Ya know, to each their own. Sex is bad? mmk, BDSM, Gor is bad? Mmm k. I honestly don't see what the threat is here. You can't die in SL, and many other games simulate violence, and yet we choose to scorn SL for it? It's just typical conservatism at work here.

Too much excitement over something pretty innocuous.

Look, you're drawing a gamut for new users for how useful attachments can be:



I think that the example of weapons as attachments does a lot to illustrate the potential of attachments, since weapons are pretty complex things (usually).

Which reminds, me, I hadn't had fun with my BFG as of late

I attacked Avalon! I can't log in! People are crazy...

Yeah, conservatives are known for their support for gun control, right?

Control all around actually. Not just guns.

heh, where did you get any of this out of what I wrote? Looking for something, were ya? Mmmk... try looking elsewhere, maybe?

For the record, I was responding "in kind" to prior posts.

I have brought this up before on other threads and never recieved a response. Most of the ads for SecondLife also feature guns prominently.

The answer to your questions though is that guns are featured because that is what is popular. Most players are Americans after all.

The solution is not to ban guns from SL, but to get rid of the gigantic moral disconnect between LL policy on guns and the actuality that they promote. i.e. - dont ban guns, just dont punish folks for doing what they themselves advertise as a core feature of the game.

can i just say...

I LOVE THIS THREAD!!!

keep on discussin' guys hehehe i will be back to read more later.

Guns should continue to be promoted. Owning a wide array of guns is one of the most satisfying experiences in SL.

Are you implying that Americans have a fettish with guns??? I'm offended if that is your implication.

For some odd reason we glamorize guns but put a shame on anything to do with sex. Even a mother breast feeding here gets ridiculed just for the simple fact someone might see a little tiny bit of flesh from a tit.

If LL started promoting the sexual activities here, it would be forced to deal with its own ridicule as it grows bigger.

There is an odd dichotomy between sex and violence in the US. Guns and violent entertainment are glorified. Horribly violent movies will get an R rating, but graphic sex is not allowed. It's a strange double standard. A case and point would be the furor over the sexual content that was unlockable in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which just amounted to the character being able to have graphic sex. Never mind that they weren't outraged about the drive by shootings, car jackings, home invasions, and police killing already prevalent in the game. It took there being (god forbid) SEXUAL CONTENT for it to be a crisis. The film Team America had to be edited to avoid the dreaded NC17 rating because it showed simulated sex between two puppets. The violent content was fine, though. American society definitely does have a violence fetish, that is for sure - but they are scared to death of their own sexuality.