Tigerlily Koi has lost her mind.
Perhaps I should state that in a less inflammatory fashion, but...well, let me lay it out for you.
Go to
Calla, her rebuilt-to-cause-more-lag store. She has free demos on her hair, which is always a plus. She offers hair camping on certain styles--also a plus if one has the time. She has three lucky chairs.
These are not bad things.
She ran, on average, before this week began, L$200 per style of five thematic hair colors, in a run of thirty different options (though the last five are multipack options, with the very last being "all shades in this style"; those five are priced higher).
Now she's come out with new hair colors, an entire new line, and raised the charges across the board to L$300 to compensate--only, on all the old styles, available in the old range of colors, I'd still get five different tones per each color bought. In the new styles--even though the entire row of shades lights up when I click it--I apparently get
one.
For L$300.
Each color.
For me, personally, a raise from L$200 per five shades, to L$300 per five shades, doesn't break my bank. I mean, really, Falln offers four shades of hair for L$500 per shade, and I've bought that. But L$300
per shade puts them on level with Cake, and Cake hair is already known as ridiculously expensive--people go to Cake because they can find styles no one else has, or that easily resize for larger furry heads.
Calla doesn't have that track record. So, with all of the above taken under consideration...Tigerlily Koi has lost her mind.
Moving on to something else. I think I've reached one of those internal breaking points, I truly have. I am watching friends and peers of the realm alike leaving Caledon, rather than stay and fight the decay. I am hearing people from all social levels in Caledon closing ISC chat, rather than stay and listen, and be offended. I am hearing from friends that they leave the window open, but rarely participate, just in case Des makes an announcement that they need to know about.
And now, much as I respect Des--and I do, deeply--he's essentially said he doesn't want to get involved:
[0:54] Desmond Shang: anyway, I see it this way:
[0:54] Desmond Shang: I am no better than the rest of you
[0:54] Desmond Shang: and any team of moderators would largely be no better
[0:54] Desmond Shang: and the danger of a clique, or perception thereof
[0:55] Desmond Shang: would probably make things worse, not better.
[0:55] Desmond Shang: I decided early on, that if I was going to make a mistake, it was to be 'too light' with powers.
[0:55] Washmy Beardmore: astute.
[0:55] Desmond Shang: I'm open to any and all comments, of course
[0:56] Desmond Shang: but that's my guiding philosophy
[0:56] Praxilla Maryjasz: hear, hear
[0:56] Washmy Beardmore: BravoWhich is fine, 'ruling with a gentle hand' is fine, but it leads inescapably to one point: if our guiding force will not restrain people from offending others, then one way or another, it will happen by other means. As Duchess Diamanda Gustafson agrees:
[0:56] Diamanda Gustafson: I'll only say this Des. Clique or not clique, mods or no mods, things will find their way of taking care of themselves, one way or another. ANd tha'ts just human nature.
[0:56] Desmond Shang: well I'm not saying it's the best way
[0:57] Diamanda Gustafson: Noone wants you to take sides. That'd be the only problem I'd see.
[0:57] Desmond Shang: but my humour runs along the level of Austin PowersSince I'm now being labeled a "Chat Nazi", then let me continue being overbearing for a moment: we may not need chat moderation, or even moderators appointed to the task; we definitely do
not need two
separate chat groups; but perhaps what we
do need is a list of guidelines
for public chat.
Any of you reading this are welcome to add to this next list; I likely will, and revisit this post in future off and on. But these are things I think are
necessary for ISC chat, and mayhap, in fact, for Caledon as a nation-state in Second Life:
Be tolerant. I will say this is chief; in fact, it's one of the virtues of Caledon, along with innovation, civility and cake. Know that not everyone may share your values set, your political outlook, your income bracket, your sexual preference, your culture or your country--but that something has drawn us all together here, and it is in our best interests to tolerate others as best we can, foibles and flaws alike.
Be civil. As long as you can be, as long as you're able to, this is also chief. Be civil, be respectful, while keeping your own integrity and sense of self intact. Treating others with tolerance and civility doesn't mean you lay down and are a doormat for anyone else who wanders by; it means you know the proper social modes, and are able to restrain yourself within them, as is proper and dignified.
This leads us inescapably to my next point:
Be polite. And by "be polite", my meaning is specific: be socially polite according to the eras of the time you have chosen to live within. Unmarried women in Caledon, if you do not specifically know of any titles of peerage or partnership status they may hold, are
Miss, then Last Name; for the example, as I am not (publically, on the profile) married in world, I would be Miss Orr. Exceptions to this are when one knows someone well, and can then be slightly more familiar, to wit, Miss Emilly.
For married women, it can get trickier, but if you know their partner's name, and they have no other title, then Mrs. Last Name, for instance, or simply Mrs. Their Own Name. If they do happen to have a title, and you know it, then Title Last Name--for example, Christine McAllister is no longer Miss McAllister, she is Lady Pearse, Lady McAllister-Pearse, or Lady or Duchess Argylle (or Rothesay, or whatever the new sim becomes, if they are breaking it up by former title). If in doubt, Mme. McAllister, or even Mme. Any Last Name, if you don't know who they are, is not out of bounds. It shows respect, that you are willing to address another avatar socially in an acceptable neo-Victorian manner.
For men, it's slightly easier; Mr. Last Name works most of the time, titled or not; though if you know they possess a title, then you are encouraged to use that. For example, Elrik Merlin, if you do not know him, would be Mr. Merlin; if you do know him, he would be Laird Brideswell, as Brideswell is his land.
You will rarely be taken to task for addressing any avatar seen (or addressed in chat) as Mr. or Miss Whomever; it shows you are at least making the attempt. The only true error in address is addressing by first name alone, unless one has permission to do so; my best example, of course, is Duke Argylle, Sir Edward Pearse; while I should default to his title (and sometimes do), I can plead the more familiar address of "Edward" due to long friendship, and my position as Best Man at his wedding with his lovely wife.
Perhaps my readers are thinking I am being overly restrictive. Every culture evolves, every culture grows and changes, certain behaviors fall by the wayside, others are embraced wholeheartedly...and with most other cultures, I would generally agree.
Caledon is not one of those cultures. Caledon is a theme; Caledon is a moment trapped in time, in a sense; Caledon does not,
per se, evolve, as we understand social evolution. Instead, Caledon brings us the innovation of steampunk fantasy, the scientific exploration of new and intriguing things (new to Victorians, it must be said),
within the social and cultural standards of that time. To be Caledonian is then, in this sense, to be that steampunk-driven, neo-Victorian individual, with the only significant cultural overlay that is beyond such a time that of the netizen of modern times, tolerating much that might not be fully accepted in the 1880's, nor dealt with openly--and by this, I do not mean references to child sex, rape, or testicular shredding (as has happened in ISC in times past), but such modernisms of thought and ideal that will always creep through.
Perhaps we only pretend to be such people. If so, we should, at the least, pretend to be
better people.
Finally (for now), my last proposed guideline:
Be aware. By this, I also have a specific meaning in mind: be aware of the reach of ISC chat. There are currently one thousand seventy-three members of the Independent State of Caledon. Most do not speak in ISC chat. Most simply note the window opening, at this point, and close it in frustration and dismay, not wanting to deal with a night of misbehavior, mishandled flirting, audacious bending of ToS precepts, and the utter lack of principles and civil address.
Before anyone reading this points the finger back at me, yes, I freely admit: I have flirted in chat, sometimes outrageously; I have been scandalous; I have pushed the edge of decency in public.
I know this. And I am not alone.
But if my actions provoked people to close the chat window, in dismay, disgust, anger or hurt, I would
like to think that would wake me up, at least somewhat, to the danger of my chosen behavior. I would
like to think I would seek reform, not further public degradation.
Most of the time, if any one person says they are leaving chat, due to misbehavior in channel, there are ten people who never say a word closing their windows
quietly. If two say such a thing--as happened tonight--that means at least
twenty that walked away.
How long must one spend, walking away, before one begins to wonder why they remain in Caledon at all? And this chancre at the heart of Caledon may have begun in chat, but it is now spreading to the public streets. How soon before Caledon
becomes the mainland, at this rate?
How far do we have to slide before we realize we're slipping under? Drowning, not waving? How far before most of us simply get up, and live elsewhere? This is not what any of us wish to see, and certainly not what Des had in mind!
And this is not the Caledon any of us would be proud of, to help, to succor, to shield.
If anyone has any 'chat necessities' they wish on the list, I am more than amenable to discuss.
