Is it like this everywhere in SL?

[Axholio]

Hiya Folks... I'm Mike.

I'm a relatively newbie and I'm having a tough time "getting" it. I can see how SL has an enormous potential for RP and interaction, but I don't see it anywhere, except for the "RP" situations. And that's kinda funny to me in that there's a RP game going on in a RP world. So my RP character has created it's own RP character... lol.

I came into the SL thing thinking, "cool..." It's a fantasy world where you can be anything. Make yourself over into whatever you want to be and live it out in this little world. It seems like the only thing to do is shop, unless you already know someone.

Everywhere I go people are standing there like they're catatonic, or dancing like they're on autopilot and not even there. There's no chat other than what seems like banter between old friends. No real interaction at all. I say hello and only get 1 or 2 responses... Are all these people just sitting at their computer IRL and staring and the screen doing nothing (or have another window open)? Or is everyone in IM all the time? They can't be having fun like that are they?

Then I got scolded pretty sharply one time too, by a really beautiful avatar. Seems this person was ticked off because I was "checking her out." Don't people watch each other in here? Why make yourself up to look beautiful extreme and get mad because someone is looking at you?

**shrugs**

Is this how it is everywhere in this life?

I'm open for suggestions... I really want to find the fun here.

 

(makes me sound like an **bleep**, doesn't it? I'm really not)... lol.

[Thinkerer Melville]

See these:

What do we do in Virtual Worlds? 

How do I meet people? 

 

Enjoy -- TKR

[Axholio]

I have... Thank you.

 

[Ariel Queller]

hiya mike and welcome to sl

im on sl 6 years now....and i can tell you a large amount of conversing is done in IM....while you see lots of avis standing around seemingly doing nothing theyre actually talking in private. local chat can become very sparse because most are engaged in Ims....but theres places i hangout where local chat flows nicely....it all depends on the place youre at. i help new players get started..teach them the ropes so if you ever need help with anything...or just want to hang with someone who Will talk...feel free to IM me

 

 

 

 

[Lucretia Brandenburg]

Welcome Mike! Yes, most people you see standing around are in IMs chatting, though if it's at a mall or store, they could be camming around and shopping. As for someone scolding you for checking her out, LOL no, that's not typical except for those suffering from an excessive need for drama. I hope you told her just what you wrote here, why make herself look attractive if she doesn't want guys checking her out? One time a friend of mine was at a party and his cursor happened to be resting somewhere that made it seem as if he was checking out some other guy, and the guy's jealous girlfriend IMd he and told him to stop checking out her bf, so people can get funny about that whole "perv camming" "I see where your crosshairs are" deal. Meh, I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. As for what to do in SL, the Destination guide is really a cool resource, or you can use search and type in something random. You can find groups that share your interest, places to explore,  just about anything that way.

[Axholio]

Thanks Ariel...

I'm sure I'll look you up in world.

 

Thankl you too Lucretia.

 

What's "perv camming"?

 

Thank you for the welcomes!

[Loralinda]

Hi Mike,

SL is not really a game.  It's a social platform which includes games and rp, as well as finding groups and others with like interests.  I suggest finding some group or other that shares your interests, preferably one that actually has regular in world meetings or a meeting place.  There are places where the visitors are friendlier, but I've forgotten the exact locations.  Someone else may help you on that.  That way you'll find more interaction. 

I like music venues with streaming from some of the talented in world performers, many of whom currently perform or have performed in real life.  There is more real interaction at many of these performances.  But as the previous poster mentioned, it appears as if no one interacts in clubs for instance but are probably in IMs.  I know some people who like to host in clubs because they meet more people and form friendships that way. 

Also, you may get chewed out for checking some female out because they are in fact men who are imitating females. There are some very good male artists in sl who can create amazing female as well as male avs.  It's best to check out information in their profiles first altho that's no guarantee you will know for sure.  But if they are partnered it's best not to approach them.  And then there are the very defensive types who try to be "tough" by warning others away.  I don't know what the issue is with those people unless they have gotten burned by forming relationships in sl that left them damaged.  That happens all too often what with the instant relationships that go on in sl without knowing much about others or whether they are lying.  So you'll meet defensive people here, that's just a fact.

Try not to overstep boundaries in sl, like moving into other's space without permission.  Avs have ppl behind the screen who have the same objections to being accosted in sl as they do in rl.  Just observe the normal social rules you grew up with and be careful what you write in IMs.  Humor is not always seen as humor when written and not spoken and can be misinterpreted and taken offense to.

Hope you stick around.  It's never boring even when the experiences aren't exactly what you wished for.  Go exploring, there are so many sims you won't get bored.  For guys, often building things in sl or creating weapons becomes a hobby.  Try different things.  I hear boating enthusiasts have get togethers and races where there is more interaction.  For me, I've found the whole thing quite a learning experience as to types of people and interactions.  It's one big social experiment. 

[beethros Karas]

You really got it!

Thats EXACTLY what the majority of Virtual world members are...

People who will pretent they didnt see it..

people who will spend time and dollars to look preety and more than that, have into their deep thoughts to find a mate, while they have a DONT perv my profile.. im NOT for you etc etc..

Well this is a CHAT ROOM... a 3d virtual chat room , that we ALL enter to chat with others.
 

As for the RP part...

SL isnt only RP.. As you said you can be anythign..

i RP my self... but i choose to be a human

SL is a world with a few people (yes it isnt that big as it looks- there are altrnative avatars)

You can find fat ppl, thin ppl, sort ppl, tall ppl, happy ppl, ungry ppl... etc etc...

So, keep exploring, keep meeting people, dont spend your time with those with negaive profiles and im sure you will find diamonds into the stones

 

 

[Loralinda]

Oh, one other tip I forgot.  If you still look like a newbie and have not improved upon that look, many longer term residents in sl feel superior and sometimes will react towards you in a negative way.  Some will be outright rude towards newbies, partly because griefers will come into venues as brand new avatars and purposely try to be disruptive and annoying.  It's best to try to pimp out your avatar as soon as possible so as not to stick out like a sore thumb.  Get a decent skin and hair and a cool outfit or two, get an AO so you don't move like you're a stick figure.  Appearance does matter in sl like it does in rl.

[MoiselleErin Teardrop]

Most places yeah. Either it is dead or just a bunch of avatars dancing around thanks to prefabricated poseballs.

If you want to enjoy SL, just try to find some people who can hold interesting conversations or learn to build, script, create animations or whatever.

[beethros Karas]

p.s. to my previous comment , i will like to add the following:

 

My self i was always greeting people and saying hi, how are you?

Well..

since people was TP away exactly at that moment and since that was tottaly bad for my business i stoped saying hi when people arrive on my land! (note: there is no group inviter , LM giver or anything, just a welcome message from a script.

So, I just wait, read their profiles;

And if i feel like i will be able/safe to say hi without they feel whatever they feel and poof..

 then, I do say Hi!

-Welcome to my place!

Feel free to be here and enjoy your SL....

[Tex Monday]

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Axholio wrote:

Hiya Folks... I'm Mike.

I'm a relatively newbie and I'm having a tough time "getting" it. I can see how SL has an enormous potential for RP and interaction, but I don't see it anywhere, except for the "RP" situations. And that's kinda funny to me in that there's a RP game going on in a RP world. So my RP character has created it's own RP character... lol.

I came into the SL thing thinking, "cool..." It's a fantasy world where you can be anything. Make yourself over into whatever you want to be and live it out in this little world. It seems like the only thing to do is shop, unless you already know someone.

Everywhere I go people are standing there like they're catatonic, or dancing like they're on autopilot and not even there. There's no chat other than what seems like banter between old friends. No real interaction at all. I say hello and only get 1 or 2 responses... Are all these people just sitting at their computer IRL and staring and the screen doing nothing (or have another window open)? Or is everyone in IM all the time? They can't be having fun like that are they?

Then I got scolded pretty sharply one time too, by a really beautiful avatar. Seems this person was ticked off because I was "checking her out." Don't people watch each other in here? Why make yourself up to look beautiful extreme and get mad because someone is looking at you?

**shrugs**

Is this how it is everywhere in this life?

 

I'm open for suggestions... I really want to find the fun here.

 

(makes me sound like an **bleep**, doesn't it? I'm really not)... lol.

---

Howdy Mike...welcome to SL

My first suggestion is to avoid the "popular" clubs..mostly the ones you see in the destination guide. They're usually over crowded and not the best place to strike up conversations with people...your chat will get lost in the hundreds of lines that are going on at any one time...I also find them to be very cliquish.

Go into the search function in your viewer and type in a topic that strikes your fancy...RP is very general. Be a bit more specific...find a group that fits your interests, then join it. Send out a group message or IM the moderator. I'm sure there will be people in there who would be happy to help you along your way.

I find jumping into RP sims very difficult as things are already in motion when you get there. You probably need to get there in the beginning or find someone who can introduce your character to the plot already going on. Don't be upset or put off if they can't..sometimes, it's not easy to put a new person into a story.

Anyway...good luck with whatever you do and the most important thing is to ENJOY your time here. If SL isn't fun, it's not worth logging in.

 

[Lucretia Brandenburg]

For a lot of long term residents, yes, the noob look is a turn off. For others, it's an opportunity to help a new resident out with tips on shopping for hair, skin, eyes, clothes, etc. As an aside, I've noticed that REALLY old timers, from the dawn of SL tend to have the same look they had years and years ago, because to them, I believe, SL is not about looking good, it's about content creation.

To add to this, about looking less new ... there are some great deals on complete avatars that are really very good. When I wanted to create a male look for myself, I tricked myself out for less than 300 L and all my guy friends said I looked hot and they'd ahem, date me. Granted, the name Lucretia hanging over the head of a hot frat boy can be a bit disconcerting to some :matte-motes-wink:

[Axholio]

Thanks guys for the replies.

I have updated my avatar, and am working on other stuff as well. That was one of the first things I did.

When I say RP, I don't mean in the sense that I'm pretending to be a vampire. I'm refering to this entire "life" as a RP. I have created an image of a new person and given him a bio, and a life. I am in control of that image, so I am RPing, as are all of you in this world.

I guess I should have realized that there would be cliques and snobs. Paople are people after all.

I have used the search function a lot. And I've even gone walk-about and scoped out the areas. Seems like most everything is a club (hang-out) or a store. Even the hang-outs are stores... lol. I guess like the real world, everything is money driven. I would have never thought I ever see a virtual world prostitute hammering me for $Ls... lol. At least there is a Block button here.

 

I appreciate your responses; you all seem friendly enough in here... :-)

[Syo Emerald]

We are not all roleplaying.....Most people aren't roleplaying or at least they don't carry it outside of a rp sim. I would feel strange, if someone talks to me like I'm part of some kind of roleplaxcharacter. If I talk, its the person behind the avatar talking.

[Madeline Blackbart]

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Axholio wrote:

Thanks guys for the replies.

I have updated my avatar, and am working on other stuff as well. That was one of the first things I did.

When I say RP, I don't mean in the sense that I'm pretending to be a vampire. I'm refering to this entire "life" as a RP.

I have created an image of a new person and given him a bio, and a life.

I am in control of that image, so I am RPing, as are all of you in this world.

I guess I should have realized that there would be cliques and snobs. Paople are people after all.

 

I have used the search function a lot. And I've even gone walk-about and scoped out the areas. Seems like most everything is a club (hang-out) or a store. Even the hang-outs are stores... lol. I guess like the real world, everything is money driven. I would have never thought I ever see a virtual world prostitute hammering me for $Ls... lol. At least there is a Block button here.

 

I appreciate your responses; you all seem friendly enough in here... :-)

---

Not Everyone creates a new character to be. I personally filled out my bio as I would any bio describing me the real person and I behave as I would in real life in sl as well. I'm not rping a new person or hiding who I am.

[Axholio]

Syo... from looking at your picture -  are you playing the part of an elf? Or is this how you are in IRL?

Madeline did you create your avatar to look like you look IRL?

Do you guys dress the same as RL? Do the same activities, etc...?

My apologies.

[Syo Emerald]

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Axholio wrote:

Syo... from looking at your picture -  are you playing the part of an elf? Or is this how you are in IRL?

Madeline did you create your avatar to look like you look IRL?

Do you guys dress the same as RL? Do the same activities, etc...?

My apologies.

---

I'm not playing an elf. Thats just how I made my avatar look like. I see no reason in limiting myself to how I look in RL and technology isn't good enough for making one look like themself in Rl anyway + why waste endless options of creativity? Also what people find pretty doesn't need to match with how they look in RL.

Assumeing someone plays a role because he/she doesn't look like their avatar lets me guess that you never had used other online games or worlds before. Or is every nightelf or dwarf in world of warcraft automatically playing a role?

 

Also as a roleplayer (I'm part of a roleplay outside of SL) the look of an avatar isn't the most important part to make it a character. There are many other factors, such as a backgroundstory.

[Tex Monday]

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Axholio wrote:

Syo... from looking at your picture -  are you playing the part of an elf? Or is this how you are in IRL?

Madeline did you create your avatar to look like you look IRL?

Do you guys dress the same as RL? Do the same activities, etc...?

My apologies.

---

The point that Syo is trying to make (if I may be so bold to interpret it) is that she is the same person (personality wise) in SL that she is in RL. That is the way a number of people behave here. There is the other side that behaves completely opposite of their RL personality...which can be good or bad. They can be more outgoing, more brazen when they speak or they can be complete a**holes. It is up to them how they decide to act.  

[Lucretia Brandenburg]

Hi again Mike. I think, as they say,it's a question of semantics. When people say role play in SL, they're refering to role play sims. You are viewing SL as one big RP, in that we can customize our avatars and be any sort of creature we can think of in SL. I've known mer folk, demons, tinies, furries ... they don't consider that role play, that's just how they represent themselves, and oftentimes express part of their inner nature that has no outlet for expression in RL.  Most of the people I've met in SL don't create a persona for themselves in their profiles unless they're specifically involved in distinct RP sims and situations. They mention their interests, likes, dislikes, etc in their profiles. They're not "in character" all the time. I may look different in RL but my personality is the same whether SL or RL. Rather than thinking of SL as RP, I personally consider it a vastly expanded chat room. That's really it at the most basic level, a 3D chat room, not RP. Now, there are some indeed who consider SL to be one vast RP and they RP friendships and romance and all the rest. If you choose to consider SL as one large meta role play environment, you might want to put that in your profile to avoid confusing others. Just a suggestion :matte-motes-grin:

[Madeline Blackbart]

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Axholio wrote:

Syo... from looking at your picture -  are you playing the part of an elf? Or is this how you are in IRL?

Madeline did you create your avatar to look like you look IRL?

Do you guys dress the same as RL? Do the same activities, etc...?

My apologies.

---

If I could dress that way I would. Having a fantasy avatar doesn't mean that I'm role playing. there's no role there. It's just a avatar look I like I'm still exactly the same person I am in real life. I think your confusing having an avatar with playing a role. Would you say that people who play WoW are role playing? Would you say someone who plays a racing game is role playing? How about someone who is playing a scifi shooter? I highly doubt it there just avatars people have in a game. It's not a role per say just a object made to look pretty.

[Jenni Darkwatch]

To add to the "RP" comment... most of the time I'm a horse in SL. I don't RP a horse (aside from jest). SL is many different things for many different people. For some people with disabilities it's a way to socialize without the common awkward moments that occur all too often in RL. For others like me it's a pretense of social life - for various reasons (anything from phobias to work to feeling more comfy in SL than RL). None of those would say they RP in SL.

As for finding places... one possible way is to use the destination guide, or flat out look at the front page of the viewer (unless you use some third party viewer which elects to not display that page). Try searching for things that interest you and go wandering around. SL is a big place. And a very empty place too. There are places that are busy almost 24/7, others are only busy at certain times of the day or at special events.

Then of course there's the possibility that SL is just for you - that it holds nothing you find interesting or worthwhile.

[jwenting]

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Lucretia Brandenburg wrote:

For a lot of long term residents, yes, the noob look is a turn off. For others, it's an opportunity to help a new resident out with tips on shopping for hair, skin, eyes, clothes, etc. As an aside, I've noticed that REALLY old timers, from the dawn of SL tend to have the same look they had years and years ago, because to them, I believe, SL is not about looking good, it's about content creation.

 

---

in part. For many people there look has become their persona, major changes to it just feel wrong. I've been in SL only for a year and a half or so, and am already starting to feel that way. Haven't changed my shape in a year, and skins not in months (had been looking for "me" there for a long time, now found it, change only between different shades depending on whether I want a tanned, deep tanned, or pale look for the occasion.

Content creation is important to me too, but nothing wrong with looking good doing it

and oh, I've met very few for whom the new avatar look is an instant turnoff, unless that new avatar starts sending ims around the moment they tp in that come down to little more than "I want to have sex with you" (yes, I'm a greeter in an adult sim that's on the destination guide, so we get them right off the starter island. They do that without reading the sign about not solliciting sexual favours and profiles reading that no, we're not having sex with you).

But that's the behaviour putting us off, not the looks. All of us are more than happy to help people start out their SL looking decent, up to and including sometimes taking you by the hand for your first shopping trip.

[jwenting]

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Madeline Blackbart wrote:

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Axholio wrote:

Syo... from looking at your picture -  are you playing the part of an elf? Or is this how you are in IRL?

Madeline did you create your avatar to look like you look IRL?

Do you guys dress the same as RL? Do the same activities, etc...?

My apologies.

---

If I could dress that way I would. Having a fantasy avatar doesn't mean that I'm role playing. there's no role there. It's just a avatar look I like I'm still exactly the same person I am in real life. I think your confusing having an avatar with playing a role. Would you say that people who play WoW are role playing? Would you say someone who plays a racing game is role playing? How about someone who is playing a scifi shooter? I highly doubt it there just avatars people have in a game. It's not a role per say just a object made to look pretty.

---

nothing wrong with that. I always tell people, and to a large degree that's true, that I roleplay RL and in SL am my true self.

In WoW, yes. Some people RP there. Many of them do it some of the time, some near fulltime (though more often than not that RP boils down to little more than "ugh, me go beat up enemy now"). Not as much as some MMOs, more than most, and of course more on the dedicated RP servers that enforce names and behaviour to a degree (similar to dedicated roleplay regions in SL enforcing behaviour, mode of dress, and sometimes names).

Whereever there is a story, people will enact characters (invented by themselves or others) in that story and thus play a role. Difference with SL is that in large part you can create your own story as well as your own characters.

[Tex Monday]

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jwenting wrote: 

in part. For many people there look has become their persona, major changes to it just feel wrong. I've been in SL only for a year and a half or so, and am already starting to feel that way. Haven't changed my shape in a year, and skins not in months (had been looking for "me" there for a long time, now found it, change only between different shades depending on whether I want a tanned, deep tanned, or pale look for the occasion.

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It's funny you say that...when I created Tex back in 2009, I immediately went out and bought a new skin and shape for myself...and I haven't changed my look since. I know there are newer looks out there, but I really don't want to change. This is me...or what I perceive myself to be in SL. Changing it would be wrong, at least I think so. Now, that being said, I do change my look for certain people in certain situations, but they're only temporary. I always go back to the look I developed in 2009.