Comments on: Pondering Virtual World Behaviour

By: Gary160974

Gary160974 — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 19:40:45 +0000

Ive read it twice it was just as good second time round lol. People use home to become something they are not in they day to day lifes, so a shy guy becomes outgoing, a person can live in palaces like a billionaire etc etc. But it does have its down falls as its usually life experiences that people arent used to. an unattractive shy person can become the other extreme an attractive player because they can and until something goes wrong they dont know where the line is. Ive seen and learnt so much of different life experiences that I wouldnt get to learn in my real life. Theres the thing though you have to learn to become a better person and hopefully the people around you learn as well.

By: Godzprototype

Godzprototype — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 02:16:55 +0000

If Home has a soul. You know it Krazy!

Anyone who makes it down this far from the top of these comments……… read the article again.

By: TheLunaFaerie17

TheLunaFaerie17 — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 19:14:17 +0000

Brilliant article full of the questions on most reasonable and level-headed users pixelated lips. I couldn’t agree more about keeping a firm grip on our moral-compasses.

And yes, if I could make my avi look my age and more like the real me, be it facial features and/or my full-figure, then yes, I would. Infact, I genuinely hope that Sony will introduce some kind of realistic body morping feature in the not so distant future. I’d welcome it.

By: SealWyf_

SealWyf_ — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:50:24 +0000

My real age is not the one attached to my body.

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:18:55 +0000

That, is a great way of putting it Deuce!

Age is rather infinite in Home, true, but I wonder (now you’ve raised the idea in my head) how “older” people would be received in Home if it was obvious enough. Although the question there for me now is, if you could look your real age in Home, would you want to?

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:15:01 +0000

Heh, they dont make em like they used to huh!

Well, sadly there’s still guys chasing pixels regardless, kinda makes you embarrassed to be in the same gender pool if I’m honest, but I love the fact you can hold your own against these types when you have to.

Maybe more of today’s girls could do with a lesson from Miss Kitty!

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:08:32 +0000

Heh heh, yeah. I remember joking about everyone in Home looking like a Gap commercial wherever you went. But y’know, they say uniforms *reduce* bullying in schools so who knows eh!

Must be that freedom thing again. ; )

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:05:03 +0000

Thanks! I guess age has a lot to do with it too Burbie, on a base level we learn to be more tolerant of people as we get older I think, that’s probably one reason you were more polite than some people can be in Home. The other is the fact you came into it with friends, I think the influence of good people in Home has a fairly profound effect on an individual’s behavior.

By: KrazyFace

KrazyFace — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 17:58:18 +0000

I like that comparison Fleetfoot!

Who knows, maybe all virtual worlds will find a way to “keep the peace” some day.

By: deuce_for2

deuce_for2 — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 17:38:14 +0000

If shy people can come out of their shell on Home, imagine what the same power does to someone who is not shy? Most of us regulate the feeling that we would like to do whatever comes to mind. Some people feel no need to regulate and exercise their urges. And the fact that the receiver is an unemotional avatar seems to feed the urges.

I remember in elementary school this girl who would punch people in the arm. The receiver would hurt, but they would acknowledge her existence. That was her goal. She wanted to know people could see her. I think that same element of a need to feel present drives people’s behaviors in a way we cannot always relate to.

The other thing is we have no idea how old people are. I think that one piece of knowledge would change how we looked at Home.

A great article. Very thought provoking.

By: SealWyf_

SealWyf_ — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:56:27 +0000

I suppose I was lucky in having spent several years in Internet and BBS chatrooms before I encountered Home. Which is why, when I first stepped into Central Plaza, I was able to look around and say, “Hey, it’s a chatroom with avatars! What a great idea!” And I knew what to do with it.

Which was lucky, since this was deep in Home’s Dodge City days when you couldn’t walk across Central Plaza looking female without accumulating a crowd of trolls and pervs. If I hadn’t had my banter skills sharpened by chatroom life, I would have deleted Home and never returned. To continue the metaphor, the best way for a woman to survive Dodge City Home was to become Miss Kitty. Especially the Miss Kitty in John Meston’s classic, gritty radio scripts. Now THERE was a female role model!

By: ted2112

ted2112 — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:40:09 +0000

Great article Krazy! Those first days of Home were a trip! Nobody had a keyboard or knew what to do, or act. Also we all looked the same as most people didnt spend a ton of time customizing the way they looked yet. I remember picking the white default t-shirt to wear and saw almost everyone else picked the blue shirt. I think in that uniformness people acted badly.

What their excuses is today, I have no idea!

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 10:29:10 +0000

Great article Krazy, you made a lot of wonderful points here about human behavior. I have a lot of fun in Home, and though I do things here I would never have the chance or ability to do in real life, I have always been mindful that every avatar is a real person and I treat them all as though I was standing in front of a real human being. Basically with respect. I may have fun from time to time with a troll who is being particularly bothersome, but for the most part I stay away or report them if necessary.
I agree with your assessment of why many seem to act totally out of sync with their real life counterparts. I guess because I am older than most who come in Home I have a different perspective. And I was lucky to have met some wonderful people when I first arrived to help me acclimate.

By: Kid Fleetfoot

Kid Fleetfoot — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 09:45:59 +0000

Home reminds me a bit of my perception of the Wild West as I saw it on TV shows such as Gunsmoke with Matt Dillon and a couple of deputies like Chester Goode and Festus Hagen who kept order in Dodge City. Most of the people were good folks trying to make a new life out west but there sure were a lot of bad guys (trolls) interfering with the folks lives at work or fun. If one looks at Gunsmoke as realistic, perhaps is the same and in time it will become civilized and people will be able to live a life (virtual) that is normal once civilized life in Home evolves just as it did in the old West. Time will tell. I enjoyed the article as much as any other that I remember.