Will Ross here, welcome to The Traveling Avatar’s Quick and Dirty tips for a Better Second Life. On this show we discuss tips and tricks for the game Second Life, created by Linden Labs. This week’s episode is “Walk off the Drama: Places to go and things to do while you’re in IM hell.”

From the moment you step into the sim you can sense its presence.  Silently it stalks you, never more than a few steps behind, waiting for a moment to catch you unaware.  Suddenly, the chime of an IM, and then another.  A third follows and before you know what’s happening you’re caught.  Out of thin air it manifests, an unspeakable, Lovecraftian horror known only as “The Drama.”  With a soulless, unearthly laugh it casts you into the abyss of IM hell.  There will be no parties or shopping tonight.  Tonight the beast must feed.

Girl: “And then Sarah told me that she saw him at Hard Alley with a furry!”

Boy: “Oh please stop.”

Girl: “And he said he wasn’t, but she's IN his profile. And SHE'S already got a partner.”

Boy: “Oh no.”

Girl: “AND a prim baby!  And who would want to do THAT with a furry anyway!”

Girl: “And so I asked her and you know what she said?!”

Boy: “Oh please stop!”

Girl: “She was all, 'Mind your business [censored]! And I was all, “I don’t care about your business, for real.'”

Boy: "Please, no more! I'm begging you."

Girl: “And who does she think she IS????????”

Boy: “Make it stop!”

Hey, it happens.  As much as we’d like to avoid it, Second Life can be a lot like high school, and there are going to be times when “The Drama” tackles even the most cunning prey. But that doesn’t mean you let a little “he said, she said” ruin your whole night. Just go and do something fun while you’re pretending to care. Here are two suggestions.

The first place I go when I’ve got to listen to a two hour story about someone breaking “The Guy Code” is the Solo Junkies Slingo Skybox (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hantal/192/189/302), one of the few places in Second Life where you can play Solo Slingo for free.  Solo Slingo is a combination of slots and Bingo, and if you haven’t played it yet, it’s a blast.  Instead of just trying to finish a line, like in bingo, you’re trying to fill the whole card, along with a special pattern for bonus points.  The point of the game is to get the highest score on the machine for the day.  The Skybox has a number of free machines, which gives me something to do when I’m in “IM Hell,” along with pay to play machines that can give you a nice little Linden boost of you happen to have the high score at the end of the day.  Search for the Solo Junkies Slingo Skybox, or check the website for the SLURL.

Now, if art and music are more to your tastes, you I’ve found taking a walk through Soho can be very relaxing.  (http://slurl.com/secondlife/SoHo/104/76/25)  Soho is a community of artists, musicians, and podcasters, but more importantly, it’s a beautiful sim that’s well laid out and filled with galleries, music, and some genuinely strange things like Crap Mariner’s clock tower made entirely of matzo.  To my knowledge this is the largest unleavened-bread-based structure in Second Life.  I liked this sim so much I moved there.  Get into their group to be notified of live music, events, and their monthly charity drives. (This month’s is for the Humane Society.)  Search for Soho or check out the website for the SLURL.

And speaking of Soho, if you’ve ever wondered just who the heck I am in Second Life, Thursday, at 6:00pm Second Life time you’ll have a chance to find out.  I’m throwing a grand opening party for my new bar, “The Speakeasy Lounge” and each and every one of you are invited to come and have a drink. We’ll have DJ Diva there spinning live music for you, and if the bar fills up we’ll just move out into the streets and flash mob the galleries.  It should be a very chill, drama-free time and I’m looking forward to hanging out with some of you folks.  The SLURL is on the website.

The Speakeasy Lounge (http://slurl.com/secondlife/SoHo/104/76/25)

That’s it for this episode!  Stop by the website at QuickAndDirtyTips.com to check out my Twitter Page, if you want to see what I’m up to on any given day! Send your feedback or question to secondlife@quickanddirtytips.com, and the comment line is 206-888-6975, that’s 206-888-mysl.  The Traveling Avatar’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a Better Second Life is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network, so be sure to check out other great shows like Grammar Girl, Legal Lad, and the Mighty Mommy at QuickAndDirtyTips.com. 

So until next time, remember, don’t feed the drama.  If you do, it will never leave your porch.