How does island land differ from mainland land?

How does island land differ from mainland land, in terms of ownership? I've seen sellers talk about zoning, but how do they actually do this after the land is sold since as I understand things once they no longer own the land they have no way to control what gets put on it.

Also, is there any appreciable performance difference between the islands and mainland? I think I read that the islands are on better hardware, but run two sims to a server or somesuch.

In short, island land always remains the property of the island owner; you don't "buy" this land in the conventional mainland sense - instead, the island owner will "deed" a section of their island to you. They can reclaim the land and revoke this deed at any time.

Hardware-wise, it seems to be something of a lucky dip as to how sims get bundled together on servers... but linden claims that each (non-void) sim gets its own CPU, and that co-hosted sims don't affect each other's performance... so, for example, a 4-CPU server will run 4 self-contained sims.

Sometimes sims are moved to different hardware - the server that's hosting you today might not, necessarily, be the server that's hosting you in a months time.

So an island owner can sell land and then go ahead and take it back at any time? I think I'll stick to the mainland, and hope for nice neighbors.

The ability to reclaim is a two-edged sword. It makes zoning possible, but does place reliance on the landlord. Landlords who abuse the trust implied in a private island grant deed may hurt the marketability of their islands. Those who've built up trust may expect their islands to be popular and their grant deeds to draw a premium price.

Several of the controversial "land barons" have become rich in land and Lindens by offering such advantages in return for their tenants' exposure to land reclamation.

Under one theory being discussed in the Poli Sci forum, the ability to reclaim land may also be the basis for an ability to enforce contracts, which may enhance the viability of more complicated and rewarding business relationships.

This is an opinion which seems to be quite common and the reason many residents prefer mainland.

The risk that the seller of some island land will reclaim land out of pure greediness or malice is very, very, very low though. One or two such cases and the reputation of the businessperson doing this kind of deals will be gone. And this kind of business is solely based on trust. That maybe the reason, why - after nearly a year that this business model is possible in SL - I have yet to hear about a reclaiming dispute.

Land on island sims has a few more advantages actually:

1. The limits for terraformability are much less severe
   
2. It is usually significantly cheaper
   
3. Clubs and malls are not allowed (sometimes)
   

... not to mention that some of the zoned sims the different landlords are offering are much more beautiful than most areas of the mainland after they have been "settled" for one or two months.

There are disadvantages, too, of course:

1. Reselling your land is more complicated
   
2. You have to obey some zoning rules;
   but that is the reason of zoning
   

It makes sense to actually weight the pros and cons thoughtfully.

Sounds risky, I know, but finding a reliable Island Baron is well worth doing a bit of homework. If you want to know what a particular individual is like, check that person's forum posts. Just do a search on their name. Then you can judge for yourself whether they sound flaky or consistently speak up with a voice of reason.

If you stick to the mainland you may indeed get nice neighbors, but their builds can clash with yours -- right up to the lot line in some cases. These can be great people who turn out to be lasting friends, but there's just as much chance of finding great neighbors in the islands, plus you may get nicer land. If you opt for island living you can choose a development where there are treed buffer areas between houses and some design guildlines in place.

They can't actually sell the land, because there is an $100 transfer fee involved with seliing a private island, and only the whole thing can be sold then..

When they talk about zoning, they deed the parcel to a group of the buyers choice, and then leave the group.. The Renter/Buyer can't make off with the land..

I highly reccomend Hiro Queso who rightfully calls this Renting and not Selling..

Hiro Queso is held in high regard. I am not entirely sure he is making a lot of money, but he is probably the best landlord you can find in SL.

Anshe Chung is a very good business person and for various reasons that may make her an ideal choice as a landlord.

I have rented from both and have been quite happy with the value and service. I am currently renting with Hiro Queso.

Also, since everyone's getting their obligitory plugs, there's fair old Neualtenburg, which (unlike any other private sim) is a nonprofit land co-op with a "city government"; you can help choose how the sim can be run, as opposed to simply renting from a private landlord.

Good name choice, Nepenthes.

Go visit some islands Nepethes. Tour a few and see what it's like. I "own" a plot in dreamland and I have an alt that rents one in the Azure Islands. Very happy with both. On the mainland I always ended up with neighbors with really bad taste. Beauty is important.