Too Many Me’s

Posted on November 24, 2009
Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People, Roleplaying | Leave a Comment

Contributed by Paypabak Writer

I’ve already told how I have a sister alt, who kinda grew out of a roleplaying situation and then took on a life of her own. I have not mentioned, however, that I have an alt who actually performed work for an organization in RL. That alt is in a kind of limbo, which I hope is being worked out. You see, I got laid off recently and the alt owned the SL estate the organization was using, so it’s not so easy to lay off an avatar! OTOH, the organization understands the value of the avatar to me as I go forward in hopes of obtaining a similar position in another organization. One cannot just say in an interview, I was so and so … It’s complicated but we’re working it out.

In anticipation of possibly losing this 3-year old avatar, I was able to contact a friend and procure his avatar (vintage mid-2007) he no longer used–I thought it would be good to try a male avi and learn what is necessary in that orientation in SL. He hadn’t really done much with it, so I had to de-Newbie-ize him. Finding stuff on hunts and various fairs, lucky chairs, and knowing where to find “newbie” packages, I can do this fairly inexpensively.

The Lab has thrown some curves at alt users: validating adult status, for one thing. Profile picks require some kind of financial verification … there are hoops to jump through. But it can be done and for the right reasons, you too can enjoy the Sybll Effect owning an alt can give! Maybe that’s a business I ought to consider, but for now, I try to keep my avatars from stumbling over each other and not cramping the high-maintenance lifestyle of the One who pays for the rest.

So, along comes an invitation via IM to join a secret group. To do this, yes, you guessed it, I need to create an alt exclusive to this group. The whole idea is anonymity and yet conformity to shape, skin, and certain types of clothing … what could amount to 5K Lindens’ worth of gear. I confess to being attracted to this the idea of what the notecard calls “a new conversation.” And I am trying to keep to the spirit of the group by not making certain aspects explicit. I want to commend it and encourage those who have joined to keep their identities secret. It’s going to be very hard, because at the core is total immersion: no timezone discussions, no explanations that someone else needs to use my PC, what televison show/movie/song I went to the night before … nothing of the operator’s life is to be shared. Pure immersion in this secret society, with very little encouragement for interaction outside of it.

The idea that you might suspect someone in the society of being someone you know as a different avatar is rather challenging and exciting. But if someone starts naming names, the party is ruined, and I’m sorry to sound so Republican, the investment goes down the drain. I love the idea and applaud the creators! It’s even possible that there are a number of heads of such secret societies wondering if I am letting their cat out of the bag? Good! That is not the intent of this article.

But I just cannot go through with it. Too many me’s and not enough time!

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