second life

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Last night I spent some more time in second life. I decided it was high time I left the beginner island and got out into the broader experience.

There are several places you can click to go somewhere else. I thought it might be good to go to one of the places for newbies, but now I'm not so sure. I collected one "landmark" (like a bookmark, but it takes you to a place in SL rather than to a web page), and then wondered if that was an ok place to go. I went to the next place I was offered, and ... hmmmm.

Seemed fairly similar to the beginner island at first; lots of newbies milling around not knowing what to do. I encountered a Brazilian guy, Mike, who asked if I wanted to be friends. Hmmm. Well, how do you say "no" without being offensive.....

So I said "ok." We'll see if that turns out to be a problem. Since neither of us know what to do next, he asks if I want to wander around looking with him. Ok.....

So we head out of the building and immediately this cartoon fox starts harassing me. He threw something at me, and then "cast" a "shock" at me. He said he didn't like elves. Meanwhile Mike is asking what is going on. I told him foxboy was a jerk, and then he didn't know what "jerk" meant, so I'm trying to explain that to him while telling foxboy I think he's a loser for picking on newbies......

So far this isn't any fun.........

Mike left, telling me he'd get us out of there, and I ran away from foxboy, only to discover that a lot of the place where I was required money to visit. I already didn't like it there, so I'm trying to figure out how to get away. I can't seem to find Wolverine Island (the University of Michigan's space in SL), which I was pretty sure would feel safe to me (as it's invitation only!).

I was able to locate the first landmark I'd saved, and teleported there. It looked safer, so I was wandering around there when Mike contacted me and asked if I wanted to teleport to his location. Ok, whatever.

There we encountered Briony, who said she was from the UK and liked to go clubbing in SL. Mike decided to go with her, and asked if I wanted to go, too, but I had to go give Buzz his nighttime meds at that point so I begged out. And signed off.

Getting harassed -- no fun. Going clubbing -- not why I'm there........

Starting to wonder if this whole thing is just for the gregarious types who want to make more friends all the time. And "griefers," which is what people like foxboy are called in SL.................

I go give out the evening pumpkin and pills.

I come back up, and figure out how to get to Wolverine Island from outside SL.

I go there, and wander around a lot. There is no one there, which is Just Fine with me. Mike contacts me and asks me where I am. I tell him "on the University of Michigan's private island." He invites me to do a voice chat, which request I ignore. This turns out to be a mistake, as that message covers up all the messages I receive subsequently from the things with which I try to interact. For example, I found a place where I was supposed to be able to get a cup of coffee, and I touched it, but "nothing happened" because the messages saying it had given me a cup of coffee was behind the "did I want to talk to Mike" message.

Oh. Well, live and learn..............

I'll have to go back to Wolverine and try some of those things that "didn't do anything" again............

Then I went to the Exploratorium. We visited the real life version when we were in San Fransisco ... um, I think 11 years ago.

I wasn't so sure when I got there if it was an improvement over anything I'd done so far...... I was in a pretty empty gray place, with soft-looking but impervious walls all around. Hmmm. I tried flying, and discovered that I'd been under water.

Seems like an odd welcome for visitors, especially as they might be newbies.........

Opening gambit is a test? I say again, not very welcoming.............

Ah well. If it was a test, I guess I passed.

I wandered around, and this is a cool place. (I didn't see one other person there, either. Again, that was Just Fine!)

There are lots of things to look at, and to do, and luckily getting to interact with at least some of them didn't depend on them giving me messages that I couldn't see. (Didn't discover until I was about ready to leave there that I had a whole stack of messages...... You can leaf through them; don't have to deal with them in sequence, but if you don't know, you don't know...............)


This exhibit explains rainbows. (See that I am on a balcony? I slid down a fireman's pole to get down. Cool.)





This animation shows a bat galloping. Who knew.





Here I am, bouncing sideways on a trampoline that is on the wall. Can't do that in real life!







Admiring a cute little animated solar system. One of the things that is cool about this medium is that your spectators can't damage the exhibits....





See, I told you I could sit! This is how I really sit, too, with one ankle tucked under the other knee.....

I am about to take a tour in that little red vehicle (which flies). It took me around the Exploratorium's space. There is a LOT to see.





I think this is an art gallery. Or a sculpture garden?




I spent quite a while at the Exploratorium, and I was tired, so that was it for last night.

Steep learning curve is a gross understatement...............

Things learned last night:

messages stack -- look through them

some things about interacting with objects

collected a couple of landmarks for places I can jump to if where I am is icky.


Things I need to figure out:

I think that if you right click on a person, you can "report them" for bad behavior. Should I encounter another of foxboy's ilk, I will try it. From my reading I know that this behavior is not acceptable -- except in places where it is and everyone goes there because they know that. Which may, I suppose, have been the sort of place I was........ My bad, maybe, only I think the beginner island should have made a big point of letting me know that's what sort of place I was going.....

I need to figure out how to tell (before I go there!) if a place has "mature content," which is the euphemism for sex and violins, I think. I didn't see anything sexy in that bad place (for which I deleted the landmark, so I don't even know what it was called), but the violins were evident, and I don't know what was in the sections of that place you had to pay to visit.... And don't want to, I'm sure. In real life, it is entirely probable to find yourself in the red light district as you leave Amsterdam's big old historic church. Perhaps this is the SL equivalent. But I still think they should have helped me avoid it.


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