These instructions are based on your using the Firestorm viewer. They would be similar for other viewers.
Arriving
First, let's assume you logged in your trial avatar with the username and password you were given. What now?
This login name is associated with an existing avatar. You may use this avatar for a 10-day trial period, giving you a chance to attend a couple of Folkdance events and explore some of the rest of SL. Please don't make any changes to this avatar's characteristics or password. After ten days, we'd like to be able to pass it on to someone else with minimal hassle.
When you first log in, you'll see your trial avatar standing on the dance floor of the Folkdance Center. Ahead of you, some single-colored dancers will be contra dancing. We fondly call these gummies. Right-click on one (option-click if you have only one button) and choose Dance from the menu. It's easiest to "catch" one when it is standing out at the end of the set.
If, on the other hand, you sign up for your own account, your avatar will first appear at a site intended to help you learn basic functions of SL. After you've had enough of that, of course you'll want to come to the Folkdance Center. Follow the instructions in "How do I get to the Folkdance Center?" below. Then find the dancers. Right-click on a single-colored dancer and choose Dance from the menu that appears.
How do I get a dance partner?
At a First-Life contra dancing event, you usually find a dance partner before getting in line. Here, you don't need to worry about that. You can just jump on a gummy and perhaps note who hops onto the gummy across from you. The software controls it all, so you need not worry about what role you're dancing.
But if you do care, you can ask an individual to dance. See "How do I communicate?" below.
Is there music?
Almost everywhere you go in SL, music is playing. Folkdance is no exception. To hear the stream of music, click on the two notes at the top right of the Firestorm window. You might be asked to give permisson to play the stream to this venue.
Now what do I do?
One thing that sometimes confuses newcomers is that what you see is not what you'd see if you were looking through your avatar's eyes. Separate from your avatar is a camera. In fact, the camera may well be showing your avatar's back. Some of us are vain enough to want to see what our representation looks like.
So one of the first things you will want to do is to be sure your camera controls are visible and accessible. Click on Avatar at the top left of your Firestorm window and click on Camera controls from the menu that drops down. You will probably want to drag the box that appears to another corner of the screen and perhaps enlarge it by dragging its bottom right corner.
At the top left of the camera controls are little icons for viewing your avatar: from in front, from the side, and from the back. You can click on the first of these to see how your avatar looks from in front. No mirrors are needed in Second Life! The large arrows in the camera control box rotate the camera and shift it. Using these is an art mastered in time, maybe.
You can also zoom in and out with your scroll bar or the equivalent. To focus on a particular point to zoom in on--such as that amazing-looking caller up on the stage--click on the magnifying glass icon in the camera controls.
Can my avatar walk?
If it's dancing, your avatar doesn't need you to move it. But at some point you will stop dancing, perhaps when you click Stand toward the bottom left of your screen. To make your avatar walk, use the arrow keys on your keyboard. The up arrow makes your avatar walk forward, the down arrow walks it backward, and the other arrows turn it. Don't be dismayed if your avatar wanders around as if drunk until you get the hang of it. We've all walked into walls in our time.
How do I communicate?
Most communication in SL is through text. In Firestorm's Comm menu, click on Conversations to open a box at the lower left of the screen. Within that box is a tab labeled Nearby chat. This is where you can read what's being said to the whole group. Also, it might show some messages from the system, such as information about the music being played. If you're so inclined, you can address an individual by name there, but everyone will see it. You can certainly ask there for help. How do I change clothes? What's the meaning of life?
You can also have a private conversation with someone. One way is to right-click on their name in nearby chat, or on their avatar or its nametag, and choose Send IM from the menu that appears. A chat tab will open in the Conversations box for that conversation. It's best not to IM strangers unless you have a comment to make other than "Hi." You may well not get a reply.
Can I move around SL without walking?
The Folkdance Center is one of thousands of sites in SL. To get among them, you teleport--another benefit we don't have in our first lives.
How do you find places to teleport to? One way is to look in the World menu and choose Destinations. A bunch of destinations are there, arranged by categories. Another way is to ask Folkdance dancers what they recommend.
What if I don't like how my trial avatar looks?
You have a choice of your trial avatar's sex. In the Avatar menu, pick Outfits. You have two choices: Female and Male. If you right-click on the one you want to change to, you'll get a menu; choose Wear - Replace Current Outfit. Your avatar will magically change. We often wish we could change outfits this easily in First Life.
But most of our trial avatars have only one outfit per sex. If you want more, you can get your own account. Then you can modify the shape of your avatar, and change its skin, hair, and clothes, in uncountable ways. But please don't change a loaner avatar.
How do I get to the Folkdance Center?
If you're using a trial avatar, you simply go home by choosing Teleport Home from the World menu.
Otherwise, if you've signed up for your own account, your avatar will first appear at a site intended to help you learn basic functions of SL. After you've had enough of that, of course you'll want to teleport to the Folkdance Center. You might have a Search button in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. If not, type ctrl-F or option-F to display the search menu. Click on the Places tab and type in Folkdance. Select the Folkdance Center. At the bottom of the panel that appears, there's a Teleport button. Yay, teleport! Click on it to come to our venue.
How does Second Life make money to support all of this?
Although you can do most things in SL for free, there is a whole economy for this world. Once you have your own avatar, you can add money to your account and spend it on clothes, appearance, tips for performers and DJs and venues, and even renting your own land. The SL folks make money on enough transactions to stay in business.