What is there to do in Second Life?

I get asked that frequently, especially when I'm hanging around NCI Kuula. (NCI is short for New Citizens Inc., it's a newbie help group. Kuula is one of their sims.) I generally ask them, "What do you want to do?" That's not a stupid question. Just about anything you're in the mood for, you can find somewhere in SL. The secret is the Search window.

At the bottom of your screen, you'll see a button marked "Search". Click it, then select the tab for "Events". You'll see a pull-down menu with several catagories; including Education, Games/Contests, Sports, Discussion, Music, and Nightlife. Pick a catagory and click Search. The events will be displayed by date and time. You can also sort by name if you wish. Be sure the box marked "Show Mature Content" is checked - even if Mature content is the last thing you're looking for. The Mature rating on a sim doesn't mean it *has* mature content, only that mature content is allowed. Many cool PG sims are located on Mature rated land.

A feature that many oldbies don't even know about: Have you find an event you want to attend, but it's happening sometime in the future? Just click the button at the bottom of the screen that says "Notify". The system will automatically send you a reminder pop-up about 5 minutes before the start of the event, and even give you a teleport button so you can find it fast! Nifty, eh? The event was canceled or you changed your mind? Just click the button again (this time it will be labeled "Don't Notify") Unfortunately, you can't make it display only those events you have marked for notification. I've sent in a new feature ticket requesting it. Maybe someday soon....

Also, keep an eye out for posters advertising events you may be interested in. Most of them are scripted to hand you a notecard, when touched, that you can keep as a reminder of the event. The notecard will often contain a landmark so you can find the event easily.

My profile pic shows me at one of my favorite sims, MadPea Productions. This is a great place for all kinds of puzzles to solve, or just to hang out with a bunch of fun and crazy (in a good way!) people. Here's where to go: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Orange%20Island%202/162/210/2

With all the happenings going on in SL, there's no excuse to be bored! :)