Newbie? Start here

UPDATE: SL for Nowt has moved! Please bookmark the new blog. This page will remain here, but all new newbie-related posts will be on the new blog.

PLEASE NOTE: Many of the locations in my Fast Track Guides to Non-Newbieness no longer exist in-world, or have moved. I will hopefully get time to update these guides soon but in the meantime, if a location isn’t where I’ve said it is, open up your viewer’s Search and look under both ‘Places’ and ‘All’ (try Places first) for the location’s name. Chances are, it’s only moved (stores do move around a lot in SL, and I simply can’t update every post I’ve made to include new SLurls when they do, alas) and you should find it elsewhere. Also, the freebies may not be in the same location inside the store as I have posted them, especially if the store has moved and/or been remodelled. Again, I’m unable to edit all mis-directing SLurls in old posts, simply because there are too many :(

If you’re completely new to Second Life, then this is the page you should begin with. I’ve been putting together guides to lose those newbie looks as soon as possible, and I plan to start writing some posts about the absolute basics in-world, such as how to rez boxes, how to change skins, and the like. As I write all of these posts for newbies, I’ll link them in here, so if you meet a newbie in-world and want to help them out, you only need to give them the URL for this page. They can explore the rest of the blog at their leisure, once they’re kitted out.

So without further ado, here are the essential posts:

FOR GIRLS

(These will be updated soon, as many of the locations no longer exist)

The fast-track guide to non-newbieness for girls (1 of 3)

The fast-track guide to non-newbieness for girls (2 of 3)

The fast-track guide to non-newbieness for girls (3 of 3)

FOR GUYS

(These will be updated soon, as many of the locations no longer exist)

The fast-track guide to non-newbieness for boys (1 of 3)

The fast-track guide to non-newbieness for boys (2 of 3)

The fast-track guide to non-newbieness for boys (3 of 3)

THE BASICS

The Basics – 01 – Getting stuff out of boxes

The Basics – 02 – Inventory icons explained

The Basics – 03 – How to fill out your profile

(The Basics list will be added to as I write each post)

OTHER STUFF

Newbie Guide To Money Trees

30 (and more) things every newbie should know before starting Second Life

NEWBIE NOTES

Newbie Notes: Don’t get ripped-off #1 – Full-Perm/Resell/Businesses in a Box

Newbie Notes: No Place Like Home

Newbie Notes: Nervous newbie? Be a Tiny!

Newbie Notes: “Help! I’m pregnant!/a vampire!”

Newbie Notes: Something for nothing (a guide to lucky chairs, lucky boards, and Midnight Mania boards)

Newbie Notes: How to archive things in a box

Newbie Notes: Hints on contacting creators, landlords, and anyone else in Second Life

THOSE LITTLE QUESTIONS

Those Little Questions is a general Question and Answer series on the blog. Sometimes I’ll focus on one specific thing (in which case I’ll link that individual post here) but mainly I look at the search terms that bring people to the blog and try to answer the random questions people show up with.

Those Little Questions: The main page with all the questions posts on it

Those Little Questions: All about skyboxes

WALKABOUT

Around the Ahern Infohub/Welcome Area

Ambling Around Ambat Infohub

TUTORIALS

Making a private space

Taking great photos of your avatar

Making your own pose stand

Making your own facelights

How to send someone a gift from SL Marketplace

Make your own landmarks HUD

HINTS & TIPS

“Too bright” to “just right” – Editing prim clothing items (note: this now works in reverse, as you’ll need to edit darker prim clothing to white)

Oh honey, no: Professional begging (don’t do it!)

Creating a low-ARC look (this mainly will help your own computer, but also helps others around you with lower graphics capabilities)

How Mar got her ARC even lower (see above note)

SL Treasure hunt etiquette

Lucky chair etiquette: saying “thank you”

Lucky chair etiquette: There is such a thing as “too close”

Info post: The Life Shop AO, debunked

PSA: Group invites (specifically about pay-to-join groups)

Sick of those flesh-toned pants bottoms? (here’s a free fix!)

A treasure hunter’s top tip

Removing yourself from unwanted notice lists (primarily subscribe-o-matics; see below for hippoGROUPS lists)

Removing yourself from hippoGROUPS lists

Taking a flattering photo (it’s all about the angle!)

Getting a message in-world when you can’t log in

Multi-purpose post! SF Design’s November freebie, dollarbie capris, plus a shoe-colouring tutorial (how to match your shoes exactly to your outfit)

USEFUL GADGETS

Useful gadgets #1 – The Bright Packer (will let you unpack things, even in no-rez areas)