I honestly must know.

[tofwap]

Hey so you know how in normal games you just buy an item and it shows up in your inventory. Who may I ask decided that an additional five steps would be required to actually get things inside your inventory.

1. Purchase a box

2. Find a sandbox

3. Place the box in the sandbox

4. Open the box

5. Take the Item so that it is in your inventory!

Why, just why! are you honestly trying to confuse new people!? I did not even list the research I had to do to find out what a sandbox is or how to get to it. Instead of actually trying to enjoy this "game" I have spent a whole hour trying to figure out how to open a box!

I would also like to know why you bother with the "tutorial Island" where you learn to walk, walk, and walk through a portal. That was the summary of that whole place! I saw one dialog box - which was white and had NO text- that I presume had instructions in it. Unfortunately I could not see them and had to look that up on the web site as well because when you click on the box, it just disappears! no log or way to bring it back up.

Now let me finish by asking why people are playing random music through their headset everywhere you go. I have not even been in game more than an hour and I know that is not what the intended use of voice chat was, especially when you are listening to other people trying to talk to each other at the same time. There is so much noise going on that you can't discern anything anyone is saying!

I can manage the intricacy's of Linux, set up web servers, and connect two computers miles away but this game confounds me to no end. I am sure a lot of you have a great deal to say about everything that I did wrong or how it was so "obvious". Quite frankly I don't care - I should not need to engage in rocket science to socialize!

[tofwap]

I would love to format that in a readable paragraph so it is not all one big blurb but apparently you also don't allow the enter key on the forums.

[Kenbro Utu]

There is always twitter.  

Seriously though, SL does have a steep learning curve, because it's not a game, it's a virtual world.  The normal rules don't apply.  Content is user created, so there is no one way to do things.  It's not for everyone, but I would encourage you to stick around for a while longer before you pass final judgement.  It is a vast world and what you experience can change depending on where you go.  It may wind up growing on you.

[tofwap]

I doubt very much that the users created that content delivery system. that is the part I have a problem with. Not the content itself, the delivery system.

[Kenbro Utu]

Yes, actually the creator did put the final product in a box purposely.  There are methods for direct delivery into your inventory, complete with folder names.  It all depends on how the creator delivers their product.  

[tofwap]

well if at least 50% of the content is delivered in this mannor, I have no place in this community. There is complicated, and there is downright stupid. that method of delivering content is just methodical considering the fact that it dumps the box in your inventory anyway, why you can't just open it there is a sure sign that I will have a stress induced heart attack trying to learn this program.

[Dillon Levenque]

Back off a bit, tofwap. I'd have to think from reading your OP and your subsequent comments you're a pretty smart guy. You did get that thing in  your inventory. You're just pissed off because of all the steps.

Stick around. You might even get used to the hurdles.

[Knowl Paine]

There are many features in SL that can be improved upon. The original method of boxed delivery was created by the makers of SL, Linden Lab. There were many reasons for doing that at the time, most of the reasons involve Object Permissions for the next owner.

Selling objects in SL, and the methods and options for doing so are still in a transitional stage. Direct inventory delivery may eventually be the only option for new merchants who want to list an item. Some very old items may be exempt and will continue to be delivered boxed. Time will tell. 

I have always advocated for a Market Place Sandbox. Residents who purchase items at MP would automatically receive a Landmark to one of the sandboxes.

Tutorial Islands have always been a disaster.  There was a time when Residents had to learn how to escape the island, you had to perform so many task that some people just gave up, never having even left the island.

You have good reasons to be critical of your experience. Part of the reason why I visit this forum is because I believe that there are better ways in which SL could operate. I've attempted to avoid making any suggestions for you to follow because I am aware of and recognize many of the issues you've stated.

 

I like SL because there is so much to learn, so many things to see and a few things I didn't need to see.

 

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Opening a box isn't that big of a deal.  Now you know where a sandbox is.  You will find other places that allow you to rez too.  Some products from MP won't require opening any box.   Some boxes you can wear and click to get their contents without having to go to land.  The MP indicates if land is needed to open a box.  If its a pain for you, avoid those products.

As far as the music, you have control over that.  What you are hearing is music from the land streaming system.  Just turn down the volume or turn it off by clicking the little speaker icon at the top right of your screen and slide the slider down.  If you are hearing music that is coming from another avatar because they are playing it in RL and their mic is picking it up, click the voice speakers list and adjust the volume down for that person.  I generally keep my music off or at a low volume unless I go to a club or I am at home listening to music I choose to listen to.

Kenbro is right, SL is not a game with fixed content.  The sooner you view it as a virtual world with content that is not only created by its residents but is added to constantly so you have more choices, just like RL, the better off you'll be.  SL is a world limited only by your imagination and your fellow residents create things to help you live your SL just about any way your imagination can dream up.

SL does have a steep learning curve because it is such a vast world.  It would be impossible to teach you everything in orientation, because you would be there for weeks, so they teach you the very basics knowing once you get inworld you'll pick up more.  If you stick with it you will soon learn what you need to know.  Don't be shy about asking people for help in world, here in the forum or in the Answers section.  You'll find lots of people that will be glad to do it.  There are even places inworld specifically set up to help people new to SL.  NCI (New Citizens Inc) is one such place where there are always experienced residents ready to answer questions and help you out.  There are also tons of classes you can take on just about anything.

On the other hand SL isn't for everybody.  If you are not up to the challenge of it, you can leave.  I hope you stick around a while though and give SL the chance it deserves to have.  If you do you'll meet many interesting people and have some great adventures. I've been in SL for 7+ years now and haven't had one day when I was bored because there is always something new to do, someone new to meet, and new places to explore.

 

[Tamara Artis]

When you are selling something, many times its not just one item; take boots for example, seller packs an alpha (texture used to hide your avatar feets and part of the leg so that boots fit perfectly, shoe base (for feets), an actual boots - both left and right, in more than one size (so that it fits your avatar no matter how big you are), a nice notecard that explains how to fit your boots, how to wear mesh, how to contact the merchant if you need anything and a landmark to the main store, in case you liked the boots and want to see more of what this particular creator has. The easiest way for the creator to organize everything is to pack it in the box, and it is handy for the customers too!

There is a new system called direct delivery that sends you the whole folder so that you don't have to search for a sandbox and unpack items. It is used on a marketplace. 

Now imagine a person that is few years old and has bought many items, their inventory is packed with thousands of products and for sure this person doesn't need all of them. Well not at the same time. For example now when its winter season, any random person can delete all their folders with summer clothing and at the same time keep those items for the next sumer because they keep the original box; when the summer comes the person will simply unpack a certain box with sumer clothing. This makes their inventory clean and easier to navigate. 

Also, boxing items is like organizing things in real life, you can go in a sandbox (or in your SL home after you find one that fits you), create a new box and open the contents part, then you simply drag things from your inventory into the box. Name the box with some name that fits you and take it back in your inventory. You can now delete all the items from the inventory that you have placed inside the box. I use this way to to pack all my notecards that I don't need all the time but still want to keep them for future. 

Turn the voice off and use it for when you actually want to speak with someone. Its kinda same as in real life, everywhere you go you hear people and things around you and yes it is noise! How many times you had to go somewhere outside because the club was too loud for you to speak on your phone?

[Orca Flotta]

Why, just why! are you honestly trying to confuse new people!?

We? We are all just residents in this forum, just like you. So the ominous we includes you too. LL employees tend to stay away from this snake pit.

About boxes: they are nifty and clever. Often a product consists of more than just the main article, you'll get templates (for customization), user manuals, other versions  and lots of stuff with it. It's nice to find all that chit in one box rather than 20 single items who are spread out all over your inventory.

 

Now let me finish by asking why people are playing random music through their headset everywhere you go

Not the foggiest. Obviously they have enough bandwith to burn needlessly and don't care about lag. Honestly, I never hear any music but my own MP3s ... offworld. In fact I disabled all Voice functions, it's the first thing I do after installing a viewer. Heck, I don't even own a headset. I only enable Music stream when I go to a concert or a DJ set. Or Media stream when I wanna watch a video.

 

this game confounds me to no end.

Maybe coz it's no game.

 

Quite frankly I don't care - I should not need to engage in rocket science to socialize!

But you need to engage in rocket science to build or fly a rocket. It's possible in SL, y'know? Socializing? Who da fuque does such a stupid thing? SL was intended as a world for makers, not for talkers.

 

[ogirly4016]

Second Life can take awhle to get used to. I know when I first strated out on my old account I was as frustrated as you were. I spent a long time just trying to walk around without bumping into things let alone navigate to sandboxes to open boxes. If you just can stick with it awhile longer things will start to click and make sense. 

[Ceka Cianci]

wow if boxes have you tripping ,then you really in for a rough road ahead..

there are steps to just about everything in here..

 

 

[Perrie Juran]

---

tofwap wrote:

Hey so you know how in normal games you just buy an item and it shows up in your inventory. Who may I ask decided that an additional five steps would be required to actually get things inside your inventory.

1. Purchase a box

2. Find a sandbox

3. Place the box in the sandbox

4. Open the box

5. Take the Item so that it is in your inventory!

Why, just why! are you honestly trying to confuse new people!? I did not even list the research I had to do to find out what a sandbox is or how to get to it. Instead of actually trying to enjoy this "game" I have spent a whole hour trying to figure out how to open a box!

---

Don't you get it?

It's an inteligence test.

To see if you are smart enough to survive in SL. 

[Syo Emerald]

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

wow if boxes have you tripping ,then you really in for a rough road ahead..

there are steps to just about everything in here..

 

 

---

He was doomed from the moment I called SL a game, because his expections don't match to SL and this can only result in complains like this. I think he wasn't even aware that he doesn't buy his boxed items from LL, but from many different people.

In recent years, thinking that you are playing some game, became an even more worse factor. People got lazy. They want their games to be easy, they want tutorials for everything and they can't get their ass up to try things out or search for themselves. Yes, SL has a huge learning curve, but its not impossible to grew out of the noob-level.

I did that in quite a short time. I had previous experiances in MMOs and I wasn't afraid to ask, pay attention, try things and read. I managed to walk, dress up myself, use the chat system, teleport, use animations and so on within a week.

[Nova Convair]

Such a little detail like boxes in SL aren't worth a thread, save that for later if you make it any further.

Btw. - it's possible to do it without a sandbox - maybe you find out how.

 

[Ceka Cianci]

---

Syo Emerald wrote:

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

wow if boxes have you tripping ,then you really in for a rough road ahead..

there are steps to just about everything in here..

 

 

---

He was doomed from the moment I called SL a game, because his expections don't match to SL and this can only result in complains like this. I think he wasn't even aware that he doesn't buy his boxed items from LL, but from many different people.

In recent years, thinking that you are playing some game, became an even more worse factor. People got lazy. They want their games to be easy, they want tutorials for everything and they can't get their ass up to try things out or search for themselves. Yes, SL has a huge learning curve, but its not impossible to grew out of the noob-level.

I did that in quite a short time. I had previous experiances in MMOs and I wasn't afraid to ask, pay attention, try things and read. I managed to walk, dress up myself, use the chat system, teleport, use animations and so on within a week.

---

the learning curve is what made it soo much fun.

A lot of those times are some of the funny things to talk about today..

 

I used to think it was hard when i first joined.But would hear stories from people from 2005 and earlier and  it was much harder for them..but they had a lot of fun talking about those times and i had a lot fo fun listening to them..

then later had fun telling others that thought it was hard when they came in about my funny hard times..

experiences are a lot of what it's about,as well as sharing them and having a good laugh over the things that frustrated us at one time but became comedy relief later..

a lot of people wished they coudl go back to being new just to do it all over again..but sadly we can never go back really..

 

 

[wesleytron]

I'm certainly not a rocket scientist that's for sure, and I don't know how to manage the intricacy's of Linux, set up web servers, and connect two computers miles away. But I can find a sandbox in Second Life, rez a box and unpack it to my inventory without too many problems...

I don't think the 'compressed' box itself though is what the OP has an issue with. The issue is perhaps why does it have to be dragged in-world to be unpacked? Essentially, it's like a zip file. It has seemed unusual to me at times that we can't just right-click on it while it's in our inventory and 'unpack' it there. It would certainly be easier. It almost seems like the need to rez it in-world was deliberately built-in.

... and maybe it is. As has already been stated; SL is not necessarily a game as such (or maybe not 'just' a game/is 'more than' a game) - it's a virtual fantasy world, and the process of unpacking a box is perhaps meant to be analogous to the "real world". We go shopping and buy something and bring it home - or we order something online and wait for it to be delivered  - and then we eagerly rip open the packaging to check out and try out the wares inside we've wasted spent our money on. It's meant to be fun and all part of a Second Life lifestyle.

[Perrie Juran]

---

wesleytron wrote:

I'm certainly not a rocket scientist that's for sure, and I don't know how to manage the intricacy's of Linux, set up web servers, and connect two computers miles away. But I can find a sandbox in Second Life, rez a box and unpack it to my inventory without too many problems...

 

I don't think the 'compressed' box itself though is what the OP has an issue with.

The issue is perhaps why does it have to be dragged in-world to be unpacked?

Essentially, it's like a zip file. It has seemed unusual to me at times that we can't just right-click on it while it's in our inventory and 'unpack' it there. It would certainly be easier. It almost seems like the need to rez it in-world was deliberately built-in.

... and maybe it is. As has already been stated; SL is not a game (or is not 'just' a game/is more than a game) - it's a virtual world, and the process of unpacking a box is perhaps meant to be analogous to the "real world". We go shopping and buy something and bring it home - or we order something online and wait for it to be delivered  - and then we eagerly rip open the packaging to check out and try out the wares we've

wasted

spent our money on. It's meant to be fun and all part of a Second Life lifestyle.

---

It doesn't need to be dragged In World to be unpacked. 

But that's a trick that oddly not many know.

I'll agree that a simple folder with all the parts would be the simplest thing for the recipient.

But none of it is rocket science.

I know, people just want to log in and play and not have to think.  But that is not the nature of SL.

[Conifer Dada]

I understand why people pack their sale items in a box - I do that with mine for things I sell in-world .  But what is frustrating for a lot of people is when creators use elaborate packaging made from multiple prims.   This sometimes makes the difference between being able to unpack a purchase on my own land or having to go to a sandbox to do it.

Please, creators, we're not interetsted in fancy carrier bags with bows and flowers on, just a simple one-prim box does fine and can be a lot more convenient.

[Penny Patton]

I'll try and lay it out.

 

When SL first started, there was no Marketplace. The "SL Marketplace" we know today was created by residents then later purchased by Linden Lab.

 Linden Lab only recently (in the last year or so) added the ability to directly recieve a folder of contents from the Marketplace. Before that, the Marketplace could only deliver a single object per purchase. So for content involving multiple pieces it had to be contained in a packaging object.

So, the "five steps" were pretty much unavoidable. Still, some clever people use a script (again, created by users, not LL) that let's you attach the package to recieve the object, so you don't need to find a sandbox, rez the package and then click it, just wear, recieve, detach.

 

 

Still, if I were LL, I'd be aiming to make this whole thing as user friendly as possible, both for the sellers and buyers. That would involve telling sellers how to make delivery of their content more user friendly by discouraging the use of boxes in newer content.

 It's pretty obvious that one of the biggest obstacles to SL is that it's aimed at a casual userbase, but then gives those users no guidance and expects them to act and make decisions like professionals. This creates issues that go far beyond usability.

[Orca Flotta]

So LL expects us to act like grown up, independant, responsible and reasonable people? Like if we had any interest in virtual worlds 'n stuffz?

How dare they???

 

[Perrie Juran]

---

Penny Patton wrote:

I'll try and lay it out.

 

Still, some clever people use a script (again, created by users, not LL) that let's you attach the package to recieve the object, so you don't need to find a sandbox, rez the package and then click it, just wear, recieve, detach.

 

---

 

 

 

While it is convenient, you still don't need a script.

[Penny Patton]

---

Orca Flotta wrote:

So LL expects us to act like grown up, independant, responsible and reasonable people? Like if we had any interest in virtual worlds 'n stuffz?

How dare they???

 

---

No, more than just that they expect us all, every single one of us, to act like a professional game art designer who spent 2-4 years in school learning how to create art assets for SL then another 2-4 years learning how to program for SL.

 That's simply an unrealistic expectation, especially when even the Lindens themselves don't act like this.

 They also, through questionable UI decisions, have made performing even simple tasks far more complex and convoluted than necessary and they expect this to have no affect at all on their ability to draw in new customers and retain old customers.