I am new and extremely confused!

[SCMW2013]

Hello, my name's Shannon and I've just joined Second Life but I am so confused! What exactly can I do here? What is this 'game' about?

I've tried reading up on Second Life but instead of finding answers I end up with more questions..I even read that businesses from the real world can set up shop in Second Life and that you can even be hired for work to earn $L!

What do you suggest I do for now, just explore? Could someone please explain jobs and housing to me? 

And lastly (for now!) I read that you can 'kill' other Residents..is that possible or even allowed or do you suffer penalties for commiting murder like you would in real life? In regards to that question I'm only asking because my Husband would like the freedom to role-play a killer (and NO he is NOT crazy!)

Ok, thank you :womanhappy: 

 

[Dhuanolil]

Heya, Shannon. :matte-motes-grin:

Those are a lot of good questions, some of which may lead to more questions when answers are given. To make things easier, I will IM you in-world to have a direct conversation.

Although this account of mine is not yet a year old, I joined Second Life in mid-2006 and I have been roleplaying since late 2006, mainly as freeform...so I can, hopefully, provide you with answers regarding that also for your husband.

See you soon.

[Ted McGregor]

Welcome to SL , Shannon. I'll answer your questions briefly.

You ( and your spouse ) have joined an open game-engine including physics.  Because of this openess, many sorts of gameplay ( roleplaying, combat, etc. ) and objects ( ranging from flora and fauna to houses to vehicles to avatar apparel ) have been designed by users themselves instead of the company running the game-engine ; in contrast to something like WoW.  Everything you need to enjoy within this environment can be created by yourself or bought from other users.

There's an economy to support that. You can trade in real money for currency that is valid within Second Life ( Lindens ).

Yes, you can explore ( there is a destination guide visible when starting your viewer to make a selection ) and you can buy / rent virtual land for housing. Yes .. there are jobs too, but don't expect them to be like RL jobs.

You just cannot kill any user anywhere. Sims need to be setup for that ( combat sims ) and you need to use a combat-system on some of those. Your husband can kill ( or rather 'bump' ) with bullets as long as the sim allows for it. Just make sure he does so at a sim which allows for it or he might be banned for harassing other users.

 

Enjoy your SL.

 

[PeterCanessa Oh]

You can do whatever you want to.  Second Life (SL) is a virtual world, not a 'game'.  It is not "about" anything, it is simply a platform within which, as above, you can do whatever you want to.

Anyone, not just real life busiesses can set up shop in SL (that would come under 'whatever you want to') and/or apply for a job to earn L$.  Whether your shop makes money or you are successful in your application depends entirely on you, your customers and/or employer.  Your customers/employer will be real ife people just like you (and me) who are also residents in SL.  You and they are not 'playing' a 'game' of running a shop, or whatever, you are simply doing 'whatever you want to'.

So; jobs are just an agreement between you and someone else that a) you'll do something and b) they'll pay you for it.

Now housing is a bit more complicated, because the only thing that isn't free in SL is land.  All the virtual land in this virtual world is owned by Linden Lab.  They will 'sell' areas to people, but those people still have to pay monthly fees, known as 'tier' (think of taxes).  Whoever 'buys' land in this way is the owner and - importantly: can make any rules they like for their area.  They can allow or disallow any- one/thing/conduct (that isn't actually illegal) at their whim and change their minds whenever "they want to", without explanation or recompense to anyone.

You are free to build anything, including a house, anywhere the land-owner permits public creation.  They are very unlikely to let you leave it there though (usually objects are automatically returned to their owners after anything from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on what creation the owner expects/allows).  To have a 'permanent' house you will either need to buy land from Linden Lab, as above, or sub-rent an area from someone who does.  NB: be careful with this - there are many reputable land companies in Second Life but there are also many people who will rake your money then kick you out - without explanation or recompense to anyone if "they want to", also as above.  You have very little chance of getting your money back in these cases.  Less dramatically you may 'rent' a sea-front property only to have the landlord decide they'd like to change to a mountain scene and terraform their land that way.  Your only choice is put up with it or leave - without recompense unless the land owner "wants to".

NB again: Linden Lab will not normally get involved in any disputes between residents so unless you take any problems to Real Life lawyers and get a court order against someone, you're on your own.

You can't "kill" or otherwise harm other residents unless they are participating in some role-play with you.  There is a health/damage system in SL but most land-owners turn it off (because they want to) and most people ignore it anyway.  The only effect being 'killed' under this system has is that your avatar is teleported - and restored to full health - to your 'home' location (if you set one) or one of a number of start-points around SL.  System damage short of complete 'death' has no effect at all.  What effects, if any, role-playing damage and 'death' have is entirely down to what the participants agree, including cheating/reneging "if they want to".

What I suggest you do for at least your first few weeks in SL is join one of the several volunteer helper organisations.  A particularly good walkthrough tutorial is provided by/at Caledon Oxbridge (eponymous sim) while NCI (main location Kuula sim) has a huge amount of freebies and generally several helpers to talk to.  Builder's Brewery and others are also often recommended, although I don't know them myself.

As well as static locations, help and advice these groups run regular, free, classes on almost all aspects of SL.  Take the time to learn, and ask questions when in doubt.  It's a complex world.

 

[Thinkerer Melville]

Welcome to SL.   Here are some answers:

Killing is only possible in areas set aside for that (damage zone).  These are generally role-playing areas.  They are indicated by a heart in the navigation bar (upper left).  The only effect of being 'killed" is that your avatar is returned to your home point.   You are not likely to be in a damage zone unless you look for one.

There are no penalties in general, though there could in a particular role-playing game could impose penalties on killing or on being killed.  

Your husband can find info on role-playing here:

• Role-play

 Here are some articles on starting in SL:

• What do we do in Virtual Worlds? 

• How to get into Second Life without really trying 

• Newcomer help

• Hobbies in Virtual Worlds

There are jobs in SL, though they will require some experience in SL. This article has information on jobs

• Your things, your Lindens, your inventory

This article has information on land and houses;

• Land and houses

I suggest you look over the hobbies and what people do in virtual worlds.  See what interests you and try out the places and groups.  Also look for people who share your interests.  Here is help on that:

• How do I meet people? 

TKR

[Pussycat Catnap]

Basically as a new person your best bet is to search out things that match your hobbie interests, find other people who have them, and make some friends.

You can look into communities dedicated to political themes, social activities, sports, arts, XXX, music, computers, fiction, roleplay, religion, fandom, just about anything.

I recommend hitting up some places listed as live music. Quality varies greatly, and the good ones are a LOT of fun. Some of the bad ones are fun too because their act can purposefully be a bit comedy act like (and yes, there are stand up comedy acts in SL).

Develop out your profile to say a good bit about your interests, and use it to 'advertise yourself.'

I STRONGLY recommend taking a LOT of snapshots/screenshots and posting them to your 'feed' - its an instant way for other people to get to know you, and for you to find things of interest and make them memorable.

 

Once you're here for a little bit, you'll want to start thinking about your avatar's look. Just start asking people you meet questions about where to get things you like the look of. A first thing to look into is called an 'AO' - which is the set of animations that control how your avatars walks, stands, sits, and sometimes even dances. Getting one of these gives your avatar personality. (Once you're a bit more advanced, the best trick is to learn to replace the animations in one of these with individually picked animations from all over Second Life so that you become really unique).

 

There are also a lot of classes... Yeah, school might not be your idea of fun, but these are classes on things you can do in SL and they are an amazngly good way to meet people and learn fun stuff. Check out places called "NCI Kuula", "Caledon Oxbridge", and "Builder's Brewery".

- Each of these is a little differently themed, but very entertaining in an informative way.

 

Lastly, I have a blog about getting started around here with a lot of info on how to do basic things:

http://catnapkitty.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/getting-started-in-second-life/

[Teagan Tobias]

Brand new and confused, well it sounds like your doing it right so far. I'll be six next month and I am only slightly confused. Hang in there. And oh yea, welcome to SL, its not a game, yes it is, no its not.

[LepreKhaun]

Welcome to Second Life!

 

And, no, SL isn't a game- it's the optimal meta-game and you can make it whatever you wish.

 

No one can be "killed" here, unless they choose to "die" in the course of role playing.

 

Best way to learn about it all is to interact with the other residents. Most will be quite helpful and willing to get you started. Take it slow at first though, there's a *LOT* to learn!

[Alicia Sautereau]

2372 days old and getting more confused by the day with what people make up :matte-motes-wink-tongue:

[Czari Zenovka]

If you think in terms of "Second Life" - that might help a bit with some of the confusion.  As others have already stated, SL is not a game, it is a virtual world.  Think of what you enjoy in your "real life" and then translate that thinking to SL.  What are things you've always wanted to do but didn't have the money, ability to travel, etc. in RL?  Just about anything you can think of (and more) are available in SL.

There *are* games within SL ranging from role play communities to amusement park arcade-type games but, just as in real life, they are a "part" of life.  There is no comparison at all with SL and MMORPGs like WoW, EQ, etc.  There are no goals, levels, etc. (with the exception of games set up within SL for the purpose).

 

[Marigold Devin]

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Teagan Tobias wrote:

Brand new and confused, well it sounds like your doing it right so far. I'll be six next month and I am only slightly confused. Hang in there. And oh yea, welcome to SL,

its not a game, yes it is, no its not.

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I laughed - and looked for the kudos button. You sum it up well.

[Pussycat Catnap]

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Alicia Sautereau wrote:

2372 days old and getting more confused by the day with what people make up :matte-motes-wink-tongue:

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Random attitude is random...

 

[Alicia Sautereau]

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Pussycat Catnap wrote:

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Alicia Sautereau wrote:

2372 days old and getting more confused by the day with what people make up :matte-motes-wink-tongue:

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Random attitude is random...

 

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I have no idea what you mean with that

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[PeterCanessa Oh]

To some people SL is 'just a game'.  You may notice, before they are banned and their posts deleted, one such person here.  It's probably best to form your opinion of that view based on the rest of their posts.

On the other hand, of course, if "what you want to do" is just play a game then you can also do that in SL, just as you can mess around in real life.

[Madelaine McMasters]

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PeterCanessa Oh wrote:

To some people SL is 'just a game'.  You may notice, before they are banned and their posts deleted, one such person here.  It's probably best to form your opinion of that view based on the rest of their posts.

On the other hand, of course, if "want you want to do" is just play a game then you can

also

do that in SL, just as you can mess around in real life.

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Some of the people who claim SL is a game make the same claim for RL.

I'll crib from Henry Ford and say...

"Whether you believe SL is a game or you believe it isn't, you are absolutely right."

[Ted McGregor]

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PeterCanessa Oh wrote:

You may notice, before they are banned and their posts deleted, one such person here. 

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So I'm right to assume I'm not the only one who reported said person for severe discrimination ?

 

Hello ? .. Anybody ?

[Dillon Levenque]

Pruning seems to be under way, and that's a good thing. I'm really glad I didn't actually offer to accept wagers on my original over/under of two days, and it is beginning to look as though even my modified line of two hours was set too high, since that whole stream of exchanges has now vanished and there is still almost an hour to go on the deadline.

 

[PeterCanessa Oh]

Oh yeah, RIC'd all the way.  Even if you're in a bad mood or 'just playing' that's totally out of order.  They know that anyway, just waiting to see how many people get all worked up about it.  We don't, we just press the RIC button and wave bye-bye.

[Alicia Sautereau]

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TDD123 wrote:

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PeterCanessa Oh wrote:

You may notice, before they are banned and their posts deleted, one such person here. 

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So I'm right to assume I'm not the only one who reported said person for severe discrimination ?

 

Hello ? .. Anybody ?

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Nope, i reported all it`s posts including the jerk ones in the Q&A section

[Ted McGregor]

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PeterCanessa Oh wrote:

 

Oh yeah, RIC'd all the way

 

 

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Alicia Sautereau wrote:

 

Nope, i reported all it`s posts including the jerk ones in the Q&A section

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Thank you.

 

 

[Dillon Levenque]

I'd responded regarding this in the thread about paying the light bill, to explain my otherwise very confusing post above. That post, along with the whole chain of posts leading to it—starting with one by the same person who is trashing things here— is now gone. I am optimistic.

[Ted McGregor]

Yeah, I saw that. Reported specific troll there as well myself.

 

Here's hoping that certain user disappears altogether quickly.

 

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Welcome to SL.

You've gotten a lot of good advice so I just want to add that if your husband wants to play a murderer there are a number of role play areas where he can do that.  There are Dark Urban, Mafia or Gang, Historic, Pirates, Outlaws, Wild West, Vampire Slayer, Biker Gangs, Scifi, to name just a few, all with the appropriate weapons, costumes, vehicles etc available there on that sim or in one of the shops around SL and on the Marketplace web site that cater to that type of roleplay.  Whatever his flavor he'll probably find it here. He'll probably want to spend a while exploring his options to find the place he fits in best as well as do some weapons practice before engaging anyone in RP.

Just a word of caution, he'll need to keep his nefarious ways within roleplay areas or sims that allow it or he'll find himself banned from a number of places very quickly and Abuse Reported (AR'd) for it too.  If he gets a lot of AR's or has a particularly bad one he might get suspended or banned from SL.

The good news is that SL is such a varied place, roleplayers sometimes participate in a number of different flavors of RP, then go out of character when they want to do something else.  So if you aren't into his RP you can do what interests you, then have some time when you are together to go dancing, exploring, or whatever other common interests you have.  That's one of the best things about SL being a virtual world and not just a game.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I reported the troll too

[Ted McGregor]

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

I reported the troll too

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And the effect is there.

 

Great job, everyone ..   moderators included. :robotvery-happy: