Dear Linden Labs:

When I started in SL, I was well entertained by the novelty of buying a little plot of land, building a house, and hanging out there. However, the gloss wore off that novelty very quickly and I considered leaving, as there didnt seem to be all that much more to the game.

About that time, I found the mapping templates on the website and decided to give making some clothing a try. Costume and clothing design has always been one of my chief passions, however in RL breaking into this field is an unlikely venture for most, myself included.

But not in SL.

So thats what I did- and I found along the way that the entrenprenurial (sp?) aspect of SL was what I enjoyed- I loved creating my stores, and my product line, and the strategy involved in figuring out what i had to sell in order to be able to cover my taxes and keep what I have in-world.
Thats what makes SL fun and worth playing to me.

This new manifestation of SL essentially renders it a game I am no longer interested in. It could be I am the only player out there that enjoys that particular challenge, but I doubt it...
And you should know, Linden Labs, those that play from that angle have basically just had thier game cancelled.

If these changes go through, I'll be leaving. And that breaks my heart, as I have loved every moment of my experience thus far. I've spent INSANE amounts of time developing my product line as it currently exists, not to mention the amount of time I have spent on creating new products yet to be put out, products that at this point look like they will never see the light of day. Sucks, 'cause they were AWESOME. Some of the best work I've ever done.

But, in the end, this is not my decision, and I am just one player among many. However, I feel the need to make my opinions known on this subject.
Linden Labs, my gut feeling is that you are making a serious mistake in implementing these changes. I hope that the overwhelmingly negative feedback you have recieved on the forums hits home, and you seriously consider your plan.
If after that consideration you decide to go forward with it, there is nothing I personally can do, nor any other player. The only recourse we have is to leave, and that is so. very. sad.

You could have solved many problems by implementing the prim-precentage-on-land-ownership system while keeping the current economic setup, and I cant help but think that should have been tried first.

I am deeply, deeply dissapointed in this decision. I hope you reconsider, but I understand that hope is likely futile.
This isnt a 'screw-you-im-leaving' post, as I have not yet settled upon the decision to do so. I will wait to make that decision until the day 1.2 actually arrives and it becomes obvious these changes are in place for better or worse.
SHOULD that come to pass, I wont be around to see if its better or worse, because for myself I already know which of those it will be.

Shame on you Linden Labs for deciding to implement this without first consulting your most valuable resource- your current customer base.

Edit: do not mistake this for a pls-convince-me-not-to-leave post. its not. its just a statement of my opinions on this change.

Edit II: after speaking with my in world luvys, i've decided that tho im not hanging it up entirely, i am effectively going to retire. i'll keep the account and be in and out, i am fascinated to see how this develops, but my builds will likely go away... the exception being the prayer candles which i will do everything in my power to keep, as i feel they are my most valuable contribution, and the closest to my heart of all the items i currently have in world.

Nephi, you know for sure there are those of us who would miss you to the point it would hurt our hearts on this side of screen.

You have singularly altered my SL experience with your friendship Nephilaine and if you never came back I would hate thinking about you because it will hurt to miss you.

You know your friends are here to support you in anyway we can.

Briana Dawson

I just don't see how these changes affect your ability to offer objects for sale... maybe I just don't understand your point. What specifically about 1.2 breaks the game for you? There's a whole mess of crap in the big update that is 1.2.

Nephilaine, Neil and Rathe have [HAD] a very big project that many of us in the know were just dying to see completed. A huge mall, volcaono with streaming lava, casino, theater, and more.

This is now just a pipe dream because all the blood and sweat in SL time & money has been wasted by these 3 because for them to keep it all would require something on the order of $125 dollars just for Chartreuse and probably alot more for Rathes earnings.

For Nephilaine, it was not so much her ability to offer objects for sale, but the "game she was playing" agains the economic scheme & tax system that SL was built around. They planned and developed according to this and now it's basically wasted.

Briana Dawson

How big was that volcano of theirs?

The 3 of them get 3096 sq.m. combined in free land.

If they each pay $15 a month, they get an additional 2048 sq.m. each.

Thats 9240 sq.m, or about 1/6 of a sim.

If they go to the $25 a month plan, they get 4096 sq.m. each

Thats a grand total of 15384 sq.m., or about 1/4 of a sim.....

Pretty friggin huge piece of land, if you ask me.

If it is a popular hangout, they'll get developer incentives, too

There are 4 life members involved, the problem is, that this system requires us to devote 100% of our account resouces to 1 project. Anyone who knows us, realizes we have several projects. None of us are willing to waste more money just to keep things that we were happy to earn/pay for under the old system.

Also, I believe we actually hold around 55-60% of Chartreuse. Considerably more than 1/4th of a sim.

As I mentioned in another thread, this means that especially with lifetime members, they are getting nearly nothing in return for running an expensive server. Four people are taking up as much server space as 25 to 30 average players would.

Now don't take this the wrong way, I like large builds. I do *NOT* belive in 100% equal resource distribution. Most people do not have the time, skills or desire to create fantastic builds. So it is logical that resources can be allocated unevenly to allow the ones to do teh ability to create.

The problem here is the current system is badly broken, and resources are not being paid for with real dollars... so the company is strugling. I truly hope that the new system works perfectly, so people can build huge items and other who want small plots don't end up with an empty lot because prim usage is at 101%.

Update IV: Deeply sceptical (sp?), but waiting to see what happens. I myself am not a lifer, though Neil is. We are working furiously on brainstorming ways to keep the Chartruese project alive. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
I for one intend to continue work on it until the day it has to go, should that day come. I hope not.

Here's my situation. I dont own ANY land. Neil owns the land La Odalisque (thats the ruins next to the big building) sits on, and as for my builds in kissling, rathe owns those, i just rent them.

So heres how i see my prescence in the world changing...just predictions, might play out completely differently from this. I am going to be de-rezzing my builds in Kissling, the store and the cathdral (OMG it hurts so bad to say that, but it has to go. Ive done the math on the prim count in that building vs the size plot its on, and scaling it back to fit that # would make a poor sad shadow of what it once was. not going to do that to it- i would rather rebuild it in a different location at a later date.). the Kissling store falling by the wayside is of no great import to me, it was going to be relocated to chartruese anyway. As for whether or not Pixel Dolls (the chartruese store at the top of the big building, and a store holding not just my inventory but that of several extremely talented designers) will go forward remains to be seen as well.

Just so its said, neil and i have spent 40+hours a week for aprox. four months now to get this build to where it is now, and thats just OUR time commitment, to say nothing of the time and resources invested by other members of the project. its within a couple weeks (at MOST) of completion. If we can muck thru all these extremely inconveiniently times changes to the realization of this project's goals, it will be a wonderful wonderful thing.
I certainly hope that we can.

Ive been thinking a great deal on the cathedral and the prayer candles. Heres my thoughts on that. I am fairly certain the cathedral itself will have to go, or at the very least be relocated to a plot of a size that can bear the prim costs of the building. however, the prayer candles will remain in-world no matter what peripheral costs i have to incur in the way of land to support the prims used by them. If it means they get no pretty display case, thats that. there will be prayer candles nestled down on bare land. so be it.

So i hope that makes all who have expressed sadness over my decision of last night feel a bit better. I wish things could stay the way they are, but change is a-comin, and it looks like few will remain unnaffected. thats the way it goes, and whatever bumps i have to take to keep LL live and prosperous....again, so be it.

"There will be water if God wills it."
-Roland, son of Steven.

PS: thank you all who have shared your kind words with me. i love you all so much, and now i realize (i didnt last night in the heat of anger and panic) how much i would miss you all if i left.
*hugs*

Drathor,
Your post says:
"As I mentioned in another thread, this means that especially with lifetime members, they are getting nearly nothing in return for running an expensive server."

Assuming you mean that the linden labs is getting nothing from the lifers for the costly server space, I would remind you thats because they have ALREADY gotten something from the lifers: $225 apiece, the fee for a lifetime membership.

Edit: I cant speak for other lifers, but my decision to purchase a LM for neil was born of a deep love for the world created by Linden Labs, and the desire to see it continue. My apologies for the snipey tone of the above comment, but I feel deeply deeply insulted by the inference that that contribution is worth nothing.
If I have misinterpreted what you are saying Dragon, disregard this screed. Under that circumstance, it is irrelevant, no more than further airing of opinion.

That $225 isn't much, when you compare it to the cost of running SecondLife. $225 will pay for the purchase of 1/4 of a server. It will pay for (best estimate) 300-500 GB of bandwidth, or (wild guess) 300 days of connection time for one person. It will pay (reasonable assumption) two and a half days' salary for one employee.

Keep in mind a single one-time cost of $225 for unlimited bandwidth is quite a deal in the long run. If you look at how much land you get for free (4096m^2), you've recouped your cost in as little as 9 months. Anything beyond that is a gift from LL for your early investment.

I personally don't have any plans for my land yet. I currently own a whopping 4m^2. If you're still short on space and need somewhere to place the cathederal by the time 1.2 kicks in, I will offer a portion of my lifetime member land allotment to help keep it alive.

I completely understand where you're coming from Neph, and I'm crushed that I won't get to see the store completed. What I saw of it so far was truly spectacular and an unbelievable amount of work went into getting it this far. There are a great many beautiful things in SL that won't survive this. Elysian Island is another one.

I've gotten my joy out of SL the same way you have, and in the same progression. The novelty of what I started with went away very quickly and it wasn't until I started my clothing line that I really started to have fun... because I'd finally found a game I was GOOD at, and knowing that all I've been able to build was a direct result of my in-world efforts and hundreds of hours of work has been a big source of pride and made me feel more connected to and more an integral part of this game than any other I've ever played... by a million miles.

I understand how this is a good thing for casual players, but for some of us it feels a bit like getting punished for being too successful in SL. Taking from the SL rich to give to the RL rich. I need a lot more info on exactly how object sales will translate into RL$ or access to resources before I'll really know how I feel about it all, but I don't at all like that someone can now come into SL and immediately have more than someone who's worked for months to build a reputation and a niche in the SL economy when all they have to contribue is the ability to shell out real money. Up til now the only way to get ahead was to truly earn it, and that's been a big part of the magic for me.

People like you and me might end up doing very well under this system since we produce popular content. Two days ago I did 6k in sales which is a new record for me. I'd really like to know what that'll end up being worth under the new system. Until then I'll try and hold back judgement. As I said in another thread, LL has earned the benefit of the doubt from me, and then some... but til I see how it plays out and how myself and others that I care about and respect are effected I won't be able to shake this uneasy feeling. I fear some wonderful people are going to fall through the cracks, and for every one that does SL's magic will be diminished.

Hey Chip, since I acccount for about 1400 of that, does that entitle me to something special under this new 1.2 system?

I'll expect a new FREE clothing allotment from you when I login this evening

I prefer pink, fyi.

Briana Dawson

Be that as it may carnildo, thats the price LL put on the membership, and the most costly purchase available at the time. If that pricing scheme was not adequate to cover the costs incurred by the running of the game....well, that wasnt ever the person-considering-a-LM's decison to make, was it?


A lifer's builds and the resources they consume are no more sacred or worthy than those of someone who pays the standard monthly fee (I say that with conviction, as monthly-billed is the group i fall into).
Im fully willing to keep on paying LL to play- this whole "whee! i get to play for free!" thing holds no water with me. I believe in the world, and I have loved my time here. I WANT linden labs to succeed, and if that means i have to keep on paying my $15 a month, ill do it, and more if need be. In fact, if the option is still available, I will likely join the lifer ranks before the week is out. and STILL will pay at least the usual $15 a month if sitation requires it, more still than that if thats what i need to do. My best contribution to LL as a customer is to pay them...as much and as often as my use of the resources demand.
Understanding you feel the way you feel, im not interested in changing your mind, but i AM saying that its tacky to intimate that the largest possible purchase available at the time means nothing in the long run. If that $225 is a drop in the bucket, then what does that make the efforts of those paying the $15 monthly fee?

Edit: If anyone cares to continue to discuss the relationship between LL's pricing scheme and the actual breakdown of cost of services, pls start an independant thread for it.

Chip!!!
6k man, holy crap. congrats

by the by, Pixel Dolls will open if it is within my power to make it happen. In order to conserve prims (which is the main obstacle to Pixel Doll's existance) im working on designs for a system of kiosks that will replace the box-inventory approach without compromising the visual style of the shop.

Unfortunately this means back to the drawing (and modelling, and rendering, and uploading and application, with the addition of scripting) board for the interior textures.
More time spent "watching the paint (pixels?) dry" in the render preview window, but luckily theres a wierd pleasure in that, so its no biggie. sorta like watching a fireplace, no?
Aaah, Lightwave, I Love You/I Hate You.


Bri:
*hugs*

I expected some strong responses, as I came pretty close to insulting. Let me try and clarify, as it was not my intention to be insulting.

I am not saying that your contribution means nothing to the Lindens, yourself or others. As a trial member, seeing lifetime members around made me go, "Hey.. if that many people put up $250 for this, it must be good." and now that I am a memeber, it's nice to see others around who validate my own enjoyment. And it was obviously a heftey investment for each lifetime member, and so it certianly is not meaningless.

However.. in terms of pure cashflow and server costs, lifetime memberships that own huge amounts of land are money loosers for Linden Labs. Thats not your fault, or a slam on anyone intentions.. it's just a sad fact that complicated systems like Second Life's economy and pricing structure don't always work out the way one plans. It's just too big of a problem to be able to solve.. so one must try and fiddle and change as the system evolves. We are at a huge change point now.

If you look at their new pricing, they have a full server for $200 a month.. that tells me that their cost to run it has to be near that price. Half a sim would be $100 a month, and four people paying $250 once means that after 10 months they will be loosing $100 a month on that server. This is totally ignoring all the other RL costs like employees, buildings, taxes... in reality it might only pay for two or three months.

So to sum up, I am saying that the payment system is broken, but I like and enjoy large prim and land heavy constructions.

One thing I think people aren't understanding about what Neph is saying:

She's not saying the game is broken because she can't have the land that she would currently have.

She's saying the game is broken for her because there is no Game left.

The removal of taxes removes any sense of a game to SL. There is no more challenge.

It is trying to be implied that the Game will now be for developer rewards. However, I can't imagine that these will either a)go to a ridiculously small amount of players or b)will be ridiculously small amount so as to make the dev awards not attainable or not worth it.

Now we have no Game. Just a shared 3d developer tool.

I'll have to decide how I feel about that.

Oh, and as to the Lifetime Membership versus not. A lifetime membership is equal to 15 - $15 monthly payments - Longer than the game has been live.

So, do not imply that Lifetime Members have been a drain on LL and are causing these changes. So far, Lifetime Members have paid more than anyone else.

Had to, sorry

Drathor,
I misunderstood your point, and i apologize for my strong wording and any offense i might have caused you
*hug*

also, Onei:
thank you for clarifying that. you said it much more clearly than i could, as i am composing thru a haze of emotion.

heh...rain is in the forecast for today, so maybe that will lull me into a state of not caring about this, and being a little more accepting of the fact that what will be, will.

LOL Bri. I thought I already gave you your buy 12 get 1 free Did you lose your punch card again?

You put my thoughts much more succinctly than I ever could.

In addition about the Lifetime memberships, it would take almost 2 years for an annual membership to put more money into the system than a Lifetime. Also, if lifetime accounts were a big drain, they could turn them off at any time. I doubt they were impetus for any of these changes.

Umm, not really.

You can't just turn off lifetime memberships... that woudl be like... trying to take away entitlements in the real world. Just not something that is possible without getting roasted over hot coals. And get sued.

I do agree that lifetime memberships were not the reason for the change. The system as a whole has serious financial issues, thats what caused it.

Sorry, I mean turn them off as in don't sell anymore.

I kindof buried this in an Edit: earlier, not sure if anyone has run across it, so thought i would reiterate it here.

The discussion of the contributions of different levels of membership is interesting and valid, but really should have a thread of its own. I respectfully request that if you want to discuss it, pls do so in a thread dedicated to the subject. the reason i say this is the resposes on that subject are keeping this thread alive when it really should be in the hinterlands of page 3 or 4 by now. the opinions i expressed in my original post have nothing to do with the subject, and as the opinions i expressed in the original post have largely ceased to be valid, i kinda want it to die....

of course i understand noone HAS to honor this request, but it would be awfully cool of you if you did

Neph,

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that it would be a great loss if you left the game, and that I would be willing to purchase some of the property needed to complete your big project and then "rent" it to you at no cost so you had the prim usage you need. Your builds, and work in general, are truly art and lend a great deal to the game.

I am one of the people happy and excited to hear about the changes. The old economic model simply made the "virtual cost of entry" too high for new players, and put it on an ever increasing slope. Because I too love Sl and want to see it survive, I know that means new people must be able to participate at all levels.

That said, I understand how frustrating it must be to have played the "game" part of the economic model so successfully and to suddenly find the model so changed. I imagine it must be similar to having your property "nationalized" when a country adopts a socialist government.

Please let me knw if there is anything I can do to help make you want to stay!

Bhodi

P.S. That is my favorite L Cohen song!