Extra Credit Evidential Post

Extra Credit Evidential Post Ed Wesly

I wanted to investigate the concept of furries in Second Life, plus I think I need some Extra Credit, so I am adding another EP to my blog and listserve. When I signed up for SL on the very first class at the beginning of the semester, and chose my avatar, I picked what I thought would have been a wacky combination. I was disappointed that the dragon was not available for free.

Not that I’m a gamer or whatever, I was just under the mistaken impression that everyone would be different creatures. What the heck, this is a fantasy land, no? Why not play it to the max?

Not really. Everyone else in the class had human avatars. I haven’t seen any other non-humans in my short jaunts outside of DeweyLand. (Currently I am at war with my ISP, EarthLink, and can’t leisurely go to SL from home. I have to go to an NLU lab to SL, as the firewall prevented me from logging on at work.)

So I had to figure out if I really am an oddball in SL as in real life, so I checked out some blogs and other info on the cult of the furries to see who gets the animal avatars on purpose. As to be surmised, if I had put on my thinking cap it would be people who are not happy with their appearances in real life, or those who are nuts about animals and have a fantasy about being a squirrel or something else. I guess it’s a safer fantasy than being a human male who chooses to be a lipstick lesbian in SL. Anyhow, I doubt if any of the human avatars with buff guys and bosomy gals are like that in real life.

So I walked around a bit in Luskwood to see what it would be like in the realm of the furries. People were discussing making textures and stuff like that. I walked around on a cool tree fort(?) I didn’t see any of the abuse that is mentioned in the sites below, but then I didn’t get to the border between the furry land and the humanoids.

I guess that just like in RL, one needs a guide to show where to go for the cool stuff. But it was different seeing non-human avatars walking around.

http://furnation.com/index.php?act=home

http://furry.wikia.com/wiki/Second_Life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

http://slhistory.org/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/09/second-lifes-user-database-breached/

http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2005/04/furry_like_me.html