Socially|Mundane

Our favorite Linden, Torley has posted links to the SL Quick-Start Guide, available in PDF format for download. Hurray for Torley, still at it with helpful tips and tutorials and all thing edification-wise regarding the gris, viewer and Second Life in general.

Now, I don't go around creating alts all over the place, so it's been quite some time since I've gone through the initial user experience. And frankly, that initial experience back in spring 2006 was just fine. The viewer, and Second Life in general is some seriously complicated stuff. I'm referring to the empowerment that is given to users, not the use of the system.

There has been discussion and debate every since I first heard of SL with regard to 'simplifying' things. Trying to build-up the new user retention rate. making that "first hour" a positive experience.

Hello, Linden Lab? Uh, it was a positive experience back then. Let's face it, new users of the SL Viewer need to be a bit on the geeky side to grasp onto the concepts within that first hour. But on the other hand, the majority of SL users, and certainly those who stay-on as "residents" tend to be of the geeky mindset to begin with.

So all this work to "fix" what I personally don't feel was broken to begin with just makes things worse. The original orientation was simple. The first thing learnt upon inaugural rezzing in-world was how to move. Arrows keys, which to anyone who has done 3-dimensional anything can figure out accidentally. if they can't, then don't waste your time, they likely won't stay anyway.

The fact is all the hype back then in 2006 and 2007 was that SL was going to become the new "standard" of the internet. The word "Web 3.0" was thrown about all over the place. Of course the grandmothers and imbeciles were coming to check it out. In truth, those are the people who will not stay no matter how easy it is to use.

Anyway, this is all wasted breath as there is no way in hell you will easily go back to what worked so well to begin with. The big boulder is already rolling and we all know about the law if inertia.

So, with regard to this Quick-Start (yes, hyphenated, isn't that proper grammar?) Guide to using the SL Viewer... it's nice. Well written, easy read. But isn't it a bit of a catch-22?

I remember when Microsoft would immediately pop-up the "Using a Mouse" tutorial after installing Windows 3.1. It was the "Welcome" screen. The proclaim was that you needed to use the mouse in order to participate in the tutorial and that welcome screen said nothing about clicking buttons or mouse pointers and how it moves, et-cetera.

The Quickstart Guide is also linked to from appropriate areas of our website such as "What is Second Life?", making it accessible to new Residents. If you want to help a friend out, be sure to point them to it. The Guide is very visual and we've addressed hot questions like "How do I get voice chat setup?" There's even a lovely list of Keyboard Shortcuts at the end.

[From [QUICKTIP] Enjoy our Second Life Quickstart Guide! - TNT - Second Life Tips & Tricks - Second Life Blogs]

So, here're my questions — and I understand that answer to these questions very well might be a resounding "yes, in which case: congratulations! — When a new user creates that inaugural Second Life account on the web site, and they are directed to download the viewer, are then immediately also directed to this Quick-Start Guide?

A web-based version? After all, you are asking them to download a pretty large package to begin with (the viewer) so now you ask them also to download a PDF file> What about those of us that prefer not to have the bloated Adobe Reader on our systems, and so we can't read PDF files? (yes, I'm weird and I don't like PDF files, especially with the MS Windows kind of security flaws.)

Anyway, it's a nicely-written tutorial.

I'm just curious how you get the new, inexperienced, idiot users not bright enough to figure-out the arrows keys will move their avatar in world. Because in truth, the target audience this Quick-Start Guide is geared toward, won't be staying long anyway I suspect.

But I feel compelled to give a definite "A" for Effort!