Hello, welcome me to SL please :)

Hello residents of SL. I am Cat. I am a new member of this community. I don't know much about it yet, but i will try to learn a lot. I need your help in the beginning. I have a few questions before i get started to this journey.

Is SL still a popular online game. I mean actually i really don't know how old SL is but i am more curious about the future. Am i late for starting a new character, or is this game still young and growing?

Is this game based on making real dollars? Or the life in SL is based on having fun all together and building stuff. If you have to make a balance which would be more heavy, purpose of making real $$$ or purpose of having fun in game without converting your in game money to real dollars.

I will be happy if you, the experienced ones, can answer this 2 questions.

Thanks.
Cat

Welcome to SL!

SL are what you want it to be or close to.

IF it are popular or not.. In our out... dosent matter... do it?)

There are a lot of us that have fun and build and design and others that only go to clubs and dance and they that do it al and some that dont do a thing...

There are some that do a lot of money and some that dont.. as IRL..

I have a great GF... I have made friends from al the world.. I have a smal shop, I have fun and I am far from making money..

...and SL are unique as a platform as it are YOU that decide.. what you do... No dad or mom.. no boss (or maybe).. you are taking care of your self.. thats it.

/Tina

First of all,, welcome to SL!

There are new people coming to SL every day, so don't worry, and remember we were all new once!

Second Life is essentially whatever you'll make it. Many do throw scorn on those who dare to call it a game - rather it's a "platform for development" - but it's a game to me so don't worry! There are many options available to you, whether you just want to build for fun, build for profit, or just have fun enjoying other people's builds. It's entirely up to you, I'd suggest you don't worry too much about things like that right now, and get used to how it all works before settling down. Some people take months to find their 'place' in world, some never find it, some change it like a pair of socks. Don't worry.

A lot of people make a little money out of SL, a few people make a lot of money - but I always feel that if profit is your only driving force and reason for being here, you're missing so much of the point of what SL can be.

As a new player, look for places like New Citizens Inc, The Shelter, and TeaZers as good places to learn stuff. Teazers particularly are known for running classes in many aspects of SL - look on the events calendar (Find > Events) to see what's going on. Failing that, just wander round the events calendar or see what random keywords produce on Places, and see what's out there.

Another good place is YadNi's Junkyard - thousands of boxes of 'stuff' of all types for L$1 a crate.

Don't be afraid to experiment, and you will have fun.

Lewis

More to the point... is it a game? SL has it's own attractions which are different than other on-line games in the sense that SL has no mandated "point". There are no missions, no levels, no quests. Yet it's really popular.




SL went beta around 2002 and has been around a while. While many look at current events as doomsday for SL, you can see in the forums that this historically has been the case. SL is always changing in a way that someone thinks will "Doom" it. One year it was the changing of the way teleports happened, another year it was how objects (prims) where allocated. Each change has always been for a reason and SL lives on and I think has a long future ahead.



A character is a representations of yourself, or of who you'd like to be. There is nothing a new character (outside of belong to volunteer groups) can't do that a 3 year old one can. It's simply about the knowledge of what is in your own mind. If you knew how, you could come in day one creating scripts, objects, clothes etc. these are not limitations of your character but of your own knowledge. As Lewis mentioned, you'll find classes and schools for various thinks all over SL.



It's not 'based' on making dollars but it is certianly possible to make real money here. I would never discourage anyone from trying to make real money here, but I would HIGHLY discourage anyone who feels they can make EASY money here. It takes work, hard work.

SL is based on the ability to share an experience. You can dance, build, program, and chat together with people all over the world.




You can get a thousand game dollars for just a few real dollars. If you wish to just have "spending money" it does not cost much at all to raise your balance.

You don't 'need' to spend money to have fun in SL, but often others have created amazing products that took months of effort and even years of learning. I have my favorite clothes maker here whom I visit often to see the latest fashions and happily pay up to 3 US dollars to have a new "suit" and as little as 75 cents for a nice shirt.

As far as making it yourself I think of this way. I'd rather buy a toaster than learn the wiring for making one myself that would not be as good

Have fun and welcome!

SL is over 3 years old but it's always been growing, and growing faster every year!
It's not really a game though. It's more like a chat room, or a toy. There is no real goal, or boss monster
You can make money if you want. You can also just explore the world and talk to people. You can roleplay, or play games that other people made.
Most people want to make some money so they can own more land without putting any of their real money into the game, rather than trying to live off SL.

Thank you all for your informative replies. While i was checking different posts in these forums i had found another question.

Is there only 1 server?

I mean every SL resident logs in the same server all around the world or are there continental servers. I live in Turkey. When i log in the game, will i be in the same world with a Jamaican and an Australian?

The 'world' is made up of thousands of computers, each one holding one or more 'regions', but they are all interconnected in a huge network, so yes there is one access point that users all around the world can interact with, rather than individual country's servers.

Lewis

How to win in SL:

Do whatever you want to do.

Don't hurt anyone in the process, unless they want you to.

Have a blast.

Yes. We moved all the Canadians over to their own server but they keep leaking out!

Moved to the Bulletin Board for further conversation.

You didn't even welcome him/her.

sigh.... what would they do without us "leaking out" to poke fun at ... oh well.... I guess I'll get back into my server

hey! who plugged up the leak ... I can't get back in now... what's that all aboot eh!

Welcome, Cat. Exploring is best at first - look around, see what makes you excited. There are places to visit of incredible beauty like Numbakulla, as well as regions where many people are building in varied styles and levels of competence. It's all good - there's a lot to see. There is a vast snowy area, Hawaiian sims, city sims - so much! have fun - and if you'd like us to recommend places to go, just say!