Second Life Guides

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Guides

The Basics

Best Places for Second Life Information and Tutorials

Freebie Warehouse

This is a place that any newbie must visit. Here you can find tons of cool things for personalizing your Second Life experience. They have scripts, gadgets, textures, buildings, furniture, and much more! The best part is it is all free! If you don’t have any Linden dollars, but still want to see what there is in SL to enjoy, the Freebie Warehouse is a must see.

New Citizen's Plaza - NCI, Dream City (190, 103, 24)

This New Citizen's Plaza is an excellent place to find a plethora of information and will quickly bring the newbie up to speed in Second Life. There are a lot interesting free goodies for the taking, free classes to learn new stuff, and a sandbox for you to practice your building skills. Check it out!

Designing your Avatar

Library and Education sites

EdTech Island

EdTech Island is a great place for virtual educators to find and share resources. The site is sponsored by Boise State University and includes several different areas for practicing building and holding events.

Best Education/Library Tools

Building Objects

Scripting

Recommended Places to Visit in SL

Are you interested in Second Life but won’t be able to squeeze in a SLIS class about it? Have you entered Second Life and wondered, “What now? Where should I go?” The categories listed below link to lists of interesting in-world places to visit. I chose specific locations for one or both of the following reasons:

They exploit the possibilities of the virtual environment in some way. They do not simply mimic real life environments and/or they provide real life information in interesting new ways (and often in ways that could not be easily replicated in the real world).
They stand out from other in-world locations due to the level of detail with which they have been rendered. They invoke a level of immersion that many in-world locations do not.

I also attempted to choose locations that demonstrate the range of activities in which people and their avatars are engaged in SL. These locations should give you a good sense of what is currently going on and what is possible in virtual environments. SL is more than a visual social space. And it’s not just a mecca for vice. You’ll find artists, scientists, educators, businesses, and governments represented here, testing ideas and providing information in new ways. Login and explore.

Advanced Guides

Griefer Wrangling

Luckily there are mostly really nice and wonderful people in Second Life but it only takes one griefer to ruin your day. A “griefer” is anyone who does something to ruin your virtual day. This can range from saying something rude, to an actual “physical” attack on your avatar. Remember that you can’t die in this world and there are several resources you have to protect you against griefers.

There are four basic types of attacks: 1. Harassment 2. Weapons 3. Cages 4. Object attacks 5. Particle attacks

Harassment occurs when someone is rude, vulgar or indecent. There are a few ways to deal with this. First, with an attack of any sort stay calm and click “help” at the top of your screen and “report abuse”. Even if you choose not to file a report, if you wait you may not have the opportunity to get the automatic photographic proof and name of the offender. Griefers are generally repeat offenders so this is a way that we can all work together and make the virtual world a better place.

If you have your chat history up you can mute objects or avatars. If the person is on land you own you can right click on their name, more, eject and ban. That will instantly remove the individual from your property and ban them from further entrance. If you do not own the land, you can click on the name of the place at the top of your screen and the parcel information will come up. You can IM the owner and tell them what happened and the name of the offender. Most land owners do not want their visitors harassed and are happy to add griefers to their ban lists. Remember that you can leave areas, or in extreme cases, log. Second Life is supposed to be fun and useful and, unlike the real world, you do not have to put up with virtual nonsense.

Weapons either cause “damage” shown as a percent at the top of your screen IF the area allows “damage” or push. In a damage allowed sim (not marked as safe, no damage) when your health gets down to zero percent it teleports you to your “home” point. Push weapons do just that, push your little avatar for some distance. Again, parcels with push off, which puts a little icon with a hand with a red circle and slash through it, greatly reduce the effects of push weapons. Movelock HUDS, or toolbars, when worn, eliminate any push you may have experienced.

Cages or jails are fired from weapons and surround you so that you cannot move. Setting a parcel to build and object entry to group only can restrict them. If you are on a parcel which allows those things, don't worry, they are ridiculously easy to escape from. As always, the first thing to do is to report abuse. Right click on the cage and click more until you see the option “report abuse”. The form will fill in the offender’s name from the cage information and you again have the option of submitting a photo (I always do). To escape from the cage, if you own the land, right click on the object and choose “return” which will return the cage to the griefer’s inventory. In any area you can click on the map button at the bottom of your screen and either click “Go Home” if you’ve had enough of that area, or double click anywhere near your location on the map which will simply teleport you to a spot nearby and outside the cage. Cages cost about ten Linden and are most often used be those into virtual battles or who have no idea how wrong it is. A zero tolerance policy with griefers is important to keep your visitors safe and discourage bad behavior.

There is a terrific video that shows what the cages look like and exactly how to deal with them here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=LLYwhFvW_fo

Object based griefing can range from mere annoyance, like the placing of unwanted objects in your area to self replicating objects which are more complex. If the unwanted object is in an area you own the solution is simple, either right click on the object, choose more, and return object and it will be sent back to its maker. People often accidently send objects to other places, or misplace them. This is usually just negligent rather than malicious and unless it is an extreme case I do not report the offender. A parcel owner can also click on the name of their parcel at the top of the screen and then click the “objects” tab and choose “refresh “ this will give you a list of everyone who has objects on your parcel and the number of objects. You can click on one person’s name and choose “return objects” and the system will double check with you before it returns them.

Self replicating objects make copies of themselves and can crash a region. These attacks are extremely rare, but if you witness this happening , try to right click on one of the objects and report abuse, then return the objects if you are able. One griefer in particular is famous in his own mind for carrying these types of attacks out and then posting them on YouTube. The one he is most proud of us a giant backside the distributes replicating waste…which gives you an idea of the level of higher thought behind these attackers.

Particle attacks are very rare, but particularly disconcerting because you cannot click on particles to discover the cause or owner and they generally fill your screen often accompanied by a terrible sound, making it nearly impossible to discover the source of the attack. The trick to foiling these attacks is simply to turn off particles. Hit Control + Alt + D to bring up the “Client” menu at the top of your screen, then choose Rendering, Types, on the menu and uncheck particles. Then you can either see who is responsible and report abuse or move easily to another place.

There is a great video that shows what it looks like and what to do here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KAbl39wyZG0

Again, griefing is rather rare but if you know what to expect and how to deal quickly with it or get to another place not only does it not give them the satisfaction but it also helps us work together to stop them.

Opening Events in Second Life: An Overview

Opening events are usually held when organizations, institutions, groups, or individuals have a new in-world establishment to promote and introduce to Second Life residents. There is one consistent theme when it comes to openings in Second Life: they should be extraordinary. Whether it involves fireworks or a dance party, institutions seek ways to make the opening of their island or building special. Grand openings have commonly involved the following attractions:

Keynote speakers
Fireworks
In-world showings of popular movies
Ribbon-cutting ceremonies
Free virtual give-aways such as shirts or mugs
Virtual refreshments
Welcome note cards
Slideshows
Tours of the facilities
Dance parties
Contests with prizes

The most popular activities are keynote speakers, dance parties, and contests, as well as guided tours of the new facilities. Below are some summaries of a few Second Life Grand Openings.

Examples of Second Life Opening Events

Second Life Library/ Info Island
Sources: http://infoisland.org/2006/10/04/alliance-second-life-libraryinfo-island-announce-grand-opening/
http://infoisland.org/2006/10/16/grand-openingthis-week-at-info-island/
Event Dates: October 12-14, 2006
Description: A well-attended unique "mixed reality event," where the opening was attended in-person, via audiocast, and in Second Life itself. Around 120 avatars attended both the Thursday and Friday night events, which included many keynote speakers. Speeches included an intro to SL & education in SL, libraries in SL, gaming and info needs, and what was learned from the project. Info Island's Mystery Manor opened Friday night with a haunted mansion, & costume ball, with prizes for the best costumes. They also showed Rocky Horror Picture Show in the SL cinema. Saturday activities were postponed when SL & Info Island crashed. Eventually more keynote speakers were scheduled.

Second Life Medical Library
Source: http://secondlifemedicallibrary.blogspot.com/2006/10/grand-opening-second-life-medical.html
Event Date: October 14, 2006
Description: Three hours of events included speakers who talked about the SLML project, Breast Cancer Awareness, tour of the building & garden, a tour of normally private areas, ribbon cutting and a special speaker.

Bradley University Island
Source: http://blogs.bradley.edu/library2/?p=42
Event Date: February 28, 2007
Description: This event was marked with speeches and a reception. Art work by students and SL non-Bradley University residents were also showcased, stressing the global networking possible through environments like Second Life.

Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Source: http://www.davidleeking.com/2007/04/03/topekas-second-life-library/
Event Date: April 2, 2007
Description: Visitors tours of the facilities, received a free Kansas SL coffee mug and sunflower t-shirt. There was also a dance party on the roof of the library, which was equipped with a dance floor.

Spaceport Bravo (an International Spaceflight Museum sim)
Sources: http://slispaceflightmuseum.org/drupal/node/165
http://slispaceflightmuseum.org/drupal/node/166
Event Dates: May 5-11, 2007
Description: This week-long celebration included an official ribbon cutting, a speech about ISM, presentation on Alan Shepard's historic space flight on May 5, 1961, rocket launches for various time zones, live jazz concert, roof dance parties with DJs, and speakers (formal and informal lectures and presentations) who repeated their presentations throughout the week. Each event was located in various areas of the Spaceport Bravo sim, thereby showcasing different areas, vantage points, features, structures found at the newly public sim.

Nonprofit Commons in SL
Sources: http://npsl.wikispaces.com/OpeningEvent
http://npsl.wikispaces.com/Press+Release
http://npsl.wikispaces.com/event+management+launch
Event Dates: August 14, 2007
Description: This mixed-reality event involved 32 nonprofits in hosting the opening event. Speakers in both real-life and in SL were the highlights of the event, with audio and video streaming between worlds. Tours of the sim were held after the speakers. A half hour of mingling among guests was also scheduled before the speakers started. The individual nonprofits who participated in the event planned and provided their own activities especially for the opening event. The event lasted about 3 hours. The Nonprofit Commons will be providing free SL space to qualified nonprofit organizations where they can collaborate, organize and hold outreach events. TechSoup manages the Nonprofit Commons space.

Second Life Info Island Accessibility Center
Source: http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2007/09/second-life-inf.html
Event Date: September 6, 2007
Description: This two-hour event featured tours of the center, speeches, exhibits, discussions on the exhibits, a panel discussion by various luminaries in the field of accessibility, and a live music concert.

Info International China Café & Japanese Garden
Sources: http://infoisland.org/2007/10/14/info-internationals-grand-opening/
http://infoisland.org/2007/06/30/info-island-this-week-19/
Event Date: October 14, 2007
Description: Considered a "huge success," the event was attended by 50 avatars. The opening featured welcome speeches, firecrackers, a tour of the facilities, and a tai chi meditation on the roof. This event was the first ceremony of two celebrating the opening of Info International Island.

Info International Island
Sources: http://infoisland.org/2007/10/14/info-internationals-grand-opening/
http://infoisland.org/2007/06/30/info-island-this-week-19/
Event Date: October 14, 2007
Description: The second ceremony for the Info International Island opening was a well-attend event that included speeches, fireworks, contests with prizes, and an Oktoberfest dance party.

Santa Clara Island
Source: http://www.thesantaclara.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=746a9641-92d6-490b-b5a7-c7f61ddc823b
Event Date: November 1, 2007
Description: This 5-hour event featured many of the usual activities, such as a ribbon cutting ceremony and welcoming speeches, and some activities geared towards socialization, fun, and entertainment, such as live story readings, a film showing, an art exhibit replicating the one in the real-life de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University, and a drawing for a real-life iPod Nano.

Infotainment Island
Source: http://infoisland.org/2007/11/02/infotainment-opening/
Event Dates: November 3-4, 2007
Description: This event was marked with a brief opening ceremony and fireworks, a scavenger hunt with prizes, a classical piano concert, open house events for various exhibits and locations.

Cleveland Public Library (Cleveland, Ohio)
Source: http://librarygeekwoes.blogspot.com/2007/11/cleveland-public-library-opens-new.html
Event Date: November 16, 2007
Description: Because of the real-life library's well known chess-related collection, a chess theme played a significant part of the opening event and the permanent exhibits in the CPL's SL library. Guided tours of the library, live musical concerts, a costume contest for the best chess-related costume with a L$ cash prize, and competitive and casual chess play marked the opening event.

It seems like the key to successful events is to present potential guests with an organized schedule of opening events ahead of time, and to provide enough entertainment and activities to attract people. The speeches tend to focus on what building the SL facilities was like, how they can be used, and other relevant topics. Unrelated activities such as dance parties will draw people in, as do contests. Successful grand openings in Second Life include a combination of introductions to and tours of the facilities, as well as activities that encourage avatar participation. Another good practice seems to be spreading the activities over several days, or promoting events each night for a whole week, since it increases the likelihood that guests can find the time to attend at least one night.

Promoting Events in Second Life

Equally important to holding a grand opening or an event is promoting the event ahead of time. An event, no matter how spectacular, will remain unsuccessful if no one attends. Below are many different ways you can inform potential guests that you're holding an important event, both in-world and outside of Second Life. Don't neglect advertising in both places, since your goal should be to alert as many people as possible about your event. Some of the options can be used in multiple places, such as posters, which will maximize your exposure while minimizing your effort. Wherever or however you choose to advertise, experienced Second Life event holders have suggested promoting your event a long time before it occurs, especially if it is a grand opening.

Within Second Life (SL)

Notecards -- a valuable SL resource is an object called a notecard. Notecards contain whatever text you enter, and can be sent to as many avatars as you desire. On these notecards you can include information about your event, including the name, location (a SLURL people can follow), date, time (be sure to include the time zone), event attractions, and a schedule of speakers or entertainment. A step-by-step tutorial explaining how to create and send note cards can be found in the Advanced Tutorials section of the wiki, or by clicking the link below:

Creating and Sending Notecards

Billboards -- another easy way to inform people of an upcoming event is to set up bulletin boards. Virtual billboards resemble billboards in the real world, and can be placed in strategic areas to reach the avatars you would like to attend your event. Posters and signs can be put up on the bulletin board, and notecards can be attached to the bulletin board so that interested avatars can put one in their inventory. For a step-by-step tutorial explaining how to create a bulletin board, please see the Advanced Tutorials section of the wiki, or click on the link below:

Creating a Billboard in Second Life

In-World Posters -- another good way to advertise your event in-world is to put up posters. Posters can be created in a graphics program like Paint or Photoshop, and can then be uploaded into Second Life using the "Add File" option on the main menu at the top of your avatar's screen. However, each image file you add does cost L$10 (Linden dollars, not USD) to upload. Posters, like the note cards, should contain pertinent event information such as the event name, location (including a SLURL), date, time, event attractions, and a schedule of speakers or entertainment. They should also be designed to attract people's attention, by the use of photos or other design elements.

In-World Publications -- there are several in-world magazines and newsletters that do accept advertising or may be willing to help promote your event, such as The Metaverse Messenger, or M², which is an in-world newspaper that focuses on in-world events. A reporter from the publication may even attend your event and write an article about it and your venue.

Group Notices -- sending notices through groups in Second Life does require being a member of a group. On top of that, you have to have been granted the ability to send notices by the group.

To find out which roles have the ability to send notices:

Go to the information window of your group. (Do this by clicking on the Communicate button on the bottom left corner of the screen, then select the Groups tab on left side of the Communicate window, select a group you want to look at, then click the Info button on the right side of the same window. This will pop up the Group Information window for the group you selected).
Go to the Members & Roles Tab at the top of the Group Information Window. Then select the Abilities tab from the 2nd set of tabs on the windw, directly below the description text for Members & Roles.
Type in Notices in the search box below the 2nd set of tabs, then click Search. This will pull up the Notices folder which has 2 headings of info in it: "Send Notices" and "Receive Notices and view past Notices."
Clicking on Send Notices will tell you who has the ability to send notices under the Members with Ability pane. Clicking the Receive Notices will provide you with the same information, only for receiving notices instead. There are also very brief instructions on how to send notices and view past notices in the descriptions.

To send notices:

In the Group Information window, click the Notices tab located in the upper set of tabs (Notices is to the right of Members & Roles). There should be a Create a New Notice button in this window. If it's not grayed out, you'll be allowed to send notices.
Clicking the Create New Notice button will bring you to a message form where you can enter your notice. You can also attach a copiable and transferable item by dragging and dropping to the message panel. Commonly attached items are landmarks, which has the location information for events.

Adding your event to Second Life -- there is a Second Life website where you can upload information about your event, so that other avatars can see it and search for it. You need a Second Life account to add an event, and you should add the event at least a few days beforehand.

To add your event:

Go to the website Second Life--Events
On the right you'll see an Events Calendar: select the date of your event, then click on "Add Event" after the webpage refreshes and lists the events being held that day.
Enter your Second Life name and password when prompted to log in
Read the Event Posting Rules, then click the "I Agree" button at the bottom of the page
Fill in the form that appears, including what the event is, where it's located, when it will occur, how long it will be, what type of event it is, and the maturity level of the event. You also must attach the event to a parcel of land-- you cannot add an event without doing so.
Click "Save Event"-- and you're done!

A special thanks to Daniel Brunk for his help with event promotion in Second Life, especially how to add your event and the use of billboards.

Outside Second Life (SL)

Websites -- whether the event is a personal event, business, organization, or school event, chances are there is at least one website you can post an announcement on. For example, a student at San Jose University could, depending on the material the event covers, ask the school to include an announcement on the school's news page, as well as on the school's wikis or blogs. You could even use the same notecard information or the poster you created to advertise in Second Life as an announcement on these websites. Brainstorm other websites who might be interested in announcing your event-- you might be surprised at how many you can come up with.

Blogs/Tech Magazines -- another way to reach a wide audience is to have bloggers and SL-specific websites announce your event. You can also see if any of the online tech magazines would be interested in writing an article about your event. These resources may help you rearch people who are already plugged into SL and more likely to attend your event.

Create and Upload a Machinima Video -- to take advantage of the Second Life environment, animation, and sound, you may want to make a machinima video to creatively promote your event, highlight your event activities and showcase the event venue. Think of it like creating a commercial for your event. However, machinimas do require a lot to create. You'll need plenty of time and a computer system that can handle intensive work with multimedia. If you do create one though, be sure to upload it on a video sharing service site like YouTube or BlipTV, then embed it on you blog or website or pass along the link to groups and mailing with members who would be interested in an event like yours. Take a look at this Slideshare presentation on Making Machinima in Seven Simple Steps to learn more about machinimas and what you would need to create a machinima video: Making Machinima.

Making Machinima presentation created by Jeremy Kemp.

Google/Yahoo Groups -- there is also a good chance that there are internet groups related to your event, with members who might be interested in attending. For example, if you're holding a grand opening for a virtual campus or library for your school, there are educator and library groups who may be happy to announce your grand opening to their members. A related resource may be educator and library listservs, which seek to inform members of upcoming events like your virtual campus or library.

Real World Posters -- another way to take advantage of the poster you designed to distribute in Second Life is to actually print out the poster and hang it up in the real world. A student or school could hang the posters around the real world campus; a store could hang the posters in the real world store.

Newspapers/Newsletters -- another way to spread the word about your event is including an announcement in a newspaper or newsletter. For students this could mean the campus paper; a church could include the announcement in their weekly newsletter. Once again, the announcement you use could be either the notecard or the poster you already created.

Ultimately, there are many avenues you can use to promote your event both in Second Life and in the real world. Reusing the same poster(s) or notecards in multiple avenues both in and out of Second Life is a great way to ensure that you are delivering consistent event information, as well as saving yourself the time and effort of creating a new announcement for each advertisement method. Good luck with your event!

Tips and Best Practices for Event Planning in Second Life

Target your audience

What type of avatar do you want to attend? What are the avatar's interests?
How many avatars do you want to attend?
What is the takeaway message that you want all avatars to understand before they leave?
Remember that only 50 avatars can comfortably attend an event on a single SIM without significant lag slowing everyone down. Linden Labs says that 70 avatars will work, but this isn't true if the SIM has a prim-heavy design. Consider automatically turning off all avatar animations if you expect a big crowd.

Plan the approach

Do you want to do a lecture? A discussion? A grand opening? A more intimate event?
I recommend making the event more of an interactive activity versus a lecture if at all possible.

Help your audience be successful

If you're going to show power point slides, make sure you have the slides available the day of the event so that people can grab them and refer to them later or even during the event if their screens aren't rezzing fast enough in real time.
If you think your visitors might be first time Second Life newbies, start advertising prior to the event and encourage people to attend newbie orientation sessions on your SIM. Have multiple people available a half hour prior to the event to help visitors with technical difficulties.
If you're planning a voice-enabled event, form a Second Life group, have visitors join the group, then use the group voice chat feature so everyone, even those in the back of large amphitheaters can hear.
Put up signs in the vicinity of the event that tell visitors who to contact if they are having technical difficulties and also tell them how to join the group if you're doing a voice-enabled voice chat, etc.
Have a list of reminder instructions typed out beforehand so you can cut and paste them into text chat just before the event starts.
If you expect to have griefers, have one or more avatars available with the ability to ban griefers from your property.
If you are doing something on a stage, consider putting up transparent barriers that protect the speakers and stage from newbies inadvertently walking or flying into the situation and disrupting the presentation. The barriers will deflect new or clumsy avatars before they cause any trouble.
If you want to attract an international audience, remember the time differences and offer something at 8 a.m. in the morning (for Europe) or 5 p.m. and later (for Asia).
Don't schedule anything for a Wednesday morning because Linden Labs does their software maintenance work then. Sometimes the system goes down or gets pretty crazy on Wednesday. It's too risky for a special event.
Provide temporary or permanent teleports to guide avatars through your SIM on the day of the event.

Promote the event

If you can stream in a real live keynote or something going on in the real world as a kickoff to the event, it draws a nice crowd.
A day-long series of activities is a good way to go. The word gets out after the first activity and you find more interest in the remaining activities as the day goes on.
Advertise early in the real world as well as in Second Life. Blogs are a good place for advertising. Twitter and Facebook get good visibility as well.
Two weeks, one week, the day before, and the day of the event (twice if it is an evening event), send the event announcement to your group.
Ask your buddies on neighboring SIMs or related SIMs if they will put up a sign advertising your event and consider sending out announcements to their groups regarding your event.
Contact inworld press and bloggers to let them know of your event. They might come, and they might not, depending on their interests. If they do come, you might consider having an experienced public relations person address their questions. Include the real life name and contact information of the public relations person in your advertising.
Put up signs so avatars who arrive on the SIM know that something is going on and where to find it.

Provide giveaways and tours

Provide a virtual giveaway of some kind.
Info International has a very cool tour capsule that takes up to two avatars at a time around their SIM and provides short descriptions of each location on the SIM. This might be something that you'd like to set up for the event.

Keep good records

Think about having someone stream the event to Ustream TV so more than 50 avatars can watch the event at one time. Ustream allows people who have not joined Second Life to watch the event via their browser. This might encourage more people to attend the event or at least to see what you're doing inworld.
Have multiple avatars available to record what happened (photos, quotes in conversation, general observations) and to help other avatars find their way around.
Try to find someone to do a video of the event or at least make a voice recording if you are using the group voice-enabled chat feature. Then you can make the voice file available after the event.
If you can, create a survey and encourage anyone who attended the event to complete it. Entice them with a free virtual giveaway that they will get once they complete the survey.