Newbie Kit: What do you wish you'd known?

Hello, all.

I'm updating my "New SL Resident Kit" -- something I hand out to newbies and my friends like handing out to newbies.

Currently it contains:
+ a couple free hair certificates (Gurl 6 and Diversity) because... damn... newbie hair is evil beyond words,
+ the must have's of animations (hug/kiss/etc., and sexy walk for girls),
+ notecards of tips, how tos, FAQs (much based on what's here in the forum),
+ Landmarks for help, relaxation, freebies (only 2), and shops for buying starter items (i.e. skins, shapes, eyes etc.)

What I'd like to know from you all is:

If you could go back in time to when you were a newbie, what do you wish you would have known about?

or

What do you think belongs in a newbie kit?

I am not going to include freebies or junk. I want to include useful items, landmarks and information.

Any comments, assistance etc. would be appreciated. If you have any tools or items that you think a newbie could use, feel free to send to me in world or IM me.

Thanks, all.

Cheers,

Your newbie kit needs a Flight Feather (for flight assist).

Brilliant. Hadn't thought of that. Just acquired one from SLX. I went straight to PrimOptic glasses which have flight assist, so I missed out on the feather.

Thank you!!!

When I first came to SL I was lost......totally lost. Had no friends and had no idea how to find friends. I would have killed for a list of places that are newbie friendly. The welcome area was a total loss for me..........everyone was new and knew about as much as I did (maybe less) and the "old timers" there were more interested to gabbing among themselves than helping us newbies. I did not feel welcome there.

Also locations where you can "set home" to till you find a place. I had no idea how to do that and always wound up landing at the welcome area.

Places to visit that will pique a newbies interest in building, making clothes, or scripting. Sandboxes for the most part are no place for a newbie with all the griefing that goes on.

Maybe a Second Life etiquett note. Things like waiting for stuff to rezz before you start walking into a club or shop and "bull dozing" half a dozen avis before you even know it. Being polite when asking for help (but not being afraid to ask). Keeping initial IM's impersonal (don't ask me ASL....LOL). And replying when someone says a polite hello to you............it really makes no difference if they were really talking to you but if you think they were, then reply anyway.

Little things.............little things I really wanted to know those first few days.

I wish I had of had this questionnaire when I first started SL


Do you walk down the street and look at buildings thinking how much better you could design them?

Do you wish you could just fly over the traffic jams?

Do you ever get on a website and try to zoom the page in?

Do you wish you had a mini map in RL so you could see if anyone is nearby?

Are you checking the latest fashions in SL and have a desire to recreate them in RL?

Are you trying to get your RL friends to join SL so you can talk to them and hang out at night clubs without going out?

Do you sleep anymore?

Does your cat look at you strangely when you tell it that you want to be a furry too?

Do you watch your pets for animalistic behavior that you can attempt to mimic in SL?

Do you find that you are falling in love with pixels?

Do you have the desire to trade places with your avatar?

If you answered yes to some of these then you are addicted to SL.

Welcome aboard and happy living!




Also please please please (to new and old players alike) when you talk to someone use their name, do not just speak openly especially in a crowd. So many times people think I am ignoring them, when in fact I am clueless they are speaking to me.

A skin and maybe a decent prim peen.

When I was new I did not have "nipples" (Maybe these days you get a default skin with nipples?)..and clicked "buy L" and went off to xcite to buy nipples.. (I was told you get them there). I put them on..nothing.

I later found out these were invisible scripted objects placed over where your nipples would be, made for cybering. I guess some guy felt sorry for me and gave me a pretty decent skin, and at last..there were the nipples. lol

I also needed a peen asap. Today i couldnt care less. But this was when i was new.

CTRL-L
CTRL-L

NOT SHIFT-L

...Sorry, having a flashback. "Why won't these things LINK?!"

LOL Um... yeah. I hear you.

As for genitals and sexual information -- pondering on whether to create a separate notecard for that or just not include it. Probably a good idea -- those not interested can just ignore it.

Don't forget links to two of the sticky posts above...the top 5 tips for the newly born and how to transfer land.

um that and a note about select texture, first headache of mine was distroying a prefab house not knowing how to set the textures per face

it worked out tho i ended up expanding and rebiulding the house in much higher quality a slight increase in prims (added a basement)

i would definitely have like a nicer skin when first starting, and possibly some note cards in my inventory just recapping what i had learned on help island..

oh and making sure you check to see if the 250L skin you save up for, is a one off, and not just a person selling a freebie.. i couldn't believe that, my first SL mistake not looking around... when i found out the skin i had saved for about two weeks for and spent all my linden dollars on at the time, was actually a freebie being offered everywhere GRRR

I'd do nothing differently.

Biggest thing is use the Linden sandboxes a lot. First of all, it will make you tough-as-nails because of the blingtards, irritating people, and sound spam objects there. Secondly, it is a must to spend time learning how to at least build, and maybe a bit of scripting. At the end of your schooling, you will emerge from the sandy wastes unbothered by "grief" and thus ungriefable, and confident with the basics of making stuff in second life.

Also, avoid pixel sex at all costs. It is the road to failure and loss of decency.

Don't buy land just to buy land. Only buy land when you have a specific need for it that cannot be fulfilled by other means. Do not rent land; despite what some say, there are good places to be found on the mainland.

Don't take the game too seriously.

Don't try to make money. If you set out from the start to make money, you will loose. Making money comes as a result of doing things you love and enjoy. If the object/business idea/etc doesn't have passion in it, it will be another SL business failure because there are alternatives that _do_ have such passion applied and show it.

Be abnormal. So many people log on just to make a boring RL avatar, or fit into some cookie cutter internet subculture mold such as a furry or gorean or whatever. The newbies who immediately try to make the ugliest, most deformed AV, or the strangest AV they can get all my respect.

Perhaps a big note telling them that $1L does not equal $1US. I still laugh at the Newb who asked me for $20 to buy some cigarettes in RL .............................................

If you have to include one freebie place, it should be the Free Dove. Not great for guys but brillient for girls (so I'm told). They also offer loads of useful information and tutorials for newbies. And the store is generally griefer free.

Yes, include it.

Sometimes i run into noob males and the most asked question is "where do i get a penis"?

Granted, many abuse those noob peens, we all have seen those dreaded naked noobs with big prim peens hanging off of them.

But some people really just want a decent looking one to complete their virtual presence.

I know I did, i was just kind of irritated it stuck out when I put on shorts. heh

A link to these Forums. I've come across quite a few people, not necessarily newbies who I've given information from here and the blogs about updates , shutdowns, etc, that don't even know there is an SL Forum.

Sin Skins and TaP both have "under 30 day" skins, both of which are up to the regular standards for each shop but have very low makeup (very fresh faced looks). They're very distinct from each other- and between them you're bound to find something you like. TaP is a more hand drawn buttery look and Sin Skins s a little closer to photo based (although certainly not photo realistic)- not quite as smooth. Both come with the full standard range of skin tones for their common line. Two thumbs way up.

Diversity/Gurl6 hair coupons, but did you know that Calla and ETD have extensive newbie hairs under 10l? Both have at least one for free but ETD has the wider variety of styles/colors.

Clothing! What's life without some snazzy duds? PixelDolls certainly agrees- there's a full dress outfit in a variety of colors in a box at the front of the store, and there's also the "Folder O" box next to it with a fantastic array of 5 (maybe 6?) tops all with the amazing hand drawn look people love and 2 of the shirts have the full array of patterned textures from earlier releases, making it great even for older residents in love with one perfect pattern (I love my cherry silk!) All of which look like you just dropped 100s of Lindens. Bloomberry also has a free outfit for newbies (or at least it did last month), a summery light purple skirt and white tank top, very well made.

Look near the front door of any well established shop with a heavy customer base- the majority (although certainly not all) of designers have newbie boxes and gifts- not freebies crammed in a box, but an actual example of their products for new residents. And it's *effective*- especially from designers of high dollar items. I never had a skin preference in the 8 months I played on my first avie- mostly because I got dumped on to the grid without a clue and by the time I found all the offers- I was well into my 3rd or 4th month, not my first 30 days. That avie is still wearing a freebie skin I picked up at NCI! When I recreated myself as Capella I spent days finding high quality newbie freebies and fell in love with Sin Skins (muuuust have freckle options!) and I've probably spent 10kL at the shop buying skins, eyes, & eyelashes since I cracked open my newbie box and adored the freckles. Sure you can wear demos, but demos don't give you the chance to *live* in the skin/hair/shoes/outfit for days/weeks and see if you're really going to love the designers style in all sorts of lighting conditions. So, designers- if you've thought about it but never done it, go for it. It's a sound investment (just make sure things are copy no transfer or transfer no copy. Don't need to add to the pile of no perm crud running amok on the grid)

I'm much more likely to actually purchase from a designer if I can take their freebies home and think about it, so I look for *all* the freebies I can. After a few weeks you can really build up an amazing closet from the noTransfer or noCopy free stuff around the grid by high quality designers you just have to KNOW where to look. Make a bookmark of a couple (just one or two that suit your "style" of the high profile fashion bloggers, they'll keep you informed of new releases and freebies for places you've never heard of, but can give a try. Also, join groups! Don't be shy about it, but if you have distinct designer preferences, just join their group and many designers will release exclusive freebies to the group or let you in on secret sales or just let you know about upcoming releases. As a newbie myself I always assumed that designer groups were just shills for hawking wares and that it would be bad if I left a group at some point (I likened them to guilds in WoW, a fairly serious commitment) until I bought almost 1000L worth of veils from a veil designer (Beyond the Veil) who insisted that I take her two group exclusives and consider joining the group for future releases. Sure the group exclusives weren't perfectly what I wanted (hey, that's why I bought the ones I did want) but they were free and good quality, and I never turn down free stuff! She also got a repeat customer and just got free advertising from me too. =P If you're running out of group room there's no shame in leaving groups, but don't be a snot and take the freebies then leave immediately. =)

A flight feather (mine was given to me by Desmond Shang and opened up a whole new world)
Sarah Nerds Newbie Penis
'Stop all animations' rose (never fails)

Landmarks to
New Citizens plaza
Free Dove
Academy of Second Life
Ivory Tower
Yadni's Junk Yard
plus some really cool places like the Planetarium at Euclidia

Notecards with
A chunk of the thread of top five tips here on the forum
How to make Money in Second Life

imogen

Oh damn, I didn't rememer some other things after going through my inventory.

MystiTool freebie. Yes you lived without it. No you won't want to live without it again after a week. Once you've learned how the tool works and what you can do with it beyond the shown AO, you can look at purchasing the full version. Personally the freebie works great for my limited needs- but I do try to let people know where I got it.

Standard flight feather, covered by others already.

Animations override. Yes you can give them a ZHAO and tell them to learn it, but it's a lot kinder to set it up for them. Starting out in SL is a lot of information at once and I've never managed to get my ZHAO to work right. Instead I use a "Female Walk Override" and I just wear it and forget it- very good for newbies. I think I picked it up out of the "Jill in a Box" freebie set out of Calla. (not designer work- but it's a nice starter kit anyways)

Eyes. spend a week or two looking at them and just buy one or two from a designer before buying out their inventory. I've found it's really hit or miss on which eyes I actually like in use and the ones I thought would be fantastic don't always turn up all that useful. I love the photo realistic eyes- sadly they look out of place with my non photo sourced skin. I still love my eyes from Shh!, but I've replaced them with Sin Skins "intense" line for more realistic photo work (currently in the process of setting up my shop). All in all, I've yet to find freebie eyes that I liked- just be careful to look at all the options before purchasing them and try to match the level of photo realism of your skin.

If you have a preferred subset culture- there are probably a variety of freebies there too, ask for the help of an older resident for pointers. I've looked into Gor, Furry, Dolly, and Tiny and there's something for everyone out there.

Houses, House of Effulgent sells houses and has a nice selection of 5 or 6 freebie houses- designed by the shop owner, not full permission been around the grid freebies- I loved them and only abandoned them when I moved to a different style for my shop. I'd shop there again happily.

That's all I can seem to find in my inventory at the moment- although I've deleted a lot that I don't actually use =/

damn forgot another one. Gnubie store has a large variety of good to high quality stuff too- skins, clothes, etc. Most wasn't to my tastes at the moment, but I'd have loved to get my paws on it early on when I was still looking for anything that didn't look like it came out of the trash heap. It's also fun to go shopping in a store that's newbie friendly and well laid out.

(second edit)
http://www.rebirthed.com/guildsnapshots/NewbieSL2.jpg
Everything I'm shown wearing is 100% free. Skin by sin skins, eyes by Sugar Cube (also has an adorable freebie hair), hair "Airy" by ETD. Top out of FolderO from Pixel Dolls, pants Barely Cords by ETD. Even the shape is a freebie, although it hasn't been released yet- send me a tell in game if you'd like a copy, it's going to be "released" when I open my shop in a few weeks- at the moment it's just an empty store. If there's enough interest I'll just toss down a box in the shop temporarily until I'm ready to open. =)

I give away newbie kits and have been doing for a long long time.

However, the main thing I try to give people other than some nice skins and shapes, basic clothes etc is the landmark to ETD for some hair. Hair that isn't sucky is rare to find.

Guys well ... ouch. Dance pad or hand in your wallet mainly ... anyone got any tips for guy hair that looks good?

I hope there is a Penguin in yours.

got to have an ao with a walk different than the stand one
perhaps the ZHAO freebie with a full perm walk of some sort
nothing says newbie like the standard walk

I generally prefer the male "standard walk" over the many overrides I've tried, but one of my alts spends some time as female, and the "Ruth waddle" is truly scary!

The one tip I try to give every new resident is to start early controlling the cam with Alt-Drag and Control-Alt-Drag, till it gets to be automatic. I remember trying to use the goofy cam control UI for the first few days in-world, though now I can't imagine how I saw anything that way.

Oh, I love the Cam Control. I'm a slave to the mouse, I never use the keyboard unless I absoulutely have to. I still get Ctrl C and Ctrl confused.

That would be on the very top of my list, too.