A comment on weaponry...

Just thoughtful after Lindal's cute post about goofy weapons... (and yes LK, I love my Thorn .45 the mostest )... the thing that strikes me is the response I get, going about SL with my avatar "realistically" armed. It's astonishing to me how people often begin to comment, as though "I", really was "armed". One guy - just to illustrate the "semi-rp-but-probably-not-really-in-his-own-mind", upon noticing the little ornamental dagger I wear on my arm, sometimes my calf, said: "Be careful with that, I might have to take it away from you." Even as rp, what an astonishingly demeaning thing to have said. I offered to remove his appendix... Yet such comments kept coming - the .45 I wear on my thigh often gets a rise out of the guys. After getting this kind of reaction a couple of times, I began to look forward to it. How the jerks do give themselves away... and sadly, how much I do enjoy skewering them in front of a group. (And so easy to do! ) Women, armed, pose an interesting threat.

While I would probably ignore your knife unless you actually attacked someone with it without provocation, many people do get upset about seeing firearms worn in places where it simply is not appropriate, like a public mall or a club. That is because in FAR too many cases, someone who wears a gun in such places is a griefer who intends to use it to cause trouble.

If you want to wear an arsenal of firearms, and are in a combat sim or a combat-approved parcel, be my guest. There are appropriate places in SL for such accessories.

But when you wear firearms, even decorative ones, when on a stranger's land or in a public space that is not designated as OK for combat, be prepared for a lot of negative reactions. Just as if you walked in to Wal-Mart with a revolver on your belt, and were not a recognized law officer or security guard. You're the one breaking social traditions by being visibly armed in a place where it is not appropriate.

Ask yourself this: Why do you feel it is appropriate for you to wear a gun, or even a knife, in places that are not combat zones? Because I doubt the comments you mentioned would ever be made in an area where use of weapons was an approved activity.

/me runs away to change his pants

Pep (not from fear, however)

It's funny how people can gripe about suspension of disbelief until a pixelgun shows up. For me, they're merely an annoyance of noise and meaningless little collisions. (=_=)

If I'm in a non-combat, non-CCS region and some shows up with a gun in hand... I'll get stand in front of them with my *nyaa~nyaa~* gesture and chase them for as far as they can run. "To see people running in terror from someone so small and cheerful is a beautiful thing." (^_^)y

I will continue to wear my firearms (thigh mounted sawed-off shotgun) wherever.

And if asked to take it off, I'll find someone else's business to grace with my $L.

Seriously, if I wanted to grief I have huds that do far more annoying things. Besides, there's a difference between a oldbie wearing a relatively expensive nice-looking gun vs. n00b wandering around with the freebie chain gun.

As far as walking into a Wal-Mart with a gun on my hip -- I live in an open carry state.

Very true...the Mystitool and other similar "Swiss Army Knife" HUDs can't be visibly seen but can do some interesting damage if needed.

As long as weaponry remains holstered, there shouldn't be much of an issue. This is after all SL, not RL, even if SL is to some degree an extension of RL (RP as you may, your true personality will always be with you, it may just be less obvious in SL than it is in RL, or exactly the other way round).
And landowners have all the tools they need to minimize harrassment through weaponry available in their land options. Building/rezzing limitations, object entry limitations, scripting limitations, push restrictions, damage/no damage, you name it.

There are items using loopholes and glitches to circumvent these, but one can simply file a complaint against anyone using those, and I'd actually advice you to do so.
People using glitches and the like will face a ban.
If enough complaints about specific devices arise, then LL is able to remove all instances of said device throughout SL, though that takes a bit more work.
If a creator of such devices continues making new ones, using loopholes to circumvent set protections on land, then that creator will eventually risk a ban as well, it's as simple as that.
Ideally, such exploits wouldn't exist at all though.

I think girls with guns look hot. Maybe these guys feel threatened because your gun is bigger than theirs.

Land Owners can do whatever they want in terms of who they make to feel welcome on their land and who are not welcome. Some places do enforce a dress code, others do not. You have a choice whether to be in a sim that has a dress code that you do not agree with. That, to me, is freedom.

SL is more than a single state, conforming to more than the rules of a single state. Just because in RL you have a right to carry a concealed weapon does not give you that right in all sims in SL.

What? You mean there are actually men who feel threatened by images of powerful women??

Sorry, but it's not much of a social commentary really. SL reflects RL, since all the players come from there.

But as long as you're enjoying "skewering" them, I guess you both get something out of the exchange.

I'm going to agree with Steely and even go out on a limb and say there are more men that find powerful women desirable.

Dark Angel
Buffy
Sara Connor Chronicals
Firefly especially the Serenity movie

and the list goes on. Beautiful women kicking ass is a very sexy thing. At least for me.

Men are also attracted to people they feel they deserve, someone in their league. If we don't feel strong enough or otherwise worthy it's a serious blow to the oh so fragial ego. So ... they feel threatened, angery and don't even know why.

Sad really.

In any case ... if the guns fit your persona and don't break the RP atmosphere of the place, wear 'em. They are just props anyway.

Sure Yosef. There are all sorts of people.

The only times I ever asked someone to remove a visible weapon is at Inner Child Depot -- and that is because the owners of the place have such a rule. Even asked Beast Linden to remove both of his Katana while there.

In most places though, as far as I'm concerned, if it's holstered or sheathed, then I dun worry too much. I might keep an eye out so that no one gets "hurt" if I'm hosting an event or someting -- but overall, it's not someting I worry too much about.

Mari

/me links arms with Steely and Yosef, beams at them both, and strolls off between them in search of some single malt Scotch, her automatic gently thumping against her thigh.

I don't think that's your automatic

/me makes note to replace swords with guns.... But I like my dagger!

I couldn't care less what people wear on my land. If someone is griefing, they won't be there long. But as a matter of respect, I don't think it's appropriate to wear guns on land where the owner has politely requested that you not do so. It's not like you can do any harm with them outside of damage enabled areas (and you can't do any actual harm in those). it's just that some people are sensitive to those images because of what they have experienced in their lives, and demanding to wear a gun on their property seems unreasonable to me.

On your own property, you can juggle flaming machine guns while squatting naked over an open barrel of gasoline and holding lit bottle rockets in your teeth for all I care. I mean that in RL, too (please put it on Youtube). But off your property is a different story.

Hot.

Oddly, I do not believe I have ever been asked to remove any weapon, and I am quite often to be found holding them, given that half the time I was working on one.

Why, I believe you're right, sir. Do you have a spare magazine for that thing? It looks like it has a pretty high cycle of fire.