Orientation Island Experiment

We're experimenting with a change to the orientation island experience this week. Details are here.

If you're interested in talking about this experiment and how you can be involved, join me in-world this afternoon at 4:30 gametime, at the meeting area in the Recruiting Center (see Event Calendar for link).

Heh heh ok ok

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The beauty is that this will be very very difficult to game, at least over a medium / long term.

Short term, possibly, but I suspect not just anyone will be able to enter into the queue.

Wow! Very exciting idea, well done!

It has all the elements:

- very hard to game
- leveraging user built content
- optimising exposure to the best content to new users
- a real measurable meritocracy rather than one based on relationships
- motivates entry point owners to improve retention figures by supporting new users and convincing them to stay. After all.. you want to stay in rotation!


Now, will it pan out? Also, how much classic FIC will be able to make it into full time rotation? The rubber is hitting the road!

I like the idea in the long term, my only suggestion is the following:



I most likely won't be making it to the meeting. But please do post a chat log when its finished.

The most important thing is a clear, obvious way to tell newcomers how to TURN DOWN THEIR SETTINGS so they can at least MOVE.

I almost quit over this.

Had I been in a nightclub vying with it, I would have quit.

These settings shouldn't be a state secret. They should, in the first place, default to the lowest level. Barring that, there needs to be clear instructions everywhere on "What to Do If You Can't Move".

Everywhere any new player might go!

That would save new players a lot more than wherever they go to explore.

coco

That's a good idea, Coco. You should post it to the Linden Hotline as well.


__________________________
"To announce that there must be no criticism of
the president, or that we are to stand by the
president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and
servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt

Interesting idea.......

After you've made sure they have their settings taken care of, I'd like to see them sent to The Shelter as well - but I guess that's up to Travis.

IMHO thats gotta be one of the best noobie/friendly/supportive/informative places around.

I'd also like to see the big sign that lets them skip orientation altogether be nixed, or put somewhere further along the way after they've learned at least a few of the basics.

Very few new folks realize how MUCH they need to be familiarized with before entering any areas of the world. And having a big sign right there is a too much of a temptation.

I've met a LOT of noobies who wished they'd stayed on and learned more before arriving.

omg fic

nah, if you think that then you're missing the point completely.

Eh? I think it's a great idea. I'm surprised it's taken them two years to figure out that they need to be a little more proactive and scientifically methodical in, uh, running their own company

Dumping n00bs into a dance club? Hahaha. I think it's better to let them figure out how to use SL first. I went to Disco Alt-Zoom when I was pretty damn new, but I at least had the client figured out, had some time to fly around and figure the world out, etc.

Plus... The Edge is in Da Boom, isn't it...? That place is not exactly a high-FPS wonderland.

Didn't you hear? They hired amateurs to run SL. The pros (self appointed Nostrodamii) in the user base will be the only salvation of SL. Being that they've designed and run so many MMOEs from their homes.

Experts abound, too bad they can't possibly listen to 1000 "experts".

To get a valid comparison of the effect of a particular factor on the customer retention rate wouldn't it be good to vary one variable at a time, or at the very least fewer variables?

For example to measure the effect of M status versus PG status wouldn't it make more sense to have two areas that are basically similar in competititon, such as an M rated Waterhead style welcome area versus an physically identical PG rated Waterhead-clone welcome area?

Ooo, theres another WA missed, Waterhead.

I'd like to see ALL LL WA's on the list. Ahern, Plum, Waterhead. Maybe with a picture of each or some such.

Anyone grab a copy of the transcript of the chat Robin was going to have this afternoon?

Very good idea. The defaults definitely need to be changed. If local lighting makes for an awful experience if you have anything but a top-of-the-line computer, why is it turned on by default?

I don't know if I would say lowest level for everything, but at least low enough that 85% of players can operate smoothly. Then provide education on how to adjust up or down from there.

Robin captured it so I suppose she'll post it at some point. There was much discussion about:

Adding spawn coords to referal links so that your referees would spawn at your location when they created their account (apparently already available);

LL paying a portion of the signup fee to referers (not yet available);

only allowing PG sims to be used as spawn points;

and overcrowding in sims that contain a volunteer spawn site, particularly from the neighbors' perpective.

For the last item, I suggested loading each selection board with a few locations and have them rotate after either a dozen choices or a given amount of time. That would spread the load across The Grid All Hail The Central Grid and seem "fair." That word "fair" keeps coming up in related conversasions. It's about time that LL did what was necessary for the growth and development of Second Life and stopped pretending like we're all the same and all have the same needs and abilities. This program won't be "fair." It'll be productive.

There is no formal list of selection crieteria yet. This week, and probably the next few, are TESTS to see what works and what doesn't. I suppose they don't mind us predicting that newbie spawns in clubs isn't the best idea in the world, but they're gonna try it and see what really happens.

For my money (not that it is my money), as long as the descriptions are reasonable, i give newbies enough credit to choose their location with some degree of expectation. If they choose a nightclub, they've gotta be wanting the loud, disoriented immersion into lights, smoke and bodies that a nightclub is. If they're not comfortable in that kind of atmosphere, they'll have enough sense to choose a more relaxed setting.

I think we most definitely need to have Mature entry points, and hopefully a lot more than one.

Many people want the raunchy, profane, explicitly sexual, etc. side of Second Life, I suspect, and Linden Research needs to market this aspect of Second Life in a fully effective manner.

I'd like to see a Linden owned Mature welcome area as well as the private ones.

Not only that it s already near the welcome area... and its not just a dance club.. there is escorts and other umm, what some think is innapropriate...

I really wonder how LL come up with who/what/where they use for thier advertising.. sadly it will likely drive some of them away... When I first started SL I thought SL was nothing but a place to cyber... I am so glad I was THAT bored of TSO that I kept exploring.

I really don't think it's fair at ALL to allow new comers to pick the edge to start an SL experiance...that is just flat out favortism. What about all the other clubs, ones that are spending TONS of RL money just to keep their clubs going and Linden Labs just HANDS the edge free dwell? Another thought, the edge is one of those places that TP's in new comers anyway...So did Linden Labs say "hey I know it's hard to TP noobs, lets just let them start there and save you the trouble...I'll seriosuly be rethinking my LL subscription. Other points, the edge is one of the highest lag areas in SL, some people also might not enjoy being greeted by an edge call girl/boy...Bad decision.

Remember Joey. In Second Life, you aren't allowed to accuse LL of favoritism. You will be ridiculed for saying "FIC", special favors, etc by the other major players in the game, banned by LL, threatened, harassed, denigrated, called a liar, etc. Just listen to what the other players say about free discource in these forums or in public places in-world. It is only tolerated to a point, and when you get too close...watch out!

/me puts on asbestos suit for the ensuing flames.

I have always been a big supporter of LL. I've never had a bad thing to say about them ever, but when I see BS I call BS...Reguardless or rank power or popularity.

If I understand correctly, Linden Research is not supposed to be too interested in producing content, the idea is that Linden Research provides the technical infrastructure and users provide the content, much in the manner that various organizations not highly visible to the average internet user make the internet work, but particular web sites are made by specific website owners.

This idea should apply to the entry points as well, there is no reason why Linden Research should have to make an entry point at all.

Perhaps everyone who wants some point on their land to be used as an entry point should have some space to promote their site in the secondlife.com website. The selection of where to enter at could be made based on these descriptions before even getting to orientation island.

When you load up a web browser, you don't start at "the internet's home page" and look around at various sites made by "the internet". You start at some particular page, like Google, or your own website, or CNN, or such. Second Life might need to move in that direction if it is going to be the provider not of content, including the entry point, but a low visiblity provider of the means others use to provide content.

If I understand correctly, Linden Research is not supposed to be too interested in producing content, the idea is that Linden Research provides the technical infrastructure and users provide the content, much in the manner that various organizations not highly visible to the average internet user make the internet work, but particular web sites are made by specific website owners.

This idea should apply to the entry points as well, there is no reason why Linden Research should have to make an entry point at all.

Perhaps everyone who wants some point on their land to be used as an entry point should have some space to promote their site in the secondlife.com website. The selection of where to enter at could be made based on these descriptions before even getting to orientation island.

When you load up a web browser, you don't start at "the internet's home page" and look around at various sites made by "the internet". You start at some particular page, like Google, or your own website, or CNN, or such. Second Life might need to move in that direction if it is going to be the provider not of content, including the entry point, but a low visiblity provider of the means others use to provide content.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Brace I hope I'm given the opportunity to prove myself.

I'm confident I can reach most adults - folks on the younger end of the age spectrum tend to not do so well at the Shelter, which is fine.

We'll see what happens, but its definately exciting

I thought Microsoft made the internets because I always start at MSN.


(Edit: I don't actually start at MSN.)

Robin said email if you want a place in the queue.

Assuming you've got a good build and some interesting content, I'm sure you'll get a chance to prove your worthiness.