Leaving behind content when leaving SL...

I'm not really proposing this as a feature or anything, since I have no idea how it could best be done... I just thought I'd mention it and see if anyone else had any thoughts about it.

I've noticed several instances lately of people looking for an item whose creator is no longer in SL. It made me think, it'd really be great if more people would think to make alternative arrangements for their merchandise if they're forced to leave the game-- transfer it all to a friend to sell, or something.

Better yet, what if there were one central area where things like this could be sold? Anyone who was leaving SL could transfer their merchandise to whoever was in charge of this shop-- it could even be Linden-run, though I don't know if that would be the best way or not. There could be warnings posted and notecards given out before buying stating that the maker was no longer in the game, so there could be no customer support. The maker could still receive profits on a monthly basis via PayPal, etc., maybe minus a small fee which would go toward maintaining the shop.

I don't know if this would get too complicated to really be workable, but it'd be a nice idea... if you really wanted Item X, and the maker had left the game, you could just check this one central 'warehouse' type shop before asking all over or posting notices asking if anyone had it.

Maybe a notecard explaining this option could be available in Library or at telehubs, or could be sent to anyone who was quitting, so they could consider it.

Anyway, just my random thoughts on the subject... anyone else have ideas about it?

I kind of like that idea.

Would probably be way too much trouble for someone to calculate and distribute profits out to people who leave their stuff at this "warehouse". However I do like the idea of an individual/group organizing this and maintaining the store, etc.

How about Vertu (or whoever they are)? A non-profit taking donations of sellable items from residents no longer in SL. People can get the item they're looking for, and Vertu makes money for their charitable works.

That'd be a cool idea.... even better if the creators would donate their items to VERTU before leaving, with perms changed so that VERTU could continue to sell copies, and keep pulling in money. It'd be a VERTU Secondhand Store, kind of like the Goodwill or Salvation Army stores. There could be billboards posted in high-traffic shopping areas to let merchants know about this option. Hmm, wonder if this could really work?

Now if only somebody could track down a few people who've already left, and convince them to come back long enough to donate their content....

that be a good idea....I think the stuff should be sold for cheap to :0!

I think if people leave their content should go with them. Why leave should someone leave what the slaved over to the undeserving and unappreciative masses for free? Plus often people get fed up, take a break and come back, it would suck to have given all of your content away then be forced to come back and compete with yourself. Plus who can support the content like the original creator? If people are leaving and often it is for some serious emotional or financial situation, they typically don't have time to create a hand off procedure, and I can understand why they are inclined not to.

While I like quite a bit about this idea, I can't help thinking about scarcity.

Scarcity, along with demand, helps drive up value. Yet we have very little scarcity here, where we can spin up copies of stuff literally out of nothing. Even when its a clear intent for there to be a limited edition, there is no real way to enforce that.

So, keeping all that in mind, it occurs to me that the only true scarcity is when someone has left the game. The objects they sold are now finite in number; there are only so many of them in the world.

Those items then have the opportunity, if there is demand for them, to become more valuable to their owners, to collectors, etc.

Now if there were a way to combine this sort of true scarcity with the clearing house idea ... so that we would know if that thing we bought 10 months ago is now actually collectible because the creator is gone.

Comments?

I wasn't even thinking of implementing it as a way for things to become valuable or collectible.... I was just thinking of how aggravating it is when you really want a copy of something that you saw months ago, but you can't get it because the creator has left.

For example, in another thread elsewhere in the forums, at least four people have been searching for belly dance animations by a certain creator who is no longer in SL. There would seem to be a good market for these type of anims, because apparently no one else is interested in making them. The ones that still exist inworld are not copyable. If the originals were still available for sale, either through a friend of the creator or through a central 'secondhand' store, then we wouldn't have had to have three threads so far asking if anyone has them to resell (apparently no one does) or if anyone is willing to make similar ones. (No one is.) Personally, I'd be willing to send the creator payment via PayPal if I could get more of them; my original thought was that some kind of similar arrangement could be made to make sure the departed creators got paid for ongoing sales.

I admit I don't know how such a thing would be set up, but I was thinking (in my own naive little way) that it'd be useful; too often someone makes really amazing content and then leaves, and whatever they made is lost, or only a few exist. It'd be nice if there was a way to continue to sell the content and send the creator their profits. I didn't say it'd be easy, or practical... just that it'd be nice.

Some content creators have opted to make their creations free when they reduce their time in SL, or leave. Promoting solutions like donating to VERTU, or syndicating to another person/vendor, seems like a fine idea. But ya can't make 'em...

But along the lines of *allowing* people to make arrangements, and generally interesting features... What about being able to have a Second Will? You can make a resident or group the benficiary/ies of your estate, and you can set terms. So, a couple of scenarios:

1. Annie Avvie decides to withdraw from SL. She designates Franny Figment as her beneficiary, fills out many forms stating that this is what she wants to do and indemnifying LL, and LL throws a switch. Annie is no more, and Franny Figment suddenly has a new "Annie Avvie" folder in her inventory, where all Annie's goods appear with Franny as the owner. This bypasses the normal No Transfer flag checks (or doesn't, this is just an idea). If Frannie has tier available or agrees to tier up, she assumes ownership of Annie's lands in-world. And finally, her account receives Annie's L$ balance, minus a transfer fee / estate tax. I mean hey, somebody at LL has to make sure Annie really wants to do this...
   
2. Penny Prim designates VERTU as his beneficiary if her account is unpaid for three months, and the VERTU group designates a trustee from among the group members. If Penny's L$ balance was enough to cover tier for that time, VERTU may assume ownership of her land if VERTU can cover tier. The trustee will receive a "Penny Prim" folder in inventory, and be set as owner of all the items. I'm not clear on how any L$ would be disbursed in this case, since I don't understand group finance in SL at all.
   

Just some thoughts.

Think of limited edition prints in RL. The artist *could* very easily have made many more copies, but they decided to restrict it. In SL terms these objects would all be set No Copy/No Modify, and yes you must trust the creator to honor their word.

So I disagree that there is no scarcity, unless the permissions just flat out don't work. And there are plenty of RL cases where more "limited edition" goods are produced than disclosed.



Okay. So what's you're point, that you want there to be a Christy's/Sotheby's in-world? Fine, go start one up. Or else how about listing these items in the Classifieds with eBay-style titles, like "Super RARE 2004-era Cubic Wooden Prim, LQQK!!! RARE!!!"

What are you asking for? An auction house? A change in the permission system? The No Transfer flag to be cleared on objects when the creator withdraws from SL?

I would very strongly support something like this, there are some belly dancing animations I'm at my whit's end to find..