$50,000 add for Lindens???

Actually, I have been to a resturant where the owner came in with some friends, and got them seated before me, even though they got there after me. Guess what. I didn't give a rats ass. If I happened to care I could have take my business elsewhere, but guess what I still got what I paid for, food. The people who paid for classifieds got what they paid for, classified space. So since we are using the resturant analogy, you could a)take your business elsewhere or b)chalk it up to lifes a bitch sometimes, and go on with things.

I think I have better self esteem then dirt. I pick A, even if its the ONLY resturant in the state, and I think any GOOD resturant owner would want their customers seated first. Lifes to short to lick someones boot!!!

You misunderstand. Their ad wasn't replaced, it was moved down 1/4th of an inch or so, depending on your resolution.

Ahh see I was willing to wait an extra ten minutes for a quality Italian meal and a good glass of wine, rahter than get huffy and go next door to Crappy Burger Joint X. Just like I wouldn't mind getting knocked down a spot in the classifieds as long as I was still able to be there. So I guess you can go take business to Crappy VR Game X, and I'll enjoy a quality time on Second Life (with a good glass of wine).

That's a fallacious argument. Unless you live in a half-assed town where the only choice is between a quality Italian restaurant and a crappy burger chain, you can always go to the *other* good restaurant half a block down, where the owner isn't a prick.

You obviously have never used Google Adwords.

People that think like this, is why customer service is crap. "Sure seat the whole world before me, I will wait 2 hrs. for my pasta, and I'll pay double, as long as it isn't a crappy burger joint, where the manager does actually give a crap that I am a happy customer"

And if you would look at my analogy, you will notice there is no burger joint; this was the only restaurant in the STATE. Just like the Classifieds are the only classifieds in the game. Perhaps you should lay off the wine.

Since the classifieds system is the only one in the game, why not make a competitor, or stop using the in game system, or stop playing SL entirely. To continue with the resturaunt analogy either open up a new restaunt, stay at home and heat up a frozen dinner, or move to a different state with a different resturant. You can't expect to make a big fuss in a resturant and not expect some people to be critical of you. Same goes here.

I've always suscribed to the "If you don't like it then leave" theory.

Perhapse I'm a bit confused here. But you are all honestly argueing about Linden Labs using the classifieds system to advertise a CONTEST for those people who make movies in SecondLife to have the chance to win 100,000 Lindens?

You've tossed out analogys, similes, hyperboles and rants. For what? Because someone got moved down one place in a very very long list that's generally filled with crap, because Linden Labs used the PROPER RESOURCE to advertise a CONTEST FOR THE PEOPLE.

It is a Freaking Classified Ad.. if you think newspapers and magazines have never put their own contest announcements in a prime spot without regard to their paying advertisers. Well you're living in another fantasy world besides SL.

They could just as easily put it up for $L 1,000,000 and guaranteed a top spot. But gee... hmm.. maybe they did really use Lindens up for this... *gasp* Wouldn't that be amazing.. Linden Labs, buys 50,000 lindens and uses it on a sink to advertise a contest with a 100,000 linden prize.

THANK YOU!

Yes it would be amazing so amazing I wouldn't believe it unless a Linden said thats what happened. And since this is page 8 without a Linden response I think it's safe to say they abused the system. Sure they have they capability and within the TOS and all that nonsense. But encouraging people to pay for ranking then just cutting in front is abusing the system. Unless they actually bought the Lindens off Lindex it was abusing the system.

You can't abuse a System you own

Yes you can. Owning the system may give you the legal "right" to do whatever you please. But it doesn't make it right when other people are involved.

Tell that to my reproductive system. I abuse the shit out of it.

TOUCHE

As I stated in my origional post. Magazines and Newspapers in the REAL WORLD will, do and always have, given higher placement priority to their own Advertisements.

Bitching because Linden Labs posted a classified in the appropriate place in game, in the appropriate manner. For a Contest that is for the benefit of the players in second life would be about as bright as bitching because the New York Times put a full page advertisement in about a contest they were sponsering for new artists.

They used the system appropriatly. The only complaint you all can try to use is that they might have fabricated those 50,000 lindens for the Advertisement out of thin air.

But regardless of if they did... It doesn't matter.

If they bought 50,000 lindens from lindex and used it... Yay.. more money into a Sink
If they just typed in 50,000 directly into the database... Big whoop... it wasn't real money
If they printed an extra 50,000 lindens to post the advertisement... Big whoop... it went directly into a sink.

Of course it does. Every L$ they create out of thin air reduces the scarcity of currency and devalues the L$ in residents' possession. Effectively, all of us are paying so they can advertise their contest.

Good lord... If they created 50,000 and immediatly put it in a sink it never existed and it had ZERO, NIL, NADA, not one IOTA of an impact on the economy. Never mind the fact that 50,000 lindens at current average exchange rate is only $158.00 whereas the entire supply of lindens is valued at $2,307,237. I really doubt that is going to even make a slight ripple, let alone a small drop in the economy.

And yes you're right... the 161,988 people who logged in to SL in the past 60 days paid Linden Labs total cost of $0.000975 dollars each, so Linden Labs could advertise a contest that members of SL are eligable to win that has a prize of 100,000 lindens (or about $316 dollars).. and this is a "Bad Thing" how?

There is a world of difference between NOT SELLING a permium space and selling it then MOVING the client's advertisment to place yours as LL did.

Thank you for pointing out that its a very long list that's generally filled with crap. That makes me feel so much better all the hard work I've done to be able to put up an ad in the first place. One spot can make a big differene and I've seen it myself. I will see many more visitors if nobody needs to scroll down to see my ad. If it needs to be scrolled down, I'll see fewer visitors. It says right on your profile how many people teleport to your place, how many map it and how many profile it. If they wanted to, put it on their web page, not the classifieds. Or put it on the logging in screen.
If you don't use the classifieds at this range, then of course it will be hard to see the difference it makes.
To end this discussion, I will try to keep concrete data on this if I go below the first page (scoll down point) and compare it.

It's a freaking contest. If someone was looking for stores, they would disreguard LL contest and continue on. Your logic is based on people giving themselves 10 clicks in the advertisement page. If they use all 10 clicks dispite the fact that what they click on doesn't interest them, they can no longer look in the advertisements for the rest of the day. And thats under the assumtion that these people don't even do a search for the type of product they want, or filter out the ads by catergory.

My logic if based on facts. Below the scroll down point fewer vistors than if it were above. Please let me know if you've seen different if you've used the classifieds up this high.

I'm saying that your "facts" don't apply to this situation. It's so grossly illogical that I have no idea how you hang on to the idea that this contest is effecting businesses that have nothing in relation at all to the contest. If LL put up an ad advertising shirts or something that they themselves made and are selling, then your "facts" would apply. Of course, that's if you disreguard the fact that it's LLs game and they can do what ever the hell they want, or the fact that quality matters and not ranking, or the fact that there's a search tool and a catagory tool so you won't browse through things that doesn't apply to what your looking for.

Edit - And you really should stop backing up your agruements with facts that you don't post {like any sort of data} and don't just come from personal expirence.

Yes LL's ad was a contest ad. I'm saying that the fact that they put it there would bounce someone off the first page or "scroll down point" I've had my ad pushed down below this point a few times and saw a noticeable decrease in the number of visitors that teleported via the classified ad the next day. They should not do something like this to people that used hard earned Ls to pay for that position. Also if quality was the only thing that mattered, why is everyone paying so much to be that high anyways???? Are you saying everyone that puts up that amount to be seen by the most possible, builds crappy stuff?
If you've used the classifieds and were bumped off to the point where they needed to scroll down, then tell me what you've seen happen to the number of teleports. It's hard enough to compete with everyone else to be on there and then even more painful to see LL come in there and punch in 50,000L into the computer for free.

I'll be keeping data now too if it happens again. From what I recall above that point 50 or more teleports per day, below that point 40 or lower. When it does go lower, its only a few spots at the most too.

I really don't think you understand why I keep on bringing up the fact that it's a contest ad. And no, I didn't mean to say that people who pay $200 USD to get an ad shown higher in a device that has a search engine and category features make low quality stuff, but that $200 USD isn't going to guarantee them business {teleports does not equal business}. And really, until I hear from multiple people or see some kinda data showing me that not being on the first page equals a collapse of business {such as making less money per month then they would have including ad fees}, your facts will remain meaningless. Not suggesting your facts have anything to do with the case in hand anyways.

Besides, unless you are into the business of selling $10,000 linden products, I don't think + or – 10 or so teleports a day is going to justify the ad fee you forked out.