An Unreasonable Suggestion (douses self with kerosene...)

I'm only posting this cause it's late and my judgement is impaired. I don't expect anyone to take this seriously, except people who will flame me for it, but I figure I'd toss the idea out for discussion anyway.

First off, let me ask, "what is the smallest amount of land you could own in a sim that would be legitimately useful?" I know some people have low-prim vendors, and that strikes me as a valid reason to own a tiny plot. So how small is the smallest useful size?

I ask because I was thinking it might be nice to place a reasonable lower limit on the amount of land one could own in a sim, say something like 128 or 256 m^2. In some sims, especially older ones, and including the one I'm based in now, I see a lot of micro-plots - 16m here, 48m there. In my sim, there are about a half dozen of these parcels. One has a land scanner, but the others have no prims at all so I can't imagine what they could be being used for, or why someone would be so attached to that land.

These micro-plots really detract from the value and usability of larger plots in a sim. It's so annoying to have a 16m square sunk to 0m that you can't build on right in the middle of your land. While some residents are good natured and will re-locate their lot if you ask nicely, most won't even discuss relocating or selling - if they answer IMs about it at all. And at that size, there isn't even a good price to offer someone for the land. L$100 for a 16m parcel is a very fair price in today's market, but who cares about $100? Even $1000 won't get someone's attention, but at that rate you could go broke trying to clean up all the micro-plots in a sim.

So my radical and unreasonable idea is that LL institute a mimimum limit for land owned in a sim. If you don't have at least 256m (or 64, or 512, or whatever), then you can't own land in that sim, period. It wouldn't have to be contiguous, but could be split up across several plots. If this were to go through, there should be ample warning to give people a chance to sell off their micro-plot holdings. After that, land would go to auction, and the former owner would get a modest compensation, as is usually the case for seizure under eminent domain. Anyone could buy at auction, but to take posession you would of course have to be holding the minimum amount of land in that sim.

OK folks, do your worst. I'm wearing my asbestos underwear.

Microplot abuse sucks, though:

- prim count.

Perhaps you might modify the suggestion to simply be for the owned land in the entire sim, not just one plot?

16m2 is my guess.. You could build a nice billboad with a landmark to your 'big' plot that houses your mall/club/store/home.

That was my suggestion.

Well, I sold someone a 16m plot of my land because he has no real land of his own, is a bit of a nomad, and wanted to secure a number of plots around SL to variously set to home so that he could explore different parts of the worlds at different times, which if I didnt have a honking great island, I'd prolly do myself. So I guess the smallest useful plot is 16m. And thats what they might be being used for, at a guess

Having said that, his plots arent in the middle of someone elses and he would certainly sell it back if asked. Anyone who didnt do the same is prolly a vindictive and spiteful little sh*t. I see no reason WHY anyone would refuse to sell you a 16m square of unused land that was surrounded by someone elses land.

I guess I wasn't clear in my posting. I was talking about a minimum limit for total holdings in a sim, so what you suggested wouldn't apply if the small and large plots are in the same sim. I suppose you could have Burma-Shave signs pointing to your club in a nearby sim, but that seems like a fairly uncommon use.

I could concievably use a 16m2 plot. Hell, it's what I was hoping to get in Luna. Which I didn't. Bastards.

And I hate the fact that some of those plots still aren't being used since the last lottery (*cough*CatherineCottonTorridMidnight*cough*). I got bumped out of the frelling lottery by people who don't actually use the bleeding plots!

So yeah. Light yourself on fire already.

Heh, while I'll give you the benefit of doubt about this person's intentions, I can't help but laugh and think land barons could use the same methodology.

"Hi, I'm a land bar... nomad! I am a nomad wandering around buying and sel.... errr... exploring SL! I want to be able to put up land scann.... errr I mean.. be able to use these plots of land as home points! Yes! Yes! Since telehubs are ... yannow... regularly spaced and all.. and... um... no one will teleport me anymore because I am such a big land bar... errrr I mean... nomad! Yes! Nomad! GIMME SOME CANDY!"

*snickers*

I'm a scripter, I don't need prims to do a large and useful project
I can fit an arbitrary amount of scripts on a single prim.
3 prims is enough for 3 vendors. So it's almost like a mini mall
3 prims is enough for 3 casino games.
Heck, with a single prim i can generate arbitrary amounts of temp-on-rez ones.
With 3 prims I can make a crude baloon. Then you can go there for a guided tour of SL.
3 prims is even enough for a house, though 16m is rather small and you wouldn't be able to furnish it much

Yes. But since this was a very good friend who I trust implicitly, I had no problem with it. To virtually anyone else I would have said 'go be a nomad somewhere else'.

Yeah, exactly. I just thought the idea was funny - that of barons disguising as noobs.

As far as I care, anyone who thinks SL is about making money IS a noob

yet

yet?

As in, there will be much moolah to make for a lot of people.

Though, for many developers, it will always be about creation.

did this just spontaneously morph into another one word thread?

Yup.

I've always said that if people would stop wasting their time in front of a computer and put some effort into their real lives, they could make a lot more money than they do on SL

So you're saying SL is just a game and not part of RL?

*faints at that suggestion*

Well, Im real.
Im sitting in a real chair,
in front of a real computer, <-- AMD64, Nvidia5200, dual display
In a real house,
on a real world.

And i talk to
real people,
who have real ideas
real goals.
In a simulated world.
Who pay me what is easly REAL money.


so add that up. thats nine reals to one simulated.

9 / 1 = 9
So that means I have room for nine more fake things before I become a crazy person who cant tell the difference between reality and not.
Or it means im 1/9th fake.

And if she floats she must be a witch.

I think you missed an opportunity there. He actually dismissed SL as a waste of time and effort.

waste of time?!?!?!?!?! *cries uncontrollably* why why WHY would he say such a thing....

*comforts Willow*

There, there. Ignore the nasty oeuf. He's just sour cuz he can't think of anything to do in SL anymore because he did everything possible in Beta.

*sobs on kris shoulder*

but... for the love of god.. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY