Court Roleplay in SL
General Discussion
Una Lunaqat:
A friend pointed out this post to me and I was quite glad to see it, and the ideas in it. I am responding to add the humble opinion of someone who is new to...
1. With regard to working with new-player centers and hunts:
I love Caledon's new player center. It was, many years ago and on my first, now defunct avatar, my own entry into SL. That said, running a new player center is a huge undertaking unto itself. It must be staffed constantly and events must be always running. Even volunteering at one is a time commitment. Every hour spent at a new player center is an hour NOT spent on other sim stuff, like hosting events and classes and actually RPing. I do think that the 18th century-related sims in SL -could- manage something like that eventually, but only if we pooled our resources and were much better organized and more coordinated and interdependent than we are now. As for hunts... well... if anyone wants to build and donate, I am all for a hunt! I suppose we could have an 18th century-themed hunt, just like the steamlands have the annual steamhunt. That's a great idea!
2. HOW to RP/get involved:
Almost every RP sim has a landing area. Almost every landing area includes ALL of that information and more. All you have to do is... um... read the info. It's different in every sim. Most sims will also have some starter outfits and maybe some in-theme stuff for sale. I find that the biggest problem is that newbies tend to be overwhelmed by the initial info dump. They don't want to read page after page or notecard after notecard. If you throw too much at them, they leave. Where do you think the line is between overwhelming a new player and not giving enough info? I'm not sure I've found it, yet, and I could really use a newbie's advice on that.
Joining the group is another good way to get and stay up-to-date. Group notices are the most effective way of sending and receiving information in SL. Make sure group notices are turned on in your settings. Most groups also welcome out of character chatter, so feel free to connect with established players (and to ask questions of them) via group chat. That said, I find that 3 notices per day is a pretty hard limit. If you send more than that, people leave your group or get annoyed and turn notices off.
I actually cover some of this, a little, in my characterization and plotting classes. In characterization, I discuss how to make your character stand out and be more appealing to other players. That definitely helps with involvement. In plotting, I discuss ways to invite, inspire, join, or further plots. Honestly, the best way to get involved is just to jump in. Go to events. Say hi. Participate. No one really expects you to be perfect. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes and we are all constantly learning about our chosen cultures and times. That's part of the fun! As long as you don't look like an alien or a dragon or something totally out-of-theme, then it's all good.
3. Fleeing
The experience that you mentioned: feeling nervous and fleeing, is a common one in RP sims. It is just as frustrating on both ends! Honestly, you would not believe how far a simple IM and a little patience can go. Most established characters are more than happy to help newbies out but, in the middle of RP, they might not see the newbie sort of nervously hiding in the corner. Also, newbies are notorious for saying, "Hi. How are you? I'm (insert name here)," in a flurry of about three posts. Then, they wait five seconds, and poof. Like, dude. I seriously am still typing my response when ya'll flee. The only advice I can offer there is... uh... stop that, yo! Lol. I simply cannot reach people when they run away like skittish hens before I can even say hi. I address that in my RP basics class, under common newbie mistakes. I pretty much give that exact example and I say: "Don't do that!" No one is going to be able to help folks who are actively running away. I am totally open for suggestions on that one. I really have no idea how to make newbies comfortable other than simply IMing them when I see them and welcoming them. Most of the time, I get no response.
You make very good points about the ways in which the newbie experience is daunting and you are right; we are not very good at knowing how to get people over that learning curve. A lot of things that are SL and RP standards can feel daunting to new players. But aside from having someone present 24/7 to take a newbie by the hand, I've not found an effective method -- and neither, it is worth noting, has SL. SL has always had that same problem of retaining new people after that initial log-in.
For me, it all boils down to time. Every player has a limited amount of time to invest in SL. As a sim owner, I am -constantly- trying my best to do about half the things on my ever-expanding to-do list: advertising, classes, theme-appropriate content creation, networking with other sims, landscaping, decorating, shopping, etc. Sometimes, I actually manage to RP!
I actually really like the idea of a hub. I just think that will take quite a bit of time and money and organization to achieve. In my dreamworld, the 18th century sims are able to glom together to form a continent of inter-related estates. Maybe then we could set aside a parcel for a newbie or RP hub. I think gentle, engaging, round-the-clock volunteers are really the only way to effectively get over the wall of newbie terror, but it's really hard to find people who are willing to sit around doing nothing just in case a newbie decides to drop out of the sky. For years, when I was at BC, I gave Mansur a semi-discreet drinking problem just so he could sit at the tavern all the time. The tavern was in view of the landing point, you see, so I could greet newbies as they arrived! And there, my friends, is the reason behind Mansur's pickled liver. lol
So I like your ideas of hunts and hubs and I think the personal touch is the way to go when it comes to helping newbies gain confidence and familiarity. My questions to you, in turn, would be:
1. How can sim owners entice newbies to, like, stay in one stop for long enough to get that information you mentioned without becoming overwhelmed? What gets, and keeps, your attention?
2. What would make you feel more confident about speaking up and asking for help?
