Benifits of having a full account?

I agree Czari
It seems not many people can see past themselfs in this discusion lucky were not all the same

Minor correction: Anybody at (or above) the 1/2 sim US$125 per month tier gets conceirge service..

I'm not sure I agree with this... I've heard of (but not seen) groups that will pay you for your unused tier. I also think the support difference isn't so clear-cut: Estate managers can only help when you're on the estate they manage. If you roam and sometimes have need of support, it might be worth an extra few US$ to get the premium support. Or it might not - everybody's different.

I didn't say *I* couldn't afford Broadband. I was speaking "generically" about fixed incomes and disability as over the years I have been online, beginning in IRC and including SL, I have met many, many people in one or both of these situations.

It's a matter of Maslow's Hierarchy - in short, needing to allocate one's resources to the top priorities of life. Many people *CAN'T* afford broadband, thus they are NOT on SL. But there are others who, in considering the pros and cons of what funds they have in relation to what they need to spend first to survive then decide on what remaining funds will enhance their lives the most, consider broadband to be on the top of that secondary list. For some, a car payment, car insurance, gas, etc. may not be a priority as they may be housebound and those funds can then be allocated to having a PC/broadband to be able to have contact with the world outside.

Others may decide if they have to decide between cable TV and cable internet, the internet is more important to them than the TV. (Others may choose TV over internet, not trying to make a case for either, just use examples off the top of my head.)

Be careful of making broad assumptions, eh.

And just for the record: I am not in the least complaining about the level of service offered/not-offered to basic accounts. Totally agree with those who say either accept that or move on. Also agree with the viewpoint of whether one becomes a premium account or not depends largely on what one wishes to pursue in SL. As has already been pointed out, just because a person is a basic account holder doesn't mean they are not contributing to SL financially, creatively, economically, etc.

How does the saying go.."In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king"

It always makes me smile when individuals latch on to the slightest, smallest.. almost imagined difference in order to make themselves feel superior, or in groups such as SL to create a class/caste system where one shouldn't exist.

I've been in SL for a little while, as a premium account holder and as a basic..in fact I downgraded because I couldn't really see the point of paying for something I wasn't using.

What can I say..You see you can take the man out of Scotland but you can't take Scotland out of the man..

I signed up for a premium account so that I could own some land - bought some, and then thought .. why the hell am I doing this? I've got a mortgage and the responsibility of owning property in RL, why would I mimic that in SL?

Anyway, at the end of the day, the only real "benefit" from being a premium account holder is having the dubious honour of leasing a very tiny bit of disk space on a somewhat clunky server somewhere in California.

Don't get me wrong, you can spend the equivalent of several nice RL restaurant dinners a month for the virtual celebrity of owning a whole sim. It's not for me though, what can I say.. I like the dinners..

There are lots of reasons why, even if you have the heady personal fortune necessary to become a premium account holder, that you may decide not to.

You can build, script, meet people.. rent a beautiful location, rent a store to sell what you create, you can do all of this with a basic account.

God forbid, maybe you enjoy and get value from RL and only pop into SL for fun now and again.... maybe there are people who don't really depend on being a pillar of SL society to shore up ideas of their own self worth..

I'm not denigrating premium account holders, I'm not denigrating the desire to own "land", or to build something.. even in a virtual world like SL.

It does just strike me as strange though, that this desire .. oh and the ability to find $10 a month ...should mark you out as somehow superior and a more valued member of society.

Just some thoughts which came to mind while reading some of the messages on this thread..

Pardon me, Eazel, but why do you feel you should have access to SL, and all that other people have bothered to create in it, totally for free?

You can have this, of course - no one is making you pay anything other than your broadband connection fees.

So why is suggesting that in return for a modest outlay, some people get additional perks such a terrible thing?

People can be residents of SL for FREE - unlike World of Warcraft etc

If no one was premium and owned land, then there would be no land to rent

Nor land for things like parks, clubs, games and all the other things people want to do

Being Premium brings you stipend, right to own land and a certain amount of 'respectabillity' - forgive me for saying this, but it is true

Again, you don't have to pay a penny. But please don't knock those who chose to do so - without them you wouldn't have much to see or do in SL.

Ooo...haven't heard that one in awhile

A couple others I like and that always give me a bit of a grin when I need one and to remind myself on occasion to not take some things so seriously:

"There's a lot of boors in the world." - Favorite expression of a good friend of mine.

"It depends on whose ox is being gored." - Favorite quote of one of my former teachers

(Is it obvious I enjoy these kind of expressions given my signature? )

Please feel free to direct any new players with problems to NCI/New Players Incorporated. We will be glad to help them.

I am a "basic" - I buy Lindens when I don't have enough.

I don't own land, and don't see the need to right now.

I am enjoying SL for what it gives me. I don't have a problem if others want to pay more to get land or better customer service. It's my choice.

I would become premium if I wanted to own land and didn't want to buy an island. That's probably the only reason I would.

Considering what I pay for it (i.e. a few cents every time I exchange money), I would say that the customer service (keeping the world running - well, most of the time) I get from LL is more than adequate.

I don't feel looked down upon by anyone, neither Linden labs, nor any resi that I have met. I don't feel that I have any less opportunity to do what I want in SL, either.

So I guess I'm not really understand what the beef is, here.

I don't think there really is any. At best, it's a tofuburger.

It doesn't. Just as walking around with a self entitlement chip on your shoulder thinking you have some divine right to acess a privately owned and operated service marks you as especially worthy. For those that are on fixed incomes , who do have the machine and connection necessary for SL, the yes LL is doing you a service by offering Sl to you, and I'll be happy to pay my monthly fee to that end. But most of those "I want it for nothing",posters aren't in that situation. Most are just spoiled children, no matter what their chronoligical age is, in my opinion. And the ones who aren't in Mom's basement are probably sitting in Starbuck's on nice laptops, drinking bad $4 coffee and leeching off of someone's wireless connection.

And you know, I think you can buy about 20 of those a month for the price of an SL premium account. Now who's to say which is better value.. or which brings more "respectibility" to the purchaser..

It doesn't. Just as walking around with a self entitlement chip on your shoulder thinking you have some divine right to acess a privately owned and operated service marks you as especially worthy. For those that are on fixed incomes , who do have the machine and connection necessary for SL, then yes LL is doing you a service by offering Sl to you, and I'll be happy to pay my monthly fee to that end. But most of those "I want it for nothing",posters aren't in that situation. Most are just spoiled children, no matter what their chronoligical age is, in my opinion. And the ones who aren't in Mom's basement are probably sitting in Starbuck's on nice laptops, drinking bad $4 coffee and leeching off of someone's wireless connection.

Hello Brenda,

Well surely the irony doesn't need spelling out .. does it..?

Yes. I intentionally kept it simple. Land in SL is quite complex once you get into it. Even so, my point stands. At paying an extra 125 USD a month, I think that person deserves a little more Support to their investment.

I'm not being "elitist" here, just realistic.

A sim has serious issues that need LL Support to correct. A Premium was "living" there. That is the part of the grid they own. They should get that Support to get things right. A Basic should as well, yes, but they don't own the land. If they are renting, then it is the responsibility of the landowner to provide that level of Support to the renter.

By renting from another Resident, a person is simply moving into a different level of Support. If they landlord does not offer that level of Support, then that is an issue between the renter and the landlord. For land Support, a person must go to the person (group) that they are paying for that land. Just like in RL. If you're renting and the waterpipe goes, you don't call the Water Co, you call the landlord who calls the Water Co. Same thing here.



If a group will pay you more for your tier than it costs to have it....I'd be thinking "scam". Renting it out can make you some back, but then you're not using it, and you could probably gain more simply by buying L$ direct off the Lindex.

As for the Estate; true, only the people that own the land (or are empowered by the landowner) can effect the land. That does not hamper Support on other avenues.

About the only "time critical" Support issue is griefing. And for this, even Premium doesn't help. The "professional griefers" do their greifing after LL buisness hours and on the weekends when Live Chat isn't available. Concierage is there, yes, but if the owner of an island is on to chat, they can ban the idiots from the sim.

The little moronic griefers that pop up at other times are simply nusances. TP out, or just sit on a box and ignore them until they get bored and leave. File an AR or a Support Ticket (yes, Basics can do this just the same as Premiums would have to).

Some may like the quick responses to some things that they can have with Live Chat. As a Premium for the entire time that Live Chat has been part of Support, I have used it a total of 12 times. Once to prod LL about the 503 errors here on the forums, and several times to point out grid attacks when they happened during buisness hours. For personal problems, I think maybe 4-6 times. In over a year, that's not a lot, so I, personally, do not think the 72 USD I pay would be worth the Support offered if I did not have my land.

Granted, mine is a personal view of my experiance in SL, but I doubt I am unique.

I honestly feel that this "need" for Support only stems from the fact that people use it as a "Status symbol". Which is as stupid as using the Basic and Premium as status symbols. Neither mean a damn thing except on how a person is using the interface. Might as well go for the Mouse vs Trackball as status symbols.

~Jessy

Oddly enough, I've never considered "Premium" accounts for the extra perks of assistance from LL. Never even crossed my mind. Dont care too much either.

Mostly its useful to have my own land where I can build/script what the hell I want without giving a damn or worrying about asshats.

I can also take that dinky lil' scrap of land & sell it off or rent it out.

I get a stipend every Tuesday for my uploading needs! I have never had to camp for money. I have skills that far exceed sitting on a poseball for a measly $L per hour/minute (whatever they pay, I dunno).

When I was "Basic" looong ago, at most I bought $L2000.
I went "Premium", bought land (twice), did some WORK, opened a shop & now make minimally at least 5 times what I had to buy. Even make enough that the "play money" is cashed out to pay in "Real Money" what I owe for those rights.

Sometimes I even have some extra left over.

Can't really beat that!

For some it pays to be Premium. For others, meh.

The OP's thinking is in line with that of Linden Lab, just what is the point of a premium account? The question was raised at an office hour, they're looking into seeing the point because besides owning land, the benefits of premium aren't great.

The issue really is how to add value to premium membership to make it worthwhile.

"Can anyone tell me the benifits of having a full account?."

buy adfarm land and pay LL`s mortgage

$40/year though...and even if you're paying quarterly, your 500L/week still pays for the membership.

$22.50 x 4= $90
$1.80 x 52 = $93.60

If it's free, why downgrade?

That was kind of my point.

Several people in this thread mention the fact that premium members consider themselves superior. Elite even maybe.

Well I am premium and do not consider myself any better then basic members. Even though I am in favour of a system where everybody pays, I do not look down on members who don't pay. Hell, of the people I have in my friendlist, or I know from the hangout, I really would not know who is premium.

However, I consider myself more entitled to a higher support level then a basic account. Just as much as the owner of a sim is entitled to a higher support level then I am. Seems nothing more then fair.

Basic members can contribute as much to the SL world as premium members do. But as long as they are basic members, their membership doesn't entitle them to anything. Which has nothing to do with elite.

Greetings, Marcel

Mouse, dammit!

Only an ignorant, self-absorbed imbecile could think otherwise....

Real Elite has a little red clitty to steer the pointer with, in between the ghb keys

And you see an even greater savings if you pay the $72 annual membership fee.

I've been a premium member since I joined SL. Actually, my main account has a lifetime membership which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I wish LL would give people the opportunity to purchase them again, though I can't imagine what they would charge for one these days.

I keep my premium membership for my other accounts simply because it is cheaper than buying Lindens or making higher tier payments as each account gives me 521m2 of land and tier jumps double.

I and my SL/RL partner own almost all of one mainland hub sim and have for almost 3 years now. Some of the mainland is very nice and we like feeling connected to other regions. It suits our purposes to own the land and have premium accounts.

The great thing about SL is that we are provided with various "pay and play" options. No one option is better than another. It is solely dependent on what suits the individuals needs and desires. It has nothing to do with class, respectablity, or openmindedness.

Angel

The argument that those who don't pay for a premium account are therefore leeches that want everything for free and contribute nothing is a dead horse that has been beaten so severely it's no longer any good for hamburger...

Take a normal Premium member. They pay $72 USD for a years membership, and LL gets that money, but in return gives the member a pile of L$ over the course of a year that adds up to somewhat less than what the person could have bought for the same amount of money. They paid $72 USD that year, and LL makes maybe 12 bucks profit. Less, if you count free tier on 512 of Mainland as being worth anything. If that Premium member doesn't buy a lot more land, and therefore pay a lot more in tier, LL doesn't make much profit from them at all.

No compare that to a certain Basic member, myself. Never has been Premium. I own 1/4 of a private sim, and pay 60 bucks or more PER MONTH to my landlord, that in turn goes straight to LL as PURE PROFIT, covering my share of my sim's tier. I pay for another 2048 M2 commercial property, to the tune of more than $25 USD a month, which again the vast majority of that goes directly to pay LL their tier, as PURE PROFIT for Linden Labs. So in a single month, right there, Linden lab makes far more from me than that Premium member for the entire year.

Every time I cash out L$ from the profits for my SL Businesses, Linden Lab gets a cut of the sales, when I sell the L$ on Lindex.

All the money I spend in-world, and I spend a LOT for myself and all my Basic alts, makes profits for numerous merchants, each of whom uses part of that money to help pay THEIR tier to Linden Lab. So LL profits indirectly from my spending there, as well.

And I would like to think that the sims I have designed and built, the textures that I have created and which are in use all over the grid, and the other things I have created in SL have at least some value...

So as you see. Just because someone isn't a Premium member, it doesn't mean that LL doesn't profit from their presence. In fast, LL profits more from US than it does from the Premium accounts!

there are plenty of free games out there, including SL. fixed income has nothing to do with the ability to participate.

and again, you can easily have SL pay for itself 4 times over if you are willing to do the work (just like everyone else not disabled or on a fixed income).

the arguement is that basic accounts don't get full support. while it's true, it's reality. deal with it.

these socialist mentalities of expecting to be handed to you everything are so horrifying. just think... everything you get for free was not free FROM someone else. WHO do you think is coming up with the $$$ ??