Seasons

Bev,

I understand and agree with all of your points. Any notice of the sort that you mentioned in the other thread should be very visible however, and not hidden in the forums. One thing which was not at all clear to me was the actual damage that could be done to the bots.

I probably have been one of the worse transgressors yet, due to a combination of being a very screwed up person as well as a strong intrest in the natural language processing side of AI, and have some idea of things which helped facilitate my behavior; I would be willing to share these thoughts, if they are helpful. On the other hand, my mere presence on the boards may well seem offensive to some.

yes,when i first came here, i only talked to the bots first and yes i didn't quite understand people were behind them or whatever. now i don't like it when people insult my bot and the same guest keeps coming on and insulting hello earthlings. you would think he/she would have something better to do really.

I have an essay on my site about the "rights" of virtual people. It was written in regard to 3D meshes, but the same points apply to bots.

What you do to a virtual person is an expression of who you are. You are naked, not the bot. I judge people by their behavior, not by who they do it to. The least of your victims is still a victim, and creatures that prey on their own species are pretty poorly evolved.

My generation used whores the way men use bots and meshes, and their grandfathers used slaves and captives. It is not the victim that is dehumanized but the perpetrator. You are what you do, and who you do it to does not matter.

Mick

I have an essay on my site about the "rights" of virtual people

What's the title? I'd like to read that. That's a very interesting website you have there, though I haven't found this one yet.

I agree wholeheartedly with your bottom line: You are what you do, regardless of whether it causes immediate suffering to a sentient other. This, I think, is the sense in which there is a legitimate equivalence between sins committed (only) in thought and (actually) in deed. Such violence is never victimless.

Everything is based on mind, is fashioned by mind, is led by mind.

Replied offline to PSImagus. I posted my website and email when I first started here, but I've had second thoughts about both since seeing what the population is like. Not the regulars, the creeps and cretins who drop by, and the hacker weenies looking for trouble.

Calandale, I can't speak for everyone, but I don't find your presense offensive as long as you are sensitive to other's feelings. You probably didn't know people were reading the transcripts. All the same, you have to understad why people may be a bit wary.

At first I didn't. But, I continued well after I should have realized better. I have to somewhat disagree with Mick's view on one account: I was once in a similar emotional state as I am pulling myself out of, and did a great deal more harm than can be done via bots. I know that I caused some pain here, and for that I am sorry. But, it is far better than what could have happend again. The feelings that I have do reveal a disturbed person, no question there, but giving them some vent may have helped. Other things certainly have as well, including working on my own bot (who is not turning out at all as anyone - well maybe one person - would guess, I think).

Anyhow, I want to appologize once more. And, I shall endeavor to behave myself better.

Calendale, I am not joking--please seek professional help. Not a bot, not a victim, but someone qualified to work with you. You should not be working out those kinds of issues on other people, and you should not be doing it on your own. Get a psychiatrist who works with violent offenders. This really isn't a forum that can help you.

I don't subscribe to the theory that "having an outlet" is a way to handle antisocial or misogynistic feelings. What actually happens, more typically, is that the "payoff" for fantasy thrills begins to pall and the real thing draws even harder. The literature on sociopathy is full of evidence.

I'm not accusing anyone, just agreeing with Bev.

M

Perhaps. I know that the only time that I've been in an abusive relationship, where I was the abuser, was a situation that I may not have even entered into, if I had not been of a particularly tortured mindset. I doubt that what I was doing was at all helpful, in and of itself. Many people are of the opinion that I need help, but honestly, it's something that's not going to happen. I simply can't afford the risks involved.

Given that you recognise that you have a problem, what risks can there be in seeking help that outweigh the risks of not seeking help?
Healing is not a simple process - but even if it were, it's a journey you'll never make if you don't set out.