New to the game. Any tips?

So I'm new to this game. I am picking it up pretty fast since I have played many pc games.

Any tips for me? or cool places to go? All the "popular" places lag so bad its hardly worth going

First, stop thinking of it as a "game". It is not a game in any sense, it is a world to Do Stuff In - even to play games in, should that interest you.

I recommend looking at events. Do Search, Events, then select a subcategory that interests you, hit search (wihtout typing anything into the text field), and browse through all the upcoming events in that category. Go to those that sound fun, and go to places where those are held even if there is no event right now. That's the best way I have found to find places and people that share my interests in-world.

Have fun!

Welcome to SL .

One good tip is to that quite a bit of land in SL is residential, so if something looks like it's a house, don't just go wandering inside. Maybe the owner won't mind, but it's still polite to respect other people's property. It may sound harsh, but it'll save you some unpleasant encounters .

I wouldn't recommend going to any "popular place" much, they are/were rarely very friendly or a great way to meet other people. Things like The Shelter and other places oriented towards newbies should be friendlier and a good way to meet other new people.

If you do find some place you feel comfortable, don't let that keep you from exploring .

And even if you're not interested in building anything, do experiment with it a little so you know the basics. Prim hair and attachments often require a bit of adjusting to look right on you and knowing how to retexture something, or modify a house/furniture comes in handy as well.

And probably a personal pet-peeve, but say hello in main chat, don't just IM .

Oh... and every avie out there is a real person, so there's no need to ask any of us whether we're real or not .

Yes...

(don't take some of this personally, i'm speaking not just to you but to any new player reading this)

[1] Remember that 90% of the places you go are private property. You are there by the permission of the landowner. This is true whether it is a mall or club open to the public, or someone's private home. How you behave reflects not only upon yourself but upon all new players. In malls/clubs, they probably won't care as much. On someone's private property you can color their opinion not only of you but of all new players.

[2] treat others with the respect that you would like to be treated with. Sounds like a no-brainer, but it needs to be said. You will be amazed how many doors that will open.

[3] If someone speaks to you, please respond... even if it's to say that you don't understand the language they spoke to you in. You might be suprised by how many languages some of us can switch to, to make conversation easier for you. Even better, initiate the conversation yourself.

[4] Going back to #1 above, remember that being private property, unless you are given permission to do so, do not start building stuff. SL has places that you can do things like this. Stores generally allow this so you can unpack your purchases. Related to this... always clean up after yourself. Some players are very particular about this. I've even been banned from a mall for a few days for forgetting, once.

[5] Not directed at the OP, but at any new player: Unless you are someplace that allows this, if you go tp'ing places naked... expect to be ejected from those places. Especially if you start making crude offensive comments.

[6] While weapons might be part of your AV's costume and personna, remember #1... if you go somewhere that weapons are not welcome, and that tends to be most of SL, either please remove them or go elsewhere. The person who owns that land is paying Real $$$ to Linden for the right to decide what is and is not allowed on their land.

[7] SL is not WoW, GW, or some other combat game. There are no NPC's. Everyone you see is another player. It is -NOT- okay to go around shooting people, unless you are in a designated combat area (denoted by a heart icon at the top of your screen).

I'm sure that others will add to this list

Check out http://secondseeker.com/ for reviews of cool and interesting places to visit

Now the flip side:

You can take classes at Teazers or one of the other places that teach you how to script & build.

There is no end of things you can do and see....

One of the places that impresses me is the 4 Dimensional house (search the forums for amazing places or 4D house and read the threads to find the links).

If you like Star Trek, go to the Galaxy Sim... or go to the Sci Fi Museum that i believe is associated with Chosen Few. It has the most amazing USS Defiant & Klingon Bird of Prey starships in full size.

Wanna be a furry? Go to Luskwood.

Want to fly, there are airfields all over. I recommend Jillian Callahan's for the beauty of design of some of her aircraft, but there are a few others just as good.

If you want to do combat, there are places like Carnage island or Rausch or Jessie (Jessie is urban warfare, i've never seen the other 2), or other places.

Into club scenes? There are so many that no one can begin to count. New ones every day. Something for every taste (use "Search" at the bottom of your screen).

There are medieval sims, fantasy sims... one person is building a Numenoran sim (from JRR Tolkien's Silmarillion). There are Star Wars sims. There is a racetrack sim where you can try out motorcycles and cars you own. There is a dragon area (Council of Wyrmlings, i think it's called... please correct me if i'm mistaken) & vampire area. Quite literally, anything you can think of.... somewhere someone has it.

The best answer to your question about cool places to go is a question: What do you want to see? Enter that in search, tp there... ask the people there about other related places.

addendum:
Not only will you learn about other places related to this topic that others like, but you will make new friends who like the same thing you do.

I'm new too and this thread has been really useful! Are there any other threads/websites that are good for new people?
I'm still trying to work out how to make money without having to just sit around and be paid for doing nothing, or doing surveys...
Any help would be great, thanks.

P.S
(Yay! First post!)

Search in Places for the "Isle of Wyrms" or enter Limbo as the region name in the Map to find dragons by Daryth. Once you get there (and read the rules) look or ask around for the Cathedral.

Awesome all your tips have helped me out. Thank you

A little late on my reply, but here's a bit more.

1. Like was already said: talk on the main screen. Actually, just kinda like how it looks, treat the main screen like you would the real world. If someone says hi to you, reply in kind, lets people think you are rude or something. SL is, in many ways, a social medium, so consider acting accordingly.

2. Linked to the above: etiquette is your friend. Each avater has a real person behind them, with all the quirks and expectations of the human species.

3. In my eight months of exploring Second Life, I've only know begun to realize how little I've really seen of the world. There seem to be an infinite amount of places to explore and experiences to have. Make sure to see the world beyond the casinos and stuff.

4. Consider your appearance. I don't mean you need to always be in your Sunday best, or that you need to be a perfect Clint or Brandi. But please don't wander around nude in public areas? Also, if you are in a sim that has a set theme, please consider dressing ar least somewhat appropriate for the area. It's not necessary (as a general rule), but will make for a better experience for you and for others if you do play the part.

5. You may find some niche in SL that you love, but bear in mind that not everyone has the same niche, and that some of the others out there might make you personally uncomfortable for whatever reason. Call this the golden rule when it comes to dealing with Goreans, furries, SL Kids, whatever. We're all here to have fun in some way, whatever that fun happens to be.

6. Consider building your skills. Go to the Ivory Tower or related places and learn. Take classes. Find something you like to do, and do it. You could be the next big designer in SL and not even know it yet. -- but the world gets better with every new, innovative design to be had.

7. Above all, have fun. I know the word "game" is a touchy one, but this is for many a pastime, and barring outages. griefers, and what-have-you, a really good one. Enjoy your second life.

Mari

Jenny,

There are lots of ways to make money. Some of them are distasteful. I'll acknowledge doing a few things that i would like to forget, before discovering that i had a talent for building.

I won't discuss camping or surveys because you alrady know about them.

First way i recommend to get money... up in the upper right corner of your screen there is a blue & white $ symbol... that takes you to Lindex where you can buy L$.

Assuming you don't want to or cannot spend real $ to buy L$... there is taking classes at Teazers or one of the other educational facilities. Teazers is free, by the way. Discover your talent: is it building? scripting? textures? Clothing design? something else? Discover it and go into business. Sell on SL Exchange & SL Boutique first to develope the seed money you'll need to open a store. You won't see money quickly at first... not till you become known.

Become a premium member. This gives you the right to own land, to buy first land (if you can find any). It also gives you a monthly stipend of 300L per month (I think that is the going rate). Furthermore, you can do this as cheap as $6/month if you do the pre-paid yearly plan.

You can do money trees. If you are good at it and plot your landmarks to rez at the tree, you can hit 1 tree per minute (if i can do it... and i did way back when, you can do it). this means an average of 60L per hour. not great pay, but much better than camp chairs.

I do NOT recommend the following, but i'll mention it only because they are options:

You can gamble... you can also lose ever L$ you have too, if you are not wise about gambling. Know when to walk away.

You can get a job dancing... this does not mean you have to strip. That depends on the club. Know what you are getting into. Pay varies. I don't follow this anymore, and my friends who still do can't talk me into ever returning to it. From what I hear dancer pay is low to non-existant with dancers working for tips.

Lastly, the most disgusting IMHO, you can become an escort. Good pay... extremely good pay. If you work for a club, they might.... i say again, MIGHT... front you the money to buy better skin/shape/hair, etc. If they do, expect it to come out of your pay. You will be expected to do things with individuals that you wouldn't look twice at or give the time of day to. If you work as an independent.... expect to lay out around 30,000L to get started (you'll need equipment to satisfy most requests, costumes to support it, etc). You'll be in direct competition with the clubs so don't expect a warm welcome from them. To those who are in this profession and like it, more power to you. This is how -I- feel.

I personally recommend that you go to teasers and learn SL skills that will make you money that you won't have to look back on with shame.

First off, ignore when people say 'its not a game.'

SL is what it is to you, if its a game to you, its a game.

Check out Free Dove, The Shelter, and NCI for starters

They'll get you rolling in game.

Explore, explore, explore!

One of my favorite things to do (on the mainland) is to look for the Linden Road and start walking (don't drive -- as you'll be focused on steering and such; don't fly, you'll be going too fast)...

Just walk!

You'll be amazed at the things you see from the main road, and you can take little side trips if something strikes your fancy. I did this last night: saw a reconstruction of Stonehenge, discovered "Lauks Nest" and came upon a small shop selling giant ladybugs and bumblebees!

Sometimes it's a lonely trek (everyone must be at those lag-bomb "popular" places) but occasionally you do cross paths with other ramblers. Put on your prim boots and take a hike -- it's a great way to see what the everyday folk of SL are up to.

One major tip: say the magic word.

"Hello"

That word will unlock a lot of the secret doors, and defeat many of the level bosses all over the grid.


Oh, and watch out for those ev1l Land Bar0nz... <shifts eyes>

You could check out our site - http://sl.stratics.com - it contains news, a number of help guides, and a community forum.

Our in-world headquarters in Rosieri contains a noticeboard with landmarks to some good 'newbie friendly places', as well as some tips and access to our site. There's also a nice sandbox we provide for people to experiment with the building tools.

Hope that helps!

Broccoli

You can make SL into a game for you, definitely - I did not mean to imply that choice is somehow wrong. I just wanted to point out it is not the only choice, because I find many newbies do not realize this, do not realize that SL inherently does not need to be thought of as "a game". (To some, of course, even RL is a game and the one with most toys in the end wins. )

From my own experience, I also would like to caution against trying to start from ways to making money. You can buy thousands of lindens for peanuts of RL money and that gets you very well started for a newbie. Before you think of making money in the world, take time to explore the world, to try out the different things there are in the world - socialize, build, script, fiddle with appearances, go to sex clubs, art exhibitions, dance halls, casinos, group discussions, religious meetings... just get a feeling of what there is and what interests you.

The ideas for things *you* want to make to share with the community (and even making them available for purchase *is* sharing) will come.

You can make SL into a platform too. I didn't make SL a game, it already was as soon as I got here, and does not need to be thought of inherently as anymore than a game.

Making it anything else is silly to me. You however are free to feel its a platform/glorified chatroom, whatever. Wanting people to think of it as a world or platform when they start is just plain silly. Your comment came off almost attacking those who see it as a game.

Perhaps a better wording for next time for you would be "It's not a game to everyone, not a world to everyone, and not a platform to everyone. Explore it socially, fianancially, and just plain travelling, then make up your own mind as to how to define it."

I absolutely did not mean to attack people who think of it as a game (though I object to "just" a game, as a longtime MMOGer ). I do not think that is an invalid way of thinking about SL (as long as you are aware other ways exist). I apologize. In my defense I say English is not my first language so sometimes nuances are lost to me and I come off with an apparent attitude different to the one I really aimed for.

Why I say SL is "not a game", as opposed to say MMOGs (which I play a lot and enjoy), is the total lack of "in-world" major goals or rewards dictated by the game. In WoW, you have to do things in-world to progress in levels; in EVE Online you have to do in-world things in order to get resources/money/territory; and in both the progress and resources are seen as the "goal" of the game. There is no (allowed) way to go around doing those in-world things if you want to achieve the goal. The system limits what you are able to with game-mechanical rules (skills, levels). There is a "background story" for the world that dictates what is "realistic" in the world.

SL lacks these aspects. What limits you in SL is real world money, your skill and willingness in learning to build, and your imagination. You do not have to do anything in-world to get in-world money or building blocks or tools, there are no level/skill/experience limits imposed by the system on who can build or own or use what, and there is no in-world fiction that dictates what the world should be like. This is why I say it is a virtual world, not a game. (In contrast, say, EVE Online is a virtual world and a game, WoW is a game and not much of a world.)

Whether this makes SL inferior or superior or just different to the others is a matter of taste, as is whether my defition of "game" is a sensible one. (I think "just different".)

However, my point is that my experience is that newbies who try to think of SL as just an MMOG impose limits and build up expectations that not realistic and end up confused or in the worst case angry and disappointed. If you after exploring choose to think of it as "just a game", setting goals for yourself, playing a role, or whatever works for you, you have made a choice and are aware not everyone will play your game.

But I agree, it is best not to think of it solely as a chatroom, or a platform, or a huge sex club, or whatever preconceptions people bring into it, either. Just explore and see what it is like for you.

In addition to all the previous responses and suggestions (which wre all great, by the way), please consider checking out the Metaverse Messenger, SL's most widely read newspaper. at www.metaversemessenger.com.

The M2 is published weekly and includes a wide range of stories on virtually all aspects of Second Life, from upcoming events to the latest griefer attack to the hilarious PLYWOOD comic strip which is set in SL (and just started over with its first strip week before last).

The M2 website also has an archives section where all our previous issues are available, going back more than 18 months.

Welcome to SL!

P2

Apologies if I came across as attacking myself.

You're good people.