User's Manual

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Introduction

Second Life^® is a 3D virtual world that combines social interaction, 3D graphics...

It features persistent user-created content, a convertible currency,...

Interacting with the Second Life virtual world requires the following:

(1) A Second Life account (2) A Broadband Internet connection (3) A computer capable of running the Viewer program. (4) The Viewer program installed on your computer. The Viewer allows you to log in to the Second life grid, and then see and interact with objects and avatars around your current "location" in the virtual world. (5) Web browser to access the Second Life website, which is necessary to use some features.

Optionally you may use:

(6) A microphone for voice interaction (7) Joystick or 3D mouse as a control device

Basic Concepts

Since Second Life is not like any other 3D environment, some basic concepts are reviewed in this section.

The Grid - A set of servers hosting connected map regions plus supporting databases and networking. Together they make it possible for a user to log in, see, and interact with the 3D world. The main SL grid is called agni.

Map Region - Each server on the agni.secondlife.com domain runs several copies of a "Simulator" program, each of which represents one 256x256 meter area of the grid. When you move from one region to another, you are handed off from one server to another, giving the impression of a large 3D world. Currently the main (Agni) grid has about 29,000 map regions.

Technically a map region is a set of data, like a document, or spreadsheet, which can be saved, and reloaded if a server stops running. The Simulator program is constantly updating the data in real time, as users come and go, objects are added and removed, scripts running within the objects do things, etc. Map regions are also called 'sims' after the program that runs them.

Viewer - The program that runs on your computer that connects via the internet to the Second Life servers. It uses your graphics card or chip to generate the 3D view that you see in real time. The data to produce the 3D view has to be downloaded from the servers, since the grid is constantly changing. This is different than most online games, where the data is provided mostly on an installation disk.

Resident - An account that most Second Life users have, with a first and last name, profile, account balance, inventory, etc.

Avatar - The character that represents a resident when logged into Second Life, and appears on the 3D view area. Avatars are highly customizable.

Linden Lab - The company that owns Second Life.

Linden - Staff member of Linden Lab. Their accounts/avatars have the last name "Linden". For example, "Philip Linden" is the avatar used by Philip Rosedale, founder and Chairman of Linden Lab.

User-Created Content - Linden Lab codes the software and hosts the servers that runs Second Life. But most of the items you see when you are logged in are actually created by other users, such as clothes, furniture, weapons, animations, sounds, etc.

The Viewer

Information on downloading, installing, and using the official Linden Lab viewer can be found at the Getting started with Second Life wiki page.

More detailed information can be found in the Viewer Menu and Floating Windows pages (currently being developed).