How would you feel about finding your clone?

This happened the other day - I ran into someone who had the exact same shape, hair and skin as a friend of mine. Different name, but this wasn't one of those cookie-cutter Barbie avs. My friend has always had a very cute, petite little av that I thought was very unique in SL. (She's also very popular because of her cute personality, but that's another story).

I took a screenshot and sent it to my friend who thought it was pretty funny. She said it made sense now, that other friends were claiming they'd seen her in places she doesn't normally go. Last I talked to her, she was still laughing over it and telling her friends.

Of course, there's no copyrights on shape/skin/hair combinations. And given enough iterations someone somewhere is going to come up with the same look at some point if they mess with the right sliders, so this isn't the kind of thing that can be appealled to the Lindens. Nor should it necessarily be --

My question is, how would you react if you had a fairly unique appearance you created and then saw someone else who looked *exactly like you? Not a close match, but exactly?

*ahem*


zOMG!

Finding my clone? Well it would depend if I had lost it or not...



Flattered?

I did mention to her that imitation was a form of flattery

But why the hair?

we would cyber.

Im hawt!

Well, lots of factors... maybe the "clone" had seen your friends av and was like zOMG I wanna look like her!! *point* *drool* *spend*

On the other hand, it could have been random... I mean, most of the major sellers of body parts advertise in the same place... maybe they just have similar tastes.

For men, it happens a lot more. There's so many fewer outfits, skins, and hair for us that certain 'looks' just seem very common. It happens to me about once a day.

True enough - my friend has had her shape & hair for over a year though, and it's her own. I have never seen that shape on any other av before.

The capper was that the imitator has a male name. That really made me go "hmm".

Very odd then, but hey... if your friend doesn't mind, then it doesn't matter really.

I'm giving my shape, etal for free to n00bs. Hopefully, the clones will be everywhere soon.

I made my own skin so I guess this won't happen.

it could.

It amazes me that in over 2 years, only once has anyone come up to me with an avatar similar to mine - and that was this weekend. (And this 'copy' was done in a completely different artistic style).

When he did meet me, I congratulated him on his rendition of it, exchanged friends cards, gave him a few soundclips to go with his AV, and we jollily snapped a few pics of each other together.

All the while I reminded everyone that I came from a rather large litter

Inadvertant 'clones' are inevitable. Unless someone was deliberately trying to copy the exact 'style' of your avatar specifically, I think its better just to laugh it off - and hopefully make a new friend out of the experience

Clony names are worse. Unintentional, usually, but I cannot count how many times someone's started talking to me thinking I'm Isis Ophelia. At least she sounds like a nice person. No one's run up and slapped me yet.

I've seen two other people who use the same base as the two avitars I use on a day to day basis (Luskwood White Rat and Luskwood Teal Dragoness), the former had installed new hair on his as well as tweaked his ear rings, and the latter had altered the shape differently and had the opposite gender. As for my human form, I bet there is thousands who use the same Gnubie skin I use, but my shape is 100% custom, so I doubt I'd see anyone too similar.

I had some crazy guy named Philip Linden copy my avvie and I'm contemplating an IP takedown at this moment.

Yeah, I've heard of him... a real griefer. I heard he orbited a newbie once on OI... just for laughing at his codpiece...

Happened to me a couple of weeks ago. A friend told me that a recent no payment info signup had "cloned" my "goth look" (just something I wore for certain occasions). Found it hard to believe until he sent a photo...and everything...right down to the exact t-shirt, trousers, and tattoo on the face had been copied. I suspect texture theft of the skin and clothes.

Goth look since completely abandoned....I never really liked that skin anyway.

Also, just a couple of days ago, I noticed a newbie had cloned the japanese/anime influenced look of *another* friend of mine. He'd recently bought a $4K skin...and it made me wonder how someone without payment info who seems to do nothing but grief at New Citizen's Plaza could afford to copy that look so meticulously.

If anyone here happens to stumble across any Pol Tabla clones during their travels, please let me know. I have organs that need replacing.

Can I interest you in a nice piano instead?

I'm following you around the forums, LOL!

I would be flattered if I found a clone. But the texture in my hair is my own RL hair and not out there a lot so I don't think that would happen to me.

Oooh, I want to be Persephone's clone.

Found. Hugged. Turned out to be an alt... we're doing fine.

It's amazing what swapping skins on the same shape can do!

I would have to kill them, of course. There cannot be two suns in the same sky.

Actually, I like to wear my HQ skin a lot and rarely if ever see anyone who looks just like me, even though the skin is hard to mistake, it's a definate "look". Different shapes, especially the facial structure, change the skin a lot.

When I finally make my own skin this would never happen, unless someone is so taken with how I really look they would steal it, which I would consider extremely flattering, honestly.

Yeah, but thank goodness my look is on the "ordinary" side. Less attractive to copycats.

Maybe your friend has an alt...