Looking For A Refresher Course In The Basics? (See update note on bottom)

 Linden Lab is in the process of updating the new user experience for Second Life, which is good, but sometimes those of us who have been around for a while would like a refresher course in some skills. Second Life is constantly changing and we can't keep rolling up new avatars. Right now the system will not let you go back to the Learning Regions after you have gone through the new user experience. You can still visit Social Island, but its resources are limited. 

There are a number of places in Second Life that offer real-time help and/or structured tutorials. I am listing them in no particular order. Some places may appeal to you more than others. 

Virtual Ability - Disability Support & Community. This island is operated by a group that provides training and information facilities for people with disabilities and chronic illness.  There are no full-time on-site helpers, but they have volunteers that will set up appointments for newcomers who need it,  Anyone can visit the public grounds, and I found the tutorial path easy to follow.

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/125/137/23

Caledon Oxbridge Gateway - New Resident Help - Caledon is a steampunk/Victorian themed mini-nation within Second Life and has a long history of helping newcomers.  It offers many in-person classes about different subjects, and the Gateway Tutorial offers extensive information  and also some interactive learning. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Oxbridge/85/141/27

Caledon Oxbridge Orientation Course

New Resident Island, Lawst Paradise = Lawst Island is set up like a medieval fantasy landscape. Many of the tutorials are in small cottages that offer information on related subjects. One of the exhibits I appreciated was  a walk-through tutorial area on avatar body types. As you work through the tutorial you are given a free mesh body and clothing. There is a board that shows staff on duty to help with questions. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lawst%20Paradise/208/49/23

New Resident Island

New Citizens Incorporated - This large group has several different learning centers, and satellite information kiosks in different parts of Second Life. , The volunteers at their Kuula location are especially helpful. There is an area to one side of Kuula that looks like a library reading room, with notecard information, and there are tutorial boards on one side under the large sign that says "Balloon Rides." NCI excels at providing group activities and classes on SL skills. There is also NCI Island where tutorials are more spread out but no active volunteers.  Join the group to get frequent notices of activities you can join. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kuula/67/170/28

Helping Haven offers more classes and in-person help. You can take a teleport to the New Resident Information Shack to get the written tutorials and afterwards look around for all the other services they offer. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Helping%20Haven%20Gateway/49/52/26

Many real life educational facilities have virtual space in Second Life and offer SL orientations for their students. Rockcliffe University is one.  The start of their orientation path is under the black dome on the hill and is pretty traditional but as you walk  you will get additional chat messages in each zone.

Rockcliffe has many activities and learning opportunities open to Second Life residents, and also hosts meetings of educators and students who have never been in Second Life before..􀀐

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Gateway/210/234/48

Firestorm Resident Help Area starts with a small path with simple tutorials, but at the end of the path there is a teleport to different places in the Firestorm area. I've found the support staff here to be very helpful.  There are many activities here - for those who are interested in science fiction a visit to the space station is a must.  The Social Area has portals to random destinations. The nearby Ghost Town is a great game where you can solve a mystery and practice camera skills at the same time. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Firestorm%20Social%20Island/11/5/2701

These next two places do not offer basic tutorials but they are welcoming to newcomers and offer a variety of classes and activities.

 Inspiration Island is welcoming to newcomers and offers a variety of classes and activities on subjects like "Whole Brain Health" and Tai Chi. They have huds that will help you visit a number of subjects on different themes. 

 Tour. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/209/123/1003

Inspiration Island

 Library Island in Cookie is affiliated with the American Library Association and often hosts activities that bring in educators and librarians who are not familiar with virtual worlds. Their 'beginner tutorial' recommends "Visit a good orientation site during your first week",  but it has a wonderful display of other information.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/81/99/21

London City Gateway - Unfortunately, I am banned from the tutorial area, but it has a good reputation. There is an age limit, but if you are fairly new it could be a good choice. . All of London City seems to be very popular, so it could be your cup of tea - just the tutorial area is off-limits to us oldsters.

I recommend joining all the different organizations that sponsor orientation areas to get notices about all the classes and activities that they provide. 

There is a lot of information on the Second Life forums and related pages, and Strawberry Singe has made some excellent videos about learning to use Second Life. 

There are many other resources and I have found that residents are almost always willing to answer questions. I just prefer to have some information first, so that I know what questions to ask.

Don't overlook the classes offered by places like Happy Hippo, Dreams, and Builders Brewery. Check their bulletin boards and join their groups to get notices. 

Visit the Tourist Information Center in historic Mocha for a notecard with landmarks rather than slurls, and other free information. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mocha/12/227/31

Update July 22, 2021. After reading about upcoming changes on Inara Pey's website I visited the new "Welcome Back" Island for residents who are returning - not much there. The New Resident Island experience, though, for new users (who use the official Second Life Viewer) integrates the physical island with a pop-up 'help' window that explains basic things like walking. Nothing about flying, though, although apparently there were live volunteers offering help if you needed it. Apparently the idea is that newcomers are already computer savvy and can just google more information if they need it. A step in the right direction.

Events: Second Life Birthday

The Second Life Birthday Party is one of Second Life's big yearly events, and has many different parts.

Part of it is "Shop and Hop" - there is a huge temporary Mall with over 100 stores, and each shop has a free gift for residents.

Another part is the non-commercial Regions that house different exhibits, large and small, by residents and by Linden Lab.

A third part consists of live events including music, dance, and presentations. This year there was a presentation of a new home theme for residents.

That's a lot, and I will refer you to the different links to get a complete picture.

I have been to maybe three of these Birthday parties in the past. In my opinion the exhibitors' area most resembles the "community exhibits" of a large County Fair, with the resulting chaos, only you don't get full-sized dragons at County Fairs.

This year, though, I made a thing...In County Fair terms, it might be considered the equivalent of a lint collection...

Turtle fountain - background de-rendered

Another view 

What this is, is a large fountain surrounded by giant picture blocks. A huge turtle floats below cascading clouds, with four life-size elephants on her back. The elephants support a map of Second Life, and above the map is a red balloon carrying a small hippopotamus with a spy glass. I didn't make the turtle or the elephant or the hippo - I just made the simple parts, but I did put everything together*. 

The title of my exhibit is "Where Are These Places in Second Life?" with a CarmenSanDiego theme. I have been collecting landmarks for hidden, forgotten, secret and overlooked places in Second Life for some time. Each block has a photo showing a destination, and clicking on the block gives visitors a notecard with the landmark and some information. I also made a box of "Free tools for explorers".

The whole process was exciting and terrifying. I had about two weeks to put everything together, and kept changing the layout. I had to re-check all the locations and make sure that nothing had changed. In one case I had to spend time to make sure that you could still complete a long quest. It was a lot of fun to see the other builds go up and talk with some of the other exhibitors.

After the Birthday exhibits are over, I will take some of the build back to the Tourist Information Center and install it there. Maybe even the fountain.

Now I can relax and visit the other Exhibits.

I was very excited when I heard someone chatting about 'that great big turtle', but then I found out that there was a bigger turtle in the Spellbound Region made by Walton F. Wainwright of Contraption. His turtle has a cathedral on its back, and a giant tree on top of the cathedral. The whole structure is 233 meters high. The turtle moves, and Walton made it himself, so I have to agree it is superior to MY turtle - still...

Next year.

*Yeah, Terry Pratchett reference.