Developers Incentive

What happend to Developers Incentive? Its already Dec 12, 2005

It's not an incentive to "develop" anything, but a kickback for those that "work/abuse the dwell/traffic" system.

Its often not posted until the 2nd week of the month (yes, this is technically the 3rd, but the 1st week was a short one).

Doubtful anyone in General would have a Linden status on the DI - I'd reccomend posting to the Hotline if you're concerned.

It'll come... it always does

This was an honest post asking about the status of the DI - not debating the validity of the program.

But if you want to do that, I disagree with your narrow definition of "developer". Maybe if all residents of Second Life were coders, you could safely use it in that context. But just like there are a wide range of Second Life users, there are a wide range of meanings of the term "Developer".

Check here for just a 'few' samples of the many meanings of the word Developer. Unless you have some really huge screen resloution, you'll have to scroll down to find any definitions that involve "Software" or "Code".

I completely agree that dwell/traffic is gamed, and there are those who are taking advantage of the system. But that stigma should not, and does not apply to everyone that receives the award.

Oh, I agree with you on your definition of "developer". It's supposed to develop developers of content in SL, LSL/building/texturing/organizing/etc.. But in the end, it's all about gaming the dwell/traffic stats, camping chairs, etc. And that's the majority of the top earners anyway, those who game the system win.

So were using land scanners in the past to become a micro-land baron gaming the system or just smart business?

That sentence made absolutely no sense, whatsoever!

Out of the "Popular Places" in SL listing, only 4 out of 20 do not engage in any type of dwell/traffic gaming such as camping chairs or "dancing squares for free money". So, I wouldn't call the other 16 developing anything but ways to game the dwell/traffic system.

Yes: I just visited them all to checkout who was gaming and who wasn't.

I'll break it out for you then.

You say that people are gaming dwell via camping chairs and such. Which distracts away from the spirit of dwell which should reward people delivering entertainment or good content.

I say that people who used land scanners 'gamed' the system by finding public land they otherwise would not have come across. Instead of people who live in the same sim where public land becomes available finding the land and having the option of purchasing it cheap, the micro-land baron immediately swoops on it.

In summary, dwell gamers knock off legitimate people from things like popular places and land scanners use to pretty much end anyones chance of picking up cheap land in a sim they reside in. Both are gaming and not in the spirit of things IMO.

No no no its for the ppl who have the most dwell chairs now, and ppl who like being paid a lot less than min wage

hehe - don't get me wrong, Hank - I agree with you in spirit

Its just that its not only the people on the "Popular Places" in SL listing that get the DI. Yes, I'd agree that the majority of venues that appear in the top 1-20 are gaming the system.

But there's a 21-50 that you don't see... any many, if not most of those folks on the bottom end are struggling along trying to participate without camping chairs or dwell zombies.

LostFurest in Sables dAlliez had NO camping chairs and will not have them. We have not been in the popular places as often but we do not want to make the popular list in that way. Currently we are listed

I like it when Hank not only says what I think, which is usually, but actually does the legwork too, freeing me up for more frequent naps.

What Taco said.

Nothing has changed there. It used to be that the top o the top popular lists had moneyballs and contests; now there are camping chairs. It is nothing new. In fact, if one were so inclined, one could call it profit sharing.

There are, however, many many places that have done none of those things. I've had the spa since January 05, running weekly events with no moneyballs, no camping chairs and (arguably) no profit sharing to patrons (coz there really isn't any profit: I don't break even from the spa itself, but due to sales). Patrons can come receive free entertainment that is actually entertaining though, and I think that's a pretty darn good deal.

Dwell typically pays around $40 of my $200 teir, so it helps offset some of the costs of providing:
*entertaining DJs with fun games like guess the video game theme or movie quote
*bedtime story and theme story nights
*public access library with story night outcomes
*new player question and answer sessions
*marketing and avie personalization classes
*occasional live music and fashion shows
*SL photo contests
*interactive mud wrestling tournaments (djed)
*poetry and improv acting events

So, if you don't like the way dwell favours camping chair venues, maybe consider evening the score some by going out to places that don't do that and attending events rather than trying to completely dismantle all rewards for those who provide entertainment in sl.

Sorry, just saw the incorrect words "Developer Incentive", "Gimmie my money", and ran with it!

So Hank are you saying that it would be incorrect to call someone who develops community a developer? Are you saying, in fact, that I am not a developer but a money hungry crank?

If my issue was "gimme my money," I would not have an entertainment venue at all, and would only make stuff and sell it and never come in world so that I wasn't tempted to actually spend it anywhere. Or, even easier, I could do absolutely nothing (not even pay monthly teir of any sort) and be handed $500L a week and 4096 teir due to my contest win last December. As it is, I'm trying to give something back and what i'm hearing you say is all the folks like me who do this are scum scammers. I don't believe that nonsense for a second and I hope noone else is led to believe that either.

One might claim that my apartment buildings are "camping chairs", just with more furniture options to pick from. I require regular usage or the apartment recycles to a new tenant, but I don't charge any money.

I calculate how much dwell each tenant is contributing to the land and display it for them. It has to fall below 10% of their online time for a week before they are in danger of losing it. And it is rare for anyone to drop that low without going all the way to zero as well. (That is, they just never log on or visit at all.)

So it's rather like camping chairs, except the experience is a bit more attractive and, in fact, is the only reward.

Running one or two buildings, each with 20 apartments, has kept me on the DI list since its inception. But with the 20% a month increase in the population of SL, my constant number of tenants has become a smaller and smaller slice of the pie, with a matching reduction in DI award. I'm about to fall off the bottom of the list.

I'm restructuring, though... Tiering down and designing a new building in the SW corner of Celadon. It's a four-story maze of 40 large, hexagonal apartments. I'm still scripting them, but the upgrade should make them all the better to live in.

I don't think I'll remain on the DI list for much longer, if at all, though. I haven't run an event since... Since the last presidential election! That was my third event. I do one about once a year, it seems. Not a big addition to the DI calculations!

Maybe I'll have one for the grand opening, and buck the trend...

Hey Tiger, how much did you make on the DI list?

There is a huge difference between what you are doing Tiger, and having camping chairs where the object is to setup an inactive account that uses a "clicker" program to keep from being logged out of SL while you sit there dead to the world.

I've made from $75 at my best to $25 at the last. Most of the time, it was about $45. My tier has been $75 the whole time. Soon I hope to drop it to $15.

I've never made any profit from the apartments, but new players do seem to really like them.

Why no answer to my question?

Also, as for the original poster, April, maybe it would be a good suggestion to the Hotline that there be a consistent day for folks to get dwell by. Those of us paying teir from dwell and sales would likely welcome knowing how much currency they needed to sell to keep from getting our credit cards charged, in the event that the dwell is later than our charge date.

Persephone you are so right.

I know you asked Tiger, but I'll throw my own info into the hat since you asked.

Last month the Shelter got a DI of $68. Our Tier is $75.

The average DI seems to fluctuate between $60-$80 for us. Like Tiger said, its been as low as $25, and as high as $100 once.

Sorry, didn't see your question. A developer is somebody that develops an object, a community, something beneficial to everyone. Even somebody that develops a kick-ass casino, or a sexy nightclub, or whatever. But, the top 16 out of 20 use camping chairs and similar schemes to game the dwell/traffic system to get to the top. Having people sit around doing nothing for hours on end is not "development".

Thus "Developer Incentives" does nothing of the sort. It just provides incentive to game the dwell/traffic system. It should be renamed "Dwell/Traffic Incentives"