Introducing T Linden. What would you do to improve Premium subscriptions?

Actually not.. First land got shot around spring of 07 and premiums really started dropping at the start of this year.

See the last column at http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pxbDc4B2FH95uo0x67N5CIw for premium counts. The increase in the rate it's been dropping more recently is, I'd be willing to bet decent money, due to LL making openspace such an attractive product. It will be interesting to see what it looks like in another 8 months or and if LL raising openspace tier by 67% will drive people back to the mainland..

You didn;t read the whole message you were answering. What he's talking about is more like a "power of attorney" to allow someone to log in and take care of his account if (for example) he's incapacitated for a while.

3. Adult (adult as in age verified required places) areas should only be allowed entry by premium users. This also means that one cannot own an adult rated sim unless they are premium.

oops 85 % of ppl just logout on that ideal ,, meaning you will lose alot there. really how many are really age verifiend,, heck i would logout and never come back. if i had to do that

Argent, totally agree. Auction prices, particularly those in Nautilus, are more than a private region. If a full private sim is capable of 64 parcels that are sized at 1,024, then the $1,000 set up fee for each of the parcels is $15.625 or L$4,109 at an exchange rate of L$263 to $1USD.

Nautilus saw auction 1,024 auction prices ranging from L$20,000 (a very few) to over L$200,000. I suspect the average was on the L$40,000 to L$50,000 range.

You don't own anything, none of us do. You can resell your mainland and you're in the hands of the most trustworthy landlord here if you're on mainland but you're leasing the land and in the case of mainland the estate owners have the powerful tools and that's Linden Lab.

Also agree. And, if you take a full mainland region divided into 64 parcels of 1024, all owned by different people, LL gets $320 USD in tier as opposed to private region of $295.

Welcome T Linden - nice first post. In the strained hope that LL will actually listen to its customers, I thought about it and decided to approach answering your question as follows -

Why did I purchase a premium subscription?
--Because I found the idea of owning virtual land intriguing and wanted to try it out with the modest 512 freebie land included.

Why did I purchase an annual premium subscription later on?
--Because I found delight in owning virtual land, wanted to tier up so I could buy a few more chunks that caught my eye, and the only somewhat economical way to do so was to get the price break included in the annual plan.
--The L$300 stipend I thought of as a further discount to the subscription price and, yes, T, there is a definite convenience factor involved, as well.

Considering the (for me) expensive land tier levels, what would get me to renew my annual premium subscription as the expiration date looms rather than dropping it altogether and looking into other virtual worlds instead?
--No price increases to the current premium subscription choices.
--Increasing the free land from 512 to 1024
--Allowing purchase of OS and Homestead sims without already owning an island and dropping the very odd notion that you can't "live" on an OS - you're splitting hairs when all you're really talking about is prims (who cares if it's a house or trees or what???) - for those of us who find delight in nice, big, wide open spaces but don't have an unlimited bank account, this would be a very pleasant option.
--Revamping the current land tier pricing structure so that it's not such a huge expensive leap from one level to another - why not try price increases in increments of 512 or 1024 instead?
--And how about the notion of rewarding loyal, long-term customers with an annual bonus of a little extra land, tier price break, a subscription price discount, or some L$? Might actually make me feel that LL cares about keeping residents around for awhile instead of focusing on bringing in a heap of new users that end up not sticking around.

Notice I didn't say anything about the stipend. I could live without it if you added some other stuff into the package. Plus, folks who aren't interested in owning land might still consider a premium subscription if you add some non-land related bonuses, such as:
--Free uploads
--More groups - from 25 to 50
--Raise the IM cap to 100
--Increase the # of profile picks to 20
--Include a free tool that backs up and restores inventory

I don't have a clue which of these might mess up the SL economy or cost LL too much $ to implement - other folks will have to figure that out. Just giving my 2 cents on what I'd like to see - just tally my votes with all of the other excellent ideas already offered, please.

So it would piss off people because now they have to pay LESS to play SL? Interesting logic there...

Only because the openspace pricing announcement happened during the auctions. If they had put that off a week or 2, it would have been more like Bay City where the auctions all went for L$100k+...

I have one and loved it for as long as i had a CRT!!

Interestingly enough, I read this on Massively the other day: it's part of the LL October metrics.

"Premium accounts continue their accelerating decline. Another fall this month, this time 2.1% (1,751 accounts) bringing the new figure to 81,479. Linden Lab's new CEO, Mark Kingdon says that 'Premium subscriptions are immaterial in our overall business.'

Am I confused here Tom? Aren't these contradictory messages? When you say:

So let’s start with this. One of our products, the premium subscription, is ripe for improvement. It’s been neglected and there have been many conversations, forum threads, pJiras, surveys and plans to improve it, leading to some great ideas. It’s even been the topic of a Massively post by Tateru Nino who speculated about what we might do if we were going to improve the product or make smart business decisions. But what could make a premium subscription truly premium? What would make the experience a delight for you?

I am assuming that you believe that Premium service is important, but that seems to be in direct contradiction to what Mark Kingdon said as LL CEO, so forgive my utter confusion.

Perhaps you and Mark and the rest of the top level management should re-read the Tao of Linden Labs?

I have seen some excellent suggestions in this thread, but the question at the moment seems to be: what does "LL" think about the premium subscriptions? We already know what you and Mark Kingdon think, have you spoken to him by the way?

Not if they own land they wouldn't.

There are lots of things you can't do with mainland, starting with significantly more terraforming.

I'm not too concerned with terraforming. But I can change the theme of my home build at will and/or have a shop to sell my knick knacks or have a little club for my friends without worrying one whit about violating some arbitrary covenant.

Now that people talk about it, I'd really like to be able to terraform more on the mainland. Maybe tie to to the amount of land owned to prevent mountains on tiny plots..

Welcome T Linden!

Ever considered about limiting, to premium accounts only, the abilities to sell, trade etc, business wise related? I believe this would clean up a lot of problems SL has, like fraud and copyright violations, that are all made with free accounts. Maybe if someone wanted to trade values, or have a business, they should be "legitimate" like in RL (you don't open a store with a fake name unless you want to get in trouble). People wouldn't mass upload ripped content and put in a box in a store if the only way they could do it was with their rl info confirmed. Neither try to laundry $.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Thomas Jefferson

The more SL grow, more it will need a better policy and improved control ways, like they are doing with Mainland now (regarding ad farms etc). I think its more then fair that, if people want more freedom to do whatever they want, they should have no fear and should go "legal". And the Premium should be faced as "support fees", "maintenance fees" for all the infrastructure SL has and will need. And that freedom/infrastructure should benefit more the ones that pays for support it. To be honest, after seeing so many copyright violations and mass uploads of copyrighted content, textures, etc from all over the net, I think even the Upload ability shouldn't be allowed to anyone. its TOO easy. Its almost like asking to have violations. And yes, I know, people will crucify me now =)

So keep in mind ANY decision will have a lot of people complaining. You cant pleasure everyone at the same time (even giving free tier... M Linden would freak out lol). So consider those options, that could end up helping not only increase premium members, but help in all other areas that are, too, very neglected.

And yes a bigger group number for premiums would be nice too!

Part of what I love about the OS sim my partner and I share (for now, at least) is that we've created our own grotto-within-a-volcano retreat. I couldn't do that on mainland. And with our current arrangement, we're not under a covenant.

That said, I originally became premium only because I wanted to buy mainland. And I wanted to buy my own slice of mainland because I couldn't find a place to live in SL that met my desires; and I wanted some control, and at least some illusion of privacy. Some of the suggestions here might also have brought me into the premium fold, had they been available a year ago: a higher group limit, lower cost or free uploads, an increased tier-free land allowance each year, the ability to group friends/contacts (with some management tools so I can see my closest pals log in without also having to see when distant acquaintances arrive). Receiving the stipend helps offset the cost of premium and I wouldn't want to lose it, since I'm already shelling out tier to own the land.

The problem with mainland for me is the lack of any kind of consistency or zoning. That's why we went for the OS sim in August; we wanted to create a place where the view wouldn't be compromised by other people's builds. Fortunately, I haven't sold my mainland parcel yet, since LL has yanked the rug out from under even properly used OS sims.

I have to echo the sentiments expressed here about the inconsistency of messages LL is putting forth, and the lost trust and goodwill in the wake of the OS debacle. Improvements to the premium membership package have to be considered as part of a whole plan, made transparent, not as a lollipop distributed to mollify and distract us from the huge slap in the face we've just received.

I am very afraid this is just a prelude to increasing the premium membership fees. The wonderfully ingenuious invitation to discourse on how the premium membership can be improved is going to lead to those improvements costing all of us premium members more. Sorry to be so cynical, but the Lindens have burned me very badly during this last year -- on land fees and so on -- and I am just not in a very trusting mood right now.

What I hope Tom is getting out of this entire discussion is that one size does not fit all.

I happen to enjoy the eclectic diversity that is the mainland rather than the boring sameness that themes and zoning bring with them. I also enjoy the people contact I get from having avatars just drop in at my house out of the blue. Yes, sometimes I have to hit them with the eject/ban hammer but I have also met some of my best friends in exactly that manner. It doesn't make any of us right or wrong, just different.

It is that diversity that makes SL what it is. And, it also means that what will make one person jump for joy as a premium benefit will make another say ho-hum.

So, when deciding how to make premium subscriptions more appealing, remember that choice will be a necessary component.

That does not happen to be a factual statement.

A couple of things to remember.

Not all "free" accounts were always free. Back at the time I started and for about the first year I was in SL there were no "free" accounts. There were Premiums and 9.95 One time pay basics. When "free" accounts came on board those people that did shell out the one time 9.95 got the shaft. Yes if they log in once a week they still get their 50L a month stipend. But they lost their ability to own land and lost their support options. They also now day have the unfortunate situation of being lumped in the mix with "free" accounts. I say this is unfortunate because when one of these discussions comes up someone invariably wants to further restrict free accounts.

When I was new to SL 4.5 years ago. I logged in on a 14 day trial act. On day 2 I went premium and never looked back. The reality is even being a content creator for the first couple of years that 500L a week stipend was a godsend to me. Yes GOM existed (Lindex did not) I could buy L$ But 500L ment 50 uploads that were not costing me extra, it also ment I never had to worry about the search fee or group fees. It ment I could tip the fantastic teachers that were teaching me so many things I needed to know. Some of my family feel that the 300L$ a month stipend is just too restrictive. They came in later and went premium and bought land. They are exploring what they want to be in content creation and that unfortunately does cost money. 300L$ from what I have seen IS really on the low side.

Stipends as I see it stimulate alot of good things for SL. It allows the new land owner a little breathing room to find thier place in SL and the older land owner a comfort zone. It enables all the fantastic venues, teachers and DJs to offer what they offer in the form of tips (which generates MORE money for LL). Most important it allows people to choose NOT to be content creators. Without the consumer/social groups of residents all that content that makes SL fun would have no purpose and all the fantastic originality would dry up fast.

I got lucky 500L$ a week means very little to me now, 4.5 years into SL. I have had several successful businesses over the years. It is MUCH harder to do that these days. New folks diving in need a bit of land to toss prims on and they need the stipend safety net even more than I did in the early years.

Whatever is done to enhance premium accounts cannot reduce what little they have now AND cannot reduce what "free: accounts currently have either. It MUST be value added.

Personally for new premiums AND old the single best thing I can think of is to go to the per 512 bracket system. I cannot emphasize enough how big a nut it is to crack to move up into larger parcels with the HUGE jumps that exist in pricing as things are now. Larger parcels owned by one person or group are GOOD for SL and LL. It means a larger commitment to SL from the owner of the property. It also means less of a mess on the mainland. Going to the 512 jump bracket system will likely increase the median parcel size which in turn will alleviate some of the issues that make mainland living so unacceptable to so many. Which will in turn stimulate more premiums if things go right.

So do I, I said this early on. People need choices.

Don't let the truth get in the way of a good argument!

How so? They own land, pay the same tier and don't have to buy a premium account... Their cost minus premium.. Seems less to me...

Please please please folks .. This debate is about IMPROVING premium membership NOT about DECREASING / PENALISING non premium membership

Non Premium Membership was let out of the box ages ago by "Pandora Linden" .... there is no "Hope Linden" or "Penalise what we did before Linden" left in the box .. this is because "Penalise what we did before Linden" just "did" Opensims so (s)he is busy

But seriously... lets not point fingers or ideas at reducing Non Premium Members experience.. So before any one ask .. yes Bitova Loon is a Non Premium Member, my wife (RL & SL) is premium.. between us we we own 2 full sims and 2 Homethingys and one OS (we used to own 1 Full and 12 OS's) .. we spend between us multiple 10,000's of lindens a month in rent and purchases from the other SL members / creators.. we are NOT unique.. I'd hazard a guess there are loads of people like us in SL .. If I was to get hammered with a reduced experience as a non premium member I would this time give up and leave .. which would also pull the wives Premium account as if I was not in world .. she'd bail too

So .. back to the debate ... WHAT would it take to make ME a premium member TOO

NOT

"lets reduce non Premium Membership" experiences ..