(This is what is known as a pathfinder, or more colloquially, a LibGuide. It was hand-coded by me for my Master's course on reference librarianship. It is more formal than other works of mine, and is meant for researchers rather than beginner SL players. Thank you for your understanding.)
Second Life is a virtual life simulator that was first developed and published in 2003 by Linden Lab. This research guide aims to explain what Second Life is and to jumpstart new users into being able to use the platform for their own means.
While this guide is designed for any adult to navigate and use this multiplayer software, specific resources have been provided to help visual artists, 3D modelers, DJs, programmers, and educators or researchers interested in studying virtual environments meet their goals.
One of the biggest obstacles for present-day users looking for guides on Second Life is how little material has remained online or been archived. Many "in-world" resources- that is, resources or locations that can only be accessed through a piece of Second Life viewer software- have not been online in well over 10 years, leading to dead links across multiple guides that are often recommended. This guide aims to provide resources with high relevancy at the time of writing (Fall 2024), although there may be a few dead links on larger resources, like the SL Wiki, or within older publications that could not be accounted for in their entirety.
Second Life is one of the most robust platforms in terms of user-generated content, with the majority of assets, organizations, and events present on SL having been painstakingly crafted by users. As a result, there is no certain way of knowing what you will find "in-world" until it unfolds before you. This spontaneity, it could be argued, is one of the biggest factors for Second Life's enduring success over 20 years later.
Second Life is not suitable for minors. Please use your discretion when using the platform.
To begin using the guide, navigate to the lefthand sidebar and click the various links to see a list of resources on each given topic.
Created by Misha (Fox) for CIST605: Information Sources & Services.