I don’t think there is anything wrong with creating alts for different experiences. Or to be free to explore unbothered. Where I have a problem is abnormal psychology inworld where alts are created for nefarious social reasons. Griefers. People who “spy” on pixelated significant others. Stalkers. It happens. I’ve been the victim of it.

But for 99.9% of the time, when I do make time to log in for an event or a business reason… it’s just me. Skylar Smythe EST. 2007. And if I am too busy, I have no problem saying “I’d love to talk but I am with someone right now”. Honesty works too

I know a good few people who have several alts and move between them quite happily – each one represents either a facet of their personality or fulfils a specific role within Second Life. One friend in particular has his “daily” avatar, but then uses another to run his business, and has around three or four (I’m not actually sure hoe many) for his involvement in various role-play activities.

This is also where I fine my own situation novel. I came into SL in 2006, spent time here and then stayed away for several months. When I returned at the end of that year, I created “Inara Pey” specifically to be a role-play creation; she was never intended to be anything else or to be in any way reflective of who I am, other than in sharing some of my values. Instead, she’s very much become a digital reflection of my personality and also, since 2010, an outward expression of my affinity for things which have had a lasting impression on my rel life, but which are not always easy or obvious to express. She’s also come to have a degree of influence on my real-world thinking and views as a result of her presence in SL and the interactions I’ve had with others through her.

Whether this marks me out as more of an agumentist than immersionist (and I consider myself more of the latter than the former) I’ve no idea. Perhaps it’s not indicative of anything in particular, and is just another aspect of the many and varied ways we’re affected by the virtual as we go about interacting with it.

An alt is like a yahoo mail account

I’ve always had this idea that I could use my SL alt to create a whole new identity and use her to enter into some other, completely different aspect of Second Life. The truth of the matter is that I never get that far. I always wind up feeling overwhelmed by what it would take to build a whole new person inside of that avatar.

When I’ve logged into other grids, I always choose “Sachie Bade” as the avatar’s name in an attempt to connect emotionally, but it never feels right. The other- grids Sachie feels like an account, I guess, rather than a wholly fleshed-out being.

It’s like I can’t get away from the five or so years of being Sachie in Sachie Bade. She has this life that somehow belongs exclusively to her.

How wonderful and strange!

I almost commented on my use of OpenSim, but stayed away, as I didn’t want to belabour my feelings . However, I think the identification I have with my main SL account is one of the reasons why, despite having accounts on OSGrid, Avination, InWorldz, Kitely (and a few others!) all under the name of “Inara Pey”, I rarely use them; I simply don’t feel at home in them. Unless I’m involved in building in either Kitely or InWorldz, I find myself looking at the avatars I’ve created for other grids as something a step away from being “me”. I think this is best reflected (again) in the huge amount of time I spent in Kitely not so much building “Fallingwater”, but struggling to take pictures of the build I was satisfied with…