Teen Grid land sales prove that the FIC exists

A certain Linden posted over on the TG forums that he deliberately contacted a select number of TG residents, and only them, as a means of selling them large plots of about-to-be-open sims ahead of all other residents on the grid. This was not publicly revealed until after a resident who was not contacted posted about her suspicion that that had happened.

The "justification" offered was that this was a misguided attempt to jumpstart lagging land sales on the TG. That particular argument seems fairly ludicrous considering that one of the largest "land barons" on the TG was not contacted at all but got rooked out of the opportunity to pick up any choice locations. For instance, one of the "TG FIC/select" got over 5k of land right in front of the Linden ski chalet and immediatley constructed a mall there. As on the Main Grid, the inroduction of the snow sims on the TG has created a massive land rush and there is no better location than that as this is currently THE primary entry point to the snow sims. Talk about helping out a very small, Linden-selected group of residents.

So, the FIC does exist - at least on the TG.




Oh, but the teens were told not to worry. It wouldn' happen again and the Linden was sorry. So, it's all water under the bridge now.

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On related TG notes...
Unlike the land rush to the MG snow sims, many teens just released their current holdings and moved --- literally glutting the land market so much that public land in the city sims remains unclaimed three days later.

Also, there are apparently a couple of sweetheart deals where certain residents hold land that does not count against their tier. I have seen a snapshot of one TG'er's MyLand report which shows 0/512 (or should that be reversed?) for the 512 plot listed in his name on the land itself.Ineresting, no?

It seems that the TG economy/subscription rate has massive problems and the Lindens have no clue.

Pinkwater Market Stalls (the equivalent of Brown's her on the MG) are open to Basic account holders only. Believe it or not, Premium account holders CANNOT have stalls there. Likewise, Busy Ben's is open only to Basic Account holders. Premium residents have been told that they should either make stores on their own land, get a stall in Oasis (the equivalent of Luna), or rent space in a mall.

Seems to me that there is a disconnect between who is paying the bills on the TG - Basic account holders, many of whom have free accounts, or Premiums paying tier fees.

It shouldn't be too surprising that direct copies of certain clothing and skin products from the MG have surfaced on the TG. Afterall, all it takes is for a transferee to get to the TG with his/her inventory intact, save a few snapshots to his or her hard disk, do minimal photoshopping to fix any anomlies, upload the new skin/texture and a new creator is assigned to the item with barely a trace of what's occured. A young friend of mine has sent me three snaps of $1500Lplus skins that are selling on the TG which look quite familiar.

That doesn't make any sense...

The FIC "feted inner core" is supposedly a group close to the lindens due to BEING IN BETA.... as in 2002 to 2003? hello?

no, the FIC is simply about favoritism.

Okay.. try this on for size..

TG FIC is a group of teen grid residents who have received preferential treament/favoured status for whatever reason --- whether for their skills, their having been part of the TG Beta or simply because they chatted up X or Y Linden while violating the MG TOS and then "turning themselves in" during Amnesty Week.

Define FIC how you want to on the MG.. on the TG, it seems, there are "Linden-favoured players" and that has been publicly admitted by at least one Linden in his own post in the TG forums.

Well, half of the oldbie players you don't see anymore have been shipped off to the TG, as a sort of amnesty program.

I know of at least 4.

Anyways, the TG has, what, 50 people playing? Where are the population stats for the TG?

This is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately - preferably before the US pulls out of Iraq, so HURRY UP!

Oh My God Lets Call Geraldo.

Picabo, do you have a child on the teen grid?

Oh, Christ.

I promised I would never, ever do this here... But I can't help myself.

I just lost 2 minutes of my life, that I'm never getting back.

I'm right with ya, man. :/

You guys may not care but I think its an outrage that LL didnt allow the biggest Land Baron to get this land and go on to take advantage of all the other little kiddies there.

Then again, doesnt a kiddie land baron sound cute? A little Anshe with piggy tails and bubble gum.

You're a funny guy. Yeah. Really.

FWIW, yes, I have a kid over there. I limit my kid's investment so this is not a major thing for her in terms of either money or the plots of land she owns. I think she's sold exacty three plots for a profit in six or seven months. Land speculating isn't her thing.

But that's not really the point is it? Whether or not you agree with Anshe and her business practices on this grid, having a Linden make special deals for land for any resident on either grid is another deal competely. It seems pretty much counter to their public statements proclaiming "Your only limit is your imagination" which implies equal opportunity for all.

That one or more Lindens actually didn't include a large-tier account holder while including others in such a special release creates a barrier between those left out and the Lindens as well as between residents. If you can't see that, I suggest that you see an ethicist with time to explain it to you.

Blue Linden has stated that there are over 1000 teen accounts.

By God, you're absolutely right.

This is an abomination.

Someone call human rights watch.

If this is going on, it is bad.

What I don't understand is this business of barring premium members from places where basics can go. That just seems totally backwards.

coco

I really do not view the teen grid the same as the main grid. In fact I think LL should have a policy there to NOT allow kids to specualte on land. I have a son there and do not introduce him to SL to get a lesson on greed at such a young age. I introduced him to SL to expand his creative mind and maybe because he would get a jump start learning some of the many things SL has to offer.

Overall I have been disapointed in what I have seen on the teen grid. There is an opportunity to make it a very interesting educational tool that captivated young minds. It really had a chance toi be something different than they other virtual gathering places these kids find on the internet.

The FIC ..... The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

A better name for the FIC is the Starchamber.

IF you shall choose to do business to a well known friend that you know al about or a new - one that you know very little about.. who do you choose??*

Of course that can be called a lot bad things.. but its human in a way to choose ones that you know... and trust.. you prob sleep better...



*There are of course lots of exceptions

I'm for the Illuminopoly.

I think the whole FIC thing is a crock of shit - having said that, I'd be watching out for someone on the TG referring to themselves as 'one business youth'.

PetGirl,

If true, it's not a question of doing 'business to (sic) a well known friend' - it's a question of showing favouritism to a specific group. The former is sensible business practice, the latter is corruption.

Uh huh. These are the among the same group of "known" residents who violated the TOS by being on the MG while lying about their ages. These are among the same group of "known" residents that violated the TOS by maintaining accounts on both grids and transferring items from one grid to another.

I guess the liars you know are the ones you care to work with as opposed to the kids who never joined the MG in violation of the age requirement, never used false identfication when registering their accounts, never hacked the client to take advantage of the permissions system like some have, never received so much as an informal warning because they have always abided by the TOS in spirit as well as letter of the law?

And this makes sense to you? It doesn't to me.

Human, yes. Private business, yes, but even there, only to an extent.

SL is more like the government itself, presiding over us, with huge powers over all of us. As such, they can't just pick and choose arbitrarily who they are going to give land to, or tax breaks to, or big contracts to, etc.

coco

That makes it even worse! I can't believe it!

And that's the problem - it is hard to believe, and all I've got to go on is this thread. Maybe you could PM me with more details.

coco