A Netherlandish glimpse at our virtual nether regions

And since I consider Second Life a virtual world — and one with a huge social component — I believe that cybersex does add to the experience. In fact, I think the sex component is crucial. This is particularly the case because Second Life, just as its very name suggests, functions in many regards as a synthetic parallel to the physical world, I think. So, why should a parallel of real life be without sex?

You may collar the submissive

SL resident Marc Walcott, who officiated the ceremony, said the way the collaring was conducted reflected the values he is trying to cultivate at the Black Rose Inn & Dungeons sim, where the ceremony took place.

I now pronounce you slave and owner

People always talk about what lofty goals virtual worlds could achieve: fostering world peace, serving as an educational tool, etc. I say that one of the greatest contributions virtual worlds could make is helping boost the numbers of people in the physical world who are fully comfortable exploring and expressing their more base erotic urges, such as consensually beating and mistreating their sexual partners. Hey, then maybe we’d even have world peace as a residual effect because more people would feel less inclined to be ill-tempered, thanks to their cathartic outlet.

A personal site, a new plugin, and live-blogging

OK, then. I will also be posting to a personal blog that I just set up, called 5fingerpie. Feel free to stop in. Mind you, I am not going to be neglecting Apogeevr. But a lot of times I like to yak about stuff that would be off-topic if I posted it here. Hence, my […]

Voice: Making or breaking the experience

On the flip side, perhaps the less we engage with the keyboard and mouse, the less likely we are to connect with the on-screen depictions. It’s been my experience, through reading and observing, that the less a user is tactilely or physically involved with the interface, the more likely he or she is to lose interest.

Leaking out the spicy details

What I’m trying to say is, a craftily composed profile can contribute to a more rewarding experience in virtual space. Would a similar information source that may ultimately become available through some interface in the physical world make our lives on this planet more efficient, fruitful and enjoyable?

Even better than the real thing?

I suppose there is a pretty significant degree of appeal to a graphically rendered person who’s so recognizably made of pixels, perhaps partially due to the fact that real-life bodily imperfections are banished in favor of idealized physical traits.