Real Life versus Second Life

I have little choice but to mix SL and RL.

I have RL friends in SL... I have SL friends I've met in RL.

I will point out that I wouldn't invite into my home someone I'd just met on the street.

Likewise, I'm not going to share much of my RL with someone I only just met in SecondLife.

It's not black and white... it's light and dark gray.


Secondlife, real life... I'm still me, you're still you.

If talking on the phone counts as real... so does talking through secondlife.

I completetely disagree with Jessuaittui Petion. We all know, of course, that there has to be a funtional connection behind the RL person who operates the computer and their avatar. There also has to be RL mental input into us avatars.

I don't talk about my RL much beyond saying which country I came from. SL is 'Second Life' and the interface between residents is between avatars. People who come in as themselves and want to talk about RL might not be telling the truth anyway. And another day they might be in SL as an alt that is nothing like their RL.

If it is seen by some as deceptive to not disclose anything about your RL, equally I'd say it could be seen (by others) as vain and unimaginitive to come in as a replica of your RL.

I knew, from my first few steps on Orientation Island, that SL was mine to live to the full and I took the lead and my RL has to do respect meee!!! I don't seek to make RL friends in SL, just in-world (or on-forum) friends.

I'm just a breezy, happy soul who flits around SL, building a few things, visiting places, buying and selling the odd item and chatting to people and having fun. I'm not out to deceive anyone or get involved in deep relationships so I don't need to be trusted about anything, although I am trustworthy.

I POSTED A THREAD on here about a suggestion for an LL spin-off, which I called 'First Life Plus', a stand-alone programme based on SL graphics and system, that could be sold for use by groups of people who already know each other in RL - like pubs, clubs, extended families etc. The owner would buy and control the software, which would be accessable to members of their organisation from the owner's website.

Incidentally I have put details about my RL on my profile - I am a giant robot that is over 3000 years old that can morph into a furry animal.

Please don`t misread me. I only mentioned RPing once in that paragraph.

Ive neither labeled RP as evil nor innocent.

I simply said, further down in my post, that the majority of RPers ive run into are liars BUT some people choose to keep RL seperate for innocent reasons (Aka, not all people who refuse to "mix rl with sl" are liars). I was not calling RP innocent or dangerous, I was saying some people hide RL for innocent reasons.

Deep.

lol

no, the way I took this statement is "Very true"

IMO I am sitting here spending my RL time.. While the avatars are not tangible, the whole thing is taking place and very real.

Its kind of like talking to a friend in e-mail or I.M. You dont see them at work the next day and go "in our fake conversation"..no, it was a real conversation just not in person.

SL can be anything an individual wants it to be and I believe that as long as the TOS and CS are kept then no one has the right to tell them otherwise.

I also believe that those who categorise others are usually surprised when that individual shows their individualism.

There are many more flavours of avatar than the two that the OP alluded to.

He's trying to promote his work by staying anonymous? Something is wrong there.

There's no problem with that.

No he's not promoting his work at all in SL. He may one day, but not right now.

I was talking to someone when I was new. She told me there are only Pretty People (RPers) and newbies (not really sure waht to do)

Me and my friend have tons of fun in the game, but we don't roleplay. No offense to any role players, but every RPer we meet takes the game way too seriously. for example:

"dont fly by looking in my house when i have friends over, its rude"
so im saying to myself, wtf? in RL this is true, but come on...

"why are you building this here? its ugly, take it down please"
they dont own the land we are building on they just have land next to ours, they actually put their land up for sale and i guess they go somewhere. before they left, all they did was RP as if they had friends visiting.


sure, i can see how RPing can be good fun, but in 100% of MY experiences, its either akward or hostile, mostly hostile. because im not an RPer, I dont say anything to RPers, so Im not a griefer, my neighbors however are, telling me i need to make doors and stuff so they can walk away because i guess they are RPing as if they can't fly or something.

im a serious person at work and school, but not so much anywhere else so i'm rather annoied/frustrated when someone is dead serious about something so insignificant like my building not looking like a house but rather a big building.

as for bringing my personal life in the game I'm myself, but i dont pretend (RP) as if im actually in the world and trying to walk through doors (cause flying is faster)

ugh, i hate typing (and capitalizings....and spell check ) i wont even get started on how many RPers would like me to not say "brb lol kthx lmao omgs o rly? no wai!"

I just think it is silly to 'protect' your RL like some yuppie clutching her purse on a uptown subway at midnight. Unless your in the witness protection program there is no need for it. If your afraid of befriending stalkers on the internet then delete your account. And take a cab.

I think 'identity theft' is a completely alien concept to you?

Some people may get a kick out of broadcasting their whole life on the 'net, others are a bit more considerate about what they give away about themselves. It's not that dissimilar from the privacy considerations on that age verification issue.

Then I'm sure you won't mind giving me your credit card, ssn, and passport numbers, yes?

They're just minor rl details, after all.

Never said there was

Were all giving our views here. And my view was theres no problem with it- thats their business. BUT if someone wants to be friends with ME they need to cough up some RL info.

Why do you not feel able to judge someone's worth as a friend based on teh way they treat you and behave around you? Why do you insist on a need to know some "rl" data before you can consider them a friend?

My general behaviour patterns (yes, that is rl data) as they observe them and rough timezone is as much rl data as anyone is going to get unless its needed for tax or legal reasons. You sound like a potential stalker to me.

Why is that potential stalker? I mean, people demanding RL info right away usually means that they are too new to have immersed into SL yet, but I don't think that's what Wanda means.

If I want to tell people RL stuff then I will but hey, I am not paranoid, I have nothing to hide and there are only a very few people with my RL name, contact details etc. Those people either are already RL friends or I will be meeting them <waves ... HELLO VERA!!>

However I am sensible with whom I trust and in turn there are people who have trusted me with their private lives knowing I can be relied on not to blab it to everyone around me.

My personality is 100% real me, within the situations SL present I react as I would RL. My av started out trying to look like me, what the hell, still based on me but somewhat idealised *cough*. My 1st life tab is absolutely true IMO ... too much rl ruins SL.

However that doesn't mean NO rl should be there. It's personal choice, as ever. I find the people I bond with really care about SL and the person behind the av ...

Did that. Got stalked. Messed up my life.
If you're nosy about details because you're afraid of accidentally cybering someone who's not really the gender they say they are, then you're obviously not observant enough to be any good at cybering anyway and should find a more promising passtime.

Or not Mature enough to get beyond those hangups.

Identity Theft occurs by people hacking into your accounts. Not by chatting. One has nothing to do with the other. Broadcasting is not necessary. Many SL residents participate in RL media coverage and their RL are 'exposed'. Haven't heard of any tragedies thus far.

If you really wanted to I am sure you could locate it easy enough. Go to my website, do a owner search, get my real name and start hacking. The day you signed up for your first free e-mail account is the day you made all of that information available.

OK. Sorry to hear about your troubles. You do not have to give out your name to anonymously cyber people. Just use any voice over internet program to verify gender. I am really referring to people that do business using this platform. Any stranger can become a stalker in your own community. I can see you throwing up walls because of your bad experience - but that is not the norm when it comes to online communities.

I suppose it will take another decade or so for the hysterics to die down and everyone to start feeling safe on the internet. It all seems like the Microwave scare from the '70's to me. My mother would not enter the kitchen until we removed the microwave we gave her for Mother's Day. She had seen on the news that they all leak and would eventually mutate her. Today's generation would laugh in her face. The world is not flat and your not going to fall off the edge. The internet, phones and cameras can be used to stalk. Telling someone your name is not inviting danger into your home. A 'always on' cable internet connection is all anyone needs to enter your home. You can use Carrier Pigeons, typewriter and toaster oven to 'protect' yourself but I think it's all paranoia.

You may look into social phishing/social data mining (aka social engineering) and be suprised what people can do after "only chatting" with someone.

You may think that Internet will be one day a safe.... I think it will never be. It can be useful, entertaining, suprising... but safe? No.

If it would be so safe.... why do we need to hide behind firewalls, use anti-virus software to defend us against virusses, use spam-filters to block unwanted mail, anti-spyware software to defends us against malware and spyware....

Are do you think those tools are only used by paranoid people?

The Internet is not safe.

Morwen.

The same reason we use door locks, fire detectors and house alarms. RL is not safe either. But we live it anyway.

Did I say it was? But in RL I don't throw my personal information on the street either. So why should I on the Internet?

And yes, on the Internet people can come directly into my life... using keyloggers, tools to steal creditcard info and alike from my computer, look through my webcam.... and a lot more things like that.

If I lock the door of my house and come back, I most certainly will see if someone has broken into my house.... But into my computer? It may take ages before I even know if my computer has be entered by someone with bad meaning.

Morwen.

And I tell you that you have thrown your personal information on the internet. And unless you eat your junk mail you have also thrown your personal information in the street. That is just the reality of the situation.

Junkmail? What junkmail? First here in on countryside we don't get almost no junkmail... Second there are is an organisation over here were you can register when you don't want junkmail.... and the junkmail-spreaders have to hold to this. Guess where we registered a long time ago?

Concerning the Internet, I used my personal information only there were really needed. Maybe you have thrown your personal information all over the Internet, I didn't.

And you can tell as much as you want, but there will always be a big difference between the Internet and the normal daily life... if it were only the awareness of things.

Morwen.

I don't eat junk mail, but I do shred it. and sometimes in winter, it goes into the fireplace.

No such thing as a little bit pregnant. Once is all it takes. You are now apart pf the Matrix.

Not yet. But in a decade or so the hysterics will be a thing of the pass and people will be 'on' all the time - just like cell phones have become commonplace.