Xeriko's Attic: A mixed virtuality - Xeriko's Attic

The Freebie Issue is out of this world

Someone just asked me what I thought about the freebie issue. I asked, "What freebie issue?" And she said, "Go to Metaversally Speaking and then we talk." I was "Ok", as if one person's opinion would determine the faith of the world. Well, actually, that's mostly the case, but hell, every time it's a matter of opinion. But well,  I went there, read the story and the comments, and returned to her. Then I replied, "And?"

I don't think there is a "freebie issue" here because nothing of what has been said has anything to do with that stuff. Once again, the real issue is money, especially the one you can convert to dollars or pounds or euros over at Linden Dollar Exchange (a very legitimate point I should say).

There are some content creators that expect to profit from what they do. That implies getting some money for their work and the hours they spend on creating it (let's hope with non-pirated software). But not because I create something it means people have to rush and make me rich. The issue exacerbates when there comes another creator, offers something for free, and people turn that way. That means, the one expecting money in return will get less. And the more freebies out there, the greater the chance the demand for that non-freebie item will decrease.

What to do to counterbalance that? The content creator that expects to get people's money for what s/he does must raise the quality or uniqueness of his/her product. Failing to do that means bankruptcy.

 

And then there's the concept of competition. There are two people trying to get the consumer's attention toward their products (let's assume same quality, to make it fair). One of them put a price tag of 25L. Noticing this, the competitor goes and lowers the price of his/her product to 23L. The consumer sees both, and which one do you think s/he will choose?

There are two other points I will simply mention without getting into any arguments. Why? Because I think none of them need any explanation. First, because something is offered for free, it doesn't mean it has to be low quality so those trying to profit can offer theirs at higher prices. Is that fair or appropriate? If that was the case in the past, it doesn't have to be so now. Second, those freebie whores complaining about free stuff should stop crying and bullying content creators. Be thankful all of that is given out for your benefit and learn how to create your own. Content creators aren't here to please your desires or fill your shortages.

Are freebies hurting SL economy? Nope, they are not. They're damaging the economy of those that can't compete. At least that's the way I see it.

I preferred Bone Mosten's approach to this so called issue. If there's something you should read, head to his blog: Boned.

Lucidity's spontaneous Bloody Night

Last night I went to another DJ Star Fairymeadow night at Club Lucidity in Winterfell Absinthe to spend a couple of hours of excellent music in the company of good folks. Thought it was a "free style" night (meaning, you didn't have to wear anything in particular to get to the dance floor), 3/4 of the crowd chose something red. Huh? While most fashionistas say gray is the color of this year's Spring season (or so I heard somewhere), people are still doing whatever they want. Does the fashion trend need a revision then? I don't know, that's not my field of expertise. I did gray the last couple of weeks (actually, for a month I think), but I thought I needed a change tonight, so here is what I wore.

 

Since I had to buy some female clothes for my previous post (yep, I'm not an undercover girl), I just pick up a few things already in my inventory (details below). The only gadget I went after in a last minute mini-shopping spree was that nice checkered Reek belt I saw that (ir)regular guy wear the other day. A single belt comes with a lot of colors and pattern options, so it's really a hundred-belts-in-one kind of thing. It's also scripted for easy resizing, so you don't have to worry about screwing it up (it's copyable too, so you can do backups just in case). But the best thing in this belt is that manual tweakings are still possible to attain that perfect fit, by fine tuning the "central" prim (the belt itself) without messing its texture or the rest of the linked prims. I think this is the first belt in Second Life I'm able to adjust so perfectly. Actually, after that I ran back to the store and bought the rest of their belts. Seven stars for Reek!!!

Here are the details, from head to toes:

Hair: Black Maria - Alto (Red)
Eyewear: FNKY! - FreeBase (Black)
Right ear piercing: Cyanide - Methanol
Left ear piercing: Infernal - Diaberie Hoops (I don't know where the hell are this people now)
Mouth Piercing: Primitive Design - Insurrection
Neck bandana: Emery - Bandana Black Neck Wristband (What the heck? Is this a wristband or a neckband?)
Necklace: Primitive Design - Twisted (Male)
Shirt: Silent Sparrow - Jangling Jack (Crimson), part of a set
Right hand: Rawdolls - Nuthin' but Trinkets
Left hand: Sey - Leather bangle "SUN" (warning: defaults to right hand)
Gloves: SiniStyle Design - Taped Fingers with Black Nails
Belt: Reek - I Heart Colors Belt
Pants: Zanzo - Manchester Scene Jeans (Prestwich)
Shoes: Urban Bomb Unit - PornStar Hi-Tops MultiColor

My eyes are from Miriel (I am 97% Miriel exclusive when it comes to eyes), skin is from Belleza, Miguel line, and shape is my own. I wear no underwear, so that's why those details are missing.

After seeing that long list of items, I was curious as to what is my Avatar Rendering Cost for this set. Surprisingly it wasn't as high as I expected, only 2175. Not that bad as other outfits I have come out with.

The first two pictures were taken while dancing at Lucidity (lucky I found a quiet corner to do the shooting), and the third in that waste (yes that's what it is) next to my house in Caledon Mayfair.

Role playing?

Even if you think you don't role play because you don't narrate your actions or your thinking, Second Life is just that: a big RP world. First, think of this: you're probably portraying yourself as your real self is not. How many of you have avatars that mirror your true selves? How many of you are vampires in real life? How many of you sport a cat tail right above your rump? Or how many of you have already experienced a complete transmutation into a hopping bunny, a flying dragon, or a fuchsia guppy fish (have you ever seen a guppy fish driving a motorcycle, by the way)? How many of your never aging avatars are 20-30 years your junior?

The more "dramatic" example may be the popular notion that a high percent of those sexy looking female avatars out there may have more hair in their chests than Tarzan's ape mate. Yet, the opposite phenomenon is also valid. Gosh no! I don't mean a real life chipmunk might be playing a second life (they surely have more transcendental doings to worry about), but the fact that the tall, tanned and muscular bearded man next to you may be a little skinny emo girl (hell, or boy).

And I'm just talking about physical mismatching. How many of you behave exactly as you do in real life?

Some people think all those fake gender-benders have only one thing in mind: sex. But that may not be true, as it isn't true that most people in Second Life are pornomaniacs. According to Linden Labs own research, only 5% (or less) of Mainland have adult content. I don't know if they are including escort services and the like, but 5% is indeed a pretty low statistic. When you think of it --and of course, I'm tripping in ketchup here-- only 5% of real life people in their "sexual years" may have never had sex in their lives. That figure only includes Jacko Wako, Kermit the Frog ( I have my doubts about him, I may have to corroborate that information with Miss Piggy), Ricky Martin, a couple of retired priests and a few other nuns.

 

But anyway, and back on track, the myriad of reasons for such transformations and gender role play probably knows no limit, but sex and money do drive the world, and the new Linden Labs' adult content policy underway has made it more clear to all those incredulous minds, judging by the numerous articles written to discuss some RP aspects that the new measures may adversely affect.

• Second Life, Upcoming Changes for Adult Content
• A Crimson World, Upcoming changes for Adult Content (the Linden press conference)
• Alphaville Hearld, Is Your Second Life Woman a Real Life Man?
• SL Revolution, Mutatio Vox Populi
• Metaversally Speaking, A Content Adult?

But be no fool. No doubt those writings bring up many interesting subjects about human behavior, but Linden Research's only interest is to cover up their backs and portrait Second Life as a clean moral environment in which bored politicians can feel comfortable enough, especially if the talk about Teen Grid merge comes to fruition in the near future as many predict, but nobody confirms. Second Life is just like the Internet: sex seems to be everywhere only because it gets more hype and is frequently searched up. You find it because you know where it is.

On a side note... I'm not that good at female fashion (no wonder there), so excuse my questionable taste. I just needed a picture to color the post. Yet I feel I ought to add the corresponding fashion notes in case you think I look cute:

Hair: BP - Summer Chignon
Set: Rebel Xtravaganza - Fleur the Vie - Orange
Boots: The Abyss - NAU Combat Boots

I saw this dress in Achariya's blog, by the way; it looks best on her, I tell you. Too bad it isn't transferable since I don't see me using it that often, you know...

Make him over?

Yes I know I'm all against hunts [read], but this one promises to be something really different. In what sense? A hunt for the boys only: the Make Him Over Hunt. Yeap, pretty "weird", isn't it? The hunt will go from June 1st to June 30 (all month). How many designers, and who will they be? Nobody knows yet, since the hunt is "under development" right now, accepting submissions until May 20th. Designers will be reviewed too, promising only the best will be able to drop their "gifts" for people to pick up. After that process you'll get the news and numbers, so stay tuned. Visit the hunt's web site [link] (which should be credited for the pic at right).

P.S. I hope participants decide to refresh their gifts, and not share the same items they place in the rest of the hunts (that happens a lot too), or what would be the point? Thought 100% of the gifts are supposed to be for males, something tells me 95% of collectors will be females anyway. We'll see...

Disney gone wild

Every once in a while there comes a building that makes you go hmm, ahh, mmm! The new Malicia castle from Abel Dreamscape's Morphe, Inc. is now for sale for all of you Medieval, Gothic, Gorean, Vampiric and other similar junkies out there. Be aware that this thing is huge! From outside, the numerous rising towers give an inscrutable and fantasy-filled impression that only a few SL designers are able to achieve. From inside, the many rooms and corridors pose a threat to those of you with no sense of direction, and a treat to those that simply love to wander around.

Even unfurnished as it is on display at Morphe Inc. this monster build is full of details, from the carefully chosen textures, to the uncountable links that build up the several chains that hold the bridges and other hanging things from falling. As per description, it stands 65 meters tall, have five private rooms, numerous open areas, one giant common room, on/off particle torches, a big chandelier, and other extra accessories.

In other technical notes, be aware that a structure like this has some special needs. As it has a 47 x 41m footprint and demands 930 prims for the building alone, I would advice a plot with no fewer than double or triple the prim requirement. That is taking into account that you want plenty of room to place this one in a properly scenic area (check the previous post to get a good start) , and then some extra prims to furnish from tip to base, depending on the intended use. Well, obviously that speaks of what I would do, not of what you're thinking. In any case, you can get Malicia Castle inworld by visiting Morphe Inc. at Snow Crash [SLurl] or online at SLStreet [link].