Tutorial overview

This tutorial explains the various ways to communicate with other Second Life residents.

This tutorial is rated as -

You'll need the following software - Second Life

You'll need the following hardware - See the Second Life website for minimum requirements.

There are several ways to communicate with other residents in Second Life. You can use text or voice chat, instant messages and even gestures.

Text chat

The Local Chat bar is on the lower left of your screen. Type anything you want to say to nearby residents in this box and press enter. When you are typing, your avatar appears to do the same in empty air, and when you press enter, your comment appears on screen or in the local chat window if you have it open. This is also where the comments of others nearby will appear.

In local text chat mode you can be heard by avatars up to 20m away, or 100m for shouting (change the drop down box next to the chat bar to do this). Remember that local chat is not private at all and people can easily hear what you are saying.

Video tutorials

• Chatting
• Saving your chat logs

Instant messages

You can communicate privately with residents, regardless of your in-world location, by sending Instant Messages. Follow these steps to do this:

1. Click on the Communicate button in the lower left corner of Second Life
2. Select the person you want to IM from the list of your friends in the window that opens
3. Click on the IM/Call button to the right
4. A private chat window will open up in which you can type your message and hold a conversation

From the communicate window you can also see which of your friends are in-world and you may also offer to teleport them to join you in your current location.

You can also send an Instant Message to a resident who is not on your friends list:

1. Open the Search window by clicking Edit > Search and select the People tab
2. Enter your search criteria (their avatar name) and click Search to receive the search results
3. Click on the name of the correct avatar to see their profile on the right
4. Click Instant Message
5. A private chat window will open up in which you can type your message

If you send a resident an Instant Message when they are offline they will receive it when they next log in.

Voice chat

Voice chat can be enabled by turning it on under Edit > Preferences > Voice Chat. Just follow the directions in the wizard popup the first time you use it in order to set it up.

You will need headphones/speakers and mic pickup to use Voice.

When you are set up, make sure you turn your microphone off when you are not speaking, especially in crowds.

See the Second Life Wiki for FAQs about setting up and using Voice in Second Life.

Click here for a video tutorial on setting up and using Voice.

Gestures

There is a popup list of default gestures available to your avatar, found on the lower right side of your screen, next to the 'say' button. To use one of these simply select the gesture from the popup list and watch your avatar move. More gestures and animations can be both downloaded or purchased.

For more advanced users, see the Linden Lab downloads page for avatars.