The Avatar Arena

[SterileNeedles]

I entered my avatar into the arena this week as a "Pro-choice" themed avatar. I based my clothes and the like around the Blue Daisies and with Veled's permission of course advertised the Blue Daisy Campaign thread to inform people that usually comment and lurk around the arena about it. I got a few intertesting comments in there. My favorite right now being:

Silly uninformed user

I voted a one for spreading your bullshit liberal agenda in the avatar arena.

I PMed him asking to elaborate on this 'liberal bullshit'.

His response

I assumed my post was self explanitory. You're using the arena to spread your political ideology and that is bullshit. I am a political science major and I harbor some liberal ideology, however, there are certain places where politics should be disscussed and others where they're not. I believe that you exploited your political ideas to gain votes from uneducated, self righteous idiots who would blindly vote high because of a similar political agenda.

Sorry I failed to fit that into my comment in the arena.

So I'm curious. What do you all think?
Do you think it was wrong of me to put a 'pro-choice' themed avatar into the arena to help advertise the blue daisy campaign?
Does it seem like I'm exploiting my political ideology to gain votes from other users?

EDIT: This thread is still alive but the contest is way over. >>;;  

[Talon-chan]

Strictly speaking - I think he's right.

In the past avatars with a "story" or an "agenda" have readily won regardless of the quality of the avatar. The avatar arena's purpose is not to judge ideologies, writing ability, or anything like that... but rather to judge the quality of an outfit.

Using a story, an agenda, or an ideology to garner more votes, if that were your intent, is wrong. However, I do not think that was your intent.

Using a new medium to spread a message to those who otherwise might not be reached is admirable. I do believe that this was your intent.

Though the act is the same, the intention is what is important. To a casual observer, in particular one who is jaded or pessemistic (as I assume this guy is) will cause them to assume the worst, rather than giving you the benefit of the doubt.  

[SterileNeedles]

Talon-chan

Strictly speaking - I think he's right.

In the past avatars with a "story" or an "agenda" have readily won regardless of the quality of the avatar. The avatar arena's purpose is not to judge ideologies, writing ability, or anything like that... but rather to judge the quality of an outfit.

Using a story, an agenda, or an ideology to garner more votes, if that were your intent, is wrong. However, I do not think that was your intent.

Using a new medium to spread a message to those who otherwise might not be reached is admirable. I do believe that this was your intent.

Though the act is the same, the intention is what is important. To a casual observer, in particular one who is jaded or pessemistic (as I assume this guy is) will cause them to assume the worst, rather than giving you the benefit of the doubt.

That's what I thought. I really did not intend to get upvotes based on my ideologies at all. Just wanted to spread the campaign to users who are mostly around the arena and not much place else on Gaia.

But seeing as how I'm getting such negative feedback about this ideology stuff from arenagoers I think I will quietly withdraw my avatar from the arena. I guess my idea didn't work out too well. Oh well. ^^  

[234518]

I was actually going to do that myself, but decided against it when my favorite eye color was taken away and it ruined my whole ensemble. sweatdrop

Talon-Chan, I agree with your sentiments about the arena being about good-looking avatars and not writing abilities and ideologies. I know I've voted low for crappy avatars even if I found the accompanying story interesting. I must say though, that in SterileNeedles' case, the avatar is attractive, and everything matches very nicely. No doubt if you were to enter this same avatar with a different, more generic description, you'd probably receive better responses. Like Talon said, that guy was probably pessimistic and/or jaded.  

[Reinna Astarel]

Depends on your 'Pro-choice theme', honestly. If your text mentioned that the outfit was based around the daisies for the pro-choice guild campaign, and that you were (quite evidently xD) pro-choice, then there really isn't a problem, since it's hardly 'spreading propaganda'. If you were going into detail about why you were pro-choice, then yeah, I'd have to agree to some point, that the arena isn't really a place for that.

Could you just change your text, and not withdraw your entry? It's a very nice outfit either way.  

[Missy Wyvern]

Whether you were right or wrong to put in your avatar, he was in the wrong for putting it the way he did. He was just being an a*****e. There are ways to deal with things you don't like, but he decided to be a hypocrite and voice his own political opinion publicly by calling your avatar "liberal bullshit."

"Political science major?" Who gives a rat's a**? I assume that it makes him feel superior to us mere mortals that haven't that major under our belts.  

[Akhakhu]

You weren't just protesting or pushing an agenda, though. You took a theme (which was the pro-choice daisies) and made your own outfit to match.

Similarly, if I dressed myself in a pink breast cancer ribbon, I am not telling everyone to donate money. I am taking something that is out there, a color people recognize as being something, and making an outfit from it.

I'm having trouble explaining this. But basically, I don't think you were wrong in doing that.

Now, yes, sometimes people will vote based on the agenda and not the outfit. But frankly, that's fault to them, not to you. In the avatar arena, you are supposed to vote based on the outfit. It you can't keep your grubby little hands from doing that, then you aren't really doing what you are supposed to do in the avatar arena.

HE is the one at fault, IMO, for voting based on the agenda and not the avatar.  

[Eshmasesh]

Kukushka

You weren't just protesting or pushing an agenda, though. You took a theme (which was the pro-choice daisies) and made your own outfit to match.

Similarly, if I dressed myself in a pink breast cancer ribbon, I am not telling everyone to donate money. I am taking something that is out there, a color people recognize as being something, and making an outfit from it.

I'm having trouble explaining this. But basically, I don't think you were wrong in doing that.

Now, yes, sometimes people will vote based on the agenda and not the outfit. But frankly, that's fault to them, not to you. In the avatar arena, you are supposed to vote based on the outfit. It you can't keep your grubby little hands from doing that, then you aren't really doing what you are supposed to do in the avatar arena.

HE is the one at fault, IMO, for voting based on the agenda and not the avatar.

Ditto.
One girl entered a Breast Cancer awareness avatar. It was basically a female avatar in all white doctor clothes with the bald glitch and some other items I can't remember, but she pulled it off perfectly with the theme. He description provided icing on the cake.
I gave it a 10.

Awefully hypocritical to preach that the AA is about outfits and not politics, but then to give a 1 regardless of the outfit. Is it just me?  

[MipsyKitten]

I think your current avvy is cute. It's all blue, black, gold and white. It all matches! xd

Seriously though, I don't think having an agenda for your avatar is all that bad. Sure, some people have shitty avatars, yet think having a political agenda will gain points or sympathy. I saw an avatar with all of the LAWL and Order clothes. The guy said it was for the memory of a dead cop. He stressed 'DEAD COP', over and over again to gain people's sympathy. s**t like that doesn't fly, plus he used a set so it sucked.

Anyway, if you weren't allowed to use your theme, many people couldn't use their 'NIPS' *shudders* theme or the whole nakid day thing etc.  

[Ms.Fancy]

bump  

[SterileNeedles]

MipsyKitten

I think your current avvy is cute. It's all blue, black, gold and white. It all matches! xd

Seriously though, I don't think having an agenda for your avatar is all that bad. Sure, some people have shitty avatars, yet think having a political agenda will gain points or sympathy. I saw an avatar with all of the LAWL and Order clothes. The guy said it was for the memory of a dead cop. He stressed 'DEAD COP', over and over again to gain people's sympathy. s**t like that doesn't fly, plus he used a set so it sucked.

Anyway, if you weren't allowed to use your theme, many people couldn't use their 'NIPS' *shudders* theme or the whole nakid day thing etc.

I was wondering about NIPS. Didn't somebody here start an anti-NIPS? I was wondering if NIPS is now complaining about the new clothes release, the Snug sets in Barton Boutique, just because they cost under 5 gold? I mean s**t, anybody could easily afford that. So now are they going to complain that Gaia never released clothes that were less than 5 gold back in the day?

(Oh and I've changed my avi since then for Halloween if none have noticed. ^^; But thanks for all the compliments on my other outfit design everyone.)  

[YellowRoses610]

What are NIps?  

[jade_spider]

Yeah, I hate to say it, but I think I agree with him, too. sweatdrop  

[Prinsesse Maggie]

reggie _chan

What are NIps?

It stands for Newbs in Peasant Clothes, and it's a group of people who think that you shouldn't get starter sets when you first join Gaia, because people used to have to work for their clothes. There is an anti-NIPS group of people who think NIPS is just being whiny and stupid.