Behind Closed Doors

Regarding this holier-than-thou moralizing guff from teh media over this incident of people divorcing.

I think sl can play a small (but perhaps significant) role in subscribing to a liberal lifestyle. It should defend itself in public statements, outlining its policies and its objectives.

We dont decry cities or towns when we read about some people who crave only beauty and discover that once they have it they dont love each other. We recognize that at least the place they live has allowed them teh means to express themselves.

Sl provides a means to express a sense of beauty that may be hidden inside a person and never be allowed out. Thank God I dont have health problems or teh type of issues that may cause me to be house-bound or prevent me from reaching my potential in any way (well I may be a bit outspoken and a show-off but so what?) I have a prodductive life and sl is a means to relax and spout off when I choose. But for people who do have problems, this is an arena for love and expression and a life of some kind with worthiness as a goal. There is NOTHING virtual about that - self-worth and love are REAL.

Because some journalist picked up this story or (unwisely) teh couple advertized themselves, sl is faced with a mini-crisis.

Here's my question: Has Sl helped YOU? have you become a better person beause of sl? What would you tell a journalist who asks you about the benefits of sl? What would YOU say are teh benfits of SEX in sl and partnership here?

Heh heh you might as well say the real world is a bad place because couples sometimes break up there.

I wouldn't give any of these so called "journalists" the dignity of speaking to them.

This will be a "mini crisis" only for two reasons. First, the mindless idiots who see these stories and take them as gospel, and second, because as usual LL, will do nothing to defend it's product or it's customers.

I have a happy, well-adjusted RL. SL is a window on a-whole-nother world for me.
I prefer to come here than watch TV films etc, that's all. Just that plus it's highly addictive!

Has Sl helped YOU? - Not really.

have you become a better person beause of sl? Certainly not!

What would you tell a journalist who asks you about the benefits of sl? Nothing.

What would YOU say are teh benfits of SEX in sl and partnership here? I wouldn't discuss it here either.

Pep (Journalists are reading this thread as we type . . .)

Has Sl helped YOU? - Yes, a lot, but only within SL!

have you become a better person beause of sl? - I've got more clothes in SL and a bigger house.

What would you tell a journalist who asks you about the benefits of sl? I'd say 'look at mee - I am one of the benefits of SL!'

What would YOU say are teh benfits of SEX in sl and partnership here? - It's there to try, just because it's there to tick off the to-do list!

I went from shutting myself in for hours on end, watching Anime, and trolling forums... To shutting myself in for hours on end, doing stuff in SL, and trolling forums. =^-^=

Thirdly - the grid will be short-term flooded with noobs looking for sex, many of them under-age.

I went from hours of sitting on my ass reading books and watching TV to hours of sitting on my ass reading books, reading SL forums, and living in the SL world.

its already started

Date: Sunday, November 16, 2008
Violation: Community Standards: Sexual Harassment
Region: Help Island 204
Description: Harassment.
Action taken: Warning issued.

like, ok can you please graduate to the real SL before you go demanding sex from strangers?

Yep -- Brann created her alt for teaching her class and in less than 10 minutes of arriving, she had a guy in front of her naked and asking for sexxies.

I try to noy "sit at the computer" when reading 2 SL forums. I am constantly doing something, cooking, household chores, maybe watching a TV show on the DVR. I will come back to the computer for a few minutes then continue doing whatever I am doing. I don't read the forums when I'm inworld, if I have nothing to do in SL that has me doing that, there is not point being logged in.

Damn! Outed again . . .

Pep (Actually, I confused her with Lindal)

SL has helped me in many ways, in the sense that socializing just is out of the picture in my RL. SL lets me be social on my own terms, and I have benefitted from it. Am I a better person because of it? Eh.. probably not. But I am happier. If I was to talk to a journalist.. Well I don't know what I would say. Probably too much.

I agree 100%, Jig.

But, "crisis"? Far from it. The old saying is "All publicity is good publicity", and yesterday proved that. Normally, there are about 12 newbies on the busiest Help Islands. Yesterday, the numbers climbed to 30+. Over 1400 new residents per hour, and it kept up hour after hour.

Help People Institute asked their members to turn off their greeters, that give out landmarks to HPI to new residents automatically, because the flood of newcomers showing up there crashed their sim three times.

The Mentors were running around like emergency crews sandbagging a river in flood.

Please...let's have more internet sleaze and virtual world affair stories in the press. Bring it on. We got a flood of new residents this week...if we can keep it up, maybe we can even stay ahead of the bots.

We have also picked up a lot more new members than normal for our RL adult website this weekend so lets hope the press keep up the sleaze its gonna be good for all us adult businesses as SL becomes known as the virtual sleaze capital of the world

Lets face it...sleeze sells. People don't want to hear about all the warm fuzzy nice happy stuff that happens IRL....so they sure as hell don't want to hear about any of that in SL.

SL hasn't 'helped' me per say.....my RL is fullfilling and I have a wonderful mate, so SL is merely an escape for me....a wonderful pixel canvas that I can goof off creatively in. That's all it is.......

I have my opinion about virtual romances and so on....but I keep it to myself for the most part. There's a lot of naive people out there....a lot of lonely or vulnerable folks for one reason or another. And you know what.....if it doesn't happen in SL....it's gonna happen IRL sooner or later. Relationships....sex....romance.....all complicated no matter what the venue is. That's a 'reality' that transcends from the real to the virtual. Any publicity is 'good publicity'.

(well....except in the case of the Catholic church and the pedophile scams.....just happned to catch a show on that the other day.....if folks want something to be utterly disgusted about.....they truly need to turn their attention to the real world....SL doesn't hold a candle to it)

this

RL couples broke up in RL - in the real world - because they were already a mess. If they had had better bonds and trust and caring, the couples involved would not have been cheating behind their partner's back. SL was just the excuse they used to rationalize the end of the relationship. Big deal. it's not like chat rooms haven't been around for over 12 years. sheesh.

It was that XXXX rock-and roll that caused it. Elvis ruined my marriage.

it was that stupid drug lifestyle that caused it. Pot ruined my marriage.

It was politics that caused it. Those crazy Craticans (from the words Democrat and republican - used together to not single out one group, but to make a point)

It was religion that caused it. That church taught things that ruined my marriage

It was that internet that caused it. That stupid IRC/MUD/Chatroom/BBS/MMPRPG/GMPRPG/email/IM/whatever ruined my marriage.

I've noticed that people tend to blame external sources for their marriages failing, when the external source wasn't the cause, or the reason, but merely the catalyst for change that probably needed to happen anyway. This isn't the 50's. If two people don't love each other, they probably need to move on and find happiness. We no longer are bound to stay in horrid marriages for the sake of our children or parents or aunts, uncles, or anyone else. Divorce isn't a crime.

The only thing that Second Life does is provide a means of communication with a greater number of people than you'd have pre-internet.

(Besides, my sales are up since Friday, and if it is because of this, then hey, how can I start a scandal?)

wait.. SL has helped me.
My answers are quite different.

Me too.
I understand adults want to do "adult" things because that is natural
thing but not all of us want sexual partners in SL.
It doesn't have to do with being holier then though it's just personal
choice.
There is lot more in SL then sleazy kid friendly places with sex pose balls all over the place, adultery and sexual exploitation for few dollars.
Shocking but true!
I personally just want to be Pretty Ageless Elf boy who wears make up, creates stuff
and seeking happiness through doodles not diddling.

I am new to SL, but have to confess I absolutely love certain adult places.

I can do stuff in complete safety that I would NEVER even attempt in real life, e.g. dungeons etc.

Life is so boring and humdrum, I simply love this escapism. And better for you than going down the pub.

Best of all is acting out forbidden fantasies knowing real people are indulging too (also in safety), and not just some computer intelligence.

Not just the Adult venues either. I like skydiving in SL for example, but in RL nothing would make me want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. SL is like my own private Theme Park.

RL sappy story but true.

One of my family that is in SL with us is disabled. She was born with cerebral palsy. She has never walked, or danced, or snowboarded or parachuted and never will. Watching her joy as she discovered these things here in SL is a memory I will keep a lifetime. Let me also mention she met the man who is now her RL husband HERE in SL. They have managed a perfectly solid marriage of 4 years now.