Question about account downgrades and land

I'm thinking about downgrading my account back to the normal basic access service, but I'm not sure how, if at all, this will affect my land holdings. I've got around 2048 sq m of land currently, and I want to know whether or not I'll still be able to keep it if I make the downgrade.

You have to have premium account to own land. So, if you want to go basic, you will have to sell all your land.

Now that's just stupid. I buy the land, with both real and linden dollars, and pay a monthly fee for it IRL. I should be able to own it no matter what kind of an account I have. It's a seperate payment independant of my normal account fees, so why should I have to stay with an account I don't need just to keep the land I'm shelling out a monthly fee already to own. I was under the impression that you can own land with both accounts, not just the premium, as long as you had the money to pay for the monthly fees. The 512 sq m they give you I thought was just for you to start out and get aquainted with actually LIVING in SL before you move on to a bigger parcel or something. I didn't see anything that mentioned ANYTHING regarding it being a REQUIREMENT to have a premium account in order to own land. Can I get an expert down here to explain why this is put in place, please? 'Cause I'm at a loss, here...

Look at it this way...

Your land base is 512m. It costs $9.95 a month. This can be cheaper if you pay in blocks of 3, 6, or 12 months at a time. And, you get a L$500 weekly stipend for being a land owner. If you decide you need more land than your base, you can pay an additional monthly fee for extra land.

Basic account is free, just one time fee of $9.95, no monthly fees. Why should a basic account get a free 512m land base?

Im sorry, I just dont understand your arguement.

From the Land FAQ

Not saying you should. I'm saying that if I'm paying for land with REAL MONEY, I should be able to KEEP that land, no matter what account I have. Personally, if they allow people to buy plots of land regardless of account, that would be fine with me, since we'd be PAYING for the land, like we're ALREADY doing with the Premium account.

Okay, so we get the opportunity to have up to 512 sq m of land for the premium account. Okay, that's all fine and dandy. BUT, if we want to add MORE land to that, we have to BUY it, with it's OWN monthly tier fee. I don't NEED to pay that fee if I don't WANT the land, now do I? It's a SEPERATE PAYMENT I have to make to Linden alongside my Premium account payment, so why should I have to HAVE a premium account in the first place? I'm STILL paying the same amount of money per month for the land, right? THAT'S what I'm arguing about: the fact that I'm having to pay both a premium fee AND a land fee JUST so I can own land, when I can STILL pay the land fee if I decide to bump my account back down to the basic account. Why force us to pay evem MORE money for an 'upgraded' account that one probably doesn't need anymore and would probably benefit a lot more from the base account, along with the land fees, JUST so he can have the land that he's paying for? Either way, they're STILL getting their money for the land we own, right?

And they should honestly have that up at the front of the account page, to let people know that you HAVE to have a premium account in order to own land. I didn't see it anywere on the front page, and some people probably don't have time to read all the fine print buried in mounds of backpages to find out all the details about the game.

Seems pretty clear on the pricing page....

http://secondlife.com/pricing/


Ultimately, it is all about math. Linden Labs is a business and businesses have overhead. If 3000 new basic accounts are added each month, that only puts 30k in the LL checking account each month; this does not even cover payroll. Second Life is being paid for by premium accounts and land tier fees. As a business, Linden Labs must provide a strong incentive to attract people into profitable accounts so that we can all continue to enjoy a Second Life. Land ownership and $500L a week are the carrot to get people into a profitable account type.

The is a whole banquet of activities and ways to enjoy SL on a basic account and no one is holding a gun to your head saying you have to be a premium member. However, there are benefits associated with premium accounts, one of which is the ability to own land. To put it another way, your cable company is not going to just give you HBO because you are a basic package customer, you have to pay extra for it if you want it.

One of the best deals going is the premium membership paying a full year in advance. For your $72 (which comes out to $6 a month) you get L$26,000 a year, which translates into $104 in US (assuming $4 US exchange rate). So you are already profiting $32 US from your premium membership. On top of that, you may own 512m without paying additional tier. This doesn't even take into account the bonuses on your stipend, which can bring in an additional 15,000 to 20,000 Lindens each year, raising your profit margin by another $60 US or so. $32 + $60 is $92 and if you don't spend any money, you have now almost completely covered your tier of $96 a year to own 1024m.