profiles

My profile's pretty minimal...I've never been good at summarizing myself into a few lines. *shrug*

Re: the First Life tab... I avoid it like the plague. I really don't want to know anything about someone's RL; if I hit that tab and see a RL pic and/or description, my illusion is shattered. This isn't to say that RL stuff doesn't come up in conversation; it does, often, with close friends. The First Life tab will always remain unread and unused by me. Just one girl's opinion.

Maybe it's for this reason guys think it's ok to send me unsolicited pictures of their willy? I mean, it's pretty anonymous.

I put my forever favorite Anime character in my 1st life with just the tiniest bit of information. In a way, it goes to show how 'personal' I'm willing to get. When I had it blank, I was getting more "Who are you really?" types of questions. (^_^)y

No, Gabriele, you are far from clueless or closed. But, if I'd met you when your profile was blank, and not through the forums here, I might have gotten that impression.

Nothing's perfect, and you can't please everyone. From this thread, it seems that some people ignore profiles completely. Some ignore the FL tab (I don't, I peek...although the ones I like best are the ones that use the FL tab as an extension of the SL tab.) Some like verbose, detailed bios. Others want to see a short, snappy teaser.

No matter what you put in there..nothing, or the whole encyclopedia...SOMEone isn't going to like it. I still say, though, that it's important to do the best job you can with it, because an awful lot of people get their first impression of you from your profile.

I'll tell you what I hate. People who fill it out with poetry.

You're not fooling anyone, you aren't deep or mysterious. You just don't know yourself well enough to put anything in it.

Candy is dandy,
but liquor is quicker.

Is LOLcat Haiku okay?

I make diz profile
Frstlife's offlimitz to you
I can haz teh secks?

Sredni winz.

So really we are saying is there should be space in this world for all types?

Let me see if I get this type of logic right here...

If I am really an interesting person then I should make sure my profile is interesting and not empty because I might be wrongly prejudged into being classified as uninteresting?

If you think that is at all possible does that not invalidate your way of thinking about blank profiles?
Is it not easier just to not prejudge based on that than try to get everyone to conform to fit your prejudgment?

It makes me wonder how some people manage in RL with people they just meet. Is the new hotness to expect to swap resumes when meeting new people socially now?

Lindal, I hope you know that this is all aimed generally and that you are just unlucky enough to have espoused this viewpoint that really irks me. I like you a lot and know that you would never knowingly upset anyone. I don't want you to think I am anoyed with you - just this flawed viewpoint.
I just want to try to show people how silly these kinds of assumptions can be, and how harmful.

Lol ok i might let that slide, at least with that people can tell you have a sense of humor lol.

coughpassiveaggressivecough

I'm not offended, Gabby, I understand what you're saying and don't take it personally.

My point is that no matter WHAT method you use for meeting people, it's not going to work all the time. Profiles, meet-n-greet socials, SL, RL, whatever.

No, I don't "prejudge". Or rather, yes I do, in the sense that I quickly form an initial impression of a person when I meet them...so does everybody, which is why our Moms told us "First impressions count!" I *do* make a conscious attempt not to dismiss someone out of hand, based on that first impression, though. Lord knows I've been wrong before!

In SL, one popular way of getting that initial impression is, like it or not, the Profile. I think it's a good method. (Maybe we SHOULD have little resumes to pass out to people in RL. ) Because we DO have Profiles in SL, I believe they should be used to our advantage. Leaving them blank conveys (IMO) a negative message about yourself.

Thanks

It is good that you don't just dismiss people but that sentiment certainly has been espoused here about this issue.

Mostly though your points about first impressions I agree with except first impressions in SL are based mostly on the visuals. It takes at least one extra step for the most part to see a profile. That is a second impression. We see someone we think are interesting for whatever reason and in your case go to look at their profile. In my case I strike up a good old-fashioned conversation.

I disagree, would hate to have to give a new person I meet a resume, maybe that is why we see this differently.

I don't understand why having a blank profile has to be a negative thing rather than just seen as a personal choice? Thats the bit that seems really harsh to me. Just because we can have them should not mean we are forced to have them, thats not "My world, my imagination" to me.

Hey!!! You too? I get these pics as well. They look kinda weird under close observation. Then I zing them off into the ether; I can't imagine where they next land. Prolly, like in Torchwood, through some rift in time, some poor alien gets an alien email and its this guy's thingie in all its glory. They prolly go "Wha the f...?" but in alien chat of course ...

Either that Justa or they're professors who deeply enjoy sharing their favourite poetry with us and you're not.
But I must say it can be aggravating, especially when they wear floaty fairy frocks and kinda hum at you in a sadly whimsical way and then say "My Chosen Lord calleth me"

Nearer the bone sweeter the meat;
Too near the bone nothing to eat.

I'm totally putting it in my first life section

One thing I surely removed from my profile is any mention that I'm over 18. It should be SUPER BLOODY APPARENT by all means and for some people "I'm old enough to be here" translates to "Barn door's open, boys!" (>_<

I don't use other people's profiles to decide who I approach or not, simply because I'm typically too shy to approach anyone in the first place. I do read profiles, mostly for the fun of it, and as a conversation piece if we run out of things to say. My own profile has turned into a convoluted mess of me mis-using the Picks tab... But... It works for me, I still get my nick name out there, and I like the pictures. =^-^=

After this thread, I went inworld, looked at the outdated crap I had in mine and removed it all again. It is now blank except for picks, classifieds and my business hours/notecard/IM explanantion.

If anyone shuns me because of it then so be it, I shall not shed any tears over it.

Well, that's certainly better than some of the "don't talk to me if you don't know me, don't IM me if you don't talk to me first, don't even look at me I hate you" profiles I see all too frequently now.

I agree, now those are anti-social. Very perplexed as to why anyone would do that really.

Especially since that really defeats the purpose of even being in SL.

Social venue, whether people like it or not.

Although I have to admit I'm glad I'm not a chick. Every chick I've met has complained to me about this guy or that guy trying to ask for sex. Of course I get the benefit of a new friend when that happens because I'm a rare exception to the typical "I can haz secks nao" mentality some dudes seem to have in SL.

Fun to mock them, really.

Actually not true, for some it is to be creative, run a business, play a specific game. The social aspect is just one of the things about SL, it does not need to be social.

I only meant that I cannot understand why someone would put that on a profile- if they wish to be undisturbed by others and anti-social then I would imagine finding a piece of land that they can be undisturbed on and disallowing anyone else access would be far more effective and in the odd casewhere someone does contact you - simply ignore them until they go away.
Someone is far more likely to want to talk to you after seeing that on a profile - even just out of sheer devilry.

I did the same thing this morning as well as leaving a couple of never used groups and removing from public view several others.