Exploring

The best thing to do when you are getting started in Second Life is to start exploring and meeting people. There is so much to learn and learing it takes time. If you are exploring and socializing while you are learning the time will go much more quickly and before you know it you will have accumulated much more knowledge than you realize. Most of these pages were created in Version 1 of this website and maintained in tact in order to maintain the sense of newness I felt at the time. Since then I have learned more about how to take pictures in Second Life so later pictures look a little better. I have also added some sections. For example, in Version 1, I did not have anything on Kiddie AVs or Alternatives. And I had not, at that point experienced any Role Play. So those pages are new.

Who Do You Meet in Second Life?

In real life people of express things about themselves through dress, hairstyle, or gadgets. Some will make limited body modifications such as tatoos, piercings or working out. However, the things one can do in real life to express your inner self pale in comparison to what you can do in Second Life. Some people idealize their avatars making them into an image unachievable in real life. Some go to great lengths to make their avatar look as much like them in real life as possible. Some people who are very conservative in real life may be outrageous in Second Life and vice versa. There are so many options that trying to figure out how to present yoursefl in Second Life can be daunting. Following are some of the interesting looks that people have chosen. It should be mentioned that one can present ones self in Second Life without regard to how they appear in real life. An interesting implication of this is the fact that many of the attributes that we use to form our opinions of people in real life are unavailable in Second Life. So age, race, gender, appearance and accent are taken out of the evaluation. A second implication of this is the fact that you can appear to be of a different age, race, gender or appearance and thus has some opportunity to see the world as others see it. This provides for many fascinating opportunities that are just a little beyond the scope of this page.

Reading Profiles

You can right click on any avatar in Second Life and get a pie menu that provides you with some options for interacting with that avatar. For example, you can offer friendship, IM the person, mute them, pay them money, give them a calling card, or read their profile. Each avatar has a profile in which the person can put information either about their Second Life or their Real Life. There are several tabs in the profile that provide different sorts of information. These tabs include:

What Do You Do In Second Life?

One of the most common questions asked by newbies who appear on Help Island is - What do I do here? And the most common answer from mentors and other residents alike is - What do you want to do here? The possibilities can be overwhelming and it is very difficult for newbies to figure out where to start. It is sort of like a large cafeteria that has all of your favorite dishes along with a few dishes you may not particularly like. It is hard to know where begin. Should you try something familiar like hanging out and chatting. Or should you try something new like role playing? Should you try something with a minimal learning curve like sight seeing. Or should you go for something more challenging like building? Actually, the answer to the "what should I do?" question will vary quite a bit from one person to the next. However, I can offer a couple of general tips. First, devote a portion of your time to learning. This includes learning about Second Life and what it offers as well as the technical aspects of Second Life such as how to make a landmark or how to how to get some clothes you bought into your inventory and ultimately onto your avatar. For a list of basic skills, se the Learning section. Second, pick something and check it out. A list of somethings are offered below. Buy just picking something you will achieve two things. First, by checking out something, say Shopping, you will learn whether or not you like that. And that knowledge will bring you one step closer to answering the question - what should I do here? Second, exploring always leads to other things. In the process of shopping you may see another attraction of some kind. And checking out that attraction may well lead to a whole new avenue of exploring. Finally, check out other people. Talk to them. Ask what they are doing. Ask what they recomend. Look at their profiles. Check out their groups and their picks. Although this is not the most efficient method, most of the information I have learned about Second Life is information I have just stumbled upon. Follow is a list of ideas. It is far from comprehensive. But, hopefully, it is enough to get you started.

Finding Things Using Search

At the bottom of your Second Life browser are a series of buttons. One of these is the search button. When you click it, a window comes up with several tabs allowing you to search in a variety of categories. Following is a list of those tabs along with guidance on how to use them. I have put then in the order in which they appear in the search window. This is not necessarily the order of their greatest usefulness. That order will depend heavly on the person.


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