Teleport, Finding Places, and Landmark Guide

This is part of the Getting Started in Second Life Guide. This Part is a quick guide on teleporting, helping you find things, and getting around Second Life.


Overview



When you first leave Orientation Island, you are probably in a Welcome Area like this one. So where do you go and what should you do?

If you have not done so, check out the Movement, Camera Control, and Interaction Guide for getting around on foot and interacting with other residents.



Second Life is a really really big place. As of this writing, there are over 12,000 sims (or 65,000 sq meter plots of land) and growing everyday. Millions of residents go about building and visiting these sims. How do you find anything in all of this stuff? Thankfully, Second Life has tools for locating things and getting around.

By now, you can probably walk and fly around. From the Welcome Area, you can walk or fly to adjacent sims. But with 12,000 sims, that will take a while to get to some places! Thankfully, we can teleport in Second Life...


Teleporting

Ever wish you can just look up a place in the phone book, push a button, and *poof* instantly be transported to that place in Real Life? Well, at least you can do that in SL.

For long distance travel in SL (across sims), we teleport (or TP) around. It doesnt matter how far away the destination sim is from your current location. Teleporting moves your avatar from one location in SL to another almost instantly. And Teleporting is free :)

At first, teleporting doesnt seem "real". But you will get used to it. Its a way of life in SL. Soon you will be TPing in and out of places like an old pro :)


Search/Places

So how do you find a destination to Teleport to? There are many ways, depending on what you are looking for.



The Search/Places window is a good way to find most major destinations in SL. Just click on the "Search" button at the bottom of your screen.



When the Search window appears, click on the "Places" tab at the top.

In the box next to the word "Find:", type in a search word and press the "Search" button. Try searching for the word "tutorials".

This will bring up a list of Land with the word "tutorials" somewhere in their description. Land owners in SL write descriptions for their Land. Most Land owners (including me :P) try to find good search words to attract as many people as possible. So you will often see non-related places come up. But you can usually scan the descriptions for what you are looking for.

The list is sorted by the amount of traffic they receive (time spent by residents at these places). High traffic doesnt necessarily mean a place is popular (many places use "camping" to boost their traffic).

Once you have found a place you are looking for, just click on the "Teleport" button on the bottom of the Search window and you will be instantly transported there :)

BTW, "New Citizens Incorporated" is great place that offers free services for new residents to get started. Be sure to go there as one of your first Teleport destinations!

So if you are looking for a shoe store, try "shoe" AND "shoes" (they will bring up different results). Be creative and try different search words :)


Search/Classifieds



The Search/Classifieds window is another popular way to find something in SL. Click on the "Search" button at the bottom of your screen. When the Search window appears, click on the "Classifieds" tab at the top.

In the box next to the word "Find:", type in a search word and press the "Search" button. Try searching for the word "tutorials". (Hey, that mermaid looks familiar...)

This will bring up a list of Classified Ads with the word "tutorials". Any SL resident can place a Classified Ad. Just like Search/Places, residents (including me again ;) try to find good search words to put in their Classified Ads. But again, you can usually skim through the Classified Ads to find what you are looking for.

The Classified Ads are sorted by the amount that a resident spent on the Ad. It costs at least L$50/week to place a Classified Ad, but it can go very high (around L$999,999/week I think). For some popular search words (like "shoe"), it costs a lot just to be on the first page of search results!

Once you have found what you are looking for, just click on the "Teleport" button on the bottom of the Search window!


Search/Events



The Search/Events window lets you look for a place based on events scheduled around SL. With millions of residents, theres always something happening in SL 24 hours a day.

Click on the "Search" button at the bottom of your screen. When the Search window appears, click on the "Events" tab at the top.

Click on the box next to the word "Category:", pick a search category from the list, and press the "Search" button. Try the "Education" category (this will give you a list of classes being offered).

Any SL resident can create an Event (but there are rules against spamming). The Events are sorted by their start times.

My favorite Categories are "Discussion", "Live Music", "Education", and "Arts and Culture". Check these out if you are ever bored in SL :)

Once you have found what you are looking for, just click on the "Teleport" button on the bottom of the Search window!

If you want to go to an Event in the future, theres a handy way to give yourself a little reminder. Click on the "Notify" button on the bottom of the Search window. If you are logged into SL, an Event notice will pop up 5-minutes before the Event starts. Trust me, its very handy for forgetful mermaids like me :P


Landmarks



Lets say you found this beautiful garden, great club, or cool store. You want to come back to it later. Well, theres an easy way to save your position in SL so you can Teleport back later. This is called a "Landmark", or LM for short.



In most places in SL, you can create your own Landmarks to save your position. Click on the "World" option from the top menu bar, and select "Create Landmark Here".

(A few unusual places in SL will not let you create a Landmark...but they usually dont want you to come back anyway :P)



You will see a little Landmark window appear. Just close the window. Thats it! Youve created a Landmark.



When you want to return to that cool place, just look for the Landmark in your Inventory.

Click on the "Inventory" button at the bottom of your screen. Open the "Landmark" folder and look for the Landmark you created. Double-click on the Landmark and it will open that little Landmark window. Click on the "Teleport" button to teleport back to your favorite place :)

The cool thing is that Landmarks are objects, just like an item of clothing or a chair. You can give it to other residents. You can also receive it from other residents or objects. Most business advertisements in SL would include a Landmark to the store.


SLURL

SLURL's are Web-based Landmarks. They enable you to Teleport to a place in Second Life by clicking on a link from an Internet Web page. Pretty cool, isnt it? :)



For example, heres the SLURL to my store, Sirena Hair & Fashion at Sirena Hair (116,217,22). Clicking the link will bring you to the SLURL Web page. Click the "teleport now" button...



This will open the Map screen in the Second Life program. If Second Life is not running, this will start the Second Life program. Just click the "Teleport" button and away you go :)


Telehubs



Telehubs are arrival areas for a large plot of land (typically the entire sim). There are a few places in SL that force the use of Telehubs. That means no matter where you are trying to TP to in the sim, you will end up at the Telehub.

Fortunately, there is an indicator that will point you to your final destination. Just follow the Red arrow. Your final destination is the Red column of light.

You will encounter Telehubs at most shopping malls and even at some popular sims, most notably the Caledon sims. Caledon uses Telehubs to encourage interaction between residents. Its just so Victorian ;P


Cool Places to See

Second Life is a HUGE place, and it can be daunting at first. So far, Ive shown you how to find things on your own. In case you are curious, here are some recommendations from me :)

1. Visit the places in the Getting Started in Second Life Guide. This will give you a starting point.

2. Visit the Newbie-friendly places in the "Newbie, Orgs, and Good To Know" page in this blog (its in the Site Index on the upper right of this Web page). These are all great places to help you get oriented and make some new friends.

3. Exploring: If you like to explore and see the "sights" in Second Life, check out the "Travel Guide" page in this blog. These include many of the most well-known places in SL, as well as some that are just plain cool :)



4. Dancing: Some of the most popular places in SL are clubs and ballrooms. These are great places to meet people or socialize with some friends. Check out the Music/Dance places in the Culture (Art, Music, Museum, etc) page in this blog. Heres a club tutorial in case you are wondering what to do in a club or dance place.

5. Shopping: Shopping is definitely a popular passtime in SL. You can find just about anything imaginable (and some unimaginable) in SL. Use the Search window (Search/Places and Search/Classifieds) to find what you are looking for (like "shoes", "gowns", and of course "hair" :D).

Also, check out these great fashion blogs for tips and news on the latest releases:

   Fashion Planet (consolidates many designers' blogs in 1 place)
   Linden Lifestyles
   Second Style Magazine and Fashionista Blog

6. Sports and Activities: There are many activities you can do in SL, from sailing a boat to skydiving, skiing, racing, even Sumo wrestling :) Check out the Sports and Activities page in this blog.



7. Live Music: Going to live music concerts is a popular passtime in SL. There are many great musicians who perform routinely in different venues around SL. To find live music concerts, Search/Events under the "Live Music" Category, or check out the schedules at live music venues in the Music/Dance section of the Culture (Art, Music, Museum, etc) page in this blog.

8. Support: Are you Depressed? Do you have some issues you want to share with others? Then check out the support groups available in Second Life. SupportForHealing is a sim with several support groups. Also, Search/Events for the "Charity/Support Groups" Category.

9. Learning: Teaching is one of the great uses of SL. There are many classes offered in SL, from building things in SL to classes on how to meditate in Real Life. Most of these classes are free or minimal cost (under US$1). For a list of upcoming classes, Search/Events under the "Education" Category. Be sure to get to class a little early: most classes start right on time and you can fall behind very quickly!

10. Art: Want to see what artists are doing in SL? There are some really cool exhibits that really utilize the capabilities of SL. Check out the Art and Museum sections of the Culture (Art, Music, Museum, etc) page in this blog. Also, Search/Events under the "Arts and Culture" Category.



11. Role-playing: Role-playing is very popular in SL. In a place where you can be anything you want, most residents do :) From Goth to Star Wars to Western, theres a role-playing sim for just about any setting. Check out the Role-Playing section of the Travel Guide (Siteseeing/Exploring) page in this blog.

12. Building/Designing: Want to build your own dream house? Or become an SL fashion designer? Youve come to the right blog :) Check out the Build (Tutorials, Techniques, etc) page in this blog. There are tutorials for building/designing many things in SL. Also, check out the classes offered in Search/Events under the "Education" Category.


I hope you are more comfortable about finding places in SL. Go forth and explore! :)

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