Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Ask me about missing a whole month.

Been really busy in my RL. (Real Life for those who don't speak SL-ese.  Which oddly enough spells a word very like sleaze... ) So I haven't done much in SL other than show up, and play around, when I have any time at all.

Anyway, I don't know exactly what to blog about, haven't really been to any place new and taken snapshots lately, etc.  Did find a new shop that has some nice inexpensive stuffs, but I need to landmark it and all that, and I haven't gotten around to that.

So I think I shall instead comment on what I think is possibly the most annoying thing anyone can put in their profile.

"Ask me."

I HATE that.  No, I am not going to ask you.  I am going to ignore you, making the assumption I don't just mute you in a fit of pique.  Why do I hate it?

As you might surmise from my comment above, I don't have unlimited time to to spend in SL.  So, should I be in the mood to chat, does it seem like a worthy use of that limited time, to stop and ask 20 questions to everyone around me?  Pardon me, do you like Firefly?  Excuse me, what do you think about the latest developments in quantum physics?  Do you like to be tickled?  Etc. etc.

Or does it seem more constructive to do a quick scan of folks and read their profiles. Profiles in which they list a few random thoughts about themselves.  That combined with any visible groups, will give me some idea of why you are in SL, and if we might have something in common.

And then there is that awkward moment when you first IM someone.  Yes, you can IM "Hello."  And...

If you read something interesting or amusing in their profile, you can IM them something like, "Hello.  I see you like to shop at SFD, she makes great formal wear doesn't she?"  Or, "Hi, I see from your profile that you really like <*insert song/group/poet/writer here*>, have you ever..."  Etc.  I personally tend to respond much more agreeably to IMs that have some content besides, "Hello."  To which I usually respond "Hello?"  While I read your profile.  And if it says "Ask me" I start yanking your chain.  I can be an asshole too it seems.

Blank is better than "Ask me."  Ask me is the passive aggressive asshole way of having a blank profile.  You are not brave enough to have a blank one and loudly proclaim, "I'm boring and/or I don't give a rat's ass about attracting any like minded person's attention."  Instead, you say, "Ask me." So you can say, "Hey, at least *I* didn't leave it blank."

So sit on it and spin all you flipping gutless boring "ask me" people!