Most populated areas?

[DrSpaceMan69]

So I just downloaded this game a few nights ago. I'm enjoying it to a degree but I basically have no idea what I'm doing. I can't seem to find any populated areas besides Social Island, and many of them are Away/idle. A few people talked to me early on but I was still figuring everything out. 

 

But everytime I go into a portal, it's almost completely dead everywhere. Maybe 1 or 2 people, but again they seem idle and not actively playing. 

 

Is there a location to go to that there is always something going on? Or do I just have to wait for the events? I don't care too much about changing up my avatar and all that. Just want to find a large group of people. 

[Monti Messmer]

Hello, first of all it´s not a "game". Some people feel offended at the use of game and players.

Ballrooms, Naked Beach areas ... it all depends on your interest.

Live Concerts and such

Look at the world map, where all the green dots "hide". No open chat doesn´t mean everyones afk.

Monti

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

Instead of thinking of this as a game, a genre which tends to have prepared route and starting tutorials, imagine you've just moved into a large city that's new to you. What would you do? How quickly would you expect to find kindred spirits to hang out with? That's what SL is like, except it's the whole world in your computer.

Use search to look for things which interest you. See what's listed in the Destination Guide. Shopping events are insanely popular, but I don't know if they're good for socialising with strangers. They might be, if you're into that kind of thing. Go places, read profiles (try clicking on the avatar), and say hello to people. Not everyone follows local chat, so if there's no response try IMs. And be patient, it's easy to miss an IM when it comes through, especially if you're not expecting it.

Over the years, I've received several hellos from strangers which were followed shortly by angry dismissals and when I wrote to apologise for being slow to respond (and we're talking less than 15 minutes), the person would be logged out already. I'm always happy to help someone new get orientated, so they would have had someone to talk with if they had just been a bit more understanding and patient.

If you find somewhere you like the look of that is empty, see if you can find out more about it. It could be that you're there at the wrong time of day.

SL can seem endlessly frustrating, but it can also be a lot of fun and very rewarding. Depends on how much effort you're willing to put in.

 

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

Just noticed the numbers at the end of your name. If that's a sexual reference cause you're wanting some, don't try hitting on random women. You might get lucky, but more likely you'll run into women (and men playing female avs) who have been hit on over and over and over again. Some won't be polite in turning you down. If you hit on me and pretend that you're willing to be friends instead when I say no, I will invite you to my shop and giggle quietly while you pretend to be interested in ancient art.

There are some dance places and ballrooms which are meat markets. Or they used to be, I haven't been to one in ages. It shouldn't be hard to find their names. Nude beaches too. And an entire island for adult specific activities.

If it's not a sexual reference (cause 1969 was an absolute boom year for male births :matte-motes-wink:), you might want to abandon the account and start over with a new name. Otherwise, you'll have to work against the first impression it makes.

[DrSpaceMan69]

It is a sexual reference  but not in a serious way. I just wanted to make the name as ridiculous as possible. I couldn't care less about getting laid in this "virtual world." But I do want to meet people and have some conversations. That's my goal here. I didn't really put that much thought into it. It's a reference to a character from the show 30 Rock, and the name was taken so had to add a number. If I meet someone and we like eachother great, but I don't care about getting it on "virtually" just chatting and finding similar interests, going on "dates" that sounds fun to me. But sex stuff would do nothing for me wth just pixels that arne't even rendering properly on my crappy laptop.

Can I not just change the number somehow? If it's really an issue I'd change but I have talked to a few people and would prefer not to have to start over. because it took forever to even find those few people. 

 

I guess I just figured I wouldn't have to look aroudn to find crowds of people. I didn't know there was this much area, with so few people. I've found a few areas that are well populated but that's it. Even clicking on the destinations and events it still seems pretty scarce from what I was expecting. 

 

Truthfully IRL I have social anxiety disorder. I figured this would just be a cool way to socialize without having such anxiety, and maybe it would actually help me at socializing IRL as well.

[Alwin Alcott]

you can not change the username, unless you start a new account ( is allowed)

But you can change your display name.

ONce a week you can change it, or if you dislike it, reset it at any moment to your username, but have to wait a week again before able to change it.

 

Be also "carefull"  in what the choice of lifestyle is... lot of people "know" eachother, or are even alts...once your name is going around as one night stand, it's not easy to get rid of that reputation.

[DrSpaceMan69]

I wouldn't know how about getting a one night stand on this even if I wanted to, but don't really have interest in that. Only reason I even go to the adult areas is if there are more people there, and more social/willing to talk to strangers. 

I guess if a woman in-world came up to me and suggested it I wouldn't say n,o, I might even pretend to be into it.. But only because it's something to do, I'd much rather just chat. I just want to make friends. I'm surprised somewhat how seriously it is taken though in regards to sex, I can understand how it can be meaningful for people who have had a long term relationship in the game, but starting off I don't see the appeal at all. 

 

I went to a strip club in the game, just because there were people in there. But there was no chatting or talking going on so it's poinltess to me. There's a lot to do in this world, I just want to be actually doing it with people. I wish there were people I knew personally IRL who play it,.

An old online friend of mine used to play this game and I told her I joined. Maybe if she starts back up that would help just to explore these areas while having someone to talk to. 

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

---

DrSpaceMan69 wrote:

I do want to meet people and have some conversations.

---

So you want to talk to people. That's your goal. Where do people gather to meet others and talk in real life? Pubs, cafes, clubs, book clubs, churches, and bars are a few that come to mind.

You can find locations for all of the above and plenty more through the Place tab in Search. How busy any one of them will be depends on when their regulars tend to show up, so it can be worth paying attention to things like time zones and returning to places you like the look of.

Words like "friendly" will also get you some places to try. Beaches tend to be social areas too, some are hang out places and some are romance or hook up orientated.

The Blarney Stone Pub on the Dublin sim has a long standing reputation for being friendly. I just checked while I was inworld and it's still there. The London sims have several pubs, I used to hang out in one of those in the UK evenings long ago. I have fond memories of London Hyde Park, but that was more about trying to get the rideable horses to jump things or down into the subway. :matte-motes-smile: The conversation in the park was never my speed, but it might suit you.

The big meat markets, erm ballrooms, seem to always be busy. I met a few genuinely nice people there.

Search (both Groups and Places) for specific interests like sci fi or music or a particular genre. And so on. Logging into SL is more like turning on your computer than entering a chat room. All sorts of things are available for the finding. Explore the places that interest you, join groups and keep an eye out for other people wandering around looking for someone to talk to.

As for your name, some people will be put off by it. Alwin has told you about changing the Display Name which is a good intermediate option. You can also have more than one account, so you can always try another and see if it makes a difference. SL can be great for people with social anxiety but you do have to be willing to experiment and explore.

Good luck and welcome.

[PinkWarded]

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nelsonia/133/182/23

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/86/232/24

:smileyvery-happy:

[Zev Titanium]

IM me in world @ Zev Titanium i'll hand you a bunch of landmarks to the best sims for socializing