Greeting Area Police & History (long-ish)

I came to SL about..oh, 5 days ago or so... something like that. I'm a quick learner and have played many MMOs/games before, but the learning curve was still there. Luckily I signed on when I first woke up, so I devoted the whole day to learning.

When I first arrived in SL, the "Welcoming Area" was more of the "Who's Hot, Who's Not." There were people called "Welcoming Area Regulars" - which is another word for lag-enducing troll. These trolls sit around, flaunting their 5,000 L$ skin, their 4,000 L$ baby-tees and have more sparkle and bling then ANY rap artist I've ever seen.

Here I am, in the newbie clothing, feeling new as hell. The interface is pretty jittery and I'm expecting a quest log to pop up and tell me to collect 10 rat tails. ...didn't happen. So I walked out into the open and didn't find anyone I thought I could talk to, everyone seemed to into themselves and chatty with similarly dressed ghetto queens.

So I wandered around for a bit, someone contacted me and told me I could head over to Gadni's ..(or whatever it's called, the freebie Empire) so I went there, got a cute outfit, then went back to the Welcoming area. Then I met someone who was sitting on the bench, quiet and not too fancy looking, but enough so I knew they weren't a newbie like me. We talked for a minute and she gave me a ton of freebies and offered to take me around. After my first day, I pretty much learned what Second Life is -- it's not a "Get X rat tails" game, it's a "Do and go where you want, when you want, for as long as you want." Another thing that sort of puzzled me was that EVERYTHING (99%) of things in game are player made... this really gave me food for thought. So everytime I wanted to get something, I'd ask "So where can I get this from Linden?" ..but the fact is you get basically nothing from Linden...except lag and down time. Hah..

So after 5 days, I'm a competant builder (with a couple questions now and then) I know about property, I know where to go for what, or where to find out, and its all thanks to the one person I met that day -- the ONLY reason I spoke to her was because she didn't look like she was there to show off, she wasn't there to be intimidating -- and regardless of what the Welcome Area trolls think, thats what they ARE, intimidating..

So, after my second day when I had about 99% of this game figured out, I picked up a police uniform and joined some half rate police group to get the title Police Officer, and every day I visit the welcoming area.

Why? Because we're all brought up to trust the police and if you have problems, you can go to them. So if I were new and I wanted to ask for help, I'd goto a police officer in game 500 times before I went to one of those bling covered ghetto queens 1 time.

Since I did that, I think I've helped about 5 or 6 newbies on their way, and while I have some questions of my own from time to time, they're that last 1% of information that you don't need to know until you stumble on the problem -- IE: how to texture only one side of the prim. Stuff like that.

So if you see a police officer in the welcome area, it's probably me Giving newbies a ride in my helicopter as I explain what SL is, what it isnt, and ask them about their over all plans, if they even have any.

Bravo! A beautiful story!

Abrah, you're a born Mentor/Greeter

Abrah, congratulations. Do consider joining up with The Shelter or New Citizens Incorporated (or both). They're resident run organisations devoted to helping newbies, running newbie classes and social events and whatnot. Also a useful stepping stone for those of us who want to help but haven't yet had the time in-world to qualify as an official volunteer.

A lot of the official volunteers are covering the new Help Island, which has recently been attached to some of the Orientation Islands, intended to give a quieter and less intimidating place for the new residents to ask questions, get oriented, get some nice clothing, and so forth. Other volunteers, and NCI and Shelter people are working areas in the main grid trying to catch folks who are confused or daunted and help them out.

Regrettably, some folks fall through the cracks, and I fear you may have been one of them. All we can do is try to do our best to help everyone we can find who wants or needs it.

That was a really cool Idea... I have been helping newbies myself, An I really enjoy doing it, so Im volunteering as official helper as soon as my month is accomplished. I don't now every single bit of the game, but I am good enough to save some new people from complete ignorance

You don't need to know everything Ursula. You only need to know slightly more than the person you are teaching, and be willing to share it!

Good idea about cop thing...I've done my share of welcome area helping and there are a lot of groups out there that do. I remember my first day of "giving back". I think you'd categorize me of one of those "ghetto" people with 5 k skins...but hey, Im a fabulous looking avatar and my imagination is at my fingertips in SL...I take advantage of it. After I read your post I did a little thinking about my first negative rating...it was in a welcome area, from some girl newbie who I was trying to help...She gave me a negative rating (I dont know if they had negative ratings when you came...its a thing of the past now). The comments under the rating was "You're not that pretty"...maybe she saw me as intimidating (like you said), so she drunk a dose of hateraid and took it out on me. She spent $25L of her new linden to do that...It was kinda funny. Anyway, little did she know I was just looking for someone to give a few clothes to (I'm a designer), help her with a good shape, and give her some advice about places to go etc...I've helped plenty of newbies in that respect and they love it (so do i). Point being different people gravitate to different things...Some newbies are like "wow, show me how to look like you"...and i happily do...and there are others who are, "imtimidated" as you say....doesn't make either type of person less helpful...I know I would have gravitated towards somoene like myself before the cop, but doesn't mean I gotta down the other welcome area people.

Ciera, as a greeter I often go to the WA. The problem isn’t with your looks, so much as it is with the general demeanor of the area. When I first came to SL and found myself at he WA it was early morning US time. There weren’t many people there.

Now, when I often go, I imagine how intimidated I might have been if I would have arrived when a dozen or more people were grouped around the fountain, cursing and playing sound clips. It would have taken me 15-30 sec just to rez and move. No wonder a lot of new residents feel intimidated.

At the new Help Island, you will find mentors and greeters who are furries or lizards or mechanical objects along with “normal” looking people. However, there the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing. The newly born babe isn’t subjected to SL sensory overload.

This is EXACTLY how the Welcome Area was for me when I first arrived in SL. Rather than stop and ask for help I just slunk away - not feeling that I would be able to break into the ongoing conversation, and felt too foolish to ask what I knew were extremely newbie-ish questions of these obviously very experienced people. This was partly to me not knowing how friendly the SL community is as a whole, and partly because there was nothing to indicate *why* these people had chosen to hang out there.

Thank god the first place I wandered into was the sandbox - it's where I found someone that was just like Abrah is now - only slightly more advanced than I was, looked and acted much less intimidating, and was willing and eager to show me the things they'd only just learned for themselves.

Well done Abrah on reaching an excellent conclusion so early in your time here! It's taken until your post for me to look back and realise in hindsight that this was the way I felt during my early days here. Then I kinda just took it for granted that everyone had the same experience.

If there's anything I can do to help you in your chosen role please IM me in-world

I know that the welcome area for me was an awful experience, the lag hurt me the most. But luckily I started on a tutorial with the help island! That was the best experience I could have asked for and without it I doubt i'd be playing the game now. I was helped there by Isablan Neva, a GREAT mentor. She pretty much explained the basics of the world and what I needed to not be completely overwhelmed. But not only that, she stayed with me out of the help island and took me to some great places such as Abbots to try skydiving and the air tour. (And helped me configure my client to survive welcome area lag!)

Now im a premium member, and ive pretty much been playing in all my spare time. Of course I cant forget to mention the Shelter and NCI which were both also was a huge help. Especially Carl Metropolitan(sp) and everyone else in NCI. But again, I would have had no clue how to even reach them without the help island and my mentors help. Im striving to become a Mentor myself eventually, i think that is the number one way to keep new players.

We'll need a Mentor Apprentice program soon.

Abrah, that was a great tale, especially from someone new to this world. Welcome:) I must say, I too was intimidated upon entering the WA at first, as it seemed as if everyone 'knew' one another. That was the biggest thing I remember, that it seemed to be a big get together for those who were already pretty far along (judging by the avis and the intimate conversations).

But, I really didn't mind just 'hanging back' and absorbing, I guess everyone is different; it's true that most new residents want to just dive in (at least the ones I've met). I think, the difference for me was that, I knew I had some friends already in sl.... who, I knew, would just come and help me out the moment they knew I was there. (which they did.) Thank you BJ, Jelly, and Kat:) And Allen. If I was just on my own; entering this new world....I would have felt a little panicked, for sure, and, on thinking about it, may not have perservered.

I still land in Ahern WA when I log in to sl; just because, sometimes, I meet the odd new person who seems to be a little lost and, even tho I am still learning so much...know that even the bit I know could be a help. I'm trying to improve my 'approachability' skills in this area. I'm still learning the right questions to ask, and not just 'unloading' too much information on the new ones. And yes, it is an intimidating place at first; I hope that people entering SL do a little homework before hand as well; I've met so many that haven't come to check out the forums, or even know that they are here, or even read all there is to on the website; just reading the wiki, or Hamlet's articles, can give an insight into what they can expect.

One thing tho...SL truly is one of those experiences; many can share in the aspects of the event, but no two are the same! Like snowflakes:) Abrah, I will pass that on, the idea of the police uniform; that is a great idea! The Help Island sounds like a great idea; is it accessible to anyone, or just available when first entering, and only accessible to official volunteers?

Regards,

I think the police are profiling.

I'm glad you where able to figure everything out, however is there any reason you didn't come to help Island?

HI island is a place which I hope will be a place you'd care to help out at some day, but I'd really like to find out why you seem to have never heard of it.


LL lets make HI a bit more difficult to skip.

I hardly spent any time at the Welcome Area. I went through Help Island, then went to the Welcome Area, and once I'd worked out the controls and how to get out of a rezzing building, I just saw that the place was full of people with cool avatars talking to each other. I was shy. So I just left and flew off to a random place.

Wow, what a marvellous way to help us all see through new SL eyes. Thanks for sharing your story!

I know exactly what you mean by the show off's in the WA, I origianly came to SL back in early March 2005, TP'd off orientation island and showed up in the WA which at that time was waterport I think. all I saw was a bunch of bling, lag and people rideing around in hotdog and hamberger vehicles so I said STS and logged off and didnt activate the trial account I was useing, then a good friend of mine finaly talked me into comeing back so I did and saw SL in a whole new point of view, and I'm so glad I came back now... I've become a good builder, club owner and an Instructor.

I'm just wondering how many people we are loosing each day they come in to SL for the 1st time and see the shows off's and lag and do what I did and just leave never to return.

this brings back memories

When I first came to SL it was at the old, old WA and didnt see a soul..... talk about confused hehehe.

After spending a few hours on my AV I started to explore, ended up doing that for my first few days. Then I finally saw someone aat the welcome area !!! OMG a Linden <eyes almost popped from their sockets>. I was helped, had things explained to me, got some good advice and moved on, but never forgetting that help I recieved.

I suppose the remembering has guided me to become a SL Instructor, Mentor and Live Helper. I still feel so much joy when I can actually be of help

We can all learn from Abrah's story, I just hope we do

Now I dunno if I am a 'show off' or a 'welcomer'
*Half-skulks off home, half stays. A mess ensues*

Aww Psy. If I would have seen you, I'd probably would have logged off. I didn't though, and since then have seen your huge AV. Wow.


--- In regards to why did I skip the Helper Island, to be honest, I didn't even know it was there! When I begun the game, I was on the little starting island where I chose my AV, played with the sliders (for the better part of an hour I think!) and cussed in frustration as I couldn't seem to get the beach ball on the table. FINALLY I got it on the table and after wiping the sweat off my face, I flew over to the little graduation place. The only thing I saw off to my left was a thing that said something to the effect of "Get the hell out of this confusing place, and goto a more confusing place!" so I clicked it and landed in the welcoming area... read my original post.

--- Knowing that there is a helper island, I think this would be a good idea if it were actually a built in course. You go from the Starter Island > Helper Island > Real World.

I don't think it's a good thing that people can "fall thru the cracks". This game is daunting, so I think there needs to be a little iron-fisted control there, directing newbies where to go and not giving them the option, because lets face it, 95% of them DONT KNOW where they want to go.

In the case of an ALT, they can simply goto the Helper Island and then say hey, Im an alt, ciao. And then goto the welcoming area.

...so why isn't the welcoming island mandatory? That's something that should be implemented. I bet they lose some accounts to people who experience SL the way I did.

No way! I skipped right passed the WA on my arrival to SL and didn't look back. Don't kill the 5% of us who can manage without by making something compulsory.

For a variety of reasons, I have recently spent quite a bit of time in the WA (for the first time ). I know that had I spent any time there on My Day 1, I would not be a participant of SL right now. That's not to say it isn't exactly the right thing for other Avies, but please don't force it on those who don't want it.

Well Gabe, making Helper Island mandatory wouldn't be the end of your life! lol.

It'd simply take you 30 seconds to fly past the mentors/greeters and click on the sign in the back, or however it's set up. I don't know, never been there.

but 95% versus 5%. Come on now Gabe Those 95% of people NEED the help. They don't know what they need, so how can you expect them to choose the correct teleporter?

You yourself said that if you wound up in the WA, you'd probably not be in SL today, so why would you not give a little of yourself for the benefit of someone new?

By making it mandatory for everyone to goto Helper's Island, it'd increase the retention of people who are trying SL out and for you ALTS, it'd cost you 30seconds. A very small small price to pay to assist the majority of the new comers.

Think about the children.

There's a helper island? I did the little tutorial and popped up in this building. There were a few people around, but most of them seemed to be AFK (the AFK pose is hilarous), so I just flew off and started looking around.

It wasn't until I ran across some very nice residents that I got a proper tutorial (and some very valuable landmarks).

I could have definatly used some help with the controls early on too. It took me a long time to figure out how to actually get at the stuff in freebie boxes. A lot of the controls in the game are less than obvious. I still don't know how to manipulate the camera beyond using the scroll wheel without bringing up that little box. In particular, there are a LOT of time I want to look up and down without going to a menu and pulling up some interface widget.

When you and I started, Gabe, SL was at least 4 or 5 times smaller, too, and less socially complex. I don't think it's a bad idea to route everyone through Help Island.

I really appreciated this story too. Even as an "oldbie," I felt the same atmosphere in the welcome areas. The Help Island setting is much more calm and has a wonderful network of information and volunteers that werent available to us when I first came into game. I crashed upon landing at Orientaion Island and therefore missed all introduction. LOL.

I would like to add another newcomer friendly place to the list already presented (The Shelter, NCI). Dreams in Luo has a small sandbox and tutorials and a group of people who would love to give a hand. It is pretty quiet there and you can work with or without assistance.

I ran from the Help area ASAP. I was new to "gaming" entirely and wasn't ready to start chatting with people or being tutored. I just wanted to get my bearings and figure things out in my own way. I wanted to explore a bit and see what SL had.

"iron -fisted" approach is a bit extreme, in my opinion. Each person is unique. For some, help and tutorials from another player is welcome. For others, it may not be what they want straight away. Noobs shouldn't be forced.

While I think it is very nice you are helping noobs, I wonder how in 5 days you have the answers to what SL is and what it is not. You are already classifying people based on appearance as "ghetto queens", so forgive me if I dont cheer. I hope you are not imposing your generallizations onto new users. 4,000L baby tee? Where the hell are you shopping? LOL!

SL is many different things to many different people. When I help noobs, I teach them whatever it is that they are struggling with, answer any questions they may have and if I happen meet them in my shop,and they are admiring something I give it to them. I do not try to push my opinions or my approach to SL on them. It is their SECOND life, afterall, not mine.

Anyway, that is my two cents. Welcome to SL