Fashionable and Thrifty - Survival of the Broke - Taisynn Reporting

Is it possible to be fashionable and thrifty in Second Life, and is it reasonable? 

Second Life is a world filled with shopping events and the desire to create the most fashionable avatar on the grid. It is all too common for new residents to become overwhelmed with trying to create in trying to craft their own unique persona on a limited budget without being exiled to prim-laden attire from the pre-mesh era. 

The question of pursuing Second Life is often of cost. While our virtual world is considered a free simulator by the gaming industry, everything within it surrounds the value of the Linden. Not every person is able to upload $20US (the equivalent of about 4090 lindens) to have an updated avatar, and some question if it is even possible to play the game freely. 

Interested potential residents often do not know about the ever growing freebie fashion community which has made Second Life possible for many new players to play without looking amateurish. Groups such as SL Frees and Offers have an upward of 54,000 members, and popular blogs such as Fabulously Free bring in dozens of views per day for both women and men alike. 

They aid new residents in their ever evolving avatar be it in the form of skins, fashion, furniture, housing, or many other items that further the creative nature that exists behind Second Life. Indeed it is the free items that showcase what many designers are capable of and draw in new and old players alike to peruse their shelves in search of bigger and better to truly craft their avatar to be something special and unique to them.

The methods creators use to offer these freebies often surround generating store traffic in exchange for these free items. It takes time and friends to successfully freebie hunt, but there are entire groups dedicated to helping members become successful. 

 

The first and most popular method which creators use are group gifts. Second Life groups allow creators to advertise potential customers of new releases. The more members that are in the group, the wider their audience and potential of making a sale is. In exchange for members staying in the group, they are offered a gift or two every month. 

However, there are methods that don't take up group space, considering there are thousands of groups in Second Life, and our avatars are only allowed to participate in 42 of them. One of these methods is the lucky chair or board. 

A lucky chair is a chair with a letter connected to it. The letter, after a certain amount of time, will change to another. Using the first initial of a resident's legacy name, an avatar with a name beginning with that letter is able to sit down and obtain a prize in the chair's vault. There is another variety called a lucky board that doesn't require a resident to sit in it, but rather just click on it to obtain the prize.

Depending on the countdown on each chair, this can be time consuming. Considering there are 24 letters in the alphabet, and with residents able to have numbers in the beginning of their legacy name, there are 9 numbers mixed into each chair, and one wildcard round symbolized by a question mark. Waiting five minutes for each letter to pop up, praying it's your initial, is a game of luck and time.

Residents use groups such as SL Frees and Offers to call the letters out to other freebie hunters. This allows them to make the letters rotate at a faster pace, and increases their chances of having their initial pop up. 

The next method used is a midnight mania board. This method involves a board with two sets of numbers on it. It is a ratio of how many residents have clicked the board to how many residents are needed to lock it down. If the board locks down, at midnight all the residents who clicked obtain the prize. Midnight Mania boards are less time consuming, but involve worrying about your instant messages capping if you've gone to bed before midnight. 

While the first three methods above are the most popular methods of obtaining freebies, they are not the only ones out there. New methods continue to pop up, such as puzzle games and chairs that require you to sit in them for ten minutes to an hour. It is all up to the creator and what method seems to appeal to them the best. 

 

For Avatars looking for more exclusive gifts, some creators charge a fee to enter their groups. These groups provide VIP access to free store credit for new releases every month, discounts, and group gifts of superior quality. There is also a method called 7Seas fishing that allows people to fish for clothing given by creators. Of course, you also obtain prim fish you can breed and trade, but many use this method to get clothes they can trade between fellow fishers. These methods are costly, costing anywhere between 50 lindens and above, but often give nicer quality gifts.

In the end, with all the possibilities of obtaining free items, residents can fashion their avatar at little to no cost at all. Second Life is a very charitable and fascinating world, and is entirely playable for those looking for something for free to occupy their free time.