New Customer Entry Point Experiment Results

The "experience" that Christiano so clearly noted is so divergent from the hype and promotional videos that it a farking miracle anyone converts at all.

Ooh nifty 30 FPS video of people doing cool stuff is a whole lot different than login, get 5 FPS once everything loads that is. Have no idea how anything at all works or how to do it. An interface that was designed by engineers for engineers and then got hacked to bits. Video hyped out the wazoo which crashes a lot of clients.

My eight year old can play The Sims, and her skills are probably closer to the average new player than us geeks who have been here for a while. I needed to teach her almost nothing because it was designed by skilled designers who did things like user testing. It invites exploration instead of punishing it.

Orientation island is as limited as it was two years ago and teaches almost nothing. Stupid simple case. I enter the WA, I even see a sign that purports to have information on what to do. I mouse over it and it says "notecard dispenser v1.5 / Script Touch". What the hell does that mean?

Add that to the fact that King Philly wouldn't know a statistic if it bit him on the a posteriori and their experiment wasn't an experiment at all, it was a clue-deficient, half-executed nothing. No difference in unspecified conversion rates must mean The Shelter has no value? I wasn't there nearly as often as Rick or Travis. Aside from the time that I brought a Liaison to be no help in un-borking the teleport, did you ever see one observing? I sure as hell didn't. Yeah, I know, they're too busy not answering Live Help calls or sumptin.

Why do I even bother? They're ineducable.

It'd be good to have the instructors start teaching building, scripting and general game play classes like they use to do on a daily basis. That's what kept me going in SL. I think the sooner new players learn to build and general instruction on the UI it'd help a lot.

I think new players want to be shown how to do and use things rather then try and figure it out reading more note cards on top of note cards. Now it's here's a note card, go figure it out, here's a LM, go figure it out =/ There was something about having the classes I thought which gave me the feeling that people here genuinely cared about my experience in SL

I liked the Show and Tell events, those where always a lot of fun. I think we need more things like this to keep people interested. Why did those events stop?

after my first couple hours of joining, i hated sl. i was not going to stay past my free trial. and this was even with my bf walking me through orientation island and some other basics. i had the good fortune to stumble upon the shelter (yay travis), and some other nice people who helped me out. and now i've signed up for a year. but if i hadn't found them, i would've been gone.

sl is very off-putting, and not very helpful, at the beginning. orientation island gives some info, but not what i would consider even a bare minimum of what you need to "play" sl. i'm used to playing RPGs where they gradually introduce you to features, activities, etc. obviously this wouldn't work as well in sl as there are no specific goals/quests you are striving for. but there definitely needs to be something more comprehensive than what is there now.

if sl is seriously looking to increase their user count, this an issue they really need to address. how many people are they losing because of this? i'm not sure exactly what would work. maybe the option for in-game tutorials on different subjects upon initial login. maybe have mentors with different areas of expertise, so new users can go from mentor-to-mentor for help as they need it. as cristiano said, that is sl's job to figure out what they need to do. but they need to do something.

The guns - when I joined in February of this year, there was a shooting gallery in the welcome area. So that was fun.

Two reasons I would not have stayed:

(1) Lag too fierce to move. Try to move, and go nowhere, then wind up 50 feet somewhere else. Only Barney telling me how to fix my settings prevented me from quitting right away. And even after that, the lag sucked, and still sucks.

(2) Nothing to do and no way to make money. After realizing I couldn't make a profit in entertainment, I turned to building. Turns out I like building. Building is why I stay.

coco

P.S. I, too, enjoyed seeing all the avatar creation possibilities right off the bat, and spent an hour creating the avatar I still have.

I enjoyed being able to be a short girl. (I was short in AO, too, but had to have the same body as everyone else in TSO, except as a bear or something.) I enjoy seeing people of all sizes, weights and shapes here.

What percent of people try SL and leave?

Is there a transcript of the meeting ReallyRick referred to?

Players do care about your experience. That's why Linden Lab *customers* endeavor to help through things like spending their game time to be mentors or live helpers. For their own reasons that I never understood well, Linden Lab chose to stop paying mentors and instructors to teach classes. This was surprising to me at the time because the pay was not particularly high (L$500/hr) and the teaching was pretty high caliber. As a newbie I took Building 101 which I still consider the most valuable hour I've spent in game.

Linden Lab also supported events held by anyone provided they met some criteria (pulling out of poor memory: had to have ten attendees, something else). The payment for event holders was also removed at the time compensation for mentors and instructors were. I think Linden Lab may have reinstated payment for instuctors, but I had gone to see a couple recently and found that they were accomplishing much less in the classes than they had historically. I cannot say if this is because the caliber of teaching has dropped, the technical savvy of newbies has (not insulting, just the player base has expanded from the initially pretty techy types to a broader distribution of skills) or whether it was an artifact of my very limited sample. One of the building classes that I stopped by was held in the Oak Grove teaching area and the sim was out of prims and there was no Linden help available. Had I not offered the use of my land for that class, it would likely not have been held as it is rather difficult to teach building when no one can rez a prim.

One of the reasons that I know many former event holders of all types have been disinclined to hold events - regardless of compensation - is that event griefing had become pretty severe for a time and the feeling was "why should I work to make a good event only to have some jerk interrupt it". I recently asked of the forums if this had diminished; those who responded felt it had. I know that the prior bad experiences has left a distaste that I'm having difficulty forgetting. A few months ago me and a friend held a wildly successful show-and-tell, providing the prize money ourselves because we felt as you did. Had I not played "seargant-at-arms", the griefer who showed up ten minutes into the event would have blown all the attendees off world instead of just the host.

So on the whole I would have to say that Linden disinterest contributed greatly to the decline of the events.

That said, the standard answer to the question why are there not more events of type Q that I like, is if you'd like more Q events, hold them yourself. Ask around, you will find people who are willing to tell you what you need to do, will offer land for you to hold them on, and you can even find people who are willing to give you L$ support for your event just because they like to see more of event Q held. I know I have supported events with education, land, and L$ because I like to. I also know others that have for the same reason. All you need to provide is your time, effort, and desire.

Hope that answered some of your questions.

Yes the transcript of the meeting this came from is here: /120/5d/61206/1.html

We had some very enlightened newbies during this time. Very intelligent ones, lucid, more than I would have expected.

Yeah. We help newbies in Lusk, and I think they were appreciative. It went real well from our end of the telehub. Few if any griefers, many interested people...

But I dont think any of the age-old questions could have been answered any easier. What do I get for premium and why would I want it? How do you make money? Eveyrthing's so expensive...

The thing was, the truth of the matter is: It's TOUGH to be a newbie in SL. You come in, you see the politics, the "You mean if I go premium, I have to fight to find good land, and even then it'll probably be overpriced and I have to deal with these 'land baron' characters?"

Its scary to a newbie! Who wants to jump into the political frey? Most of them just don't. Most of them stay basic and bide their time. I think the conversion may happen eventually, after they get a stake in SL.

That's what I've been telling them. Find friends first. That is the most important. Build a social network, a support network, people you can work with, go back to, rely on.

THEN look at buying land, selling things, and jumping into the fire. The politics and vastness and details that we take for granted (land barons, auctions, dwell, renting vs buying, prim allocations, tier, stipends, ratings..) things we rattle off our tongues like they're nothing... all of this greek is VERY overwhelming to a newbie. Most of whom are still trying to figure out the UI and the building interface! All the while getting "So and so has bumped you. Abuse report?" messages.


Linden: You guys have to step back and do some good old fashioned usability testing. You can't approach it like a Linden, and you can't approach it like a long time resident. (This is exactly why I keep some 'unknown' alts who I log on as, to see how we're doing in Luskwood. I basically become a newbie, and monitor the experience. I even try to get one of our own avatars, and talk to the people in our area. That way I don't remain unaware and 'comfortable' of whats going on when new folks show up.)

I think LL should do some of that. Log on as a new user sometimes. Clear your mind, pretend you've never done this before. and *follow it through* for a week or two.

See where you can get with that newbie account, and ask yourself: Would I convert? If not, why not?

I think what LL is seeing is the demand for L$-in-the-account is higher than the demand for land ownership among new free accounts. So, it makes more sense to THEM to spend $9.95 a month on GOM or IGE and buy a few vehicles and some clothing, than to buy a plot of land and go premium --- and do what? Start trading it? Set up a shop?

If LL wants more conversions, LL is going to have to define or provide more concrete benefits for what premium gets you. The land is a draw for some people. But what about other incentives? I dont know what those'd be. We dont want to print money, at least by and large that seems to be the concensus. But people don't have enough of it as it is.

Though maybe getting rid of a few of the barriers of obfuscation for first land may help. Maybe make the bottom tier 1024 vs 512. Maybe make it so once you go premium, you just *GET* that first plot, instead of having to jump into the land rat race.

For many newbies, that's just too daunting. I know land resellers would protest at first, but 1) you aren't printing money, 2) you're getting them INTO the system which they will probably use later -- give them a decent land setup to start with, and they will want MORE once they get a foothold -- yes, from the land brokers... 3) you'll simply have more landowners if some of the layers of confusion are taken away.

I don't have a perfect solution. But I very strongly feel that LL needs to experience SL from the new user point of view, and take notes on what doesn't feel right. I know with Luskwood Creatures, I dont want to live in a glass bubble. I want to know the customer experience and figure out what we can do better.

Usually the only way to do that is to see it through the eyes of your customers.

Michi, that's brilliant. It's so simple too.

Fresh perspectives.

Michi, I want to have your sharp and pointy love child

Been busting my butt around the grid doing orientations, and a whole lot of it is about making friends with the new folks. Maybe not die-for-you-take-a-bullet friends, but at least let people feel that they can stop by for a chat socially, or feel comfortable IMing you with a question anytime.

Sometimes you just say hi, and shove welcome kits at people and ask how they are getting on. They (may or may not) thank you and wander off. Some folks stay and ask questions. Some are keen to get on exploring. Some chat, ask questions and experiment for some time. I don't really know how many of the former groups stay on, but many of the ones in the latter grouping I see again and again. They make friends, IM me with questions, want to show off their clothes or builds, maybe buy some land.

I can't keep track of them all, but they contact me from time to time, and I'm always glad when they're doing well, and always try to help if they're not. Sometimes they don't remember my name, but as long as they're having a good SL, that's okay too. Those first couple days are packed with new wonders.

Take the time to talk to the new residents. Particularly look for the ones who are hovering around the fringes. Maybe they don't feel comfortable wedging a sentence into the wall of words. Maybe they feel awkward about intruding on a silence. Welcome them. By name. Ask them how they are, how they are getting on, and if you can help. You may just make a friend. Or many friends. And everything comes easier when you have friends to help you.

I believe Linden Research does still pay to hold classes, up to 2 classes a day, 500 lindens each.

At both of the links below it mentions paying for class giving. Who could get paid was not clear to me.


https://secondlife.com/community/volunteer.php and /3/44/51831/1.html

Exactly. You don't have to marry them. You just have to give them a basis. Make it so they don't feel overwhelmed, and that it's OK to ask questions. You don't have to end up blood brothers, but at least show them that friends are possible here. Gives them stake in the world, arther than the 'bigness' of the world overwhelming them into quitting. Be a pressure release valve and someone who can give them hints. It'll get em to stay, and you'll end up with a better quality resident.

I called dibs on this years ago.

I settled for a great neighbor.... a little bit away.

I still want a catapult.......or at the very least a very large crossbow.

Its my first day here and I was looking for clothing construstion threads but this thread caught my eye.

my observations in no particular order.

Well maybe some order

The UI feels extremely clumsy, some simple examples are: you can toggle chat ON with <enter> why doesnt it toggle OFF when I send the message? why cant I have a first person perspective with no mouse look?

Those 2 almost had me quitting before I got out of the tutorial.

Loading (rezzing?) in some places seems beyond stupidly slow particularly in places where there are a billion shops all with custom textures. I walked away from the computer to get a drink came back 5 minutes later and a few things still werent done. I can run most anything you can throw at this computer well and have broadband cable.

I have yet to figure out how to make any money and land is the farthest thing from my mind currently. I still am trying to make my avatar look correct.... the renderign just looks wrong.

Im a long time MMO player and honestly if it wasnt for my brother im not sure how far I would have gotten at all.

The ideas of the system seem wonderful and I hope Ill stay around long enough to try them out. Just felt the need to share.

Tind

Tind, those are good observations from your perspective... what previous MMOs are you familiar with? SL is basically the first sort of online world I've really gotten into, and even within that, I realize how lateral things can be here (that require a shift in thinking). Keeping that in mind, I'm all for better UI improvements.

There is actually a Preference to close chat bar after Enter. Lookie for it in Chat/IM called "Close chat after hitting return". (Should be "Enter", not "return", that should be reworded.)

One of the more massive paradigm shifts in SL is how much of the content here is user—rather, Resident-created. Yes, if someone's an irresponsible person, they can lag a region to death in a manner you've described. However, the upside of the freedom is it allows for such variance of texturing too. More specifics about your bandwidth would be kewl too, did you check your Network Preferences in SL?

SL is sometimes not best approached from a moneymaking perspective but that's a personal choice. Me, I have a gambling addiction and lost all my money. It was ironic when I stopped thinking about money I did some very odd jobs here and there and made L$. That, however, is merely my personal experience.

Hope you'll stay around and clip-and-save this first post of yours, to see how you feel half a year from now! I did and I'm happy I did.

That being said, a warm welcome to SL!

Hello, everyone. It seems this thread discusses the conversion from basic/free registration to Premium account, with some question as to the 'new player's perspective'. As a newbie that has not yet made that particular jump (I've been playing since September 10), I can tell you some of my experiences thus far, such as why I kept playing despite the interface and the reasons I will or will not convert to Premium.

I've played a number of MMORPGs, from Everquest (crap) to City of Heroes (yay) to World of Warcraft (for the horde!). I love programming and messing around with game editors, and I've experimented with a number of different creation systems, from Worldhammer for Half-Life to Doom III's built-in level editor. By far the most fun was playing with Garry's Mod, which lets you mess around with the incredible Havok physics engine in Half-Life 2. When I heard about SL, I thought, "WoW + Garry's Mod = 3D MUCK!"

As someone that has played around with programs that were sometimes mostly untranslated from Japanese, I still felt the UI was pretty incomprehensible to start with:

"Oh crap! I can't move! I'm stuck typing! AIIIIEEEEEoh, I have to hit Escape to walk around again."

"I know my friend just logged in for the first time, how the heck do I send him an IM? I can even see the button! I just can't enter his name! Hmm... Find: People: Tony... well, that's not very intuitive, but it worked."

"Man, these freebie texture packs are great, but dragging and dropping 100+ textures one-by-one is a huge pain in the ass... there's got to be a better way, but if there is, I sure don't know what." (Only *today* did I learn shift-dragging, and even then I don't know if it'll let you do this to an object's inventory to your personal inventory!)

However, I rolled with it, because for all I knew the game was still 'beta' (hence the free signup). In terms of my expectations, I went into the game thinking that it would be, literally, an MMO Garry's Mod: people could make some stuff, and I'd see some really cool things by extremely talented modelers, but aside from that it would be fairly simplistic and silly. I wasn't expecting much in the way of creative or interesting content.

Then I went to Burning Life.

Actually, my introduction to SL went something like this, for those of you talking about an experiment involving player start areas vs. conversion to paid accounts:

* Tutorial Island
* Some generic-looking Newbie Area
* A teleport via the Find menu to a random mall, where I inadvertantly gave myself breasts and for the life of me couldn't figure out how to turn male again

Then I saw a message about Burning Life exhibits (it was letting everyone know Burning Life would be disappearing soon). I teleported to Burning Life, and... wow. Just... wow.

I was utterly floored by the incredible works of art I found at Burning Life. The game instantly went from "experiment" to "I can hear every 70's sci-fi author simultaneously weeping with joy." The potential, the possibilities within Second Life suddenly became clear as day. To see full, genuine artistic expression on such a large scale, with such a wide variety of talents, expressions, styles, and points varying from political to pure amusement, blew me away.

And that's why I'm still here. Honestly, if it weren't for Burning Life, I would probably have continued running around for a while attaching texture boxes to my head instead of opening up their inventories (or using an Inventory Giver script from Tashie Oddfellow ), then gone off to some other project. Here, in Second Life, there is no limit to what I can't accomplish (except my own artistic and creative abilities!). In terms of being able to create anything I could ever dream of, SL is a system second to none.

Will I ever purchase a Premium membership? That depends on what I get out of it. It seems like I can rent land without needing a Premium membership, thanks to land resellers and those booth scripts at various malls. I haven't yet experienced the 'land baron' phenomenon, and now that I've heard of it, I'm somewhat afraid of it. At the moment, though, I haven't yet cancelled my WoW subscription and I don't know if I want to put that $15 a month toward pizza or toward SL.

I completely agree with Cristiano Midnight; the intro to the game is very poor and the learning curve of the interface is sharp enough to cut diamonds. Even the scripting Wiki seems written as a reference for those who already know the language, not as something to teach beginners. I think the word 'esoteric' sums up just about everything I've found so far, from supposed tutorials to the game interface itself. There are a lot of aspects of the game you just don't even think about after a while, like flight controls or how to copy an object with the pie menu with More > Take Copy, but to a beginner they're utterly invisible.

As for the amount of players that converted, well, starting area doesn't necessarily hook a person. With a game as free-form as SL, it's entirely up to the user to create his or her own enjoyment. There is no end-game, there is no goal, there aren't experience points or weapons to be earned; except for the cost of uploads, a player with a department store empire and a complete newbie character both have the ability to create the same objects, from cars to shotguns to castles.

The game is about creation, expression, and social interaction; for many casual gamers or those more interested in 'winning', no matter how intuitive and easy-to-use the UI is, they just simply won't care because it won't hold their attention span for very long.

I'm starting to ramble a bit, but I hope this newbie's perspective helps those of you who have been with the game for a long time. I'm still learning the ropes, and I have a ways to go (especially since I'm definitely more interested in the scripting side than anything else; my chicken Clarence spits fire at people that click her too much!), but I'm definitely interested in learning more and exploring the vast world that has suddenly presented itself to me.

... if only I can start walking again! Hit Escape... right... I knew that.

It's nice to have a clear articulate experiential summation like that. Everyone's initial experiences are different, but there are plenty things that make our experiences similar.

Maybe we need a take-all-contents context menu option. That works from the inventory screen too

Glad you're sticking it out with us. SL's always changing. What we are today isn't necessarily what we were yesterday....and I'm interested to see (good or bad) what we will be tomorrow.

Many other's have reported the same thing.

Me three.

I loved the large variety of customization options. I must have played with alone for the first 2 or 3 days