If you could own land for 1/2 the tier cost, would you?

If someone were to buy an island and offer you the opportunity to buy land and 1/2 the normal tier cost you would pay to linden, hold that land in trust for you while you enjoyed the benefits of your half or quarter acre parcel. Would you consider paying your tier fees by paypal?

Would you like sucha community to be zoned or un-zoned?

Just a thought.

So, if the cost is half, will you let me own twice as much land for the same I pay to LL nowadays?
I get 4096 sq. m. for $0. Half of zero is zero, so I'll gladly take a 8192 sq. m. plot off your hands for nothing
All sillyness aside, something you should think about is that you cannot OWN land in a private island. This is a major turn-off for me.

Not to nitpick but it doesn't sound like you would be buying land. You would be renting. At what point would one actually hold the deed?


I would prefer to see situations like Gigas is doing in Miens with rentiing chunks of land like they do their storefronts in a zoned sim. Those who want it can take advantage of it while the rest of us who do not want zoning can live in our disjointed worlds.

The idea does not appeal to me for my own personal land. I want to own my land, not have it held in trust.

On the other hand, this might be a great idea for some projects... for example InnerLife is talking about where to set up shop. They might be very interested in such a proposal. I could see it being very useful.

-Ghoti

I think one of the primary motivations for doing this is to get some comfort that, after spending a month building your idea of a perfect house, somebody won't build an in-your-face Big Ugly right on your property line.

I'll bet some people will pay EXTRA for that. If you've ever had your build spoiled by something next door, you will know what I mean.

Buster

Anshe has this in Midge, and I have this in some communities. The rent is sometimes less than the tier you'd be paying to the Lindens, and of course you don't have the up-front purchase cost. I don't know how a private island would work, but I have space on grid islands that have more fly-overs for sales anyway.

The reason anyone would do this is to have flexibility, so that they don't have to face the Big Ugly as Buster so aptly called it. It's to avoid those kind of surprises, at least in your immediate vicinity. Of course, you can never be fully free of them unless you get a private island, do it yourself, and turn down the draw distance. Still, a reasonable approximation of more calmer life can be achieved by renting or by paying to have access to group land without the tier hanging over you.

I have been toying with the notion of getting my own island, largely for my amusement, but thought it would be nice to have neighgoors..Ultimately it may just end up being my own sci-fi playland..i dunno.

I appreciate the input..i never gave much thought to renting the land in exchsnge for USD$ keep your thoughts or flames coming.

If you have the means to get your own island, go for it. You can invite your friends to live there and be your neighbors. But, I think you should do it if you have the means to support the island yourself, dont go into it counting on others to help you do it. Not to say you count count on people, but ideas and values can change drastically in the casual business deal. Taking your time and finding the right people will benefit you later with defrayed cost and having your friends around you.

From the "renters" point of view, the problem I would have would be long term stability. I personally dont mind things changing, but many would be upset if they rented from you and built their dream house and then two months later you decided to do something else and have to kick them out. The other problem is the isolation of the island. Many get by fine with the isolation factor and often prefer it, but I like being on the mainland with the chance of a fly over meeting of someone. No one has to make a deliberate effort to teleport to where I live, they can easily accidentally find it.

That's exactly how I feel Loki. I enjoy the chance encounters and the surprises to be found as I and others cruise the mainland.

I'd consider it for 1/2 the price of Linden Land so long as there's a strict theme and I have a legally binding contract. (Not sure how to establish a contract for reselling virtual goods when LL ultimately holds the rights to all assets).

I'll address each requirement:
Price: I'd prefer to support Linden Labs than support a land baron. Land Barons pay lower rates to LL, so they rob the creator of some money. My good will for LL is stronger than my good will for any land baron. Quite the opposite, Land Barons outbid me for auction land, which generates bad will. I strongly favour paying full price to LL than paying similar prices to Land Barons. However, half price is a price point at which I'd have to consider it. What's my good will worth? About 1/2 my monthly fees.

Theme: I'm trying to build ties to a virtual community. Community requires some common interests. I'd prefer to be in a regulated or themed zone than a free for all. My particular interests include victorian science fiction. Tolkein fantasy, gritty modern, and modern science fiction don't fit well into my community expectations. If you can put me in a recreation of London:1889, I'd jump at the chance.

Contract: Since you'd retain the land "ownership" with LindenLab, I'd be required to trust you. Trust that you won't yank my land without notice. Therefore, some sort of agreement or contract, however weak, would have to be in place. I'd rather trust Linden because they're responsible for the assets.


In summary, if you can provide me with 1/2 price, themed land, and a reasonable contract, I might go for it. But I'd still have to consider the particular theme, the strength of the contract and the cost of my goodwill.

It's still a good idea that's worth pursuing though. Clearly some land barons are already doing this for full price.

Though extremely tempting, I think people will be more interested after 1.6 and the ability to deed island land to group. At least then the individual group officers will be able to do a number of the things that only the island owner has access to now, or is accessible via non-owned scripting solutions.

I'd live there