OMG, I just tried basic mode and I so need to rant.

[Curious Hazelnut]

Yes, I know basic mode is for new residents, not those that have been around for years. Yes, I'm sure it is the way it is so that SL can be integrated into Facebook (we can skip the part where I hate Facebook). I'm also sure that basic mode will get a few new capabilities over time. But I still need to rant a bunch.

I remember when I first joined Second Life. It was a few days after I found out that there was a free account option, several months after they actually had that option. What got me interested was the phrase "Your world, your imagination". I stuck around because I met some interesting people who showed me some fun things to do. What would have gotten me to "upgrade" to a premium account was a place to have a "home". In other words, if a premium account had come with land, I would have got one within the first week.

At the time they still had the "first land" program. If you don't know what that is, lets just say it was a broken version of the Linden Homes without a house. I couldn't get any "first land", ever. They ended the program shortly after. So instead of getting a premium account in 2006, I remained a free account for years. Eventually they created the Linden Homes. I would have had a premium account with in 2 weeks of joining SL if they had them in 2006. So, now on to the rant...

I tried out basic mode. I tried it while thinking back to 2006. I gave up after less than 10 minutes. It does do some things right but it's missing some VERY important things that should have been included. The large selection of places to go is great. That is one of the things that was a big problem in 2006. Finding places you wanted to go was hard. The bad part, there is no "home" button. As noted above, I would have gotten a Linden Home very soon after joining but there's no way to go back home.

No inventory access is probably the biggest issue they have. I know orientation has changed a lot since 2006 but one of the first things I did was to mix and match my own custom outfit. You can't do that in basic mode. You are the avatar you log in with or one from a selection. That's it. No way to customize your clothing. No way to get freebies. For goodness sake, it was all the clothing and outfit options that got me to stick around as long as I did the first day. No inventory also means no toys. No bubble guns, no impossible to drive cars, no nothing. And until you have land there's only three things to do in SL. You can play with your toys, socialize with others, and go exploring. No toys, now we are down to 2.

Exploring is something they got mostly right. All the different places are nicely sorted and easy to navigate. But where's the landmarks? Web browsers have bookmarks, it's something everyone able to get SL started will understand. It's also essential for getting back to places you like. Mind you, what they missed was pretty big. In my opinion it was not-yet-out-of-alpha testing big.

This leaves noob activity number 3, socializing. Well, there is text chat. What happened to voice in SL? A few years back, the Lindens forced voice on us. There were protests. I heard rumors of people dumping land and quitting SL over it (not sure I believe it but I did hear it). Voice was going to ruin role-play and the "emersive experience". It did neither. Some groups don't use voice. Mostly it's there if you want to use it. A very few places I'm aware of have switched over to voice completely. The casual social scene (that I know of) uses voice quite a bit. People chat. And now, after all that pushing of voice into SL, the Lindens have taken it away again. At least they did for the noobs. What happened there?!?! Seriously, most established communities look down at noobs. Any community that operates, even partially, in voice is going to look at the anyone without voice as noobs and they are going to have an even harder time integrating into a community they think of as potentially fun.

I think that's my rant. At least the major stuff. thanks for listening and feel free to comment, but I'm going to ignore anyone who disagrees with me. Not because you are wrong and I'm right but because we aren't going to fix anything by arguing.

[Void Singer]

can I get an advanced mode with line breaks for your post? that wall of text stopped me from reading.

[Yeso Kidd]

First thing.  Please use some spaces between paragraphs or thoughts.  Maybe use some bullet items of the things you think are wrong.  Wow, I cant believe I read it all before my eyes crossed. lol

Second, how do you get into basic mode or enable it.  I would like to try it myself.

Third, of what you said and the things Ive heard, LL has really missed the mark on making a basic viewer that would work for new people.

[Void Singer]

 

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Yeso Kidd wrote:

Second, how do you get into basic mode or enable it.  I would like to try it myself.

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on the login screen of the viewer, there is a new combo box next to the login button that lets you switch from basic, to advanced, or vice versa.

 

[Yeso Kidd]

Thank you Void for the information.  I knew it had to be simple and I was overlooking it. lol

Wow, the OP was right.  The Basic is less than basic.  Its barely more than a picture window into the grid.  You only have a choice of some chosen AVs to select and some chosen destinations to go to.  Other than that its usless.  I cant even buy some free clothes I found.

Wow, no way I would stay if I was a noob and this was all I had to work with.

[Canoro Philipp]

i was going to talk about your ideas to be included in basic mode, but after reading:

"but I'm going to ignore anyone who disagrees with me. Not because you are wrong and I'm right but because we aren't going to fix anything by arguing."

i realized youre just a troll.

[Esme Capelo]

I also tried basic mode after someone who was returning to sl after a six month break couldn't find their inventory.

All of the top bar is missing and there is no inventory or landmarks.

I think that I would have become bored very quickly if I had, had to stay looking the same as I did at the beginning. A major part of the fun for me was getting the freebie clothes and changing. I think rather than making people stay this over simplification will bore them away.

Esme Capelo :-)

[Curious Hazelnut]

Sorry about the big block of text. Something messed up during the submission. I think it's fixed now.

I am not a troll. But the rant sure does read like I am. Sorry 'bout that.