Lonely, fed up, not enjoying it....

The advice to avoid being caught up in the money hype is excellent. I am glad that I knew very little about SL before i just jumped in. If I had read all the hyperbole I may have been disappointed as well. I heartily recommend solo wandering. The search button is your friend. Also I go to the Master Money Tree site and just TP to a tree at random. It sometimes takes me to some interesting places.

Stick with Second Life, it's great! Sure we get annoying problems and days when it all seems pointless, but it's worth carrying on.

If the land doesn't mean that much to you, sell some of it - get your holding down to a lower tier level.

Give yourself a really attractive avatar, or have more than one to suit different moods.

Learn to build stuff - that can be compulsive.

Stream some of your favourite radio stations to your land.

Go to dance clubs where you will make a few friends.

But you do need to devote a certain amount of time to SL - you might find it even becomes addictive!

A modest and realistic financial ambition would be to make enough money in SL to cover your membership costs. I've just about achieved that.

Real life is like Second Life in that the only meaning to it is the meaning you give it. (OK, you can argue that with me if you like )

Don't wait for the great interesting thing to drop out of nowhere onto your pixelated skull. Go find what interests you. Make it happen. For example, there are a lot of SL-based publications out there looking for writers. Connect with one of them, get a story assignment. You'll not only make some Lindens out of it, but you'll be going places and meeting people doing interesting things.

Here's a little tough love for you

Many argue that SL is not a game because there is no winning or losing.

I beg to differ.

Although I agree in that SL is not, in and of itself, a game, I disagree that there is no winning or losing.

IMHO, you are a winner in SL when you find your niche and live a long Second Life. This means you are either skilled, creative, innovative, ambitious, socially engaging or have enough of a lively imagination to entertain yourself and not be dependent on others to guide and take you by the hand in order to have fun.

You are a loser when you quit!

Many of the reasons people quit are for either exactly the opposite of those reasons stated above or,

they just don't like Second Life.

If you didn't like Second Life you wouldn't be reaching out by posting to the forums.

So stop feeling sorry for yourself, get out there, and have fun

I have been into creating or attempt to create 3d spaces for over 10 years. I traveled around numerous online sites to find this.
Also I am very creative but not always very smart when it comes to certain things.
In my first week in Second Life the more stressed out I was more I shopped and bought stuff, including over priced land instead of slowing down and my attitude totally stuck. My budget was totally ruined and I had went through almost 250 usd. I have been here now three months, I know more and I am not buying so many lindens and spending like a crazy idiot like I was.
I am careful what I buy and from whom.
I have made few more friends and I try every day to met someone else who is new.
I don't hang out at the shelter, I am not making tons of money either.
For me the goal is to create and help others, find others who are kind and interested in sharing the fun they discovered or who want to see my creations or hang out with me and create or discover new things.
I still get lonesome, frusterated still sometimes within SL but then I go do other things,etc. If you like a friend look me up. I would be more then willing to show you why I have remained.

Yeah, I've only been playing one day - and was already reading up on Scripting and other object creation. Think... what do you like in your first life? I'm sure there's something similiar in Second Life... If you want to be a wealthy citizen - just try to be innovative, make that investment pay off.

I've been a long time gamer - virtual worlder - what ever you wanna call it, and some of the games I've been the most fond of, I really didn't care for --- at first...

I don't agree.

If something doesn't suit you and you decide not to do it anymore that doesn't make you a loser.

wenkinnoc....it is ALLLLLLL about the friends you make. The metaverse provides a zillion opportunities for you to be creative or productive or generate income. But without the ties of friendship to bind you, it's just no fun.

Just like RL, I suppose.

IM me in inworld if you ever decide to give it another chance, we can hang out

xLx

If it doesn't suit you anymore then you just don't like it anymore and anything above the "or," doesn't apply.

You would simply then move along without fanfare.

If you quit on anything before giving it a chance, either out of disgust or because you feel defeated, then yes you are a loser. And I would tell my friends, my family, and my man the same.

Its just not about learn curve its also the stupid people that cause grief etc.......
Learning is the best part of SL, exploring as well. But just making a remark about it have a large learning curve to learn is just does not make it as a issue any more. Because we have places to learn and online and in world people to help one over come learning issues. The game in general lags in many ways. People easy for gets there are people from around the world with their own set of culture feelings and expression.


In Order what one should do when they start.

1) Make friends
2.) Explore
3.) Learn to operate the game ( this could be 2 or 3 ranking )
4.) Learn to build
5.) Own land

I call this the "MELLO" way to Enjoy Second Life........Relax take it esay and don`t rush. Anyone can rush anything in life. Why do it with sl?
A while back LLABS have this Nightmarish PR stunt where they had a member that was SUPPOSE to be a example or How second life was to be played. It was more of a BS way of rushing people in an out of the game without retenting they inthe future. The pushed gaming as the key to the SL future and it was just so poorly done it was a joke!
Thats why I always say learn the "MELLO" because why would anyone race through a game that is suppose to be fun trather then a 1....2.....3 I WIN Situation!......makes no sence

I'm sure there's no single system that works for everyone.

Or I'm just backwards. MELLO sounds good, but I went LOLEM!

Learned the interface
Owned some land
Learned to build and script
Explored around
Made some friends

And having a wonderful second life as I do it!



-Atashi

NO ts not even spell as you say backwards

nice try tho..........

You know I haven't seen a response from the OP which makes me feel like this is nothing more than a troll...

Usagi, your PM box is full.

Oh...

When I get board with SL, I read a book or watch a movie... or something like that. Then I come back and find some new people to chat with.

Making friends should be first........
Im inbox is clean now

Its clean now Strife

S/L is just a platform, it gives you the options to build from that.
You can use it to make friends and chat, or you can take it further
and start to create things for others to enjoy, and you can make money if your good enough to.

Personally I just come on s/l to explore and make friends and find new
outfits for my avatar.

Some days I log on and none of my friends are on and all the places I go are deserted and I log out again thinking how dull and pointless S/L is.

But I keep coming back because I have met people on s/l that are interesting and I would never have met them if I had not come here.

Before I came to S/L I had spent several years chatting in text chat rooms, S/L gives you far more options in interactions with others, and allows you to explore your creative side as well.

well i dont have much of a creative side, but hopefully can scrape enough to get my money back. I appreciate everyones efforts but i hate it here, I am onyl wwandering around trying toearn my money back, I find it dull, tedious and too much work for little return.

For thoise who mayy think I am a quitter, I had the unfortunate situation of learning how to walk again after a bad and crippling accident. 3 months later I managed cope with the trauma of that. So, I am no shirker when it comes perserverance. I have tried my damndest for SL, but it bores me to tears. I simply want my money back, and look upon this as a stupid, stupid mistake.

Well the stipend at the current value of $L 500 be liable to decrease? Im thinking thta if i can sell my land, I can just leave my account and neve useit, accumualte the funds via the stipend and get my money back that way. Could/Would this work?

Just curious, how much are you "Trying to get back"? If the game is that tedious and boring and is causing you this much angst, is the investment you made worth all that? Or would it be better for you to just cut your losses?

I'm afraid not. The stipend level of L$300 is set so that you can't simply sell your L$ and make a profit on your Premium fee.

or perhaps underwhelmed. My observation is that I would never buy land so quickly, even with the burgeoning speculation market. I simply don't know enough.

I have been on SL for only a few weeks. During that short time my reaction has been the complete opposite of the originator of this thread.. I've been having a wonderful time, and it's hardly cost me anything to do it with. At the end of the day SL is glorified zeros and ones-- it's the interaction between people that I treasure. I have wandered far and wide using my freebie small zeppelin to sail over land lines, dropping in on lands where I see people clustering just to see what's going on. My first days here, I would take an object someone gave me that propels you into the aether, and then deploy a free parachute far up, so I could drift for miles and miles.. landing anywhere, just to see where I was. It was in this fashion that I met an early friend, a fine fellow that is associated with the Hobos, and I joined that group. That led me to the Calleta Hobo hub, where there seems to always be a crowd of funny individuals to crack jokes with. That has led, in turn, to more friends and shared interests. I posted my first enthusiastic reaction to my RL blog, referring to SL as being "as addictive as black tar heroin".. turns out a RL friend of mine from other interests read it and sought me out in my nomad existence. Exrex introduced me to Caledon, one of my favorite places in SL, and the complex interplay of individuals and roles therein. I am very grateful for Exrex's help, both with Caledon and SL in general, as I have learned quite a few things that were just a background blur before but make sense to me now through that fine gentleman's mentoring efforts.

I still love exploring, and continue to pull the airship gambit frequently when I want to see new things. I don't own land, and might not ever if the rumors be true, but likely will buy in Caledon at such a point in time when I need to do so. My base is currently in Thyris, a genteel little tea house in a meditation garden, because the owner, another friend, allowed me the use of the space for friendship's sake (and afew coins her way now and then). I am no great scripter, but have ideas along that score, I have only created rudimentary objects at best. For the nonce, I am just enjoying SL as it is. I suppose I am luckier than some folks, but the fact is I made my own luck by going out and wandering about and making friends (lots of them!) .

In the end, any virtual world concept is glorified zeros and ones. It's the human minds behind the avatars that make this place a success.

For the vast majority of people, more money can be made working at McDonalds than can be made working in SL. This is even truer if you don't have creative talent to make cool stuff or willing to invest a lot in being an land baron.

Sorry to hear that you're not enjoying SL but your best bet would be to cut your losses, leave SL and work on recouping the money you spent by doing RL stuff.

What to do in SL? Hmmmmmmm.

I came into SL not knowing what to expect and no creative or coding background. Quickly went through the "love" portion and past the "pixel slapping". People do find love here, real love. A very good freind has flown to meet her partner from here now. But I wasn't looking for love. I first got into building and then was bitten by the scripting bug. With the help of the forum and the wiki and one heck of a lot of hours, I am now a more then good scripter and helped many other "noobs" in the scripting forum. The self satisfaction and pride this gives me is impossible to describe. I am extremely grateful to SL for it.

To give back to the community I then spent several months in Beta bug reporting and learning to find bugs. But it still wasn't enough, next I wanted to see the backend, to know what caused the bugs and help fix them. Now with the advent of OpenSL I am learning so much more and have my first C++ book. Actually danced around the room the other day because I was the first to post a workaround for a viewer crash problem. I will dance around the room again when I am able to post not just a workaround but a real life "patch" or fix. There is a possibility that LL would even adopt it into the code that everyone will use.

I have great friends now, including some of the lindens and have discovered at nearly 50, that old dogs can learn new tricks. At times I feel I am 20 again and going to a university now. To be not only involved in something so young, cutting edge and evolving, but to actually be able to contribute is a ........................................ mindblowing experience.

I'm also interested in how much you spent that you're trying to get back and also why if it's a significant figure you thought it was a good idea? I'm sorry that sounds sarcastic, but I don't mean it that way, I'm just wondering.

I've been in SL for two years now and things for me are vastly different that when i first arrived. It can be a lonely place if you don't make friends at least and get an idea of just what you might like to do here. And meeting folks and seeing what kinds of activities are available and finding a place where you find enjoyment is key.

My belief for the most part is that if you are lonely/fed up in real life...your Second Life won't be much different because those personality traits will carry over unless your either (1)are very good at role play or (2) determined to reach outside of yourself to interact with others. There are a lot of "jerks" in SL as well as RL but there are also some very nice folks that can really lift your spirits and in turn you can lift theirs without even trying. Just be yourself....

One thing i found early on is to do a search on Events and then see what's coming up that might interest you. Whether is a nightclub event....a class on using prims...a beach party....there are just so many things you can see and do in SL and its a good way to meet new folks and see what goes on here.

I would advice you not to be too hasty about dumping your land. Land value has become increasingly unreal and you may lose money you could have made by waiting it out.

Good Luck to you!