Help us with Help Radio!

What were the tips and tricks you wish *you* had known, when you were first starting out in Second Life? Stuff that would have helped you control the interface and your avatar, or with your technical
difficulties-- or just figuring out what to do and where to go in this huge world?

Post them all here, and help us create the script to Help Radio, an upcoming audio stream that'll be broadcast on Orientation and Help Island.

If you'd prefer to send your tips and tricks anonymously, e-mail us at [email]radio@lindenlab.com[/email].

Thanks!
Wilder Linden

I wish I had learned how to OPEN A BOX (el mucho improved in 1.7 of course) and learned how to BUY something. Both of these are "Second Life Skills" (SLS instead of LSL, hahaha) just about every Resi gets to do sooner or later.

"How to attach/detach objects to/from your avatar."

"How to 'rez' and object on the ground, and why it's different from the above."

I would focus on helping them find people with similar interests. Explain things like groups and the different types and reasons people create groups. Then explain the Find menu, Popular Places and dwell. But also be sure to let them know that just because a location has low dwell that it doesnt mean you wont find some very cool places to explore or people to meet. I would guess most of what I listed is obvious. But I just think that helping someone find a group they are comfortable around would be key in them making friends or finding stuff to do early on so they wont feel alone and lost.

To turn draw distance down to 64.

coco

Where the public sandboxes are.
How to bring up the debug menu

Suggestion to consider...the default position for streaming music is currently OFF and new residents won't know to turn it on. This needs to be reversed for this great idea to work.

Too much information too early in Orientation is going to make it more confusing. Can the radio stream be set to only start once they get close to the exit?

Ah! Yes! That's a good one. Once they meet some people and get involved, chances are the people they meet can offer helpful tips.

So often, someone new arrives and asks... "what do I do now?"

"How to get out of a building that rezzed around you while you were flying" or better yet "What does rez mean". Not only was I new to SL when I first started but I was also new to any virtual community and a quick guide to the lingo of SL would have been very helpful

MJ

How about buying, selling, and trading land.

Most people don't know that when you buy a piece of land, you don't have to accept it right away. This gives you the chance to sell your old land (or give it to your group, or whatever) before you accept the new teir payment.

This bit me when I first started trading land, but now that I know about it, I'm more careful.

This is a very, very valid point. I can't tell you how many new residents come into the Shelter, see everyone dancing - and be quite perplexed at what everyone's doing because they don't hear any music.

Since 1.7, a repeated announcement we have to make is: 'please click play on the music control box at the bottom of your screen'.

What a longerterm solution for this would be a "landbox" (rhymes with sandbox), a place that is reset frequently (i.e. every 3 hours) but where new Resis on a Basic account could play-practice buying, selling, and trading land with NO RISK.

Prolly would take some finnicky reworking of the system, but there currently exists no way to do this without biting the bullet, so to speak. This would not only increase Resident confidence through practical knowledge, but entice upgrading of accounts through experiential means too—good from a bizness perspective I do suppose!

Obvious downside is they'd get pretty popular. (If that's a downside.) Existing Resident-run sandboxes in some instances have been adored for allowing practice of terraforming. This is the next sniper shot to the left.

On a fun note for this thread, "HOW DO I DANCE?" is one I've heard a lot. Hehehe.

Streaming audio is off by default since 1.7.

What is a Sim. I had the hardest time with this.

How to use the map. Its not immediately apparent. How the map can be useful.

I would also like to see a "show" about sandbox manners. I visit Island on occasion, and it's always crowded with abandonded builds... come around 1 or 2:00, it's hard to find space to do anything.

HOW TO PLAY NICE IN THE SANDBOX::

1. clean up after yourself.
2. Dont' run over/shoot/build around your boxmates.
3. Don't beg people for code or things they're working on.
4. Be a good little n00b and go the #$%! away from the 700m work platform after I've shot you into the moon five times already.

Lets see....make day....link prims..... delete a group with spam lol

How to save an outfit.

Hm... a bit off-the-immediete subject, but re: the recent post about residents submitting music for the Help Radio...


Torley, you will be submitting your music, right?

Recommendations for saving the Avatar that you created (in case you are "Ruthed" or messed up during a teleport.

Recommendations for managing inventory.

-Putting things into folders
-noting the ability to sort by name and date
-noting the ability to create a new window and move things from one window to another

If you acquire land, how to rez trees, it's amazing how many people don't know what the tree icon is for.

A landmark to the Free Bazar in Stillman - the land is Linden owned, always there and gives the newbie a starting point without having to go buy a lot of things. Most new people find it fun to look around in. Sort of like looking thorough one's attic full of old stuff.

I was terribly confused about the differences between gestures and animations. They seemed to be similar things to me as a newbie.

Dear Sir/Madam.

When I was n-eew, I didn't know about the main sandboxes for quite some time. I was hanging out in Morris for weeks. The frame rate while in Morris is quite poor, especially now. So if you have a low spec machine then you'll probably not enjoy your first day. Maybe some signs saying:- 'Poor people this way --->" and direct them to Newcomb?

I think more sandboxes would give people more space to move and better client performance because of less scenery. Although I do understand that Linden Lab can't have too many sandboxes or people wouldn't need to buy land.

There is something about an empty sandbox that just says 'Fill me!!". Similar to a field of untouched snow that you can't help but want to run through. . Then again, a sandbox full of giant cubes says:- "Keep away!" or "Beware of the Kid!!".

Yes, I talk to the sandboxes quite often. They used to be my friends. * rocks back and forth *

Yours lovingly, me.

Some of these I could not "wish" I'd be told because some did not exist back when I was new.... but my best tiny tips are...


Hit tab to face who just spoke

Hit escape twice to get out of most windows and reset camera

Clicking on you avi and moving the mouse is a great way to look around.

CTRL-Z works in SL

Alt is your friend

Alt + CTRL is your cousin

Alt + CTRL + shift is your brothers best friend.

CTRL + P = OMG I can walk again

and finally.. quit telling mac users that apple click is the equivalent of right clicking... even though it's TECHNICALLY correct.. the better answer is "SPEND 7 STUPID BUCKS AND GET YOURSELF A 2 BUTTON MOUSE!"

The *first* best thing I ever learned was: ctrl H

Being able to leave chat history up so I was not lost while learning things, exploring, and learning to understand chat AND whatever else I was doing, was by far the best thing I learned first.

I'll post more things tomorrow when I have time!

I lurve the tangent. Thanxies for the encouragement and I intend to if there's a formal process for this, after all other Resis who want to have done so! (One reason being: seems to be an odd scarcity, I always thot I'd come across more composers here.)

My only condition is if this is gonna be like a Grand Theft Auto radio station, it's gotta be FUNNEH. Hehehe... but I have a good feelin' it will be!