New Citizens Incorporated
So here you are, newly arrived in SL. What do you do and where do you go?
Well the world is your oyster, but for a start let’s take a trip over to NCI New Citizens Incorporated.
This is a mine of information both basic and complex. The main body is an outdoor scene. Something like a small park with open plan buildings. Information posters deal with everything from changing from basic to advanced viewer (v2) to wearing clothes, building and scripting.
The people who run the place tend to be very knowledgeable and while they can be a bit over geeky and techie they certainly know what they are talking about.
As it is PG rated NCI is a secure environment that is well policed by land managers. No nudity is allowed – indeed there are changing rooms provided for both male and female avatars – guns, vampires, the bloodlines people and offensive language are frowned upon. So both the new and established citizen can go there and not feel threatened or annoyed.
The place has many freebies on offer. Simply select the item from the sales board and click on it. This brings it into your inventory. You can then drag and drop it to the ground. In some cases this is all you need to do to open the package and receive the contents. If not, just right click on the rezzed item and select open/copy to inventory, Remember to clean up afterwards.
The freebies cover pretty much everything. You may need a free translator if your first language isn’t English or if you believe you may need to chat with foreign speakers. Mega prims and boxes of many textures are available for the would be visitor. Free clothing is available. However, it is of a variable quality, but that is true of any SL freebie clothing. Whole avatars can be found here too. By and large they are pretty well constructed too.
You can also find free homes, furnishings, and vehicles here, but again, be aware the quality may well vary.
If you wish to try your hand at building there is a sizeable sandbox across the road. Classes in building are also offered but people outside the USA should be aware that these may be on at time that is not exactly convenient.
On the whole NCI is a friendly, safe and informative place where the new citizen can come to equip themselves with the basic knowledge and items with which to begin their life here.
They even have a photo booth, so you can produce that all important profile picture of yourself. What more could you ask for?
Article by: Spug Shinn
Photos by: Morphman