did you feel the weight of other's views, or was their ignorance a source of fun?

First, out of the blue on Twitch, since I've been watching the Desert Bus for Hope stream off and on this week, I got a DM:

fhsbdcadalma: hows the stream? i just logged into twitch since i have been gaming so much after my pal sent me [link redacted because it's either a harvester or a cheat, and either way I don't need that] i can now get any game for free. you should try it too before they shut their service down. on a notepad i have already 2 c0des for todays games :d i took my 5 minutes and a few tries before getting one that worked on the steam store lol. hf
emptydoll: Go away.

I mean, why me? Seriously. I don't stream on Twitch. Outside of Desert Bus I barely even watch Twitch. Outside of Twitter, and once Tumblr, I don't have an active presence on any social media platform, so...why me? And what does "hf" mean?

And you bet I'm leaving that username intact, even if it's likely a throwaway, so anyone who wishes to can block them in advance from spamming nonsense.

In the meantime, more rule-changing:

[14:02] sxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: been away from SL for a bit. Can anyone tell me why parts of my body and others are floating in the air?

This is the question I'm starting with, but it's not really relevant to the main point. Still, it seems to indicate the user hasn't been in SL since the adoption of mesh.

[14:03] Jxxxx Hxx: just wait a moment...it will fix itself

Generally, though sometimes, the disconnection is so intense, avatars will need to leave the sim, and port back in, or actually relog, to fix the visual glitching.

[14:03] kxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: not going to touch that one
[14:03] nxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Make me a double of whatever [Sxxx] is drinking or smoking pls

This is the important line. Keep this simple reference firmly in mind.

[14:03] kxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: my smart mouth
[14:03] kxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lol yes
[14:10] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [Nxxxx]??
[14:10] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Wrong window??

And this level of "shock" felt manufactured.

[14:11] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: No alcohol or drug talk in [the group in question]. Period.

Again, keep in mind, THESE are the only rules stated in the group's description:

NOT ALLOWED in chat:

• Store ads/spam/self-promotion
• 3 lines MAX posts
• MP and most outside links
• Drama/rudeness
• Criticizing stores/gifts
• Malls-Franchises
• Disco/Club/DJ ads
• Breedables
• Rental/sale
• Most Adult sims/items
• Gambling
• Pay MM/LBs/gifts
• RP: OOC only
• NO blog links
• AO with adult anim
• Vehicles

What, in any of that, says "no discussion of drugs or alcohol"?

[14:17] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: because by not talking about a problem it will vanish?
[14:18] mxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no, because these are the rules here.

Where? Show me where. Where in those rules listed for the group does it say that?

[14:21] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hm ok i was not in this chat for awhile maybe this is new?

This is VERY new.

[14:22] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Not new at all. It is above PG talk.

Now you're just lying.

From the Knowledge Base:

General

A region designated General is not allowed to advertise or make available content or activity that is sexually explicit, violent, or depicts nudity. Sexually-oriented objects such as 'sex beds' or poseballs may not be located or sold in General regions.

General regions are areas where you should feel free to say and do things that you would be comfortable saying and doing in front of your grandmother or a grade school class. Institutions such as universities, conference organizers, and real world businesses may wish to designate their regions as General. Likewise their users (and others) may wish to employ Second Life's General search setting to focus and filter search results appropriately.

Some landowners and Residents desire a Second Life experience distinct from the activity that occurs in Moderate and Adult regions. Region owners who wish to host this sort of Second Life experience can (but need not) designate their regions as General.

If you are a region owner and you feel there is some ambiguity as to whether your content and activities are allowed in General regions, it's probably best to designate your region as Moderate.

General is generally treated as "G", for context.

Moderate

Second Life's Moderate designation accommodates most of the non-adult activities common in Second Life. Dance clubs, bars, stores and malls, galleries, music venues, beaches, parks, and other spaces for socializing, creating, and learning all support a Moderate designation so long as they do not host publicly promoted adult activities or content and do not use adult search tags. Groups, events and classifieds that relate to this broad range of activities and themes generally should also be designated as Moderate.

Residents in these spaces should therefore expect to see a variety of themes and content. Stores that sell a range of content that includes some 'sexy' clothing or objects can generally reside in Moderate rather than Adult regions. Dance clubs that feature 'burlesque' acts can also generally reside in Moderate regions as long as they don't promote sexual conduct, for instance through pose balls (whether in 'backrooms' or more visible spaces). However if any of these businesses uses adult-oriented search tags, the region may be categorized as Adult and blocked from appearing in non-Adult search.

Moderate is generally considered PG. Let me repeat a phrase used above, because it's vaguely important: "Dance clubs, bars, stores and malls, galleries, music venues, beaches, parks, and other spaces for socializing, creating, and learning" is the phrase I'm thinking of. What have I bolded in that phrase? PLACES WHERE ALCOHOL and (much less often) DRUGS can easily be found. So...what in a "PG" (remember, Moderate is treated as PG) tells the mods of this group--or at least this one, increasingly deluded mod of this group--that even extraordinarily vague references to alcohol would not fly under a PG setting?

[14:23] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: If you want to talk about drugs and alcohol, there are lots of other groups where you can do that.
[14:23] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: It is not welcome here.

According to you.

[14:23] sxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I just wanted to know why my avi and others are not rendering properly
[14:24] sxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: thought it might have been the BoM, but I have the latest FS viewer
[14:24] hxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: It happens, [Sxxx], it just happens.
[14:24] Pxxxxx Sxxxxxxxx: most likely you havent updated and bake on mesh

Read what she said again. She's updated to the latest Firestorm viewer, which includes Bakes-on-Mesh quoting.

[14:32] sxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: My experience is... the busier the sim, the more lag, and the longer Avi's dresses and such will hover over their heads, regardless of Viewer version
[14:34] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: busy places are "fake adult" for a minute until the clothes have rezzed on the avis
[14:36] Pxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Yup

Yep. Also very true.

But the important point still stands: I'm steadily getting irritated with this group. I don't want to leave it, because a lot of group gifts are given out, but I'm pretty much ignoring everything in chat unless it sounds like something instructive for the blog. I don't interact, I keep my head down, I don't want to get yelled at for not knowing yet another rule they invented on the spot for whatever reason they have to keep doing this, I just want to hear about the group offers and the Midnight Mania boards.

It's daunting.