Just read this.....


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7688091.stm
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haha thats deep!

Some people who play Second Life are just as bad.
Cant differentiate pretend from reality.
Sad really.

Yeah I saw a couple being interviewed on tv as they met on that second life, and were lovers there, but even though they were totally different in real life they fell in love and got married for REAL.......I wonder if they still play the game!
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Well i hope he TELLS her when he's going to divorce her or she might go after him with a giant eraser and rub him out, or hit him over the head with a giant tippex bottle - or whatever the real equivalent is of deleting someone's profile online!

They had a rather informative, prehaps too informative, article on the BBC website about how avatars actually get to have sex in Second Life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7729207.stm

A brief summary is that you have to have to buy the *ahem* appropriate, virtual equipment and largely be content with some simple animations while doing the deed ...

Politegorilla, that has got to be the funniest article yet!
Maybe I am just a techophobe, or a virtual reality dunce or something because I am clueless what it's all about.
It's Not Real.
Simple As.
What am I not getting?

So, if I play Kickboxer on the PS2 against my young son,and I beat his character to a pulp and win the game, will the social services come and take him away and charge me with child abuse?
Or is it just Pretend, and A Bit Of Harmless Fun?
I just dont get this virtual reality thang.

As someone who did this "avatar" thing first back in 1977 (with the pencil, paper, people and dice games of Dungeons & Dragons) without computers I might be able to shed some light on this, RG.

Second Life is a bit like attending a masked ball of fancy dress party in that you create a personality for yourself and assume that role. When people choose such a role, sex can be a great motivator, especially if you are with adults.

The couple met through Second Life so they both knew that flirting (virtual sex is pretty much that, flirting) with other women's virtual characters could lead to sex and a relationship in the real world. Essentially the husband was found courting again by his wife, in the same way he met her.

What you played with your son was a game designed to get you to compete in a fun way, what they were doing was on a more sexual level. Most virtual games are entirely about fun, adventure and escapism.

A good news story you might want to look at, in addition is the case of the virtual murder, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7688091.stm, by a jealous, virtual wife!

Thats the link that prompted this thread politegorilla (see it in the first post)

Ah is that what it is Carrie, I thought I had deja vu there for a mo!

And I STILL think some people are crackers because *it's pretend*.....I just dont get how anyone can let it spill into their real lives.
Ok, so I get the bit about becoming known to one another in the real world, falling in love IN THE REAL WORLD and all that jazz...but to be totally honest, if I "caught" my partner's online cartoon character having virtual sex with another online cartoon character I would laugh like a drain cuz its not real and its funny.
Its not like its real people on webcam.
If he then went on to get to know said real person and fell in love with her, yes I'd be a tad miffed but lets face it, that female online character he's having virtual sex with could actually be some bloke in real life having a laugh.
It's just a saucy adult game for goodness sake.
I just cannot get my head around it.

At least the "virtual murder" was treated as a case of illegal computer access, which is what it was. It was spooky that I reproduced the same link, though.

Did you hear the final word on the woman who divorced her husband over his Second Life antics?

She found a new partner on the World of Warcraft MMO (Massively Multi-player Online game), which has different genders but no simple ways to have sex.

To understand the story, for non-computer people, imagine that you have found your partner via Salsa dancing (chosen because it's an intimate dance) and later discovered he was taking up dancing again with another woman, in secret ...

But dancing is two real people in the real world.
It isn't pretend. That's different.
(although, I dont believe dancing automatically means cheating).
'Fraid I will never understand this virtual reality stuff, guess my feet are too firmly rooted on the (real) ground!

No worries.

Understanding that story is a bit like following an obscure argument between tournament chess players or stamp collectors.

Rest assured that these Second Life enthusiasts might be just as puzzled as to why other people enjoy forums, where no-one has a 3D avatar ...