Introduction to Second Life
To attend Science Online London 2009 in Second Life, you must register in advance. Tickets are £10 or $15 for access to the island for the whole day, allowing you to come and go as you please.
We accept payment by PayPal or personal cheque. You can use the buttons below even if you do not have PayPal: you will simply be asked for your credit card details for a one-time payment. After you pay, we will send you instructions on how to get started and details of orientation sessions which you may attend if you would like.
If you prefer not to use PayPal or pay by card, we will also take payment by personal cheque - email Joanna Scott at to register this way. If you have any questions about registration or anything else, by all means email Joanna at any time.
Buy ticket: £10
Buy ticket: $15
What is Second Life?
Second Life is a 3D virtual world visited by over 400, 000 people from around the world every week. Participation in-world is carried out by a 3D representation of yourself, called an avatar.
What are the Elucian Islands?
The Elucian Islands has been the virtual home of Nature Publishing Group in Second Life since 2006. The Elucian Islands is an area dedicated to the communication of new ideas where we run various events designed to promote collaboration and education in a digital environment. Activities include all-day conferences, science lectures and podcasts, free building and scripting workshops and community events.
What will be happening for the Science Online London 2009 conference?
Science Online London 2009 will be taking place in London on 22nd August. To extend the conference to those unable to attend the meeting in London, we will also be hosting the event on the Elucian Islands.
We will broadcast live video-streaming of the talks into Second Life, and attendees will be able to watch as well as ask questions of the speakers just like real-world participants.
Can I ask the speakers questions?
Yes.
When you are logged into Second Life, you can communicate with all the other avatars present by typing your message into the chat window. You can ask the speaker a question simply by typing it into the chat window: we will have a person at the real event who will also be in Second Life to act as a go-between and ask the questions from the virtual attendees.
Can I communicate with other attendees?
Yes, you can communicate via the chat window with all the other virtual attendees. Real attendees are also very likely to be curious about what is going on and come up to speak to you!
Who will be attending the event in SL?
Scientists, bloggers, writers, publishers: exactly the same mix of people who will be attending the real event. We will be publishing the list of virtual attendees before the event. Second Life is simply another way to attend an event which you can’t travel to or were unable to get tickets for.
How much will it cost?
10 GBP.
I am new to Second Life. How do I get started?
Attending an event in Second Life involves two stages:
- Join Second Life by creating an avatar (a username)
- Download and install the Second Life programme.
Joining is free; go to http://www.secondlife.com/join to register. You choose a first name, and are then prompted to select from a list of surnames. You need to enter various details and pick how you want your avatar to look. You are also asked if you would like to join a community. We recommend skipping this option and just going to Second Life’s basic orientation island.
When you have created an avatar, you will be invited to download the Second Life client. Follow the instructions. If you lose your place or want to come back later, you can download it from http://www.secondlife.com/downloads.php.
If you run into any problems at all with this stage, by all means email Jo Scott at and she will help you get started.
You can also find Jo in Second Life: her avatar name is Joanna Wombat. You can search for her using the search button and add her as a friend – that way, you will be able to easily message her if you are lost or have any problems. When you add Jo, make sure to tell her who you are so she can say hello!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Second Life is not immediately instinctive to everyone and you may well need help getting the video to work. The Elucian Islands team will be busy streaming on the day of the conference, so if you are new to Second Life, please do make sure to sign up ahead of time and come along to an orientation session we will host before the conference. We can get you all set up and make sure you get the most from the conference.
Are there any specific IT requirements needed to participate in Second Life?
- A reasonable computer and fairly fast broadband internet connection are required.
- You will also need speakers or headphones to hear the talks.
- Last but not least, you will need QuickTime player installed on your computer.
The main issues faced by new SL users are firewall restrictions. Most institutions and offices now allow Second Life, but some firewalls still block it. If you are using Second Life within a workplace and cannot login, please check with your IT department that there are no firewall restrictions. We can email you a full list of IT requirements if you need them.
Getting set up with Second Life does take a little while, so we strongly recommend doing this at least a day before the event to make sure you are comfortable with how everything works.
Can you give me a run-through prior to the event to make sure I understand how to do everything on the day?
Yes, we will be running complimentary orientation sessions for attendees during the week before the event – beginners and old hands alike welcome to come along! We will send more details about this and set up convenient times once you register.
I am in Second Life: how do I find the conference?
The conference will be held at Nature Publishing Group’s home in Second Life, the Elucian Islands. To teleport there, click on this link in your web browser. It will open Second Life and invite you to teleport. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Elucian%20Islands/182/182/22.
I have downloaded Second Life, but I get an error message when I try to login.
Make sure you are using the avatar first name, surname and password you registered with on the Second Life website.
If those details are correct, the most likely explanation is that your firewall is blocking Second Life. Details of how to unblock it are here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Firewall_Configuration
If this doesn’t help, email Jo Scott at .
I’m in Second Life, but I’m stuck on Orientation Island.
Click on this link in your web browser to teleport straight to Nature Publishing Group’s Elucian Islands, where the conference will be held: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Elucian%20Islands/182/182/22. This link is a SLURL: it will open a web page which in turn will open Second Life and teleport you.
If this doesn’t work, log out of Second Life. Then click on the link again – it should open Second Life and when you login, you will be automatically in the right place.
If you are still stuck, search for Joanna Wombat in the Search People box. Add Jo as a friend and she will find you and rescue you!
I can't move.
Moving in Second Life is done using the arrow keys. There are blue arrow keys on your screen which you can use; alternatively, use the arrow keys on your keyboard. Note: make sure to left-click the ground in front of you before you try to walk.
Someone is talking to me. How do I talk back?
Click the big blue “Communicate” button at the bottom left-hand side of your screen. A chat window will appear where you can see everything which has been said before. You can type your own message into that and everyone within a 20m radius will be able to read it.
I can't see any video.
You need to ensure you have QuickTime player installed on your computer. Beyond this, we will be running orientation sessions during the week leading up to the conference to make sure everyone can see the video: come along to one of those and we will test it there.
Second Life is really slow and I keep freezing when I try to move.
This should only be a problem on slow computers or connections. Firstly, close down as many other open applications as you can. Secondly, sit still in Second Life. Find a place you can see and don’t move – this way the computer doesn’t have to continually resolve new graphics.
I have another problem which isn’t listed here.
If you have any problems at all or just want to know more about Second Life, please do get in touch. You can email Jo Scott at or find Jo in Second Life as Joanna Wombat.