I DID have a couple of pics of myself as a fresh n00b. I wasn't sure that I had even figured out how to take pictures in SL that early, but I obviously had.
That was on Orientation Island; I felt "safe" there for some reason. I had NO IDEA that lots of people hang out there under the guise of "mentor," undoubtedly checking profiles and looking for vulnerabilities. Visiting any of these "welcome areas" is like watching a freak show. Take the time to have a look, if you haven't already.
I don't waste a lot of time with all that, although I DO have a folder of freebies that I like to discretely hand out to those who seem to be stumbling along on their first day. Of course, they are always amazed that anyone would help them, not even knowing who they are. The truth is, MOST people in SL are pretty decent and are not looking for anything in return. If you do help out a n00b, they will most likely add you to their friends list. I always accept, knowing that as they become involved in their new "lives" they will forget who I was in the first place. I have never had any of these people come back to bother me later.
The thing to watch for is "alts," or alternate avatars, new personas created by existing avatars for the purpose of having a virtual affair (unbeknownst to their original SL partner), exploiting people and "griefing" (as SL troublemaking has come to be known), or as a means of hiding from bad situations created by the original avatars. More on this later.
There are ways to tell if someone is a true n00b. A REAL n00b barely knows his/her way around. They will keep making mistakes, and they will not be aware of some of the most basic functions available to everyone. Most won't know how to "edit appearance" or what do do with it. Many won't understand about teleporting (the standard SL form of transportation... can you say "Beam me up, Scotty?").
Have a look at their profile; if they are a day old, yet already belong to ten groups, they are most definitely an alt. Most n00bs have an empty profile, if only because they have been overwhelmed and have not yet figured out what they need to do... HOWEVER: I have seen *AT LEAST* one person with an empty profile and a n00b appearance, yet they had a birthdate ranging back to 2006. I mean, WTF, over?? This guy actually tried hitting on me, as well. Do I look stupid? DO I?? Heh.
Another clue: A well-dressed n00b. One day old, and they already have hair from Analog Dog and jeans from DeLa? Uh huh... get ready for the request to "loan" them some money. They are already checking your profile for "Payment info used."
Getting back to the old n00b look though, I was told that the NEW n00bs do not have to look this way when they are first "born," as the Lindens have thoughtfully supplied some better-looking avis to start out with. I'm not familiar with these, but the one thing I remember is the awful helmet hair we all had to endure from the beginning. At first we never knew the difference, but in a short time it became downright embarrassing to be seen with this non-prim hair. If you still have any of this old hair, keep it if you ever intend to go to a U2 concert in SL; they won't let you wear ANY prims in an effort to reduce lag...
They do put on a great concert though:
Yes, that's me on the left, with my friend Sin. Aren't we lovely? Some girls just prefer to go bald; I can't quite get into that, but despite this drawback, they put on a really great concert! BTW, to attend these concerts you'll need to first join their group; do a search and join for the latest updates and concert information.
Oh, where are the concert pics, you ask? Hmmmm, ok... I suppose I'll do a segment on this at another time. You know me, I DO have the pics! TTFN...
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