Infinite Wisdom

In order to "divide and conquer" don't you need to have a unity to divide? SL is so full of individualists (in the good sense) that I'm amazed any cooperative venture ever works in here.

Lynn -

I understand your fears; but I have one big question:

If they're here to socialize, why would a cut in pay drive them away? Social experiences don't really require L$. Hell, right now everything you do socially is a money-MAKER (events & ratings). Cutting these money-string should help people focus on the actual quality of their social experiences; rather than focusing on pay-outs and getting rated by everyone they see.

What DOES require L$, is the constant acquisition of goods & toys - and IMHO, people have simply "gotten used to" receiving a lot of L$ for not doing much except being rated. The system cannot run on simply socializing and paying the Basic Account people lots of L$. It must have crafters, quality events, some people with money to spend, AND (most importantly) - enough paying customers (i.e. Premium Account Holders) to keep LL running its business in Real-Life dollars.

If there's no incentive to upgrade to Premium (because you can run around the world and make hundreds of L$ just by clicking on people), then the system is not going to survive. Yes, Premium accounts can get land - but land ownership does not interest everyone. Having more L$ to spend is a more universal incentive. Also, right now you can buy a Premium Account, take your weekly stipend (L$2000 per month) and sell it on GOM - and practically make your money back with NO EFFORT!

So really, I don't understand why its such a horrible thing, if people have to go back to living mostly off of their Stipends and What they can Make/Sell. The SL economy is all about "luxury items" - there are no real essentials to buy.

So there is no reason why you can't enjoy the social aspects of the game without being rich with L$.

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

Good point Tread. LL is trying to make a game platform, not be a game company. Rather than guess what the next cool content is going to be, they want to enable the masses to build that content and be rewarded for it, thus harnessing the chaos and power of the larger population. This is why they took money from the founder of eBay -- eBay doesn't sell stuff, they provide the platform for other people to buy and sell stuff.

To get this formula right, they need to continue to evolve the model from where it was yesterday. Some decisions they'll make well, some they'll reverse or alter, but the formula will definitely continue to evolve and people will continue to be unsettled, but welcome to the experiment that is SL.

It's not unusual for part of the population to leave an online world when major changes are implemented. A good portion of those who leave also return at some point. SL has so much to offer, I don't see these changes having that negative an impact on the majority of players. I haven't been here long, but I'm not about to leave... I love this environment too much.

Uhm, sorry, but how is this dividing the populace, other than "People who are pissed off about rate-whoring-leeches" and "rate-whoring-leeches", as it has been?

How about 1000 Alby's? That'll cure all problems..

Your almighty dollar will crash as only merchants will be selling to merchants what is left of them. And without fun in game, there will not be an average consumer left to sell too.

Or bring about the end of times :\

I'll just use my bling to buy up all the merchants and control the Commanding Heights of the Economy.. There will always be consumers... Always...


Bling Bling

That sounds awfully Leninist, Alby...

Heheheh.... I call it Capitalism. You can call me JP Morgan. lol

Bull, money CAN'T be poring outta your butt with your head blocking the way.

Dammit Alby, I told you Bling is dead. RIP Bling.

Oh, and Alby, I found your new online shopping heaven Iced Out Gear