Should The New Member Landing Area Be In A More Busier Spot?

Well i'm talking about the first place you are when you sign on for the first time. I only saw one person and they flew away when I walked up to them. I think the new member landing area is too dead, or maybe I arrived at a bad time.

I don't think so, its only the first time you're on. I think what they should do is liven it up a little bit, and also make it easier to call for help while you're there. Perhaps let the Live Helpers or Greeters access to that island.

Regards,

-Flip

School must have just gotten out for the summer...

The "New Member Landing Area" is in the Welcome Area, where there are generally at least half a dozen people around. When a new user first joins SL, they're placed on Orientation Island where they're given instruction in the basics of SL. It's an idea which is common to many MMOG. The last time I was on Orientation Island (creating an alt) there were five people on the island with me. It's no less barren than the new user experience in ATID (three people on the island when I first joined) or in There (five people on the beach when I first joined).

I would like to see a Linden or two actively welcoming new users, though. In ATID, there are one or two mentors constantly running around helping people out. A similar idea might be worth considering here.

Sorry, in There we call the landing area Paiz. But because Second Life might be new to someone they need a real person, not programmed scripts. The only thing they'd need to know is basicly how to move and have fun, not a lesson in MMORPGs.

Why?

While certainly live support is useful for resolving problems, its by no means nessesariy to simply learn how to press "page up" to fly.

I think a Linden or two hanging around to answer a question would be fine. But to open it up for *anyone* to be there, is a bad idea. SL can be a complicated place to someone who isn't used to things like Alt+Zoom for camera and such, I'd find it annoying to have people bothering me while I try to learn the basic concepts. But it could just be me, I prefer to learn games on my own without help, so for me Orientation Island with only one person on it besides me, is perfect.

When I first joined I had 2 Lindens greet me on OI, first one (Ben I think), when I very first was "spawned" said hi and asked if I needed help, etc. Second one (Jeff I think) did the same, I would have been fine without that too, but it was nice at the same time, "someone cares" kinda thing.

The Welcome Area serves the purposes described well already.

Did someone just use a comparative adverbial modifier with a comparative adjectival ending ("more busier"? There goes the virtual neighborhood.

~Ulrika~

No, I don't think so...

I found walking around the initial island a very good intro into SL.. you can walk around each part in peace and quiet and learn the basics by yourself uninterupted. You can play around at your own speed without outside distraction.

Once finished you can go to the Welcome Area, where you can get all the additional help you need.

I think the introductory island is very good for what it's supposed to do : teach the absoute basics to a new player.

Siggy.

I remember when i first landed at Ahern, the avatars looked like they had just stepped out of Transmetropolitan, and the welcome arch was the gateway, and they were lining both sides. That was a good long while ago. Course it never felt the same as that again.

Ulrika beat me to it.

edit: Also, Orientation Island was great for me. I might have felt a little rushed if there were people around. It was good enough to learn the basics alone and then meet folks in the Welcome Area beyond.

I would have felt rushed, too, if anyone besides other brand new players were there. And embarassed, too. I spent about an hour making my AV (you can see it now on me any time) and I didn't feel embarrassed about it all cause that's what a couple of other people were doing, too.

I had a friend waiting for me to really get in, and I was happy to take my time and kind of work out the more embarrassing things about moving, etc., before I got near friends.

Anyway, I had the idea that you could always ask for help via the help button thingie, even on the island. Can't you?

coco

No way! We can FLY in SL?????!!!!1111oneoneoneoneeleven

heheh

Welcome to SL, Zack!

I think you just hit the Welcome Area at a bad time when you arrived. Normally, there are a bunch of folks there. And the area was setup specifically to be condusive for new folks - so moving the venue probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Have you heard about the SL Greeter Program? They're volunteer residents that are assigned to a newbie when they first come into SL - that might have helped if you came in at an off time (providing someone was on duty).