Ninca Island in Second Life

Second Life is a media rich, three dimensional, user-driven virtual environment for social interaction. The Second Life software is a free download, and Second Life avatars also can be created through a free account. Background information on Second Life can be found on the company's website, and a FAQ for new users is here.

Welcome to Ninca Island. "Ninca," an anagram for "ICANN," is a Second Life island (Ninca, 191, 65, 38, PG) with facilities dedicated to remote participation in ICANN and Internet Governance meetings. Currently, the development team continues to work on Ninca Island in preparation for the upcoming Internet Governance Forum in Athens, Greece and the ICANN Annual Meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but it is now open for exploration. We'd love to have feedback on the facilities (please send an email to Bret Fausett). If you have a group that would like to use Ninca for a meeting, let me know your space needs, and we'll accomodate you.

We'll be adding conferencing functionality in the coming days. If you'd like to participate in alpha testing of the Ninca Conference Facilities, please send an email to Bret Fausett.

If you already have a Second Life account and the latest Second Life application, you can click this link to be teleported directly to Ninca Island. See you in world!

Getting an Account and Getting Started

If you're new to Second Life, go here to create a new character. Then download the software (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux) and log in. Once you're "in world," as it's known in Second Life, you'll land in an orientation area. This is a place where you can get dressed, change your appearance, and learn a little about Second Life navigation. Whenever you're comfortable with the interface, come on over to Ninca Island. Here's how to do it.

At the bottom of your Second Life window, in the lower right, you'll see a button called "Map." Alternatively, you can select "World Map" from the View menu. On the right side of the map window, you'll see three red circles. The third one down is 'search by region.' Type "Ninca" into this box and press the search button. A map of Ninca should start to resolve in the map window, and you'll see the word "Ninca" in your search result box. Click on "Ninca" in the search box, and then press the "Teleport" button in the bottom right. You'll land in the middle of Ninca island. I'm not sure which direction you'll be facing when you land, but turn around until you see the circle of flags surrounding a large fountain. That's the center of the conference facility. Walk or fly around and take a tour.

The doors to the main conference center are open. The doors to the small conference center, with three break out rooms are closed, but you can open them by simply clicking on the doors. You are welcome anywhere on the island. Nothing is locked or private.

How to Use Second Life: A Guide for Avoiding Frustration

If you're new to Second Life, let me provide a few tips for your first experience. First, you should understand that Second Life is a very media rich environment. Unlike a web page that can load in a matter of seconds, Second Life locations take longer to fully load. Every new place you visit in Second Life will take a few seconds, perhaps minutes, to come into complete focus. As soon as you land in a new area, like Ninca Island, pause a minute and allow the area's textures, buildings, animations and other features to load. I pass this tip on first, because it was my primary source of frustration with Second Life when I first started using the software. Once an area's features have loaded, you'll be able to walk and fly through the space more easily.