Personal Sl Appearance

I asked this question to help me for a paper im writing. Thanks for all the comments, just to let you know i won't be posting any comments made in any other online publications. Even in my paper i didn't use any specific names, but just thwe ideas that everyone expressed. Once again thanks for the input and yes all us Radiks are part of the class. And i would have to say that we have all had a great time on SL . You have a really nice community, alot better than i would have expected. WHen i played online games as a teenager there waas alot more immaturity and heckling. Which goes to show that its definately a good idea to not let people under 18 in an online community.

I tend to judge an AV by whether he/she is green or not.... and Fate? LOL

Do NOT listen to Malachi when it comes to anything remotely having to do with fashion. He said I should grow out my underarm hair, so I did and now everyone thinks I'm uncool.

I'll get you, Malachi! *shakes fist in air*

If an av doesn't have bare feet, a watermelon accessory, or a handlebar mustache, they are not worth talking to.

I find first names more telling. If it has a number in it, its a minor. And SA Goons seem to have similar types of names.

Shut up Alby.

I seem to be atypical as well. My main goal is to make my avs look like real people. Albeit, eccentric real people. Men with not-so-broad shoulders and women with not-so-supple waists and not-so-pert/large breasts. Slight shear on the face to make them appear more real..

I even have a pregnant av in queue right now. She's going to be wearing club gear and be pushing a stroller with real crying babies that will annoy the Hell out of everyone within earshot.. Because that's real life. And I have no interest in trying to live some ubiquitous fantasy of OMG Perfect Plastic People.

Anyway, to get back to the original topic,



I am, in RL as well as SL, constantly preoccupied with how I look. I want to look perfect, all the time. So, for me, if I went around in "newbie clothes", I would feel extremely self-conscious. That's just me. I have NO interest in the OMG KEWL STYLEZ, but I am unordinarily concerned with my appearance, yes. The reasoning, I believe, is that, especially in RL, I am very quiet and don't have the best social skills. So, I communicate to other people what I am like by dressing in a manner that coincides with my personality. I suppose a lot of people do this anyway. But when I am seen standing around, people can look at me and say, "Whoa. That person is dressed in a very eccentric way. But the style is solid and is awesome, even to me, a person of low fashion knowledge outside of Popular Trends." And that's the way I want it. I live for the "Whoa, cool.."

And that goes for RL and SL alike.

I recently met someone who goes around all the time in default newbie clothes, and I actually think that's really cool. As I said to him, In a world where you can wear whatever you want to, default clothes are the real statement.

But I don't think I could ever do that, personally. It just wouldn't work for me.



As for this, if you would rather spend your time building and talking to people, by all means, do! What is important to some people is not as important to other people. I like building and making Outfits, personally. That's just what I like. But if Person B likes talking and clubbing better, then that's what they should be doing! SL is great for that reason: You can do anything you want to and no one can tell you otherwise.

Do what makes you happy. <3

i eat steak. not a lot, granted, but i like it.

marilyn

Well, geez.

If I knew I just had to cook women steaks for dates...

*raids his freezer*

LF

Oh Nikolaii, your post is a favorite of mine.

I soooooo like how you said this.

Av customization is a form of creative self-expression.

It can be as unique as the individual.

You can't just cook us steaks.. You have to grill us steaks.

Yeesh. Men.

I agree! In RL, we are sometimes limited by unchangeable personal appearance, gland problems, physics, etc. But in SL, we can be -anything-. This is a wonderful thing for people who love going outside the norms and not being like everyone else. Because there really is almost no limit to what you can make yourself look like.

I have avs of both genders, all different skin colors, and all different styles. And I switch between them often. In SL, I don't have a gender as far as anyone is concerned. I change my pronouns to fit my av.

OMG NO 1 NOS WUT I RLY M OMG

This is a another reason SL is great. You never have to show your actual person to anyone you don't want to. So you really can be anything you want.. If you put a lot of work into your av, and come up with something unique and memorable, people will associate you, your actual person, with your outward SL appearance. If I meet someone while looking like an 8 foot tall, bright blue man with arms to his ankles, that's what they're going to think of me as. They'll say, "Oh, right. Nikolaii." and they'll think of an 8 foot tall, bright blue man with arms to his ankles. So, for all intents and purposes, I am, in RL, an 8 foot tall, bright blue man with arms to his ankles.

This is also why there are so many Furries and Transgendered people here.

So.. The general idea is, avs in SL can serve as a great form of creative self-expression, as Torley said. And, furthermore, they really are/can be an extension of yourself. When you're on SL, you don't have to be a dumpy, middle-aged housewife or some guy with messed-up teeth and a bad haircut if you don't want to be. You can be anything you can imagine. No physical limitations. Hell, not even GRAVITY applies if you don't want it to. So, for people with vivid personalities and wild imaginations, this place is a utopia.

it's a torley trooper!!! the watermelon thing I mean . I wear sandles... that's sorta bear feet.

This is perhaps one of the most civil and intelligent threads on the forums. Kudos to everyone! Anyway...

When I first started, I tried to make my av look as much like my RL self as possible, because I'm very comfortable with how I look in RL. I think it's great when others want to do the same, because the subtle variations between human looks in RL really can come through, and I'm a fan of subtlety (for whatever reason). At the same time, people who make crazy, outrageous, disgusting (?), "evil", or other unusual avatars are highly amusing, and I'm always pleased to see the creativity.

For me, judging someone by their look is heavily biased toward a reward-for-good-looks, no-penalty-for-bad-or-default-looks system. In other words, if someone looks like the classic "newbie", I will generally assume they just haven't gotten around to changing their look, or are busy doing more important stuff (like creating things, even if not avs), and that's just fine. However, if they are outfitted in a very elaborate or stylish way (eg. Psyra), I appreciate their effort, and I am likely to compliment them (and more likely to posi-rate appearance). I am generally more impressed with someone who has made his/her own avatar, even if it's less elaborate than one that can be purchased. But one's look doesn't affect whether I'll talk to them, offer help, etc.

Currently, I parade around as a sort of "bubble man", which was primarily an experiment in cel-shading. People I encountered would try to guess what it's supposed to "be". Since I find the guesses as entertaining as they are varied, I've kept the look far longer than I'd originally intended.

PS. Good luck with your project, Ontogeny.

Right, it's pretty much a win-win situation. If you look really good, people will think you're awesome, and if you look default, people will think you're smart (spending all your time scripting, etc.), and therefore also awesome. I think this is a big part of why people on SL are generally really friendly to strangers. At least, they are to me. ^^;

The only people I get a bit "Eh" at are the people that do have a "distinctive" style, but look like everyone else. That is, the Uber Gawths (sometimes) and a good chunk of the club people. Of course, there are always exceptions, but one rucurrent theme in my lives, 1st and 2nd, is cynicism towards people who -seem- to put a lot of effort into their appearance, but are really just copying someone else' style. So, trendy people.

We were all default people once. We all wore the striped shirt and jeans. There's nothing shameful in not changing out of "newbie" clothes. In fact, a lot of people will be even more helpful and generous to people in default clothes. But, not everyone always had a definite lack of creativity and individuality. And that's where I draw the line.

THe only thing I EVER change about my av is a new t-shirt once in a while. I've only had two "main" pairs of pants over the almost two years of my SL "career".

*nods* I have never agreed more with a post.



This does not bode well for the male av pants market.

Don't forget to smother them with mushrooms sauted in butter. (The steaks, not the women)