h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*floating in, in her usual vague, elf-like manner*

I found it interesting that of all the various h2g2 clubs and associations that are availabe, one of those you picked happens to be my favourite one - Lil's Atelier!

Well, you'll find a pretty mixed bunch of researchers there, from various parts of the world.

The conversation will vary from just everyday chit chat to compairing quiz results to some very deep discussions - I hope you'll have the time and patience to keep up with it - I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

You might already have noticed that some of us 'Salonistas' are rather fond of imagining a VL (Virtual Life) - Amy the Ant recently mentioned having borrowed Zeppo from d'E, which isn't possible in RL (Real Life) because Amy lives in the UK and d'E in the US, and Zeppo is a RL dog!

Yes, it was certainly surprising, But I'm glad that I found that place.

I think that I see what you mean by a VL, but I don't think that I'll immerse myself in one quite yet.

Although, I am applying to join a Time Travellers guild. Science-Fiction's pretty virtual.

Well, Zeppo does tend to seem rather 'real' to the older Salonistas - I can remember the time when d'Elaphant consulted us on which kind of breed to buy - and in the pre-BBC days he used to have at least one cute photo of Zeppo on his user page, and then proceeded to tell us about Zeppo's various escapades...

...and then d'E decided to make this very RL dog a part of his VL - which is why the other Salonistas are able to cuddle with Zeppo!

Oh well - I guess my explanation isn't really helping - I hope you don't think that we're *just* a complete case of nutters (we're so much more than that!)

If you've got a lively imagination - jump just right in! If you prefer to stick to something more normal - stay connected!

Pardon me if my English is a bit messy at times - after all, it's a foreign language to me!

Foreign language? I honestly wouldn't have known if I hadn't been told! Certainly much better than my French.

But I think that you've explained it pretty well. In the Atelier, everyone is role playing. But instead of playing the role of an imaginary character, people at the Atelier play the roles of themselves. As this role is totally virtual it becomes possible for people to add new elements both from their real life and from imagined ones.

So I could go in one day and complain about failing a math test while simultaneously complaining about a vampire that's been chasing me. Or I could tell everyone that I went to the movies the other day while speaking entirely through interpretive dance.

Do I have the gist of it? Between your explanation and the introductory page, that's the impression that I'm left with.

Hmmm... yes, but in order to give people a chance to tell what's RL and what's VL I think we tend to 'talk' about what we've been doing in RL while pretending to 'do' something in VL, mostly by putting it inside a couple of '*'

Like *drifting off towards kitchen to check if Matina has made any mbougatses lately*

I hope you'll enjoy it!

I'm sure that I will! Thanks for all of the tips.