Newbie2Newbie

By ROSE KARUNA

I’ve never played an "online" game before Second Life, but being a true fan of all "Sim" games, I was mildly curious when hubby mentioned signing us both up for Second Life after seeing an article about it on CNN. Thirty minutes later, I was standing on a teleport pad colliding with multiple people and objects.

It’s pretty hard to beat a naked Shrek for strange.

The main gate looked like New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Avatars ran the gambit, from a little girl with pigtails to a huge, naked, green Shrek. Wings that rotated and flapped, objects that floated in the air and sparked, I spent a good hour just sitting and looking at everyone. The guy walking around with a car on his head was a bit odd, but in light of the carnival atmosphere, I didn’t question it. It’s pretty hard to beat a naked Shrek for strange.

Most endearing to me however, were the avitars who were walking around with animals that they’d created. One very kind person created a cat for me. I was too much of a newbie to realize how wonderful a gift this was. If that person happens to read this article – Thank You.

Most endearing to hubby were the people selling male body parts – Thank You.

It wasn’t until I showed up at a newbie event wearing a box on my head that I realized – newbie’s need help. If they are anything like I am, they may be too shy to ask. So I thought it might be useful to some of the newbies if I shared some of the things that I’ve learned in the last two weeks:

First, understand what type of account that you have and what the limitations are, if any. I spent hours trying to buy land, only to learn that I was not entitled to it.

When someone rates you positive, look for their avatar in the crowd, right click on it and rate them positive as well. Ratings are money. (To those people who rated me positive when I first got to Second Life that I didn’t rate back – I’m sorry, I wasn’t rude, just uninformed. RTFM, right? But then, who ever does?)

Ask Questions – Being the preverbal king who had no clothes (just a box on my head), prompted me to start asking questions.

I can’t count all the kind people in the Second Life Community that have helped me with building questions. I have also found that going to the "Sandbox" and just practicing has been both fun and helpful. Find a clear spot on the ground, right click and create. It doesn’t have to be perfect, experiment some.

You can never have an appreciation for the creativity, time and skill that it takes to craft all of the fantastic objects found in Second Lifeuntil you try to build something yourself. With that in mind, I recommend that you treat the creations that you have bought or received for free, with the respect that they are due and not re-sell them without the permission of their creator.

Next issue: purchasing land, house building, and object creation. Hubby’s personal experiences at the pool party with all his body parts intact will probably not be covered in any issue.