WHOA!!! Why do you want to destroy your money?! PLEASE SPEND IT!! (Starving artist)

Ok -

I'm a content creator. And my prices are reasonable for what I sell. I sell photographs for between $75L and $200L.

These are REAL LIFE photos brought into SL to be used as artwork.

I sell very little of my work. Advertising it is very difficult, and it takes a lot of work to do so. It's not worth it for the amount that I do sell.

Instead of burning your money, why not come to my shop and buy my work? Invest in the economy. Buy stuff you wouldn't normally buy, even?

That's what the money is for.

So many people are willing to sell their L$ for US$ (causing the glut in supply), but there are still those of us out here who are POOR. People who cannot or do not want to invest in land tier fees to have enough land to open a club, or compete with the BIG BOYS when they do.

I've walked into half a dozen clubs over the last week that are just EMPTY!!!

Why not patronize these folks' businesses with all this extra money that you seem to have?

Come over to Duke's Diggs and buy some of my paintings/photos.

In 2 weeks, I haven't even made my upload fees back through painting sales. And I've spent a few hours doing these and marketing them at yard sales.

The only way I can afford to pay my land tier, it seems, is to hang out at Chilly's and win money as he gives it out.

That's just pointless!!! It doesn't encourage me to make anything. I've even thought it might be smarter to raze my gallery and just create junk on my land, since I've had a whopping 6 visits to it in 2 weeks.

Instead of burning your money, try experiencing the rest of Second Life and encouraging the builders, artists and people who WOULD like to make a little hobby money.

I don't mind if the L$ reaches $500L/$1US, as long as I can even MAKE $500L.


Remember that if the stipends help you break even, it's not hurting LL. They already have their money. Someone ELSE is willing to pay that much to take your SL experience (LL$) potential away from you. If you're going to burn it ANYWAY, why do you care if the exchange rate goes up??????????????

I don't care if the exchange rate goes up, yet I do want it to be stable. It really hurts, if your bank account loses value every couple of hours and you have to pay more L$ just for the tier.

What makes you so sure we haven't experienced the rest? I am a builder, I do support others who make content as a customer, and I am returning my stipend to Governor Linden. I will still spend the same amount of money, just with L$ bought or earned.

I'll drop by next time I'm in game.

Duke:

Thanks for your post. Those of us who are voluntarily opting out of our stipends are doing so for the reasons outlined in these two posts of mine:

/130/a0/109283/6.html#post1058857
/130/a0/109283/6.html#post1059029


We believe it is one of several moves that need to occur to help the economy, and therefore content creators, in the long run. It is not an attempt to hurt anyone. We truly enjoy SL and want it to grow in culture, content, and residents.

Most of us, if not all of us, will still spend money in SL, money we buy via the Lindex. We plan to continue patronizing content creators. I, myself, am a content creator just starting up (shop opens in 2-3 weeks) and need the business just as much as anyone else.

Would you post a link to your store so that we know where you're located?

I felt that including a link or SLURL in this forum would be off-topic. My post was intended to make a point. There are plenty of small shop owners who have not even made back what they've spent out in costs, much less their time. Duke's Diggs is easy to find if you so desire. Please stop by if you'd like.

Since posting this, someone did stop by and buy some stuff, and I appreciate it immenseley. It tells me that someone cares.

I am not hard up to make money money in SL. But the incentive for me to stand around in Extreme or some other club, play free slots, or wait for club owners to pay me for patronizing seems to me to be greater than the incentive to build or create content.

With dwell going away, perhaps the impact will be that there will be fewer clubs to enjoy. Club owners will have to have compelling and fun content to stand out in the crowd, and the herd will thin. Perhaps club owners won't have so much excess money that they reward us for simply 'being there'....but casinos make money in the long term...even with rewards programs, etc.... and I certainly don't begrudge their success. I wish that I had the time and energy needed to become a successful club in SL.

Blah, blah, blah - I'm going on again....The point is that there are lots of people in SL who are trying, and not being incentivized to continue trying. Please remember these folks when you're burning money.

I heard King Philip talking about how the GDP is growing faster than the infusion of money into SL. It sounded to me like he'd done some research. Perhaps the market correction is a long time coming...I know nothing about economics...but I do know that his intent for the stipends has always been to stimulate the economy, and I hope that's what people continue to try to do.

We're not getting rid of our stipends because the money is meaningless to us no stipend makes the 512m that comes with premium my most expensive tier. We're doing it to see economic change that is far better for us and the whole economy than getting 500L a wk. As far as Philips economic theory's you don't say this shouldn't be happening when the economy doesn't match the theory you discard the theory and build a new one to match the economy. Economic theories just predict what the economy will do when they properly match the economy. When they don't they aren't worth the paper they are written on. If Philip had a grasp on economics and the SL economy in particular instead of standing around staying according to this theory the Linden should be going up he'd study this economy find out what makes it tick and devise new economic theory's that correctly model this one then try basing new courses of action on those theories.

People are burning their stipends to STOP the remaining money becoming diluted and meaningless.

And this question needs asking, Duke; did you take the photographs and paint the pictures yourself, or get permission from the copyright holders to use them?

Musuko.

Lucky you. My sales were actually increasing to see the light at the end of the tunnel til these idiots who are erally causing the decline started thier end stipend crap. Now they are in the toilet and I am strongly thinking of pulling out of SL with ALL my content. Getting very tired of LL doing everything they can to hurt the litle guy while caterring to the money mongers.

However Jon this move of LL to stop basic stipends on new accounts will remove about 80% of the customer base in SL, tehreby making it imposible for most of us to do any busines. All LL has accomplished with this move is expanding the situation onto a new front. Now not only will the L fail but so will in world business. This will cause a snowball efect in the falling L as well. I am wonderring how ever how long it will be before the "saviour" posts about thier competing currency which will be backed by something that does not exist.

"However Jon this move of LL to stop basic stipends on new accounts will remove about 80% of the customer base in SL, tehreby making it imposible for most of us to do any busines."

Being paid in stipend money is like being given $1 monopoly money for every $5 real money. I've lost £10 off the value of the money in my account currently thanks to the fall from L$300 to L$330.

So what use is having more money from stipends if that money is worth less when I come to sell it?

Musuko.

To answer the question.

The photographs I sell are taken by me. I own the copyrights to the photographs.

I have not yet painted any pictures, but should I do so, I will sell only ones I have myself created.

I don't resell L's. I wouldn't even if I could. I'd do the RIGHT thing and put it back into the in game economy. This third party selling of L's for a lower and lower amount is what is really killing the value of them. Linden really should ban all third party sales of L's and make it a bannable ofense to both buyer adn seller if caught doing it and it would be easily enforced. Set a stable buyout price and you decide how many L's to cash in and if you need to buy you buy strictly FROM Linden itself, and they charge a small markup for them. Makes them money, stabilizes the situation, removes the stranglehold certain highly corrupt individuals have over the market, and stops the lies and manipulative tactics of these money mongers, more than a few of which are alts of the same person. And really overall most of them don't contribute anything to SL through content creation. Besides mostly the longewr term accounts don't buy anything in world. Mostly it is new folks who don't know how to make it yet. By taking away thier money LL has taken away most content creators' income.

Because 10L is still worth 10L to me. I don't sell it and don't care about the USD value of it.

The problem being to even rent a place where you can build custom content it costs. Those costs in world have to be supported. With the loss of the customer base they no longer will be, therefore content creation will suffer. SImple logic, lose your customer base, lose income, lose location and on down the line. These end stipend ppl don't know this yet but all Linden did was cut everyone's throat efectively. It'll just take longer for them to die of than most of the rest of us. Without an income I cannot have a place to build, a place to create, or a place to attempt to sell those creations that no one has enough L to buy.

hah i'm sorry but this is just silly its diluted and meanigless beacuse of people who insist on buying and selling it to make real world money and stuff

if this game did not allow the purchase and sale of lindens then the problem would cease what IS happening is that in this game there are REAL WORLD have's and have nots. Those have nots have bought this game thinking they would be able to use a stripend or money they can earn to buy stuff from others. This is the largest percentage of players and by for the smallest percentage of posters on this forum

there is gonna be a problem when people stop being able to get a little allowance from having an account for those who cannot afford to buy lindens on the market. It will have a big crashing sound and people like me and others are going to be unable to sell things.

Anyone who is a content provider thanking LL for cutting the little ingame built in cash bonuses is gonna have a shock i guess when their business drops.

There are so many "materialistic" non content creators in this game who wait for their cash bonuses and who like to play contests to win money who will be penniless. And if you make hair or clothing watch out because they are the hugest spenders in this game due to the fact they are looking at and constantly worrying about their appearance and buying that costume for that theme party.

On the other hand as a person who is mainly interested in creation like me i have like 2 sets of clothes that i bought the rest i made myself housing, furniture, etc people don't make much off of me but I am in the minority as someone who is busy trying to learn and make it all for themselves.

Oh well I hate seeing game makers cut their own throats but this is not the first time i will see it and likely not the last

/shrug

Musuko - you haven't lost £10 - it's not real money. You pay real money to participate in a virtual world and virtual economy should you choose to. You gain entertainment, excitement, the thrill of creating content, learning about running a business, marketing if that is the route you choose. You might get the genuine real world benefit of positive feedback on products you create and sell, or just enjoy exploring and expressing yourself in this alternate life. The TOS states quite categorically that it isn't real money. If you have a bunch of L$ there might be people willing to pay real money for them. But that doesn't make it real money.

One small nitpick:

Nobody is going to "stop" being able to get their stipend. Only newly created accounts will have no stipend. If you already have your SL account now, your stipend is safe (for the moment).

yes this is the problem here i thought i read a couple weeks ago that they had "no plans" to cut stripends not to mention i am actualy a new player and i am not liking these new policies i am seeing

I bought a game not a job.. i already have a job..

and 80-85% of the customer base for purchasing in world products is NEWLY CREATED ACCOUNTS.

Try to find a paying job in SL..they don't exist. The vast majority of employers are club owners and they pay tips only and even take a cut from thier workers' "pay".

If that is really true then that's the economic problem far more than stipends..

yes i know and its only gonna get worse with removal of any little bonuses and then it will become a game for developers only which is kinda cause well then its not really a game is it?

"Because 10L is still worth 10L to me. I don't sell it and don't care about the USD value of it."

10L will not be 10L to you any more when the things that used to cost 10L now cost 50L. Then your 10L will be worth one fifth of what it used to be. THAT is inflation and THAT is how the value of money changes. 10L is only worth what you can buy with it.

"Try to find a paying job in SL..they don't exist."

They do exist; in building, scripting and animating...especially animating.

"80-85% of the customer base for purchasing in world products is NEWLY CREATED ACCOUNTS."

People relying on L$50 a week stipends are not purchasing my L$400 products.

"hah i'm sorry but this is just silly its diluted and meanigless beacuse of people who insist on buying and selling it to make real world money and stuff"

And stuff?

I'm sorry. I've put that through the anti-babble translator a few times and I still can't get any solid meaning out of it. Help?

"if this game did not allow the purchase and sale of lindens then the problem would cease"

And content creators would give up. Why should I spend many, many hours working to make the game more fun for you, when I could be spending those hours working in a paid job, helping to pay for my rent, for my food, etc?

I do something good for you and you reward me for it. That's how our society works. If you don't feel I deserve a reward, then I don't feel you deserve what I give you, as you obviously don't appreciate it.

"Musuko - you haven't lost £10 - it's not real money."

I have lost £10 off the amount that I could sell my Lindens for. I have lost £10 off the value.

"If you have a bunch of L$ there might be people willing to pay real money for them. But that doesn't make it real money."

I did not state it is real money. However, the value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it. The amount, in US dollars, that people are willing to pay for my Lindens has dropped considerably recently. For me, personally, this amount is £10. Therefore, the value of the Lindens in my account has dropped by £10.

Musuko.

WTG Musuko!