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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Fashionable and Thrifty - Survival of the Broke - Taisynn Reporting



Is it possible to be fashionable and thrifty in Second Life, and is it reasonable? 

Second Life is a world filled with shopping events and the desire to create the most fashionable avatar on the grid. It is all too common for new residents to become overwhelmed with trying to create in trying to craft their own unique persona on a limited budget without being exiled to prim-laden attire from the pre-mesh era. 

The question of pursuing Second Life is often of cost. While our virtual world is considered a free simulator by the gaming industry, everything within it surrounds the value of the Linden. Not every person is able to upload $20US (the equivalent of about 4090 lindens) to have an updated avatar, and some question if it is even possible to play the game freely. 

Interested potential residents often do not know about the ever growing freebie fashion community which has made Second Life possible for many new players to play without looking amateurish. Groups such as SL Frees and Offers have an upward of 54,000 members, and popular blogs such as Fabulously Free bring in dozens of views per day for both women and men alike. 

They aid new residents in their ever evolving avatar be it in the form of skins, fashion, furniture, housing, or many other items that further the creative nature that exists behind Second Life. Indeed it is the free items that showcase what many designers are capable of and draw in new and old players alike to peruse their shelves in search of bigger and better to truly craft their avatar to be something special and unique to them.

The methods creators use to offer these freebies often surround generating store traffic in exchange for these free items. It takes time and friends to successfully freebie hunt, but there are entire groups dedicated to helping members become successful. 

 

The first and most popular method which creators use are group gifts. Second Life groups allow creators to advertise potential customers of new releases. The more members that are in the group, the wider their audience and potential of making a sale is. In exchange for members staying in the group, they are offered a gift or two every month. 

However, there are methods that don't take up group space, considering there are thousands of groups in Second Life, and our avatars are only allowed to participate in 42 of them. One of these methods is the lucky chair or board. 

A lucky chair is a chair with a letter connected to it. The letter, after a certain amount of time, will change to another. Using the first initial of a resident's legacy name, an avatar with a name beginning with that letter is able to sit down and obtain a prize in the chair's vault. There is another variety called a lucky board that doesn't require a resident to sit in it, but rather just click on it to obtain the prize.

Depending on the countdown on each chair, this can be time consuming. Considering there are 24 letters in the alphabet, and with residents able to have numbers in the beginning of their legacy name, there are 9 numbers mixed into each chair, and one wildcard round symbolized by a question mark. Waiting five minutes for each letter to pop up, praying it's your initial, is a game of luck and time.

Residents use groups such as SL Frees and Offers to call the letters out to other freebie hunters. This allows them to make the letters rotate at a faster pace, and increases their chances of having their initial pop up. 



The next method used is a midnight mania board. This method involves a board with two sets of numbers on it. It is a ratio of how many residents have clicked the board to how many residents are needed to lock it down. If the board locks down, at midnight all the residents who clicked obtain the prize. Midnight Mania boards are less time consuming, but involve worrying about your instant messages capping if you've gone to bed before midnight. 

While the first three methods above are the most popular methods of obtaining freebies, they are not the only ones out there. New methods continue to pop up, such as puzzle games and chairs that require you to sit in them for ten minutes to an hour. It is all up to the creator and what method seems to appeal to them the best. 

 

For Avatars looking for more exclusive gifts, some creators charge a fee to enter their groups. These groups provide VIP access to free store credit for new releases every month, discounts, and group gifts of superior quality. There is also a method called 7Seas fishing that allows people to fish for clothing given by creators. Of course, you also obtain prim fish you can breed and trade, but many use this method to get clothes they can trade between fellow fishers. These methods are costly, costing anywhere between 50 lindens and above, but often give nicer quality gifts.

In the end, with all the possibilities of obtaining free items, residents can fashion their avatar at little to no cost at all. Second Life is a very charitable and fascinating world, and is entirely playable for those looking for something for free to occupy their free time.

10 comments:

  1. In the year 2015 you're still blogging about freebies in SL.
    Why are you so fucking cheap, goddamnit this cancer is killing SL. You even proclaim L$50 to be "costly". The fuck? Why don't you git gud at a job or influence people to contribute to Secondlife through the creation of goods. With these practices, everyone will look like a scrub from 2007 with no coordination.
    To anyone reading this, sure you can get by being cheap as shit, but you will look like shit. Chances are, you'll still be outdated. Show me a free avatar that doesn't look like shit.

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    1. what a debby downer you are! from the looks of how you give an opinion it is clear that you are a judgemental, superficial avatar who has poor communication skills. It isn't necessary to throw cursing around just because there are options to be thrifty in second life. i founda lot of nice complete avatars on the sl marketplace under 50L that are actually very pretty. I can also also go to fashion outlets and found free gifts and other low priced itemsthat work for me.Not everyone has to look like a supermodel in second life. get a grip and learn to be approachable because no matter how "hot" you think you look your personality will make you look terrible and no amount of lindens can fix that!

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    2. I agree. You don't have to spend a lot of lindens to be happy with your own personal style. There's no need to degrade anyone who wants to use freebies and low cost items. I come to sl to listen to concerts and hang out with my friends. They don't judge me me and I don't really care what other people think. I am happy with my look and that's what matters the most. It is people like that which gives SL a bad name because they are so rude. It is ridiculous and unnecessary.

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    3. This was my first trial article for SLE, and naturally I wrote about what I know the most about in Second Life. I started out a freebie hunter as a broke college student trying to find something fun to do. My heart always goes out to people on a limited budget, and I am always vocal about being able to play without extreme cost. I don't know why you said I think 50L is too much, because if you read my personal blog, I buy quite a bit (when able) and I did get an SL job writing articles for SLE as a fashion consultant.

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    4. We must all remember SL products are virtual, or 'not real'. Not everyone has the real life $ to purchase unreal products. True the creators wish to make as many $ off the players as they possibly can for their time and creations and that is fine for those who have the $ and wish to pay. However people should not be prevented to play on SL for lack of $. So the freebies, gifts are great. Further they are as top quality as any of the other goods the creator provides. Or their reputation will be destroyed. So it is a win win. Remember this is only a game, I spend real life $ on real life things and dont care if someone things me cheap or not a quality avatar. I have fun and that is the whole point of SL.

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  2. For 99L I got this complete avatar and she came with clothes, hair, shoes and she looks very pretty. Here is a link! https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Ricielli-BERRY-Skins-Shape-6-looks-Mesh-Dress-Mesh-Jacket-Clothes-Boots-Bikini-lingerie24-HRS-PROMOTION/2876428

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  3. good information. I'm glad to see that I have options for saving lindens. Thank you Taisyn

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  4. First off, a lot of "noobs" read the SL Enquirer.

    Secondly, as a first article, I think that Tay did bloody good. If, Mr or Mrs Anoymous would care to submit an article to me personally, I'd be glad to critique it in the same way. Although, "git gud" isn't the greatest way to criticise someone on their style of writing or the content therein.

    Yes there are ways of earning good money to buy all the latest high priced gear. Yes, you can buy free stuff that will make you look like you just fell out of a Linden's ass. But, you know what? People love bargains and freebies.

    If you'd like to make a more constructed comment feel free to do so, but please....in the year 2015.....why so angry?

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    Replies
    1. As SL progressed creators became more talented, their products more professional. The first products looked bad to now but not when first made. One must chose carefully what free products to take. Established creators make and give away quality product. To do less only hurts their reputation.

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  5. First off, amazing info, Taisynn. very informative. As someone who used to spend LOADS on clothes, and now only have about 300L a week that I can use on clothes, this information is a godsend.

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