Help Out a College Kid

I'm in the process of constructing a research paper regarding Second Life avatars. Since the SL grid has been down for the past couple of days, I've had trouble trying to conduct a few more interviews. If you'd be willing to help me out (and I'd really appreciate it), you'd just have to respond to about 9-10 short questions that I've listed below. If you don't wish to respond directly to this post you could e-mail them to me. No SL names will be used in the paper, it's completely anonymous. If you'd like, you could send me a photo of your avatar as well, so that I could actually get an idea of what your av looks like. In the meantime, I'll be trying to log on to SL.


How often do you change your avatar's appearance?

Do you change your appearance in RL just as often?

Why do you change more (or less) often in SL?

How much money have you spent on clothing and acccessories for your avatar?

When creating your avatar, did you draw inspiration from any films, books, TV shows, comics, songs?

Does your avatar resemble anyone you know in real life?

What activities do you engage in while interacting in Second Life? Does your avatar's appearance seem complementary or incongrous with those activities?

Would your avatar act the way he or she does in RL?

How do you perceive your avatar?

How do you believe others perceive your avatar?

If you've created your avatar to resemble your RL self, in which respects did you tweak or make minor changes?


Thank you so much for your time. Again, I really appreciate it.

How often do you change your avatar's appearance?
Appearance – not very often – unless I have to alter my size to make a custom item for someone.

Do you change your appearance in RL just as often? Can't =D

Why do you change more (or less) often in SL?
In SL it is easier to make my neck bigger or become a male than such is in RL.

How much money have you spent on clothing and accessories for your avatar?
I spend what I feel like – I never count it up.

When creating your avatar, did you draw inspiration from any films, books, TV shows, comics, songs? An old TV show that was on briefly one summer called The Masquerade – if you know the genre you know the why =D

Does your avatar resemble anyone you know in real life? No

What activities do you engage in while interacting in Second Life? My most relaxing activity socially is - I like to find a live DJ playing music I like and dance. Otherwise I spend my time creating things.

Does your avatar's appearance seem complementary or incongruous with those activities? Sometimes I am very incongruous. When I attend a beach party, a western bar, or some such. Otherwise people are quite used to seeing Vampires around.

Would your avatar act the way he or she does in RL? he or she meaning me ? I act like my Av and my Av acts like me. I bite ; ) and I am a goof

How do you perceive your avatar? I perceive it as an extension of myself while I am online, she is me. I am a goof RL and SL.

How do you believe others perceive your avatar? Hmmmm, most people do not know me. They probably just see a very pale female av with fangs.

If you've created your avatar to resemble your RL self, in which respects did you tweak or make minor changes? I did make my Av to resemble my RL self. She is my same short height 5’ 2”, same dimensions, chunky thighs, not huge boobs, long hair, bangs in my eyes. Chubby round face. The one bracelet I never take off my Av is a replica made by importing a photo texture of all the bracelets I wear on my right hand RL. I tweaked her as time went on to become a vampire – the tan skin left in favour of pure white skin. I added fangs and the dagger I always wear on a thigh representing my other pastimes EQ and WoW. I love being able to wear the high high heels in SL that would kill me in RL to wear.

Welcome to SL, Clyde. I know SL is a great target for research. As you may or may not be aware, you must have Linden approval for conducting research using SL citizens:

http://secondlife.com/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=Research+Ethics+in+Second+Life

I'm ok with the concept that using SL Forums and SL itself without consent to do research isn't acceptable, but the idea that someone that wants to interview me needs to get LL approval is a little off-putting. It gives me a conflicting message about the responsibility LL attributes to itself as regards to the residents.

Rather hands off in terms of any transactional activity gone awry within SL, but controlling the media access to me outside of SL and draping it in language to make it seem it is about protecting the residents.

Has every blog quoting a resident been approved by the Marketing Department?

How often do you change your avatar's appearance?
Change clothing or minor appearance adjusts almost every day. Major av look changes once a week or so, but I maintain a "core" av that I will always revert to when not playing dressup

Do you change your appearance in RL just as often?
Not so much.

Why do you change more (or less) often in SL?
More often.

How much money have you spent on clothing and acccessories for your avatar?
No clue.

When creating your avatar, did you draw inspiration from any films, books, TV shows, comics, songs?
No.

Does your avatar resemble anyone you know in real life?
No.

What activities do you engage in while interacting in Second Life? Does your avatar's appearance seem complementary or incongrous with those activities?
Anything that is available. Exploring, Meetings, Events, Games. Complementary to a degree, but I don't put too much thought into it.

Would your avatar act the way he or she does in RL?
Mostly, except the random avie epilepsy and the flying.

How do you perceive your avatar?
With my eyes No strong attachment. It is a separate individual that I make do my bidding while I'm online and who is up to no good otherwise.

How do you believe others perceive your avatar?
Could not care less. Probably as a bland, everyman avie.

If you've created your avatar to resemble your RL self, in which respects did you tweak or make minor changes?
N/A

How often do you change your avatar's appearance?

Very seldom. My avatar is me, not a "costume."

Do you change your appearance in RL just as often?

LOL... I haven't changed very much in the last ** years.

Why do you change more (or less) often in SL?

They are the same, generally.

How much money have you spent on clothing and acccessories for your avatar?

In the 14 months I have been in SL? I have never bought any L$, if that is what you mean. If you want the total L$ I have spent -- multiple thousands.

When creating your avatar, did you draw inspiration from any films, books, TV shows, comics, songs?

No.

Does your avatar resemble anyone you know in real life?

The guy that greets me in the miror in the morning.

What activities do you engage in while interacting in Second Life? Does your avatar's appearance seem complementary or incongrous with those activities?

Socializing, game playing, working on the newspaper; I think my very human avatar is well suited for these activities.

Would your avatar act the way he or she does in RL?

Yes.

How do you perceive your avatar?

He is me, but better.

How do you believe others perceive your avatar?

I would like to think that they view me as a nice guy.

If you've created your avatar to resemble your RL self, in which respects did you tweak or make minor changes?

He's me at a younger age, and with purple eyes.

P2

It's called research ethics, and reputable schools would require it of their students anyway; Linden Labs is just adding a second buffer in there since they are providing the access to the "subjects."

How often do you change your avatar's appearance?
Barely ever, I made one using the default options when I joined then kept that until I made my current one about 3 months ago.

Do you change your appearance in RL just as often?
I don't go clothes shopping all that often if that's what you mean. I don't vary the style of clothes I buy all that much either.

Why do you change more (or less) often in SL?
I'm happy with my avatar, so I keep it. If I change it it'll probably be for something to do rather than wanting to change the look.

How much money have you spent on clothing and acccessories for your avatar?
None at all.

When creating your avatar, did you draw inspiration from any films, books, TV shows, comics, songs?
My initial idea for my avatar was to be a drone from Iain M Bank's Culture novels. I never really got that far with it though and stuck with what I've got because I like the ideas behind it. I'm also one of the people that finds the randomness and all the floating things in SL really cool, so go figure.

Does your avatar resemble anyone you know in real life?
No, it's a shiny black sphere that goes silver when I'm typing I don't even think there's anyone I don't know that looks like that.

What activities do you engage in while interacting in Second Life? Does your avatar's appearance seem complementary or incongrous with those activities?
Mostly I explore and doodle stuff, I don't roleplay or anything so I like the fact that basically all my avatar does is show where my presence is and whether I'm communicating.

Would your avatar act the way he or she does in RL?
I expect it'd roll about on the floor in an inert state.

How do you perceive your avatar?
A sign of my presence in the virtual space, more like a forum or instant messenging avatar than anything else. I don't want to express any kind of personality other than my own so feel it's unecessary to have myself represented by a little model of a person or something. At one point I was mulling over the idea of replacing it with an big floating arrow that says "I am here". Personally I feel that the camera is more "me" than the avatar.

How do you believe others perceive your avatar?
I'm always surprised how many people ask me if it's actually my avatar and not their client going buggy. Some people have complained that they can't tell what I'm looking at, but I've got a floating icon (currently an eyeball) that sits where my camera is and the direction it's pointing now if it's needed. One day that may actually become my avatar and I might do my best to remove the avatar itself from view.

If you've created your avatar to resemble your RL self, in which respects did you tweak or make minor changes?
n/a

Hope that helps, feel free to contact me if you've got any follow up questions.

(From what I know) Tony did not get approved to interview me, nor did Discovery Magazine. I guess they did not mind because it was all over the internet, if they punished him, it might have said something.

If you notice, I was not talking about research, I was talking about media interviews. As in the situation mentioned by nimrod above.

Access to me is not limited to what LL provides.

Thanks for educating me, though.

Thanks so much to all of you who responded to the questions I posted. As I mentioned, some of the responses will be used (anonymously) in my final paper for an undergraduate college course. None of the paper will be published on the Internet. My teacher's desk is as far as it will go. Again, I appreciate it. With SL down for the past couple of days, I didn't think I'd be able to get the last couple of interviews conducted, but you guys helped me out of a jam.

Yeah, I read your comments too quickly. The part about media interviews is interesting. Sorry for the confusion, my bad.

Hold on there, buster! This is where you are supposed to call me an idiot or an ass or something. Maybe explain that LL can do whatever the hell they want and tell me I'm just a troll and don't understand how an economy works and that I should go sell some freebies.

This just won't do.