No Pay = No Value = No Play

I don't disagree with Arts for Arts sake support. But I don't agree that it is needed here. RL government subsidizes skills that take a lifetime to acquire and polish: dance, painting, music. I have yet to see an event host with those kinds of skills or who makes those kind of contributions. And RL government grants go to the artists, not the venues.

Actually, Surreal, I spent 8 years as a stage actor with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts, and another 3 getting a masters in arts admin with an emphasis in theatre direction. I worked as a production manager, director, marketer, actor, and general theatre worker in off and off off Broadway in New York City for many cutting edge experimental theatres and for a couple of for-profit venues. Additionally, while getting my MFA, I took extra training in Boal theatre techniques which I have applied in-world in my scener's competitions. I trained as a writer and currently teach creative writing on a university level irl. I apply my rl skills and share my rl writing (some spoken word and some poetry) in the poet's open mic nights that I run. I attempt to bring everyone into the mix in some capacity (read Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed if you want more theory on the role of the spectactor). That isn't worth supporting with a single dollar US? the $250 Lindens for 5 hours of my time (which costs the college I work for about $125USD plus benefits) cost the Lindens only 1 USD: less than twenty-five cents per hour. I would call that Really really good value for the money. The value that the Lindens and SL got for that equivalent (in events host money only, i am not talking prize money here) of a maximum of $30 or $40 USD a day (spent on all the hosts of a full events schedule, assuming that all of them filed the requisite follow-up report) is the sense on the part of their consumers that SL is an exciting and fun place to be with a thriving community that goes beyond buying stuff. Who cares about buying stuff if there is no one to show it off to, or no place to show it off at? Or will it all be good when SL's social landscape consists of four giant clubs and a handfull of other venues offering tringo? Is that the kind of social environment that will allow the game to grow?

As for only artists and not venues getting the money: it was the hosts who got the money and not the venues in SL. Individuals applied for the events fund, not organizations. This is unlike RL in which many foundations accept organizational applications for funding. (The government does not, for example, fund symphony orchestras on a musician-by-musician basis. Many organizations get funding in the form of operational grants (though these are less popular than project grants with funders). I have written grant proposals in rl for governmental funding in two nations as well as for private funders. rfps are the actual requests for proposals that are put out by the funder. The fund seeker fills in the blanks and writes a grant proposal: a proposal for the project, season, organization, etc. The difference between these and the project funding available through LL is that LL requires the project to be self-sustaining. The context and requirements for these are to set up capitalistic businesses. But does something have to be capitalistically self-sustaining for it to be valuable? Are you saying that you have never seen an event host worth funding? This is what you seem to be saying, and this makes me wonder how many events you have gone to, for I have seen many talented events hosts. Perhaps we merely see the world that differently, you and I, though I find it hard to believe that you could see some of the people I have seen do the things they do and not believe that it was worth a single $1 USD to the Lindens.

You say "Just as scripters, animators, and designers have to develop what sells, if sales matter to them, so do event hosts in the current environment." This seems to mean that if it doesn't sell, it isn't worth getting someone to do. But having varied entertainment keeps more people playing SL. The more people who play SL, the more money Lindens make through tiers. The more people doing things in SL, the more dresses, skins, and other items that will be sold to people doing things in SL. Arts and culture in SL, just like irl, stimulates not only a vibrant community, but a vibrant economy. Plainly, we don't agree on the idea that arts and culture purveyors need to make their $1 back on sales. I truly am not asking for all that much, in my view, for the tremendous value I provide for LLs, and potentially your, customers. Also, irl, when I buy a house or pay for land, I don't expect that items will disappear for no reason, or that people will pop by at any time with guns and shoot bullets through everyone there. These differences I accept as being an issue of medium. Just as the paradigm for builders, scripters and others is a bit different in SL than irl, so it is for events hosts. I think someone doesn't have to have a BFA or MFA to be worth $1 per event. A good events host just has to have a little imagination, and spend a bit of time setting up and doing publicity. Unfortunately, the only way to make this pay for itself is to charge people around $15-20 per event, and the consumer is not willing or, in many cases, able, to pay such a charge. I do not see how a varied and culturally rich community is possible without sponsorship of some significant kind. Thank you, though, for the meaningful dialogue and for discussing the issues and not the person. *sincere hopes for your enjoyment of your Second Life* ~ Perse