The Blarney Stone in Second Life’s main Dublin region (there are 3 Dublins linked together) is normally just as friendly. So is New Fibber Magee’s in Dublin 3, which is often holding get-togethers when the Stone isn’t. I think Simon just got hit on by the rare barnacle that creeps in to any watering hole (go read Spider Robinson’s early Callahan’s Place stories), and a Bloodliner — who, from the sound of things, need to get their act together before they start sinking fangs into the unwary like that.

Also, my first night living in real Dublin I went to a pub, met about 14 people my age, followed them to a house party, and proceeded to hang out with them every night for two months. So, yeah, in Dublin I think it’s logical to head straight for the pub.

On the other hand, do you really want to look like yourself? Think of the possibilities…

Yes, it was a serious mistake not to begin your first visit on one of the orientation islands. If you were starting to use a powerful program like Photoshop, would you expect a good experience by just opening it and starting out, with no idea what you are doing? SecondLife is at least as powerful and complex as PhotoShop, possibly more so.

Perhaps a pub at night wasn’t the best place for your first visit? If you were alone in a strange city in real life, it might be problematical to pick a pub at random–you might have to try a few before finding one that suited you. SL is like that too.

Most people I’ve met on SL are helpful and friendly — sorry you met a couple of jerks. See previous comment about picking a pub. The vampire thing is becoming a real pain, but hopefully it’s just a fad and will burn itself out soon.

I hope you’ll give SL another try. It isn’t a game, it’s totally free form, it’s whatever you choose to find and make. If you are a creative person who enjoys that sort of activity, it’s wonderful.

As for changing that appearance, you don’t need Linden dollars (or lindens) at all; just some canny shopping, and a use of the Search window. There’s tons of freebies, of varying quality, that are available; and while you may not be able to duplicate your own face, you can change your looks to something more than the default avatar range. (Even those defaults are better looking than they used to be, so I don’t know what problem the fools who pestered you had.)

The vampire was a Bloodliner out of control. Bloodlines is an in-world vampire game, which seems to have turned into quite a fad. You can read more about it at Hamlet Au’s New World Notes article. The best thing to do is to ignore them, decline offers to become one of the Walking Dead, or report them for griefing in egregious circumstances. (And go hunting for Buffy [grin].)

If you want to join a more sociable group, come back to the Stone at 10:00 Pacific Time (or Second Life Time) for the Morning Coffee, and you’ll run into a far more amiable bunch.

Combat systems exist in Second Life as well; they’re simply restricted to certain areas where battle-oriented types can participate in the mayhem without bothering the ones who aren’t interested in bloodshed. The Samurai regions, for instance, have an entire sim dedicated to fighting. Other areas include the notorious Jessie region, where you’d better be packing serious heat, and ones that I’m not aware of simply because I’m of a more commercial/social bent. The thing is that it’s a big, big Grid, with a lot of potential for avatars to play and create what they want. You simply need to locate yourself in the right area.

I’d suggest buying one of the various books on SL, such as Second Life for Dummies or the Official Guide, or checking out a copy from your local library. That gave me the background information that made my early days quite enjoyable. Or I’d be willing to answer any questions to the best of my ability. You can contact me in world, or get my E-mail address from my own blog. Just search for the string “E-mail to Harper”, and click on it to get a message started.