Info-Hubs Revisited

I know the old info-hub thread got side tracked so I would like to start it again.

I read the thread and thought: "I would never have bought land last summer and gone to a premium membership if there had been some choice other than an info-hub for a home."

Nova Albion scared me. Wengens though near to skiing and quiet, is a sad place with avatarim not going out into the neighborhood or off to the slopes. There are not a lot of good winter clothes in SL. The ski slope is no-rezz so most skis do not work there etc... I think a lot of the avatarim sent there don't want to be there. I saw a "nice info-hub" in Isobel in my travels. It was pretty but the avatarim just huddled in the big building.

If I wanted a different kind of home though, I had to buy it at $8.00 plus $6.00/month, the cost of a combo at Subway. I had no alternatives. Even though I oriented by choice at NMC (Yes, you used to be able to use the search engine and teleport off of the initial island back in May of 2008.), because I came on through the standard portal, I could not make NMC my home.

A very good solution to the info-hub problem (though not a perfect one) would be to allow those who own public venues to permit strangers to declare their parcels as home. Yes, this would mean some crowded places that weren't crowded before. Yes, this would mean Zyngo parlors and shopping malls would compete as homes for newbies. On the other hand, newbies after doing some walking or exploring or being enticed could pick a home that had things they cared about. If that's camping and lucky chairs then so be it. If it's Zyngo, well...it's Zyngo. If it's outside a noisey club, that's their choice.

If I had had a choice for a new home under this scheme, I would have set my home to Eternal Creations (Christian sim with a then working sandbox.) or Ilha Bella Gomorra (Brasilian sim that offers camping, water sports, and shopping).

An alternative to this scheme would be to reinstitute first land for newbies. You get 512 free. I'd also give newbies a pocket full of cash or vouchers for texture uploads since I think building creates ownership.

Both these schemes are closer to the way MU**'s (This is an old abbreviation similar to MMO. It stands for multiplayer world. Most of the original MU**'s were text based. Active Worlds was the first graphic one as far as I know) used to work. Members started out with their home set at the town square or central point. Usually there was only one. They then graduated in fairly short order, either by walking or learning to build through trial and error, or earning a full use B-bit (On some MU**'s building priviledges were earned) to a new home. On some MU**'s there were apartment blocks set aside for newbie homes. On others, including Active Worlds, you walked to the edge of the world or to a very uncrwoded spot (teleported there actually) and built and built and buit. Building on text based MU**'s actually adds space. When you had a full b-bit you either asked for a link, found an area accepting links, or walked to the edge of the world and claimed your "free land."

Because land has an entry cost on SL, even though players emerge with a full b-bit, and even texture uploading costs, SL has broken the traditional MU** evolution process. Reinstating this process could go a long way towards making newbies happier in the long run.

I have no solutions for the first hour blues. I never had them on any world. I just loved walking around whatever world I joined. And again, I was an atypical newbie due to years of MU** experience. I think that all most newbies have to learn is walk, look, fly, sit, stand, and teleport. Fixing the avatar is lesson #2. If you can't move around, having a pretty avi is pointless.

Me, too. Finally arriving at a place I loved was the thing that made me get premium membership... although a friend pointed out that (as I was renting) I really didn't need to. I could have just bought lindens.

AND...

If you look at what you said from LL's point of view, it would seem that Infohubs are a good idea.

I don't know how LL thinks. I've given up trying to figure them out. If I were LL, I'd be far more active in instituting a moralistic scheme to reform SL, but I'm not LL. I don't have their balance sheets.

I have the gut feeling though that the same forces that forced me to buy land (No choice of home other than a sub-standard info-hub or a rental or a premium membership) also create attrition statistics. An avi who hits a security orb or the server on a bad day, bounces back to "nowheres" instead of his/her favorite hangout. Being homeless and not wanting to (being unable to justify) spending money on an online game, probably drives away as many users as it ensnares. Again, I don't have the balance sheets to prove any of this.

If you join NCI, there are plots at each of our four campuses that you can set your home spot to.

This is already allowed and done in some places, such as NCI as Carl mentioned. Are you a member of any groups that own land? It's a little-known fact that any group member can set land owned by the group as their home, as long as the group owner hasn't unchecked that option under group properties. "Allow 'Set Home to Here' on group land" is one of those pre-checked boxes under group rights like "Pay group liabilities" (which is a whole separate problem). Or at least it was last time I set up a group.

There do need to be more places for newbies to rez, that aren't where they first rezzed. Also more newbie changing rooms. Ones that can lock. (Said, knowing what many would use those for - maybe there'd be some way around that, though. Such as only having changing rooms on PG land?)

To prevent people just living there, or hanging out all day, make it an hour visit tops, after that, they are bounced elsewhere. Dunno how that would work though.

The potential for abuse (setting public places/malls as home for any/all newbies) is clear though...having people say 'but this is my home' they could feel they can behave however they want, even more than usual.

Someone's suggestion of 'group only' is true - and some sims let you do that.

I think all most people need is a private changing room when they are new though.



Yes until you want a (permanent) place of your own, then your tier is free if you go premium, once you buy the land. Depending how long you might rent, and if the place (location/sim) isn't the only consideration, it seems cheaper long term.