Popular SL hang outs.

Hey guys, I've been on SL for maybe a year now, well almost 2, but I was wondering is there anyone here that knows of any cool and popular SL hangouts? I'm still fairly knew to it and can't seem to find any place cool to go and it's really bugging me, so if anyone knows of places to go or whatever please let me know.

just sim hop, or welcome areas are interesting i find

1 year, you shuld be telling me the places to go

Lol, I wish I could tell you cool places to go, but its like "GRR! How the hell do I find a popular place?"

the Gallows?

Resident Answers.

that's the same thing as the gallows isn't it, eventually everyone gets hung in here

It would be more helpful if you let everyone know what sorts of things you enjoy and are into - SL is a big place. It's like asking "what's the best restaurant in town?" the answer depends on what kind of food ya like

I thought all prim food tasted just the same!!!

Well, like I wanna find popular clubs, or parks or whatever and I'm basically still trying to get my feet wet on there so any sorta music clubs or whatever (Ok I'm not being good on specifics here) I tried asking two friends from another site for hang outs, but they won't tell me any or just ignore me.

I wonder if one would follow the green dots how often would it be private event, or public or it might be sex club or a bunch of bot zombies?

o.O where did that come from?

OK, just give me a list of places (non sex related preferably) And I'll check them out when I go on tomorrow, I would go on tonight, but its too late, or if you wanna add me and show me places then feel free my names Twig Ling (well that was a given) bleh, damn tiredness.

Dance Island is "popular" as in there are a lot of avatars there. I like the festive atmosphere sometimes, though I find it a bit of a meat market. Not much conversation going on unless it's in IM's -- or maybe they're just a lot of bots.

I'm trying to check out events rather than places. It's the events that draw people. In world photography competitions currently intrigue me. Look for weird events. Somewhere there are (or were) giant snail races that are reported to be a lot of fun.

For converstion, I hear the Coffee Shop at Mill Pond is lively.

Seconded. What various people find "cool" or interesting varies widely.

For example, my partner and I like to dance, but prefer places that are predominately couples dancing (ie, Avilion, Frank's Place, etc.). We were interested in checking out a new place last night and went to a club that has been recommended several times as a popular place on these forums.

Well, it *is* apparently popular due to the number of people, but for us it was irritating. We got the usual canned greetings from the host/hostesses and I said thank you. Everyone there, from what I could see, were using dance chims (ie. single dancing) so we jumped on a set of dance balls that we "thought" were far enough away from the singles dancing so we didn't get bonked on the head by some of the movements of those dances. (That's happened before...lol).

I'm still trying to get my bearings, rez in, and find where my partner was on the dance balls when I get an IM from the club owner saying "Welcome to my club." Never had that happen before, especially since he (and the hostess) had already greeted us, but ok...perhaps a bit more "customer service." I said thank you...found the dance set my partner was on and asked if he'd gotten an IM from the owner. He had.

Shortly afterwards, I got another IM from the owner asking if this was my first time there. Ok, now here's where people differ: some people may have thought that was wonderful. I was irked. I was dancing with my partner, talking to him, staying out of the way of the chim dancers (one of which had made it over and was wildly swinging her arms around near us), and seeing chat spam galore. Since we'd already been greeted, I wasn't interested in having a chat in IM with the owner, especially as my partner this time wasn't getting a similar IM. I closed out the IM window and went back to dancing/chatting with my partner.

Then the owner announces in public chat that there are "32 people here right now" and continued that with how popular the club was. Next thing I know, my IM window pops up again with that same pronouncement from the owner. I told my partner who said to me in IM, "It's about to be 30" - he IM'd the club owner and asked him to please stop IMing me. We left shortly thereafter.

Point being, many people may (and apparently do) find this club a cool, popular hangout. For us, it became a place to put on our "do not go to again" list. We made a beeline back to our preferred quieter, more romantic, couples only dances Avilion Ballroom.

I second the advice to check the events calendar, because a lot of places have great regulars and great events and stand empty or nearly empty between times.

I used to go dancing a lot, but I've fallen away from it and a lot of my old favorites are long gone. Just off the top of my head, Blackhearts always seems to have a fairly lively crowd, at least when I've popped in. It's been a while. If you pop into a club and it's empty, it never hurts to look around for a poster or notecard dispenser with event times.

I've been spending a lot of time at a club called Demented Souls, but I don't remember their event times off the top of my head and they're usually empty when I check there between events. Trivia Wednesday nights, MadBonds/MadGab Saturday nights, and usually a contest/costume event Sunday afternoons.

My other recommendation is to join a group. The Funky Feats meet to do group dances, so every now and then group IM will pop up with a call to come join in and an SLURL. Treasure Quest (Or Treasure Quest Hunters?) puts on scavenger hunts that have you hopping all over the place looking for hidden objects, as well as parties on Friday and Saturday nights when there are hunts. There are usually other people popping in and out while you're hunting and plenty of group chat, so you get to know people. And I hear there's a group called The Forum Cartel which keeps up a pretty lively group chat...

Truly, most of the places I've found to go hang out with people I've found through event listings or from friends. There's a lot of spam and empty 3-hour unhosted events, but there are a few gems hiding there. (My favorite categories: Education, Nightlife/Entertainment, Games/Contests. I've heard good things about Live Music, but my hearing isn't what it used to be and I don't get a lot out of them.)

Although you requested popular hangouts (where a lot of other people would be gathered) there is plenty of enjoyment to be had wandering around some of the amazing builds to be found in SL. Look for blogs that showcase some of the areas. A favourite of mine is Not Possible in Real Life:

http://npirl.blogspot.com/

And a new (to me) blog that I found a few days ago: SLWTF - A Second Life Travelogue:

http://slwtf.com/

I'd recommend the local welcome areas dotted around the map. There's usually absolutely nothing to do at those places so the only thing is to hang out and talk to people.

Wherever I'm at at any given moment.

I heard the Forum Cartel hangout is pretty popular. There was also this one empty sim the other night..... that someone was talking about. Yeah, that's it.

Have a look at my profile - go to web-tab and find an index to some 200 SL places.
Even if some may be gone since last checkup (end of September) you will find enough places to see.

We do hope that some of them matches your interest.

And if you join our group you will get notecards to places every 2-4 weeks.

Wol,
SL Guided Tours

"Dammit! I haven't got a clue what I want, and I am too lazy to do anything about it myself so I am trying to dump the problem on you guys"

Pep ("Well, isn't that what Residents Answers is for?"

Sorry to quote myself - after I shut down the computer last night, I realized I should have added the standard disclaimer that I have no vested interest in any of these places, except as a random member/attendee/participant.

I also thought of another way to find interesting places that are (frequently) at least somewhat active: When you encounter people, right-click on them and view their profiles. Their picks and groups can be used as a source of ideas for places to go.

Now that I'm thinking again...

I think I saw in another thread that there is a group called SL Things To Do that sends out interesting LMs and notices. I keep meaning to join it and forgetting when I'm in world, so I have no idea what it's like. (But I'll bet that if they send the same announcement out to a bunch of members and you visit shortly thereafter, you may find some more people than just you...)

Joining a club's group, if you have free spots, can let you know when they have events coming up. If after a week or so you haven't gotten anything out of it, drop it and try another. (Or you can even view the past two weeks' notice history and get a feel for when and how often they are.)

One more - In the forum here, go to the section for blogs and webpages. Many SL bloggers include suggestions for places to visit. Some will suit you, some won't; some will be empty, some full - just keep trying 'em out.

Do you want populated, or cool? Because they aren't always the same thing.

There are RP sims that have constant traffic, depending on your taste...old west, urban, dark future, ...ahem..others....

There are the dance clubs. Best bet is to look for live events of the kind of music you like. You'll get to meet people, and listen to some very talented performers.

And there are tourist spots...slnatalia.blogspot.com has a really good tour guide section that highlights a bunch of "must see" sims. They aren't good for meeting people, but great for exploring all their nooks and crannies.

But really...if it's social you want, your best bet is to look for places and groups focused on things that interest you. For that, search is your friend.

EDT: A fun little thing too is to go to an always busy spot, like Franks, and use it as a launching point for pick-hopping. Open someone's profile, go to their picks tab, pick one and TP there. Rinse and repeat at each spot. Never know where the chain will take you.

I am part of a group called SL events that you have to im the owner to receive an invite. Also I am a part of Premier Star Networks. These groups send group notices on various events in sl.

Also hockey season in sl has started. Last night the hubby and I attended a naked skirmage prior to the game. It was quite interesting to say the least. Trying to keep my eyes on the pucks was a bit of a challenge when trying to avoid looking at the "other" hockey stick.

That was the point I was trying to make with my anecdote. You said it in a more pithy manner.

how about "Hard Alley" .... great place to people watch lol