Manipulation and funneling/a 'notecard' to newbies and mentors/greeters

This post was written in response to one NEW fellow being greatly disappointed in SL, AND in response to a young student of mine and her friends saying many of her new friends and herself were greeted by a madam or pimp of sorts directing them to 'the best and only job for girls only in SL', one at a club. I feel this is an appropriate in response to the question of manipulation of new SL folks in general. Please don't take offense if this funneling activity, or proselytizing women and men for club work does not include you. Most greeters are phenomenal. And Linden Labs SHOULD be paying you, at least in zero tier fee. Have a good and thoughtful day.

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SL is a bunch of computers, servers, which are rented by you and me. Even the largest 'land' owner in here only rents the land. In 512 parcels (enough for a tiny home) or much larger (entire HUGE islands using a whole server).

A great interface/control panel allows us the folks who sign up to do a lot of things. And our 'toon' representatives/avatars (godlike humans) have the a great degree of detail that can be varied widely. Great poses abound. For most anything you want to mimic in real life. The scripting language, LSL, is certainly very flexible. Wondrous 'builds' and designs, genius builders and designers make use of it every day!

Yes. We're pretty much on our own. We have a pretty mild TOS/terms of service agreement with the company. But, for the most part, it's a fairly laissez-faire operation. The company who runs the show pretty much let's things go. They do give extra support to folks who buy into the game a bit more than others, but for the most part, it's a pretty fair..'here's your avi..goodbye' type of thing.



Yes. Certainly an entire group is mainly interested in the sensual/the clubs. Many make alternate accounts to visit them, if they think their main account avatar's image would be 'tarnished'. And why not. Many a stuffy professor in RL never gets to go to a club and get down, dirty and be the happier for it.

Yes. With the initial and ongoing advertising about making 'real' money in this SL venue folks became mercantile rabid. And some of those shops/malls are ghost towns. Even the well rendered ones. But some aren't . There are a small, select group of shops, becoming a larger group all the time, of heavily visited shops of extremely well done things. So, the petri dish is getting 'better'.

Recently..well..perhaps this year..the 'game' was plugged as a great place to trial games. Slingo or tringo was one of the games I believe someone actually licensed after he trialed it here. Many more have been tried. Some successfully.

Right now, I believe Alt-zoom Studios is making a movie in SL. Why? Probably to see how it would go. To teach skills that can transition to rl, perhaps.

Teazers University in an entire sim. First Page is the owner. Selaras Partridge runs the classes which are standardized, and teach fun things to do or make here...and that knowledge helps you render or do things with rl programs at times.

SL, you see, is not all that mindless and mercantile and ugly in content.



But I have seen the culture/activities narrow, and the content contracting, not vary, not add, but subtract in diversity. Very unusual for a petri dish given a wholesome medium and open air. Why is this so? Well. The culture of a populaton can be skewed if those you meet, those who introduce you to that group/popuation present a skewed or narrowed perception of it.

You see, SL has grown so rapidly and so quickly that the company actually asks a groups of its customers to pinch hit in a 'live help' group. Mentors are another group that helps newer folk. And the real, paid employees of the company are few, far between and direct you to a more protracted, report-filing type of solution to most any problem. So these volunteers are important..to the company..and to you as a newby. Trust me on this one. IF you ever wish to look cool in front of an SL girlfriend and you have a box on your head 2 seconds before she's arriving you want to call 'live help' not a Linden.

The Live Helpers and Mentors can also belong to a group called Greeters, some being all three. Now, I believe..in payment for their services as a customer service department for Linden Labs, these folk are allowed to give notecards pointing out areas of interest to visit in SL to fresh off the boat newbies..sort of like YOU. These notecards quite often direct newer folk to the goods and services, clubs etc, of those helpers and mentors and perhaps their friends. NOT to the some of the better and BEST things to do and see in SL. So, you see. Why wouldn't some poor girl think that all she could do to make money is become an escort for a club, if she's given a notecard filled with BDSM shops and clubs? Why wouldn't someone think that there were only empty malls, if he/she is directed to one? And so the population..that stays..becomes directed in that fashion.

But, in their favor, mentors et al, do not get paid any other way. Just this sandwich board type of advertising in the welcome area. So the scope of the notecards that they hand out may be a bit narrow. Ask them if their are other points of interest besides what's on their cards. If they seem to run in the same vein, the same general area..ie, the greeter mentions MORE clubs, MORE pose ball vendors..look for another greeter. I'm sure the next person will go on and on about their favorite places in a non biased way. But, yes, as an aside, I do think you should try to visit their own personal shops. This is really their only payment for helping you get a box off your head--when the time comes

One note..to the Greeters, Live Helpers, Mentors...those notecards are due you and more, I would think. YOU are more important to SL than you know. Because YOU can sculpt SL better than Starax can sculpt Goliath by EXPANDING on those 'points of interest'. Do you tell folks also about Starax Statosky...one of the best sculptures in Second Life..whose work they should see as a model of the best that can be done in SL. Or just the closest BDSM store. Perhaps the sculptures of Lash Xevious ? Or just the closest club with escorts. Do you give landmarks to Nephilaine's creations..the best couturier in SL..or simply your own? Neil's? Juro's? Lordfly's? Lumiere Noir's Library of Primitives? The falls of Desire Night? Or only a landmark to your recently done mall. If so, you may be skewing the culture. Narrowing it by presenting a skewed and narrow 'welcome'. A narrow view of what is done and CAN be done in SL. But, I'm sure most of you go on and on about the many interesting creators here..and their creations, from Tayzia's Crescent Moon to Jenna's Edge. It's all good. AND it helps to foster diversity in content from the moment the newby flounders into Ahern.

So, yes. Please give Second Life a second chance...the CURRENT current events list and culture is hopefully only temporarily stunted.

I am a Greeter. I am a Greeter rather than a Mentor because I think Greeters have a better opportunity to help new players. As a Mentor I would mainly teach the same few basics over and over i.e., how to remove the box from your head.

A Greeter is your guide into the world of SL. Most Greeters, don’t just hand out a notecard with Landmarks. They may spend days helping the new person. I often become good friends with my newbies and mentor them long after the initial meeting.

Nor, do I think that most Greeters send the newbie to empty malls and into a life of whoring. I always ask the new player what he or she is interested in and, then take them to places that may be of interest to them. Again, in talking to other Greeters, I believe most do the same thing.

The only place I will just about always take a new person is The Shelter. The Shelter is a non-profit organization that helps new people. I found myself there as a newbie and still appreciate the help and friends I made there. I believe new residents can have a much more positive SL experience through spending time at the Shelter, during the first few weeks.

Other Greeters take new residents to New Citizens, Inc., which is set up much the same. It too, attempts to provide continual guidance for new players. I carry both LMs.

It is possible that there are Greeters who attempt to steer people into high dwell areas or specific merchants. I don’t know of any who profess to do that. I have heard of people doing this in the Welcome Area. There are several posts from volunteers protesting this behavior. It is possible someone passed themselves off as a Greeter in order to get the new person’s trust. Maybe it was one of these people who offered the girl a job as an escort?

Jen