show us when newbies are reading the tutorial

Ok, last night, the Lindens were busy elsewhere for a short time, and I was in the welcome area with a couple of brand new residents. I said hi to them, asked them if they were new, etc. One of them responded "yes" to me. So I said a bit more -- can't remember what, exactly -- and got no response from either of them.

I'm certain they were going through the tutorial like good little 2nd lifers, but I felt a bit awkward just standing there. Remembering my first time in world, I couldn't read much of anything around/behind the tutorial windows, and I didn't know about the chat history window at that time -- when I did happen to catch a word or two around the side of the tutorial window, I felt kinda bad for "ignoring" all the nice people trying to welcome me.

So what I was thinking -- show the avatar as reading a book or something** when they have the tutorial going, so others know not to keep "bothering" them.

**something could be as simple as changing the color of their name -- I *say* simple, because it seems to my non-programmer mind that that would be a fairly easy addition to the code... =)

[ might be nice to do the same kind of thing when they have their appearance window up, because it's big and blocks a lot of chatter too ]

Yes, I'm a PITA, and I'm proud of it =)

#!

great idea Shebang - thanks

Wow! You mean somebody might actually be reading the tutorials?

Seriously, we'll pass the suggestion along ...

And, as the one responsible for the tuts, I'd like any feedback I can get on them to make them better.

If you hear any complaints or suggestions, pass them on to me or have the complainers/suggesters contact me directly: [email]michael@lindenlab.com[/email]

I really need feedback from real first-time tutorial users to make sure they're doing what they need to do.

The Chatbot is now in-world, and new people coming in from now on should have the landmark for it in their inventory.

And it really is tough to see/follow chatter whist reading it.

The only "complaint" I have about the tutorial -- is the audio. It was pretty dern cool for about the first 30 seconds. After that, I just wanted it to STFU =) I read a lot faster than it does, and that was confusing me a bit.

I just started reading through the htm's in the SecondLife\Help directory last night (since I was lagging too badly [major packet loss] to play last night), and they seem very good (and quiet!) -- are you responsible for those too?

#!

Yes.

Those htms are all available through the help system.

When you first sign on with a new version, it opens the Welcome part of help (the one with the voice). From there, you can click on Home, Click F1 or select Basic Help from the Help menu to get access to the other htms.

We're trying different things with sound and voice, but haven't decided how much to expand it (or not).

I think part of the trick will be to make sure you only hear the voices once.

I'd actually like to have the voice walk people through tutorials, so they can watch what they're doing while listening to instructions with just a little audio player on-screen instead of the big help screen that blocks the view.

Hmmmmm ... How about a booth where you can rent headphones (like at a museum) that give a tour or explain one type of task ... ? I'll look into it.

Personally, I prefer reading to listening, but I know some folks would rather listen. (As I've said, I read *very* fast)

For folks who prefer to listen, I really do like your headphone idea -- 'cept I don't think folks should have to pay (the rental fee) for help. Plus then the rest of us could see -- if someone is wearing headphones, we know they're deep into the tutorial.

Oh, just a side-thought -- the woman's voice is very nice, but what if you'd rather hear a man? (I know someone who's available for voice-overs at a very good rate =)

#!

Good points.

Yeah, maybe the headphones should just be in inventory. And, definitly, having the headphones on would let others know that they're busy.

My goal with the help is to let everyone learn in the way they learn best.

Some people (visual thinkers) can learn by just reading. Others learn better when they hear things. Yet others (kinesthetic learners) learn best when there's some body movement involved. (They generally are best off performing all the tutorials, moving their mouses, etc. ... I know of a company out here that has managed to teach reading and writing to anyone--even children and adults with learning disabilities who have been unable to learn using any other method--using a combination of visual, auditory and kinethetic methods.)

So, we want to make sure we can get through to everyone in the way that suits them the best.

Unfortunately, many people don't realize themselves what ways they learn most easily. So we'll try to combine as many senses into the process as we can (for now).

And, yes, we do plan to let you choose between different voices, male and female, eventually. The initial voice is a test to see how it works, and how much (or little) we should use it.

I'll have to get back to you on your voice-over friend if and when we're ready for more recording.

In case I haven't said it before, I really do think you're doing a wonderful job with the docs. I personally have gotten more out of the advanced docs than the basic ones -- not just because there's more "meat" to them (as there should be!) but also because after having been in world for a couple of weeks I've gained a little bit of understanding that I didn't have when I read the basic help on my first night.

It was just all so overwhelming that first night.

When I found / learned of the chat history window and started keeping it open at all times, everything got a lot easier for me. Whenever I'm in the WA and I see a newbie I try to always give them that hint with my welcome to them.

Veering a bit off-topic -- what about a library rather than a museum? And make it so that general chatter isn't allowed in the library -- only IM's. I wouldn't have the new folks popping into the library their first time in world, because I think they *should* see a lot of happy general chatter and questions and such in the WA when they first get in world. But maybe have the library close enough to the WA to be seen and walked to. I'm not suggesting that the library is the only place they could read the docs, but simply that it be an option for them, to have someplace quiet to go if they wish to do so.

And yes, I would appreciate a plaque with my name on it as a Patron of the Library if/when it's built =)

#!

Hmmm...

I wasn't proposing a museum, just saying that we could have headphones like the ones that you see in museums. We're mixing our lives here.

The headphone help should be useable all over the world, and maybe give world tours as well as building tutorials.

There have been museums in SL, mostly for visual art/sculpture.

A Library might be a good idea eventually, once we have enough "Second Life Literature," to make it worthwhile.

Right now we have a couple of newspapers ... who knows what they might turn into.