Greetings

I have a couple questions and thoughts, and I figured I would put it up to the group to help me a bit.  As I was getting ready to post the notice for the Christmas concert, I started to think about my footman that announce people as they enter the palace.  I thought I need to update that with the names of the different role players and their titles.  In Antiquity, I know the title structure and such, so that is not hard.  But, I started to think about adding our friends that visit and I stopped.  Who is left.  I could not add any visiting royalty or nobles because I did not know any.

Over the past few years, we always had at least more then one active court.  Now, I am struggling to think of any.  Just recently, with the death of the long time pirate organizer in Blake Seas, and the closure of other SPD (battle system) pirate estates, it seems there are just a 2 or 3 left.  I can only think of one other besides Antiquity, Pirates Destiny.

I am so grateful to Tatiana, the Duchy and all the sponsors of the LHVW, for helping to keep our period way of life going.  I am also thankful for Rocca, its managers and residents and its continued dedication, every year producing multiple excellent exhibits that move and educate.

Even with all the hard work of a few dedicated people, it seems its harder and harder to compete with the lure of modern life in SL.  I know there are a few of us out there that still care for our period life and want to see it continue in a healthy way.  If we have a healthy period life, we may start to draw back some of the people that have moved away or attract new.  I see our player base shrinking.   I have many ideas about how to reinvigorate our period RP, but that is something to be discussed with everyone.  I think it takes multiple heads and ideas to make a plan we can all follow to help.

What made the court and pirate roleplay in SL so much fun was that is was not just one place.  There were multiple courts and pirate estates to interact with.  In the early days, there were multiple courts at the same time.  Versailles, Russia, Austria, Spain, all in their glory, whose palaces and estates were works of art.  Yes, works of art.  Royal famlies, courtiers, garden parties, meddlesome cardinals, how I long for those times.

I have spoken to Pasha in Egypt about some cross estate RP he suggested with Antiquity.  My admins were very open to discussing more and trying to get something going.  I mention this, because this type of cross estate RP, I think can help bring more people and story lines.  It is also an  excellent way to meet other people and enjoy their cities and palaces.  

I understand, the cost of maintaining a palace is sometimes way too much for a person or even a group of people, but there are other ways we can still build a healthy RP with owning a palace or centered around an existing unused palace.   

This like this take work and mutual cooperation to make them work.  Supporting all the estates in the group.  Participating in cross estate events and rp.  I believe, in supporting each other we are stronger.

I will stop babbling and ask my questions now.

1.  Are there any Courts that are active right now?  Kings?  Queens?

2.  Any Ducal houses?  Large manors or people that carry royal titles?

Anyone that has a court, or manor or royal family that might want to start some diplomatic rp or get together and maybe brain storm on how to make a positive impact on period rp in SL, I would love to hear from you.

have a great day

Jacon

--
His Royal Highness Jacon Cortes de Bexar Prince of Antiquity, Duke of Cumberland, Duque de Bexar, Duc de la Valliere, Marchese di MSB

As you might already suspect from His Highness' mention of my overtures in his post, he and I are very much of a similar mind when it comes to these matters. I second his desire for more cross-estate RP and his belief that we are all very much stronger together.

To that end, I would like to first answer His Highness' questions. After that, I will put forth some suggestions of my own. Thank you, Your Highness, for beginning this conversation!

1.  Are there any Courts that are active right now?  Kings?  Queens?

- Not to my knowledge, although if there are, I would love to embark on some diplomatic missions.

2.  Any Ducal houses?  Large manors or people that carry royal titles?

- I have one! I suspect you already knew that. Mansur is a pasha, which I suppose is near enough in rank to an aristocratic European house to be included in this category. I'm juuuust now starting to reserve Thursday evenings (at 5pm) for palace-based play, a 'family night' when palace residents, including harem girls, eunuchs, family members, and guests, are invited to come live the palace lifestyle. One member of my character's family plays a minor Romanov. Keeping in mind that the Ottomans and Russians were often at odds during our period, that is a politically tricky issue. We would very much welcome a story with a Russian court!

As for my suggestions, please bear with me. The hour grows late and my eyelids grow heavy!

- I think we should form an in-world RP notice group in which members can post event notices for all of our period-related sims. I think we should broadly define it as "court and pirate" or, perhaps, "Enlightenment Era" or "Age of Sail" or "The Long 18th Century." There's got to be a better name out there to define our era, something catchy, but it eludes me at present.

- It might be nice if we each set aside an area on our sims to act as a hub or a portal, sort of like an embassy, to encourage a free flow of traffic. I've set up one on my own sim. it is called the Larl Valley ~ Port Authority & RP Hub: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Larl%20Valley/135/147/22 . Let me know if you want me to add your sim!

- Similarly (and also included in my RP hub), it might be nice to have an in-world place where we can advertise for RP stories. You know those dating ad boards on a lot of SL sims? Or the adoption boards? Like that... but for RP stories, instead. Is your royal house in need of a kitchen maid? Does your pirate ship need a quartermaster? Do you need someone to play your previously NPCed kid? Do you need a villain from your backstory? Need a supplier for a certain trade item? I think we should have a place where people can gather, informally, and see what kind of RP opportunities are out there.

- We should organize a "Grand Tour." Maybe a different estate is highlighted, every month or so, as a stop on the 'Grand Tour.' The host sim will host a ball or a hunt or an event that is unique to that theme and culture and the member estates will invite or encourage their members to attend. 

- Similarly, it MIGHT be helpful if our inter-related sims each chose a day of the week to sort of 'reserve.' Maybe Georgian London takes Tuesdays and Egypt takes Thursdays, Rocca takes Mondays, Antiquity has the weekend... whatever. Right now, we are competing for players instead of working together, and we're all constantly hosting a barrage of events. I'm not proposing that if, say, Larl Valley takes Thursdays, Antiquity can never have a Thursday event. I'm proposing, instead, that each sim carves out a short block of no more than 2 hours on their given day. The time zone would be different in different sims, depending on the organizers' RL availability, and the 2 hour time limit means it wouldn't keep our players from hosting events of their own. The goal of that weekly block would be to promote cross-sim RP. For example, maybe everyone visits Egypt with their trade goods and delegations on Wednesday evenings. Then, the next day, those merchant ships have arrived in Antiquity's port. If we know when and where things like that will happen, it will give people a chance to try to steal a shipment or spy on a delegation or ransom a captive or what have you. 

- We could do what -real- royal courts and disparate peoples did to forge alliances: intermarry. Obviously, I mean this for RP purposes only, not for any sort of rl relationship. Mansur has some kids of marriageable age (or kids who could be aged up to a marriageable age, if a player wanted to take on and pursue that story). Actually, given the polygamous nature of his particular society, it's not even beyond the realm of possibility that I could offer Mansur himself up for such a scheme! This would get players moving back and forth more naturally as princes, princesses, dukes, duchesses, rich heiresses, etc. are shuffled around the map like pieces on a chess board, and it would create family ties as an inducement to rp with people from other sims. It would reflect the real life of the times, allow families to build dynasties, create rp opportunities for events like weddings and birth announcements, and result in a good deal of naturally arising RP conflict like scandalous divorces and affairs, nepotism, cronyism, etc.

This idea was inspired by Lady Hartfield, actually. In-character, she made a passing remark that, someday, his new daughter and her new son might marry. Of course, his daughter would have to become a Christian. Mansur nearly choked on his food! The story of the foreign girl of status married off and sent overseas to a strange new land for financial and political gain... or the story of the young baronet who finds himself leg-shackled to a stranger for same... is an enticing one to play. What happens if trade relations sour or if war arises? These kinds of stories are full of opportunity for conflict and RP both public (will trade be enhanced? war averted?) and private (can you convert to the new religion? live peaceably with a spouse who snores?).    

- We all have different currencies, meters, and crafting systems. Some of them are really cool (like ACS). Others are... rudimentary (ahem, like mine). Pirate's Destiny seems to have some awesome crafting capabilities. I think some of our community's scripting wizards might be needed to figure out a way to better integrate these systems - OR we might all try to come to an agreement on a few standard or preferred systems. One of the biggest impediments to inter-sim travel is the loss or rank or funds that comes with it. This is not my specialty, so I'd definitely appreciate it if a talented scripter could weigh in on if this is even a plausible idea.

One way that I can think of is for each estate that has a crafting system to agree to put one of those ingredients on another sim (or multiple sims). Maybe that certain kind of ore that you need or drug or plant or animal is only available in the Caribbean or in England or in Antiquity or in Egypt!

- If possible, we might want to look into what it will cost to move our estates closer together on the map. perhaps we could try to form a continent. I know my landlord charges a hefty fee for the service, but it is possible. Think of how appealing interconnected continents look on the map. We may have to host some fundraising balls or events to make it happen, but wouldn't it be nice if we had an "Age of Sail" continent? Maybe each member estate could chip in the cost of one of those minimal ocean sims? Or promise some other connected waterway (like, ahem, the Nile)? 

I don't know how many of my suggestions are practical or even desirable. Ultimately, what I'm getting at is the idea of cooperation, a way to expand our historical world so that we are sharing each other's unique cultures and experiences without becoming one homogeneous estate. Some sims are more combat focused. Some are into para-RP. Some are more into light RP. That's ok. We all have our own estate cultures, and that's part of the fun! My hope, with all of these suggestions, is to find ways for each estate to retain its unique flavor while encouraging a free exchange of ideas and people across those cultural divides.

Georgian London or Antiquity or Egypt might be your home. It will remain so! But maybe, just maybe, you send a servant to buy or otherwise obtain that exotic ingredient from the Caribbean. Maybe you make an advantageous foreign alliance for your daughter. Maybe you go on the Grand Tour. Maybe you find someone to play that creditor for your backstory -- you know, the one to whom you owe a gaming debt. Maybe you have a warrant out for you in one land, so you flee to another -- and *maybe* someone pursues you! I think our experiences will all be the richer if we are able to work together to support each other.

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

Good Day Pasha

These are all great ideas.  This is the sort of thing I had in mind when I wrote this down.  I should mention, that Tatiana and the Hamlet also have an advanced G&S thing going as does cambridge in Antiquity.  

I will alert Pirates Destiny to this thread, maybe they would like to offer some ideas.  The courts and pirates have a long history in SL and we have some of the most beautiful regions as well. 

One of the ideas I had run across our Admins was a rotating location type of thing.  The idea was, there were 4 weekends in each month.  So, first weekend, Court Weekend, spend the weekend centered around, diplomatic rp, receive guests, household staff, dinners with the royals.  Second weekend, a rough example, would be visiting a friend for the weekend.  One person would be host, and have a weekend long party.  Friday night arrival and dinner...saturday...breakfast morning ride (break) cards and dinner...sunday breakfast...and leave.  Third weekend, would be vacation, spend the weekend doing a vacation type rp.  In Antiquity, we have Bath.  With the Hotel, Spa, Roman Baths, Art Exhibits and such, we can rp going to take the waters, and have tea in the Pump Room.  And fourth weekend, is the rest weekend with family.  You stay home and just be lazy or what ever.  

The idea behind this was to get many people involved.  We all have wonderful homes or places to rp.  It would be ideal to work everyone's locations into it, so that they can all be seen and used.  It also gives everyone a chance to play host and have people over.

On the diplomatic side, the exchange of ambassadors, following the protocols set up would be another good way to interact with each other.  This diplomatic rp could also serve a purpose.  Just riffing here but, could serve to exchange security information, griefers, or major event and calendar coordination.  Let the Ambassadors alternate meeting locations, two or three times a month.  

These are all very rough ideas, but have been rattling around in my head for a while.

--
His Royal Highness Jacon Cortes de Bexar Prince of Antiquity, Duke of Cumberland, Duque de Bexar, Duc de la Valliere, Marchese di MSB

Integrating G&S

Ah, yes. I did know about the Queen's Hamlet and G&S. I didn't know Antiquity Cambridge was on that system too, though. How do you handle integrating the 2 systems?

Rotation

Bear with me. This will be pretty long.

I like the idea of rotating. That said, for me, personally, it can't be a weekend thing. We can do that for everyone else, naturally. My personal schedule is simply such that I am usually working when others are playing. I can still send ambassadors and the like if we decide to do a rotation but, when it is Egypt's turn to host, it will likely be weekday evenings.

That was basically what I had in mind with the Grand Tour and each estate reserving a certain block of time per week. I think we're on very similar pages here. Are you proposing that we all stick to the same sort of schedule?

So, let's say, just for the sake of this example, we do that in January. In Antiquity, who is hosting on this hypothetical January, that would look like the following:

• Week 1: Receive foreign diplomats
• Week 2: Various Antiquity residents welcome foreigners as guests for house parties.
• Week 3: Foreign guests and diplomats (and locals) descend on the hotels and vacation spots, like Bath.
• Week 4: The guests are gone! Everyone has a quiet breather.

That same month, for Egypt, would look like:

• Week 1: Send foreign diplomats to Antiquity
• Week 2: Send diplomats -and- any other interested residents to Antiquity for house parties and local events.
• Week 3: Send diplomats and interested residents to vacation hot spots.
• Week 4: Call diplomats and other residents home to relax.

Then, if February were Egypt's month, it would be opposite?

• Week 1: Egypt receives foreign diplomats; Antiquity sends them.
• Week 2: Egyptian residents host foreigners; Antiquarians descend on Egypt!
• Week 3: We all go to some hot spot, like the pyramids, or engage in an exciting RP event.
• Week 4: Everyone goes home and relaxes?

Then, in March, maybe it's PD's turn and the schedule looks like the following:

• Week 1: Egypt, Antiquity, and other sims send foreign diplomats to the Caribbean; PD receives them.
• Week 2: PD residents host foreigners; we have ship battles and barbecues and whatever else folks do int he Caribbean.
• Week 3: PD invites us to some Caribbean vacation-type event. I'm spacing, here. I'm not sure what pirates do for fun. But whatever it is, we all do that!
• Week 4: Everyone goes home and relaxes.

And on and on it goes. Maybe Queen's Hamlet takes the next month, Barbary Coast the next, Rocca the next, and then Georgian London, etc?

Am I getting the gist of it? We keep rotating sims by month, and then by week, within the sim, we rotate the types of activities? The above scenarios are all hypothetical, of course. I'm not trying to volunteer anyone without their consent.

I think we should split this up a bit. I think maybe we should just do 2 weeks: week 1 for politics and week 2 for any local events, hot spots, house parties, battles, etc. that we want to throw. Then, the next 2 or 3 weeks can be business as usual. It will make the beginning of the month an exciting, special time for visiting, but it will also not overwhelm each sim with foreigners and obligations to be elsewhere. I think we run the danger of burning people out if we ask them to commit to too much at once. I'm not saying a sim can't go all out and do 3 entire weekends of events in a row. By all means, do! I won't complain about too many invitations! I'm just saying that I think we should also give smaller estates the option of getting on the rotation schedule without requiring quite so many events. I think it should be up to each estate to decide how to best show itself off, and on what schedule, when its turn in the rotation comes up. I think I can manage 2 weeks comfortably, but maybe some sims might only feel up to hosting 1 event -- or some might want to do 10! 

Functional Diplomacy

I think it is a good idea for us to all meet up, in a semi-IC or OOC manner, on a regular basis. Time zones and schedules make this exceedingly difficult, though. I like the idea of each sim taking turns hosting the meetings. I also think we should post those meeting notes and discussions here, so everyone can contribute. No matter when or where or how often we hold the meetings, some folks won't be able to attend.

Anyway, I really appreciate you opening up this conversation, Your Highness. I hope our historical community is able to pull together and grow and thrive by coordinating a lot of fun cross-sim RP and events!

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

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 SL (two years old), new to role-play (have recently gone from not-a-clue, to getting some instruction), and though I love history and the idea of experiencing it in this format, I admit I am no learned student of it.  I accidently found Duche Coeur (where I now have a home) and some time later, crashed into Rocca Sorrentina (my sailing skills are under develpment), where I was rescued and invited in to coffee, and where I now also have a home and enjoy the role play there.  I mention all this because of the discussion above, about enticing new participants.  I think, when you are knowledgeabe about a topic or activity it can become hard to remember what it's like not to be.  From the point of view of someone who fairly recently became a new participant, I'd like to offer a couple suggestions as to how new people might be encouraged to join. I am thinking of people who are new to roleplay or historical role play (regardless how long they have been in SL), but also those who are new to SL and role play.

I know advertising your spaces and groups is a tricky balance of reaching the serious and dealing with the troublesome. bit there must be some way to become known to newer players or those who are new to role play.  I had no idea at all, that I'd find recreations of historical places in SL, let alone that there would be royal courts and role play.  Have your explored working with the better player-manged new player help centers to find interested people, let them know these places exist and what oportunities there may be?  I'm thinking of places like Caledon, NCI, Helping Having etc. particularly those who have classes on role play, which seem like a perfect opportunity to advertise historical role play.  Participating in certain hunts and markets is also an excellent way to become known. I discovered that Antiquity existed, in this way.

Along with that, may I suggest some assistance with how to rp in groups like yours? I think there is a distinction to be made between getting the word out on what activities go on (we do these things at these places on these days, come on by) and how to become involved in those activities. Perhaps this is where role play instructors or local mentors could provide some help. Is there an easy way for people to know how to begin? As you mentioned, what roles are possible or needed? How do they chose an appropriate character and develop that character? Can they come in with an NPC at first and see what it's like? What is the storyline and how do those get developed? Where to find period clothing? What are meters and crafting systems, and what is the purpose? How time consuming are they (how much time involved to participate in historical role-play). Is there someone in the group who does't mind being contacted with questions? If so, how do potential participants know about that? 

Someone new to role play and certainly someone new to SL would have no idea about those things.    Some general assistance on how to confidently become involved and feel like a contributing member could be a great encouragement.  I can say that I visited some places early on where there was role play going on or even people dressed in character, and though I was interested, I fled, thinking I have no idea how to do what they are doing.  I had no idea where to begin and I certainly wasn't going to interrupt to ask.  I'd be in the way and a nuisance.  I have since, been very lucky to have found some assistance and encouragement, and help from long-time players, otherwise I'd still be too overwhelmed to give it a try.   I wonder how many others in SL would enjoy these kinds of groups, but don't know where to begin and quietly back away. We need to reach those people.

--
Una (Unalunaqat Resident)
Madame D'Qat
Ferme sur Mer (Sea View Farm), Queen's Hamlet
Villa Toscana,LL, Rocca Sorrentina

Thank you very much for your thought-provoking reply! You've definitely given me a good deal to chew with my breakfast. I'll think on this for a few days and reply when rl allows. You make some excellent points and suggestions and I very much appreciate the perspective of a newbie RPer.

I will say, right off the bat, that I have some RP classes that are geared toward newbies. They discuss how to get started a bit more confidently, but they're not quite as in-depth as what you've described.

Thanks for giving me some food for thought!

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

When and where are your classes?

--
Una (Unalunaqat Resident)
Madame D'Qat
Ferme sur Mer (Sea View Farm), Queen's Hamlet
Villa Toscana,LL, Rocca Sorrentina

Good Afternoon Lady Una

Sorry for the slow reply.  I would like to thank you for taking the time for sharing your thoughts and ideas in this forum.  I believe you touch on some very important points and make good recommendations.  

Advertising and Marketing have never been my strong suit, but I agree we need to work on that.   Having just read the latest post by Linden Labs, they are getting ready to implement a new feature.  From what I gather, it will allow internet search to pick up land descriptions and other stuff from SL.  That would allow many more people in the net to pick up possible hits from SL.  This might help a bit with exposure.  

I for one, am not ready to give up the Historical life.  Lady Una..Pasha...I hope we can find ways to make getting into rp easier and trying to get a functioning coalition of estates to help make historical RP better in SL.

It is my hope also, that anyone who would like to help build a strong rp between estates will also join in the conversation with ideas or observations that might help in strengthening court and pirate historical rp.

--
His Royal Highness Jacon Cortes de Bexar Prince of Antiquity, Duke of Cumberland, Duque de Bexar, Duc de la Valliere, Marchese di MSB

I was interested to read your comments on Diplomatic Relations between Estates. Visiting Digniteries would naturally have to travel by land or sea and carry with then items of value. I fear that visits of this nature might attract the interest of, shall we say, the criminal elemant. Thus making the waters unsafe for simple fisherfolk like myself. I hope this will not be the case.

Cap'n "Pin" Stormcliffe..  Pira.    Fisherman Captain of The Black Pig.

Madam, you may find my RP classes in my sim, slurl in my signature. My current schedule is as follows:

• Monday, noon: RP Basics
• Wednesday, 5pm: Building your RP Character
• Thursday, noon: Plots for Beginners

I've also been asked if I might give one of these courses at Antiquity, although we have yet to set up a date and time.

Advertising is a hard thing to get right. There's a fine line between informing and overwhelming, and an even finer one between making an announcement and spamming. For instance, I just tried to make a recurring event here on this group, but then I saw it on the front page and deleted it because it looked like it was taking up too much room on the calendar. I haven't managed to find the right balance between getting the word out to strangers and annoying people who know me. lol.

Well met! I'll tackle the rest of your post in a separate post.

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22
updated by @mansur-marawi: 28 Dec 2017 08:51:55AM

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?

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

I wanted to revive this old thread in order to congratulate Jacon on actually implementing some of these ideas and hosting a fabulous weekend in Bath. Way to get the ball rolling, Your Highness!

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

I had forgotten about that pickled liver of yours, Sir Mansur! In Antiquity, we used to use a previous iteration of the George Tavern, with an open street-front on the main dock, in the same way - with the luxury of dedicated bar staff, rather than barflies, in the role of greeters. That's how I became engaged myself: I wandered past, I was greeted and I was offered a drink and kind IC conversation. Finding that bar staff or barfly who's willing just to hang around for hours a day is the challenge, of course; the semi-scheduled Bath setup proved a useful way to fill part of the gap.

--
Antiquity Hedgewitch
updated by @tiamat-windstorm-von-hirvi: 03 Oct 2018 12:29:46PM

You know, his drinking problem has actually been a delight to play. It has even driven plot at some points. Presently, someone in the valley is attempting to un-seat Mansur by means of exacerbating and bringing to light this problem. In the past, when he went about in disguise, his preferred beverage and a certain storage place were clues to his true identity. So the trait has been more useful than just a means by which to meet newbies!

That said, I -do- think I need to institute something similar at LV. My landing point is too far away from everyone else. The semi-scheduled Bath setup is a good solution to that!

---

Anyway, onto the real reason I wanted to post: more cross-sim RP!

I wanted to tell everyone that we're planning some cross-sim RP with Kalahari on 10/17. We'll be doing a state dinner. Everyone is invited! Sim meeting Fri at 6pm SLT to discuss details. I'll post more as I know more.

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

I will do my best to make an appearance on the 17th in one guise or another (though the daytime demands of real life will impose some limitations.)

--
Antiquity Hedgewitch

No need to attend that, Tiamat. I've had to cancel it due to my rl computer problems.

I'm still very interested in pursuing cross-sim RP and helping to unite our various historical sims. It just looks like I may be a little limited in terms of what I'm actually capable of doing without crashing.

----------------------------------

Info here:

Just an fyi: I think I'm going to cancel the upcoming Kalahari state dinner. Until I can get my machine up and running, I'm just not able to do any graphics or crowd-intensive stuff. I crash half the time I try to come online.

This is why I need some helpful staff to pick up my slack sometimes, so if you want to volunteer, please do!

Also not sure I can continue to post calendars, as those files are on my old hard drive. RP classes, doctor's hours, and family/harem nights to continue as usual.

----------------------------------

--
Owner, the NEW Larl Valley:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hunters%20XXX/168/64/22

One must love computers - except when they make it impossible.

--
Antiquity Hedgewitch