Viewerhelp:Communicating with other Residents

Important: This article has been translated. The translation was imported on 26 Apr 2010. Any changes will require re-export for incremental translation.

Ways to communicate

Second Life offers a variety of ways to communicate with other people, depending on your preference:

• Text chat - Similar to other online environments, you can type lines of text chat, which can be publicly seen inworld, type a private instant message with another Resident, or share messages among members of a group. Also see:
  • How do I chat?
  • How do I Instant Message (IM) someone?
  • Nearby Chat
  • Conversations
  • Preferences - Chat
• Voice chat - With a microphone and headset attached to your computer, you can use your own voice to speak. Every text chat mode has a voice counterpart, so there's public, private, and group voice. Also see:
  • Voice FAQ
  • Voice Call
  • AvaLine - With AvaLine, you can receive calls from anywhere in the world while you're inworld. For example, stay in touch with loved ones who aren't in Second Life. See Second Life Voice Services.
• Gestures - Your avatar is capable of using "body language" to express how you're feeling, including animations and sounds. For example, at a club, you can trigger a dance to show you're enjoying the music. Also see:
  • How do I perform a gesture?
  • Gestures

Making friends

If you're getting to know someone and want to stay in touch later, you can add them to your friends list. It's easy to do so:

1. Ask the Resident if you can send them a friendship request.
2. If they accept, right-click their avatar and choose Add Friend.
   • If they're remote and you're in a conversation, in the instant message window, click Add Friend on the left.
3. Upon their acceptance, they're added to your friends list.

Second Life has a unique culture with some customs similar to real world ones, and other customs are quite different. For more on socializing in Second Life, see SLetiquette.