In regards to newbie bashing

I hope that no one will consider this a flame. I am going to keep this very simple. When I first entered SL, I asked the same question we hear all the time, “What is there to do in SL”. In chorus, everyone said, “Whatever you want. Your options are limitless.” When dealing with the majority of the residents, I have found this to be accurate. They have been extremely welcoming and helpful. Yet it seems that others think that newbies should simply fly around, buy themselves into bankrupsy, vote for their builds and rate them positively. If that same newbie happens to come up with a unique idea, they may as well strap chickens to their av and throw themselves into an alligator pit. They are quick to point out an “ugly” newbie build, make fun of an avatar’s appearance or simply ignore newbies when they try to introduce themselves. That is fine. If they choose to be exclusionary, they will have to deal with the fact that the newbies will soon outnumber them. And so they should. They will buy land, start businesses and have original thoughts.
I have had a couple of friends leave SL because they were treated poorly by those who were much “older”. They simply did not have time to deal with that sort of problem in a game that is supposed to be fun.
To be honest, if it were not for the wonderful people that I met at the welcome area, I would have left as well. I had many people come by and offer their negative opinions when I first tried my hand at building. Some even went so far as to laugh at my attempts. I stayed because, frankly, I enjoy a challenge. I like being the underdog. But, I hope that everyone will take into account that at some point in our lives we were all newbies. So when people come into SL and struggle to find a niche, even if it is creating a SL religion, don’t be so hasty to put them down. Enjoy their attempt at creativity even if you do not enjoy the content.
Maybe this world is just getting too crowded. Maybe with more land we would be less likely to step on toes and feelings. But until then, treat your neighbors kindly, especially the new ones. They may have more to offer than you could ever imagine.

Indeed. A little kindness and encouragement goes a long way.

My fist few days everyone was kind and helpfull.
lucky for me I only met a few that was rude after
a month or so.

Absolutely - treat everybody with kindness and respect, and you (usually) receive the same.

One thing I try to remember to say to any noobs I meet in world, is not to judge the population by the odd 'bad apple'. For every a-hole you meet, you'll meet 20 good people.

Nicely stated. ^_^

The wild newb is a timid and delicate creature and we must treat these natural wonders with the respect and care that they deserve. If we do not care for this natural resource, there will be nothing left for the future.

I am currently soliciting funds for a wild newb preserve, if you would like to donate...

Let me preface this by saying I'm extremely new to the SL world.

Let me also preface this by saying that I haven't reached the point of bankruptcy, so perhaps I'll get more frustrated in the future.

In both absolute terms, and in comparison with other gaming communities, I'm shocked at the friendliness of the SL world.

People are kind, courteous, helpful, and generally fun-loving.

While it's probably always a good idea to protect against newbie bashers, I really haven't seen that it is much of a problem

Anyways. just my 2 cents, as a SL newbie.

(maybe things will change when I finally get around to creating an 'ugly' build)

Cheers,
Bit

Wednesday,

Put me down for $100. No way could this world survive without newbies. For one thing, it would throw the whole preditor/prey balance WAY off


Seriously, New Folks, any newbie is always welcome at my house. If you see me in-game, feel free to ask me any questions. Just try to keep your weapons holstered if you can. I only shoot people who shoot at me me first hehe

I try to be generous with my calling card. And I am very happy to respond to the many people who can then contact me while I'm in-world. Ask me anything. In fact, I PREFER "dumb" questions - there's a better chance I know the answer. But I will try my best to track down an expert if the question is beyond me.

And I also forward IMs to email. I can check them during the day, though I can only respond when I get back to the world in the evenings (Central Time). So send me questions and I will have time to think about the answers for a few hours

I really want my Lifetime Membership investment to be worthwhile. And it's worth nothing if there aren't enough new players to keep the world running. So, "bring 'em on"


Mentor Kathy Yamamoto

Unfortunately, as any community grows, so does the number of assholes. However, there have always been far, far more friendly, helpful, mature people in SL than jerks. The trick is to not let the obnoxious ones get you down until you meet the people who are worth your time.

We were all newbies once, and we learned. Everyone does. The ridiculous stereotype that all newbies are annoying morons that talk in all caps, or "l33t" and ask questions like "R U COMPUTAR?" is just that: ridiculous. It's highly amusing though, which is why it persists, and because every once in a while, you'll see the extremely rare embodiment of this stereotype.

Veterans, if you're getting irritated by an overly curious newbie, suggest to them where they can go to get help. (And no, "to hell" is not the correct answer, thanks.) It is possible to do people the simple common courtesy of not being a dick to them.

Yes, we've all heard "what is there to do" and "how do I build a house" or "how do I get money" a thousand times. And almost every one of us has asked that same question to the collective dismay and irritation of those around us. So when someone asks you these things, or just doesn't "get it" right off, get them to go ask a mentor or a liason.

maybe there needs to be a really good FAQ with tutorials beyond how to drop a beachball on a table. there are a lot of things i had to have explained to me 20 times (still are a lot of things) and i'm finding myself explaining those same things 20 times to other people now. SL has a hell of a learning curve.

Ah but there's the key - getting the new person to actually read or do the tutorials. I know at times I'm impatient to do something and don't want to have to read up on it.

But yes I agree about needing more than what they do have now. Maybe expand the island experiences a bit more before releasing them into the wilds of SL Mainland.

you can't make them read it but at least it would be there for the ones who would read it and you can have somewhere to tell the one's who didn't read it to go (other than to hell)

I think one problem for the newb is that "what is there to do?" is a simple and natural question. The answer however, gets complicated. "Whatever you want" is pretty vague though. Telling them they can make clothes or objects and a lot imagine the trade skill stuff from the RPG's, tell them about guns and all and they think about FPS's.

I've been here since August, right after it went retail, and I still find it hard to describe SL to my friends who are from a quest related RPG. SL is too unique to give a quick explanation. Took me about a month to fall into a 'career'.

If I can give my 5 L$ - being a newbie of 3 days, my initial impressions were similar to an extent - 'What is there to do' immediately sprung to mind at least briefly - luckily for me I have experience on social virtual worlds (albeit text-based) of a similar ilk to SL - so I could appreciate the flexibility that was being given to me. I think it will be a little more difficult to persuade your average Everquest player what the benefits are - a fair percentage of them are more goal oriented - they need to know what they can Achieve in a game - it gives them a narrow set of objectives to accomplish. I think this can be counteracted to an extent by the presence of experienced Mentors at the new player arrival spots - who can explain what the possibilities are, get to know them, network, tell them when they're teaching a class etc. Also - I think the classes are a GREAT thing - they can get people a lot more involved and see they are not the only ones in the 'same boat' as it were.

Still - I think it will be very difficult to pull people from EQ etc as they are really fundamentally different games.

Me personally - Im pretty much decided Im signing up for a full membership - I LOVE what I've seen so far and I've met a bunch of really nice people!! That was the decider for me - sociable people!! Game mechanics are no substitute for a good community IMHO, and SL seems to have one of the best I've seen so far!

Challenge 'em.

Give them something to do by letting them know what you would like or need. For example... If you would like to have a silver bed that hangs from the ceiling or a script that will tint your windows on command...etc. Tell them and maybe they will take on the challenge...BOOM...you just gave them something to do...a purpose.

If they don't...no biggie...they will find one and you have probably just gave them something to think about, at a minimum you have found something they don't want to do which narrows down things for them.

Ask them a question...something that requires research on their part...like... "Do you have a vehicle yet?" or "Have you tried some of the vehicles available...i like [insert name]'s the best myself."

Or invite them to your nekkid spa party. ^_^ hehe

-sean

What exactly is considered newbie bashing? I have a tendency to make fun of... well... everything. It's kinda my motif. Anyway... I'm only generally unpleasant to people who I know that if I met the in RL, I'd want to stab them in the eye with a rusty staple remover (You could do it, if you wanted to enough). Even then I can usualy play it off as being amusing. I try to be a little nicer in my joking-insults to people I don't know... but... if anyone has been offended by me at any time... build a rusty staple remover shooting gun, and shoot me. Yeah... go for it.

In the words of William S. Prescott:

"Be excellent to eachother!"

In the words of Ted Theodore Logan:

"Party on dude!"

There were also some newbies in the DarkLife area today.
I think I was friendly and ofcourse I tried to convince them to play the game
but I did notice that some of them are not familiar with the social 'rules' that are set by the older players (and which I like very much)

I never heard anyone say something like this before in Second Life:
"I need money, give me some money now!"
but today that changed
He'll learn soon enough that that's not the way we do things around here.

I gave him a dollar

I still consider myself a newbie. I certainly haven't seen everthing there is to see, and I still have a lot to learn. But in general, despite my being a right royal pain in the ass to certain people, asking them very specific questions about a vehicle script, or jointing objects or whatever, everyone has taken the time - in fact has gone out of their way - to help me, even offering private lessons or correcting a script for me. Some of these people are now really good friends in SL, and I can't imagine not seeing them every day!

As a result, I really feel this is somewhere I fit in (which is most definitely NOT the case in RL) and despite the fact I've still in my first month as a member, I'm seriously contemplating just going for the lifetime membership next month because I love the place! (Yes, I know what I said in another thread... I was angry, ok?)

Newbies are all different. They all have different expectations, and some are just overawed by the entire thing (I was!). It's not surprising they feel a little lost and helpless.

You do find that some can be a little irritating - I'm not talking about asking questions about SL as such (because I want to become a Mentor next month for that very reason) but some don't seem to have any desire to do something for themselves.

... recently I've been asked a lot 'can I have (or occasionally just 'gimme') a copy of your wings/car/house' etc., and while I'm happy to help where I can, you have to wonder what there will be to do in world if they just expect everything to be given to them on a plate! I've never presumed to ask for a copy of anything from anyone. But I've still gotten given a lot of things free from a lot of people because thats the kind of community SL has.

My advice to newbies is that its MUCH more fun to at least attempt something yourself first. You might find you really enjoy doing it, and that you're good enough at it to make money from it. Not everyone wants to give away something they just poured the last week of their lives into. Don't expect it of them.

And my advice to residents is be patient with newbies. A particularly nice newbie I met the other day was about to log for good because some residents had been, quite literally, bullying him about his build. I urged him not to leave and instead to report it as abuse. If a newbie - or anyone else - does something that is not in the spirit of SL or that just irritates you personally, do them the courtesy of discussing it with them. Don't IM them abuse and then build a huge wall to block out their build. (Yeah, you know who you are.)

Erm. I've rambled enuff. In summary: peace and luv to everyone, including newbs. But be aware that peace and luv does not always necessarily extend to a free ride/money/house!

Btw, anyone wanna help a pain-in-the-ass newb with scripting my new car sometime today?

I love newbies Hanging round the welcome area this weekend to greet the hordes was fun, and you can almost see their eyes lighting up as you tell them what is possible with the building and scripting tools.

I teach building classes, so I get to see a lot of newbies create their first objects. They get so proud! (c'mon, we've all been there! ) and it makes me happy to think that I've helped.

I do think that they could do with a quick lesson on cash and how to use it wisely - I do see an awful lot that are broke within hours of landing, because someone has sold them a sooper-mega-fire-people-3-sims-away gun or they've been told to buy land to build on. Let's face it, if you're broke in SL things are gloomy.

And yes, I've met a few assholes. People that get arsey when you don't answer their question *immediately* even though you're answering 15 others at the same time. People that want to cyber with my av in the middle of a class. Someone turned up on the Morris stage last night while I was teaching wearing a white vest and underpants, using a contant dance script, waving a penis. The sim crashed before I could report him

The majority are fine though. And they keep me amused

Great thread here. =)

So many helpful people in world, thank you all so much.

I would like to offer the thought of becoming a Second Life Mentor to any who have never heard and bump those that have been considering it!

This is just one of many ways to extend yourself to helping the newcomer. Contact me inworld or email, I would love to hear that you are interested and look forward to telling you about Mentors. Thanks!

-Char Linden-
[email]Char@lindenlab.com[/email]

Great post Alena... I've always prescribed to the theory, a warm welcome and friendly smile go a long way.

rebuffs from oldies don't just extend to newbies...I am a middlin (someone who isn't an old oldie and someone who isn't a newbie) and have been questioned about my skills and motivation. It seems that if your not an old oldie that your considered just a casual user and not privy to the secrets of the *advanced* user. What gets me is that I have a partial education in IT and before someone gets to really know me...I am discounted as a casual user. Any newbie who asks for help from me will get it!! And they will not get ripped off either. I was ripped off when I first started and was eager to sell my builds. I guess the learning curve is steep in that respect. Now, having said that I do want to clarify that not all old oldies are this way...just a few and when you interact with them it really can leave a sour taste in your mouth. I will try to resist the temptation of labeling all old oldies as mean, nasty money grubbing elitists....just like newbies are ignorant 13 yr old aol rejects...lol

I'm on my second month myself, but my experience as a newbie was hardly a process since I had friends in SL already to show me the way...so my "learning curve" wasn't as harsh as it was for others. I also remembered how kind everyone was to me and how I received so many presents from so many people. For example, when I first started, I thought the greatest thing was that my AV can fly, so of course, all I wanted was to collect wings. As days went by and I encountered more tenured members, I began to acquire all sorts of neat wings and other items that were given to me as gifts. Everyone's generosity really impressed me to such a degree, I bought a full time quarterly membership on the second day of my trial membership.

I often hangout in Dore to meet newbies and pass on the positive karma that was given me when I first join. In fact, I give newbies a pair of speed wings that have an updated script, allowing one to fly faster the higher one flew, but slowed at lower altitudes or deactivated the speed script on ground level so one can walk with the wings with no problems of doing so at super speed. Being a jabber jaw by nature, I wind up explaining to several newbies the ins and outs of just starting, offering the insights of exchanging cards, rating, attending classes and events. I ultimately tell them that being courteous, cool and communal will get you far in SL, but being an asshole will ostercize one real quickly. Many of the newbs I've taken under my wing have proven to be very talented scripters and builders, becoming good friends of mine and become vital resources for me when I've needed assists in person projects.

Yes, I've run into a few a$$holes, and I usually write them off as being a bit immature and just plain full of themselves, so I don't bother to socialize with them or contribute to any of their endeavors. Fortunately, I've met some real wonderful and talented individuals who've inspired me to improve my building skills and trying my hand at scripting (I still suck at scripting, but I've got a couple of buddies who do my scripts for me thankfully!). Even some newbies who're obviously obnoxious are entertaining, but they can be a pain when they attempt to shoot you with a tommy gun unprovoked, hence why I got me a personal pea shooter that will either kill them in one shot or send them 3 sims away...which I also file an abuse report asap. I'm good guy and usually help when I can when it comes to newbies or senior members...I'm very communal that way...but I can be as vindictive as the next person if someone gives me a reason...thanksfully, few have given me reason to go that route.

Fantastic theread here, and I'm really glad to see so many people speaking out. I come from a different perspective because I came into SL with no firends in here, not tons of major experience with mmogs, and no clue what to do. If it wasn't for the people that I have met within SL, I would still be floundering around. If any newbies are reading this thread, take the time to meet some of the people that are posted here because we all believe in one thing:

Sharing helps the entire world evolve and grow!

Frankly, we want you to make our scripts and objects better

HigPro