I recently read an article about phrases people found annoying such as “It is what it is,” or “Speaking their truth” and this got me thinking: What do people in Second Life say that’s annoying? What about behavior?
To find out I conducted extensive research and scientific tests. I consulted with experts and delved into the psychology behind human beings logged into virtual reality.
Just kidding. I asked people on Facebook and Twitter!
Ok, to be fair I didn’t include all of their responses since there were a lot and several people said the same thing, like when Second Life is called a game, or strangers (in the words of the noob in Man vs Second Life video) “want to do teh sex” when they first meet you. But here are a few below.
QUESTION: What phrase or behavior do you find annoying in Second Life? -Moon Brite
“People becoming unhinged because you accidentally bumped their pixels.” -Ally Sawson (Facebook)
“People who park their butts on sims when there’s a sale, making it hard for others to get on.” -Kyle Forrester (Facebook)
“What really bugs me is when people use gaming terms instead of the SL equivalent. DM instead of IM and ‘in-game’ instead of ‘inworld’. If you’re going to enter our world, at least learn the norms, since it’s not a game.” @AvaDelaneySL (Twitter)
“Referring to it as a game. Grr.” -Phoenixa Sol (Facebook)
“I hate the HUGGIES gesture so much!!!!!!” @Catloaf_no (Twitter)
“The infamous ‘I don’t do drama’ in people’s profiles usually means ok yes you do” -Jenni G Mavendorf (Facebook)
“When a DJ is accepting requests and says ‘get in my naughty box'” -Jean-Paul DuQuette (Facebook)
“Major cliques in clubs” -Grant Davis (Facebook)
“Gesture spamming, and the walls of text that follow with ’em.” @DraxiisSL (Twitter)
“I hate going into a club and being bombarded by high-pitched, reverbed up to the heavens, “DON’T GO AFK OR WE’RE GONNA HAVE A GROUP GROPE ON YOUR AZZ” style gestures. I LOVE THIS TUUNNNEE!! OHH LA LA LA~~~” @GuppyWumpkins (Twitter)
“People who have in their profile ‘Don’t mess with my family or else!’ LOL Or else what?…” -Darcey Karu (Facebook)
“I find it hard to have any kind of conversation with a (male) avi without getting hit on. I am open to conversation and meeting new people, but not if the second sentence out of your mouth is some crude pick-up line.” -Barb Gilroy (Facebook)
“Them flirting with you and they have not even looked at your profile to see you have someone.” -Cindy Johnston (Facebook)
“Annoying phrases…thankies, huggies, smexy, linden loving, hun,…..how long you got? Haha” -Jules Delicioso
“People that park themselves at the landing point. People that have empty profiles.” -Nina Lexa (Facebook)
“People who get irrationally angry bc I’m hidden on their list. It means I’m not available for chat or any engagement. I’m usually taking photos or building something and want to fully concentrate.” @VCSLPhotography (Twitter)
“All the discrimination and judgment and people who don’t know how to behave towards others. Like this is a place to be weird, different/yourself and be social, not bash others for doing the same. Too often I see it, and it feels like a highschool drama.” @Jessix_Stiller (Twitter)
“That it’s just assumed if you have a female avatar, then you must have or wear high heels. Drives me nuts.” -NymphAspect Resident (Facebook)
“People who pop into your store then afk for a 1/2 hour then come back on and complain there’s nobody to talk to lol.” -Jennifer Steele (Facebook)
“Gesture-bating hosts. I can’t keep up with nearby chat when you take up 14 lines with special characters surrounding the words I LOVE THIS DJ!!!” @TomorrowMother (Twitter):41]
“All the sexual chatter, including spankers.” @ArcherBlep (Twitter)
“When you are talking to a younger guy who tries to chat you up and you tell them you are too old for them. ‘Oh … I don’t mind that you are older. I like older women.’ You have to explain that you are not into younger men. Then they get all uppity.” -Mia MacPherson (Facebook)
“Smiles.” – Lucille Antoinete
“The immediate sexually charged convo from people I’ve never spoken to! It’s not hard to just have a normal conversation and treat someone like a human and not some internet sex bot” @violentwife (Twitter)
“When people respond “Okie” when I tell them no. It’s passive-aggressive AF.” @matticusmarinea (Twitter)
If I included all that annoyed me personally you’d think I was a big whinge bag so I just asked other people instead. I couldn’t resist adding my own in the main image though. The words “linden love” together in a sentence have made me cringe since 2007!
Credit: Linden Love ASCII image is from the Marketplace
I totally agree with everything on this list, when clubs have a ton of people dancing and not one person is talking other then spamming gestures. But the sexual talk on first Im has to be another top trigger just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I need to be treated like a sex object, I’m not just in sl for sex, I’m here to have fun.
**** I LOVE THIS POOOSSSSTTTTT!! OHH LA LA LA ****
Sorry, couldn’t resist! 😉
Seems my pet peeves are shared by many.
s. x
Huggies!!!! 😛
The thing about “Ohh la la la la” and all the other tedious “gestures” is that we’ve heard them a million times. They might have been fine the first thousand times or so, but they get pretty stale.
It’s interesting that some aspects of SL are so advanced, like Mesh Bodies, Skin & Clothes. So many people making so many high end products to sell. Sound in SL is crazy weak. We’re still hearing 2005 sounds like “oh la la la la” over and over.
This is a little bit true with mesh. Since mesh has raised the bar to entry (have to learn off-shore software like Maya/Blender/3DSmax etc) sometimes you see the same buildings over and over. Like shops that bought the same mesh building. Or that one (great) mesh coffee shop that you see over and over. It’s really nice work, but not at the 10th coffee shop using it. For avatar bodies/clothes the combinations & permutations are so vast everyone feels unique. No matter how many zillion free Kaya heads LeLUTKA gave away.
IDK why there aren’t more Sounds/Gestures. Instead of the same 6 or 12 over and over, what about a thousand new ones?
Animation is kind of in-between the bounty of mesh clothes-bodies-skins and the paucity of new gestures/sounds. There are zillions of animations, AOs & poses. But the basic way skeletons move has never changed. So when you friend offers you a “hug”, they still jam their hand through your intestines and eviscerate you just like they did 10 or 15 years ago. Whenever I bring this up someone explains to me that it’s the nature of the SL avatar and can never be better. I’m not a techy, but I just wonder if a Mesh-level effort couldn’t be able to “know” more about not where a theoretical, non-existent skeleton/body was, but where an actual body with Arm Length 75, Leg Length 45, etc was. Wouldn’t a non-lethal SL hug be great?
Thank you for a fun post!