Stipend Clarification!

how does anyone propose to compensate us at Club even if there are any left?

I think you missed the part where stipend will be cut back gradually?

Is it income or is it welfair? That is the actual question is it not?

Shadow

If its not broke don't fix it

quote from Announcements -- Robin Linden

"Bonus amounts paid out as weekly 'Stipend Ratings' will be decreased over the next several months, beginning next week. "

(sorry can't do the quote for some reason) But this does indicate a further decrease in pay for ratings as Blake said earlier.

Better add the increase in the ratings now being L$25 per point. When your stippened is 500 a week and your bonus is now 50, it will also cost you L$75 to triple rate anyone. Now for someone who makes this amount it will definatly affect them. Now add to that they no longer get LL support for their events. Again minus more L$.

Moreso now that LL is not giving support ppl wont be giving out as much money or prizes. Again trickle down affect. Giving the player who now makes the least even less.

Okay, Catherine - a couple of responses I made last night, but they apparently bear repeating:


1) Lots of people are saying the ratings system is broke right now anyways. This really looks to me like a temporary patch on the system to discourage its use until a better way is found. I for one find it goofy to walk into a room and be rated by a ton of people I don't know - and have them all demanding me to rate them back. Its too obviously a ploy for money by the players, instead of the social tool it was designed to be. This puts an immediate halt to that! Simply cutting the bonuses themselves would only encourage users to do MORE rating, to keep their stipend up. This "cuts the head off the snake" straight away.

2) We pay in-game for clothes. We pay in-game for land. We pay in-game for Avatars. We pay in-game for textures. We pay in-game for jewelry. We pay in-game for Scripts. Why the Hell do people think they shouldn't have to pay for events??? I'll tell you why: Because people have been lulled into a false psychology by all the money being given away. It takes time and effort to put on an event - the HOST should be the one rewarded for it; not the attendees! This change makes event QUALITY more important than event QUANTITY. If people don't want to go to events because they don't give out money, then they're the ones missing out on all of the social experiences that SL provides. It may be a bit of a transition-period - but I believe the "cream will rise to the top" - and the truly entertaining events will stick around, because people WANT to go to them for the EVENT, not the cash. The cash is not SUPPOSED to be the focus of an event!

If you believe you should make money for simply ATTENDING an event - then by the same rationale everyone's Vendors should spit out free cash to random passers-by! The idea that your mere presence entitles you to money is wrong; and has been cultivated by the way the system works. This is why they are changing the system.

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

Okay, so I posted about 30 times last night on the Economics issues - and by the time I woke up this morning, those threads were already down on Page 2 & 3... Jeez!

So let me repeat what Robin Linden has posted - because this is something that NEEDS to be clarified!!!

Robin Linden:
----------------
The adjustments that are causing so much commotion are solely to the in-world economy and effect events (eliminating support for most events) and to the ratings system. There's no change to the basic stipends (the L$ you get weekly).

There is no change to real world pricing for either land, land fees, or membership.
----------------

So everyone needs to take a step back and breathe a little. You are ONLY losing out on 1/2 of your Ratings Bonus. YOUR BASE STIPEND WILL STAY THE SAME.

This is not "all of us suddenly becoming poverty-stricken by a cruel God".

This is LL trying to balance the economy. Because a balanced economy is much much better than an un-balanced one! And, as myself and a few others have pointed out over the last 12 hours, this also may be about LL trying to make sure that paying customers retain an advantage in the game. Why? Because paying customers are what keep LL alive! If there's no incentive to pay for an account, there's no reason for people to do anything but get a $10 Basic Account. Which in a nutshell (without repeating many other posts in this small space) is a "loss-leader" for LL; and is designed solely to pump up the user-base and provide an "upgrade path" for people to TRY SecondLife. Land is one benefit to being a paying customer - but not everyone wants land; so tangible economic benefits (through larger stipends) are a more "universal" benefit. And the more paying customers LL has, the longer SL will be around! If you turn that formula upside-down by making it easier/better to be a Basic Account holder (i.e. being able to earn an equivalent Stipend while on a "free ride", then LL loses tons of money and will shut SL down in a short time-frame.

EVERY OTHER MMO out there provides less creative freedom and charges US$10 - $15 per month. With that US$10 amount, you can buy a decent SL account with a good stipend; or pay for a nice chunk of L$ on GOM/IGE. Folks, we're talking about the equivalent of 1 or 2 meals at McDonald's - this isn't a lot of money! That same US$ amount will buy you a L$1000 grant and L$500 weekly (that's another L$2000 EVERY month) with a premium account. OR, go to GOM/IGE and get about L$2500 EVERY MONTH, at the current trading prices. L$2500 per month is enough to buy some land, or rent a decent place, buy a few sets of clothes/jewelry; and heck - for a REAL change - MAYBE pay/tip your event Hosts for putting their time and effort into things!

Just some food for thought...

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

Yay, less rate bombardments from people you have never seen before expecting rate-backs! Yay rates are more meaningful now! Yay, more rating people based on their actual attributes then say if they just walked into a club or bumped into them on the street!



Yay, less "show me your booies" events and more thought out events!
And yes I do think that straight out parties do have their place in this world, just not so much that all the events that take more time and thought get drowned out. This will greatly reduce the amount of "best dressed" or "best nekkid" events and help to bring back the classes and more thougth out contests that I acutally use to attend, and am actually willing to pay an entrance fee for!

Since people seem to be repeating themselves from within this thread and from outside this thread.. and because I am bored sleepless....

What evidence is there that there is a problem to solve?
What evidence is there that any problem there might be will be solved by this solution?
What possibile justification can there be, in terms of good customer relations, to thrust this major change in game mechanics onto paying subscribers? Especially with so little warning/direct interaction with residents in world, not here on the forums where LL is not much more verbose about this?
Why should I believe this solution is going to be anything more than temporary when, it seems, similar problems have occured within SL and the solutions utilized have led us right to here?
Why should I believe that LL has the slightest clue how to solve this (non-existent) problem period, much less with this method?

I can't find any answers to any of these questions anywhere on the forums. None.

I find a lot of speculation, alternate proposals, cheerleading and just plain bitching. I don't find anything seriously on point - that is, defining "'this' problem" completely, accurately analyzing its cause(s), describing all possible courses of action in terms of solution, and so little from LL that I have no confidence in any response they might give now.

I don't expect LL to disclose everything, though I see no reason not to. I do expect them to be more forthcoming than a 2 day heads up on a major change in game economics.

Unless and until the above is addressed, it's all a bunch of "we are doing this because we can and the hell with what you think about it." Comments by residents are dismissed or taken as supportive and we, other residents, have no real clue which is which. LL... when are you guys going to get a customer service clue?

What evidence is there that there is a problem to solve?

Yay, less rate bombardments from people you have never seen before expecting rate-backs! Yay rates are more meaningful now! Yay, more rating people based on their actual attributes then say if they just walked into a club or bumped into them on the street!



Yay, less "show me your booies" events and more thought out events!
And yes I do think that straight out parties do have their place in this world, just not so much that all the events that take more time and thought get drowned out. This will greatly reduce the amount of "best dressed" or "best nekkid" events and help to bring back the classes and more thougth out contests that I acutally use to attend, and am actually willing to pay an entrance fee for!

Problem: It's clear that there's a lot of ideas on how the economy will be affected by the changes in the patch, and yet SLrs were given only 2 days to discuss and test, and no say in the matter. This is despite LL saying that they would always give ample time to test patches with new features and major changes.

*grins*