The Midge Project - Zoned Residential Program

Here is what Midge look like now

The telehub that goes to Midge is also developing nicely with Blue, me and another resident having bought most land there

I visited Midge last night and must say I am impressed.

I've beat the drums against collective zoning since I've been here. This is a perfect example of citizens taking the lead and doing it themselves without 'government' involvement. Those who want to adhere to the rules have that option and those who do not may live elsewhere. Gotta love private enterprise

Congrats.

Midge is more than 2/3rd populated now, so you should hurry up if you still want land in the sim

I have also been able connect Midge with the telehub in the neighbour sim. One of the best builders in Second Life, Versu Richelieu, has just started construction of one nice Wild West village that will host little shops, one saloon and sherifs office between the residential area in Midge and the telehub.

I also obtained more sims. The next sim will be called "La Gaule" and residentially zoned for the French speaking community in Second Life

If you belong to one specific community defined e.g. by special interests, RL geography, interest in specific building theme or cultural background and you would like live in one sim with your peers I encourage you to contact me (anshe_sb@yahoo.de)

Wonder if there's enough Star Trek fans here to support a 'Star Fleet Academy' sim.

-Ghoti

(edited)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay maybe posting an irrational IM from a player isn't a good Idea. That discussion is for another forum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is from a person that wants to be the zoning monitor for Midge? How many of her malls are blocking the views of other stores and peoples homes? She calls my build ugly? The Mahulu Mall from Anshe Chung isn't the best looking mall in SL. I don't like the way it looks, but I don't IM her to tell her it is ugly. I like the way my store looks and have had compliments on it. Don't I have a right to own my land and build what I want, just like she has the right to build her mall? She could have owned the land my store is on, it was up for sale for several days. It's not like she couldn't have afforded it, she is the richest person in SL.

This to me looks like a threat. I wonder what she plans if I do not remove my store. This is the person that wants to be fair and impartial when it comes to managing the Sim Midge. I have to question, whether with this attitude, she is quailified to be a Sim Manager.

Anshe Chung, How about moving your mall or conforming it to look like my store? I invite everyone to come to the Mahula Telehub and look and decide for yourself. You will find the store "The Luv Connection" located there.

Viper Ritter

Viper Ritter is exactly the kinda person who make zoned sims like Midge necessary

Since 7 months I have one 40000sqm large themed development in Mahulu only to have Viper to come this week and talk my neighbour into sell him that last tiny piece in middle of my land so he can put up one large unfitting building.

I have seen things like this happen before, in other locations. I am sure many of you have experienced as well: You develop something nice, then it attract some selfish person who on one hand tries profitate from the environment you created, while ruthlessly packing his own little parcel with huge builts and ugly rotating signs.

I am happy that Midge is developing nicely and that this sim will never suffer from those Wall Streets, Viper Ritters and Biff Pentragons you are never save from elsewhere. Midge is just the first sim. Two more sims will launch the coming week and many more will follow in future

You can try find out Start one group and invite people. If there turns out to be enough interest I will be glad to act as community service provider for you

Anshe Chung,

Great Idea! Raising your mall in front of my store, just made me raise my store. Now I get more customers!!

There is a danger and risk in letting one player control a sim that will profit from it. This sim brings the owner money. It is a business. Any good business person will make a decision based upon ROI (Return on Investment). The main reason for buying and renting land is to make money and profit from it.

The theory behind buying a sim, is to provide a product for a customer. This product can be a Sim free of ugly builds, stores, malls, and casinos. If this product is something a customer wants, then they will move in, and make the owner money. Now this isn't without cost. The owner has to donate land tier, and pay for this land tier. So the owner must calculate the ROI and determine if it is profitable. If it isn't profitable the the owner must make a choice. The owner must either take a loss on the investment, change the rules, or close down.

For a Player Sim management to work, there must be community standards to stop ugly builds, stores, malls and casinos. Here is where the problem lies. Who determines the standards? Who determines what is ugly? In this case the owner does. The owner will make decision bases upon what will be profitable but it may not be what is pretty.

Sim owners and renters will only get along if they view beauty the same way. But in reality, one's person's castle is one person's eye sore. One person's store is anothers ugly box. SL Slogan is "Your World, Your Imagination". Not the "Owners World, The Owners Imagination". SL is for everyone to build what they can imagin, not to conform to someone rules. Why limit your imagination, and build in someones controlled environment. I like the builds I see in Midge, but these build only are their becuase the owner likes it and thinks it is profitable to her.

Now renters, what if you build something you really like, just to find out that the owner of the sim thinks it's ugly? Maybe your build isn't up to the owners standard. Well, your nice new build, would have to come down. It is really that you two just don't see eye to eye. What do you think that owner should do?

To some, SL is their buisness, to others, it's an online game and chat software. Everyone plays differently, and everyone builds differently.

Chung, as I said, the land was available for you to buy for a couple of days. Just to clarify, I did not talk him into selling it to me, it was marked for sale and I bought it. What you think is ugly, is my pretty box. You threaten me to take it down, and since I didn't, you buildt in front of my store so customers can't see it. So now I buildt higher, so customers can see me. Is this how you are going to handle builds you don't like in Midge? Are you going to threaten them and force them to move? Thats right, you can with a touch of a button and just return thier stuff. If you act this way on the grid, what is going to stop you from doing it in Midge?

OK, since you asked, Viper, I went to look, and I'll tell you my frank opinion. I find this a very interesting problem. But I do think it is worth separating your dispute with Anshe in Mahulu with how she manages Midge. In fact, if anything, to avoid the administrative headaches of a Nazi-like building commission, Anshe has been rather laissez-faire in Midge regarding builds, has not commented on builds, not made any kind of building code, and generally appears to hope tenants themselves will work it out, and that she will only intervene if there is some really destructive thing, you know, like someone building some monster tower spike on 96 sq m or something. If anything, I think some tenants might want her to establish MORE building codes not less, and also work to secure view corridors -- this is something I raised -- but these are all things to be discussed and if the default is more laissez-faire, it's easier to go up from there rather than to lay down a harsh code. So I think separate the residential from the commercial on this one.

Looking at your building in Mahulu, since you raised the aesthetic discussion here, I'd have to say by objective standards of higher taste, you building is kitsch and not exactly attractive, though not offensive. The white colour and the hearts and all the rest are just too cutesie and they are off-putting. I personally wouldn't frequent a business called "LUV CONNECTION" it sounds cheap and tacky, and the hearts and flowers motif is making it worse. But, hey, it's your thing, and I respect that. It's not my taste, it's yours, you bought the land, and that is what you chose to do with it. And I could be missing the grand experience of the LUV CONNECTION because I'm a sour ass, but hey, let the party start without me.

I don't think that really Anshe could say that your building is destructive or offensive in any way. It just *is*. Looking at it (see the pictures) I can see where she might have a sense that it is "out of place". It doesn't fit with her master plan for a mall. Her master plan for a mall isn't in-your-face kitsch, but it is bland mediocre suburban ranch style, let's say -- also no work of high art. The only thing that can be said about it is that it is basically functional and not too hard on the eyes, and there is a plan. To be sure, there are some features of this build that make me snort a bit, like the cliff-hangers that seem to scream "SQUEEZE MORE RETAIL SPACE OUT OF ME PULEEZE" rather than fitting on the land, but hey, it's a big telehub mall, and it's a job that has to be done, and it has been done, competently.

Still, I really don't think your building presents a legitimate cause of complaint for Anshe, and I'm not sure what is really up here, without more research.

So here's the kicker: because Anshe has more land ownership, a larger, master plan that utilizes the space effectively and adds value for herself and others who are her tenants, does she get to have eminent domain? Well....I wonder about this. I don't think she does, really. If her point might be that your build, because it lifted up, blocks her rentals, well, it doesn't work because, see, one of her rentals is rented, despite being in your shadow. Heck, people will rent a black box underground next to a telehub, they don't care, it's near TH, that's all they want.

I would think the smart thing to do with this for Anshe is just to ignore it, because it will liklely go away -- after trying to buy you out, of course. I really don't think your build harms her shopping experience and hardly could be accused of harming her bottom line.

It doesn't seem like a dispute that would appropriately carry over as a comment on Midge or any other zoned planned community.

Here's the pictures, which speak 1000 words.

i would love that

I think its a great idea with what anshe is doing, keep up the good work girl!!