Openspace Announcement Discussion with Jack Linden

The increase in pricing for Open Space sims will have an across the board affect on residents on the grid...At the present time, real estate rental and purchase transactions have been falling or failing rapidly!! The increase will send those people who are using the sim for personal, low prim reasons away and leave the residents who are gaining income in some way from those sims still up and running!! There are tons of empty or for sale lots on the mainland and within private estates...The abandonment of open space sims will just add to the glut of available but unaffordable properties within the game...

At a time when the SL economy is already screwed up, it seems like a bad move to add something to the mix that will send it further into decline. Ask any owner of a business in game about their revenue and you will find that it has been negatively impacted over the last 6 months or more. Implementing hikes in tiers is a ridiculous solution to the Open Sim issue.

Linden Labs does have the tools to determine who is abusing the existing rules (as limited as they might be)....Take this abuse up with those individuals and follow up to ensure that they either comply with the restrictions or take action against their ownership or access to that sim.

Additionally, Second Life must be fully aware of the economic situation that is unfolding at this time in the real world. At a time when many people are evaluating how they wish to spend their money, it seems short-sighted to implement a hike like this. People want to have a place that they can enjoy and relax in without going broke doing it. Residents will vacate properties and reduce their Linden liabilities by converting paying accounts to free status to save money in tight times. Under this scenario, Linden makes absolutely nothing while the residents can continue to enjoy the game and whatever areas survive!! Granted the number of paying residents would hardly make a dent in the financial well being of Second Life but that will be a partial outcome of this tier hike.

Wake up and realize that driving residents away from their homes and their support of Linden Labs is not satisfying for either party. Use your resources to monitor and when needed, police the usage of Open Space sims!

When the world economy is in a recession, the business in SL is also on the decline as well. People do not have the extra $ to spend, on land or goods as much as before.

LL can have the free account take over, have un-used servers because frankly, is anyone gonna reinvest in anything else. Income in LL will decrease, people will not be apt to buy mainland. I hope the LL staff can foresee.. lay-offs too and pay cuts because the money that is coming in now, will not be coming in after Jan 1.

AsheChung may benefit because i see all her class 4s will now be class 5s finally. I know she may be the only one making out. And I imagine SnowFlake is her flake.

So what are the other grids open we can move to, someone list them please so we know where we are all moving to.

Not wishing to really debate this .. I seem to recall this is NOT what the web page said when LL first released the OpenSpace Sims .. this "restriction" appeared later in OS "lifespan" - When OS first appeared there where no guidelines on "light" use..

1. Solve the actual performance problem by:
1.1 lower the av limit on open space sims to max 25 with default of 10.
1.2 drop the temp rez limits to 1/4 a full sim
1.3 possibly drop the prim limits a bit - 80% of 3750 maybe?

2. Increase visibility of abuse
2.1 define acceptable OS use in objective and measurable terms, not the contradictory and subjective terms used now.
2.2 meter resource use for all OS. polled script time, colliders and avcount would probably be enough.
2.3 make it possible to see which OS sims share a CPU.
2.4 accept ARs for from co-resident sims for excessive use (and act on them)

3. dont chase away your customers who have played by the rules.
3.1. either grandfather pricing or offer no-fee full-value buyback of OS sims. The last price change was a drop in price, devaluing existing investments, but increasing competition. This increase will absolutely drive people away because of increased prices for lower capability.
3.2. offer short-term no-fee payor/owner transfers. Payors will be getting out of the business leaving renters with nothing. Even rentors willing to pay higher rates will be hard pressed to justify US$100 for absolutely nothing.
3.3. abusers lose their grandfathered sim rates.

It just occurred to me that with what I would have been paying LL in tier fees and whatnot, I can hire a part time webmaster and run my own game. This may be my fare-thee-not-well to LL.

It is not acceptable that you sell openspaces under given terms, and then raise the charge with 67%.

In rl renting out a home and then changing the rent with 67% would not be legal - at least not in my place.

I think you should provide a money back guarantee in this case. I will for sure abandon both my openspaces, and I know several of my friends will do the same. They will have no value because noone would be interested in them anymore.

And I agree with others - of you sell prims - you know they will be used. It is one of the worst excuses I have heard for raising prices.

I think there is much truth here.. What a clever way to get people to buy hardware for you that you can then reclaim and use for your own land sales like Nautilus!!! And even if the Lindens are not so sinister it is still very easy to see this as bait and switch.

I am sure this will be the first of many beautiful areas that will vanish because of this announcement! The Cascadia nature park was a gorgeous place to canoe, walk or just relax in it's majestic surroundings...

Yes it is .. and non owners need to realize how this is going to affect them. I am just finishing 5 open space sims .. a spiritual center and four sims based on the elements. These are wonderful places to visit and enjoy. I put my heart into building them for everyone in SL to enjoy. No one lives there. But I can't afford an extra $250/month tier. So all my work and creativity will probably go away. I'm going to lose .. but so is every non owner who would ever have visited these places and many more in SL. All so LL can make more money.

When the dust settles, LL will probably give all people who bought an OpenSpace sim from an estate owner the opportunity become a real owner by paying a nominal service charge. That way, they will not only have sold the sim twice (or more) but they will also collect the monthly tier.

They'll rename the product to SimLite, or something like that. And yes, I would pay the price.

It's not us small folks that will lose a fortune by these plans. It's the people that made huge investments in OpenSpace sims that'll suffer great losses because their business just went up in smoke. And all the abandoned sims that this will create, will simply be sold again by LL.

Let's not forget that LL is a corporation, folks. And corporations are usually not here to enrich our lives, or better the world we live in. Corporations are in it for the money.

All of the above is notwithstanding my opinion that this move of LL borders on fraud. I really wonder why on earth they ever raised the prim limits on OpenSpace sims, and made them so easily available, in the first place.

Like I said earlier JR, I am sorry I ever referred anyone looking for an honest mainland dealer to you and I won't continue to do so any more.

You are the one who is trolling if you are keeping track of my posts and attacking me for it.

Where is the new definition where it says it is a good idea to use these as rentals? because the "outdated" one, as you call it, is what I found on the land store as of this morning.

Thank you (again) for attacking me personally for expressing my opinion.

Firstly we are in discussions to increase our presence to 12 sims, 4 normal and 8 low usage. We have been working with a number of industries on this plan and also some consultancies in the Highlands of Scotland too. It has taken a huge amount of work and planning. AND WE WERE INTENDING GENUINE LIGHT USAGE FOR THEM!!!!

Then the pound crashes and all of our budgeting is suddenly out by 25%. The pound was worth $2 and is now only $1.50.

Now you increase the price of the open spaces ... not just the purchase price, but crucially the revenue aspect by an absolutely massive 66%.

So the running cost of $75 which was £37 has now jumped to $125 which is now £83.

THIS MEANS YOU HAVE INCREASED THE COST OF EACH OF THESE BY AN INCREDIBLE 124%.

Why don't you just tell businesses in the UK that you just don't want us?

How on earth am I meant to put together a business plan when you screw around with the pricing by such vast sums?

So, something that was really going to be absolutely brilliant, a whole collaborative unobtrusively educational development is crushed at birth.

If you truly read all of these comments then I would like you to let me know what I am supposed to do with my business plan now?

With the rapid improvement in server technology coupled with the vast increase in numbers of residents, in land tiers and general income YOU SHOULD BE REDUCING COSTS FOR NEW INNOVATIVE VENTURES, NOT DOUBLING IT.

I am afraid that this all smacks of greed and something I set up on a small scale that thousands of people love, is now likely to die in its cradle.

Rethink please.

Our small area for testing this project is here if you are even interested:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spectre/53/168/49

Petition started at

SLinfo.de - biggest german Community-Website for Second Life

http://www.slinfo.de/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=19423

i'll do the same, reason listd are unreasonable, we cannot pay more why linden tech guy cannot setup limit core process directly on server, and pay more is only give linden more usd, performances of server are the same.

i think linden will be happy on january to have a datacenter with only empty server.....

Wouldn't it be fairer to punish those that are overloading their openspace land rather than the model residents who are using the land for the proper use?
Or is this just another way for the Lindens to squeeze money out of the users?

There are many of us who have not abused it and you have essentially now stolen the land we payed for. You have not made it so we can not sell it and you have almost doubled the price of the tier so you might as well go ahead and erase mine from the grid because if I could have afforded to pay that much I would have in the beginning. This is fraud to me and yet another ploy for the Lindens to make more money. I will not be renewing my Second Life membership of which I have had for over 2 years because of what I feel to be complete fraud. If you want to punish those who are abusing it then do so but you have stolen the land from many of us who are not abusing it. My partner will also not be renewing his membership of which he has had for over a year either over this. You are crooks Lindens!

1 private region per cpu vs 4 openspace per cpu
private region---------openspace ---(x4)
setup fee--1000-------250------------1000
tier---------295--------75-------------300
prim total--15000-----3750----------15000

So, LL.. your reasoning is unfounded.
You're spending no more resources on openspace sims and in fact gaining a little more profit.

Yes, some customers were abusing the agreement to try to keep it low lag. An openspace is not a commercial space, but for a private home or two.. it shouldn't be a problem. Target them in another, better fashion.

You're shooting yourselves in the foot, imho.

Dated September 21st, 2006 by Jack Linden. http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/09/21/information-about-openspaces-void-regions/#more-326

"Why are they ‘light use’?
Whereas normal private islands run on their own dedicated CPU, the Openspace regions run four per CPU: this limits their performance, as you would expect. Openspaces only ever share with other openspaces on a server.

It is therefore important to understand what these regions are; they are provided for light use only, not for building, living in, renting as homes or use for events. As a stretch of open water for boating or a scenic wooded area they are fine, but we do not advise more serious use than this and will not respond to performance issues reported should you not use them in this way."

Her purpose changes all the time. She created a "Public Service Announcement" in RA a while back bad mouthing Opensims. Then got upset when people posted saying they had no problems with lag when using them.

Then she cries about how she didn't like hers and had to turn it back in. But this doesn't explain why everyone else should not be able to enjoy the OS they are using.

Then it was "This will help the economy." She never did explain how residents having 13,000 less Lindens a month to spend at resident owned stores would help the economy. The only people I see this helping is the landlords who lost money due to people moving to OS.

Now it is "You are all breaking the rules. You deserve what you are getting."

A 60+ % price increase on groceries within 3 months? My advise: Convert your money into a more stable currency, any currency would be safer, even US dollar. Right this minute, every second you wait you'll lose money. With such an inflation rate, the economy and government are bound to completely break down anytime soon, so you should also make plans about leaving that country ASAP.

I'd give the same advise to SL residents. But in our case, it's just a greedy monopolist without an ounce of business ethics that creates situations like this one.

Dear Jack.. 'nd u all Linden
this is the second time i impact with ur logic.. and i really don't understand..
first time was when i discover that u decide to revoke the incentives for the traffic u've payed till febbruary 2006.. due to the fact that some owners start to use camp in their lands generatin' a false value for the traffic itself.. now.. if the previous logic was.. "we reward with incentives those land owner able to attract residents and new people in SL".. why u punish everyone istead revokin' incentives only to those foxy who try to cheat u?
think u should be happy if i have a nice place in which people love to stay.. coz the more they stay in SL the more they will spend money and all the market will take advantage of this..
how many was the owners that reach the parameters for the traffic incentives? is it possible that u r not able to locate those who have camp in their lands to revoke only to them this award? ..doin' this.. all have payed for someone guilt.. and this is against market logic..
and now let's talk about this Open Spaces..
i was lookin' for a land for rent.. and many persons try to rent me their land tellin' me "this is cheap.. this is a no lag land".. well.. personally i try to go deep in things that someone tell me ..and so i discover the truth on Open Spaces.. i've talk with some mentors about how some Open Space's owners try to cheat folks.. imaging all those noobies that haven't a deep knowledge on them... but what to do?
now... questions are:
1) Why in "Knowledge Base", about OpenSpaces, u only say "...but we do not advise more serious use than this and will not respond to performance issues reported should you not use them in this way." and not "YOU ARE CANNOT USE THEM IN A DIFFERENT WAY!!!" ????? ..why? it's obvious (unfortunately) that if u don't assume a clear position.. the usual foxy will take advantage from this...
2) Why now.. for the second time in my experience.. u prefer to rise prices for all istead of punish those foxy?? well in this case the answer could be.. because u don't talk about a prohibition.. but u just 'suggest' how to use Open Spaces.. ...but.. is it possible that u don't know how many people are not honest all around the world?? haven't u learn it from "traffic incentives" experience???.... so again ..all will pay for someone guilt...
....please try to do something else... i'm sure u can do better than this..
nobody want to see residents quit SL..
everybody need to see SL growin'..
Rael

It's simply trolling, I assume. That and Schadenfreude. I chose to ignore her.

Lindens,

you made perfectly clear what you will do from Jan 1st 2009. Thank you for the clear words.

I do the same and make clear what I intend to do from Jan. 1st 2009: leave my OS-Sim (which ist used for living, yes, but by 2 people only), sell my additional mainland parcel, cancel my rent of a mainland-mall shop and cancel my premium account.

Have a nice future.
JB

This almost feels like the sub-prime crisis crept its way into SL all of a sudden!

I know its not exactly the same but the simularities are quiet funny, and yes the results would be in a way the same.

poor decision making gets poor results.