Advice to Second Life Newbies Challenge

In the interest in keeping social and interactive in our Second Life experiences, once in a while (more often recently) Shay and I have begun challenging ourselves with some of Strawberry Singh's Blog Meme Challenges, and today is no different.   Her most recent Monday meme was this:

List 5 pieces of advice you would give to a newcomer that has just joined Second Life. 

1.  Don't treat Second Life as a game!
Though we both feel strongly about this first one, Shaylin is adamant about it.  Second Life is more than a mere game.  It is an immersive social-networking platform (not unlike facebook) where real people interact with each other, and if you think of it in those terms, you'll find your SL experience a much richer one.

2.  Treat people with the same respect that you would like to receive in return.
This brings more detail to item #1.  In this facebook-like platform, you are bound to meet others, some of whom might rub you the wrong way.  It's important to remember that that person on the other side of that avatar has feelings as well.  There's no point in adding drama to your Second Life.  Isn't there enough of that in the real world?

3.  Find a mentor as quickly as you can.
Shay and I both found more experienced avatars who took us under their wing, and it helped us dramatically in our evolution.  Shay routinely goes to Newbie sites and offers her help to those who are just starting out.  This is also an important note for those of us who ARE more experienced, and that is to BE A MENTOR!  

4.  Research Second Life as much as you can (via blogs, articles, etc.)
You will find lots of information on Second Life in blogs (such as the one Shay and I use for our blog challenges, StrawberrySingh.com.)  Take a moment and do a little research.  Just recently Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook, acquired an innovative virtual reality hardware project called Oculus Rift, which shows much promise in the future development of Second Life.

5.  Go for it!
Don't be afraid to try new things.  You'll find that most of the time you'll do no harm to yourself at all, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on that horse.  And if you DO run into trouble, you'll probably find help to get yourself back on the right track from the most unlikely of sources.  Meet people.  Engage.