Fun with Visitors

OK, so here's an entertaining event that happened to me this week. For those of you who know me and bother to check out my inane and infrequent ramblings, I live in a skyhouse way above Club Amor. We do like to keep the grounds of Amor nice and naturally landscaped for public enjoyment. This contrasts w/ my house, which is my private space and is a little more unnatural (beautiful fantasy design by Isoblan Neva. Love her stuff, have for years). It floats around 1000m above ground level mostly for privacy. Well, and the floating confection just doesn't fit w/ the overall sim design anyway. So anyway, it's way up there out of sight.

I happen to be off work this particular day (burned a PTO day to take care of general non-work stuff), the Monday after New Year's Eve. My last event was a gig at a fantasy RP event, and I'm all elf-ed out, but don't particularly feel the Legolas in me today. As I am wont to do, I strip down out of my current outfit completely while sifting through my inventory to figure out what I'm gonna wear today and toss on my naked Passes For Human avvie setup. I"m standing there bare-butt nekkid in all my ken-doll glory debating outfits, and I go ahead and slide my camera around to front view so I'll be able to check the look of whatever I cobble together.

Lo and behold, behind me I see some strange woman w/ a screen name implying that she's an underage girl looking for a good time and a tag advertising her escort services. I, in shock, ask her, "Umm, who are you and why are you in my house?" No response. As I"m scrambling for coverage with sudden urgency, she poofs.

About 10 minutes later, I get this IM from her telling me that the location of my house was an escort club she used to work. I responded (politely) that I was one of the original renters when that sim was first created, I"m the co-owner of the club below, and we do not and never have been an escort club (we're a sort of casual ballroom w/ a 'please keep your bits covered' policy) and for that matter, the kinda public club & park are all down below. She, on the other hand, had been in my private residence where I change clothes, prepare for gigs, or just get some alone-time to decompress from being in the public most of the time. I thanked her cheerfully for having popped back out and also for respecting my privacy in that little sanctum space of mine now and in the future, but noted the grounds below do remain open to the public as a sort of park area. As far as I was concerned, it was amicably resolved. A little embarrassing to be walked in on like that, but really, no harm done.

15 minutes later, I get another IM, this one telling me off for being rude, although she cannot specify anything rude I've said. She eventually huffs that I made her feel unwelcome in my private sanctum and goes into great hysterics about how unwanted and unloved she feels and how her feelings are all my fault, etc, etc, etc. and what a terrible, horrible ogre I am for not welcoming her w/ open arms. She spends about 30 more minutes (I kid you not) trying to convince me that I'm supposed to feel bad for her feeling unwelcome in my one little private spot in SL (bear in mind, this is someone I've NEVER met before and who popped into my secluded little sanctum uninvited, apparently after flying around snooping for it).

I can understand curiousity and idle snooping around, but frankly, I'm kind of baffled at the federal case this 'lady' is makin' of it all, especially when in my book, any reasonable person would have been done w/ "OMG, I'm so sorry, didn't mean to intrude, was just checking out the build." Nay, verily, apparently my failure to welcome her onboard uninvited is the height of offensive behavior and she feels compelled to educate me on what a big meanie I am. Even though she admits I didn't eject or ban her (she left on her own before I had to get to that point, admittedly), I didn't call her any kind of name or say anything unflattering about her, and my request that she respect my space was rendered politely. She tries to blame the ongoing IM storm on me, but again, I note she IMmed me, we settled it peacefully, then she IMmed me back, and she's been the only one slinging around the accusations and personal attacks.

I really probably should have just muted and banned her, but I do try to be a gentleman. I don't buy her story that she used an old landmark, but whatever. I let her vent, but I remain politely firm that a) her feelings are her problem, and b) regardless of her feelings, my private space is still my private space and I DO intend to keep it private up there as that's my little getaway spot.

Eventually, she figures out that I'm not gonna buy her guilt trip, nor am I gonna invite her back up there. I challenged her to find the attack in our IM transcript, and after a brief silence, she finally (!) considers the vague possibility that she might have maybe been possibly out of line at some point. Maybe. I just let it go at that, b/c frankly, I wasn't really interested in continuing the conversation as far as it already had gone, much less to pursue it any further.

I DID check out her profile during her freakout, and it's loaded exclusively w/ ads for her escort services; all her picks market the places she's available as an adult-verified sex professional. Now, we at Amor don't go for escorts. We don't have them, nor do we permit escorting on the premises. It's zoned Mature, mostly to allow us to relax and not have to watch everyone's language like a hawk or dump out of, say, "Bilingual" if it happens to come on the land radio at some point, but it's NOT a sexually oriented kinda club.

Doesn't mean I have a problem with that activity per se. I'm a DJ. I've worked some pretty wild clubs, many of whom had escorts on staff. I don't use escorts myself, nor have I ever provided that service, but I"m a pretty laid-back "to each his/her/its own" kinda guy. Some of the nicest ladies (and guys) I know have escorted, and I say if you have the avvie design skills and the writing chops to make a go of it, more power to ya.

But not at my house.

I have a feeling she was scoping out places to take her clients, especially those who can't access Adult-rated sims. We DO allow scripts and rezzing of objects (w/ auto-return), which means those temp-on-rez sex huds would theoretically work there. And I was partnered once in the past; I've done some erotic rp and still have the furniture although it's really mostly just decor for the past few years. I guess I could take it all up to make the place less tempting, but I selected stuff based on the fact that it's well made and looks good in the room, and even if I've more or less outgrown the need for cyber-nookie RP, I really LIKE the bedroom setup as is. Besides, dammit, it's MY private stuff in my private space that I pay for myself; I shouldn't have to purge it. For some strange reason, I still really kind of enjoy kicking back in a steaming bathtub to let my avvie soak while unwinding. It may be a weird little affectation, but it's my weird little affectation and I like it.

My concern is that now the teen grid is open, and SL is crawling w/ underage kiddies able to put on an adult appearance and make their own porn. I could really see Our Lady of Negotiable Virtue here picking up some john, popping back to my place to romp around in my house (eww, must make note to have home fumigated and disinfected), then john's mom walking in, catching him in mid-cyberporn act and coming unglued. Escort Girl can pull a fast TP, but my unsuspecting house and our non-sexual club are kinda stuck where they are. Which would leave them as the most convenient target for her to blame for the corruption of her angelic little escort-seeker's morals. The fact that I wasn't a knowing or willing party to their little party MIGHT clear me, but I'd rather avoid the headache.

So, for the first time after 4 yrs in SL, I now own a home security orb. I hate that I've had to do that, but my faith in human nature has its limits (mostly b/c of my knowledge of human nature). I really don't see another way to protect myself and still be able to enjoy my property. It's been up for a week now, and the log hasn't shown any intruders (granted, after I told my sister and club co-owner, she rolled her eyes and insisted that my unwanted visitor be on the ban list purely b/c of the spectacular nerve and chutzpah, so she couldn't get back on-parcel anyway).

Fortunately, I can still set up a friends list on the orb, so I can still grant admission to the few friends who I do welcome to drop in and hang out in my little aerie. If you get booted by the orb and you're a buddy of mine, send me an IM reminding me to add you back to the authorized list.