when the stage is dead and empty, and the band has all gone home

I get odd comments to old blog entries all the time. Sometimes (though this is rare), it's people who were perusing the archives, and stumbled across things, and wanted to reply. Usually it's spammers, who post everything from uninteresting "look this site [URL] thx' posts, all the way to highly ornamented, increasingly baffling statements that make zero sense, but can be amusing to read.

But from someone named [Dilapidated Insect], came this gem:

Given the fact that I have nothing to be ashamed and I am proud of my work, I would like to clarify that I have found more than one person who believed in me and I think you will eat your hands when you see what I've become . Oh sorry, I forgot.. You'll never see what I became because I do not think you deserve it! lol
Second point, you acknowledge that there is privacy??
exactly, what you have done violates my privacy and I think from now you will have to be careful with whom you talk and what you say .. as they say? An eye for eye, tooth for tooth, right?! No, no threats, but do not just want to be a joke as you are because I believe in what I do and you have no right to allow you to mock me! Shame on you! and above all I want to strongly warn everyone of what you are able to do so that everyone can defend themselves against your person!
Moreover, in my humble thought, you should open the dictionary and read what is written under the word: RESPECT

I hope you understand what I wrote, given my bad (as you say) English, and I also hope you publish this my comment... I hope so! ^^

Good second life, hun! ^^

Now, that came from this entry back in March. The highlights of that entry? I was excited about having the ad for Portal 2. I made my obligatory "Hey, see something on the Amazon slideshow you like, buy through that link, I get a negligible amount of pennies from Amazon, thanks" push. (I think I do that, what, every six months? I am not a high-pressure salesperson.) The rest was on translation failures, as I struggled to send out something even close to what I wanted to say, in English, to a German-speaking tenant.

But then, Ms. [Insect]'s comment arrived. (It actually arrived twice; I ended up deleting the second one.) It was a small-scale rant, and fairly baffling, to boot, because what did translation difficulties and 'yay someone sponsored me!' cheering have to do with disrespect and privacy issues? Buh?

So--and keep in mind, this was very late last night, I think around three in the morning--I started researching in scattershot fashion.

[Dilapidated Insect]'s bio on Blogger led nowhere:

(from the bizarre album)/td>

Essentially, she got a Blogger account so she could reply with a name, but is following no other blogs, and has no blog herself. That's not a bad thing, but since she tapped an entry that has nothing to do with her, and, when researched, essentially offers a blank face in response to that comment, it was baffling.

Still, I kept digging. Her web-based profile led somewhere, at least, but didn't help me understand why she seemed so bent on my respecting her rights when...translating German to English. The hell.

I even logged back into SL briefly to pull her up in world, and no new understanding was added. Finally, in idle desperation, I typed her name into Google search, and found something.

This something. Which, miracle of miracles, does reference Ms. [Insect].

Now we were getting somewhere. I settled in to read, and confusion set in again. Because while that entry does reference Ms. [Insect], it's largely about the confusion on why she was writing me in the first place. I don't own a sim. I don't have a trust fund. Why was she talking to me about sponsoring her idea?

To this day, I still don't know. But, armed with a better understanding of where the comment was originally intended to be, I feel better equipped to answer points raised in her comment.

So let's go through it again.

Given the fact that I have nothing to be ashamed and I am proud of my work,

Generally, this is a good thing, and laudatory, because having pride in one's work leads to a healthy self-esteem and a calm demeanor. I'm happy for you, Ms. [Insect].

I would like to clarify that I have found more than one person who believed in me

This, also, increases a healthy sense of self-worth, and also provides validation for our endeavors, so again, I'm happy you have friends that support you.

and I think you will eat your hands when you see what I've become . Oh sorry, I forgot.. You'll never see what I became because I do not think you deserve it! lol

Gad, another lolperson. But I'm having difficulty parsing this, so let me see if I've broken it down adequately:

• Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
• I apologize, I have to issue a retraction of that previous statement. In my opinion, you do not deserve to perceive my soaring accomplishments.
• I also apologize for my forgetting that I did not intend to allow you access to my greatness.
• Let me insert a commonly-understood contraction that will indicate both my laughter at your inability, and to create the sense in you that I am not serious in what I say.

Um. Okay, good luck with that, then, Ms. [Insect]? Thanks for commenting?

Oh wait, she's not done.

Second point, you acknowledge that there is privacy??

Um...sure? Wait, what? How did we go from "I don't think you're ready for this jelly" to privacy issues?

But...wait. Oh. I get it. You mean, I acknowledge you have privacy on Second Life, and how dare I pull your comment, which was sent on the grid, into wider publication off the grid?

exactly, what you have done violates my privacy

Actually, it doesn't. In Second Life's official Community Standards, which is an offshoot of their Terms of Service, there is specific mention of conversation logs, and how they should not be posted without the consent of participants in such logs, on Second Life itself. It specifically prohibits such action on the grid.

Don't believe me? This is the statement at the top of the Community Standards page:

All Second Life Community Standards apply to all areas of Second Life, the Second Life Forums, and the Second Life Website.

"But wait!" I might (reasonably) infer you're thinking, Ms. [Insect]. "What about the Terms of Service? They don't let you just post anything you want to your blog, right?"

Actually...they're pretty clear on that, too. Within Second Life, I cannot post user content without permission. But there is specifically no prohibition against posting such content beyond the grid. The Second Life Terms of Service, and the concurrent Community Standards, apply to Second Life only.

Though I understand why such confusion happens, believe me.

Oh, wait. She's still talking.

and I think from now you will have to be careful with whom you talk and what you say .. as they say? An eye for eye, tooth for tooth, right?!

Wau, that sounds vaguely threatening.

No, no threats, but do not just want to be a joke as you are because I believe in what I do and you have no right to allow you to mock me!

Whoa, I got dizzy there for a second. Okay, this is another one I'm going to have to break down into component parts. Let's see if I get it right.

• I am not threatening you, even though I phrased my previous comment in a threatening tone.
• This is due to my opinion that you are treating me with disrespect.
• I do not wish to be treated with disrespect, partially because I believe you deserve to be treated with disrespect.
• I believe in what I do, and believe I am doing the right thing.
• You have no right to give yourself permission to mock me.

Well, on that last one, I actually do have every right, or at least, I have the very localized ability to tell myself what to do, mainly because...well, I'm me. That's kind of the point. Telling me I have no ability to allow myself to mock others...well, that's just silly.

But wait, maybe this is a translation thing, too. Did you mean, I have no right to mock others in the first place? Well, linguistically, that would make more sense. But again, that's not precisely a "rights" issue. There have been debates on whether sarcasm equates to personal attack for decades now.

But let's go back to the entry you should have responded to, for a better answer of this one, Ms. [Insect]. There is no place, in my original remarks to you in Second Life, where I mock you. Now, that doesn't mean I couldn't have mocked you in that conversation, but I did not.

And, reading over the post again, while I do possess my fair share of snark, it's not the personality take-down you seem to think it is. I try to be factual, in my haze of incomprehension as to why you were talking to me that night at all, and--again, outside of a few sarcastic comments--overall, the opinion I'm leaving people with is mostly favorable--hence the linking at the bottom of that entry [Insert from Editrix: since this writing, removed]. At least, in my opinion, and I do recognize I have a bias.

Still, though, that's a bad thing, Ms. [Insect]?

Wait, she's still talking.

Shame on you!

Um...okay? I think you're needlessly upsetting yourself over this, but if that's your opinion, you are absolutely free to hold it.

and above all I want to strongly warn everyone of what you are able to do so that everyone can defend themselves against your person!

Consider everyone warned. Everyone: Ms. [Insect] says I'm a bad person. Defend yourselves accordingly.

Moreover, in my humble thought, you should open the dictionary and read what is written under the word: RESPECT

*opens the dictionary*

re·spect

[ri-spekt]

–noun

1. a particular, detail, or point (usually preceded by in ): to differ in some respect.
2. relation or reference: inquiries with respect to a route.
3. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.

–verb (used with object)

1. to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat.
2. to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights.
3. to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with: to respect a person's privacy.

—Idioms

1. in respect of, in reference to; in regard to; concerning.
2. in respect that, Archaic . because of; since.
3. pay one's respects,

• to visit in order to welcome, greet, etc.: We paid our respects to the new neighbors.
• to express one's sympathy, especially to survivors following a death: We paid our respects to the family.

Origin:
1300–50; (noun) Middle English (< Old French ) < Latin respectus action of looking back, consideration, regard, equivalent to respec-, variant stem of respicere to look back ( re- re- + specere to look) + -tus suffix of v. action; (v.) < Latin respectus past participle of respicere

I hope that helped. I, for one, learned something: I didn't know, before reading that, that the word wasn't in use before 1300 (give or take some years). That's very interesting.

I hope you understand what I wrote, given my bad (as you say) English, and I also hope you publish this my comment... I hope so! ^^

Oh, I've even been known to publish spam on occasion, you're welcome. And I mostly understand what you wrote, I think, though it's about as clear as the first conversation. I never said your English was bad, per se, just that your translation service may be failing in the idiomatic.

Good second life, hun! ^^

Gosh, thanks. Well, if that's everything, then, I'll get back to my life in progress. Next time, Ms. [Insect], it might be far less confusing if you respond to the right entry, but when emotions get heated, mistakes happen. Believe me, I understand.

Have a great day!

(By the way, [service name redacted] seems to be the name Ms. [Insect] chose for her avatar transformation service. Part personal shopper, part avatar training, which apparently involves horses for some reason--at least, from the keywords given. They can be found in [sim no longer linked])