So by now, everyone who will read this blog post has surely read the first installment of SL®secret on SCD, right?
I thought I’d post my thoughts on it, since, well, I can, and I actually have something to say.
First, I am an avid reader of PostSecret, the blog on which SLsecret is based. And I think it’s a really powerful site, one that often makes me cry and laugh, commiserate and concur. But SLcecret is a horse of a different colour so far.
First, the SL world is vastly different, and smaller, than that of PostSecret. Secrets pour in from all over the world to go on Postsecret, and they identify neither secret-keeper nor any person the secret is about.
Secondly, the secrets on PostSecret are almost overwhelmingly something personal to the person sending the postcard, and expose something about THEM. Some of the secrets posted on SLsecret, in particular one which is a thinly-veiled barb on someone’s creative endeavors, are not that at all. They’re just another way to anonymously poke fun at someone else’s expense. And why does there need to be yet another forum for that? I’m hoping that as time marches on, the secrets will become more personal, less hateful and thus more interesting. First weeks of anything tend to be a trial, right?
Third, I do not believe that comments should be allowed after the secrets have been revealed for the week. I don’t think anything good can come from allowing comments, and there is a reason Frank over at Postsecret doesn’t allow them.
It’s not that I am against the idea; I do think it could be a really good forum to express oneself and get something off your chest. But there should be a little more judicious pruning so that it becomes something it ought to be, rather than yet another way to attack people you don’t like.
My humble two pennies, of course. Your mileage may vary.
by Sofia Gray, on 08.17.08 @ 4:30 am
Well said, Phoenix.
- SG
by Kaiti Jensen, on 08.17.08 @ 5:25 am
I agree, though I feel that the comments should be allowed since the people at SL®Secret on SCD are allowing posts that openly attack others, there needs to be feedback in that situation.
When I first read that they (SCD) were going to do this, I thought it would be interesting and good reading, but I’m sad to say that I was very disappointed to see such garbage posted.
SCD should “Be Less Stupid” and be more responsible…as well should the posters.
Kaiti
by Annyka, on 08.17.08 @ 8:25 am
When I saw the first installment, the first thing that popped into my mind was “Anonymous Troll Commenting presented as Art! How postmodern can you possibly get?”
I’d like to see it catch on. I figure if I’m going to have to read the anonymous rantings of crazy people anyway, the least they can do is give me a pretty picture.
by Iris Seale, on 08.17.08 @ 8:41 am
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised this week, Phoenix. Like I implied last week, I think some of the secrets that came in were a few people just trying to see how much they could offend someone and still get it published. When the public response to those offensive secrets was so offended and protective of the people who were bashed, it seems like they threw up their hands and quit. There’s not one mean secret in the bunch this week, except for one that seems to think that SCD should sacrifice itself and close so that somehow Mean Girls and Linden Lifestyles will open again (????).
Most of the secrets this week focus on relationships in and out of SL, with a few dealing with the insecurities of designers and the complications of actual friendship in a virtual world.
As far as the comments go, I think it’s good to have them turned on. You know, the second I turned them off there’d be a huge outcry of how unfair that is
Plus, I think it’s good to discuss the secrets, talk about what you identify with in them or how they were made. It can be a catharsis for a lot of people. Postsecret doesn’t need comments turned on since they have their forum, which contains discussion of that week’s secrets and some of the nicest people and best tattoo ideas you’ll ever find on the interwebs.
So enjoy SLsecret if you want to. I think it’s starting to find it’s legs.
by kesseret, on 08.17.08 @ 9:56 am
I think this weeks posts got a lot better. I found myself getting that feeling you get when you read Postsecret. The whole “awww I LOVE YOU DON’T DO IT” feeling- even though you don’t really know the person.
I hope it becomes more that, than making people feel bad.
by Beatrix Noel, on 08.17.08 @ 3:12 pm
I think the SCD post secret thing is just growing pains. This week has some really powerful secrets that are personal. Some barbs but mostly good ones.
by Phoenix Chapman, on 08.17.08 @ 3:17 pm
I think this week was a thousand times better than last week’s too. But I felt like I wanted to get this out before the second week’s secrets, just in case anyone cares about my opinions xD
by Emerald Wynn, on 09.01.08 @ 2:29 pm
I have mixed emotions on this topic because I too am a huge RL PostSecret fan — I sent them a heart-wrenching secret once and it was like finally releasing something horrible and black from my soul. I think the concept, in Real Life at least, is both therapeutic for the revealer and a fascinating look at the issues we struggle with as mere mortals.
Viewed from that perspective, is an SL PostSecret version possible? I don’t know — we have more power here to create and shape so many aspects of our SL existence exactly to our liking, so we are not as vulnerable, in my opinion.
But can it be entertaining and a new form of creative expression here? Most definitely, as long as — you’re right — people don’t use it as a catty weapon.
And I have turned into one of those annoying people who asks questions and then answers them.
Great post, Phoenix. Thanks.