Samantha Pointdexter Speaks at Geta:
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I have been assigned to write about Segregation in Second Life on this blog, which is normally written in Portuguese. Unfortunately, I know virtually nothing about that topic, not to mention that language.
There are communities in Second Life that segregate themselves from others. These include some Gorean and furry communities, for example. A proper post on this topic would explore why they do so. What are the benefits of immersing oneself deeply in one particular milieu? How do they compare to the more surreal hodgepodge of juxtapositions that defines Second Life in general? There’s much to be said for such purity in roleplay, and I would be interested in reading more about it myself. But it would have to be written by somebody else, for I have never spent time in such an area.
One might object that my church is located in the steampunk Victorian micronation of Caledon. Doesn’t that count? However, I moved there precisely because it welcomed visitors from all cultures. While I’ve enjoyed adding 19th-century clothes to my wardrobe, and I love a good Tesla coil, I never considered those the area’s essential features. What most defined Caledon, I’ve thought, was one virtue: politeness. I’ve told many friends that they did not have to worry about dressing in accordance with Victorian fashion when they visited, or adopting any particular mode of speech, because residents of Caledon are far too polite to take notice of any alleged deficiencies on the part of others, especially visitors.
Sadly, I’ve turned out to have been wrong about that. I witnessed an incident last week in which a handful of prominent residents accosted a visiting escort (in modern clothes) in a public thoroughfare, insulting her most vilely; pushing her around; talking about her as if she were an object, rather than a person; and generally bringing shame upon themselves and their communities. (Plural; half were from another nation with an embassy nearby.) It’s certainly dispelled some of my illusions about Caledon and caused me to lose several hours of sleep… but despite the justifications offered by some, this was clearly a matter of intolerance, sexism, and/or malice, rather than a sort of segregation used to maintain the integrity of local Victorian roleplay. Which cuts off my only idea for a real post on this topic, and leaves me at a loss for what to write about here.
So I’m going to give up and fill the remaining space with a copout list of topics I know nothing about.
- Segregation in Second Life.
- The Portuguese language.
- How to make a pie crust from scratch.
- Bacon.
- The appeal of Two and a Half Men.
- The art of motorcycle maintenance.
- Japanese verbs.
- Linden Lab’s plan for selling “Immersive Workspaces.”
- The aerodynamics of Frisbees.
- Creating sculpted prims.
- The identity of Laura Palmer’s murderer.
- The Book of Love.
- Flying a plane.
- Crocheting.
- The appeal of rodents as pets.
- The geography of Lithuania.
- The history of cadmium yellow paint.
- The difference between a halfback, a fullback, and a running back, in American football.
- Swahili tenses.
- The appeal of Carrot Top.
- The Book of Mormon.
- Xanthan gum.
- Lion taming.
- The appeal of prim babies.
- Jambalaya.
- The production of Blue Velvet.
- The production of velvet in general.
- Javelin-throwing techniques.
- Calculus.
Author of the above post: Samantha Pointdexter
Person who suggested the subject: Prad Pradthivi
(My post will appear on All Things Tiessa, subject suggested by Merrick Thor)
Finally, thanks to Vint Falken and ArminasX Saiman for this wonderfull SLbloggers Mix’n Match idea!
