Second Life for Beginners

I thought it would be a good idea to write a Newbies guide to SL.

I recently started a new Alt (alternate account) and was very disapointed with what LL consider a decent introduction for potential new residents.  Just the very basics of how to move, how to chat in local, how to sit / use something, and then straight into the map room to be thrown unprepared into the deep end.  a far cry from the Help Island that was available when i first joined.

Even that was pretty inadequate for preparing the uninitiated, but now it seems Newbies are hurtled into the grid totally unprepared.

Okay - you know how to move, how to talk to people you see, and how to sit on a poseball.  What more do you need to know that is essential?

First off, I would say join a group.  Groups will be your main contact for talking to new friends and finding out just how everything works, what you should look out for, and what to do when you have a problem.

Somne groups are specifically set out as help groups, and the best one i have come across so far is New Citizens Inc.  Many of the members are actually very old citizens now - but everyone needs help some time, and those of us that have been around a few years like to be on hand to help new citizens.

Where do you go and what do you do?  Second Life does not have a central plaza  where everyone can meet - mainly because there are too many people using SL.  there were a few such places once, but the vast numbers of avatars there were a huge strain on the servers, and if one of these stations went down, the others would become so crowded that there were cascade colapses. 

Crowds cause lag, and too many people in one place can cause a sim to colapse so the start portal advice  to just pick a place at random and start from there is just as good as any.  What you do depends on what sort of place you have landed in.

What you need to be aware of is Second Life is not a game.  it is a virtual world, a 3D environment for social interaction.

A lot of people do play games in SL - it is ideally suited for creating your own games, but you must be aware that most of the sims you visit are owned by people like yorself, and you are a guest.  some areas aprivate and have a barrier  that keeps visitors out, but most are open to visitors.  What you need to remember is not everything is there for members of the public to use and interact with - you cannot just walk into a home and use the beds as if they were your own.

So what can you do?

There are sandboxes in many sims, where you can rez (put into the world) items from your inventory, create new objects, or take part in classes or events.  There are a few things you cannot do in a sandbox.  You cannot sell anything, and in most cases, you cannot use weapons.  As i already said, SL is not a game in itself, so just because you have bought a flamethrower that shoots  flames at people does not mean you can go around flaming people willy-nilly.  weapons, bombs, traps etc are for use in consensual game situations - where a group of people have agreed to take part in a game.   if you hastle or bother people without their concent, you are griefing them, and that can get you banned.

The same is true of sexual conduct.  many people like to use SL for cybersex and erotic roleplay, but this can only be done on Adult rated sims, or in a private residence.  do not proposition strangers for sex - unless it is a sim that allows that.

every sim has its rules - roleplay sims tend to have somewhat complex rules, so find out what the rules are before you rush in.  often you will be given a notecard with the sims rules on it as soon as you land, so do take the time to read it carefully.

be polite.  if you inadvertantly do something to get banned or ejected from a sim, apologise and politely ask why you were thrown out.  do not argue with the admin or moderator.  if they refuse to listen to your side of the story - then so be it.  if they have the ability to eject you, then they have the right to eject you - theres no point in whining about it.

Money
money is even bigger than sex on SL.  it has its own economy and currency - the L$.  many things are free, but the best things arent, so you will most likely need L$ before long.

you can use your paypal account to buy L$ or if you have a premium membership to SL you will get a weekly stipend of L$300.

but if you cant afford to buy them (they really do not cost very much) and you are not a premium member, you can earn L$

Don't beg or ask people to lend you the money - it's a banning offence.  do not try to sell items other people have made.  this is copyright theft and not only against the rules, but actually against the law.

some people argue that if it's a freebie or set at full perm (full permissions) that it is automatically public domain and you can do what you like with it.  this is simply not true.

of course, if you set up a shop you can sell things under license as an affilate in some cases, and you can use merchant resource items as part of your creations to be your product - but do check on user license.

best advice there is only sell what you have created, and use textures you have made.

of course, if you are a new citizen, you probably dont know how to create content yet - but dont worry, there are plenty of classes in SL that will teach you how.

another group worth joining is SLEdu Events - it will keep you informed of classes you can go to.

Hope this has been helpful to somebody - good luck and have fun