Basic Members....would you be willing to pay a SMALL yearly fee?

If only 36,000 of the almost 2 million members are premium and pay $6-$10 a month for their memberships, think of how much revinue it would be for LL if the remaining BASIC members had to pay just $10 a year for all the database space they take up with their inventories as well…that’s close to $1,500,000 a year in just membership fees…think of how many customer service reps that could pay for a year?

Just $10 a year for a basic membership…I don’t think that is asking much to improve customer service!
Would yu be willing to pay just $10 a YEAR in order to help improve customer service?

I figure if they paid them $50,000 a year then it could pay for 300 more customer service reps. Probably more like 200 after benefits are included. Still as SL grows getting good customer service is going to be difficult if LL doesn't start raking in more money. Premium members and island fees aren't going to continue carrying the load.

$10 for customer service
(6 months later)
$10 technical support
(6 months later)
$10 for anotehr service

They opened the flood gates. I've actually paid already for my accounts. Also not to mention how many of these accounts are not coming back or will leave if you implement this might have a huge impact on your numbers.

Also we keep letting LL take things away (stripend for basic, dwell payouts, and other variou spayouts). IF I saw even the private island people getting better service I would possibily concider this but even they say the extra money they hand out is not enough to get good service.

Linden Labs long ago decided it's far easier to seek new revenue streams with those who are already paying rather than try to convince those unwilling to pay to chip in to help pay for what they're using.

Supply Linden sold about $280,000 US worth of new L$ last month alone, roughly the same amount of money as all the 36,000 premiums bring in (not counting tier obviously ).

In that sense, verified basics who buy L$ are already paying their dues, as well as helping to fund the hordes of unverifieds.

I'd ask on Linden Answers if it didn't seem like they've given up on that since the last update: I don't know Ethan or Dee, but Harmony Linden has helped me quite a number of times on Live Help. Since the blog says she's now been assigned to the concierge team I have the nagging feeling they're taking liaisons away from customer support and giving them other duties.

(Edited to add that since unverifieds can't read the forums, you're never going to get an answer to your question, but the fact that so many won't even bother to verify should tell you enough already)

Kitty I don't speak for myself since I don't own an island. I speak with my friends that do and my partner in SL who is in the concierge channel and hear this being said by all those there. Yes lindens do help and when they do they are a lifesaver most of the time. They either are right on the button or couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a nuke. I do agree though LL does a job of making changes to make you pay and easier.

Also to add to the fight of all this paying stuff. I'd want assurance we got reimbursed for future crashes, loss of items, etc. Why should I give money for better service when I can't get reimburssed for lost service now as a paying customer? SO far I know my partner could't access her home sim for almost two months due to crippling lag. Also we have both lost tons of inventory. Would this change if basics started "paying up" doubtful.

Oh and also Rampal...if we ALL paid $10 then everyone would demand land, more land, more machines, more money towards maintence and power. You're 200 people would be closer to 100 - 150 after all other bills are paid.

I would be perfectly happy to pay a small annual fee, but on a basis of one flat-rate fee per verified Real World person who owns a specified list of verified accounts. It's a membership fee for me, as a Player, to access SL, not a per-login tax.

So, for example, I would be able to pay one annual, flat-rate fee to sign up for this service, associate 4 or 5 registered, verified alts with it, and perhaps over the course of the year add a couple more alts, paying a one-time alt creation fee for each additional account, just as the current rules require any honest person to do.

In return for this fee, I would expect a better level of customer service, and perhaps preferred access time limits. Those who were neither Premium nor this new "Annual Fee Basic" level would have more limited access, perhaps to include a limited number of playable hours per week.

LL should also allow for some other methods of verifying account holder identity and paying for this annual fee, or for a Premium Membership. That way the masses of non-US Players that they seem so enthralled with, who for some reason can't use US-based Credit Card and PayPal as payment methods, could still elect to become honest, verified users or even Premium members!

If ever...then yes. ^_^

Dearly Darlings,

I'm a premium member. If I were joining now and were staying basic; performance AND customer service would have to be more reliable than they are now. For example: I pay 50 cents for each dog show entry I make for shows to the AKC. If there is a mistake I not only get a live person but the problem is fixed on the first contact for both the AKC (LL)and The Dog Show Superintendant (Live Help). If there is a problem at the show an AKC Regional Rep is on site as well as a Dog Show Superintendant and the matter is handled right then and there. If there is a Benching Hearing (Dog Show Griefers) the hearing is held with 7 days of the event and published in the next month's Gazette showing the person, the action, the fine, and the suspension if there is one. I also don't have to worry about the dog show stopping if a judge drops dead...it is sent up in the Rules and Regulations pertaining to Dog Show Events that an AKC member in good standing can step in and judge dogs to keep the show rolling. So.... in a nut shell if Second Life were run like a dog show I'd have no problem paying a small fee to be basic.

Dearly Darlings,

I'm a premium member. If I were joining now and were staying basic; performance AND customer service would have to be more reliable than they are now. For example: I pay 50 cents for each dog show entry I make for shows to the AKC. If there is a mistake I not only get a live person but the problem is fixed on the first contact for both the AKC (LL)and The Dog Show Superintendant (Live Help). If there is a problem at the show an AKC Regional Rep is on site as well as a Dog Show Superintendant and the matter is handled right then and there. If there is a Benching Hearing (Dog Show Griefers) the hearing is held with 7 days of the event and published in the next month's Gazette showing the person, the action, the fine, and the suspension if there is one. I also don't have to worry about the dog show stopping if a judge drops dead...it is set up in the Rules and Regulations pertaining to Dog Show Events that an AKC member in good standing can step in and judge dogs to keep the show rolling. So.... in a nut shell if Second Life were run like a dog show I'd have no problem paying a small fee to be basic.

Ever Yours,

Mrs. Showdog Tiger

I think the issue here is:

SHOW ME THE SERVICE!
many will agree service is declining but ask them from what and they say...from bad to worse.

Dearly Darlings,

Sorry about the mistake.

Ever Yours,

Mrs Showdog Tiger

At the present time I don't think running out of money is LL's problem. They are good at getting investment.

The problem is (a) getting to a position where they can be sure that they won't be threatened by someone else starting something similar, that they are the pre-eminent Massively Multiplayer Online Thing company - which requires a critical mass of residents - and (b) making sure that the infrastructure can handle that critical mass, as well as the demands of outside companies.

(a) is on course, it seems, at least for the moment. Residents and outside developers promote SL in themselves, and LL is hardly slouching either. What (b) requires is skilled developers and system architects and lots of hard work.

edited to add: I mean, there are many ways in which LL *could* be getting more money out of residents which would no doubt work - look at other online offerings where you need to pay extra for almost everything - but that would hinder uptake, and that's more important.

Another thought.

Would IBM, DELL, etc stay if they found out each of THIER customers would now have ot pay ten dollars. How many more businesses would enter if that was to pass. I am pretty sure that if they stayed it would be for internal use only. I mean where were these companies when you had to just pay $10 once just to be here. I bet they were waiting....waiting for this free in for thier customers.

I guess if I were going basic I wouldn't see a problem paying $10 a year to help cover all the storage space for my HUGE inventory. I don't personally see why I should expect other people to pay for the machines used to store my stuff. So maybe $15,000,000 a year for upgrades would be a better use for the $$

Problem is this: We can't get people to come in when it's free yet they pay how much for WOW?

Also you are already here. You have to think about those coming in. I was VERY reluctant to even pay the $10 setup fee they used to have till finally I had enough friends bother me about it and caved in. Heck I can't get anyone in my family to join in cause it sounds "to risky" and IT'S FREE! These type of charges are exactly what they would suspect and laugh when I get stuck paying that charge. "The catch" if you will.

I have been a premium account for 2 years. Recently in october i tiered down to basic, which i will remain that way til i see a reason to go back. LL has failed to keep their end of the bargan by only givine 2 small benefits for being premium. More weekly allowances, and land holding. Thats isn't enough to get me to go back. I would not have tiered down to basic if it wasn't for their bad practices (closing the general forums, raising sim fees, unverified accounts, lack of support, lack of communication (thats a big one), and al the glitching updates). When LL finally decides to rectify their mistakes they might get me to pay. So i picked "Other" as my vote.

And yes what i said about "Unverified accounts" i meen it. That covers about 60% of the griefer population. Yea i know your not all griefers but still... It's a fact! Remove unverified status from any futher registrations, and you will improve performance of this virtual world. The very day that proposal passed to make Second Life FREE, i almost hurled up my dog bone. ARF!


Personally i don't care. :/

And yes what i said about "Unverified accounts" i meen it. That covers about 60% of the griefer population. Yea i know your not all griefers but still... It's a fact! Remove unverified status from any futher registrations, and you will improve performance of this virtual world. The very day that proposal passed to make Second Life FREE, i almost hurled up my dog bone. ARF!

Personally i don't care. :/

Yiffy

well some might honestly I am neutral they can stay or go but obviously it WILL have an impact. AS for unverified accounts that's just LL being unresponsive. THey could easily charge a card to see if it works even without the $10 charge. Otherwise then that blah I think we are all saying the same thing.

Many unverified basic accounts are unverified because it is difficult to get a credit card in the country in which they are in. They will therefore be unable to pay any sort of fee, until appropriate infrastructure is in place, and that's not something LL can really do much about. Should we want these people in SL? Of course.

Note also that (AFAIK) unverified basic accounts cannot post to the forums, so you will never hear from them here.

I would really love for someone to show me those countries where credit cards are impossible to get, where you can't get a verified PayPal account and that have a population big enough to account for most of the unverifieds.

It's everyone's personal choice not to verify, but for 99% it is a choice, and not an inability.

Let's start with Nepal, most of the African continent, much of the Middle East blah blah blah. I know it is hard for Americans and Europeans to believe this but facts are facts. Not everyone on Earth has access to a credit card or Pay-Pal!

Some evidence here. Not much in the way of hard statistics there, but let's not start making up statistics when we don't have them.

But they have access to the internets.

This i need to test, for i didn't know. The very last time i used a alt to post was before the unverified accounts came to be. However i do remember a few threads started where people posted with many of their new unverified alts wtih funny names like Texas Barbecue, Zombie Television, Tringo Starr, Anshe Replacement, exc. It was a funny topic and i contributed to it with some of my older accounts.

I was talking with someone who was looking for a script, they were unable to get to the scripting library because of this so I put the script up on the lslwiki as well.