Land is a bad investment; it's worth isn't protected.

I recently started selling off what land I have left in SecondLife because what used to be a beautiful, rural, area has become overrun with goth clubs, dark shops, a garbage bin, and a plot filled with sexually suggestive spinning, blinking, pictures.

Linden Labs has done nothing to protect the intrisic value of property in terms of zoning, easements, and height restrictions. As a result, I am forced to either spend huge amounts of money purchasing enough land such that any of my neighbors are too far away for me to care, or to sit idly by while the land I decided to purchase is transformed into something completely foreign almost overnight.

I used to disagree with the idea that SecondLife had become nothing more than a giant interactive advertisement, effectively dominated by those who only wished to make money. I don't disagree anymore. As such, I'm selling off all my land and reducing back to a basic account.

Below I recount my recent experiences. I do blame Linden Labs for rampantly exploiting the idea that it is possible to make money using SecondLife without putting in place any protections for those that just wish to have fun. Community? No way. All the mentioned incidents below were completely selfish; with thought only given to scraping in a few Lindens at the expense of the community.

None of these items are small. They are obscenely large, extending what appear to be hundreds of feet straight into the sky with doors that are easily thirty feet high.

Do I ever see anyone using them? No. But before they appeared, it was a vibrant community where we were actually working together so our lands would fit well together and there would never be any issues.

This is what's wrong with so much of the SL landscape now.

I have striven within the mainland sims I own to own as much as I can of them to entirely theme them and create communities with pleasant and attractive worlds, and to eliminate this awful crass pollution of often tasteless junk or faceless Mall/Club/bongo/trongo/ blah blah

Is there a poll on this? I completely agree. This is why I live in a more secluded area in Dreamland. I would NEVER buy property on the mainland unless i had a huge enough parcel that I could block the rest of the trash out.

I think zoning is a great idea. With separate residential and commercial zones, folks could at least have some hope of not having a porn emporium open up next to their house.

Don't get me wrong, I _like_ porn , but I also like my peace and quiet as well.