rodvik linden asks a question

[Ormand Lionheart]

What I hear from people who don't stick is they wander around aimlessly with nothing to do especially if they join up and they don't know anyone already a member. I have met people who after being InWorld for a couple years hadn't even been to a "live" music event (didn't even know they were available). So the challenge is to make sure they attend events by possibly getting some kind of Welcom Notecard with links to current live events of some kind. Then they meet people in a social environment. Idle Rogue provided a free home to Noobs for a short period and the SIM has lots of "live" events and recieving mentoring from the SIM Group Members. You should contact Chryblnd Scribe for some helpful info. It appears to have been very succesful and has driven more avatars to their events.

 

 

[Dresden Ceriano]

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Ormand Lionheart wrote:

What I hear from people who don't stick is they wander around aimlessly with nothing to do especially if they join up and they don't know anyone already a member. I have met people who after being InWorld for a couple years hadn't even been to a "live" music event (didn't even know they were available). So the challenge is to make sure they attend events by possibly getting some kind of Welcom Notecard with links to current live events of some kind. Then they meet people in a social environment.

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Interesting idea, but instead of a notecard with links to live events, I think it would be more practical to show them where to go in order to find live events on their own.  You know... like the old proverb about teaching someone to fish instead of just giving them one.

...Dres

[Innula Zenovka]

At present, when you create a new account, you find yourself in an area with Linden-Realms style portals that lead you to partifcular places from the Destination Guide.

and that takes you direct to a venue of your chosen theme. You also, at the same time, receive a guide to SL in your email telling you about places.

The portals, to my mind, need some work. I'd created an alt to test the new seamless Adult Preferences business in the Beta Viewer (if you try to tp somewhere rated as A, then -- assuming you've given a date of birth that makes you 18 or over -- it just asks you to confirm you want to see adult stuff and adjusts your preference for you.

It worked very well, but the Adult portal (which I think must choose destinations at random from the DG) sent my alt to an Urban RP place she couldn't enter until she was 14 days old. So, as I say, it does need work, but the present system does actually direct you to places straight away.

[CaseyFallen Popstar]

I'm fairly new to SL and I would like to share why I stayed.

First, why did I come. I was invited by another indie artist. Told it was a great place to play shows. I found that it is! But that is not why I stayed, signed up for a account, or bought land.

First, I was amazed and overwhelmed by SL. I had no ideal that such a place or this type of technolgy even existed (As most people do not)

Honestly, I felt kind of scared. Like a person lost in RL. Thankfully, I ran into a person who was a regular and was very nice to me despite my newbie appearnce. He took  me to shows, which was my interest at the moment. <---see I had a goal and destination, but had I not ran into this one nice person, I would have been lost and probably would have left to never return.

My one insight is that there is no tour guide when entering into SL for the first time. There should be. Some one who greets and walks the person through the first day. Having a huge map that one clicks on and is dropped into a huge virtual world is just a bad idea. (90 percent of us come falling out of the sky into some grumpy old man or old womans back yard. The next thing that happens is never pretty. A suggestion... Maybe have volenteers who wait at a special newbie spot to give a welcome and guided tour? This would give some people something to be involved in and would help keep new people for sure. or maybe make the rezz in spot " The University of Caledon Oxbridge" <--- this is sort of like  a game with a mission to graduate.

I also cannot help but to notice that "rezz in" areas are a bunch of newbies sitting around talking to each other. Which is fine. But not fine when they think that is what SL is; nothing more then 3D chat room. <--Again there should be someone there to point out cool things to do.

If you make it pleasant, they will stay. SL is far too large and full of possibilities to drop people in alone and expect them to fare well.

I hope this helps in some way. I cannot imagine a world without SL at this point.

 

 

EDIT: I did not see this last post, good to see that what I noticed is being addressed, but I think a live guide would be much better and the University should be mandetory.

[CaseyFallen Popstar]

IN REPLY TO  Deltango Vale

 

Answer to this is to get rid of all viewers except SLV2. I have used them all and SLV2 is far easier to use and understand by a newbie then the others. It also works much better with far less lag. Although, speaking of the lag issue, I found out that lag is directly related to a persons computer and internet connection. Since I got the new computer with a solid state drive, 16 gb memory and a 3 Gig video card. I never see lag anymore. 

[Coby Foden]

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Deltango Vale wrote:

 

For a noob, arriving in Second Life is like landing in Mumbai. It's a whole new world, a new culture, a new environment. One must explain to them everything from top to bottom in order for them to become oriented and to integrate. This job was a lot easier when everyone used versions of the V1 viewer.

If a noob seems truly interested in learning, I'm willing to switch over to Firestorm (emulating Phoenix) to hunt down all the new and strange names and locations for viewer controls. It's a royal pain, but some people are worth it.

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Helping new people can be very time consuming.  Anyway, as the V2 interface has become a second nature to me like V1 used to be earlier, I have no difficulties teaching new people where the V2, V3 or Firestorm controls are.  It is as easy as or as difficult it was with V1.  New people know nothing about V1.  So V2 interface is pretty straightforward to explain to them.  They don't have the burden of unlearning V1 interface, and hunt down where the similar commands are in V2.

I think that you are exaggerating the difficulty of learning V2 interface.  It's not that difficult.  It is just like learning any new piece of software.  I didn't find it "a royal pain", not even after using V1 for many years.  If there's a will and motivation to learn, one will learn.  But if one is against it, then there is no motivation, and one will not want to learn.

[Loki Eliot]

I wrote  a blog post which is to big to post on here about how i think LL could try and secure long term users. It's mostly about making it more visible and easier for newbs to join or create communities to which they will feel connected. Improve communications and groups. If you feel you belong to something, then you are more likley to put up with the shortfalls.