what can I do with a free membership?

[Quilter123]

I am just trying to figure out second life before I decide whether to purchase a higher membership. Can I change hair color, body shape or clothes on a free avatar? 

Thanks....Nana Terri

[Rolig Loon]

Of course!

A premium membership is wonderful if you plan on living on the mainland, if you want to get neat premium gifts a ferw times a year, have access to premium sandboxes and hunt/game areas, or if you think you will need acces to the technical support categories.  Those are nice perks.  You just have to decide whether they are worth spending money on. 

I have been a Basic member for 8 years now and have sometimes wished I had a couple of those perks.  Most of the time, though, I don't give them a second thought.  I can go almost anywhere I want to, I have always lived and sold things on private regions, and I rarely need support.

My advice would be to start out with a Basic membership and see what you can do and how you like it.  You can always switch later.  And as a Basic member, you can RENT anywhere, even on the mainland.

 

[Madelaine McMasters]

HI Nana,

You can do a heck of a lot with the free membership. I've been here seven years and have never purchased Premium membership. You can indeed change your avatar. There are several in your inventory's Library folder, and you can find free clothing/hair/skin/shoes in the Marketplace and in-world stores. That'll take some searching, but searching SL is fun.

Not everything is free, of course, so you'll need money if you wish to buy higher end clothing, or if you don't fancy the nomadic life and want a place to "live". Land rental (in the forum of computer server space) is Linden Lab's primary source of revenue. Premium membership comes with either a Linden Home on 512m2 of land, or the right to occupy any available 512m2 space on the Second Life mainland. You needn't be a Premium member to have a home, there are many landlords in SL that rent out space where you can live.

I recommend you read through these introductory pages...

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Second-Life-Quickstart/ta-p/1087919

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Second-Life-User-s-Guide/ta-p/1244857

I recommend spending some time getting to learn the basics of life in SL (the learning curve is long and steep) before you consider spending money on Premium membership. I'm still learning.

Welcome aboard!

[Lindal Kidd]

You can do everything except own Mainland with only a free membership!

If you are having problems changing your avatar appearance, it's not your membership level, but the avatar you're using.  The new "mesh" starter avatars are not editable.

Click the Avatars button...top button, left side of your screen.  Choose an avatar from the "classic" group.  Those can be edited!

[Syo Emerald]

Premium membership is more like a bonus, instead of a "must have" like you would find it in regular free2play MMOs.

It grants you some nice extras, but doesn't influence your experiance in SL. You are not limited in any way, except for the ability to rent mainland directly from LL.

I have been on basic membership for years and tried premium recently and I'm going to downgrade again, because for me the price isn't justified by what I get.