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SECOND LIFE |
SECOND OPINION |
TEEN SECOND LIFE
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The FUNCTION of a CRITIC
Crit·ic
n. (kri(t"i(k)
[L. criticus, Gr. kritiko`s], a critic; prop., an adj. meaning able to discuss, from kri`nein: to judge, discern.
I began this website as a FANSITE for SL -- for the entire WORLD of SL, not just the dress and hair designers who love having their asses kissed. I started my NEW PRODUCTS REPORT page because I noticed that when people posted pics in the NP forum, there was no comment allowed, no response by the public. The "customer base" was evidently expected to blindly toddle off to the store of whatever producer posted without any more clue than a pic, if they even posted pics. The 2 primary SL fansites that feature fashion (clothing/hair/home decor) seem to blindly suck up to certain particular designers; anything new posted to the forums by these designers is automatically featured on their websites with slavish devotion and awestruck ravings. Nothing they do is subject to any question or serious CRITICISM at all.
I'M A CRITIC, not a member of the fashionista mafia. I buy clothes, hair, and home furnishings/decor in SL, but I am not the unquestioning devotee of any particular designer. If I think something looks odd, I'm going to say that. If I think something is overpriced, I'll say that. If I think that an ad that features models smoking cigarettes is irresponsible, I'll say that. If I think that a particular new marketing trend, such as the listing of humongous bundle packs on the main SL web vendor sites, SLB and SLX, is likely to be a conspiracy among the hair designers (concocted at the recent HAIR FAIR), to defraud the operators of those sites of their due commissions and/or advertising revenue, I consider it my responsibility as a member of the public as well as a member of the many SL web journalists to make my opinion of that trend very clear.
That's what CRITICS do -- we observe, we ask questions, we CRITICIZE when we see fit. I consider my NEW PRODUCTS REPORT to be a public service to SL residents. After all, the people who start businesses in SL are not all of the same caliber. Some people create junk. Some create very good products, in general; however, everyone can have an off day. Some have very bad judgement with regards to advertising choices. Some, like the person who recently listed a freebie PASSPORT skin for sale with SLB for the astounding price of $950L (which I reported in the SL forums, and which have since disappeared from SLB listings), are effectively thieves. It's the function of a critic to point these things out.
The people who design hair and clothes for SL residents expect us to view the screenshots posted in the forums to make choices -- they would prefer that you choose to IMMEDIATELY visit their store and buy their product. However, many people have limited time to spend in-world; they have real day jobs, and children; maybe they're college students who have a few hours on the weekend or between classes. These people may not want to spend their time inworld tracking down something they saw only in a forum pic. They don't have the time to go through the NEW PRODUCTS forums post by post, checking out each forum and each and every posted new item. They need someone to tell them what's been posted to the forums that is new, and THAT IS ACTUALLY WORTH THEIR TIME TO GO LOOK AT AND POSSIBLY BUY. That's what I do -- consider me the CONSUMER REPORTS of SL.
Those who create items for sale in SL are supposed to be running BUSINESSES. If they cannot take criticism from a member of the public, they should not be in business. Their fans, who have unrelentingly crapped in my tagboard with nasty messages, apparently think their favorite fashion designers are somehow faultless, and cannot possibly be criticized by anyone for any reason. THAT IS BULLSHIT.
I have spoken harshly to those who have crapped in my tagboard -- I consider their asinine attacks to be harassment. I have nothing personally against any particular designer. I simply do not consider them to be untouchable and beyond criticism. They are not.
I consider myself a journalist -- and as such, my work is covered by the FIRST AMENDMENT, the clause referring to the FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. You may not always like what the press says -- the new issue of ROLLING STONE, for example, has an article which makes a very good case for the 2004 presidential election having been stolen by fraud, by direction of Republican state election officials and party operatives, as was the 2000 election. Lots of people are not going to approve of anyone saying that, but the right to the press to make critical evaluations of public business and political events is protected by the US Constitution. When cars are recalled and the defects are noted by journalists to have been responsible for a number of deaths before the complaints of the car buyers and safety experts were heeded, the car manufacturers don't like that. They don't have to like it -- they DO have to live with it as part of doing business. If the designers of SL cannot live with the scrutiny of their work, they need to get OUT of business, because the public, and those who serve the public interest, have a right to question and criticize the so-called "creative elite" of SL.
I'm here for all those SL residents who don't want to waste their time slogging through the NEW PRODUCTS forums looking for new stuff that's worth their time and Lindens. The worshippers at the feet of the fashion divinities have the fawning fashionista websites. Mine is for those who want another viewpoint.
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Second Life, SL, metaverse, virtual worlds, virtual reality, 3D metaverse, avatars, MMPORG
Second Life, SL, metaverse, virtual worlds, virtual reality, 3D metaverse, avatars, MMPORG
Second Life, SL, metaverse, virtual worlds, virtual reality, 3D metaverse, avatars, MMPORG
Second Life, SL, metaverse, virtual worlds, virtual reality, 3D metaverse, avatars, MMPORG
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