The success of Second LIfe is the result of people who have been willing to invest thousands and thousands of dollars and probably millions and millions of hours in creating sims and activities for all to enjoy. To succeed, the investors who are the true entrepreneurs of Second Life need a stable business environment on which to base their plans and create their business models. Linden's announcement of changes in the pricing of Open Space sims runs counter to that need. The Open Space sim problem is of Linden Labs's own making and they now compound their mistakes by forcing the very people whose investments they need to rethink hard about whether or not they can succeed when Linden is such an unreliable and untrustworthy business partner.
One cannot also ignore the fact that when Linden Labs forces investors out, they can reclaim the land sell it again as new. The first sale wrote down the asset value of the server; the second and subsequent sales are pure gravy that goes straight to the bottom line. The fact that Linden Labs has employed this price change tactic in the past causes the cynic to think that price hikes to drive people out and recycle the equipment could even be their true motive and business strategy.
Enough is enough. I look forward to competitors who are smarter than Linden Labs, more honest and more wise, driving Second Life into oblivion. The world will be a better place without Linden Lab's unethical business practices. But Linden Labs might still save the day by admitting their mistake, withdrawing the price increase and promising to be 100% ethical and reliable in the future.