I need help understanding how to get started as a new person , I saw this on tv thats all i know

[pinkdazzie]

I have only seen this on tv and it was not really good to show how to use the game or life. I would like to make my avatar as close to who i am as I can and I am in a electric wheelchair and am on hospice, I would like to be real and have my chair, does this have that option? How do I change my outfit, face,and whatever else I want to to make myself be me??

Please explain to me where I need to look and help me understand what this is really. Like what this is all about and how to do things on here. 

[Charolotte Caxton]

Well, basically yes, you can look and have whatever you want, the possibilities are endless. You can purchase or get for free items created by others or you can make them yourself. As in anything, the quality and usefulness of anything will depend on the creators skill.

There are many many resources on how to do virtually anything in Second Life.

There is a Wiki full of info: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Main_Page

There are beginners videos and tips: https://secondlife.com/my/whatnext/basics/index.php?

And there are many inworld places that offer help.

So, this is a virtual world that is inhabited by real people and you are free to do as you please within reason. You have tools of creation available to you and you have places you can go to to buy things, as well as the Marketplace, the online site where you can buy resident created items.

It takes a little while to get the hang of things, but once you do, the amount of freedom you have to be and create may amaze you.

[Rolig Loon]

Welcome to Second Life, PinkDazzie.

Getting started in SL is very easy.  Basically, all you need to do is download a SL viewer to a computer that is capable of running it, and start it up.  Here's an overview of fundamental information  >>> http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Second-Life-Quickstart/ta-p/1087919

Making an avatar who looks very much like you in real life, however, is extremely difficult.  I have been here for six years and have seen many attempts, but have never seen a successful one.  If you search on line you will probably find a handful of services that will offer to try for you -- for a rather high price -- but don't get your hopes too high.  Now, if you are wiling to accept an avatar who looks sort of like you, that's doable.  You can certainly adjust many parameters to make your body shape similar to your RL shape, and there are quite literally thousands of commercial skins available from merchants in SL.  If you take the time to shop and try on demo skins, you'll not only have fun experimenting, but you may be able to find one that bears a family resemblance.  It is also very easy to find a wheelchair in Second Life, so you should have no trouble shopping for one.

Here's a philosophical note to think about......  No two people expect the same things out of Second Life. This is a place where you use your imagination to be whoever you want to be and to do whatever you find interesting.  For some people that means creating an avatar and a home in SL that is very much like real life.  People who come to SL for business reasons do that, for example.  For others, SL is a "vacation" world -- a place to be someone they could never be in real life and to try things that are very different.  I did that.  I came here after I retired and discovered that I liked looking 40 years younger and learning to design clothing, build homes, and write scripts to control the way objects behave.  I opened a small business and have been having a ball.  There's no "right" way to enjoy Second Life.  There's only your way.  I'd just encourage you to explore a bit to find out what your way can be.

[Lindal Kidd]

As Rolig says, you can be a person in a wheelchair, and have a depiction of what you are in Real Life.

But you can also throw away your wheelchair.  You can walk, you can run.  My gosh, you can fly!

Be whatever you want, whatever you dream.  There's nothing holding you back but your imaginination.

[Knowl Paine]

Hello pinkdazzie,

You can find products at Market Place, follow the Shopping link, near the top of this page.

You change outfits by selecting the outfit or clothing from your Inventory folder, and then choosing to wear, or add.

 

I recommend spending some time in Second Life, familiarize yourself with the basic controls, notice on the top tool bar Inworld, that you have many options to choose from.

Open the World Map, notice large Continents, and thousands of separated Private Regions. The Mainlands are Linden Owned (Second Life), the Private Regions are owned by Residents like you.

You have a Profile in which you may share information. Use Web-safe practices, when deciding how much information you wish to share with the Public.

 

I didn't know what I was doing in SL, for at least a month. All I knew, is that I wanted to build things. That is why I joined SL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[southernrebelqueen]

I don't understand how this game works, I've seen my hubby play this game many of times but he never explained it to me. I want to know how to creat an avatar for myself and how to get started on role playing as well so that i can earn kudos. Is there anyway that someone might be able to help me out on this matter please and thank you, 

                                                                                                                                                                         Sincerely, Southernrebelqueen

[Rolig Loon]

First, it's not a game, so you can do anything you like in world. No rules, no quests, to badges or ranks to earn, no dragons to slay. You don't earn Kudos in SL. You only get them here in Answers and in the Creation forums when your fellow residents decide that you have offered helpful advice.  You can become involved in role play.  It's not the main activity in SL, but many people enjoy it.  You could get started by lurking in the Role Play forum for a while to see what other residents are interested in.
Second, everything you need to know to get started is in the Knowledge Base (click the tab at the top of this page). Start with http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Second-Life-Quickstart/ta-p/1087919