Desperate Cry

If I'm remembering correctly, the find function doesn't even have a way you can block certain things, like say Tringo and Slingo and other things. That alone would help make it a bit more managable. Maybe even have it *gasp* do like the new Find Person and not SHOW anything until you search for it! So, combine these and we'd have a better search feature for the events.

I've love to teach, but.. I think I'll be hunting down some of the educational events so I can learn and then pass on

Oh, and on the topic of free scripts.. Just because they are free doesn't mean I know what the heck they do, or what to do WITH them

Agreed.

But here's a perspective for everyone to consider:

The actual problem is that the IM system doesn't help the caller know how you would feel about being IMed BEFORE they even IM you. eg. Right now I am Busy, if they could see that before sending an IM they would not do so.

Then I'd be more social, I'd open myself up for IMs during my non-busy times and you would also be able to see that.

The IM system right now is causing extended problems which people are trying to solve when in fact they should be trying to solve the core of the problem. The IM system sucks.

No offence Prok, but this shows a slight misunderstanding of scripting. Scripts are not like textures. You cant just slap most scripts and a prim and YAY it works. Sure there are color change, show/hide, or door scripts that are freebies and hyper basic. Real use of scripting is infinately more complicated than that. Take for an example a scripted pet dog. There could be several scripts in different prims necessary to make the whole thing work. Change a link order or add a prim and its broken. There is no "hey bro you got that cool dog script?" slap it in a few prims and it springs to life. The scripts can never be all given away, thats silly.

DNA

Amen, reverend.

Remember the thread about the reasons for having an alt? Since the title of this thread includes the word desperate, may I suggest using an alt to teach a class? Answering im's to this account from a student could be scheduled at your convenience. Posting hours in your profile, much like university university professors have for their students, is another thought I had. Would allotting time after the class as a period for previous students to come with their questions work?

Squagmire, I did indeed read this section of your post. But my remarks about charging for your work and charging for things like script-making or script repairs was to create a climate of incentive for others to then join you in the noble effort to teaching scripting.

It wasn't evident perhaps to you and others in this thread that by discussing your need to be paid for what you do, and suggesting you *charge*, I mean that then others would charge too in your school, and get paid, and you wouldn't have trouble getting people to teach these overcrowded classes. It thought all that was self-evident in my remarks, but ah, well, sometimes you make a synapse jump and don't take everyone along with you.

Charge money, bring in teachers who can also charge money and not feel like they are doing something "wrong" by charging money -- even if a symbolic or low amount -- and you will instantly solve your teacher shortfall problem.



No offense, DNA, but your immersion in the world of scripting means you may not realize how the average Joe goes about this. I'm well aware of how scripts take time to write line by line. But yYou can in fact slap most scripts you need for everyday life into a prim. You go on the scripting library. You get a script. You slap it in a prim. Examples of just a few that I have either gotten copies of from other players, gotten from the scripting library, or free from various in-game help sites and just slapped on a prim:

o door
o notecard giver
o notecard taker
o dispense contents
o window opacity
o rotate
o teleport
o lock door
o visitor counter
o vendor
o lightkill
o hover text
o video screen
o rental

Well, you get the idea. You can easily manipulate all these scripts with only one easy lesson or just trial and error. Sometimes when you copy something off the script library it doesn't work, whereupon you try taking line breaks out or whatever. People with a bit more rough and ready advanced skills sometimes take scripts they find and re-do them or get them to work to do something they wanted perhaps not the original intention.

Thus most people coming in the world get a dozen or 20 or even 50 scripts that are free that are *all they need to have their second lives*. I know you might think they need the dog script or the sex balls. But when they do that, they go and buy them for huge amounts of money.

Perhaps it's normal that these basic building-blocks of the scripting industry are out there for free like "open door" or "give notecard". It might have made sense to have even a few of them for sale, however, so that the people who worked on wouldn't be feeling ripped off now as if their labor is not compensated.

The above quote has a lot to do with what is going on in SL.

People have to remember that they signed up for a GAME. However they choose to play the game is up to them.

I know for the longest time, I resisted trying to do anything or learn anything in here.
I work 40+ hours a week, teaching, conducting meetings, designing, and writing procedures. I did not want to take my down time for a game to do the same things I do all week at work.

Yes, my mindset changed when I finally learned to build. *it helped that I was getting sick of paying rl money for Lindens too*

But now that I enjoy building, its shifted the game for me to a different area. I would love to take a scripting class. I am trying to figure out some scripts now and to have a class would be great. But...*there's always a but* I am gunshy.

I took a programming class irl. Twice. First time, the instructors were brought in..one was an engineer, the other a certified programmer. They taught the class, which was a beginner class, way above most people's head. Needless to say, I failed it. The second time I took it, passed with an A. Different teacher, different attitude. The first day of class, he informed everyone that since he didnt know everyone's background he was starting from level 0. If it was too low for some, then they shouldn't have signed up for the beginner class. I have to say it was one of the best classes I have ever sat through.

ha my first post with no real point just thought I would share LOL

I'd love to learn to script, but have no clue how to even get started! And yes, I have seen the scripting library, but it is Greek to me - I don't even know what software is used to script things IN! Yes, my friends, I am a - GASP - non-techie SLer! This stuff is NOT second nature to me; everything I've learned as been through (a) trial & error; (b) forums/wiki; (c) asking people; (d) a few classes I've been able to attend. Oh, and the Ivory Tower was useful for building basics. . .

I use SL for higher education & have tried to find / get involved with all the groups that have similar interests. I would love to teach classes in SL to SLers as well because I love teaching & it is a fun to meet people, but my abilities are limited. A "train the trainer" group - somewhere interested non-techies could go to learn the REAL basics (by being shown & doing it, not by reading about it) or even a "contacts list" of experts in particular areas would be a welcome addition. I'd even volunteer to head up the effort if there was enough interest. SL has tremendous potential, & the more we can teach & learn from each other, the better!

There are lots of interesting comments on this thread, and I'd like to include something that is to me, quite pertinent. I agree that there are more and more places, buildings, landscapes etc cropping up that have absolutely no passion in them. You can see what has gone through the architects mind from the offset..."Build a bland box and sell stuff from it". I find these places depressing, because sometimes I can fly through a whole sim that has absolutely nothing nice in it to look at. But at the same time there are places that just make you look on in wonder at the amount of love and passion that has gone into them. Now I have only been a resident for about three months and in that time I have learned to build, but only the basics. I LOVE SECOND LIFE AND ALL IT COULD BE. And here is my point. Although I can build, I am learning stuff all the time, but I don't want to construct something that just ressembles another square, featureless box. Second Life has given me so much pleasure and I feel that as a resident, it is my DUTY to give something back, something that is going to make the world a BETTER place than what it's becoming. But as long as the focus remains on the ability to make money then I feel it could well degenerate. Personally, I have no interest in making an income from Second Life. I have a job in the real world, but I still want to create things for people to enjoy while they are here. Herein lies the crux of the problem. LL needs SL to increase in size and residency to make profit. This means that more and more people who have too many RL time constraints will enter. They will have no interest in building or scripting. They will become the consumers whom LL will rely on to keep the place afloat. I think this will result in a lower %age of talented people creating beautiful places for people to visit and as such the original reasons for joining SL may well be lost. I hope this isn't the case, and i hope that more encouragement is placed on newcomers to try building and scripting, and for these kinds of classes to be more prominent and evident in the events list. Without a high %age of residents willing to create, but merely consume, the whole axle on which SL revolves will grind the world to a halt and that would be a tragedy.