In a recent article, Natalie wrote about the scandal surrounding the Miss SL Universe Contest and the winner handing back her crown. I'm sure that there's lots that can be said on that subject, and I guess that is what the comments on Nat's article are there for, but I've never been one to focus on the main issue being discussed.

As SL's 2nd best DJ* I visit a lot of clubs and parties (well, duh!!!), both to DJ and to have fun with my mates. A friend of mine**** was with me at MenDance nightclub over the weekend and, during a single DJ's set, managed to go through a number of different looks - skin, shape, hair, outfit... - at the same time as doing a set of hot dance moves that were fairly unique*****. This, in light of Nat's article, got me thinking about SL Pageants in general.

Think of it this way:

o In SL I can edit my shape to look as hot as I possibly can******, or buy one to achieve the same effect

o In SL I can be male/female at the flick of a button (I can even get software to alter my voice if need be)

o In SL I can buy my own designer clothes/hair/skin for (relatively) cheap prices

o In SL I can resize the prims on my outfit for maximum visual appeal

o In SL, if I can't do it myself, I can get a friend to do my styling for me fairly easily

o In SL I can buy my own walk and poses

o In SL I can buy animations to allow me to demonstrate pretty much any party piece/skill/talent I choose to have

So... In a beauty pageant what then am I truly being judged on?

A lot of the things that would, in RL, allow an individual to distinguish themselves from others come down purely to what your money can buy you and who your friends are and how much help/backing they can give you. At least this aspect is purely SL based - an individual with charm and the right connections could potentially achieve the same ends as someone with the L$ to throw at a situation. Similarly, hard work can build up a decent L$ balance to afford what is required.

Following this, we have the RL aspect - without a hi-spec computer, SL is limited. People on lower spec computers experience more lag therefore their performance would not be as polished as someone on a higher spec PC. Graphics card limitations can add an additional disavantage as lower resolution can prevent an individual from achieving the heights of appearance but worse - they may not realise when they do not look as good as those with the technological edge. The last two points are financially related, but geographical limitations can can limit the available connection speeds and reliability increasing the likelyhood of lag and crashing in an unavoidable way: Someone who cannot stay online throughout a pageant and is less functional when online suffers a significant disavantage. Are we then penalising people based on RL limitations that cannot be avoided when we judge their performance?

Potentially the only true measure for a Pageant contestant is their personality, but in SL can even this be relied on? I have on a number of occasions in my year of SLtivity come across people who appear to be truly genuine, with there being no suggestion that there is another side to them, then they have shown their true colours to be significantly different: Conversly, my close but as yet unmet frenemy Fnertin Schmo is apparently a decent individual in RL, yet play the part of a complete #####r in SL. So just because someone says they wish for SL Peace, an end to derezzing of trees and a halt to increasing unbanisation of SIMs or maintains they are a keen spokesman for Kitsune rights in the face of Neko domination, is that what they truly support?!? If personality is the only criterion that the judges can truly rely on, can they legitimately make a judgement or are they simply selecting the best actor at the time.

Another criterion for judging is perceived "dedication to the cause", but given the large size of SL, someone who has been in world for a long time may not even discover an event/SIM that they would have a strong interest in until long after others knew********. Latecomers may still be truly dedicated to an ideal, but could appear to judges to be glory hounds due to the fact they "weren't involved with the SIM/organisation prior to the Pageant.

The judges themselves are in a quandary if they are judging on personality - if their friends have been allowed to enter and have made it through heats judged by other people, the judge would be able to accurately assess those friends' genuineness through personal knowledge but would have to judge on surface impressions from the other contestants. In RL visual and aural clues can give insight into whether someone is being honest, but in SL this is severly hampered (no visual clues, and aural clues only if voice is being used and text gives little away).

Can anyone truly make an accurate judgement on people in such circumstances?Does a Pageant truly have anything to do with the person who wins the crown? Or, given that there may be little ground for accurate judgement, is it purely a publicity vehicle for the organisers'/sponsors' interests? More importantly, why am I bothered about this when I could be down at the pub with a pint of beer? Aren't these events, when held in SL, just meant to be a little bit of fun rather than serious news stories?

I guess all I am doing here is raising talking points. Given all the above, I guess those of you reading may have relevant knowledge that can shed a light on what the point of these Pageants is. If so please feel free to comment or add your insights or insider knowledge!

Laters