New World Notes

How to Leave Meaningful Marketplace Reviews (Or More Accurately: How to Avoid Looking Like an Ass in One)

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

The quick and dirty reviews availably on a lot of virtual shopping sites these days, including the SL Marketplace, can be a real gift for indecisive shoppers. At the same time, they can also be a curse for designers and vendors whose businesses can be jeopardized by one person with a less than thoughtful review.

Unfortunately there's no real guide on how to leave these kinds of reviews, so it's understandable that a lot of people get confused and make mistakes about what kind of information is useful and what kind is, well, garbage. So today I've got three easy tips that will hopefully shed a little more light on how to write a flawless product review on the SL Marketplace (or elsewhere), starting with...

PlurkSecret: Users Can Now Post Anonymously on SL's Favorite Social Network -- Cue Mega-Drama!

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Recently Plurk, a social network similar to Twitter heavily used by the Second Life community, rolled out a controversial new feature. Users can now make posts anonymously using the "whispers" tag that will be seen on their friends' timelines, but will not have their username or any other identifying marks attached to it. While the feature seems like it's intended to be a sort of like a PostSecret that you can send to only the people you know, it's caused a huge fuss since it debuted... But not for the reasons you might expect.

Miss Metaverse Manners Rants: How to Contact a Second Life Content Creator (Without Being a Jerk)

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

So you just bought a fabulous new pair of Second Life shoes... But the left one is the wrong color. WTF. Thankfully it's easy to contact a content creator in SL: Just open an IM window and MESSAGE THEM IN ALL CAPS, right?

That might sound crazy, but a lot of content creators tell me that's exactly how a lot of people contact them, and they've shared horror stories about rude or oblivious customers with me for years. There's a lot of unspoken etiquette that goes along with contacting anyone in SL -- ignorance of this etiquette is a huge grind on a virtual economy where content creators often make just a few pennies on each sale, causing them to wonder if all this rudeness from entitled customers (which I've covered before) is worth their time. So let's limit future damage with a few questions to ask yourself before you hit 'Send':

Iris Rants: My Simple Advice for SL Fundraiser Naysayers

 

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Together For Sway is one of the top shopping events in Second Life right now, with its wintery theme and a great personal cause, but there have been some negative voices among the crowd. If you're not familiar with the shopping event scene in Second Life that may be surprising news; after all, who could be against raising money to support someone in need? Sadly, for those of us who are used to the highs and lows of these kinds of events, this is nothing new.

While I support Together for Sway wholeheartedly, I have some straightforward advice for those who don't:

Second Life Etiquette Tips on Love, Learning & Linden Dollars for New Users -- and Oldbies Who Deal With Them

Iris Ophelia's ongoing take on etiquette & ethics in virtual spaces  

We were all new to Second Life at one point or another, and it probably wasn't a very glamourous period for anyone (for example, check out the above pic of my 4-month old avatar posted by Hamlet in 2006). Second Life is not the most user-friendly virtual world to learn, both socially and technically. Experienced users can be pretty intolerant of newbies even though we've all made the same silly mistakes, so I have a few tips for newbies and oldbies alike-- not questions and answers, but points that will hopefully help everyone understand each other a little better. Let's talk about three key Ls: Love, Learning, and Linden Dollars:

Miss Metaverse Manners: Surviving Survival Mode with Friends and More Minecraft Etiquette Questions!

Iris Ophelia's ongoing take on etiquette & ethics in virtual spaces   

Like any virtual space, minding your manners in Minecraft's multiplayer worlds can be a tricky (yet very important) issue. Luckily, Miss Metaverse Manners has a few tips on how to keep your Minecraft relationships from ending up as creeper bait.

How do I tell my friends that its not funny when they explode/burn/ruin my builds in Minecraft without being a naggy friend?

- Anonymous

Just tell them! There are so many cases in the etiquette world where polite silence is the absolute worst thing you can do, and this is one of those cases. Your friends can't read your mind, so let them know! Of course, demolition in Minecraft can be very fun too, so if your friends have an explosive streak, why not work together on building some structures for the sole purpose of blowing them to bits? What about a sand tower with a TNT foundation, or a wooden water tower? Set aside an area of your map just for you and your friends to mess up with these projects-- you'll probably enjoy it!

Got an Etiquette or Ethics Question About Minecraft? Ask Miss Metaverse Manners!

She's given advice about etiquette and ethics involving Second Life and MMOs for over two years, and this week, Iris "Miss Metaverse Manners" Ophelia turns her attention to another favorite world of hers: Minecraft! Maybe you're having drama on your favorite Minecraft server, and you're not sure what to do; maybe you think a friend's favorite new Minecraft skin looks a touch out of date, and you're wondering how to say that, when she asks. Miss Metaverse Manners to the rescue:

Anonymously post your touchy etiquette and ethics questions around templates on Iris' Formspring account by Thursday morning. (Or you can post them anonymously in Comments below, as long as they're civil.)

Miss Ophelia's Metaverse Manners: The Etiquette of Using (and Abusing) Second Life Templates

Iris Ophelia's ongoing take on etiquette & ethics in virtual spaces 

I recently wrote about the pros and cons of templates and pre-made kits for Second Life content creators,  and unsurprisingly the topic created a lot of discussion and raised a lot of questions. Though my opinion on the issue may differ from your own, hopefully my template etiquette advice will still be helpful!

I make things in SL but I use building kits and full-perm pieces. There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing but some people are really snarky and go out of their way to tell other people where I'm getting my pieces. Why do people resent what I'm doing and how can I stop it?

                    - Anonymous

Templates are controversial, and some people feel very strongly that they give people an unfair or uncreative advantage. Using templates "correctly", that is in a way that helps you grow as a creator and helps the market grow and diversify as well, is nothing to be ashamed of. If people ask, be honest and upfront about your use of templates and full-perm building kits. You shouldn't need to hide something unless you're ashamed of it. Simply put, anyone bullying you for using templates and kits correctly is in the wrong. Because opinions are so sharply divided on this issue you'll never be able to please everyone. Haters gonna hate, so focus on building things that you can be proud of, with or without the templates.

Ask Miss Metaverse Manners About the Etiquette & Ethics Around SL Templates

Last week, our post about SL templates -- pre-made kits/pieces that fashion designers can use to easily create their own sellable content -- caused a fair amount of controversy and conversation; clearly there's a lot of questions out there that Miss Metaverse Manners can help with. For example, what price is fair for something made from templates? Or what do you do if you discover the templates you're using are based on stolen content? Miss Metaverse Manners (hopefully) to the rescue: Anonymously post your touchy etiquette and ethics questions around templates on Iris' Formspring account by Thursday afternoon. (Or you can post them anonymously in Comments below, as long as they're civil.)

Miss Ophelia's Metaverse Manners: Etiquette for the Second Life Photographer (and their Clients!)

Iris Ophelia's ongoing take on etiquette & ethics in virtual spaces 

The relationship between a photographer and their model or client can be tricky to navigate, as much in real life as is in Second Life -- creativity, vanity, and cash are always a potentially volatile mix. This week we've got three questions that prove just that, so let's get right to it...

I'm trying to get in to SL modelling and I've been asking photographers I like if they want to take my picture so that they get a picture for their portfolios and so do I but most of them don't even reply and some have been rude! Am I in the wrong or have I just not found the right photog for me?

                    - Beauty Queen

Pretty pics for aspiring SL models are probably the most profitable chunk of a Second Life photographer's business, so most of them won't want to give that away to you for free. Additionally, if you're already aware of them and like their work, then they probably don't really need to grow their portfolio. You need them more than they need you and they know it. If you want their work in your book then you have to be prepared to pay for it just like everyone else. If you only want free snaps then I honestly suggest that you learn how to take them yourself. Search your favourite blogs for tips and tricks (here are a few of mine) and learn as much as you can about real life photography techniques like lighting and composition (which apply to Second Life more than you might think).