Rules limiting account creation

I have been told that there is a maximum of two accounts per credit card, and 5 accounts per household, and that these are cumulative, in that closing an account does not free up a slot for creation of a new account.

Does this agree with what you have been told about the limits on account creation?

Suezanne, Ive been told its 5 per credit card.

5 accounts per credit card is the *only* limit I have ever read or heard. Never heard a thing about a limit on household. I do not think that is correct.

So short answer: 5 accounts per credit card

She must have a lot of credit cards...

Hello:

Thanks for your inquiry. We do have a limit on the number of accounts
you can create with a credit card (2) as well as the number of accounts
per household (5) and once you've reached either of these lifetime
limits, of which both open and closed accounts count toward it, you
would be unable to create another account.

Regards,

Linden Lab

This is from Colin Linden

My source for the 2 per card, 5 per household limit is indirectly from the LL support department.

This does not jibe with my understanding of what is actually happening.

woah! When did they change it?

May be a question for the Hotline Suez...

Well I can tell you now I have three account on one credit card so that's false. I also know people that have 7 accounts and have seen at least 4 of them.

I was hoping to see some facts presented before posting in hotline for the official answer.

This is the response I got from LL when I e-mailed them the same question. I guess the policy has changed.

WHAT??? This can't be right! What purpose would they have for preventing the same person from opening and closing more than five different accounts over the entire lifetime of SL?

Or worse, for preventing three people in the same household from opening and closing more than five accounts in a lifetime? (Which would be less than two per person.)

That makes just totally no sense at all!!

coco

If those who have more than the supposed new limits per card and per household get to keep their accounts, those with more than the current limits get to vote in the voting propositions more than those subjected to the supposed new limits.

Also, what are using to define a household, the billing address on the credit card, or the phone number, or what?

Also, what are they using to define a credit card? A person can get multiple debit cards for one checking account, does that count as multiple credit cards even though it is not a credit card at all and they all tap the same payment source?

Personally, I'm wondering why they even care.

Wouldn't it be GOOD for them to have you have 30 alternate accounts? (that you paid for)

It's just cash for them, and population for their homepage.

What's the problem?

If those with more accounts than the quoted limits are making money off their accounts then it would be a case of the earlier customers getting a benefit not available to more recent customers.

There are bad things that having many accounts might allow one to do, such as doing a lot of pushgun attacks under different accounts, so that the abuse report response does not escalate from warning to formal warning to suspension at the same rate as the same offenses on one account would.

I have a couple of friends who do not have a credit card but would love to join. I am willing to pay for their way in, but there is no way without a credit card even when using the gift certificate.

Yes there is now a limit of 5 per household. Trust me

Good point.

And I'm also curious when this went into effect. Was there an announcement made? It's likely I would have missed an announcement for this, but I do know people who have always planned on having numerous accounts later on and I'm sure this would come as news to them - especially couples in the same household.

What counts as one household? Are they gonna make folks close accounts till they reach the limit?

What about companies that want to participate in the Second Life content creation and monetization program? If, say, George Lucas decided to start selling branded Star Wars items inworld, would he be limited to two accounts per credit card and five accounts per household?

What determines the household? Physical address? Phone number?

So to open more accounts than is allowed one gets someone else to do it, then change the credit card, does the system detect that or is that an easy way around it?

Or one files a DBA statement with a different name, gets a checking acount under that name with a P.O. Box, uses the debit card for the checking account as the credit card.

To get around address as a household determinant just change the billing address for your credit card to your workplace or a friend.

Go to the local library and use the internet there to get the account from.

Folks who want more than the limits they appear to be imposing will get them.

Is there anybody who doesn't like this limitation and would like to see it changed?

I have me and 4 alts. Two of the alts are for friends of mine that don't have internet and come over. The two others are very rarely used. They are all on the same credit card but no one gets billed but me, the alts are basic accounts with no land.

Maybe the two per credit card is a new thing. The cancellation policy too. But boo! I can never cancel one of those accounts and get a new name again? Oh no huge deal I guess but a little dissapointing.

A limit of five accounts at one TIME, I can understand.

But only five accounts for your whole life?

That can't be right.

coco

Yup. I was told the same only last week

Then yes, it should be changed.

I know of NO game - maybe someone else does - where you are limited to only five characters for your ENTIRE LIFE.

That goes against all the open-endedness an environment such as SL purports to provide.

I just don't get it. I can be Coco, and Strawbearry, and only three other people for the whole rest of my life?

Insane! Has somebody asked about this on the Hotline?

coco

So, what constitutes a household? Physical address? If one person in one domicile gets five accounts, and then moves, no one can join Second Life using that address? If people move, does that change their household and enable them to get more accounts?

Do marriage and divorce change one's household?

Are teen grid accounts included in this total for an individual ?

If a parent get's several minor's account for their children, do those count as part of a total for the household? Can you not get accounts for a woman, husband and children unless you have more than one credit card to put them on?

What is the purpose of having a restriction per credit card?

Are services like "Virtual Visa" an effective way of overcoming a credit card billing address based limitation system and if so why bother?

Sorry to be carrying water on the other side of this issue (because I like all of you), but my personal opinion is that if this rule is the way to eliminate persons who have had accounts cancelled for bad behavior and who keep coming back with new accounts then I am all for it.

I would happily deal with any inconvenience it may cause me in the long term in order to rid SL of individuals who have failed to get the message after 5 permabans.

If that's the rationale, looks to me like using an armed tank to take out a fly.

And that tank hurts us, and hurts the Lindens, way more than it helps the problem.

coco