Fab Advice – Edition #5

February 7, 2014 by Love Trill 3 Comments

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QUESTION #1:  I have another question that involves MESH items, as I am still fairly new to it all.  Since my avatar is oddly shaped, I find great difficulty in wearing the clothes that are available. But what Mesh items I -do- indulge in are body parts and hair. Now.. I purchase my hair from a very well known provider, and I’ve noticed that with the long hair, it doesn’t fall properly on her shoulders. Instead it hovers right above her breast. Now, I know that Mesh items cannot be resized at all, but, is there a way that I can make this hair sit more realistically on my girl WITHOUT modding her shape more than I should?  Thank you!

Love Says:  I have noticed that some hair makers have started adding a “big boobs” (of course they are all calling it something different) option in their packs.  While this doesn’t help with the ones we have all previously purchased, it is good news for the future 🙂

Serena Says:  My understanding is that mesh cannot be modded, period. So other than changing your shape, I don’t know of any other way to make the hair fit better. If you don’t want to do that, then you might find that flexi hair better meets your needs.

Pru Says:  You might look in the package the hair came with and make sure there isn’t a second copy of the hair. Some designers include a hair that rests higher for those who wear prim/mesh breasts. Otherwise, in my experience, you unfortunately can’t really adjust where or how a mesh item sits on your avatar.

Satu Says:  Outside of modding your shape I don’t have much in the way of suggestions. I always have to make slight tweaks to my shape for almost every different mesh outfit. I think the extra wiggle room on the hairs is to allow for them to be worn with mesh clothes, and avatars with a larger bust.. Not everyone fits into the small and extra small category. As with people, beautiful avis come in all shapes and sizes.

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QUESTION #2:  What Fabulous advice can you give on managing groups? There are so many great group gifts, but only 42 coveted spaces. I’ve been hovering at 41 groups, and wish I could join more.

Love Says:  *Sighs*  I wish there was a way to get more groups, but what it all comes down to is prioritizing which groups you need to keep.  I am constantly rotating.  I wish we could have 100!  Are you listening Linden Labs????  We need more group space! 😉

Serena Says:  Gosh, this is one I’m sure we’d all like to know the secret to! My 42 groups have been full since shortly after I learned to shop in SL, and most are either blogger groups that I need to stay in, or groups that I have paid to join. I *try* to keep at least 1 or 2 spots open so I can go in and out of groups to pick up gifts to show. I will say that if you’ve been in a “pay” group for a long time, and you no longer find it worth your while to be a member, you might need to make the difficult decision to leave, especially if there is another group that might be more beneficial to your needs. It’s tough, I know… and I sure do wish LL would up the groups limit!

Pru Says:  As much as I frown upon “group-hoping” or joining and leaving groups that are free to join, as a blogger I find I am forced to do that often. One thing I have found myself doing is leaving “family/friend” groups that are inactive. For a long time I stayed part of some of those type groups for sentimental reasons. I finally decided that if the group hadn’t been active in 6+ months, I left it. Unless of course, the group is required for your home space or something.

Satu Says: I am also always riding right at the limit on groups myself. Sometimes I have to seriously prioritize which groups I really want to stay in, and which I don’t. Obviously I almost always keep groups I have paid a lot of lindens to be in, especially if they are for a store I really like. Other groups such as those related to work and my land groups also take priority. The last small handful of groups I find myself constantly juggling, especially to get items to show in my blog posts.

I wish Linden Labs would allow us to have a lot more group spaces than what we do, but we do have many more than when I first began here years ago. I think an even 100 groups would be great, but the limit isn’t likely to go up unless enough residents unite behind the cause of having it raised like they have done successfully in the past. As this virtual world grows and expands it is only logical that the needs and interests of the players will also, groups are a natural extension of that.

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QUESTION #3: Hello! First of all, let me tell you I love FabFree – I check your blog multiple times a day (blush)!  I know some SL residents are against it, but I have decided to ask something about this subject anyway. My partner and I want to get a baby in SL, and we want the pregnancy to be as realistic as possible. Do you have any product recommendations? Tummy talkers, prim babies, anything! Thanks in advance 🙂

Love Says:  I am afraid I don’t have any SL baby advice to offer, but I wanted to thank you for your compliments and thank you for reading.

Serena Says:  Thank you for the kind words about the FF blog! I’m very glad that you enjoy reading it. 🙂 Ok, about your baby… I always tell people that your SL should be what YOU want it to be. If you and your partner want a baby, then have a baby, and don’t worry about what other people think. Having only had a baby in RL, I can’t really recommend any maternity or baby products for you. The only SL babies I have seen are the Zooby Babies, which you can learn more about at http://www.zoobys.com/babies/. I also found an interesting article at http://thetorchslguide.com/2012/06/03/having-a-family-in-second-life-the-babies, and a guide book (free!) at https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Having-a-Baby-in-Second-Life-Guidebook/1550151. Both are at least a year or so old, so be sure you check for updated information. Good luck to you both!

Satu Says:   A lot of people either seem to love prim babies or hate them. I will admit that before our RL son was born, my Partner (also rl hubby) and I got a set of twin prim baby girls. Their names are Luna and Matilda. I think it’s natural to want to be part of a family in SL as much as it is in the real world.

There are wonderful makers of prim babies in world, it’s great to do research on them to know exactly what type of baby you’d like to have, because they can be expensive to purchase. Some can even be “adopted” used after being given up by people who have decided to no longer keep them, and purchased from re-sellers for a greatly reduced price, but be careful if you go this route that they are being sold by a reputable business and are not copybotted versions. You can always check this by examining the baby in edit mode and checking the name of the maker against the full priced version. (Always report any copybotted items to the original maker so they can be removed from the grid)

Tummy talkers are something I would never suggest, as I and a lot of other people find them a little un-nerving. If you are going for realism I don’t think tummy talkers are the way to go, my belly surely never uttered a single syllable. There are wonderful makers of pregnancy shapes out there, but if you would like to keep your own shape, pregnancy shapes are very easy to do yourself by slowly increasing your belly size.

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