ROLE MODEL HELP PEOPLE! When I started to think about the phrase “Role Model” and what one really is for this feature I found myself realizing a need to define what a role model is to me. Does the term role model imply a person that is viewed as a perfect and beyond reproach? What about the unknown, imperfect or even dark sides of a person? How do you ever know enough about someone to call them a role model in the truest sense? How could I feel comfortable choosing a role model outside of my own circle of friends and acquaintances? If we’re not careful when we choose and bestow titles the words will lose their meaning. By Leeza Catteneo
where he could learn to build dance animations. A female newbie was expressing her frustration over where to safely change clothes in public. She didn’t have an inworld home and would find herself booted from locations when she tried to demo skins or attempted to adjust her skirt prims. The Helper suggested tips of how to hide while changing skin or clothes and directed her to the dressing area down at the freebie area. I wasn’t aware of this common newbie problem but now I can appreciate how useful it would be if store locations included dressing rooms for SL residents who do not have a private place to change or rez their purchases.
I decided that, to me, a role model is someone who is helpful in a selfless manner. With that definition, everyone could be a role model in SL. A newbie could be a role model as well as an experienced resident, a designer or the Lindens. Often times it’s the little things we do to help each other every day that make our SL easier. I was jumping from place to place across the grid, thinking about the “role model” definition when I landed on the Help People Sim. I was standing at the landing point and watching the crowd. I saw newbies chatting, walking around with the typical duck walk, dressed in dazzling colors and robed with weird attachments, asking questions after questions in open chat to anyone who would listen.
Most people would agree that helping newbies is a great way to volunteer your time and many places in SL offer this service. As I browsed the Help People Sim I found myself at a sign listing “The Five Fundamentals.” The sign read; 1. Ditch the negative attitude; 2. Show appreciation to others; 3. Be a good listener because “only then you can talk in terms of the other person’s interests”; 4. Make other people feel important; and, 5. Help People.
In the crowd I noticed an avatar sitting in a prim wheelchair having a conversation with one of the Help People staff. I pulled up his profile and saw in his 1st life tab that he uses a wheelchair in real life, too. His avatar was jumping involuntarily as a result of his voice recognition software which he uses to play SL. As I was mulling over how voice recognition software would work inworld I watched the Helper teach him how to find classes in SL
Feeling inspired, I checked the Help People homepage and found that this is not only a SL organization but also a real life company, Help People ® Inc., 74