Child avi's - Good or bad?

I was inworld yesterday and witnessed a vicious verbal attack on a child avi. It disturbed me that some people think they have the right to judge what others do with their sl

For me personally, I have absolutely no problems with people that want to play their avi as a child, its kind of nice to see them around and I've never had any problems interacting with them. This poor girl didn't do anything, she didn't try to force a rp on anyone, but an older avi, who quite frankly should have known better, started to tear strips off her for no reason, then others joined in. I know quite a few kids from the orphanage where I rp'd and although I had no desire to adopt one, I have no problems with them being around.

The young girl tried to explain her reasons behind wanting to rp a child, but the morons attacking her did not want to know.

Would these people have attacked someone who's avi is an animal, or someone dressed up as a goth/rocker/stripper/medieval or anything else we see around SL?

Are child avi's so bad?

They might have done. They sound like the type to get off on RP'ing asshats. These people are why we have mute buttons. Personally I wouldn't have bothered explaining anything to people who obviously don't have two brain cells to rub together.

Depressingly, that's probably likely. Some people only want to see the world through their own eyes, and anything that doesn't match up to their perception of acceptability is fair game for abuse. To them, it's their world and sod anyone else's imagination.

/me sighs.

In the sick RL we live in ....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7291985.stm

Why would SL be any different? There are still sick/racial/homophobic minds behind some keyboards. Cowards who let rip in SL cos they cant or wont in RL.

I second the thought that such a group was likely out to bash anybody just to feel better about themselves.
That said, child avatars are a sore spot, and things are currently turning into utter hysteria.
Some vocal persons find them "creepy", often believing them one step before (if not actual) pedophilia, regardless of what they are doing.
Things have gotten so out of hand lately that LL claims that the mere sight of a child and an adult in the same picture at the upcoming birthday celebration can torch off a media storm which will shut down SL, and are rejecting *any* such images.
-Whether this is truly their belief, or somebody in a position of power is using it as an excuse for a personal agenda of removing "creepy avatars" is perhaps a question.

But disregarding the whole pedophilia angle and SLB5 issue (about which there is already written volumes on blogs, fora and even the jira), some people's brains simply short-circuit at the mere thought that somebody would want something else than Barbie and Ken on a tropical island. This is a socially acceptable dream life, and as such, that must be the "correct" thing to use SL for, since SL is about creating your dream. Anybody using it for something else are obviously deviants, at best ignored, and at worst dangerous (for some imagined reason, often to some equally imaginary group). -Even some Lindens have publicly expressed this line of thought.

For some reason, actually weaving stories yourself is viewed with utmost suspicion, and you are generally guilty until proven innocent. -Recall the whole RPG scare back in the 80ies.
It is interesting that *reading* Harry Potter is perfectly normal, even for adults, but *telling* such stories, co-operatively, with avatars as the actors, is for some reason "creepy". Why there is this disconnect is both fascinating and depressing. Is it simply because when the story is not already laid down on rails and approved by editors and publishers, there is a small chance that somebody in the story might do something we disapprove of, and that chance is enough to taint and invalidate the whole idea of telling a story yourself, on the fly?

"I'm not a kid... being stupid stunted my growth."

Slap that on a t-shirt.

Those child avatars are kind of weird, but they never really bothered me.

After meeting quite a few and playing a child avi for a while (although not doing the "family role play" that some do) I have to say I think they're good and quite important. (And others seem to think so to - Second Citizen don't have a column on "a dragon's view" after all )

Why are they important? Because being a kid is one of the few roles that SL can support across the entire grid (rather than requiring small groups of people to all agree with each other).

The classic children's attitude of exploring, playing, and experimenting with the world is not only possible for anyone on SL but is actually a really good way of approaching SL!

Don't forget that there is no such thing as a child avatar in SL - since avatars have no setting for age.

What you think is a child avatar is a small adult avatar dressed in childrens clothes speaking in a child like way!

Matthew

I'm bad. (^_^)y

Almost certainly, yes. Furries get nearly as much abuse as child avs do (and if you doubt that, try joining the Furnation group and seeing how often you get group IMs reporting griefing in the Furnation sims - it's practically a daily occurrence).

On the other hand I find that being a furry in a non-furry sim is more likely to get positive than negative response.

People like the one you describe just seem to get a kick out of abusing anyone, for any reason.

Karl - I never actually thought of furries as being attacked too, since I have never had contact with them during my SL lifetime, but the same thoughts I have towards child avi's applies to that too - what right do people have to judge others choices? None in my opinion, we live in a free world (supposedly) so people should be allowed to make their own choices.

To attack a person purely because they are different and do not fit into their own perception of what is acceptable, is small minded, bigotted and very stupid. Surely the imagination is what SL is about, creating what you consider to be the perfect alter-ego and living that life

Matthew - Yes hun I do understand the concept behind a child avi

I'm uncomfortable being around children in RL - scared I'd be expected to act like Mr. Rogers for more than 3 seconds. But I remember with fondness a child av that hung out at the NCI locations when I was hanging out there. She was very helpful, cheerful, and I believe a truely innocent ray of sunshine amid all the doomy gloomy dark avatars that are so prevalent. I found myself very relaxed around this person, probably because I knew he or she was an adult. I didn't absolutely have to walk on eggs to interact. That was cool.

What did creep me out was being in a sanbox minding my own business and having a child avatar TP in nearby and talking to himself in chat (in range) about being lost and lonely. Shudders. I went into busy mode. That could have been innocent too, but it just didn't feel right.

So it depends on the circumstances.

[Edit: But in neither circumstance would I feel justified in flaming or ARing]

Well, there are certainly twits out there, and SL is no different. Mute, ban as necessary. Sadly, such things aren't as easily done in RL (and we cannot fly, either!)

I think there is a great loss with the hysteria about child avatars, which is fewer and fewer of them about. I have two friends with street urchin alts who used to wander about the Victorian streets of Caledon and Babbage. I even had one "employed" as a stable hand/coachman for a bit. It added a fun touch to the environment, and of course no one ever believed that these were actual children on the grid. But one of them told me that frankly, what with all the paranoia, it just wasn't worth it. In this day and age, it only takes one hysterical person to slander one's reputation.

It's almost pounded into us by the press and others that a Child AV is a sexual choice rather than a life style choice. So when we see a child AV even the most open of us still has that nagging in the back of their mind that this is not quite right.

I would never appear as a child AV but this is SL and as far as I'm concerned if the person stood next to me is a child, furry or a slave in chains who cares? Who am I to judge.

Mind you if I ever ever came across a child and an adult doing the "nasty" it will be Butt Whipping Time!!!!!

probably, some people have nothing better to do on Sl than make others feel bad.

huh?

Ya know Ive been a child av in SL over 4 years now. I have only ran into problems maybe 3 times. I simply walk away from people who dont understand, they dont understand because they refuse to do so.
People who do things like rant about child avs should check their mirrors they almost always are doing something that could be ridiculed. You seldom will find them doing their rant alone, after all they are trying to impress someone.
Just walk away, they arent worth the effort

Oh yes... before i moved to Toyah, i lived on Chaotic Isle which was owned and managed by furries, though the residents themselves were a mixture of humans and furs. We had a couple of griefer attacks while i lived there, directed at the furries. Sadly, some people fear or hate that which they can't understand instead of adopting an attitude of live and let live.

I dunno, I find 'em kinda creepy with their baby talk an stuff.

I wonder who this was. The only other kid av I've ever seen at NCI was Imnotgoing Sideways - but you're definitely NOT describing her...

Jenny I suspect

Whereas I don't act rude to people in game just because I don't care for their play style, I do find child av's extremely creepy and inapropriate.

I'm not surprised to find people on these forums defending it, heck theres a whole slew of people who defend NAMBA out there, so I tend not to undererstimate the audacity of the sickos out there.

North American Model Boat Association??

(Seriously, not being from the US, I googled, and that was what came up.)

Well whilst it isn't a hobby of mine, I can't say that I can get that worked up about the North American Model Boat Association to start calling them sickos!

Matthew