If cashing out had never been developed, would there be no tier by now?

Just an intriuging parallel-futures question that should be asked. Yes, there might be less content in general, but that's not part of the question. And it IS possible for some other worlds to provide hosting that doesn't scale cost with space, so the Lindens could have developed it...

How does a hosting model without tier work?

We would be ActiveWorlds in that case.

There are various models, but, for example, one way would be:

- Each user pays a subscription fee, which funds some server capacity.
- When they log in, they are assigned that much capacity.
- Each user's server hosts the land they are on at any given moment.

This would also have the benefit that there would be no limit to avs on a sim, as a sim automatically becomes more powerful when more people are on it. But, it would probably be very hard to implement, so I'm not suggesting it's a trivial answer

Also, you'd still have to pay tier to have scripts which run even when no-one is on the land. But since that could just be a 16m plot to hold your SLX box and vendor server, that wouldn't be too expensive I hope..

I am not sure I understand this. But i never knew of Active Worlds until long after i was in SL.

We had tier fee's before we could cash out.

Back then tier was payable in ludicrous amounts of Linden or cash (the same mainland fee's you pay now) via your payment info on file.

And even without services of then GoM and IGE, or now LindeX, people would have cashed out through other means between one another.

I think we'd be Inactive World.

It's possible but without a way of cashing out there wouldn't be the vibrant marketplace there is now and there wouldn't be as many residents since an economy (albeit a fixed one) with ties to the real economy is a big draw for new residents and definitely a draw for innovators (creators) who can actually profit from their work. I think there would still be non LL ways to cash out although I wouldn't call them illicit since LL pre Lindex allowed them to exist without taking a stance on them.

this.

i always hear ppl claiming that if it werent for $usd and cashing out then sl with lose its talent pool.
mod the sims 2 is stark testimony that this isnt true at all. the skinners, 'scripters', texturers and modelers over there are ever bit as good as the people here, and they do it for free.

Activeworlds, No1 in Virtual World stability........... No updates since they got 16 bit colour in 88

I think there would be whole lot less people spending money and here because the pull is that people can make money and cash out, I think it would fizzle and die or others would find away to get paid under the radar like other gaming environments where people aren't suppose to be trading game related things for money.
Yes the original and first Sims content artist didn't charge but TSR and others were first to start charging because they could and people paid them.
I don't know about know I stopped playing the sims after hotdate and TSO went public.