Questions for a research project on the Art of Avatars.

Hello, I am doing a research project for my Anthropology class on the Art of Avatar Creation. If you are interested, you can just answer the questions here on the message board or meet up with me in Second Life to conduct an interview. If can and would like to meet in Second Life, please email me at [email]bhbarr@hotmail.com[/email]. Here are the questions if you can not meet up.

1.) How long have you been on Second Life?

2.) What about Second Life, attracted you to it?

3.) What choices did you make when designing your avatar and why? Did you keep it true to life or imaginative?

4.) What type of skills, were required to create your avatar?

5.) Where does the attraction lie in designing and taking control of this "identity" (avatar) within the virtual world?

6.) Would you consider a person's avatar as a more honest depiction than the real life self?

7.) Would you say there is an emotional release when creating an avatar? If so, how?


Thankyou for your time and participation.

Hi BHB. This is the animation tips area and it isn't read by a whole lot of people. The thread you'd want to post in is called 'resident answers'. Please let me warn you that we have seen MANY surveys and questionnaires by other students like yourself and the forum residents are quite jaded and resentful. I would offer some lindens if I were you. Or possibly just conduct your surveys in-world. Maybe go to the areas in SL known as Welcome Areas and talk to the residents there.

OK well thanks for the help. Yeah, I'd hope no one would be offended or see it as negative because I am a Second Lifer myself and I find it fascinating in all respects. But thankyou.

1.) How long have you been on Second Life?

Nearly 2 years.

2.) What about Second Life, attracted you to it?

Your world, your Imagination - the chance to be in a world created by those who live in it, including me.

3.) What choices did you make when designing your avatar and why? Did you keep it true to life or imaginative?

Basically it's me, fitter, taller, but based on RL me. Why? because otherwise it wouldn't be me living in the virtual world. He does wear clothes I couldn't in RL though. Some of the time he's nonhuman, but usually Wulf is me.

4.) What type of skills, were required to create your avatar?

The ability to spend L$.

5.) Where does the attraction lie in designing and taking control of this "identity" (avatar) within the virtual world?

I don't spoend much time or effort on my AV, it's remained pretty much the same for well over a year. Now it's just the occassional purchase of clothes or something else that I think will look good on him.

6.) Would you consider a person's avatar as a more honest depiction than the real life self?

More honest in the sense I have more choice about it, so it's me expressing myself whereas my RL is largely a matter of genetics.

7.) Would you say there is an emotional release when creating an avatar? If so, how?

Not at all.