Reflecting on Communication in SL

Hello my peeps… So, before I start in with my mindless rambling, I thought I'd show you a couple of pieces of my artwork. I woke up this morning and realized that while I often talk about being an artist, and how my love of modeling was inspired by Michelangelo’s Dave, the model behind the masterpiece. I have never shared that part of myself… So, I’ve attached a few pieces... something for you to look at, to reflect upon during my thoroughly intelligent *giggles* pondering... lol… Anyway, hope you enjoy them…

In A Mother's Arms

 

Rhythm of the Motherland

Timeless Dignity

 

Now... ****Picture a big megaphone and horns and trumpets playing in the distance**** “LET THE RUMINATING BEGIN”… this shouted by a guy in green tights and a jesters cap…*giggles.* Let me start with the reason behind my rumination of SL and how people act and react to each other. I had a “slight altercation”, if you will, with another individual in SL yesterday… and it made me think about how differently we handle ourselves SL vs. RL. I always try to be nice, no matter the environment… I do… (Alright family and friends… I do...so stop shaking your heads…lol)… I think that generally, most people try to be kind to others.

A-n-y-w-a-y… (smiles) In RL you are allowed distance…even in a classroom environment, there is always some sort of distance… So, we have the luxury of meeting and making friends or not, at our own pace. We learn each other, and we can do this by verbally speaking to the person, by observing each others non verbal communications, like physical movement and facial expressions, or through a combination of the two. But, it’s different in SL; we deal with each other so closely …spending way more time with strangers than we ever would in RL, and outside of the words actually exchanged between two people, we have no insight into that other person… I think sometimes kindness or silence may come across as passiveness or shyness. Basically, what I’m saying is, we tend to interact with each other two dimensionally; instead of three…

Hmmm… 

What?!?! I don’t have the answers… LOL!! I’m just presenting an observation… But, I think as an SL model, one that’s required to interact with so many different people in so many situations, it would behoove us to try to figure it out… I don’t know if there even is an answer, but until someone much smarter than I figures it out, I guess I’ll continue to live by the old adage… treat others as you would want to be treated…