I need Help with a Unsightly Build

I moved into a zoned neighborhood. it was suppose to be Woodsy Residential. I really like the place but one of the plots is being rented out by the owner and the group renting it built an event center.

It was very well built but it's just a big white untextured box. It would be great in another area, but here it doesn't work. The worse part is that they never use it. The started the build and left it at this stage for almost a month now. The rent is supposedly $L1000 a week and I don't understand why they would waste good money on this thing. I've even asked the land coordinator to ask the owner to sell to me but he refuses.

Can anyone offer a solution? I know there are so many advocates to having a nice view. I just wish the owner of the owner would be a "good neighbor" and either sell it to me or put something that fits in with the rest of the zoned residential sim.

Thanks for reading.

When you say zoned... who enforces that... that's your only recourse if the owner isn't interested in selling and you've gotten nowhere with the renter.

Yeah, that's what I kind of thought. I might just have to move. I hate to. But what can you do?

See this is why posts like this bother me. I understand the concept of this being a zoned community. However, the owner of the build is a friend of mine, and I have been there myself in the last month. It is just untrue that the build is going unused.

Also, calling your image "ugly build" is just "ugly" unto itself. From the tone of your overall post though, I don't *think* it is intentional. I would have taken this to whoever owns the zoned community though.

Believe me I did Panda. And nothing happened. I've never seen anyone use that building and I've been in my lot all day most days. Have you seen the rest of that sim? It does not fit in.

Sorry you didn't like the title of my image. That was not to insult anyone. Someone else called it that and it stuck. I usually just call it the White elephant.

Understood. However, I would have made this thread a little more disparaging to the person who runs the zoned sim, and not to the person with the build. Believe it or not, the person who owns the "ugly white box" built it because of an aesthetic appreciation for the modern, and has purposely tried to tone it down for the neighbors.

Thank you Panda for your response. I'lll keep it in mind. Anyone else have a suggestion?

Rolling on the floor, clutching my sides with laughter over this one.

pandastrong will simply plotz to find out he and I agree on something ROFLMAO.

I'm the owner of this 4096 rented parcel, rented for a mere $1000LL/week to a trusted and long-term tenant, for a price that doesn't even cover tier fully (US $32 when tier is $40, so even allowing for group land discount, it's a song).

I bought this land from the same land dealer as April, and I rented it to the open public. An existing tenant took it. They followed my rules which are no builds over two-storeys, no lagging scripts and particles. Other than that, I don't play building commission Nazi.

April is trying to get me to sell this highly-prized land because it is next to her land, and she thinks she should be queen. It is land backed by Linden road, facing Linden sea. She currently has a giant Richard Stern building on the land (I love Richard Stern but the placement seems all wrong) and cutesie flowers and walkways that aren't to everybody's taste. She has the land currently for sale at a slightly inflated price.

This land is indeed used by the tenant, and they pay their rent promptly. They do have events because I see them gathering and I know some of the people and talk to them occasionally. But even if they didn't finish their build, and didn't have events, when people buy land, they can rent it, and when people rent it, if they pay their rent, they can do what the hell they want. I personally don't really LOVE the big white box style of noveau architecture but it is well within the SL norm and it fits my rule of thumb about any architecture being tolerable: it does not lag the sim, it does not block anyone's airspace, it does not intrude on to anyone else's lands with root prims, etc. So it's legit.

April has a backstory here. She feels she was "chased out of" Midge and is "afraid of Prokofy" because she happened to plot her Victorian gothic prefabs down next to a parcel I bought in Midge where I put a custom-made house by Lordfly. She loves Victorian gothic. I love Lordfly stone/wood/modern. *Shrugs*. Such is SL. Once I asked her about one of those god-awful balloons up in the sky because somebody had a skybox sucking off my prim limit on my parcel and I wondered if it could be hers -- it was a polite request but she got ornery about it. Then, she thinks I deliberately harassed her because one day I accidently terraformed her land, which was next to mine. I alerted her and the owner of that residential sim about the problem repeatedly, which was easily fixed by hitting "revert" and spending perhaps one second on repair. It was an honest mistake that happens when people idiotically leave land on edit which they shouldn't do, for precisely this reason. There's a lot more to this story but it's too boring and long: suffice it to say that the issue here is just that April is another SL princess who feels she has eminent domain in SL, and she doesn't have a case here.

As it happens, this sim has a residential society that really has no power of enforcement because the land was sold on the open market with no such zoning terms, but it was voluntarily joined, and yes, it had something about "woodsy" but I have never received a single notice about any alleged "violations" of such "code" (non-enforceable), and the only notice I've received is from the landowner who once sold me the plot, urging me to sell out to April, well, just because April wants to be queen, and that landowner would just like everyone to be happy.

But I prefer NOT to sell this good land, especially just so April can be queen, and I prefer to leave perfectly good tenants in place -- and I prefer to keep my tenants happy, not April -- and I would urge these tenants NOT to be intimidated by this harpie, and not to budge, for the sake of all of us who try to hold our own against the queens of SL.

Now, if this residential society wants to get together and collectively take a ruling about what is "woodsy" and what isn't "woodsy," let them, and let them also examine the issue of whether Richard Stern's gigantic brick prefab is "woodsy" too ROFLMAO. Really, there are some nice authentically woodsy beautiful builds here, and those who actually create those authentically woodsy builds aren't the ones complaining to me or my tenants, it's just April, well, because she wants to be queen, like I said ROFL.

Um, let's establish something here? This isn't a "zoned sim". It's just a sim. It was chopped up and sold, like any other sim. There were no notecards distributed at time of purchase or any type of rules or regulations that any buyer, including myself, April, or anybody else, decided to sign on to, knowingly or unknowingly. It was just a sale, put on the land, and right-clicked and bought, like any other open SL for-sale land.

Some of the owners voluntarily formed an association to discuss builds, lag, etc. and try to keep the sim nice. There are some really beautiful builds here which we all appreciate. I don't really think April'ls builds or prefab selections fit in that category at all, and I warrant the others in the association would tend to agree, but if this association ever meets or spam-messages, I'm the last to know about it.

The only complainer is April.

I can't be sure that the builders of the best, really good builds in this sim have the same opinion as April does about the "white box" but I gather they do not -- they have never, ever complained. This box is well within the norm, and exceeds the norm in fact, for SL architecture and style. It's modern, not Victorian, it's a matter of taste. But it doesn't violate my rentals group rules, and I can't see that it violates the voluntary association rules, if they have them.

The "woodsy" thing does not seem to be enforced, and I have never, ever heard a thing from any of the officers -- and I'm one of the officers of this voluntary group which has no power of enforcement.

True zoned communities can maintain their enforcement by keeping the land in a group, and not really selling it, but just selling access to it, and even accepting tier, but tier in Lindens or Paypal.

The land on this sim is bought and paid for through the regular game mechanism, it's not in a land group (the association has no land or tier in it, it's just a group), and the owners pay their tier to the Lindens.

April, maybe go back to Midge? Lordfly's house was moved to another location LOL. That gigantic ugly platform in the sky off the mountain by your old rental back there is still there, however, and I suppose that was the REAL reason for your departure (I know it's a reason I don't use that land much). Or maybe go to Meins? Or maybe buy a sim? After your sale at an inflated price where you are now? You are experiencing such frustrations and headaches in the game and it is not worth it. You don't own the view, and while you can ask neighbours to adapt, you don't have a case here, as far as I can tell. The only way to really be happy in SL is to have a private island.

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"Update:
Pimushe has adopted a Landowners Association - Pimushe Village.

So far it is pretty loosly structured, and details can be ironed out when all of the land is owned by endusers.

It is loosely focused on maintaining a small low lag, club-less, mall-less community. ground level builds that are encouraged are those that are in a more rural/country, pastural, or wilderness theme i guess to put it best.

current projects are:
forest and cabin on the ground, airbase above the clouds
parkland and terrace, underwater dwelling
a cliffhanging modern country villa. <--- ME"

The White building is over two stories. I won't respond to the other things you wrote. People know how you are. I didn't take it to the forum but you did because that's the way you are.

I think you need a hug. Are there any volunteers out there?

Awwwwww... I'd give him a hug, but he might get a whiff of feted.

All I want is for everyone to be happy and get along.

The brightness of the big white building hurts my eyes to look at in the day time, but I don't have to look at it daily (it is on the opposite side of the sim from my abode), so I have not complained. I also tend toward being an anarchist, and the renters have the freedom within Prokofy's limits to build as they see fit (its 5 stories top to bottom btw). It's none of my business what my neighbor builds on their land so long as it does not harm or disrupt my own SecondLife experience. That said, I have some nice stone and wood textures, and can custom-make them as well if the renters would like to tone the building down a few hundred lumins.

Pimushe is not a controlled theme sim such a Midge. I never signed anything saying I would stick to a theme... BUT the current land owners are doing a pretty good job of keeping to the focus J-Wu talked about. We encourage others to build in a more rustic style, but there is no way to enforce this once the land is sold.

Anshe and her like maintain control of the land in thier sims for a reason. Places like Ansheland and Neualtenburg can force its residents to maintain a given style or theme. Here among the Ungoverned, you can build as you like, and so can your neighbor. You also have the freedom to say "Hey! Your place is ugly!" but unless its breaking TOS, or RL law there is little that can be done but rational discussion (war not being a real option in SL without breaking TOS).

Everywhere I go, I build natural areas... Eucalyptus Grove in Gallinas, wetlands in Erie, now Pimushe Pines (Pimushe (69,5)), so yes, I really DO want people in Pimushe to keep with a more natural theme. I encourage it highly, so that we can have an awesome sim that people will visit to explore and enjoy themselves.

Both April and Prokofy's tenants have the right to enjoy their land. The trick is finding a compromise that makes both parties happy.

Can't we all just be friends?

-Ghoti

Ps. And it could be a LOT worse... it could be Club Hoochie Hair.

LOL, you have a point there.

A protector of all things "woodsy" opts to put up a fake Viking ship -- giant! -- and a GIANT big-ass Richard Stern building in "woodsy" industrial brick LOL (I love Richard Stone's monumental and industrial style, but doesn't this dwarf the landscape in this "woodsy" zoned sim?

Do ANY of these builds fit? What is "fit" in SL? Discuss...

One thing I notice now is that the original "woodsy" creator who most beautified this sim is completely gone. I see who bought her land, but I don't know whether it was the "white box" that drove her out or the Victorian prefabs and the fake Vikings, or whether it was just the general condition of SL...

You know, I do have a two-storey rule on my lot. So I indeed stand corrected if this is MORE than two storeys. But in fact, I recall having a discussion about this with the builders. And the intent of that rule is to not block the view, not to be slavish and narrow-minded about literal two-storeys. This is a sloping lot down to the waterfront, backed by the road. It doesn't block any views. So I do recall even saying to that builder, ok, build higher if you have to for the design, and no, I haven't slavishly policed it.

If this tenants' group wants to come to me and say, Prokofy, your tenant violates YOUR OWN rule of two-storeys! And it isn't woodsy! And we hate it! then I could look at this complaint in all seriousness. I would endeavor to find the tenant something equivalent and I could easily find it I believe. But...I don't see the community group coming to me, and more to the point, they don't offer any substitute tenants who could immediately pick up the slack, or offer any swap to the tenants. Usually when there are disputes of this nature, people try offer swaps or other incentives, they don't just crudely try to force a buy-out. It's not for sale. And I don't see that even if this build violates my own two-storey rule why I should dislodge them, when a) they pay on time b) their build isn't ugly, it's in the eye of the beholder and c) the intent of my own rule is not to block a view, and they don't block a view here.

And really, April herself, having failed to force a buy-out, is just trying to use pressure tactics on the forum to grab land. That really is unseemly! If there is a rule about not posting conversations from the game, you wonder if there shouldn't also be a rule about not posting private disputes with neighbours on the forums, too, especially when you haven't used the available mechanism of the community association in this regard -- which April did not use.

Umm I didn't post anything about private disputes. I just asked for suggestions. You were the one who posted the private disputes. And I did use the community association. J-Wu told me to bring it here. Obviously everyone is afraid of you.

I picked the building because you liked it. I thought it would cut down on any complaints from you. Everyone else seem to like my build. I was trying to fit in.
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I put the ship out in front there to block the view of the blinding white building.

Prok, calm down. I am moving. I am sorry I upset you once again. This was and attempt to get you to understand the affect this building was having on me.

I will not be in Pimushe much longer. As soon as I'm packed I will be lowering the price.

I have seen so many builds come and go.

Getting torqued up about impermanent things, at least I have found, is a waste of energy.

Eyesore builds are generally one of three types:

1) The work of someone learning the toolset. In this case, they usually learn and rebuild or improve the build.

2) The work of an impatient person. This type seems to hop around the grid a lot. Here today, gone in a week or two. I have already seen this happen 3 times in Amida, and I just moved there a month ago.

3) Laziness. Someone starts a build, and then never finishes it. This one can be frustrating because they are usually very hard to get ahold of or have simply quit or are quitting SL. Again, time is the only real solution here as well. I had a white box behind my place for weeks. I put up a nice decorative wall with ferns growing from the top of it, made it transparent on his side. Voila! Problem solved.

All in all, patience is the best method for dealing with all of these situations, especially if one does not feel comfy talking to the person about it.

There is another type, griefing/extortion builds. Usually the owner will say it's postmodern art or something along those lines. In this case, ignoring them completely is the best path. If you don't, you are feeding them, they WANT a response. You can report them, or complain on the forums, but this seems to fuel them as well, especially the latter. Proving it's extortionist or griefish in nature is VERY difficult. Not to mention, if you attempt to get the system changed, that threatens ALL of our freedom.

The best thing is to accept that what someone else builds may not be ugly to them or someone else, it's a slippery slope because we all have different ideas of what is pleasing to the eye. So be patient, and of course allow for TIME, TIME, TIME.

I was just pointing out, not saying one way or the other that you should or should not do anything. You're right, it does not extend two stories above the top of the cliff, and does not block any views, and in that it certainly fits what you said.

-Ghoti

Um, hon, you put a post in the forums about "a certain owner" and "certain tenants" lol that anybody who flies to your land can figure out. That *is* taking your private dispute and land grab public, hon.

Sure, I always defend myself in the forums and push back against all the hectoring hedonists, as for example Weedy Herbst, who even runs a group called Feted Inner Core with the title Hectoring Hedonist, can attest.

It's not just your sandbox, and your eminent domain.

You didn't use the community association if you just asked Jauani Wu, the former owner of the properties, who sold them to you, me, and others, and also sold his own property (to you, if I'm not mistaken). That's just one officer of this group, and an officer selling his properties, in fact (do you get to stay a member if you sell all your property? I dunno).

There was no properly constituted meeting of said community association in any way, shape or form. Talking to one officer, getting him to pressure a sale, putting a forum post to pressure a sale -- these are unsavory tactics.

What's also unseemly is this bid for pity and this playing of the victim. If anything, people should be afraid of you, since you are showing yourself to be a cranky, oversensitive, overcritical, and emotionally blackmailing neighbour by taking your desire for land next to you, your esthetic tastes, and your general sense of your own domain into game disputes, and then into the forums. Um, you don't get to do that without a pushback.

If you are moving, it's your own choice. You could put on lower draw distance, or look out to sea -- if you can sea anything outside those gigantic buildings you put out LOL. SL is huge and constantly has land overflowing to move to. So you're in luck.

I find it pathetic that you are claiming to chose a building because I like it in general and won't criticize it. I never even bothered to look at your property or follow your affairs in the slightest until you made a public forum post about it, and then I contributed my readily-evident opinion that this giant building doesn't fit here.

Get a life, get a Second Life!

Okay, bye-bye.

Don't worry, April. I need to get a life too. So does everyone in SL besides Prok. I will let you know when I find a trustworthy life vendor.

April you have so much class. you were slammed over and over again and you say . i hope you end up in a Prok-free sim. please don't even think about relocating to the exploitative free Tibet thing. its just another hollow sales pitch. i left ravenglass because it was all a stupid insincere sales pitch. the free Tibet thing is worse. much much worse

April begins a thread slamming my tenants and me, and yet you find her being slammed lol? That's a good one!

There are plenty of Prok-free sims, you shouldn't have a problem there : )

Free Tibet doesn't exploit anything, read that thread in Classified if you like.

An insincere sales pitch in Ravenglass? This is the first I'm hearing of it. *Shrugs*. It's just land for sale at lower than normal market-rates in order to make a voluntary residential community. It sold long ago to numerous owners who didn't find anything hollow about it. It has changed hands through several generations now.

I don't recall some av named Sierra Alexander ever living in Ravenglass as an owner, tenant, or roomie, but maybe your name in-game is different? It doesn't matter. If you didn't find it to your liking, I'm sure you had no trouble selling your land, it sells pretty fast there.

Maybe I should just stay out of this, but I would like to throw in a few words as the owner and builder of the ugly white thing.

No one in Pimushe has said anything negative to me about the build at all. A few people -have- complained at events about the brightness, which is why we haven't had any since we moved to Pimushe, but no one from the community has said a word. I've been planning to make it a dark grey on the inside (and possibly the outside as well), but I've been busy and haven't gotten to it.

Besides the few people who have complained about the 360 degrees of white when inside, everyone else has gone on and on about how much they love it. I've recieved several building ratings (all positive), and even a positive rating from April when I was first constructing it. I guess she didn't expect it to stay white.

All I want to say is that I would have been happy to change the outside color if someone had said something to me about it. I really would have appreciated an IM or two from the people who don't like my build instead of finding out from my friends that there's a forum post up about me. A simple "Hey, I don't want to be an ass, but can you make that build less white? My eyes are burning out of my head!" would have been fine, and I would have been happy to change it. I really don't think it was neccessary to make a whole thread about my house without even talking to me about it first. Generally, threads are made -after- you talk to the owner and they tell you to go suck an egg. Not before.

And, because of that, you're just going to have to wait until I get around to changing it.

In any case, if April is going to move just because she doesn't like my build, but apparently doesn't dislike it enough to actually contact me about it, then I guess her land wasn't that important to her anyway.

Next time, really, try talking to the owner before you decide to bash on the forum.