Orientation Island is a rite of passage for newcomers to Second Life. The virtual world’s operator, Linden Lab, directs first-time users there so they can ostensibly find out how to make their avatars walk, fly, chat, and do other things that avatars do.
But the island is also confusing and virtually impossible to return to if you need a brush-up session.
Realizing that Orientation Island doesn’t fit the needs of many educators, the New Media Consortium, a higher-education technology group, has unveiled its own orientation island for newbies. The place has a San Francisco ambience, in homage to Linden Lab’s headquarters: An open-air market, the Golden Gate Bridge, and a trolley car are among the sights.
Kinks remain to be worked out. But the island is more colorful and informative than Linden Lab’s version. Particularly helpful is the “Pier of Culture,” which discusses, among other things, griefers (disruptive avatars), machinima (video production in Second Life), and poseballs (objects that animate avatars who sit on them). Such wisdom usually takes many months for users to discover on their own. —Andrea L. Foster
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