Comments on: What Do Our Digital Appearances Say About Us?

By: Bayern_1867

Bayern_1867 — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:04:18 +0000

Thought-provoking article, Norse. Thank you! As a girl, I loved paper dolls. Guess my age. As an adult, I was a corporate wife for decades. Put it together, and in Home I love the freedom to dress in all kinds of things, change avatars and clothes according to what I’m doing or where I am or who I’ll be seeing. Although I love to mix-and-match “line” outfits, one of my favorite outfits is made up of default clothing. My favorite head is the carapace. I try to respect others’ sensibilities: keep beachwear for beaches and pools, don’t wear the turkey suit or take my helicopter to a dinner party when I know my hostess wants formal wear, etc.

By: Kid Fleetfoot

Kid Fleetfoot — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:39:01 +0000

I checked up which I should have done before. Apparently Elvis wore his gold suit for most of his performances in 1957.
Sorry.

By: Kid Fleetfoot

Kid Fleetfoot — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:33:32 +0000

I don’t understand why you wouldn’t take a free gold Cadillac from a guy just because of the way he dressed and his teeth. That kid at Radio Shack may be dreaming of the next big thing and if he is good luck to him. Or maybe he just wants to get through the day till tomorrow.

I don’t in real life dress uptown, no way. I do think I have a real old, and I mean old, suit somewhere. It might even fit.
On home I have suits and I occasionally wear them but not often. Gimme a baseball cap or cowboy hat and what ever goes with it any old time. And whatever clothes that goes with them.

A lot of dressing and behavior is make believe. I think that’s fine. I have a robot type outfit which I put together which is neat although I haven’t worn it in a long time.

Suits and uptown are great but I like the hobo or bum look too. I’m surprised no one has developed the a stick with a bag for the hobo’s clothes. Maybe the that’s the kid in Radio Shack’s next big thing.

In real life is I go to a bank I expect the guys and gals to be dressed nicely and be polite. A suit is not necessary but would be helpful.

If I want my furnace repaired the guy should be wearing a dirty set of furnace clothes. Aha!!! Maybe the Radio Shack guy’s next big thing is a plumbers outfit. That would be cool if it had the tools, eh?

That was in interesting and enjoyable article.

P.S. I believe that Elvis wore that gold suit only once. It did appear on an album cover. Maybe I’ll look it up.

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:48:16 +0000

I love to dress my avatar in unique combinations of mix and match clothing. When I wear a full outfit it is usually because it is one piece, or it doesn’t blend well with other pieces of clothing (something I think needs to be considered whenever they are being created). Being able to look different than everyone else through experimenting with my clothing is a lot of the fun I get out of Home, the same is true when I decorate my homes there.
I agree that though this is a virtual society and many times we will never see the real person behind the avatar, clothing still “makes” the man or woman and first impressions still count.
Costumes can be a lot of fun to mix as well if they are separates. I have a couple good friends who are masters at it, and we get a great deal of enjoyment wondering what they will come up with next. It is a way to express yourself that has been taken to a virtual world.
Great read as always Norse, very insightful.

By: Ro Schro

Ro Schro — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 06:22:21 +0000

So I’m sure everyone who read that article needs a minute, like I did to absorb it all. Great article Norse.
You kinda touched on a few things there. While it is true that all of us were noobs at some point, and had to stumble, fumble and bumble our way through figuring out whats what on Home, some like myself had the advantage of doing it when Home itself was in its infancy. So everyone was pretty much wearing the same default clothes, and desperately trying to understand this brave new world we have entered. It was, in my experience, more or less everyone helping everyone with what little bit they knew about how to navigate.
As for clothing in home, while I like some of the clothes I have purchased over the three years since I have been coming on Home, I tend to favour the unique items won through achivements. And the items I wear often represent a game or movie which I have no intention of supporting. Two examples: My favourite shirt is the one with angel wings, to promote the movie Legion. I just like the wings, but never saw the movie, and probably never will because from the trailers, looked like one to avoid. One of my favourite outfits is the entire military uniform from the Killzone 3 game which was on Home to promote the game. While I like FPS, I just never really got into that series. Having said that, I worked dam hard to earn all the achievements for that game to complete the uniform.
I more often than not find a unique item of clothing, or better a combination of clothes which while a bit ecclectic, works anyway a good way to begin a conversation with someone you don’t know.
I ment a good friend of mine on Home, some of you may know her, Olivia Allin sitting on a bench in Central Plaza with her Black and White Sketch outfit on. I found it to be quite different from anything I had seen thus far on Home, and used that to open up the comversation. And while that was my beginning, I went on that night to talk with her on many subjects. I was also then that we both realized each others aptitude and enjoyment of arguement, and by that I mean expressing a difference of opinion while learning and debating with the other person.
I’m not sure if Sony is really aware of the social challenges new Home users face, or if that is a concern to them. As a suggestion, they may wish to encorporate a short orientation after the data for Home is downloaded, but before the user actually enters Home proper. A few do’s and don’ts, maybe how to use the psp interface, how to open up a chat box if they don’t have a keyboard…things like that.
While I am sure we all can relate to the plight of new users, I am also sure many like myself often do not have the patience to deal with it when we are in the middle of something or even if we are simply talking amongst friends. When they show up in the default clothes and spam the default text from the R1 button, or somehow manages to get “I’m new here” out, it can be kind of annoying when we all realize how new they are, but are in the middle of something and don’t wish to be bothered. I know it is the price for talking in a public space as opposed to a private one, but there should be some etiquette for this.
But anyway, clothing and in fact our entire avatar should express how we wish to feel about ourselves, and also act ignoring the restrictions we were born with. I doesn’t have to be role play, but more a version of ourself not bound by real or tangible limitations.