It ain't that bad, Jerry | The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life

Doesn't really get me excited about trying Second Life | The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life | Paul Carr, Graham Pond

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	• The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life Paul Carr, Graham Pond St. Martin's Griffin, 2007 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Very helpful

As a 35-year veteran of online worlds, everything from irc to chat to the Palace to the Sims, I was skeptical about Second Life. Whatever fancy technology is involved, people are still people, and I figured it was in essence a chat room with new bells and whistles. And it is that--the core behaviors of online chat have not changed much in 35 years--but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there is much more to Second Life than chat. I was helped in this discovery by the authors of this book. The official book from Linden Labs mostly tells you how to do things. This book goes another step, and suggests things to do. The news media seem mostly focused on commerce and sex in Second Life. And there is that. The people in Second Life are similar to the cyber-denizens you will find anywhere online. The real difference here is the places: the worlds that people have built. Even if you never talk to anyone else, you can have amazing experiences simply exploring: a mystical forest, a sinister cathedral in the sky, an amusement park where you can ride a roller coaster, a Victorian village, an urban wasteland, and romantic sunset beaches are among thousands of places imagined and created, not by the owners of Second Life, but by its "residents." This guide helped me find all of them, giving hours of enjoyment even to this ancient cyber-skeptic.

I also appreciate that the authors have taken some time to bring readers up to speed on the culture of Second Life's residents. In any online community--well, any community really, online or off--there is always a subtext that new people struggle to understand, consisting of previous events and interpersonal struggles. The authors have shed light on this history for us in a most amusing way. In short, I'm grateful to have read this book at the beginning of my Second Life experience; it was very, very helpful and has increased my enjoyment of Second Life considerably.

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It ain't that bad, Jerry

The review here by Jerry Saperstein is a lot of hooey. Jerry is either ticked off about something and using subtle cues in his text to bash the book and its author, or else is an overstuffed blowhard who didn't take the time to explore SL. If he had looked thoroughly at Second Life, he would have found what most find sooner or later: it's not a game. It has no game rules, no scoring, no winners and losers. Rather, it is a large-scale social network where people build their environments and connect with people they wish to know. And it's completely safe. You can't be killed there. He makes it seem bad that people are looking to escape reality. Duh! That's what role-playing is all about. He overlooks the vast array of human knowledge on display in SL. This is fast becoming a center for online education in social sciences, physical sciences, arts and letters. The opportunities for learning through exploration are amazing. This book is a great way to start searching for that excitement in a world beyond reality.

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Doesn't really get me excited about trying Second Life

I bought this book because I was curious about Second Life. I had visited the Second Life web site and didn't find a lot there to get me excited or really curious, so I thought this promised overview might provide a more convincing argument.

It doesn't.

The book isn't bad. It is quite informative, in fact. But it leaves me with the impression that Second Life is just another roleplaying game of the kind that interested me a couple of decades ago but long ago lost their appeal.

The authors make it clear that Second Life is the same old thing in new dress. People looking for cybersex; people looking to control; people looking to escape reality, but dragging their real-life problems with them. In short, Second Life is just another online game with great hype.

Granted, there are many people who enjoy frittering away hours in roleplaying environments. I am not one of them. To that end, this book has served me well: it convinced me that Second Life was not worth trying.

The authors do provide a thorough overview of Second Life and its "attractions" and venues. For people who enjoy this kind of thing, it would be a good introductory guide. To the authors' credit, they don't try to make Second Life appear to be a musn't miss experience; in fact, they take pains to acknowledge that it is just a game and that some people appear to take it far too seriously.

Jerry

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At least it's cheap

I've been playing Second Life for only about a week and was curious to see if there were any books written about it. I must admit I was surprised to see that there are several available, but I bought this one because it was the only book I saw on Amazon that appeared to have been reviewed by actual people, and not just by the author's Second Life avatar. (I have also ordered the new edition of the Official Guide due out next month.)

After receiving the book last night I understand and appreciate Jerry Saperstein's earlier review on this page. I feel fortunate to have at least tried Second Life before seeing this book, and I still have hope that Second Life is more than what is described in this book.

There is some useful information here, but the stuff I really want to know (like, if I buy "new land" can I choose the location?) I guess I'll just have to find out on my own. Thanks to this book, I now know that Amsterdam Second Life is a really good place to get my Second Life genitals, an aspect of the game that had not occurred to me, and frankly really doesn't interest me. If the book is right, and cybersex is really what Second Life is all about, then maybe the $10 I spent on this book has saved me a lot of time wasted in this game.

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A great intro to SL

A Great and direct intro to Second Life. I keep a copy next to my PC and use it to Navigate in SL.

Imagine an enormous, breathtaking virtual world to explore, where land can be bought for less than a dollar and new construction is limited only by your imagination. An online tourist destination where you can shop for virtual designer clothes in a shopping mall atop a live volcano, teleport to an underwater gig by U2, before taking a new friend back to your personal spaceship for virtual coffee or...well, you get the idea. The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life is a fast, fun guidebook that introduces first-time visitors to the endless wonders offered by this exciting and rapidly developing online world. All of Second Life is here, including:The Essentials. What to wear and how to behave.The People. Finding likeminded souls?or soulmates.The Major Destinations. Must-see tourist hotspots, shops, and shows.Shopping and Nightlife. A guide to the lively virtual shopping scene, and all manner of debauchery.For Entrepreneurs. How to buy land or start a Second Life business.

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