Oh my..! That’s what I thought when I read Berry’s Monday Meme and it took me a bit to think on how to participate on this one : give 5 advices to Second Life Newbies…Sounds simple, but it isn’t ? There is so much to tell, warn, explain, point out and there are tons of forumposts, fora, blogs and sites filled with valuable information already. But I am going to give it a try and list the 5 things I would give as quick tips, rather than advice, to new residents. Be sure to check Berry’s post and all the comments too!
1. In general: take your time, relax and do not panic!
2. Start with getting familiar with the viewer and most of all: learn to move around smooth, without bumping into walls and (what can be perceived as annoying) learn to not bump into/run over other people when in a crowded place. Learn how to unpack purchases and how to get dressed. Practice somewhere quiet and try out what the controls do to your avatar!
3. Realise that you do not NEED to do anything. You do not need to make tons of friends if you are not into that, you do not need to spend real money to look good, heck..you do not even need to ‘look good’. You do not need to buy land or rent a house when you start, or maybe you never want it! Well, maybe at some point you will, but don’t hurry. Do what you feel and what you like, but do it without being a asshole.
4. Try to see Second Life as a world you migrated to, where you will meet other people who did the same. Some a couple of years ago, some around the same time as you. We are all from other countries, cultures and backgrounds which is wonderful for diversity! Be aware not everybody ‘speaks the same language’ as you. And I do not only mean that literally. Be polite, be friendly and keep in mind that what you may find funny and hilarious, someone else may find offensive. Then again, if you run into oversensitive souls…shrug it off and move on.
5. Explore the world! Go places, use the Destination Guide (and my blog of course) to travel around and get immersed in the wonderful places others created and opened for all of us to enjoy. That way you you can combine all of the above: you can meet people, you will see what is possible and available in SL, you can practice your movement and the camera controls and best of all: you will have a great time!
Cait's World 
Loved the bit about thinking of SL as a place you migrated to. I never thought of phrasing it that way, but it’s perfect :-)
Also loved the nods to both Ruth (the long brown hair) and the Girl Next Door (pink and white polkadot dress) in your images. Both made me grin, probably because I remember both well. I think I still have the first snapshot I took in SL, of Roth!newb Skell, sitting on that throne in the huge castle on Welcome Island, surrounded by a variety of other Roths and Ruths. And then, oh! the excitement at getting new default avatars! With prim attachments!
These young’uns these days. *shakes mesh Zimmer frame* They dunno they’re born. *tsk*
(Apologies if this comment hits your moderation queue twice. Sodding WordPress wouldn’t let me log in!)
Thank you Skell! (yeah, I deleted the double entry ;p).
I never describe SL as a game or ‘platform’ and because I feel myself a ‘resident’ of SL, for me it makes sense to call it another world/place, somewhere I ended up after leaving another (RL) behind, if only to keep in mind the ppl you meet did likewise and come from other RL’s.
And I smiled because you saw what I did in my pics, haha. It’s something us ‘oldbies’ will always remember. (The outfit on pics is, of course DUH….eyeroll….MESH!, but the original one is still the test female charactar). I was born as that gorgeous girl in jeans, purple shirt and flipflops. And the brown system hair. Which I managed to colour in rainbow and then freaked out. I have fond memories of Orientation Island, where I lived my first month – thinking THAT was Second Life, till someone pointed me to the exit and I ended up inworld and got the shock of my SL. Oh good times, 2007…yeah, them nowadays youngsters have NO idea how excited we were on prim hair – after the systemhair (lolol) , fleaxiprims for gowns instead of wearing the static parachute and finally mesh…Sighs.
By the way, loved your blog and pics and err..that freenis….please burn it. Now.
Nooo! Not my freenis! I’m keeping my freenis forever. *pets and strokes it and… oh wait… no, that’s probably not a good idea…*
Really good advice . Also, I kind of want that dress!
Thanks Krix :). The dress is from Vero Modero!
Great advice Caitlin. I especially loved that you don’t NEED to do anything! So true – I felt this overwhelming learning curve in front of me at first, but letting that idea go and just *being* is a good reframe!