Know Your Avatars
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
People are unique.
Even identical twins have their differences, such as dissimilar fingerprints, and sometimes the biggest differences are in their personalities — even moreso than other siblings. However, we humans try to make things and people the same. We love to classify, categorize and sort, not only things but the people around us as well.
We classify people by gender and race; we categorize them by nationality, sexuality, and personality; and we quite often sort people into two basic groups that we like to call “us” and “them”. When we arrive in Home and assume control of our avatars, our basic personalities shine through, so to speak, showing our commonalities; and, in this manner, we can again be categorized.
Avatard. No, this term in not politically correct, but it fits. It’s not being new to Home that makes people deserve this title. Not all newcomers to Home are clueless and not all long time Home users are the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, either. It’s not the many questions they ask; it’s the type of questions. Home may be a confusing place in some ways, but don’t all games start out that way? These people have gamed before, right?
Avagangsta. The members of this group usually run in packs they call “fams” that are based on mafia families. The can be spotted by a large grouping of the same color pop-ups and a great deal of tagging and comments laced with asterisks — said comments usually being no longer than four or five words. The most common words in these people’s IDs are on the order of “Killer”, “Killa”, “Headshot” or “OneShot”. From these sobriquets you’ll see that they are shooting game enthusiasts for the most part. They take this “me against the world” attitude right into Home, where you’ll find them aggressively talking to males and aggressively seeking a female to date.
Avatart. Though predominately a female category, this group can include males. You will recognize them not only by the inappropriate and skimpy clothing they wear, but by the way they speak. They usually have a flirty attitude that borders on or crosses the TOS line of acceptable public conversation. Their original favorite dance was the salsa, and the new favorite dance has become the more recent twerk dance. They share this as a favorite with the Avaperv. Look for ID’s with “sexy”, “ForYou” “naughty”, “babe”, “hot”, etc.
Avaperv. A heavily male-dominated group, you can sometimes find females within this grouping also. You will usually find them crouched closely before or behind another avatar or dancing as closely as possible behind another, the dance of choice for them being the rave or the twerk dance, as recent gestures and dances have allowed for even more deviant behavior in Home. They often use accompanying sound-effect words to make sure you know what they are pretending to do. Their ID’s seldom announce their intentions.
Avatroll. This is a group that can be sub-categorized into the obvious and the subtle. The obvious avatroll will design his or her avatar in a way that announces their intended behavior even before they open their keyboards or keypads. Oversized bodies and blue hair with wild or deficient clothing seem to be the most common physical traits. Interestingly, their ID will include the word “troll” occasionally. The more subtle version of this species will usually be dressed in default clothing, which can make telling the difference between a newcomer and an avatroll hard, visually. Once they start talking, their intent becomes obvious.
Avakid. Members of this group are usually very young, but this group also includes the young at heart (or at least, those who want to seem to be so). You will often find them joining clubs where everyone is their sister or brother and/or adopting mothers and fathers, in some cases against the other person’s wishes. (These would be Avadads and Avamoms, one presumes.) They use short-speak more than the average user and are fond of cutesy words, also. Look for them with ID’s containing words such as “kid”, “li’l”, “girl”, “boy”, “baby”, “cute”, “princess” and such.
Avastars. These people like to think they shine more brightly than others on Home. The phrase, “I’m famous on the internet” was created with them in mind. Home does have people who are more well-known then others, and justifiably so: these people have worked to earn this “fame” – if you want to call it that – by adding real value to the Home experience. Avastars, on the other hand, want instant gratification, with no work involved. Their ID’s often include words such as “empress”, “emperor”, “god’, “goddess” or even “star”.
Avabard. This group really likes to let others know they have memorized the words to a song, even if they have Googled it and are really looking at a computer screen. Quite often these are rap or hiphop songs that have ideas or words inappropriate to the Home environment, due to violent, sexual, or drug content. When this is pointed out to them, they will advise you that these are the words to some song by some possibly famous person, as if that makes it acceptable.
Avabraggart. It’s amazing how many people on Home have served honorably in the armed forces as officers and been wounded. Maybe the Veteran’s Administration advises them to visit Home as part of their recuperation? Or they own incredible amounts of goods, such as a Lamborghini or other high-end vehicle; mansions in exotic places; or simply have amazing and expensive “swagg”. The last comment usually being made by people wearing default clothing. Their ID’s will often actually contain the word “swagg” or “rich” upon occasion.
Avacard. This is another group that can be divided into two sub-categories. There are those who are funny – and those that just think they are. While everyone enjoys a good, clean joke, those who play (often cruel) jokes on others are usually not so funny. You can ask people why they behave the way they do and they will often reply “Because it’s funny.” as if anything they find funny has to be humorous and universally acceptable.
Avatran. Another group that is heavily male dominated are those who like to swap genders. This can be for harmless reasons, but beware of those with nefarious purposes. Members of this group can be confused with Avatarts, as they often dress the same way. Interestingly, they often do not change their ID’s so you will find names like “Steven” or “Chuck” or “Brandon” in this group upon occasion. And even more interesting, other males will still hit on them. And no, they are not on their brother’s account.
The preceding was in the most part humorous (I hope) and in a small part serious. In reality, each person is diverse and not just one thing. No label can describe the myriad ins and outs of our convoluted personalities, except the one we all have – human being.
May 29th, 2014 by Kassadee Marie | 2 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
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Don’t forget the Avasnob… one of my favorites
Funny article.
Very funny and cute yet on the mark! You are an avadoll