Linden supported/planned/sponsored themed sims!

This just hit me as I posted something else about this topic. Themed sims are probably the main initial reason I stayed in SL, but they don't seem to have the support they used to have.

How about a Linden program that gives groups (generally large groups that have 10 members, or whatever number) a chance to apply for the creation of a themed sim?

Requirements (could be):

--Submission of a petition to a Linden for a new themed sim, which has to meet some set of LL designed standards. This might have to be competitive if there's too many, so the best or most popular would have to be selected. Or maybe have a waiting list... I don't know.

--A group of players willing+able to buy all (or most?) of the land in the sim at some LL set price.

--A common theme that obviously all members of the group agree on for a themed sim. Past examples that are generally defunct now: Americana, Little Tokyo, Venice, Slate, etc.

Benefits (could be):

--A new dedicated sim set aside for the group

--"Protection" of the land in the sim -- if someone decides they no longer want to be a part of the themed community, they agree to sell their land to another member of the group. If they can't afford the land anymore, better either get more support for the theme or disband it entirely (take the sim offline so it's not a loophole for people to get cheap land).

--Option to expand...if the theme is very popular, there's no point in limiting the size of the themed area. Expand it to other sims if the support is there. (Move it somewhere else if there isn't an area to expand into.)

--Player designed sim: Make sure the land layout of the sim is consistent with the theme, let players in the group give feedback if needed.

This shouldn't require any programming or development on LL's part, just some amount of liaison/Linden support. I'd even (almost) forgive them for killing the off topic forum, if they did something like this.

If anyone likes the idea suggest some other ways to pull it off, or add to this. I'm not confident I've thought of every aspect on my own.

I endorse this. I would like to build a pirate-seafaring themed sim. This would be even better if the Lindens put in vast expanses of water connecting sims with blank area between them. Then, at least you could have some open sea to conquer.

Geroad isn't this what's happening now - minus the 10% group bonus - when one person buys the SIM from LL and works out the RL details with their friends?

I'm probably confused - but wouldn't LL have to upgrade the group features (which I believe is in being looked at) to make them ready for prime time business ventures? Is this also what your suggesting?

Hmm....I don't think group features would need to be upgraded. What in the list above do you feel would need to be done via programming as opposed to Linden intervention?

It's true that you can buy a sim and do basically the same thing, but doesn't that put you in alot of potential legal and problem situations? If you mean that we can buy a sim using $2000 US and then sell land areas off as US$ in order to distribute the land among the group (if you can afford the 2000 to begin with), isn't that a little...complex and risky?

It makes more work for the Lindens but the alternative is having players work it out themselves; I'm not sure that's such a great option either. Is there another method of creating a themed sim that I'm not aware of?

Umm Garoad, you need to have a chat with Oz Spade about SL history. We already had themed sims and it was a miserable failure for the most part.

Are you referring to how they kind of "died" and didn't really have a use? (I was around a little before they were killed off.)

Well yeah, basicly the problem with themed projects is members either sometimes, lose interest, lose funding, or just plain dissapear either forever or just long enough for the project to die.

I personaly would love to see support again... but really its too big of a risk for LL to take. Not only money wise, but giving away that land too, you don't want a bunch of half finished projects laying around.

I suggest instead, give sim owners the ability to allow group membership of sim's that they buy (not just auctioned ones). Honestly groups owning full sims has worked fine in most cases, look at Seacliff and Indigo, etc. I think if a group is dedicated enough to buy a sim, they are dedicated enough to not let it fall to crap since theres more invested in it.

Reselling island land isn't really needed for themed groups to use one, really just the ability for a group to own one together would probly solve alot of problems.

Perhaps LL could give a small portion of land, but once again you have the chance that it could not go so good.

If LL is willing to "risk" the land, sure, I'd be all up for it, but I doubt it will happen.

It would make things, "safer" I guess if there was another type of group or some group permission where the founder could only release or mess with land, but I honestly don't think its needed if the group is "together" enough.

You could even make island land unreleasable (if it isn't already), that would solve all problems I can see with group owned land.