EGS Twitter Survey for November 19, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

EGS is full of awkward moments and concepts, and I figured this one being suggested was perhaps an extreme example of that. Was I right? Well, let's find out!

Do you agree with Grace's comments about morphing and looking like people in this comic? http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-11-19

I understand where Grace is coming from, I wouldn't mind someone taking my form so long as they didn't abuse it.

I fail to see any issues with her logic.

I like Grace's insightfulness. let Elliot bave some fun with the morphing

Makes sense to me. If anything I'd be a little flattered...possibly more so.

I believe that this will be a Ted moment, but...YES, YES, YES, I COMPLETELY AGREE AND YOU SHOULD PUT IT IN A COMIC!!!!!

If you are capable to distinguish fantasy from reality, whatever you picture privately, morphing or not, is valid. So, yes.

Yes, absolutely. Now I envy EGS-magic even more. And woh, I think Jerry's speech about lost innocence had a real impact.

Yes. If he hasn't seen the other naked, all he can do to fill in the blanks is use his imagination, or his subconscious will.

I can find no major flaws in this as long as Elliot doesn't go around telling people and makes sure he locks the bathroom door

I'd probably take someone morphing to look like me as a compliment... excepting pranking, reputation stuff, or superior copies

I would do it, who wouldn't. Heck I would even go out as them just to mess with ppl. As long as they didn't realize it was me

While I agree people shouldn't care all that much about it, I can see why some might not like it. (Like Sarah @ Grace's party)

I wouldn't mind shapeshifters looking like me, provided they didn't try to BE me (without my permission, anyway).

Grace is right, if its in private doesn't matter.Its much like drawing in private.May not be accurate, but its 4 you not others

Yes.

Yup-- It seems eminently sensible, and I honestly -like- when things are creepy and unnerving for others, so... bonus.

I agree that someone morphing to look like me is no big deal, if they don't interfere in my life.

I have to say I quite agree, I personally wouldn't mind...

yes I do.

Let me make this blunt: ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I agree with her comments. But then, I tend to say plenty of things apathetically that others find creepy as well.

on this one I have no opinion :P

I wouldn't be opposed to someone morphing into me at all but I would be offended if they seriously attempted to impersonate me.

Yeah, shapeshifters should be able to morph into whomever as long as they're not jerks about it. Privacy? Case closed!

You know, I do. To a degree...

I'm with Grace on this one, though I can see how it could be awkward. Especially with those two, who are couples other universe

yes, If I had Elliot's problem I would be going online and looking up pictures of who to morph to and not videos of myself.

I can agree in principle, but I also know that some people would abuse that ability, which adds a major creepiness factor.

I think Grace's comments, despite making others feel uncomfortable, are sensible & worth more consideration than they're given.

Well, not agreeing would be both hypocritical and anti-porn, so I suppose I agree.

Yeah. As long as you're not doing anything illegal or... innappropriate a similar but nonidentical copy is fine.

yes, I agree

I...hmm...well, I guess that I'd have to say that I agree with her. But I can see both sides. Like an invasion of privacy.

I do. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all.

I agree with grace. Even completely accurate morphs of me wouldn't bother me. Unless they start trying to impersonate me.

Sorta. It could solve the problem, yet if I knew someone turned into me just to "find a mirror and be sexy" I'd be creeped out.

On Grace's comments, I am noncommittal on everything except for it being easy. I disagree with that bit.

Yes. What you do on your time, by yourself is for you. No one needs to know and it's none of their business.Doesn't hurt noone.

Logically, I agree completely. Emotionally, it would be really weird. Need more tweet space for the long explanation...

My Response to Your Answers:

Wow. I think there's only one 100% "no" response up there. I genuinely thought there'd be a lot more of those.

The "non-committal" answers are intriguing. I find it difficult to believe they don't have an opinion one way or the other. Do they see the logic but find it creepy? Do they agree but worry others will think ill of them agreeing? Did they just not want to think about it?

Granted, the answer is probably different for each non-committal response, but I find it interesting to speculate on the most likely reasons for such replies.

My Answer:

First, I feel I have to clarify what I'm answering, because some of the above answers suggest different interpretations of the question itself and I want to be clear.

--

1. Grace was suggesting that it's no big deal for someone to morph into a form similar to someone they know when done in private.

2. Grace's opinion was specifically about a form that's similar, not exact, and based on the shapeshifter's own imagination.

3. A basis of Grace's opinion is that one wouldn't be shifting into any form they wouldn't imagine anyway.

4. Grace was suggesting sexy poses done with no audience but the mirror. She wasn't suggesting anything beyond that.

--

With that said, I do agree with Grace's logic. I also, however, agree that it's creepy. Just the fact that it's only okay when done entirely in private is a pretty big indicator of this. One shouldn't necessarily have to be ashamed of it, but for goodness sake, keep it to one's self.

I consider it something where it's nobody's business but the shifter's. They're imagining something about someone, and they shift in a way that reflects that. It's similar to an artist drawing a picture in their private sketchbook. That's their sketchbook, and regardless of who or what they draw, that's their business.

Sticking to the sketchbook example, if an artist drew a co-worker in a sexy pose, it's understandable if the co-worker finds that unsettling. If the artist who drew it never shows it to anyone or tells anyone about it, but the co-worker invades their privacy and discovers it, however, I feel that co-worker is in the wrong and invaded the artist's privacy.

That doesn't mean the co-worker has no right to feel creeped out; that would be a pretty natural response. I'm just saying it wouldn't have been an issue if they'd respected the artist's privacy in the first place. Unless they are doing something more than just drawing a picture that's kept private, I see it as being none of the co-worker's business.

All of this, however, is based on the principle that the form is based on imagination and is not exact. If an inexact morph is roughly equivalent to an artist drawing something in a sketchbook, an exact morph is roughly equivalent to taking photos of private moments through a telephoto lens. In other words, I do see THAT as a genuine invasion of privacy regardless of whether the shifting is done in private or in front of a stadium audience. One is worse than the other, but they're both bad.

Of course, the above paragraph assumes they've never seen that person in the buff and are using some sort of shifting that automatically exactly matches their current form. An imagined form that is essentially exact due to prior knowledge isn't that bad, although that depends somewhat on HOW they acquired that prior knowledge...

Anyway, I could go on about the specifics of acceptability, but my answer boils down to this: I agree with Grace, but finding it creepy is both understandable and natural.