Basic Communication in Second Life
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[edit] There are four main forms of communication in Second Life
Chat
Instant Messaging
Gestures
Voice
[edit] Chat
Clicking the "Chat" button at the bottom of your screen will open a small white bar just above it so that you may chat. If you type something there and press Enter, all the other people around you (fairly close to you) will be able to read, or "hear" what you've said.
If you want to use keys like "M" for Mouselook, you will have to push the chat button again to get rid of the chat entry box or it will assume you want to say "M"
There are more advanced commands like /whisper and /shout. Keep in mind that if you /shout everyone in the entire area will be able to hear you. Shouting is generally not appreciated in most Second Life areas so if you're going to use it, use it wisely.
[edit] Instant Messaging
An instant message is a way to speak privately to one person or a group of people. There are a few different ways to start an instant message.
[edit] For people you're looking at
1. Right click on a person's name hovering above their head and click "IM" This will open an instant message window with that person.
[edit] For your friends, not necessarily in the immediate vicinity
2. Click on your Friends button. This will bring up a list of people you have added as friends. Click on the name of the friend. Click "Instant Message" to open the instant message window and begin the fun.
[edit] For Second Lifers who are not on your friends list whose name you have and need to contact
3. Search for a person's name by clicking the Search button, then clicking their name and click "Instant Message"
[edit] In general
4. Click the IM button at the bottom right of your screen
[edit] Gestures
You can simulate movement by typing in your chat window: /me does a little happy dance. This will not actually make you do anything, but the people will see, for example "Greylin does a little happy dance"
When your chat window is open, on the bottom right of your screen is a drop down menu called, (did you guess?) gestures. These will animate your character and some come with interesting sounds (use sparingly in class). You can either click on the gestures to activate them, after which, they will activate you, OR you can type the /command. For example, I just attended a brilliant lecture on physics in Second Life. The speakers says she's done and thanks us for coming. We all type /clap to show our appreciation although she might have prefered L$ (Linden dollars).
It is recommended that you try out the gestures before doing with a lot of people around to make sure they're appropriate for the emotion you're trying to convey.
Used most often and easiest to remember:
/clap /laugh /cry
In order for any gesture to work if needs to be "active". If you type /laugh and nothing happens that means that the gesture in your inventory will need to be activated in order to work. Click on inventory, search for "laugh" and right click, on the laugh you want in your inventory. Then select "Active" and /laugh should work as a shortcut. If you right click and choose properties for gestures you can customize the shortcut key used to activate a gesture. I had one in my inventory that was a sample of Homer Simpson cheering "Whoo hooo!" but it's shortcut was /home so I switched it to /whoo which is easier for me to remember.
[edit] Voice
Voice is a new feature in Second Life. Just like with Elluminate, voice is best with a headset mic to reduce echo and feedback.
[edit] Edits
Greylin Fairweather 8/14/07
