Got Secks? What exactly is in SL?

After I read this I recalled something I told someone once about being in a virtual world... It is like getting lost in a good book.

The sad thing is that those are the same people who will go home from work and spend their evenings glued to the TV, watching "reality" shows that are even less real than SL.

I was going to post a long deal about the pro's and con's of SL but it;s all been said and then some.If the OP in one week has not found this platform the least bit stimulating then SL is not for him so why should we bother.Here endeth the first lesson.

I see that there are already 102 responses but I have to say something because I am frickin' amazed that this is even being asked. My sister was in SL for a long time and I thought it was the lamest thing I had ever heard of. She convinced me to give it a try and I am totally into it! I love it. I will not go into every reason that SL is great, but let me just ask you:

1. Are you horny?
2. Do you have any sexual fantasies that you would like to explore?
3. Is there a place in the world that you would like to see but cannot go?
4. Do you think it would be fun to make new friends?
5. Do you like meeting and seeing beautiful people?
6. Do you like to play roleplay games?
7. Do you like to play video games where you skateboard, surf, ice skate, wrestle, etc.?
8. Do you like to check out art in a cool e-medium?
9. Would you like to meet people from other countries and learn about their culture and land?
10. Are you man/woman enough to explore your deepest fantasies?

Ya, I know, I asked that one twice. It deserved it!

...because there is so much to see and learn about in SL you can't do it in one week (unless you stay in world nearly all day, every day...and even then there's always more to see...), and it often happens that people, becuase they haven't been introduced to the many facets of SL , only see a limited side at first, and if it's not one they like (e.g they end up in a sex area, or an area where no-one is around) then it'll put them off - they assume that's only what SL is about. So those of us that know there is a lot of variety in SL can enlighten them...

I think we have found a new forum Regular.

Hi, Kate! I like your attitude.

/me wanders around a virtual misty valley, can sit and meditate and watch my "aura", walk through a river running down the hill ... listen to croaking frogs and all manner of flora and fauna ... watch You Tube with my friends and "see"/hear their reaction. That's just chilling out at home. Actually, debating interior design issues virtually is saving potential arguments for doing it for real too.

Roarth said it - SL is what you make of it.

No. Something is very wrong with the PEOPLE.

No, that's not right either. It's OK to do that, if that's what you like about SL. Something is very wrong with YOU, if that is the only thing that you've seen that stayed with you.

Why must it be more than escaping reality, if that is what you want to do? Who decides what is a "proper" way to use SL?

The OP?

Actually, this isn't true.

Sex is popular as a social activity in virtual worlds because it's something that most people would not want to do in the real world. Of course most people in the real world have sex - but they wouldn't really want to become strippers, or act out certain fantasies, or do BDSM, or have sex with a large number of partners in real life.

On the other hand, just hanging out and dancing in a club with friends is something that can be done in real life in most cases. Now I know that there are many people who, for various reasons, can't or don't want to do that for real - and it's great that SL gives them the ability to.

But for people who do not have RL social difficilties, using a virtual world (in an immersionist sense) purely for sex is actually IMHO healthier, because it does not subsume any social behaviour that they realistically could do and would otherwise want to do in RL.

(Edit to add "in an immersionist sense" - of course this doesn't apply to the augmentationists, who use SL as a vector for real-life socialisation.)

Hi there, there's quite a bit more to do if you keep looking. The area of SL that I and many people I know in SL are into is the sports.

I run a longstanding hockey league called SLHA, getting together at least 4 times a week most of the year playing hockey and spending a lot of the remaining time managing the league.

There's also a football league my friend Nic Renegade started last year. There's soccer, baseball, snail racing, car racing, fishing, basketball. The Weather Channel has a nice group of islands with biking, skiing and more.

If you go into Search and look for sports, or Events and again check Sports, you'll find a lot of very cool activities you can get involved in. Sports in SL is pretty cool because no matter if you have RL athletic ability, or a handicap, you can participate and still get the satisfaction of team sports and competition. Give it a whirl!

Teh interwebs runs on masturbation ... lol

Yumi, I kept BDSM out of my SL for a long time, proportionately speaking, because it is something already in my RL ... it goes both ways. There's also a lot of real life BDSM people in here, and I see people pairing up and going offline with it all the time.

The world is a funny place, innit.

Cherry, that's really interesting, but I didn't mean to imply that this wasn't possible or that there was anything wrong with it. All I was saying was that, if somebody is using SL to act out sexual fantasies, that seems "healthier" to me than using it to reproduce social behaviour that they could just go out and do IRL. Yes, some people can and do actually live our their sexual fantasies IRL, but some can't, and it's far more common to have reasons not to.

I had a boyfriend for awhile that played a warewolf. It was fun to play the captive for him sometimes. Claws and teeth ravaging me. Bleeding out slowly. His triumphant roars and howls as I slowly drifted into unconsousness. .... I'm sure it is much healthier to act this out in SL than try it in RL.

Just an example on the extream side.

More commonly just being promiscuous is a good example. Even with the wierdos, SL is a much safer place.

I shall grant you that - I think people tend to become their real selves here anyway, or give up the ghost and make alts etc, anyway. Maybe I am judging by my own standards here and should shut up

Wow- there are some stunning replies to this thread! Personally speaking, SL for me is sheer escapism. IN SL I can have a designer wardrobe, own a horse or indeed any animal I so desire, and have a stunning property and land to do absolutely whatever I like with. When I get bored I can change it quicker than knocking a RL house down and re-building it.. I've also made some absolutely brilliant friends...and I can do this from the comfort of my own home. Plus it has other benefits too, eg when my dear friend Dee was poorly she was house-bound, but she could use SL to socialise.It truly is a tool that you use to create any environment you wish...basically your imagination has an outlet and you can use it to carve your own SL reality. You don't 'HAVE' to be in SL, it's a choice. It just may be that it's not for you..don't feel alienated by that, and don't think that because the rest of us on here seem to be utterly enthralled by it that we're somehow a tad odd. )( OK, actually last point? I am a tad odd....LOL)
If it doesn't work for you then perhaps another MMO may be more appropriate, but at least you've given it a shot and formulated your own opinion. I'd say give it a few more days and use resources, such as the Showcase, to explore some of the myriad of wonderful places in world.

Kitty =^..^=