What do you want to see on an OI?

After all the discussion on Current Version Feedback, and the news that people will be able to design their own OIs, I'm really inclined to see what forum people think they'd like best to have on an OI.

Just for context: in my SL lifetime there have been two OIs. The "old-style" OI is still accessible as Orientation Island Public, the "new-style" OI isn't unless you're a volunteer. So just in case you haven't created an alt in the last few months, here's a quick description of what's on the new OI. It's divided into four quadrants, each with four tasks. You have a HUD which takes you through the different tasks. The "Basic" task for each quadrant is mandatory, after that, there are three extra ones you can do if interested. The quadrants and their tasks are:

"Move"
Basic: move to a spot on the ground.
Extra 1: get into a vehicle.
Extra 2: run over a rat with the vehicle.
Extra 3: fly through a short obstacle course inside a building.

"Communicate"
Basic: say something in open chat.
Extra 1: read an instruction in open chat and say what it tells you to.
Extra 2: use chat history to scan back and answer a question about past chat.
Extra 3: use a gesture.

"Appearance"
Basic: wear an attachment.
Extra 1: obtain an (unboxed) clothing freebie and wear it.
Extra 2: change your shape.
Extra 3: edit Appearance edit.
Special: snapshot your Avatar.

"Search"
Basic: view the Map.
Extra 1: view Land Sales search.
Extra 2: view Events search.
Extra 3: view Groups search.

Do you think this is what new folks should do, or something else? Do you think that the activities should be purely technical (as they are right now) or more based around in-world goals that a resident might have? Bear in mind that many new residents have no goals yet, should we help them find one, and how? How can we avoid highlighting some opportunities for new folks and thereby neglecting others?

The "Get to Know the World" doesnt sound too bad.

But I also like the idea that someone or thing should be there to clue new people in on the "Goals" they might try for. Maybe help with the "lingo" too. Took me almost a year before I found out what a Gorean was!

Maybe some help & direction for budding builders/scripters/designers too.

It seems there's 2 types that come into SL (not counting the I-want-to-get-rich types)

#1- Those who've played other Online Worlds, such as Warcraft
#2- Those who've never played around in Online Worlds.

Each one needs a different style of "Help".

It seems to me that the problem with anticipating or encouraging certain goals is that by definition it limits people who might otherwise approach SL from a fresh perspective. And some of the more common questions would seem to be better answered by a group of peers than by an officially sanctioned orientation process.

Q: How do I make money in here?
A: Make stuff and sell it
A: Dance/strip/escort/provide tittilating entertainment for others
A: Become a camping chair zombie
A: etc

Q: Where can I get some better clothes?
A: Here, take the freebies/things I don't want any more, you're quite welcome
A: Go to such-and-so's Freebie Nirvana MegaStore
A: Get some money and visit Designer A and Designer B, and Designer C has a big sale right now
A: etc

Q: Where's all this sex happening I've heard so much about?
A: umm...
A: errr...
A: etc...


Yes I'm being a bit facetious, but seriously I can't imagine how to anticipate goals beyond some really basic, common questions and even those are going to seem ridiculous to some folks. I do understand that the current system might appear to be lacking in details and some more "advanced" skills that many of us take for granted now, but really the more you cover right there at Orientation Island the more you're gently nudging people into cubby holes and possibly stifling creativity and fresh views on what to make of SL.

I guess what I'm saying is (this is going to be a really really awkward metaphor, hang on tight), if new residents are blank canvasses, they should be left to do as much of their own painting as possible. We'll get a lot of finger painters that way, but we won't lose any Picassos either.

edit: yeah that looked just as awkward after I posted it. Oh well

I think they should be run through a gauntlet of those basic things to do with no ability to continue until they pass the current lesson. At the end there should be some comprehensive activity that they need to accomplish using everything they've learned before. Then they should get some lindens as a reward.

After that they should be given several starting points to certain activities that they can explore with the ability to go back and try a different starting point for another activity.

1. I want to have sex.
2. I want to fight.
3. I want to drive around.
4. I want to shop.
5. I want to listen to live music.
6. I want to make money.
7. I don't want to do any of those. I've tried those. Now what?

The last one would point them to the search tell them how to explore any activity properly. How to look up an activity in search. How to find places for that activity. How to get the necessary gear for an activity. How to find groups and how to interact with others in that activity. Maybe the last point should be first but people should have a few good examples.

How about a different approach and putting in things to teach new Residents how to find the blasted answers themselves?

I'm not slamming newbies, I'm slamming LL. That OI and HI stinks.

Try things like this:

1) Helpful links to SL sites.
Knowledge Base (If this would actually be worked over into something useful)
Support (With a short explanation of how and when to use it. And when NOT to)
The SL Forums (You'd be surprised how many people do not know this even exists)
My Account page (This is a page EVERYONE should know about and visit occationally. Helpful for everyone, absolutely required for Premium accounts that own land)
Heck, how about a link to the main SL WEBSITE?

2) A detailed explaination and discourse on land ownership and purchasing. (Land is the crux within SL. Everything we have comes back to land. How many prims are allowed, are scripts allowed, push, fly, setting landmarks. This is the BASE of SL. Teaching people fromt he start about how to go about buying land, what to look for and what to look out for, and then how to manage the land)

3) Somewhere easily accessed (I'd suggest a webpage on the main site, independant from the KB) that details every single key command and menu command. Even if it's only to say "No effect. Possible future features" ie the Control Weather in Client. But explain to people what all these niffty buttons, lights and whistles DO.

Basically, I'm saying to forget Orientation Island. SL has grown beyond it. LL moved to the Blog and Website, so move the orientation and help there as well.

The current OI is fine for basic movement and such, but put all that and more in an inventory folder in the Library folder. Name it "How to..." and USE it as a plaace to put instructions and manuals and examples, etc, etc.

We have a HUGE resource to be able to do just about anything "Your World. Your Imagination." but LL seems to be the most UNimaginative group I have seen when it comes to common sense issues.

~Jessy

Jessica, there's quite a lot of material about land on the new OI already. Unfortunately, rather confusingly, it's in the pavilion labelled "Search" because it's part of the "Search for Land Sales" exercise.

But I don't think putting basic movement, etc, into the Inventory would be a good idea, because many people who are just starting don't know how to use Inventory yet - or even if they did know how, they wouldn't know that it was what they were supposed to do.

The business about goals is because the number one thing which people have asked me as a helper, on both OI and HI and at other newbie help places, is "What am I supposed to do?". Now I agree with you though that we would really like to inspire them to come up with a creative answer to this, rather than telling them an answer and thus cutting off any creativity they would have had coming up - but what would be effective at doing this?

That's what I mean, Yumi.

There's no sense answering questions that already have the answers out there. People ask these questions becuase no one has shown them where and how to find the answers.

OI should not be about how to do this and that. It should be about how to find out this and that which tells you how to do this and that.

OI can not be set up to explain every facet of SL, nor even the basics. Why? Because, like the rest of the world, that changes daily.

The Library inventory seems to be a "stable" piece, so I chose it for my example. Of course, I also thought Live Help would be stable too *shrugs*. In any event, showing new Residents how to find things is much more imparative then simply telling them the answers.

It is very nice to simply tell them the answers, and I applaud any who take the time. I try to do my part here on the forums as well. However, we are doing them a disservice to not show them how we found the information.

Again, I chose Land because it is a large chunk of what makes SL as it is. However, though I wrote a long essay to hand out to help explain things with Land and to hand to new Residents, most of what I wrote was contained within the F1 Help. Did you know it took me almost a year to learn the information therein? Why? Because I didn't even know it was there.

I would LOVE a manual for SL. Hell, I'd probably even pay a small fee for a pdf download for it, even though it will go out of date fairly quickly. The problem is, I doubt there's anyone, not even a Linden, that knows everything about SL. It is too vast, and grows too quickly.

Therefore, instead of trying to futily teach new Residents "all they need to know" or "just enough to get by", let's teach them "here's how you learn what you need to know".

As to the question "What am I supposed to do here?", I have an answer for that. The normal response I hear is "What do you want to do?", but I feel the proper question is "Well, what brought you to SL? What intrigued you enough about the site and/or advertisement to download and install the program."

The only way to answer what a person should do in SL, is to understand that person. Are they a tech-head? Maybe an artist, either RL or on a computer graphics program. Maybe they're an builder irl, a buisness owner, stay at home mom, have a physical disability, maybe they're a movie star and need a way to meet friends without being mobbed.

People come to SL a lot and find no purpose. A majority of those are looking for a game. While some do look at SL as a game, there is no way to win. No levels to gain, no bosses to kill, etc. Those people will usually be happier going and finding an online game to play and forgetting about SL.

Others find it by various means and within it find their escape. That tech-head can script to her hearts content, making masterful thigns within SL. A builder may find the media here to build things only concieved of within her own mind. A buisness owner may find avenues never possible in RL. That stay at home mom may find a little bit of sanity by being able to "get out" if only through a pixelated character.

So as SL is far to complex to explain all at once, so are the people.

You want to educate new Residents? Do so step by step.
1) How to move (already done)
2) How to use inventory.
3) How to use the menu interfaces.
4) How to use the UI interfaces.
5) How to find out answers to questions.

Before all that, however, comes the introduction. Something I have never seen of LL. Let LL, preferably Philip (or a secratary that can write a speech for him), write up an introduction editorial. Let Philip give his views on his ideas of SL. Make it personal. Talk to the people like a person, not a behind-the-scenes-god. It's called "Public Relations". Basically, invite new Residents in, greet them, and make them feel welcome.

THEN begin to teach and educate them.

Put the horse before the cart.
~Jessy