Shade Ihnen

If this is in the wrong forum section, please move it. :matte-motes-stress: Anyway, hi. I made this account years ago because I was curious about SL, but my computer was too slow to handle it so I left it alone after a single log-in. Recently I decided to come back and I am 100% more confused than ever before! Things I have done Read the Basics Page and surfed around the related Knowlege Base articlesLogged back into the Clent (I'm on Linux!) and wandered around a littleSurfed around in the shops directory a littleLurked a little in forums (not a lot, mind you, just a little!)What's the confusion? Well, everything has changed! This place has gotten huge with a huge map, huge shops, and huge amounts of random reading. Could you maybe answer a few questions or point me towards specific useful pages (that aren't easily found off the Basics Page and related pages)? 1) How do you find places with people in it? (Or maybe I shouldn't play SL at 3 AM :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2:) 2) How do you pick up/use items? I found a innertube slide and couldn't figure out how to use the tubes. 3) Is it possible to filter out demos in the shops? I just want to see actual, usable things. 4) Where is the newbie area located again or is the place with the huge waterslide actually the newbie area? 5) Portal links don't work for me. Is there an alternate way of teleporting in-game? 6) Are there any other ancient newbies or at least people who were away forever? Maybe we can get lost together! Thanks for the tips/help!