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First impressions. Not sure I want to spend any money...

Dopedragn

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Dopedragn

Dopedragn

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I don't know I've found my first 7 days here to be not entirely interesting. At times it's like okay cool. Then SL seems boring again. Where is everyone? Why is everyone 30 years older than me? I don't know much of what's happening. Where to find the trendy things people are wearing and doing. A lot of new players seem to have the same problems...

 

So what's going on? Seriously is there something I'm missing... I really want to meet friends and enjoy the game but I don't think I want to spend such a great deal of money on here for no good reason :\

 

Is is really worth the while?

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Freya Mokusei

Freya Mokusei

Posted
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I'm not one to convince anyone - I just say things how they seem to me. I've been here for 9.5 years, averaging ~4 hours per day in-world. I balance this with a busy day job, strong 'real life' relationships, reasonably frequent travelling and also caring for a much older relative.

I fill my time with many close friends and romantic partners (which take time/skill to acquire, but worth it!) - we hang out, roleplay, get into discussions, watch Youtubes, movies, TV shows, anime. I learn about other peoples' lives and values, their feelings and drives. We go to popular sims and cause playful trouble or party and invite as many as we can. I meet new people and run around them in circles while exchanging pleasantaries and questions. On my own I enjoy building/texturing, scripting, exploring/shopping, writing and creating music - all of which I do in-world.

I've used SL to learn, to expand my horizons beyond the level of my own eyesight. I've used it to contribute to good causes, to help people and to provide comfort to those who sometimes struggle to find happiness in their real lives. I've used SL to help me get a Bachelors Degree and a job in real life, to help me write a book, to develop artistic style and meet/collaborate with other creative folks. I've used SL to help with social phobias and mental health issues that I've suffered with since my early teens, and to practice confidence and develop practical coping strategies. I've met so many great people I would've otherwise never had the chance to meet, learned what matters 

I can certainly see that if you're on the young side of SL's demographic, that it feels like you're a bit out of touch at first. I still sometimes get that at age 29, though I'm creeping closer to the middle all the time. :P Advice there is to look around for others with your energy level - other young folks are here (usually just beneath the surface), and young at heart is certainly a thing and I've met many great people in their 50s and 60s whom I had to sprint to keep up with.

Second Life doesn't ask for money, but it will ask for time. The more time you commit, the better I tend to find your experience in SL becomes. Is it worth it? Depends what you do with it.

I hope this helps. My story won't be your story, but your story could be great, too. :)

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Alwin Alcott

Alwin Alcott

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Pls convince me it's worth while!

nobody can.

SL is what you make of it yourself, it's not like fb click- like- done, but you need a real serious efford to find ánd keep friends,find places you like, find stores, hangouts,and create your own second life.

It's no game in the old meaning, you can't get goals, points or ranks.

Follow some classes or tutorials to make some things, be creative or lurk on other peoples created things, there's something for everybody: anything you can imagine.. from churches to red light districts...

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Freya Mokusei

Freya Mokusei

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Wow, then I did a better job than anticipated. :)

I'm glad you found my words helpful, of course I can't say whether SL will have as powerful an effect for you. It took me a while (of course) to get where I am today, but it's not an uncommon story and there are many amazing moments along the way. Meeting people online has always felt great to me, and once stories involve more than one person they can really end up anywhere.

There are many other perspectives and I'm sure, given a little time, other posters will talk about about their feelings and the ways they've become invested in SL and why.

Enjoy your time here, there's nowhere else quite like it. :)

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Freya Mokusei

Freya Mokusei

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Will be around in-world tonight if you'd like to change this. I'm terribad at meeting forum folks, others have pestered too but I'm yet to push myself.

(Though - and not to tarnish the opportunity - I expect you were included in the summary of my interaction - 'meeting' is kind of a quaint concept online.)

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Tari Landar

Tari Landar

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Personally, I ignore "trends", pretty much the same way I ignore them in rl. They don't exactly have much of a lasting nature, and I have found the folks that follow them so closely, want to follow them closely, or honesly think they are as widespread as they want to believe...are the folks that end up getting "bored" a lot quicker. That's not to say no one should try and fnd them, or follow them, etc....but I do think that if one places too much importance on "trendy" things, they'll lose sight of everythign else sl, and its residents, has/have to offer.

If you wnt to find the latest "trends"in sl, be it places to go, or current fashion trends, I'd suggest doing a google search and finding blogs to follow, because those are the most likely places to find such things. THen you can look inworld based on whatever info you garner from the blogs.

If, however, you're just looking for people to hang out with, or fun things to do, that one is a lot easier to manage, while inworld. Clubs tend to be a place where folks hang out the most. You can do a search inworld for places that have music you like, and then either TP around or look at the place(s) on the map to see what kind of population(ie, the number of people) you'll find there. I'm not a huge fan of clubs, personally, I never have been, but I do know there are quite a few popular ones. Should you choose to go to them, don't be shy, that's the easiest way to make friends, join conversations, etc...(easier said than done for some, i know, lol)

If you're looking for fun things to do, whether with other people or even just yourself....

Think of the things you enjoy doing in rl, or would love to do in rl, but can't. Odds are, you'll find places that cater to those desires in sl, somewhere. We have every kind of sporting sim as one can likely imagine. Whether it is a competitive sport or just something one enjoys doing. There are amusement sims which have everything from amusement parks to general parks for recreation, beaches, snowy sims for snow recreation...Really, the only limit is our(read:your) imagination.

Some of my favorite things to do in sl include the following, in no particular order, and I often just do a search inworld and then randomly tp around to places(I'm also usually by myself when I do them too, but not always):

bowling

surfing/boating

amusement parks-regular, water parks, haunted amusement parks

going to the zoo-there's a bunch

visiting nature type parks and wandering, cycling, etc..

riding random railroads

mini-golf, regular golf(mini golf is way more fun for me, lol)

visiting replicas of places in rl-paris, grand canyon, "disney" theme parks, used to visit the africa sims but they're gone now and their replacement suck(I do not recommend this place, it is really bad in somparison to the old ones, lol, BUT, I haven't checked in recent months so there might be a better replacement by now)

space type sims

the giant bubble thing(lmao, i have totally forgotten its name, but it's a slide, you ride a bubble, it's a psychadelic type ride that seems to last forever...someone please tell the OP the name of it, I know you folks know)

visiting some of the oldest sims/builds in sl, like the giant beanstalk, that sucker is FUN

libraries-yes there are some, especially in community sims, where you can go in and read books, or even touch them to get a copy of the book(both in physical book form as well as in notecard form)

I also enjoy building, which is what I do the most in sl. I either do do on my own land, or I visit sandboxes(not premium ones) and build there. Although my buiding has changed drastically over the years, I do still enjoy it, I just have to spend a lot more time thna I used to getting things right(poor vision getting poorer by the day, eventually I'll have to give it up entirely, blind folks can't exactly build in sl and I'm not that far off from being fully blind) 

drive around in random vehicles that I own, or find available on sims-this is another one which I am horrendous at(driving) which can be attributed to my lack of vision, I truly am a terrible driver in sl-I would be in rl too, if I could drive in rl, lmao

shooting zombies-this one is great fun, haha

arcades-another favorite of mine, you can often find the sims these are on are also somewhat interesting

ummmm, I forgot what else I was going to put here. Anyway, think of things you'd like to do, have never done, or even already enjoy in rl, then go hog wild with the search. You are bound to find something that you enjoy. There are literally thousands upon thousands of different rp(roleplay) areas in sl, some might fit your needs too. 

My last, and most important bit of info....Sl needs absolutely NO money, in order to be enjoyable. Yes, it's nice if you can spend some, but you do not have to. I literally went years upon years without spending a dime of rl money, even made money during that time frame. I have bought lindens for sl twice, since 2004. Every other $L I spend, is because I made it in sl. It might "seem" like to need to spend money to have "the best", but, personally "the best" is subjective and not necessarily actually "the best"(just because folks think so, doesn't make it so, lol).

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Madelaine McMasters

Madelaine McMasters

Posted
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I don't know why you're 30 years younger than the rest of us. It doesn't matter, it's all in your head.

During my first few weeks here, I examined the map to spot the green dots, and teleported in to those regions with the most. I'd then fly up high and zoom around looking at the ground and the map. When I was over a cluster of dots, I'd stop flying, knowing that once I hit the ground (I've since purchased a silly "Crashing into the ground" animation, complete with cloud of dust) I'd have some explaining to do. More often than not, it worked. Sometimes it worked well enough I'd make a friend.

Those were earlier days and friends were perhaps easier to make, but the point of my exercise (and it is exercise) was to propel myself into introductions and the rejections that sometimes result, thereby building my social muscles. I've been working to build those muscles my entire life. Like Freya, I find that SL is an effective gym.

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Phil Deakins

Phil Deakins

Posted
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I can't help you with anything, because my SL experience isn't what most people would call fun or anything along those lines. But I just wanted to say that both Freya's and Tari's posts are excellent. If I were looking for fun/enjoyable things to do in SL, I don't think I'd need to read any more than those 2 posts.

I've only ever come across Freya in the forum, but I read a recent post of hers in which she describes what she's got out of SL. It's truly astonishing. Very impressive. Some people have actually made very significant RL money out of SL too. That's another side of it.

I'll butt out now. I just wanted to compliment those two posts.

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Phil Deakins

Phil Deakins

Posted
Posted

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

Phil Deakins wrote:

Freya Mokusei wrote:

I've met so many great people

Aaw, Freya. I'm blushing :smileyembarrassed:

 

Oh wait! We've never met, have we
:(

She wasn't talking about you, Phil!

Never mind that I haven't "met" Freya yet either, she won't be disappointed.

;-).

I can dream, can't I?

But nobody should ever be conned into meeting you, Maddy - not on your terms anyway. And not unless they don't mind ending up as a roast meat dinner, or between 2 slices of bread :P

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Tari Landar

Tari Landar

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Posted

Dopedragn wrote:

 Why is everyone 30 years older than me?

I forgot this part.

Unless you're under 18(in which case, there is enough of sl that you probably shouldn't be visiting anyway, lol), most users aren't likely to be anywhere near 30 years older than you, lol. I am certainly nowhere near it, neither are most I run into.  Where you choose to go, and the time of day, might play a much larger role in this than you think.

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Darrius Gothly

Darrius Gothly

Posted
Posted

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

Rhonda Huntress wrote:

steph Arnott wrote:

I am not 30 years older than you or anyone else thankyou.

I'm 30 years older than sin.

 

The first 30 years of your life must have been dreadful, as you waited for sin to come along.

Or it took you 30 years to invent it.

So THAT's who has been getting all my royalties payments!! *snort*

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