Two Days Old...

Hi Melpomene - Welcome to SL - I dropped you a newbie kit in SL and here is a link to OnRez that has several freebies you can get started with: http://shop.onrez.com/item/492222

You will need to register with OnRez in-world first- search in "Search" for them and u will be all set. Good luck

Ann,

Are you sure this doesn't just mean "you can only do this once." i.e. people can't scam the system and repeatedly get the bonus by downgrading and then upgrading again. I think that's all they mean by "new."

I could have sworn that I got my bonus, and I know I was free for a while.

Surely no one would ever get the bonus if you had to sign up for it immediately. Who would do that?

I think the "resolved" answer that Melpomeme got was either unclear or incorrect. As you say, communication isn't always the Lindens' strong point!

Check your transaction history
*grin*

There are a lot of good places for skins and shapes. LOTS of good places.

Again I want to mention the web store SL Exchange (www.slexchange.com) and their compitition, OnRez (shop.onrez.com). They make shopping a lot easier with listed catagories, searches and different ways of sorting the results. Many people use them to find what they want or narrow down the list and then buy the items in world. Since you are after a look, you may have to go back and forth until you find just the right skin and shapes and end up buying them from the web if you still can not get the L$ from the game.

And finally, my word of advice on buying skins: try the demos if at all possible. I have a 5000L$ skin in my inventory I never wear because it looks terrible on my face's shape.

*clears throat* ahem

Thank you BOTH!

Customer service reps have repeatedly said in the past that you have to sign up initially as Premium in order to get the sign up bonus...otherwise it would be an 'upgrade bonus.' However, quite a few upgraded accounts do seem to get the bonus, so who knows what the actually criteria is. *shrug*

Occasionally you get a Linden who cannot discern the difference between the pelvic attachment point and a -4m terrain deformation.

lol, how very topical and PG of you!

Sometimes you wonder if it isn't the entire company.

That's frickin awesome.

Btw you can purchase L$ via SLexchange.com (also known as SLX) if you are having difficulty purchasing through LL. You will need to create an account and verify it with your avatar inworld (they will give instructions on how to do this) but it's all fairly straightforward.

After that you "deposit" USD into the SLX account, then "buy SLL", then "Withdraw" the L$ and it goes to your inworld avatar almost immediately. I prefer to purchase my L$ this way, no hassle.

/me wipes coffee of screen and grabs this for sig

imogen

Best advice for starting SL I've seen!

I've found quite a few interesting things in treasure hunts (Search|Events|Games/Contests).

Also, try the freebie shop in Westworld MIA.

Most shopping areas have freebies, and some can be quite nice. On the other hand, I could have quite a bonfire with all the t-shirts I've collected.

Check Yadni's Junkyard and Sara Nerd's freebie place. Lots of interesting things to play with.

You probably won't settle on a look for quite a while, so getting lots of different things makes sense. I'm still not happy with my look, but I'm learning what I want - by the time I figure it out, I might even be able to find it.

Mel,

IM me in world. I'd love to get together and talk SL with you. Your experience is EXACTLY like what happened to me in my early days. It's annoying, I know. Our Overlords have some strange policies. But the place is still worth it.

By the way, you can receive private messages on these forums. You do have to enable it in your User CP profile settings (upper left of the forum window).