“Older” Second Life residents would agree that some noob-like behavior in Second Life is funny at its best and downright annoying at its worst.
Agreed?
But how do they know if nobody tells them?
If you are new to Second Life, read this blog post. It will help you get settled much more quickly in the new environment you just joined and will help you avoid the most common pitfalls.
Promised.
Just get yourself a cup of tea and keep reading with an open mind!
The most important thing first:
Second Life is not a game!
It is a virtual social environment—a virtual World. The avatars you see are not just pixel dolls put there for your exclusive entertainment.
Behind each one of these avatars is a real person with real feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations—which might differ from yours!
Many of the people behind those avatars take their Second Lives pretty seriously. Some might have a business in Second Life, many have a virtual home, and most have made friends and established other social relationships within Second Life.
Also, remember that Second Life is not an “American only” thing. People from all over the world, from different cultures, countries, educational backgrounds, and languages are present in Second Life.
This is what makes Second Life diverse and exciting.
It also requires some “etiquette”. It sounds weird to read this. No, it only sounds funny if you are under the misconception that Second Life is a game. This is so important to understand that it bears repeating:
Second Life is not a game!
Once you have accepted this little but all-important fact, you will understand that typical noob-like behavior is boring at its best and downright annoying to regular residents of Second Life.
We all have observed certain behavioral patterns of noobs over and over again. If you want to be taken seriously, accepted, and respected by other residents, you better stop doing those things immediately.
Landing on Regions
Step off of landing points as soon as you can. See the people hovering over you? They’re waiting for you to get out of the way so they can land. More are coming. Move.
Read the rules of regions where available. Ignorance is not an excuse.
Sexual Harassment
Don’t ask everyone you meet if they “wanna fuck” and don’t tell every female avatar that you meet that they are a guy. Some of them are guys (and vice versa)– so what? It’s their choice and not yours to judge.
Believe it or not, there are people in Second Life who are not interested in sexual activities. If sex is your primary interest in Second Life, visit regions designed for that or get a hooker. In all other regions, leave people alone.
Sending unsolicited nude, or worse, dick pics IS sexual harassment and might get you blocked fast. Nobody (literally nobody) wants to see them.
Nudity
Pay attention to region maturity levels, and don’t walk around naked or in XXX attire in General areas. And put your cock away. It is not a turn-on for anyone when being in a music club and a naked noob runs around showing off his pixel erection.
Do you want to be naked? OK, go to one of the many nude beaches in Second Life.
Violence
Don’t push people or walk or bump into them. Don’t shoot at them, no matter how cool you think that new AK47 is, which you just got at a freebie warehouse. And NO, activating a nuclear weapon in a nightclub is NOT funny!
Go to role-play regions designed for that. There is a wide choice of those.
Communication
Check your screen for helpful IMs from the people around you, and be courteous when answering them.
Learn and practice some of the etiquette of your new culture. Utilize some of the etiquette you learned in real Life in Second Life, too. In virtual worlds, words like “please” and “thank you” are not unknown.
Not every woman who refuses to dance (or fuck) with you is a lesbian. Did you get rejected? Deal with it maturely.
Do not send random friend requests or teleport invitations. Please get to know that person first and ask before putting them on your friends list! The same applies for voice calls. Not everybody wants to use voice in Second Life.
Read the fucking profile before you approach somebody. People did try to tell you a couple of things about them. The profile usually states what they like, what groups they participate in, and most importantly, what they DO NOT WANT.
Money
Do not beg for Linden Dollars! Linden Dollars are not Habbo Hotel credits. The Linden Dollar is an exchangeable currency you can buy and sell at the Lindex Exchange for real US Dollars. Treat it like real money because it is convertible into real money.
Buy some Linden Dollars. They are not expensive. For 1 USD, you get about 250 L$. It’s no big deal.
Please don’t bore us with those old and lame excuses, such as I don’t have a credit card, or I get my next paycheck in a week. We heard that a thousand times, and we know it is bullshit.
Tip people who entertain you. That DJ at the music club is not on a wage. He is doing that for you based on tips. Please show your appreciation instead of taking it for granted.
Intolerance
Do not insult people; don’t be judgmental or intolerant. This one might sound obvious, but it’s worth putting on this list. Nobody asked you to come to Second Life to judge other people’s lifestyles, beliefs, hobbies, outfits, or sexual preferences.
It’s none of your friggin business! If you disapprove of a liberal environment, leave, Second Life is not for you!
Privacy
Do not ask people you have just met for real-life information. It is none of your business. Most Second Life residents want to stay anonymous – respect that.
Do not share personal communication or any real-life information about a person with others. These are the grounds for banning you from Second Life. Yes, it is that serious!
Do not intrude into people’s private homes. They pay for it and want privacy.
Appearance
Work on your avatar. We all know the starter avatars. We all have those in our inventories, including the new Senra avatars. Want to be identified instantly as a noob? Then use those.
It does take some effort to create a nice-looking avatar, but it’s worth it. You can have a better-looking avatar even on a low budget.
See ya In-World. I am on the run for some screenshots of typical noob-like behavior.
This one\’s been around for a while but here\’s a few from me:
1. Slightly related to the landigpoints and \”wanna fuck\”-types of advice; if you end up TP\’ing into a club, participate! Chat, dance, explore. You might get noticed by someone. It might even be someone that\’ll end up helping you pull your avie out of noob-dom (no guarantee, but there have always been kind souls around in even the most unexpected places on SL). On my very first account, long ago, I visited a futa place out of curiosity regarding whether it\’d be something I might enjoy or not, got hit on by a few people, and two of them ended up dragging my butt into a long winding tour of shops where they basically force-fed me all the outfits (and some furniture) that I as much as looked at for more than a second. Felt awkward, felt like I owed them big-time, but they insisted that I didn\’t. they just liked helping neww people get their barings. On top of that example, actually participating makes people see that there\’s an actual person wearing the skin of that noobie avatar.
2. An extension to the \”not every female that refuses to dance/hump with you is a lesbian/male\”-thing; Being turned down sucks, but it does not, and I mean absolutely not, give you any right to throw a tantrum – or worse, to start a griefing campaign against everyone on the sim. If anything, that crap can get you banned from the sim or possibly even from SL itself.
3. Don\’t just accept animations/objects/scripts from anyone. This is basic safety; yes, there are those who are genuinely generous or have other legit reasons to want to send you something, but there have also always been those who\’ve wanted to simply inflict as much misery on random people in SL. It\’s frankly a gamble that you don\’t want to take. You might be getting a cute teddybear, or you might be getting something that drains your L$ (if you end up consenting to debit permissions), trashes your inventory, or maybe makes a royal shitfest of your avatar – or makes you their little griefing puppet, so you might unknowingly be turned into a nuissance for other SL residents.
Here\’s one for you Don\’t Do List for Noobies. If you see a person on their home/boat/plane dont just land there or sit in their vehicle. If they are on their land you might IM or shout to them something like \”Knock, Knock\”. If they say \”Who\’s There?\” resist the temptation to tell a joke and ask for permission to come in or on their land.
Nice one.
🙂
Carol
While this goes for all people no matter how little or long they have been with Second Life, a piece of helpful advice would be to not plaster your politics everywhere. There are political groups with their own destinations. Keep it there.
Sheree
Thanks for the comments.
I actually do very rarely see politics in Second Life.
Carol
I forgot you wrote this … it’s still very useful and actual!
I’m far from new, but I /am/ new to the mesh body thing. I got the Maitreya one and while the posing visuals during erotic escapades are better than the flat butted olde tyme avatars, it distorts in other ways. Prompting me to ask a Noobish questions:
a) what’s the best mesh body for such adventures (other poses for totally unrelated activities in SL may be similarly disatisfying, so it’s a general question really)
b) am I just organizing the avatar wrong?
As a female, the visuals aren’t the most compelling part. They’re cartoons after all. But still…
Hi Morwen
I am using Maitrey too , and it looks just fine.
Carol
I am new to SL and the only thing I know how to do is walk around. which is weird because i’ve always been good at gaming and simulators and stuff like that. Is there any way you could help me get started? I know nothing about SL but it looks fun
Why are most of these aimed at males? There are plenty of females noobs that see a well done male av and the first words are “damn, you look good. Wanna fuck?”
Same with all of your other thoughts..
\”Why are most of these aimed at males? There are plenty of females noobs that see a well done male av and the first words are “damn, you look good. Wanna fuck?”\”
Because they\’re men.