Status of Ad Farms

I continue to hear people complaining about nothing having been done about the ad farms and it confuses me. I've checked some of the areas that I remembered having been terrible and am happy with what I found.

They were still ugly from signs but none of those parcels were for sale and the number of signs had reduced DRAMATICALLY. There were still a huge number of dollar signs on the map but none of the for sale parcels had signs on them.

Believing the majority of those advertisers will eventually go away leaving only a few legitimate advertisers, I'm ecstatic with the results.

Any other feelings out there?

We reported one parcel from the day the ban started for over a week until I had to post in these forums for the Lindens to take action. Persistance might pay off for those still being victimized by ad farmers.

The ad farmers have not figured out a way around this rule as of yet - so we may have a few months of bliss ahead of us.

Wait.. adfarms are banned? Can I have a quote/link to something about this, or 'bout whatever yer talking about? Pwease?

Here's the link:

https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417

It's important to note that advertising isn't illegal. Only when it's used for extortion to get neighboring residents to buy out your land at ridiculously high prices.

Awesome! Thankies ^__^

That makes me happiful

I will add that sometimes its to cause someone to sell their land & leave the area. One other thing comes to mind is if they (ad farmer) see an opportune time to position themselves beside a thriving business to take advantage of traffic another is providing.

I've seen a marked improvement, too, and a lot of the ones I reported were taken down very quickly, including a couple that were blatant but not exactly "to spec" (32m2, for example, but still an obvious extortion scheme).

But I'm frankly puzzled by the pricing for some of the burnt-out 16s. In some sims, they seem more or less sensible, but in some places it seems like the owners imagine a day when microplot advertising will be back in vogue. Yet it's the same owners who are selling reasonably in other sims. Of the parcels in question, the prices have been the same for over a week, so... a mystery to me, what if anything those owners are thinking.

Er.. Posting in these forums got the Lindens to take action?

I've been puzzled by that too. I figure they are either stubborn and refuse to bring their prices down or they have so many parcels they haven't gotten around to them all. It also makes me wonder how many of them rarely ever come into SL, however, then I think about the fact they had to quickly get the signs off their lands then that doesn't really make sense.

Whatever the reason, it's a mystery to me.

/me bets lazy or forgetful. That or they think they've already reset all their prices.

yea right. Then why do i stil see those old ad farms in the same one for two years. People have reported them and stil no action.......Nothing changed

No...........read my above post

Nothing really good ever happens to you in regards to SL, does it?

I think the adfarm extortion situation has gotten much better. I didn't have to AR any, but I know of some which must have been....either that or the owners took down the offensive ads and lowered the pricing on their own. Either way, there is a definite improvement.

Give some landmarks. I'd really like to see them.

Mixed success to report on my sim. I filed ARs on a number of ad farms, and they were removed within a few days.

But there are still some very ugly and obtrusive rotating signs on parcels that have been taken off the market.

And there are several 16x16m empty parcels for sale at outrageous prices.

Of the two evils, I'd rather get rid of the advertising, but OTOH there are two 16x16 pieces punched out of the middle of my land and I'd love to buy them, but not at usurous prices.

A great deal changed in my opinion. Lindens are minimizing the opportunists and proactively started contacting land owners on abandoned land enclosed or abbutting the Larger land owners, thats a major change. I know many want blood and bans and no ad farms be careful the slippery slope.

Yes.

Usagi is Ricardo's alt. Or the other way around.

Sounds like complete success to me. Eventually the rotating signs will go away because SL can never support the number of advertisers there are now. The 16x16 will also eventually go away as well. Besides, why would empty 16x16 lots bother anyone? For anything further to happen would require LL to either start controlling prices or completely outlaw advertising.

It may still be ugly now but it sounds like it's better and that will likely continue.

I was thinking the same thing. Can there really be two people that miserable in the world?

I didn't think so until recently. Now I know it's true.

Of course, if they're an alt of each other, it would explain a lot.

Testing different "business models" to see what "works?"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23613793@N05/2341130732/

It's kind of like finding a new weird-looking mole on your shoulder. It might be benign, but it might be something more sinister... but even if it's not always at the forefront of your mind, it causes an underlying sense of unease. (But at least you can do something about the mole.)

In the sims around where I'm at, the few things that LL considered ad farms have been cleaned up (and I own the land now ). However, much of the garbage is still there. It's either not for sale but with ads or for sale, way over priced, without ads, and perhaps containing ban lines.

The "let them choke on their tier" concept has come to pass yet.

--Hugsy