Where is the reference for the Second Life Interface?

It is possible I have missed it but I cannot find any detailed (or even brief) explanations of SL's construction and creation interface. This would include explanations of build or file uploads.

In fact their is a lot of the menus and buttons on the map that I cannot find any explanations. Scripting is fairly robust, deep and well exampled and there are a number of decent (although cursory) references for the casual user in regards to experiencing Second Life.

I am an experienced user of 3D software, Cinema 4D Studio 9.5 and SketchUp 5, as well as, interactive designer & coder for Flash 8 and interactive PDFs (JavaScript & ActionScript). So I get the concepts but I would like to spend less time on the basics of what the interface does and the implications of the choices I make while working on something in SL.

I have tried to make use of the Builder centers and training events and they are quite excellent but because they are so good they are also very popular and as we all know...many avatars in one sim make for a rouigh and sketchy educational experience.

I would hope to spend less time on endless experimental guessing and more time on making great stuff on what id obviously an incredible concept and extraordinary execution. As it is good Karma I would like to add whatever I can to extending the Wiki as get how to accomplish my tasks.

I appreciate any and all direction to reference in these matters.
I read like a beast.

For building, go visit the Ivory Tower Library of Primatives. There are lots of things in teh build interface that are not obvious, and as far as I know there is no official documentation on... well... anything.

Ah. you have reached SL satori, the point of the game is to figure out how it works.

I second the praise for the Ivory Tower of Prims, wonderful replacement for the manual that was never written. Building classes can be very helpful for those who learn better from a a live instructor than on their own.