Rating Bonus; Part 2?

I'm not sure how well a sink Ratings have become overall since LL removed the rating bonuses, but anecdotally I have observed ratings being used far less often in general. I think there ought to be -some- level of rating delta bonus attributed to it, albeit less than the amount paid by the rating giver, and still no longer including the all-time rating bonus.

Allowing even the slight reward might coax some members to give ratings when they would not otherwise, which might in turn allow it to be more effective in removing L$ from the economy. There would also be no abuse of the system since the money awarded would be less than the amount given by the rating.

I suggest looking into it more closely to find out whether or not this will actually work; perhaps if it were set up in the simulator grid for a few months, that might make a good model for testing the concept.

A couple possible models:
Ratings L$25 or L$30 each, resulting in a bonus of L$5 to the recipient at the next stipend date.
Ratings L$40 - $50 each, resulting in a L$5 bonus to be paid out over four weeks (L$20 total).

There are possibly many different ways to implement this, and I while I know that this could be implemented by users by simply paying them the L$, the whole point is to encourage use of the ratings system with the comforting knowledge that it will help do more than simply increment the counter on a good person's profile.

They would so much rather you buy L$ on LindeX. Expect no new additional source of L$ ever. The only reason they haven't axed stipend is that they'd lose about half their customers. If they could ditch stipend, they would.

Ratings bonuses will benefit Linden Labs, by giving free-riders a job that actually benefits paying customers.

Argent: That is one point I would like to make... if I were to find someone out in the community who has done something good, I would want to give a positive rating, but with it no longer offering any bonus for that, it seems like an empty gesture. At least by making such a donation a part of the bonus, it is marked with some meaning, and it also helps the individual rate how outgoing and friendly he/she has been by the end of the week.

The restoration of a bonus the way I mentioned does not introduce new money into the system; it merely channels a fraction of the money being spent into some bonus received later. The net result of the transaction would still be a sink.

And the final thing... wouldn't it be nice to once again be able to tell new members who want to know how to earn money that they can do so by being a nice guy?