What is there to do in SL?

[TheKhajiit]

Asking as a new user: aside from shopping, what kind of activities are there to do here?  I'm finding a mostly dead world with an occasional cluster of people dancing in clubs while being totally silent in chat.

[Lucia Nightfire]

Can you tell us what other MMOs have you played and prefer and why?

And, maybe, what are you looking for as far as community/entertainment/features?

[Mollymews]

can play table board games. There are a number of places that have these tables set out. At the busier places can usually find others to sit and play with. Can find them in Search

another thing is vehicles. There are a number of vehicle groups which organise road and boat trips on a regular/weekly basis

a third is if you are into books and readings. A number of places have regular events. Like this one:  https://modemworld.me/2020/11/09/spirits-siblings-and-weird-tales/

other people will maybe post here as well about inworld group activites that you might be into having a look

[LittleMe Jewell]

Hover your mouse over the items at the top of your Dashboard (https://secondlife.com/my) and check out some of the links Under "What's Next":  

[Rowan Amore]

You could also check the Place and Events sub forum here.

[TheKhajiit]

1 hour ago, Mollymews said:

a third is if you are into books and readings. A number of places have regular events. Like this one:  https://modemworld.me/2020/11/09/spirits-siblings-and-weird-tales/

This is great, thanks!  I am interested in books.  Art is another thing I'm quite into.

I don't play mmos.  I wasn't looking for anything gamey like that, although I'm not against trying it out.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

20 minutes ago, TheKhajiit said:

This is great, thanks!  I am interested in books.  Art is another thing I'm quite into.

I don't play mmos.  I wasn't looking for anything gamey like that, although I'm not against trying it out.

Look for a group called "Bookstacks" -- but there are a number of groups that have readings and book discussions. Also, as I recall, "Four Bridges" does these.

You can spend hours and hours and hours touring art galleries in SL -- some of what there is to see is simply astonishing. Check out the group "Immersiva," which is run by Bryn Oh, one of the better known and more interesting installation artists in SL. You can find some of her stuff in machinima on YouTube; I think her installation "Hand" is still open? Another favourite gallery of mine is DixMix.

If you're looking to socialize and meet people, you just need to find the right places. Some clubs are, as you note, mostly for couples or are pickup spots: they tend not to feature a lot of open chatter, but I go to about 3 or 4 regularly that do. One you might check out is The Velvet, which features DJs most nights (in Canada and the US) -- the music is very eclectic, but the people are chatty and friendly.

The Destination guide is a good spot to find interesting places to visit. These aren't always "art" per se, but just lovingly and beautifully made simulations of . . . whatever. Some of them are recreations of real places, some are gorgeous natural settings, and others are science fiction and fantasy. These can be just lovely experiences -- especially if you can find friends to explore them with you.

There is also building and creating things. Most commercial goods these days in SL are made out-of-platform, but it's still possible to build really great and interesting things using in-world tools. There are public sandboxes where you can do this, as well as places that will provide guides, tutorials, and workshops on how to do so. Photography is also very big in SL now, and we have some great tools for that. Check out Flickr in particular (and skip over the porn you'll find there, unless that's your thing of course).

There are a ton of other things -- role playing, for instance, or communities of interest that focus on things such as art, politics, literature, or what-have-you.

It can take some time and effort, but trust me . . . I've been here off and on for 12 years, and never been bored.

Edited November 12, 2020 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

5 hours ago, TheKhajiit said:

I'm finding a mostly dead world with an occasional cluster of people dancing in clubs

I know. It's just like RL, being dropped onto the globe randomly. If you happen to end up on land, you'd most likely end up in the Sahara, the Gobi desert or Siberia.

5 hours ago, TheKhajiit said:

people dancing in clubs while being totally silent in chat.

That's what I found weird and eerie too, when I was new. But rest assured, it's mostly 1-on-1 private IMs that are happening there. Most clubs I know have plenty of chatter in local chat, though. And plenty of gestures.