I will not judge anyone and for whatever reasons people chose to join Second Life is up to them.  I am there for the fun and business. I also have friends all over the world so Second Life is a great place to catch up and I am in a long distance relationship even though we manage to live under the same roof for half part of the year.

Meanwhile, I find it quite disappointing when friends who know you personally in real life seems to think it is ok to betray you in a virtual world… My boyfriend in real life is also on Second Life; I am not one to hide that fact, never have been and it is clearly stated on my profile too.  But apparently some people still don’t know where to draw the line and seem to think it is ok to go after somebody else’s boyfriend if it is in a virtual world.

And here lies again probably one of the biggest debate related to Second Life: Is having a virtual lover while in a relationship in a real life considered cheating?

Following are some thoughts from Dannah…

Actress Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Rush Hour 2) might have an opinion on our topic today. Apparently she was engaged to Vivo Nevo, a wealthy venture capitalist who dabbled with online romance. Harmless enough enough way to pass the time, eh? I mean–she’s Zhang Ziyi!

What did she have to fear from nameless, faceless, socially-inhibited women that lurked in internet obscurity?

Quite a bit apparently. On May 10 the pair quietly called off their engagement. Rumors cite that Mr. Nevo fell in love with a woman he met in a virtual world.

So today’s debate concerns online dating. Is it wrong to pursue an online romance when you are in a committed relationship in Real Life? Are you obligated to reveal your Real Life commitment to your online partner? If you’re single in Real Life, is it wrong to get involved with someone that isn’t?

Yes. Yes. No. Simple answers but I’m sure Josue won’t let me off the hook so easy. *laughs*

Is it wrong to pursue online romance when you are committed to another in Real Life? All you married/engaged/partnered typists can send me hate mail, but yes–it’s wrong.

Oh, I’ve heard all the arguments: “My wife and I no longer connect and I need love in my life”; “My husband is an ass–I hate him, but I can’t leave him for financial reasons”; “My marriage isn’t exciting anymore”; “It’s not like I’m married to her–we’re only living together!”; and my personal favorite, “I believe we can love two people at the same time”.

I love to turn these around and ask the speaker, “How would you feel if your Real Life partner did this?” A very few are comfortable with THAT idea. Of course if their real life partner did it, that would be cheating! Ironically enough, a gentleman I know who claimed it would not bother him if his real life wife had an online partner got his eyes opened. He IM’d me in a rage, saying that he had “caught the bitch” and was filing for a divorce. I quietly reminded him of his statement, and that HE had been involved in numerous Second Life relationships. I asked him why his wife’s behavior was any different than his. He ended our friendship due to my lack of compassion, eventually convinced his Real Life wife to leave her online lover, and–just married yet another woman in Second Life last week.

But let’s get back ‘normal’ people…

The next question is easy. Are you obligated to reveal your Real Life relationship to your online lover? The answer is yes. It’s called honesty.

The last question is tough. Is it wrong to get involved with someone online who has a commitment in Real Life? As a single person I struggle with this. On one hand it’s tempting because the online relationship has little chance of moving to Real Life. As I’m newly divorced from a long-term marriage, a Real Life commitment isn’t on my list of wants. Single men want to hook up within weeks of meeting and that’s not what I want.

If I refuse the advances of a married man, it won’t stop him from cheating. In fact, dating him may prevent the dissolution of his marriage because I’m not going to encourage any Real Life hanky-panky and he’ll get the ‘love’ he needs.

Although I don’t date men in Second Life that I know are married, I would never blame the single person for the affair. We are all responsible for our own morality, and it’s the person involved in the Real Life relationship who makes the choice of protecting that commitment or dishonoring it.

[Source]

Following on the heels of Chatroom comes another movie with a foot in the virtual world. Here, though, the realms of cyberspace are represented literally rather than metaphorically. The movie features a sprinkling of scenes from Dutch gamer Jitze (Stijn Koomen)’s exploits in a war sim contest and another handful from the artificial reality of Second Life. However, in this case, the fact of computer-based worlds and their effect on our essential being is the message of this movie, rather than a device for a more plot-driven tale.

Jitze is competing in a gaming tournament in Taiwan and is the star of his team, which is easing through the early rounds. His split from his surroundings evokes that of Scarlett Johansson in Lost In Translation – only Jitze isn’t really a stranger in a strange land. As his response to witnessing a motorbike accent shows, his disconnect is in fact with other people and himself. A (psychosomatic?) shoulder injury then pushes him to the sidelines, and towards Min Min (Ke Huan-Ru), who he attaches himself to in what seems like a desire to feel. She urges him to join her on Second Life, but it’s the time they spend together and the reality of her physical touch which arguably reconnects him with the world and himself.

The film is evenly-paced but languidly so. Long, dialogue-free scenes are spread throughout, which does tend to drag despite the brisk 87 minute runtime. You do get a fair sense of Jitze’s isolation, but the ideas in the movie sometimes feel lost in its self-consciously arty direction. Despite that, R U There is just about thought-provoking enough to keep things interesting.

[via]

Use Pocket Metaverse to stay in touch with your Second Life friends while you’re at work or away from your computer. If you do business in Second Life, you will find this an invaluable tool for reading and responding to notecards left for you by your customers.

Pocket Metaverse provides the following features:

-Instant Messaging & Chat
-Friends List with Who’s Online
-World Map and Teleporting
-MiniMap with Who’s Nearby
-Profiles, Groups, Search
-Giving, Receiving, and Managing Inventory
-Read Notecards and view Snapshots and Textures
-Upload and Download from the Photo Album and Camera
-Payments
-Much More!

Please note that Pocket Metaverse works best on WiFi or fast 3G connections.

* Language: English
* Seller: Pocket Metaverse
* © 2009 Pocket Metaverse

Rated 12+ for the following:

* Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use or References to these
* Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content or Nudity
* Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour
* Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

For all iPhone news, check out InewsandApps.com

Online Games – why people play?  Why do we do anything- because we love doing it? By natural instinct every animal seeks pleasure and runs away from pain. None of us likes the idea of getting admitted to a hospital, because that may be painful. All of us enjoy meeting friends because that is pleasant. It goes the same with games. Why nobody is asking about the reason of popularity of games? The answer is very simple: Games make us feel good.

Addiction – anything that gives joy can be addictive. Some of us are addicted to adventures. They keep trying new adventure again and again. Some of us are addicted to love. Some of us are addicted to meeting friends. Some of us are addicted to collecting costly cards and so on. Everybody is somehow addicted to do what he/she loves doing. The need is to check that the addiction does not hurt.

Beat Stress With Online Games – play selected online games whenever you get bored. Play for a certain time and then stop. As soon as you feel relaxed, it is time to move on to your work. Controlled game playing cab be a fantastic stress buster. Try it.

Personally when I am over stressed I love to play a first person shooter and shoot or fight… I also enjoy therapy shopping on Second Life which is cheaper than Real Life and you get to wear what you can’t in Real Life… I enjoy catching up & chatting with other Second Lifers… It is just more interactive than the usual Instant Messaging… and last but not least I love immersing myself into my Sims 3 game.

One time I was chatting at the club about my trip to see JAG and someone said: “So it is ok to have JAG as a friend in RL but not OK on SL?!” to which I simply replied to mind their own business as they have no idea of what is going on between JAG & I.  Only a very few selected people knew about JAG and I andit was quite upsetting that people would just judge me.  They had no idea and it was none of their business and they should respect that.  It was another RL story that one day I will cover on my RL personal blog, maybe then people will understand.

But I did unban him when I came back from the States and we became friend again on SL.

Since JAG had joined SL, I lost count of the time he said he would never go back to SL… and this day was no different. For whatever reason, something pissed him off and he decided once again he would not go on SL!  Pffft…

SL is a world full of dramas so for that reason I am not naming anyone else… but the next day JAG had something to tell me and when JAG has something to tell me it is not usually good… “It’s been killing me not to tell you, so I am telling you now. I decided not to go on SL because of what XYZ said. I thought she was a friend but obviously expected more from me and that pisses me off because I am always honest with people when I first met them as I dont want to partner with anyone.  But I decided I would partner you and had bought everything, the tux, the rings, the AO… everything…”

I was quite surprised.  First by the so-called friend.  I had suspected quite some while back she had a bit of a crush for JAG but what bothered me was the fact she knew how felt for JAG RL/SL….

Then what got me: what has it got to do with me?  Why quit SL just because of one person and not partner me??

But with JAG, it is best not to try to understand his thinking and actions… or you will get some severe headaches…

Until yesterday, he was out in RL and asking to come and pick him up as he was to drunk to drive back home lol.  Then he asked:

“Will you marry me on SL? I will only come back to SL if you marry me…” and added -”just an SL marriage so dont kid yourself”.  Funny man lol

I was not expecting this comeback!  But I did not make much of it until I recieved the email today:

Dear Prisqua Newall, You have received a Second Life partner proposal from JAG Tremor.

Did not think twice about this one….