Working in SL Question

Grocery money???

I need to move to your city.

Yeah 2 bucks is pretty cheap. I just sounds like a lot when you say something like "I got ripped off for X million lindens."

RE: insane to do business in SL:

Its sad. I didn't come here to do business (I came for a free 3D model for Poser ages ago, and again from an MMO PoV), but when I got here, I looked around and well... its easy to see the potential.
- but to do it, just the most basic of tools need to be added. Namely, all L-Labs needs to do is implement an automatic contract escrow system, and then staff to view select logs when there is a disagreement about whether a service was performed.

As for a market for it. Consider if they implemented a 5% fee on securing a contract. For 5% of the transaction- split between the parties, Linden examines the logs -IF- there is a dispute about whether or not it was performed. No examination of quality, merely of being there and being active in the duties in the contract. 99% of these would resolve w/o dispute - and it would earn enough to pay for itself.
- A private third party could do it if they had the ability to enforce, which at present only L-labs has. A third party could only do it via escrow - ie they take the money ahead of time and pay it out after. But that only works if L-Labs polices the escrow service...

But... for service contracts, it may be moot anyway, given the device I saw last night in one of my new favorite hangouts - which seems to auto-pay workers anyway.

I think LL would only be interested in getting involved if someone was cheated out of a large sum of money or the scam was widespread or someone actually tries to cheat the system by doing something like putting a transparent pay-box over someone else's rent boxes. Someone breaking their word over a verbal agreement over L$3000 isn't likely to warrant their attention.

It really isn't necessary for LL to police the escrow service. All that's needed - at least for parties who live in the US - is for the escrow service to publish verifiable RL contact information and operate in a state with good laws for escrow services. A quick search turned up some info on California escrow law, http://www.corp.ca.gov/FSD/escrow/default.asp. Given LL's location, that might be an ideal place. Usual disclaimer: IANAL, and I haven't done much research beyond that web page, so I'm only guessing that it would meet the protection needs of SL users.

However, it should also be clear from that link that operating an escrow service isn't cheap. In California, it requires incorporation, bonding, corporate taxes, etc. Figure that even if it's just an examination of logs and listening to both sides, it's still likely to be at least an hour of work. I don't think there's enough money there for this to be worthwhile.


I think it's moot, anyway. Most new workers get paid by tips. Getting a fixed salary would only happen after trust has already established, so people wouldn't be interested in an escrow service. The particular scenario describer here is rare.

An easier way to get L$3000, even if you have no skills RL or SL whatsoever...

Work at McDonalds or some other McJob for three hours.
Use a credit card to purchase US$11 worth of lindens.

Work a single day shift at McDonalds and you've earned about three week's worth of your club events.

Clearly the RL minimum wage is way too high if people are willing to work for SL wages.

have you tried getting a job at McDonalds lately? They're not hiring anymore. Welcome to the Recession. :|

(Not that I've been looking there, I'm getting this from a new story yesterday.)

If you were working for an established, properly licensed, tax-paying business, call up the city their business license is filed in and register a complaint (this will complicate their license renewal in most cases, though wage complaints will likely initiate an investigation).

If you were dealing with some back-alley operation, you're probably not going to get your money, but if you know what RL jurisdiction they're in, they'll probably be interested to know that they're operating an unlicensed business (and thus not declaring the income from it on their tax forms).

First question is where are you located, Nicki, and where was the club owner located? If one of you is outside the United States, then pretty much you are out of luck.

If both of you are in the USA, then it depends on the facts whether you were legally an employee, an independant contractor, or merely a friend who was promised something and didn't get it.

Considering the amount involved is about US$11, just take it as a lesson learned. Next time get something in writing *outside* SL stating the terms of employment and who is paying you..Their RL information. If they are not willing to give you real life contact information, then all you have is a promise from an anonymous person online. Good luck trying to enforce a contract like that.

Except that the SL and RL economies do not scale like that -- that is, unless you can find me a nice, large 3-bedroom house on half an acre of land I can rent in RL for US$24 per month.

This.

If a person can at ALL use their own payment info to buy Lindens, it's so much cheaper once you factor in real-time spent. I can't believe it's legal to "hire" someone for what amounts to a couple real life dollars for a three or four hours long (real time) work shift.

I guess if people figure they are in game anyway they might as well get paid for it. But it doesn't usually work that way. Instead, you get power tripping, egotistical 'owners' and 'bosses' who insist you put in a real work week, attending 'staff meetings,' building your own things, and generally enough time and energy as if it were a real part or even FULL time job.

All this for 'just tips' from customers, which drives customers away with the constant "tip our staff" chat spam. Ugh, no thanks.

It's better to either buy your Lindens or to try to sell things you make in world or on SLX, or if you can script, or sing, do those things in world too. But working in clubs is usually not a great payback.

Now there ARE also some nice places, that treat workers like friends/family and consider them as such. If the person enjoys the people and environment and the tips are a bonus then fine, it's worth it to them. Then they are basically working for love, not money.

I always say I will work for love OR for money but not for neither one!

(Double negative - unleash the Pep patrol! )

Well actually it's just an extremely ugly sentence, Melita.

Pep (And doesn't really make sense; the only other scenario I can think of would be unpaid slavery.)

Yeh I know. But to me it is jolie laide.



That is my point - that's what SL 'jobs' often are.

And that is what many RL jobs amount to.

I pay my store advisers and group officers in shoes and other store goods - costs me nothing, they get to do free shopping, my customers get help if they need it and spammers get chucked out. It's all win!

This type of double negative sounds fine to me. You will work for either you won't work for neither.

Like the old tv commerical "some people don't like broccoli, some people don't like peas, but nobody doesn't like Sarah Lee". (Although some people with poor English grammar got confused about the meaning.)

I have a club and pay everyone, on time, what I told them I would. There are times I wonder if I can continue to swing it because clubs ARE a money pit, but if I were to close, you can bet I would give advance notice and follow through on agreements. Just my two cents.

I remember that commercial. Hi Kaimi.

Hi Melita! (that was a pretty long time ago wasn't it?)

That commercial drove me nuts.

Sometimes it made me drive myself to the nearest grocery store to buy their all butter products...

Don' t kid yourself, this can happen to you in RL, too. Recourse is simpler, but sometimes equally effective. Thank goodness for small claims court: before that, it would cost you far more to sue than you'd receive in compensation, for a week's RL wages.

Consider it a $12 lesson.