Dandellion Kimban wrote an interesting post, mainly because it links to one of mine and because it has an enticing picture of a sex scene. Oh, well, there was also a lot of talk about how important is having all kind of contents at SL, but you know how those posts are, so full of words.
Now seriously, she studies in deep the need for not-so-mature content in adult worlds, and I think this is the first time I have seen it done. I consider sex a very important side of my SL, but I doubt it reaches even an 1% of my logging time; places like Red Light District must be a boring nightmare. It is evident that SL isn’t sexually interesting due its technical capabilities, but because it is a place where you can live, which makes sex real.
Sadly I am not writing this because I liked her post (that I did), but because I got ticked off by a phrase at her post: stop whining and behave like an adult.
She clarified she isn’t addressing the relocation point, but the positive side of classifications. And while I still think that blocking the access to unverified accounts will damage business owners without really protecting our children, I admit there is a positive side, and understand that a rating system could be nice, making easier to access the kind of content you want and avoid the one you don’t want.
But I am not writing about classifications or ghettos, so lets go back to the “whine” word.
It annoys me when somebody asks us to stop whining about something, which is fun, since I consider that most denounces against LL are whines; I know my protest about the OpenSpaces fiasco was a whine, even more now I have rented a little plot of land when I said I would never do it again *sighs*.
I don’t think LL is “evil”. I am convinced that their main objective is making money while covering their legal asses and “fixing” public perception and, while there is nothing wrong with that, since SL is a business, what I hate is how they do it, without caring enough about the consequences of their acts for their users.
I have seen posts saying that as customers we don’t owe LL, and that our options are clear: stay or leave. And stop whining.
I have seen posts saying that Ursula will clean the mainland, that they are tired of seeing gross things when they fly around, and that it is coming whichever we say, and stop whining.
But what can you do when you feel helpless about a Big Brother that keeps changing the rules? You whine.
Oh, we can say that we are protesting, or denouncing something. And even if it is true that LL has listened sometimes, it is also true that they can be pretty deaf when they want to, and a bit trigger happy with the ban thing. So most times what we say is pointless, and so, we are whining.
You know? It may be pointless, but it helps, and many times is the only thing we have left.
Last Tuesday I suffered one of those huge emotional backlash that are so popular at SL, and later I logged to be alone fixing my inventory… yes, you know what I mean: IM’g my friends about how sad I was while at the same time showing courage in a romantic way (damned lord Byron .-p).
The line between sadness and self-pity is thin, and I am sure I crossed it a pair of times; I am sure I whined, and nobody likes a whiner. But after being stung nicely a pair of times, I was able to laugh at myself and felt much better. I got lots of hugs, some jokes, and nobody asked me to stop whining.
Sometimes a good whine at LL feels good and, who knows? It may even work. So don’t ask me not to whine… or at least smile while you say it :-p
Now when you mentioned… I am not so pro filtering (that rarely works) but pro zoning, which might do well for all the involved parties. I might write a bit about that.
Well, I would approve zoning if done carefully (for example applying it to new parcels); if you write a bit I will read a bit about it *smiles*.
Oh, I just noticed (and fixed); I did wrote whinning instead of whining in the title; great :-p.
I am *SO* going to sue your cute ass for unlicensed use of my photo.. you think you can simply do it? Not in this corporate SL where corporate rules apply! /me rubs his hands in glee and thinks of the millions of L$ in royalties he’s going to get now…
Joke aside. Nobody likes a whiner only if they are a permanent whiner. You are not a permanent whiner, so if you whine it is out of a need and you are more than welcome to whine on my shoulder or in my arms – as I have on your shoulder and in your arms.
Segregation, zoning, filtering… I agree the way LL has gone about this whole issue might have been cumbersome, the basic idea is something however I can live with. and I am sure Gomorrah, resp. Ursula, will be an interesting place to visit. I don’t like the often stressed point about protecting minors. Minors WILL find a way to look at sex, and tbh, the visual part of sex in SL is boring, minors will have a much easier way to access better visuals on Google. What is more important is to give residents a choice. As the SL landscape is today, you don’t have a choice. You teleport to a shoe-shop only to find a huge sculpted perma-ejaculating penis on the next parcel. There ARE people who are offended by that. I would not be, you would not be, Dande would not be, but others would.
The way it gets implemented is a totally different story though, and a little whining about who LL again seems to not understand what SL is for people like us who LIVE there, eases the pain.
Hmm… so much comment, I better had a post of my own again :-)
Dear, did you ask my permission to take a picture of my home and publish it? Was it in writing? *calls her lawyers*.
*sighs* It is so easy to generalize… it is probably as bad to say “stop whining” as “nobody likes a whiner”.
Mmmm… I have seen a huge penis fountain at the Sex Museum; and it is true that the walls are see through and there are standard shops around. Definitely zoning is a spiky thing *sighs again*
Peter, London is fully entitled to use your picture under “Rule 1”; What’s your’s is mine (and what’s mine is mine).
*laughs*. I need to remember that one .-)