Second Life is:
- Not a game, but you can play games in it
- Not an MMO, although it's certainly Massive,
Multiplayer and Online
- Not a chat room, although you can chat with people all over the
world
- Not a business platform, although people and companies (such as
IBM) do run business applications or PR outlets in SL
- Not the web, although it's connected to it and shares many features
It's a virtual world, things can happen in it that would never happen
in RL. People can use it as a form of therapy, exploring some of their
past issues and learning to deal with them more effectively. People
who are deaf can talk to people (via keyboard) on an equal basis. People
who are wheelchair bound, or have other pain or movement problems in
RL can walk, run and even dance in Second Life - for hours if they want.
Antisocial people can socialize on THEIR terms (i.e., when they've had
it with people for a while, they can just log off and take a break.)
This section is here because over the last year, a significant portion
of the online vampire community has been dipping their toes into Second
Life and discovering how much fun it can be (and, in some cases, how
long it's been since they last upgraded their computers...) Some of
us have gotten involved in DJ work, some in clothing design, and so
on.
And, there's even vampire community outreach centers available in Second
Life now.
Here's a list - though you'll need an active Second Life account -
and viewer - to actually visit these links:
The Sanguinarius.Org Community Center can be found in the Kitsuhana
region:
LadyCG's Vampiric Library can be found in the Lunitarium
region:
Taleisin Llewellyn's Liber Obscurum can be found in the Athan
region:
House Rosa's Sanctuary can be found in the Bagheera
region:
Well, first you need to sign up for a Second Life account. You can
do that [here].
I would advise checking/ticking the box for "Choose a Community",
and in the following list, choose CALEDON. Their orientation center
is THE best out of what I've seen on the grid, and it's regularly staffed
by members of the Caledon steampunk community who can answer your questions
about how to do things in Second Life. Plus you get really cool freebies
there that you can't get anywhere else. :)
Once you sign up, you're given the option to download a viewer.
(Current official version as of October 6, 2009: 1.23.4.123908)
By default, you will be offered the [official
client], however you may find this has an unacceptable amount of
lag or crashes (Most people gripe about it, so you won't be alone!)
You do have other options available!
Since the viewer was made "Open Source" sometime in 2007,
there are a variety of third-party versions to choose from - you can
start with the [alternate
viewers] page (which has details and specific features of each);
however the four variations I've actually used are:
Nicholaz Versions
Windows - Also on 
Linux
and 
Macintosh
--- see upper right of blog for links
The original third-party viewer focusing on stability and reduction
of lag. The older versions ARE still supported, but Nicholaz is not
making any versions of the more recent clients.
Recommended for folks with very old (single-core CPU or low-end graphics
cards) machines. It doesn't have all the "pretty" of the
current viewer versions, but it's quite usable regardless.
Imprudence Windows Linux
Mac
Emphasis with this viewer is on usability, and an effort to not depend
on proprietary components - the fonts included with this version are
VERY readable compared to some of the others, and definitely compared
to the official client. The Imprudence team is attempting to maintain
all three versions with the same feature sets, so even Linux users
won't have to feel left out with this one.
Kirsten Viewer
Windows Linux
An excellent up-to-date replacement for Nicholaz, in my opinion, if
you want something more up to date. Also, the default viewer skin
is dark orange on black - perfect for those of us with sensitive eyes.
:)
The S16 series comes in two flavors - one for older machines (the
"No SSE" version) and one for newer machines.
The S17 series is the first Shadowdraft (you can turn on avatar shadows)
viewer, and has some additional features.
** The S18 series has the "httpget" feature included, as
well as shadowdraft, for faster rendering of textures/images. It really
does kill a lot of lag this way! However, for S18 you MUST MUST MUST
have current hardware! And a specific microsoft patch referenced on
Kirsten's blog.
Cool Viewer Linux
- Also on Windows
and Macintosh
This client focuses on stabiliy, with versions available (by different
people) currently maintained for all three major operating systems.
This client also uses special code (which is NOT on by default) designed
specifically for the BDSM community - "restrained life"
- you have to manually turn it on in the preferences. Not having the
restrained life code activated does NOT interfere with regular operation
of the client. Just have to toss that out there for the folks who
might otherwise panic... :)
There is also a "Rainbow Viewer" variation (the primary
difference is cosmetics in the interface appearance - if you're new
to SL, or haven't learned the client yet, this doesn't matter.) See
the links on Boy Lane's blog (the Windows link above for Cool Viewer)
for locations.
There is also now a "netbook" version, for lower powered
laptops. If you have an older machine, this might be worth a try as
well.
