The Value of your Ethics on the grid...

let me start by saying alts are cheap =)

considering a few factors, like time I'd have to mess with it I came up with this basic algorithm...

L$earned * exchange rate (1 / 260) * remainder after sell cut(96.5%) = cashflow

1mL$/month puts me at about 47k$US/year or almost double the 'average" income
not bad if I do say so myself... but then you have to factor in the fact that such an evil cash cow isn't going to hold up for long... maybe 6 mos at best guess once people latch on to complaining about it. so wee need to go higher...

10m$L yields 148,461.54 in 4 mos (safety margin for late entry, early response from LL) and the fact that memories are short for such short lived business opportunities.

then we have to figure in state and local taxes... but those rough guidelines for a high risk of collapse market venture would be acceptable for 10m$L... I'd go as low as 1m$L for a longer term, and maybe as low as 500k$L/month if I felt certain it'd be stable over several years (HAH!) and only a moderate input of time.

I answered 10m$L+ given the nature, illegal activity would be much higher due to factoring in risk management costs. yes that makes me a capitalist, sorry I gotta eat and pay bills.

Well! This *has* been enlightening.

Apologies to all for such a flawed poll; I equated 'selling out one's reputation' with 'personal sense of shame'... which obviously can be two very different things for a lot of people.

On the other hand, were this to be thought through too carefully perhaps the whole thing still wouldn't make sense.

The real test, of course, is to place temptation squarely in front of each of us. Everyone's a paragon of virtue until tested.

* * * * *

I was surprised that so few picked anything between $L 1 and $L 1000, considering the prevalence of $L camping, escorting and begging out there.

I suppose those who do such activities have no conscience or ethics issues with it. Not that I am saying they should or should not; it's just surprising considering the masses of people who say they abhor those activities in polite society. Certainly there are thousands out there quite willing to virtually prostitute themselves for say, maybe three or four dollars at a time.

Right now!

Doubtless everyone can imagine a dozen ways to unethically gain at the shameful expense of others. What, precisely, are you waiting for?

grin

* * * * *

Special thanks to the forthright, wherever your replies may have landed.

;0 good lord, some of you are putting waaaay too much time thinking about it lol... ;0

me, goshdamn it takes too much time as is trying to run an 'honest business' (certainly by my own standards, maybe by not others, but goshdarnedit if i don't run pretty clean and smartly as i honestly can :0) - to bother thinkin' bout how to 'play the wheel' as it were, vegas-terms i think.

gosh wouldn't it be great to dream up (or scam up ;0) some incredible reward for yourself?? either here, or in the afterlife??

This thread is now about ways to unethically gain at the shameful expense of others.

Yeah, I've been disastrous at definitions, haven't I? Perhaps I better not try to define it again and just let it rest!

But the conversation has been worth it anyway; a lot of good discussion here.

I get the sense from it that very few *would* do anything unethical even if they could. Which is a really awesome thing, if you stop and think about it.

Well not really. I was just looking for ideas!

I still don't know. My wife recently broke her ankle and our insurance sucks so right now I'm feeling extremely uneasy about money, so while a month ago I'd have picked "no amount of money"... I honestly couldn't say.

Gads. Does ANYBODY have insurance that does not suck?

A friend of mine injured his shoulder pretty bad working around his home, and is in constant pain, causing deterioration of his shoulder joint the longer he goes without surgery. His insurance company refuses to pay for ANY of the procedure, considering it to be "elective". He appealed it, and the same person who ruled it "elective" handled his appeal and rejected it again.

Just another horror story to add to the masses of others coming down the pipes.

I hit the wrong button - hit L$ 1 million, but I wanted the 10 million offer.

priceless...there can be only one *pulls her sword*

I don't think even Connor MacLeod could survive in the belly of the Wyrm.

Wait a minute, this survey won't work! Let's take a real landcutter for instance. He's making a million bucks. But he doesn't think landcutting is despicable at all! He hates facelights though! Now to answer this survey he's thinking, "Would I wear a facelight to earn a million bucks? Hell no! My reputation is priceless! Click on that little box there..."

Hmm. Come to think of it, land barony truly is nothing compared to wearing a face light.

Hey, anyone wanna take up a collection? Seems as a byproduct of the survey, there are a few that are willing to do just about anything for a very, very reasonable fee...

laughs

/me shakes fist.

WHO's being naughty now?

actually it only took me the time to write it and punch it through the calculator (I already knew the exchange rate and the cut LL takes as well as average income in the states...)

plus I've done a fair bit of business management and risk analysis is part of that so it comes automatically.

and if you thought that was something you should have seen when I calculated the profitability index of farming a few hundred premium accounts back in the day... decided it was unworkable due to market flooding and and value drop of the L$... of course this was back when L$ were even less valued... but you could do it now and kill the entire lindex in a month or so. and that was without considering conglomerate land rentals based on free 512's

Was just talking about this type of thing with someone in world hours ago. We were comparing first and second hand stories of ripoffs. Neither of us could understand anyone causing so much ill will and damage to people for what might come to $5 to a couple hundred 'real dollars'.

I would not want that icky feeling for any amount of money. Fortunes fall and rise, you only have one soul.

hah I doubt it to unless he went weapon shopping in SL then who knows

Still some honor inside me I suppose

Giving up reputation for 10m is one thing, ripping others off is another story.
When things get tougher, the temptation grows and things sure can get tough in one's life.

I still hold hope that I can succeed, I am not selling out... just yet...

A viable way to make L$10,000,000 a month from wearing a facelight.