2016 HG: PEOPLE: Virtual worlds: Where is everybody? How do I find people? HGProject

Where is everybody? How do I find people? 
Updated 2/19/2019 

OpenSim offers land, lots of land. All virtual, so it doesn't take much upkeep. When we connect it together with hypergrid, it is much too big for people to find friends easily. That is the same as in a big city. When you move to the big city and want to find friends, you have to work at it a bit. Here is how to do that in virtual worlds.

• Entering a virtual world is a lot like moving into a new town.
• Read the local news, find what is happening around you.
• Join local groups that do things that interest you.  
• Make yourself visible to the local community
• Go to events that interest you. 
• Pay attention to people's names.  (You can see floating name tags.)
• Find people in the region (Firestorm People Button) if you don't see them.
• Post about your interests in group chat.  
• Watch group chat for things that interest you.
• Watch chat at events and meetings.
• Most people in virtual worlds want to talk to people with similar interests.
• If you want friends, be very public about your interests.
• Virtual worlds are about people. Communities, communication, shared goals

Community entry

• Community-based entry paths on the hypergrid
• If you don't easily find a community, try New Media Arts Inc (G+)
• NMA has a simplified entry path for newcomers: NMA entry path
• And an inworld welcome site: Cookie II
• At the NMA welcome site, you will find a quick way to join the community group.
• You can introduce yourself and ask questions in the group.
• You are welcome to use this path even if you are not interested in NMA activities.
• Community-based entry paths on the hypergrid

***********************************

*******************************************

What you can start doing before you move in

• Read the local news
• Read the national news
• Join MeWe groups that interest you.

Read the local news, find what is happening around you.

• Sign of the Kite (News, not limited to Kitely)
• Check with your grid for it's own local news and grid community
• Examples:  Kitely Virtual, DigiWorldz, Great Canadian Gridders eh
• Examples:  OSgrid.org

Read the "national" news of the virtual worlds

• HYPERGRID EVENTS
• Selby's daily news collection (news items I pick out)
• Hypergrid Business

When you arrive at any welcome site

• Look for a way to join the main community inworld group.
• Many communities have inworld groups where members talk with each other.
• Look for a panel that lets you join the inworld group. 
• As soon as you join the group, send a group IM.
• Introduce yourself and tell about your interests or ask questions.
• NMA low tech entry path for starting in Hypergrid

How to send an IM to a Group (in Firestorm)

• Click the People button, then the Groups tab
• People button is somewhere on the bottom or sides of your screen.
• Two heads together.  Button info should come up when you hover cursor.
• Groups tab will show a list of your groups.  
• Hover the cursor over the group you want to send the IM to.
• A white square with head and shoulders will appear on the far right.  Click that.
• A group window will come up.   Click Chat button (bottom left).
• A chat window will open. Type in the bottom bar. 
• Introduce yourself and your interests.  Ask questions.

-

• If you don't have the people button on your screen, 
• it is in your hidden buttons
• You can have buttons on the sides and bottom of your screen.
• Right click on one, click on toolbar buttons. 
• That will bring up a panel of buttons.  
• Drag any button you want on your screen to the place you want it.

Reach out to people

• Join and post in MeWe groupswith interests like yours.
• Join and post in Facebook groups with interests like yours.
• (You can do the items above before you even enter a virtual world.)
• Go to places that promote interests like yours.
• You can find these places from Google communities and Facebook groups.
• Join conversations in those places.
• Firestorm prefs setting to show names of avatars.
• Friend people (see below) in those places, start conversations.
• Read the forums on your grid, look for mentions of  your interests:  Kitely forums.
• Introduce yourself on the forums of your grid.  KItely introduce yourself forum.
• Virtual worlds are about people. Communities, communication, shared goals

Building a contact/friends list

Go to events that interest you. 

• Selby's daily news collection
• WELCOME TO SEANCHAI LIBRARIES
• VWBPE Video collection
• Watch the local chat, friend people that share your interests.

Places to talk to people

• Nearby chat (typed and voice)
• Group chat (Usually typed) 
• Grid forum.  Example: Kitely forums
• General discussion, introduce yourself.
• Google communities

Watch chat at events and meetings.

• Offer a friend connection to people who say something interesting.
• Offer the connection soon after they talk. 
• That way, they will recognize that you are responding to what they said.
• Ask questions in group chat or public chat. 
• Offer friend connection to people who give you helpful answers.

"Friending" people to find them easily

• For some people in virtual worlds, the friends list is for close friends.
• For others, the friends list is for anyone they want to contact easily.
• If you are looking for friends in the virtual world, best build a list of contacts
• You can put people on your friends list to be able to contact them easily.
• In the Hypergrid, you can send IMs to people on your friends list.
• No matter what grid they are on.  
• The etiquette of friending in virtual worlds

How to make friends (in Firestorm)

• Don't hesitate to offer a friend connection to people.  Only a few will not accept.
• Avatar near you: Right click on the avatar, click on add friend.
• Avatar in IM with you: Click on the 2 people graphic in the top bar.
• Someone whose avatar name you know: See Search for names 

Search for names

• Outworld: Google search for the name, followed by 'virtual world" if necessary.
• Open the profile.  You can send a message to the person from the G+ profile.
• If you want to contact the person inworld, you must know a home grid.
• Inworld/hypergrid:  Go to the home grid and search (Ctrl f).  
• Firestorm also has a search button; you can use that if it is on your screen.
• On the Firestorm Search panel, click People  and enter the name. 

How to communicate with friends (in Firestorm)

• If you have the people button (2 heads) on your screen:  
• click the 2 heads button.  Click the Friends tab.
• Find the name (start typing it in the top bar.)
• Right click on the name, click IM.  
• You can also send IMs to groups, and nearby people.
• To send an IM to someone nearby, right click on the avatar, click on IM.
• To send an IM to a group, click the people button, then Groups tab
• Then double-click the target group name.  That will open the IM panel.

-

• If you don't have the people button on your Firestorm screen, 
• it is in your hidden buttons
• You can have buttons on the sides and bottom of your screen.
• Right click on one, click on toolbar buttons. 
• That will bring up a panel of buttons.  
• Drag any button you want on your screen to the place you want it.

How to travel the hypergrid

• Grids are like cities. 
• Grids have parts that are called sims, worlds, regions, or something else.  
• These parts are like neighborhoods. You can walk around a neighborhood. 
• To get to a different neighborhood, you probably drive or call a cab.
• In a virtual world, you use a Teleport (TP).  
• Hypergrid is a way of connecting grids. So it is a lot like the airline system.
• Each of these travel modes is different at the start. 
• To travel the hypergrid you need a hypergrid address or a landmark
• The HG address will look like this: grid.kitely.com:8002:Cookie II
• Call up World Map (Ctrl+m), paste the address next to Find.  Click Find, TP