Play With Your Own Group Tags

So you think limiting yourself to 140 character tweets on Twitter is hard ? Try using group tags in Second Life to communicate your state or just have fun. With group tags you are limited to 20 single byte characters - now that's a challenge. Here's how you setup your own group and configure the group tags.

First, create a group. This costs L$100 so it isn't free to play this game but it's a one time cost then you own the group forever. See the SL Knowledge Base for instructions on creating a group. You will need at least two members in the group, yourself and one  other, so either get a friend to join or create an alt to join your group with you.

Once your group is created you can activate the group and wear the group tag by opening the Communicate window, clicking Contacts then click the Groups tab. Click on your group and then click the Activate button. This is now your active group and you should be wearing the group tag over your head. If you do not see the group tag above your name above your head, check Edit -> Preferences -> General to make sure you are not hiding your group tag.

To create a new/different group tag for your group open the Communicate window, click Contacts and then the Groups tab. Click the Info button then the Members & Roles tab then the Roles tab. Select the role name for which you wish to set the group tag. For you this will be the Owners role. Now type in the group tag you wish to use in the Title field. Careful! Only 20 single byte characters allowed! Once satisfied with your new group tag click Apply. Ta-da!

You can also set the other members of your group's tags by selecting the Everyone or Officers roles and following the same procedure.

Somebody says something funny or stupid and you want to subtly call attention to it ? Set a new group tag for yourself! Just as long as it is 20 single byte characters or less. Set nonsense tags or just use punctuation characters for fun and confusion. Copy and paste Chinese phrases from Google Translate for even further consternation. Put something up there that highlights today's big current world event as if your group is way on top of things.

I find it all kinds of fun and a much more difficult challenge than Twitter.