Sunday, November 16, 2008

Three Questions


No - it doesn't ever get this bad...I just liked this t-shirt. :-P


At times, when things are quiet, I sit innocently sorting inventory at the SL Welcome Area or at Help Island while I wait and see if anyone will click on my profile and ask me about Starting Point. (Yes, I realize that is a very passive way of finding new residents, but if I do anything more aggressive I just get weirdos asking about it - and we don't take weirdos.) I must stop this behavior immediately, however.

Although I have met several very nice people who have gone on to become wonderful Starting Point residents using this method, I must stop recruiting from what are the two most depressing places in all of Second Life - for my own sanity.

One of the many reasons (yeah -- I am not even going to talk about the griefing) that the Welcome Area and Help Island can be so draining is that you get asked the same three questions over and over:

Question 1: Can we have the sex now?
I have been asked "to make the sex" or "where can I find sex?" more times than I care to remember just this morning. I usually respond by asking if they even know how to have sex in SL. Of course, they do not know how to, get frustrated with me and move on to the next target. Easy peasy.

Question 2: How do I get some money?
I am also at a loss when I am asked by someone very, very new how to make money in SL. Getting a job takes some savvy with SL itself - whether it is for a hostessing job or customer service. Escorting is not an option since they do not know how to "make the sex". And sending them camping seems like a mean thing to do to a new resident.

Question 3: What is there to do here?
Again, I am at a loss. This is because there is so darned much to do here! I could easily overwhelm a new resident with the possibilities. There is skydiving, going to the circus, touring museums, taking photos, shopping, dancing, horse back riding, building, and a bazillion other things including, yes, having the sex!

There is one bonus question, but it is one you'll end up asking yourself:
Why does Linden Labs let so many children onto the adult grid?
It is clear to me that there is an insane number of 14,15 and 16 year-olds signing up for SL accounts and ending up in the Welcome Area. You can tell who they are because they use the following "words": ur, wot, y, u, r, etc. They are also fond of using this sentence: "i dont no y u got2 b that way!" when they get a response they do not like. And, they never capitalize the word "I" for Pete's sake!!! Should I get all Mommy on them and threaten to take away their prims?

Please don't get me wrong -- I really enjoy helping new residents. I SLove sharing tips and helping them find things they need. But, I must find a happier place to meet new Starting Pointers....especially since some of our first residents are getting ready to leave the nest. (They have grown up so quickly! sniff)

Perhaps I will try the circus.


(P.S. Thank you to Dyami Jameson for bringing the SL circus to my attention!)
Posted by Tymmerie Thorne at 5:14 PM
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9 comments:

  1. Make sure you pick up the free clown stuff too!
    ReplyDelete
  2. I recently received an email from a university graduate, a young working adult, which means she's in her early 20's. Quote:

    "one of my dream is to publish a BEST-SELLING BOOK in nx 10yrs time.....but i need 2 start drafting in my mind already n gather info..."

    My first, very wicked thought:
    She wants to write a best-seller in 10 years? Obviously writing in text/SMS-speak is the way to do it! Way to go!

    Sheesh. It's a general decline in the language, and not restricted to teens anymore. *wipes away a tear*
    ReplyDelete
  3. Welcome Areas and Help Islands Public are indeed quite a confusion.

    Making money and having sex are two of the main drivers that bring people to SL. Many of them, however, when talking to mentors (official and non-official), see that SL is much more than that.

    My answers to the questions are usually:
    - About sex: take the chance to explain how to wear clothes and attach things (use inventory)and interact with other avis and objects; show them how to use search
    - About earning money: explain they can do their own stuff and sell it either in SLStreet/other offworld e-commerce or by renting a shop in world (some tutorial notecards and LMs given) and explain that, like in RL, money is earned by working hard
    - About "what to do", I ask them what they have as a hobby or what they would like to experiment and once again show them how to use search.

    As for the way they write I must agree with quaintly, the sms language is not restricted to teens. When I suspect they are underage I ask them directly how old they are in IM and they usually say it. Then I AR them (under Age and copying/pasting the dialogue) and Linden Lab is often very quick in either cancelling the account (under 13) or moving the account to teen grid - usually within an hour.

    Sorry for the post-like comment. Hope it helps :o)
    ReplyDelete
  4. U R sew R-on!

    Sweetheart, I think there may be some better places to recruit for new residents. I think if we go to places like Torley's "Here" island, or other educational places we might find some newbies that are making an effort to learn about more aspects of SLife than just Sex and Money. I had noticed a few more SP residents with groups like Hottie Von Hottie Ultra Hot Escorts and Super Mega Transgender A-Sexual Free SLex Island. At least now I know where they came from ;-)

    So honey, can we have the sex now? XOX ILY BFN :-P
    ReplyDelete
  5. Angel here. I wrote out a long silly comment earlier and then google ate it and I was too deflated to go through all that again so just wanted to say hi and let you know your blogger is failing its diet.

    Love that shirt too!
    ReplyDelete
  6. According to recent sources, ever since that whole Second Life adultery case came out, sign ups are going higher because people want to come in and find dates now. LOL

    We need to find out where the newbies head after they leave the Help Islands.
    ReplyDelete
  7. Help! Institute is growing their islands, and I think it may be less overwhelming tehre-- altho they are pretty popular (the way they run is nice)
    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't know if you've already thought of this place.. The Shelter? I went there alot when I first started in SL; it's a great place for new people to go and meet others.
    ReplyDelete
  9. You could create notecards to answer some of those basic questions and just hand out when asked (or copy and paste into chat).

    I agree with Margo that the Shelter is a great place to meet those new to SL. Another place might be the Gnubie store.

    Dorra Debs
    ReplyDelete

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