Essential tips for public sandbox usres...

Having explored SL in the last two weeks I am overwhelmed by the objects created. I would love to delve into building objects myself. But am a little apprehensive cause of no experience. Could you guys chip in some tips based on your experience (good, bad, ugly) of using public sandboxes?

Much thanks in advance!!!!

the good of sandbox:
free for you to use

the bad of sandbox(but not horribly bad considering you don't have to pay to use it):
auto-return
sometimes there are griefers
lag


when i first started building, after a few weeks, i decided to get a skyplatform rezzer if you like to be away from others while you build.

The most important tip is to not use Linden sandboxes. Instead use ones that are privately owned and have moderators.

Hi and welcome! I would advice you to use a sandbox with low traffic. When you search for "sandbox", go a few pages back, never pick the top. It can be handy to build alone without being disturbed by griefers. Then when you feel more confident, you can go to more popular places, so you can talk and learn from others.

A skyplatform is a good advice. You can get a free Mystitool, that has a lot of useful options. One of them is that you can rez a skyplatform. When you wear the HUD, and go to a sandbox, you click the Mystitool symbol on your screen and choose "Rez sky platform". The Mysti then rez a control center under your feet, you sit on it and click it, then choose "Warp and rez". Voila, you go up in the sky with a big platform under you, ready to play on. Remember, you must always sit before you click "Warp and rez", or you stand down on the ground when the platform goes up.

More tips here:

Digreessing from sandboxes, there is a very useful place to go to learn how to build. It's called the Ivory Tower of Primitives. It shows just about everything you'd want to know about building. It's also a fantastic 'build' in its own right.

I go to skidz... private platforms and never been bothered there...

I went to this University sanbox and it was totally empty! I think an actual University person popped in to see what I was doing but they left as they saw I was quietly building stuff. I was building on the ground too. I can't remember the name but I'm sure you can just search for something similar.

NCI offers a couple mainland and one estate sandbox in Kuula, Hamniada, and Fisherman's Cove; respectively. Each has from a 2 to a 3 hour autoreturn and officers are practically on call all day and night via New Citizens Inc. group chat. (^_^)y

I'll recommend searching for Hobo Island, a group owned sim for building. These are some of the best scripters/builders I've found with very eclectic tastes who give lessons and free items/tools for building. They usually patrol the sandbox for griefers and give more help than you could ever want. There's always something amazing being built to see there every time I stop in.

QFT
NCI is, as usual, my recommendation but whatever you do, don't think the awful experience of LL Land is the 'real' second life.

I go to a few, depending on whether I want to hide and concentrate, or chat a bit, or help a bit. Dreams is friendly and well tended. I find furry ones to be often friendly and peaceful. Avoid Morris like the plague, unless you are feeling really really bored and/or masochistic.

Yeah, stay as FAR AWAY FROM PUBLIC SANDBOXES AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Sandboxes are for ding dongs who run around and grief people, have an IQ under 60, and have nothing to do. You're far better off searching places for PRIVATE sandboxes. There are many many places in SL that have private sandboxes open to the public, but, because the ding dongs that hang out in public sandboxes don't have the IQ to use the search function, they typically don't find them. Also, people who have private sandboxes will generally respond when there's a problem.

So where are these private sandboxes? Well, IBM has one of (at least) that I've been to, as does Bowling Green State University (BGSU Creation is the name of the sim). There's generally some rules to these sandboxes, stuff like no griefing, no nudity, no bugging other people, no weapons, etc. Stuff anyone who wants to build can easily live with. Private sandboxes typically have autoreturn set to 2-12 hours or more.

Also, if you just sort of hunt around the map, you can often times find land that has object entry/build turned on, and autoreturn set for several hours, or off completely (0 min autoreturn time). I've found that 99.9 percent of the time, the land owners will not care if you hang out and build (they do have it turned on which implies that it's ok to rez), and as long as you are respectful, and are sure to clean up everything when you're done, then they will normally not mind. One of the best ways to find areas like this are to search land sales, teleport around to the parcels for sale, (search bigger ones, around 8192 or bigger), then when you get there, see if build/object entry is on and autoreturn is off, or set to several hours. I personally started doing that after getting griefed over and over in public sandboxes. Every single time I used someone else's land (with 1 exception), I was able to work, undisturbed, for hours on end, without the land owner showing up at all. The one time the owner did show up, I explained what I was doing, told him I'd leave, I cleaned up all my prims and left. He never reported me as I wasn't really doing anything wrong. (Build WAS on... if it was a big deal to him he could have set it off, or a 1 min return time).

I use CNWL (College of North West London) sandbox when I need one. Not many people there, and there is one of those rezzer boards that rezzes any shape possible in sl. I always build a platform and put it up in the sky, just for the sake of privacy and leaving the ground free. I've never been griefed there.

Choose a quiet one.

Choose a quiet spot within it, and/or rez a sky-platform if the local rules allow it.

SIT ON SOMETHING: then if you are bumped, pushed, shot, have a megaprim rezzed around you or hit by a vehicle you won't go flying off.

Save your work now and then... use "Take Copy". Rename it something meaningful, or drop it in a folder with a helpful name ("Widget Build 29/11/09".

Turn off sound, set status to busy etc. - whatever you need to remove distractions.

Don't freak out if someone does try griefing you: it's like feeding a troll.

Clean up when you're done. This isn't just for the benefit of others. Even if you don't plan to be away long, sandbox contents can get deleted at the oddest times. Sometimes if a griefer fills the place with crap, the owners just delete everything rather than try sorting the good stuff from the bad.

Aw! I think it is so great that you would take the time and effort to come in and ask this. I do wonder at your name since it seems to denote some prior knowledge of SL. Oh well...

Look lower on the traffic list. Those will be less crowded.

Read the rules to every sim you go to, whether it is a sandbox or not, and try to abide by them while there. If you feel they are too much to ask, simply leave and find another place.

Icy Sandbox instantly bans all child avatars, that is in their 'welcome' message and their rules. So if you are a child avatar, don't go to that one.

Reading rules alone will save you a lot of hassle everywhere you go in SL.

Generally speaking, don't use weapons unless it is a weapon testing sandbox. Do not build something so huge it takes up the entire sandbox. If you must, then find one that's empty.

Sandboxes are generally to build in, so don't sell things there, roleplay there, etc. Don't do things that will annoy other visitors, such as extended use of particles (the type that take up the whole sandbox), loud noises, etc. They are there to build as well.

If someone helps you, thank them.

Don't leave the sandbox without picking up all your stuff first. Even though it has an auto return someone else might need that space before then.

Is this a netiquette questionnaire in disguise?

I guess I'm feeling cranky today. LOL