Summary of discussions and updates on 1.2

Well it's been a wild night in-world! Thanks to everyone who hung in there and asked great questions, and sorry if we've not gotten everything ironed out that is needed to help understand these changes. Addressing the major concerns we have heard thus far:

+ We will create a system by which the new land fees can optionally be paid with L$ or $USD. This should give a simple mechanism allowing those who earn L$ in-world to pay for land. In conjunction with the land grants being given to existing users, this should make it easy to maintain land and operate totally within the L$ economy as before if you so desire.

+ Dwell will not be the only form of incentives. In particular, those selling clothes or other things in-world will have the ability to exchange L$ for land fees (as described above). There will be other developer incentives, yet to be announced.

+ We will send out individual email ASAP with your land holdings and land fees that will be owed (if any). Additionally we will tell you on a parcel-by-parcel basis if the number of prims you have will exceed the new fixed limits for objects discussed in the announcement.

+ We will create an adequate grace period so that you have plenty of time to evaluate what land you own and fees you might need to pay. No need to begin madly deleting prims, etc.

+ In the event that you owe additional land fees, you will NOT automatically be billed - we will send you email telling you what land fee tier you will be in, and asking you to confirm.

+ Land fees are associated with the total amount of land you own. We are not taking land away or relocating you or moving in-world content. Your existing land parcels will be calculated into these fees. You will be able to decide what land you want to keep, sell, etc.

+ As previously announced, most residents are within the land allotments given and will not have to pay more. Do not panic! As discussed above, we will send you email on your holdings.

+ Linden Lab will not be selling L$ for RL$. We will instead be offering programs where you can get RL$ for L$. Our goal is to stimulate even more content creation to make SL better for everyone. Existing L$ holdings, projects, and land will be even more valuable than before.

+ Group land will have an extra grace period where land fees will not be charged. No new land can be deeded (as of 12/7) so current group land holdings are fixed. We are building a mechanism where members will be able to share some of their land allocation with their group. Once this is in place, groups will be able to decide whether they wish to pay for their collective land. With this system, group projects will be able to function much as before.

+ We will be increasing prim limits on a sim-by-sim basis depending on the amount of public land in the sim. This means you may have a larger allocation of prims in a parcel than Xmeters/65,536 * 10,000. So again, don't delete prims unless/until you get mail from us giving you specifics.

+ Version 1.2 will also include big improvements to frame rates in groups, numerous usability and UI enhancements, and other things lost in the general madness of the announcements. We think you'll like it.

As always, your feedback drives our development. We are listening carefully.

Since the announcement, LL has been very responsive to feedback inworld and on the boards. Great stuff.

Thank you for this response, Phillip - it clarifies some issues, and I appreciate the efforts that the Lindens have made to help answer questions this evening. My only comment would be that a lot of this information should have been in the announcment in the first place - it would have help to cut down on a lot of the confusion and misinformation floating around. That said, I think this is a necessary and exciting change, and I look forward to seeing how it all evolves.

Thanks so much for the additional info Philip. Your post just answered several of my questions. Like Ironchef said, you guys have been incredibly responsive through all this despite the torch and pitchfork weidling mobs Thanks for always being so accessible. Can't wait to see how this all plays out!

Point one seals it for me, 1.2 is going to be cool

Pirate

For prim-intensive Linden builds, will the Lindens be buying up extra land in the sim to compensate? Specifically, will the Lindens buy up enough land in Clementina to account for the Governor's Mansion's prims?

They could've made a list eight pages long as some sort of faux 'FAQ', as is common practice in the industry, or they could've kept it short and sweet then waited for people to ask questions(frequently).

I'm sure people will ask more questions still, but this way we don't have to read through detailed explanations of things that nobody's really concerned about.

Bravo. I could not be happier with the proposed changes, and with the way the Lindens continue to provide such good feedback. I think the changes were very necessary, and I look forward to the forums being full of positive threads about future projects rather than prim fights and land disputes.

I am a happy goth.

Me too and I have no idea what a goth is - rofl

I have to agree - I think the factor that is driving a lot of the harsh posts is the fear of change. We'll get through this, and as I've mentioned in another thread, anything that keeps the linden server grid up and I can afford, I will gladly support.

It was a lot to digest, but really there was no incremental way to do this. It is out there now, we'll see the benefits soon.

Question - if we end up not wanting all the land that our subscription buys, can we sell some of it for L$?

If a person buys that extra land for L$ do they then get charged RL$ for that land also?

ex. Say I own 1/8 a sim but really only need 1/10 of a sim. Can I sell the extra land for L$?

Say Betty Bubblebop buys the land I have up for sale for L$, does she then also pay RL$ for that extra land if she goes over her subscription rate?

And do I get RL$ back for selling my land?

But is there a new change in monthly costs for non-lifetime members? I hear there is a @$10.00 flat fee.

this all makes a bit more sense now. i'll just rake all this scratch paper off into the trash and wait for the email.

i do have one questions though. will the image upload prices increase/decrease/stay the same?

sorry i have one more question. are we going to pay taxes between now and then?

Thank you Philip! And thank you to the other Lindens working to answer our questions. It is much appretiated!

That $9.95 sign up fee is just for new subscribers.

What happens to the ones already subscribed? Do we still have to pay the same amount for land as new subscribers? Hopefully we will be grandfathered in.

Thank you for releasing more details, and thank you all lindens for actualy responding to the messages, alot of other companies wouldn't and don't.

Excellent question. If we "may" be allotted more prims where there is Linden open space, what happens if you are in a sim that has a prim intensive Linden build? Are you afforded less?

I am in Aqua with an Av central. What about those prims? Will they be counted against the owners? Against Linden Labs? Against the other residents?


thx for the added details.

Many thanks to Phillip and Linden Lab staff for answering the barrage of strange and panicky questions late into the night. Although I still have strong misgivings about mixing real money into the Second Life economy, I plan to renew my subscription. SL is still the best multi-player game ever made.

cheers
-Cubey Terra

Thanks for all the lindens sticking around last night to answer questions.

Most of the rustrationa nd fear was due to lack of information, and most of my concerns have been addressed.

I still fear the exchange of L$ for US$ due to the potential for abuse and scams, but I will see how the Lindens are able to deal with it when it comes up.

I understand that current members do not HAVE to pay a monthly fee anymore if they are within their 1/4 acre land usage. I think I'll subscribe to some additional land to continue paying for SL. I don't want to see them have to close due to cashflow issues because all their current users stopped paying before they got new ones.

Now.. do I get my invisible head in 1.2?

i understand that we will pay $9.95 a month to own that 1/4 acre. then the additional charges for owning beyond that. the people that pay nothing a month will not have a "free" land allotment. am i wrong here?

Yes, your post clarified much. I think 1.2 will be cool!

Ditto

Oh, except that I'm a happy Bee

Hummmm, have you tried using a clear texture? I never thought of this, will have to give it a try....

Hee hee, Ingie

I have tried an invisible texture.. it just lets your default skin color show through.

I have tried everything.. so I resort to hiding bits of my head with other objects which is just NOT the look I want.

Linens.. don't force me to wear a hat!