The SL Enquirer: Esmiel Posthorn

There are many colorful characters in SL. All you need to do to find one is keep your head up, perv some profiles and listen to local when you can follow the conversations. I was researching Emoting for “Trouble Communicating n SL – Instant Messages [IMs] – A Complicated Process” when I discovered Esmiel Posthorn’s dormant blog. I love his style of writing as well as how he puts together a story. As I read more of his blog I knew I had to share some of his thoughts with more people. In this article you will learn all about him, from his favorite murder weapon and first SL exploits with Xcite! to his thoughts on profiles. I hope you enjoy our conversation, I think Esmiel is a kick!!

Seersha Heart:Welcome Esmiel thank you so much for joining me today. I have a lot of questions for you. Tell me how did you

first come to be an SL resident?

EsmielPosthorn: Hi Seersha, thanks for asking me along! My RL boyfriend (now husband yay!) set up an account for some reason or other way back in maybe October or early November 2006. I had a look over his shoulder a few times and figured it seemed kinda fun, so I set up my own account. We hung out together for a while, but he stopped playing quickly - I don't think he found as many cool places or interesting friends here as I did. Since then I've fallen deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole..

Seersha Heart:Your writing has a real comedic frankness; can you share any stories of what you may have done as a newbie that make you cringe now?

EsmielPosthorn: Oh dude. Awful clicky sex with Xcite parts - remember those? Can't believe I used to be a fan of those parts! Apart from that, just everything - how I looked, how I acted. Not knowing how to click properly so sitting on danceballs and that kinda thing.

Forgetting to attach my butt for a threesome so the guys had nothing to put their (BLEEP) in. Good times.

Falling in love too easily with random people. Happened a few times, it's easy to get carried away when you're presented with a perfect, masked representation of someone.

Being perfect myself didn't help much either when it came to people falling for me..

Seersha Heart: [/me picks myself off the floor where I laughed until I cried listening to Esmiel’s last answer] I may laugh myself to death before we finish Esmiel! Do you think you will ever post to your blog again?

EsmielPosthorn: I've been reading back over it since you contacted me and it's been making me very nostalgic; I had some great times writing for that blog, but I think if I ever wrote again, it would be for a new one. There are so many blogs out there now, I wouldn't attempt to create one until I'd found a niche nobody else was writing about.

It would be good to shed the awkwardness of the past and do something fresh and interesting. But what to write about?

Who cares about personal stories and interests these days when everyone just wants fashion tips and pics of boobs?

Seersha Heart: [/me hides latest printouts of fashion tips and pics of boobs; clears throat] Profiles are fascinating and so personal. Do you think perving profiles is an art form? Share some of your observations about profiles in SL.

EsmielPosthorn: Perving profiles may not be an art form, but I think writing them sure is. I've always made sure mine was up to date and relevant as much as possible. It's your way of saying to people "this is a taste of who I am.. do you want to know more?".. and if their answer is no, then your profile hasn't worked. Or maybe it has, if you don't like having people around..

I have noticed those that say something like "NO DRAMA PLZ" are often full of things that create drama, amusingly.
Something that always irked me was how people misconstrue Picks as pics.. it isn't just for your favourite photographs! Use them to tell us about cool places and people!

Seersha Heart: I wonder, where do you think your creative flair for writing originates? Have you studied writing, is it practice? What makes your writing so damn compelling?

EsmielPosthorn: I’ve always enjoyed writing, both at a creative level and more formal. I got high marks for essays and reports written in my high school history and English classes, and later when I studied physics at university, I learned to examine things critically and become more succinct and direct with everything I wrote.

My creative writing comes from a need to flesh out and describe the worlds I imagine in my head. Roleplay in SL is a great way to expand your writing talent, especially if you can find someone who shares your ideas and is happy to write long, detailed posts with you.

Seersha Heart: Esmiel the blogger is a bit of a provocateur. Tell us, is Esmiel Posthorn evil, a tease or none of the above?

EsmielPosthorn: I'd like to think he's not evil, but he does sometimes have a slight mean streak. Definitely a tease; I can't count the number of times I have done something just to get a response from someone. I'm good at learning what people like and how to push their buttons, and I do it whether I intend for it to go anywhere or not.

Seersha Heart: You wrote your saucy piece about emoting in August 2007. Do you recall something that happened in your life that sparked your creativity and desire to share your emoting?

EsmielPosthorn: I can’t remember much from back then - my heady student days. My creativity and need to express myself always fluctuates, day to day, year to year; I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment but I know I'll climb out of it when something inspires me. I cannot recall anything specific about that time, however I must have either received some questions about RP & emotes, or met someone who was truly awful at it, that I felt the need to educate everyone..

Seersha Heart: Looks like you have a tried a bit of everything in SL…social, building, exploring…. what is your thing these days in SL? The DJing?

EsmielPosthorn: I DJ once a week, which is a nice anchor for my SL. The club (Starfall) has been my regular place for 9+ years and it really is my second home. At the moment I am heavily into landscaping. I have a quarter homestead that I love filling up with plants and decor. I've recently been on a tour of the Scottish Highlands IRL (I live in Edinburgh) and it's inspired me to remodel my parcel into something resembling a loch you'd find nestled in the glens somewhere.

I have a small family here now, some friends I became very attached to and adopted as children/siblings. It's amazing sharing this great space with people you know & trust.

Seersha Heart: I’ve asked you a lot of questions so far today. Now I am going to ask you some questions I hope will be a lot of fun to answer. First one, I am writing a book all about you, your biography, what do I title this book?

EsmielPosthorn: I think it should be called .. "How to achieve Happiness in 12 Easy Years"

Seersha Heart: Priceless! You are given the task to explain SL to a 5-year-old child. What do you say?

EsmielPosthorn: It's a big online world of people to meet and stuff to do! You can chat to other people from all over the globe and make friends with them; you can play games and even make your own; you can build castles and mountains and make your own little paradise.

But it is NOT FOR KIDS!!

Seersha Heart: FantasticEsmiel….let’s talk to the dark side of Esmiel….What would you choose as the perfect murder weapon? Why?

EsmielPosthorn: Perfect as in .. most fun, or easiest to get away with? For the former, surely something like a tank. Just have a laugh, maybe take the whole street out while you're at it.

As for the latter.. probably venom or something. Just steal a cobra from your local pet store and chuck it in their bed. You'll be in Mexico sipping tequilas before they've even found a snake missing.

Seersha Heart: Leave it to you to parse your murder weapon selections. <<laughs>> I’m going to ask around about you now. I ask your pet to describe you. What does he tell me about you?

EsmielPosthorn: He would say “He's pretty lazy and we don't go walkies as often as I'd like. He hates when I bark loudly, but he loves when I go for cuddles or some lap time. He is always happy to see me and always sneaks me extra treats.”

Seersha Heart: [/me laughs] If you could introduce any celebrity to SL, bring them in as a newb who would you pick? Why? What would you teach them about sl?

EsmielPosthorn: I'd love to see what someone like Adam Savage from Mythbusters would do with the scripting and building possibilities here. That'd be great fun to see.

Seersha Heart:Reflecting to the murder weapon question, let’s assume you are scheduled to be executed. What is your last meal?

EsmielPosthor: I'll have a sushi platter, with lots of avocado and tempura shrimp rolls. Next it'll be a wagyu beef burger with a poached egg, onion rings and cheddar cheese, sweet potato fries on the side.

Dessert is a pile of donuts - fresh whipped cream, jelly, fresh fruit, glaze, sprinkles, the lot - with sauces for dipping and drizzling.

Seersha Heart: [marvels that Esmiel didn’t even pause to think about answering about his last meal]; I was thinking, what if you were the top boss at a large company. What one item do you ban? What one item do you make compulsory?

EsmielPosthorn: I'm going to ban printers, because they suck and never work. We're going to have properly paperless offices and everyone will have little tablets and iPad things instead, it'll be great.

As for compulsory - how about mandatory cocktail party Friday afternoons?

Seersha Heart: I have had such fun talking to you today Esmiel! Let’s wrap up Hollywood style. Can you describe yourself using movie titles?

EsmielPosthorn: ………………..Interstellar…..Die Hard…..Catch Me If You Can….