POLL: Lifers, do you like the changes?

well i am also a lifer i dont need much land, there wont be big changes for me, but...for a lot of people there will be!
I just dont like the idea that all the rentals might dissapear, because of what i understood, is that if you rent out a shop, appartment, whatever, that all the objects the renters will put on your land ( house, shop) that it is going from your prim usage (sory my english is not so good, hope you understand what i am trying to say)
so , i am going for number 2.
I still feel unsure about all this, and hope that soom more expanation will follow.
Hugs
Angela

Hmmm doesn't that open up a whole new market for prim rentals? Think about people who may not need to use all their prims in a 1/16. Now they can rent the prims out at a fee per prim rate. might be interesting

You're still getting a deal guys!
You're still getting what would be a $25/month sub for life!

Now I know I'm not as ambitious as some. Was just touring a build by Neil and Neph Protagonist last night which is absolutely awesome looking. Pre-Baked custom textures for everything. And the scale! It's huge. With the new rules it may not survive. Or it may have to in a scaled back version.

This does worry me as there are plenty of projects which are big and deserve some consideration for the amount of work their members have put in. Perhaps when the group permissions are worked out this wont be as much an issue as everyone is worrying about.

There are some one man projects (or two) which wont have that advantage. I hope the Lindens take the time to address these case by case. There are people who cant afford to pay more R$ but who *can* make this place a lot more fun! (Mark, Pirate, I'm a lifer who's not leaving, if you ever need a third just for group maintenance IM me... I swear I wont touch anything ) </shameless plug>

For that matter any Lifers who intend to leave, please IM me. I'd love to build a museum/gallery of builds (not just pictures but auto-rezzing builds) so the history isn't lost.

UU
___________
Virtual Museum Archivist

1., I think.

I am one of the small group of people who was told ahead of time what the changes would be and had to sign an NDA and not tell anybody. The misconception about this focus group is that we had some say in whether or not the Lindens would be making these changes; we did not. I think the Lindens wanted to bounce the ideas off us just to get a feel for how some active players in the game would respond and what questions and concerns we had. And some of the people included in the group (who identified themselves to the rest of us, because not everyone did) have a lot to lose when these changes are implemented.

I had begun to make changes in my own prim usage several weeks before I had any inkling of changes which were coming; since Tan was filling up prim-wise, and Aqua is always laggy with Av Central, I had decided that my shops in those sims needed to be streamlined. I am happy that prims will now be fairly allotted per user, and we won't see the crazy flame wars on forums over prim-banking.

My concern over the idea of allowing RL$ to purchase land in SL is mostly overridden by the fact that people can do it now, in a roundabout way: mule accounts are just a click away for those players who can afford them.

I'm excited about the new players LL's new subscription levels will bring into the game, and I think it will be good for the longevity of SL. That, I believe, is worth sacrificing some 200-prim bookshelves and vast land empires for.

Solid 1 here.

I did the numbers, I see where they are going, and I like it.

Some details still need to be filled in, but they at Linden Labs are wise enough to know that some things they SHOULD leave fuzzy, so they can make improvements when things go live.

I'm looking forward to the next few months.

5 (wait and see)... reserving judgment is the best option for me, even though I already suspect this is for the best.

I'm in for the long haul... this would have to be completely disastrous for me to leave, and I think the probability of that is insignificant.

1.....

I bought a lifetime because of 1.2
'nuff said

1. I Like it!

F.U.D. (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt), is how most folks here are reacting (or over-reacting) in my opinion. Most people fear change (too much change too quickly), and react negatively or confused (Chip Midnight's 'deer caught in head lights') because the first reaction is most always instinctual, emotional (that gut reaction). It takes time and information for people to process before they will accept or understand change. Granted, many will still resist it, or deny it and leave.

I like that I will now have ability to own twice the land I currently have at no additional cost.

I like the fact that I will no longer have to pay L$4000-7000 a week in taxes.

I like the fact that more people can join the game for 'next to nothing'.

I like the fact that this model grows the game and provides Linden Labs a better business model (Read: the 'game' will be around for a much longer time most likely)

I like the fact that I can (or my business can) rent a whole SIM for an event or business purposes.

I like the fact that everyone will still get stypends (bonuses?) so they can buy and or build (buy my yachts please).

I like the fact that people can still buy, sell, build, explore, chat, socialize, etc. just as always.

I like the fact that this will expand the SL virtual world much more quickly than before.

I like the fact that if I build, create, host, or add significant value to SL (metered by user participation or 'dwell') that I can earn RL$.

I like the fact that the Linden's have always been responsive and are now as much as ever before, communicating to us and answering the questions, and clariifying the issues that residents have been pouring back at them like a tidal wave.

I for one, look forward to this brave new world of SL!

Mickey Roark

1.) I can understand and do support LLs need to make this kind of move. I can bear any personal loss this may incur, which is small compared to what the community can gain. Even if many influential and/or vocal people leave in dismay, SL will survive and prosper, never the same.

2.
Doesnt really matter what individually we all feel. In the end we all make our choices. Stay or go. Like it or leave it. We vote with our dollars. There are some things I like in 1.2 and somethings that for me I really dislike. Changes as sweeping as these will always cause disruptions. Lindens are betting it was the right choice, I hope it was for their sakes. Its their world in the end as much as we would like to think it was ours.
Not sure yet what my plans are...........one thing I know for sure ...I could use the extra sleep I forego just to be here most every nite.....lol.

I'm whichever option was wait and see. I'm somewhat dubious about the changes, but I'm willing to give it a whirl as my membership runs out in February.

I want to be optimistic, but I'm going to have to let this boil around in my head for a bit before I decide exactly what I think about how it's going to affect the folks I know personally in SL.

1 I was uncertain at first, but after letting it sink in for a day, I think it's good.

As far as any potential negatives, people have adapted to the current system and figured out how to get by and do what they want... people will adapt to the new system too.

2. Resoundingly.

Excerpt from a mail i just got from linden labs:

As of today, December 10, 2003, you are holding 3456 square meters of land, which is 2432 square meters over the allocation. Under the new subscription plan this additional land holding will cost you either $25.00 per month, or alternatively you will be able to pay the fee in L$. We will announce the exact L$ rates to pay for land within the next 2 days.

no way will i pay $25. and if the L$ charge is any more than it would have been if taxes were still in effect, i am still out. no thanks.

4 Im vary sad about the changes. Im afraid im gonna cancel my subscription after the changes.

*EDIT* I might give it another month to check out the changes. To see how much land i get to keap without paying more.
I wish they would still give a little bit of a persentage incresse for older members like me who has bin here for about a year.

But we never know. It might end up being for the better but i really hope i dont see good friends leave like i might becuse of the changes

I sort of like the changes. I wish the lifers had a better deal, but its still pretty sweet compared to those that start playing after 1.2 launches. I am going to have to give up around 2000m of land to fall within my 4096m grant, but Iwill be fine with that amount with my play style. The richest minority have the largest to lose in the changes and it is sad to a certain extent. Im glad I dont have to give up more than 2000m. The parcel I am going to have to let go is a very emotional decision, its tough to swallow and adapt.

On the plus side, those that cant afford to play or would not even consider playing with a monthly fee will be able to now play. And, if your not a lifer and if you can live with 1024m, you no longer have to pay to play at all. That might come in handy in lean RL months. You wont have to quit outright, just scale back until you decide to pay for more land again.

It is all a very new concept and many questions will be answered once 1.2 gets underway, but I am not as pissed off as I was last night.

After the town meetings and the extra day to give it some thought and do research, I'm becoming a 1 more and more. I'm really starting to see the benefits as massively outweighing any detractions. Of course, as I'm already down for two lifetimes between me and my wife, I guess that give's us plenty for elbow room.

And no more prim taxes! thanks the maker!

1. I actually quit about 1 week ago. Then I received this news, and I must say I like it. I have signed up again.

Yes I like the changes.

1. My problems are solved.

When I joined SL in the Beta, the thing I enjoyed most was... that I didnt have to pay 10-30 dollars a month like other mmogs.. That whole Pay2Play movement sickened me.. If blizzard can run a game server off of the income from just selling the game, why cant other companies? Ultima, Ragnarok, Graal.. Countless games all now cost 15+ dollars a month, reguardless of how much you play, and how little freedom they give you.

When SL decided to go the same way, I disappeard, simply because I couldnt pay anymore. In fact, just to visit people, I would resort to making trial accounts with random freind's cards..
12 dollars a month for the whole 20 minutes a week that I'm going to be on?

This whole 10 dollar flat fee thing is great. Because I was planning on coming back, with external fundage.
Rygar planned to get me a month of SL so I could get back on my feet.. Of course, when I was done getting on my feet, my trial would end, and I'd lose all of my objects again..
(Well, besides the ones I'm having freinds hold on to for me)
Now, for Cheaper, he can get me the lifetime membership that gets me all of the features I'm going to be using. Walking around, and talking with people about whats going on ^^.. Land owning is just, Yeah. How often am I going to use my land if it disappears before I can pay the SL bill?

If I really want more land than I can afford with virtual money, then I can simply drop my domain name, I only get 1-10 hits a day.. And I can re-establish my site on the newly growing faster virtual community that I love ^_^.

Sure, I feel a little bad for the people that have been paying all this time, but they get benifits for it. And to think of it, people who payed lifetime are still saving money, because the bonuses they get still tower the old monthly fee.
If they dont have anything to do with their land... Why not lend it to people like me that cant afford it? >>

This will allow me at least, to get a firm amount of playtime and work, because when I go to get a job, I dont have to worry about most of my minimum wage paycheck going to games, and I can save my money for things I need more... like a place to live o_o.. And gas for my car.. And wouldnt you know it, food ^_^. Once my mom is gone, I'm sort of on my own.. And I've given myself a bad start on being alone..

1. Yes

Since it costs money to run servers, to me it makes sense that people should pay more if they use more of those servers resources.

a mix of 1 (yes) and 5 (wait and see) I suppose

On the personal level of how it affects me - I like the changes. As a lifer I'll have much more land and prims to play with than I did before - because previously I was held back by tax costs and lack of enough in-game income. Now I don't have to worry about taxes / extra cost as long as I stay within my prim / land allotment and what I'm getting seems like plenty to me.

I do feel bad though for those who have been very successful through lots of work in the past who now have to give up some of that. And the introduction of RL money into the mix is a bit unsettling... but also interesting at the same time. Its hard to say how it will pan out so that's why i have a wait and see attitude as well. I think the new pricing does have the potential to help SL grow to a larger user base - and that translates into more longevity for SL.

SL is on the cutting edge of virtual world systems and its understandable that they would need to retool the system from time to time. Obviously Linden Labs need to survive financially or we'd have no more SL. So hopefully the new model is helping with that while still balancing the wants / needs of the majority of users. Change can be painful but it is often worthwhile...

I have mixed feelings on it. I dont like the idea that your prim allocation corresponds exactly to the "fair" amount for your land. I seriously doubt that with this system the prim usage on a sim will ever hit 100%. Which is wasteful, since other people will really need it.

Put me down for number 1. I don't just like the changes, I think they are necessary to complete the transition (already underway) of SL from just another MMPORG to a history-making precedent-busting virtual world.

The problem of adjusting my ambitions to my resources -- I take as an interesting challenge, rather than a threat to my existence.

The problem of worthy citizens being forced to scale back on places that make an important contribution to the community -- I think it's the community's responsibility, not the Lindens, to see to it that these people have what they need to realize their dreams.

The problem of the ridiculously high $L prices for land -- I trust that the Linden's aversion to a micro-managed centrally-planned economy will allow the prices to adjust themselves to appropriate levels over time. All the mechanisms are in place for it to be the community that ultimately determines a fair $L price for land, not the Lindens.

And like many others, I feel that the tying of price structure to server resources means that this community, in which I have already invested a great deal of time and energy and emotional capital, will be around for awhile, will actually grow and prosper.

A loud 2. What I saw happen with 1.2 is the breaking of player trust in LL. They try to be up front abut most things and discuss and listen to our veiws. But 1.2 was bulldozed in.

Well if 1.2 comes in without realistic changes then what will 1.3, 1.4, 1.5..... Hold for us?

A lot of players now have lifetime accounts. this gives them enough land allowance to keep some/most/enough of what the held before to quell them.

BUT.. Lifetime gives LL a short term shot of cash. What is next?

Could it be 'We think Lifetime gives players an unfair advantage so we are aligning the land allowance with the rest of the players'

Could this happen? Does that sound reasonable to you? What else could change?

Trust is a powerfull thing. I feel LL have broken it

2.) Sorta... Not sure if I like the idea that If I end up getting more land than I should as a Lifer, I would have to shell out some RL cash to do it. The whole thing I liked about SL is that the sky is the limit and you can build and make all sorts of things within reason... now it seems you are limited and if ya go over, it'll cost you out of your wallet.
What will happen to the bigger builds and attractions that makes the SL world unique? Will they be taken down cause the email I saw regarding prices in RL or L$, I doubt anyone can afford to upkeep these. Also, I am guessing this will be the end of the player malls and stuff. We can all live in little homes and attend event for play money, unless the Lindens decide we can cash in our L$ for RL cash also