That custom surname dealie

Someone brought this up a long time ago and I recall checking the knowledge base and found that they don't do it. I don't know if they ever did have this custom last name service up and running.

P.S. I'm also seeming to remember that you have to pay this $100 every year! But I could just be remembering it wrong.

Under certain conditions, you may create your own avatar last names. This can happen in one of two ways:

Vanity Names: Vanity names apply only to one avatar. Vanity names are generally granted to people who will be subject to major press or television coverage. We may also allow Vanity names in situations that we feel provide significant publicity value, such as nationwide television coverage. Read below for more details.

Custom Names: Custom names apply to an entire group of avatars, and are often used by organizations who wish to share a common identity. Custom names must be clearly defined as an organizational or corporate name, such as "SmithCorp". Read below for more details.


Vanity Names

At this time, Vanity names are available at Linden Lab's discretion; generally for events that involve major press or television coverage, or that in our estimation provide significant publicity value, such as nationwide TV coverage. In some cases, your requested name may already exist and we will not be able to create it for you. Linden Lab cannot transfer any content to your newly created account, and cannot provide invoices for Vanity names; your credit card statement is proof of payment. When requesting a Vanity name, remember:

1. It may take up to four weeks to create your Vanity last name and account. You will be notified if the name is approved, and again when it is created and your account has been billed.
   
2. Make sure that your Second Life account has completed billing information or enough funds to cover the cost of your Vanity name.
   
3. Vanity last names must have at least two characters; all characters must be alphanumeric (no punctuation or special symbols). You Vanity name is case-sensitive, so make sure to carefully review your capitalization before submitting your request.
   

Pricing

Vanity names cost US$100 for initial setup, and US$50 for each year thereafter. You will be billed US$100 at the time of account creation, and US$50 on each anniversary for account renewal.

Request Process

To request a Vanity name, please send the following information to [email=sldevnames@lists.lindenlab.com]sldevnames@lists.lindenlab.com[/email]:


Requested name
Real-life name of requestor
Second Life name of requestor
Email address of requestor
Event name or reason for requesting Vanity name (size of event, accompanying publicity/audience)
Requested delivery date

Remember that Vanity names are available at Linden Lab's discretion, and many names have already been taken by existing Residents; we may not be able to honor all requests for Vanity names.

Custom Names

Custom names are used for organizations and corporations who want to maintain a coherent identity. All of the rules described for Vanity names apply to Custom names, with the following additions:

1. Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names. For example, "Smith" would not be acceptable, but "SmithCorp" or "SmithInc" are. Names that are clearly composite (such as "SecondLife" or "Agilent" will be considered.
   
2. To create accounts with your Custom last name, you must use the Registration API. You may create as many accounts as you need (the initial limit is 200 accounts, but you may request a higher limit). You may want to review the Registration API documentation before you submit a Custom Name request to be sure that you have the capabilities to use it to create new accounts.
   
3. No publicity or event is required in order to obtain Custom names.
   

Pricing

Custom names cost US$1000 for initial setup, and US$500 for each year thereafter. You will be billed US$1000 at the time of account creation, and US$500 on each anniversary for account renewal. You must have billing information on file; we cannot creat Custom names for accounts that do not have funds available.

Request Process

To request a Custom name, please send the following information to [email=sldevnames@lists.lindenlab.com]sldevnames@lists.lindenlab.com[/email]:


Requested name
Real-life name of requestor
Second Life name of requestor
Email address of requestor
Name you wish to use to manage creation of accounts using the Registration API
Requested delivery date

Wow, I can see the $1000 price for having a custom name but to then continue to charge $500 a year after that is just gouging IMO. I can't see it would cost them another penny in expense or time once it's initially created.

Don't give Linden any bright ideas. They charge enough selling Lindens nowadays as it is not to mention the high cost of land and the added tier for it. Used to be you get 6000L for $20 US. Now you barely get 5,249L for the same $20 US and it's getting worse.

Umm, isn't the price of land due to residents? If anything LL has been driving the price down with their constant additions of mainland sims. While I'm at it, isn't the price of $Linden's also due to supply and demand that's created by the residents too?

I could be wrong, but seems like simple economics to me.