Account Creation: Do new accounts currently get surnames? What about avatar options?

[MerryMinty]

What's going on with creation of new accounts? I just created an account and I understood I'd have surnames to choose from, and avatars to choose from. Instead, I was given only the option to have a one-word username, plus I was not taken through avatar creation to customize my first avatar before logging on.

Having entered a one-word username, email address, a password, and a password hint,  I got a message that basically said, that's it, you have an account, log in--and when I did, I was surprised by having just some random, default, starter avatar. And no surname.

Someone said if you sign up for Premium you get a surname but that does not appear to be the case, either. I tried Firefox and Safari and both had the same sign-up process with no choice of avatar nor choice of surname. Does it matter what country you live in, or what browser you use to sign up?

Thanks for any helpful thoughts on this!

[steeljane42]

7 minutes ago, MerryMinty said:

Someone said if you sign up for Premium you get a surname but that does not appear to be the case, either.

That someone was wrong. As a premium you only get an option to pay for the name change for 40$. Look it up in your dashboard here. https://secondlife.com/my/account/index.php?lang=en-US

[MerryMinty]

Ohhhhh, I see. I guess it only makes sense that something so many people wanted would be monetized, huh. Thank you for the info!

[Lucia Nightfire]

59 minutes ago, MerryMinty said:

Ohhhhh, I see. I guess it only makes sense that something so many people wanted would be monetized, huh. Thank you for the info!

We can still offer free hugs and cat pics. 😻

[Rowan Amore]

3 hours ago, MerryMinty said:

avatars to choose from

There are tons of avatars in your Library folder.  Choose one.

[animats]

4 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

There are tons of avatars in your Library folder.  Choose one.

Yes. Especially if you got stuck with the male default, "70s disco guy with radio". The female default, "dress and big floppy hat with purse and small dog" is not as bad.

Go to Firestorm Help Island or New Resident Services (which you can find via "Search" in the "Content" menu) for better avatar and clothing options. Their stuff is all free. Don't spend money on expensive avatars and clothing until you have the clothing options figured out.

Clothes shopping in SL is about as complicated as shopping in real life. Really good looks are possible, but take some work to achieve.

[Persephone Emerald]

SL residents used to get a choice of last names years ago, but in one of the leadership changes someone decided they were no longer necessary. Then for a while it became a kind of status marker between older and newer users as to whether one had a last name of not. There have pretty much always been users who wanted to change their user name after they picked it, so during another leadership change LL decided to charge people for that privilege. In order to get a last name now, one has to become a Premium member, then pay $40 to change their name (first, last or both).

I suggest using one of the avatar outfits in the Library folder of you Inventory until you've explored SL for a while and decided whether you really want to spend time here or not. Then try using a free mesh avatar, or a free mesh body and head. Mesh bodies and heads look nicer than the standard ones and can be alot of fun to dress up, but they also complicate the user experience. 

Edited December 10, 2021 by Persephone Emerald

[Racheal Rexen]

Youtube is your friend for creating free avatars

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=second+life+free+avatar

[Maitimo]

The avatars you used to select during account creation are now done solely in-world.

The easiest way to find the newer, better ones are by clicking this button on your toolbar:

Each one you select will not only be immediately changed on your avatar, it will also create a folder in your inventory for it. You can mix and match items from different avatars*, so select a few or even all of them. So you can wear hair from one, skin from another, clothes from another and so-on.

* There is a section called "Vampires" - all the avatars in this section are custom mesh that cannot be modified and you cannot mix-and-match them (and they are also ugly, and you can't change their clothes) so don't bother with those. Just look at New, Fantasy and Classic.