A Newbie's Point of View on the Newbie Experience.

I have to respectfully disagree with this statement. I am an experienced player of MMO's, highly computer literate, and I consider myself to be very resourceful. I am also somewhat experienced with SL so I would barely even consider myself to be a newbie. But to follow explicit directions over and over again for an hour and a half ("walk to the animated target" for it not to trigger a result is more than an aggravation - it is a bug that will lock out even the most resourceful players - players who may have been able to provide an incredible contribution to the SL community.

If you don't get through the required orientation, you don't get a key. No key, no entry into the community.

I understand exactly what you're saying. I think it would be great, however, for LL to allow even the most casual users to have a good time.



This, however, is very true. The numbers are all about "registered users" and not about retention.

Something really sad kept coming to my mind when I read the orignal posters first experience of SL...........
"Survival of the strongest"......
That unless you have SOME kind of experience, a will of determination to learn and not quit, or by the grace of God, find someone to help you through those first few hours...........you will make it off help island, and move onward! I remember having trouble with a torch! Can't remember what my trouble was, just something about a torch......oh, and that ball that I was supposed to put ona table.....could not get it to STAY on the table. But then I realized, it wans't supposed tooo......

How about once you set up an account, a HELP TRAIN you can board? With a conductor that takes you step by step to show you at least a FEW things? Or Better yet, you and your freinds can BOARD a train and depart together, the train will take you to some of the most newbie freindly places out there, and you and your freinds can decide to exit together????
Just some thoughts.....
Sorry to the original poster for the trouble you had, but glad you stuck with it.
I am grateful to log in everyday, at my island which NOW has turned out to be a great hangout, and all the usuals come and visit, so I am never short of freinds and fellowship! To me, its ALL about the people and freindships!

There's a number of volunteers that do make the rounds of (some) Orientation Island and the Help Islands. The problem with that is that it's quite repetitive (everyone always asks all the same questions), boring (sorry, but it is) and very frustrating (if you do find someone to help they don't speak English at all or just barely, they won't cooperate, or just plain ignore you altogether like you don't exist) and not very targetted (a volunteer can be idling on HI 6, while someone on HI 4 really needs some help but there's no way to know who needs help when or where).

A more ideal approach would be for new players who know someone in world, to be able to bring that person over to guide them through OI and HI. There's plenty of problems with that approach, but it would help.

Another one be for volunteers to be able to tp newbies back onto either an OI or a HI. Far too many wander off and then later want to get back, but can't.

That has been brought up quite a few times at volunteers meetings, but LL seems determined to prefer the current OI to the old one, citing that the new one has far better stats than the old one.

Forcing everyone to go through Help Island was a good decision though. When I started it was an optional step and you went from OI straight to the Ahern welcome area.

It doesn't really have anything to do with your puter, or even SL in general. It's a viewer bug that causes textures to take forever (if at all) to rez in on a HUD.

I tried the latest OI guide this week and there are tricks to just get it to rez in, but that's nothing any newbie would even know (let alone be able to do since editing is disabled on the OIs).

One other thing to remember is that there aren't all the many "settled" residents, despite the inflated numbers. There are maybe 200 to 300 thousand active residents older than 30 days, and over a million new signups ever month. The newbies outnumber the established residents 5 to 1. Maybe 1 in a thousand of those has any interest in doing "newbie" volunteer work and it's honestly not that rewarding and gets old terribly fast (you just can't answer the same question for the 1000th time and be as enthusiastic as you were the very first time).

A quick request to readers on this thread to please vote on VWR-1412 on JIRA. This is my request that all the textures used by the OIHUD should be included in the installer package and loaded into the cache before the user even logs on for the first time. This would prevent the OIHUD ever becoming blurry.

I think Help Island is optional again now - and not really highlighted very much.

It's called Orientation Guide now. OIHUD was too cryptic apparantly .

Regarding the not rezzing, I think the bug is specifically that in some cases textures on a HUD just fail to rez in proper. The textures on the HUD are relatively small (128x128 for the text background) and just won't rez in even though the rest of the sim rezzes perfect and fast.

It's not, more or less. You can still tp off OI to anywhere you want (and a lot of new residents do unfortunately when they run through the Search part of the tutorial), but if you follow the normal route you'll either get the key when you complete the tutorials (which is a landmark to one of the non-public HIs) or they can click the "Help Island" sign in the center of the island and get a landmark to an HI that way as well.

Once there you have a big rotating "Exit" sign that when clicked points out that it's a oneway trip and they can't come back and if they acknowledge they get a random link to a Welcome Area.

Ahh, that's new - I was still using an old version of the HUD.

What about a series of notecards (in various languages) that you can hand out at the welcome places and help islands that have detailed instructions on a lot of the normal newbie problem areas? Maybe with a vocal add of "accept this"?
Or would that be spam too?

I was lucky enough to come in when the first steps actually taught you how to survive the wilds of second life, but my management alt (I rarely use her) had to go through the targets.
For some reason I felt like they should have been on me. "Here I am, Griefers and others of ill intent, come and chase me outta here."
I realize the lindens have a lot to deal with, more so every day, so I won't rant at them.
I just wish to be able to help the newcomers without being reported or harrased for it.
Peace

Actually I supect the experience for other new pwople not going through OI is a lot better, the Bigpond newbs don't have to worry about huds or mind boggling quests I suspect.
The main problem we did have with the old system was Newbies skipping all the basics then wandering free across the grid, often getting despondant unless the happen across an older resident who helps them.

What is happening at help islands, is very much the same with companies that write their own manual instructions. They know the product!!! and are the worst people to write any form of instructions.

What LL should have done was employ a 3rd party to write the orientation sequence, based on no prior knowledge of SL, learn by their own mistakes and write a script to cover each aspect where they made their own mistakes, so its more intuitive.

The new series of help and orientation Islands were designed by LL and simply dropped on the community to deal with.. again I say, it should not be helpers at welcome islands, it should be LL employees. Perhaps then, they would see first hand the shortfalls of their own making.

After reading all the posts here, I'm gunna be on orientation Island public to help out a few hrs per day. What dissapoints me is the fact that I saw about 3 other older residents helping out and none of them were mentors, they just helped out because they felt they needed to. LL needs to wake up and appoint mentors asap because this is horrible for everyone that signs up. Maybe I'll set up a group of my own to "guide" newbs into this world we call SL. Does that sounds good or am I being silly here?

Mandy C

The reason you probably saw a few mentors at public OI is that anyone who has already left Welcome Islands, which is where most of the newcomers arrive, is off limites to all except, Greeters, Mentors, Lindens and the old Live Help members, which is where most congregate. Mentors and Greeters etc that 'appear' to be non-reactive, are probably in IM with a newcomer, or maybe trying to track down someone who speaks a foriegn language.

Yes I understand that but I got so many questions that at least 2 mentors should be there imho.

Mandy C

No it does not sound silly at all... as I eluded to in one of my prior posts... I have an idea myself to help "guide" new players. However it is rather, a somewhat large idea... a vision call it.

I believe it could work, but it would involve a lot of others helping out to make it work, and I am guessing it could cost a good amount of L$ to pull off... and at the moment, as a new player myself; stuck with a Basic Account, I have neither the resources or contacts to acquire the help needed, nor the L$ funds to finance it...

But more on that in a moment...





Also... some people here are mentioning a "Welcome Center" that new players are sent to after leaving Help Island...

I unfortunately must report that, based on my own experience as a New Player, there is no such Welcome Center; or if it was supposed to be one, it was not a very "warm welcome"...

I was dropped in a snow filled region next to a place called the Linden Chalet. There were a few signs in front of me, but they were nothing new, same ones I had seen on Help Island...

There were no "greeters" there to welcome me or tell me what to do or give advice about where to go. The "Chalet" itself was a large log cabin style structure; which stood empty. It's top floor nothing but a sofa in front of a fireplace and on the sofa were a few "cuddle pose" balls...

Gee. What a great welcome, and a wonderful first impression of the actual "world" of SL outside the new orientation and help islands...

Fortunately, I was intelligent enough to tell myself that obviously there had to be more then just that. So I set out to go "fly around" and see what I could find. Outside the "Chalet" were a couple Ski Lifts, and I thought how cool! I used to ski, not very often but I enjoyed it and had fun doing it, and I am not able to continue doing it anymore, I thought, cool I could do it here! But the Ski Lifts were not working, and there were no SKi's to use...

I then decided to follow a nearby road, wondering what sort of exciting things I might find; that might actually work.

What did I find?

I passed into a region called Anton; and the first thing to greet me was a walkway leading up to some place called Mushashi or some such, full of scantily clad "card board Mannequin's"... the first floor full of pictures of female avatars, some wearing fancy and expensive gowns and dresses, hmmm... just what is a new player supposed to do here? Most of the pictures however, were of scantily clad females, or partially nude or in erotic lingerie...

Not quite what I expected to find upon my first time in the actual world of SL.

I left and decided to go look at a nearby log cabin. It had a neat hot tub in the back, I could play with the control buttons and make the bubbles turn on, I thought it was pretty neat.

Then I went inside the cabin itself...

It turned out to be someones "loooove shack". Some sort of wintery, romantic getaway setting, full of various "Sex Pose" balls, strategically placed around various types of furniture and even in the bath tub. Upstairs, several placed around a bed, one labeled "foreplay" ...

Umm...

Right.

It got me wondering... just what exactly, is the impression that Linden Labs is trying to push onto New Players here? Then that... got me wondering, just what exactly, the Lindens themselves are doing, spending their time in their little offices instead of greeting and helping New Players... I envisioned them experimenting with "sex pose" balls in their cubicles... and then quickly coding all these various sexual positions they find, into the SL world itself, so they hurry right back to playing with their balls again. (/sarcasm off)

Well, I decided to leave that area. Obviously I thought, I had left the Linden Chalet and gone in the wrong direction. Maybe there was something that Newbies are supposed to do in the other direction.

So I took to flight again, and flew back in the opposite direction and went passed the Linden Chalet and decided to see what was on the other side of it, and decided to follow a road that ran passed it.

What did I find then?

Some guys place made up like some sort of experimental doctors office with a biohazard logo on its side, and inside.. operating room style cubicles full of various "sex pose" balls.

Ok umm.. not quite what I expected, but at that point, for some reason, it did not surprise me... So I left that place to go find something else, but everywhere I turned in the area, were obvious signs of sex, sex, and more sex...





Now, however...

That was over a week ago and I'm an intelligent enough person that I've since learned more about how to use the Search feature, not that it takes much intelligence to learn, but it would have helped to have had a little more instruction in its use... But I have since been out there exploring, looking for more interesting places.

I've been fascinated with how some people here have designed their own landscapes and buildings.. and I think I have taken a fancy to looking for, and exploring Castles, as I've an interest in the medieval period and found a few Castles out there, here and there... Some weren't quite what I expected to find on the inside, a few I've found turned out to be someones wild fantasy of some sort of private BDSM dungeon... Where as others have been more interesting, and more accurately and elaborately furnished.

But the point here is... if there are supposed to be some sort of Welcome Centers out there; it is apparent that most New Players are not even sent to them, aren't told about them and, and as my original post here pointed out, many are sent to randomly different locations throughout the actual "world" after leaving Help Island, andthey're just left there in these random locations with no direction, left to fend for themselves, and they're often surrounded with the imagery of sex.

But not everyone is coming to Second Life, with the intent to look for sex are they?

Some are coming to explore a new world; maybe meet new people.

Some are coming to escape the realities of their stressful real lives.

Some are coming to make a business venture out of it, many are sucessful doing it.

Some are coming, to roleplay in a vast online virtual world... many created their own environments and islands just for that, as well as actual MMORPG's within SL itself!

Many or coming for many different and various reasons; and not all are coming just for the sex. Unfortunately it seems that those at Linden Labs are intent on promoting that image to new players upon their first arrival in the world itself. In fact a few weeks ago when I attemtped to research Linden Labs and SL on the internet, before signing up, I came across a You Tube video of someone at LL, giving some sort of press conference, or maybe a convention interview, about how they developed the programming that allowed for sex within Second Life! So it is apparent that is the impression of their world, that they want to impose upon everyone else...

Come to Second Life and have sex!!

Granted, ok there is nothing wrong with sex, and I'm not complainng because I have anything against it... it just seems to a new player, upon their first arrival in the world itself, sex is what Second Life is all about.

Fortunately the Second Life website itself does not promote that image and, as I've said a moment ago... I've since learned how to get out there and "search" for other places to explore in SL, other places and different locations.

But not all New Players know that right off the bat. They finish their orientation island stuff, if they manage to figure it out, they go through help island, which isn't as helpful as it is described as being.... and then finally they show up in the world itself far more confused then they were in the first place. At least, that is just my impression, but it seems others have had similar views too...





Now, back to the idea that I have... my vision; mentioned earlier in response to comments made by a previous poster, Mandy Carbenell.

The idea that I have, which I also eluded to in a prior post of mine, seeks to change this first time impression of Second Life.

Basically.. I have the idea, the vision of what needs to be done and how to do it. It'll take a lot of dedicated people to pull it off if it is to work, and it'll most likely cost quite a few L$...

But no money to do it with... neither in SL or the real world itself, as I am not even sure I can afford the monthly fee's of a premium account, at least not yet...

But how does someone in that position, in the real world, solve similar problems? They have a great idea, but no money to see it through...

I guess they seek help and look for investors to finance the idea... and that, I guess is what I may consider doing in the future, if that is what it is going to take to do it... and if, I decide to pursue it...

That indeed would take time and money, not to mention the help of LL. I think I'll make my group first, start small but hey...it's a start.

Mandy C

Oh no Mandy...

It will not involve the Lindens themselves. You don't even know what the idea is yet, and your already turning it down? Hehe... No seriously I don't blame ya, it would be a big venture if I decide to pursue it.

But no... it will not involve the Lindens at all. It will run completely independent from them, it will be run and operated by SL residents themselves... and if by chance, it is successful and actually "shows up" the Lindens and how they support the new players, then maybe... they'll raise an eyebrow or two, and then... maybe even throw a little support behind it.

But that is doubtful. I foresee it being successful without them, but it would still require time, dedication and an investment to make it work.

After leaving Help Island you're sent to one of several Welcome Areas. Originally, all of the Welcome Areas were built by Linden Labs, but there weren't enough for the influx of residents, and as a result some residents who had built InfoHubs got to re-designate them as Welcome Areas. Unfortunately it seems that there were no actual rules laid down about what a Welcome Area must contain, so some of them just turned out in inappropriate places. I thought that had mostly been sorted out by now, though

They've done this by opening up the registration API. Anyone can run their own orientation experience, but obviously you pay for every last penny of it without any actual support.

http://secondlife.com/developers/api/reg.php

Well, there is an opaque selection process in place, so not "anyone" can do it.

I have to ask, was this experience for the average newcomer to SL, shared by say the first IBM or Microsoft scout? I very much doubt that.. I'll bet Phillip himself whisked them away real sharp and took them to their brand new SIMs and asigned a direct contact to take care of their needs. Why you may ask... don't they pay the same prices for their SIMs, and premium account, tier etc? as the 'common man'? Why indeed.

I can't help but feel offended at anyone who critisizes any Mentor, Greeter or Helper for not doing, in their opinion, their job. None of these people get paid, in any shape of form, they do it because they have a will to spend free time trying to put something back into the community. You sometimes get better thought of, if you sat about all day afk on a camping chair.

I agree, AWM. I have nothing but respect for those who spend time to assist newbs, and that's exactly why I want to do the same. Not to gain respect, I couldn't care less but to help those who have questions about SL. Nothing is more frustrating then staggering around on your first day not having a clue what to do.

Mandy C

You're probably not far off with that, except it would be companies like ESC that play lapdog for the corporations and not LL.

LL gets $1650 and $295/month from a company sim, just the same it does from a resident sim owner. Content creation companies on the other hand get thousands to tens of thousands for a single sim.

I first tried SL close to 2 years ago, messed around for a few weeks but never found myself hooked, and went back to the familiar world of MMO's. A couple of months ago armed with a new computer I thought I'd give it another try, and this time did get hooked. To the point of this thread though- the experience on OI was terrible. I consider myself very familiar with gaming interfaces and such, but I was very confused on Orientation Island. I didn't figure out until just recently that a HUD had been dropped on me, I thought it was the basic tutorial help screens common when first logging into a MMO, and about half way through the tutorial I turned it off by accident and never did figure out how to get it back on. Looking back I can't even remember how I made it off the island.

A few weeks ago the wife decided to create her own account, and if I hadn't been sitting over her shoulder coaching her through what to do I don't think she would have lasted. She's having a ball now, and without the baggage of way too many MMOs like I have, she finds the UI a lot more intuitive than I do. But that first couple of hours on OI were very much not fun, and did little to demonstrate the "whys" that a person would want to be in SL in the first place.

I remember the old pathway from my initial test drive of SL as being much easier to understand. I would definitely recommend doing away with the OIHUD, it's confusing and takes up a lot of screen space. As the least, it would help to have an explanation-

"This is a HUD, an attachment to your avatar that can accomplish specific things. In this case, the HUD will guide you through a tutorial of some Second Life basics."

To go a step further, it would help a lot to just run down some of the mechanics of what is going on in-world-

"Second Life is unlike any virtual world you have experienced before. All the objects you see in-world have to be "rezzed", and how quickly that happens depends on a number of things including the speed of your computer and your connection to the internet. So don't panic when you see a blurry texture or missing wall, it's probably still downloading."


I think it would also be helpful to show new users what sorts of things they can do relative to their own interests. I spent a long time just looking for crowded places on the big map to find something interesting to do before I had the sense to start searching through the events and classifieds (lesson learned- clicking blindly on crowded spots on the map can lead to finding oneself among large groups of furry people doing very bad things).

Prior to reading this thread, I created an alt because I'm booked to do a demo of SL for some friends who don't have accounts yet and I thought it would be a good idea to see the new OI. The OI experience seems really poor nowadays, since reading this thread, I discover that you're supposed to arrive with the tutorial HUD. But there's a problem if you don't automatically get one. It's a very confusing place with little signs that read "Click Here to Retry Station", they do nothing and there's nothing to tell you they are anything to do with a hud you should have. Searching the inventory for OI, HUD, Tutorial or Orientation reveals nothing useful. So you are somewhat shut out.
The objective of OI _should_ be that you arrive on Help Island with some idea of what's going on and with a basic set of world skills. Based on my experience, I can't say that is being achieved.
(Edit)
...And about a minute after writing this, my alt on OI found a very helpful Linden who gave me a shiny new Orientation Guide 2.0 which I shall enjoy exploring.

It would be so nice if someone from LL would read this thread!

My own experience as a newbie wasn't as bad as I went through the old "walk the pathway" system. I remember thinking it was kind of fun, easy to navigate and not too demanding.

Now, my 68 year old mother (who lives in a different state) has joined about 8 weeks ago. She finally decided to take a peek after all the postcards I sent her from in-world.

I had to talk her through a lot of Orientation Island. Then, she was dumped somewhere in-world that was in the middle of an ad farm and ugly twirling sexually related advert. I know if I had not been there to take her by the virtual hand and show her the true wonders of SL; the beautiful builds, fun places, etc., she would have bolted immediately.

So. I also wonder how many new people (in particular the older population) have been turned off by the crazy hoops they have to jump through initially, and then the abrupt dumping into the mainland with no one there to assist them?

*Side bar: I am happy to report that my mom is now having the time of her life, and has recently brought in her 73 (!) year old best friend. They party together at the Goth clubs. LMAO