Written 7 October, 2008
The Power of the Mute
This morning, wasting time before going to work, I teleported into the Hanja Welcome Area. I was immediately under auditory assault from a crackling microphone.
I located the source. “Hi, Hirohito,” I said. “Your mic is crackling on the air. One really needs to use a headset. Would you please plug in or mute your mic when you’re not talking?”
“Thanks,” he said, and the sound went away.
Next, I located an annoying spatial sound—a repeating loop of “Barbie Girl.” It was coming from (no surprise) the spinning prim Barbie bot. I got the name of the owner from the object and muted him. The sound went away.
The owner’s profile was really nasty. It bragged out him being a sexual predator and willing to do whatever was necessary to bed anyone he considered beddable. I wanted to mute him all over again.
Next, I located the source of the annoying particles. It was a blonde with too much hair and too little clothing. I muted her and the particles went away. My frame rate went up by 25 percent.
Then I was IMed by a vampire who wanted to bite me. I told him no thanks. When he tried to convince me to let him bite me, I told him he was muted.
On the land (I have to find out how these folks bring their builds into a no-build, no-script, no-object entry area), there was a wonderful build, a newbie male mannekin that looks stunningly real. He was clearly marked in his description line as a freebie and not for sale for profit. His current owner had him marked for sale at 100 Lindens. I told people where the mannekin could be picked up for free.
Someone in a Greenie avatar was playing head games in Chat, saying the only way to test the character of someone is to put him or her in a situation in which he or she can do anything without consequence—which was an interesting and perhaps true thought—but since it was he who had the freebie set for sale, I told him he had shown us all who he was and muted him.
I got an IM from someone who was born last December but said this was his first time actually in world. Our conversation began pleasantly enough, but when he started to brag about how many women he had fucked in SL, I decided to mute him.
“Pretty lady, will you give me 500 Lindens? I will be of service to you if you do.” Mute.
“Do you want a job?” Mute.
Fart noises. Mute.
Boorish in voice chat. Mute.
Playing stupid vocal gestures. Mute.
Insulting others for no reason. Mute.
Clackety heels. Mute.
Too much bling. Mute.
Naked. Mute.
Prim penis. Mute
Just plain stupid, Mute.
Mute, mute, mute.
Pretty soon all was peaceful.
There weren’t all that many people left to talk to, but at least they were WORTH talking to.
The Power of the Mute
This morning, wasting time before going to work, I teleported into the Hanja Welcome Area. I was immediately under auditory assault from a crackling microphone.
I located the source. “Hi, Hirohito,” I said. “Your mic is crackling on the air. One really needs to use a headset. Would you please plug in or mute your mic when you’re not talking?”
“Thanks,” he said, and the sound went away.
Next, I located an annoying spatial sound—a repeating loop of “Barbie Girl.” It was coming from (no surprise) the spinning prim Barbie bot. I got the name of the owner from the object and muted him. The sound went away.
The owner’s profile was really nasty. It bragged out him being a sexual predator and willing to do whatever was necessary to bed anyone he considered beddable. I wanted to mute him all over again.
Next, I located the source of the annoying particles. It was a blonde with too much hair and too little clothing. I muted her and the particles went away. My frame rate went up by 25 percent.
Then I was IMed by a vampire who wanted to bite me. I told him no thanks. When he tried to convince me to let him bite me, I told him he was muted.
On the land (I have to find out how these folks bring their builds into a no-build, no-script, no-object entry area), there was a wonderful build, a newbie male mannekin that looks stunningly real. He was clearly marked in his description line as a freebie and not for sale for profit. His current owner had him marked for sale at 100 Lindens. I told people where the mannekin could be picked up for free.
Someone in a Greenie avatar was playing head games in Chat, saying the only way to test the character of someone is to put him or her in a situation in which he or she can do anything without consequence—which was an interesting and perhaps true thought—but since it was he who had the freebie set for sale, I told him he had shown us all who he was and muted him.
I got an IM from someone who was born last December but said this was his first time actually in world. Our conversation began pleasantly enough, but when he started to brag about how many women he had fucked in SL, I decided to mute him.
“Pretty lady, will you give me 500 Lindens? I will be of service to you if you do.” Mute.
“Do you want a job?” Mute.
Fart noises. Mute.
Boorish in voice chat. Mute.
Playing stupid vocal gestures. Mute.
Insulting others for no reason. Mute.
Clackety heels. Mute.
Too much bling. Mute.
Naked. Mute.
Prim penis. Mute
Just plain stupid, Mute.
Mute, mute, mute.
Pretty soon all was peaceful.
There weren’t all that many people left to talk to, but at least they were WORTH talking to.
3 comments:
If your mute list is too long can if cause lag like a too-full inventory sometimes can?
It would seem that every time a word is spoken or a particle emitted it would have to have it's owner checked against your mute list. Hmmmm.
Good point, Tycho. And so it's a good idea to clear out the mute list on ocassion-- and I guess the ban list on your land.
Evidently there's a game on SL called Bloodlines that's led to hordes of vampires asking whether they can bite people; New World Notes has an article on it today. Apparently storekeepers don't much appreciate customers being hounded by the undead...
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