Vasudha Linden - "the economy does not need stipends to sustain it.”

Full quote:



Wheee...

It is fascinating to learn that the economy has reached a point where it no longer requires stipends to fuel it.

I don't know if fascinating is the right word. Shocking might be more appropriate.

The economy might not need stipends to fuel it but SL as an experience does.

SL can't be just like the real world. If it was, everyone would do stuff in the real world instead. SL has to be better in some ways, to make up for the ways in which it can't be as good. Stipend is one of those ways.

Link to source please.

Another thought - since SL money doesn't pay interest, is Vasudha really implying that the GNP of SL has stopped increasing!?

(Or maybe, he/she only meant the basic stipends..?)

Apparently what it needs is artificially produced "jobs." That does seem a lot less welfarish on the surface I suppose.

Metaverse Messenger interview, pp 8 & 21.

Well we can fly in SL.

Too bad King Phillip believes in the Dependency Theory...

I also see she thinks the Linden dollar is doing well - despite the decline..
And that they don't have a true picture of the economy yet.

Oh and stipends admits they haven't really looked at that.

See it's good to read the whole thing - Working in TV News I've learnt not to trust a single person quoting a snippet that's relevant to their view point. And here is how it pays off.

ALso sounds like The Sims - and gets my big stamp of 'fuck right off'

The earth doesn't require stipends to fuel it either. So long as the sun is willing to pour energy into the system ad infinitum things will operate just fine. Similarly, why should you give your customers stipends if they'd be willing to simply purchase them directly? Think of the potential lost revenue that's being given away weekly.

Should the "State of the SL Economy" report be released, I'm sure I'd find it quite interesting as virtually all the analytic tools that real world economists have developed over the centuries just aren't applicable. For example, I wonder how the thories of Marshall, Malthus, Locke, Smith, Marx and friends fare when one or more of the fundamental axioms of their theories don't apply. What happens to Malthus when there is no scarcity? What happens to Smith when the marginal cost of production is zero? What happens to the labor theory of value when there are no commodities?

Upon first joining SL, I had thought that the stipends would naturally keep pace with the gross production; just as an expanding - and presumably productive - natural population needs an expanding money supply to match the expansion in wealth produced. However, over the years, it seems as if SL has become less producer-heavy and more consumer weighted, there may have been a per capita decrease in Keynsian wealth produced and yet the money supply has not changed to accomodate that. I expect the economic analysis might reach the same conclusion but also realize that Linden Lab is stuck between the Scylla of the expectation of stipends and the Charybdis of an out-of-control money supply.

My curiousity is certainly piqued.

Well I, for one, am expecting the "State of the SL Economy" to be very enlightening. I also look forward to seeing what this economist has to say. These could be the signs of great new times to come!

There will be other things to balance it out..

Stipends beuing removed will reult in a large amoutn of its premium members tiering down. To prevent that they would need to cut free accounts off..which would result in alot of producers and consumers gone..(even then some would simply leave anyway)

Cutting stipends off would likely result in SL failing as a viable business program for Linden Labs.

On the other hand, they could try this (Vas, if you're listening, consider it):

Cut premium stipends to 250L a week. While doing this increase the base 'free' tier to 1024 m2. If you leave first lands at 512 m2, the extra 'free' tier will encourage new players to get involved in realestae, or at least buying. This boost the economy on the virtue of flowing..

The increased 'free' tier will also attract more shop owners to premium, and help counteract the working costs of running a store, thus encouragin more -to be- entrapeneurs (spelling?).

Just an idea

Thank you. A lot of people come here to unwind and play around, not get a second job. Someone (Michael Seraph, I believe) made the point that SL is a tourist economy: while some are here to work, most just stop in to have fun. I think taking away stipends for the benefit of some in the former is going to drive away more of the latter. There seems to be a lot of rent seeking in this forum, and it's tiring.


Isn't that what they're doing with premium stipends? The two major things you're paying for when you buy a premium account are the land owning capabilities and the boosted stipend.

The bit I don't get in all this talk of "stipends bad" is IMHO, I paid $72US to get two things:

1. $26000L
2. The right to own land including 512m2 tier free.

I paid for it, that is what I expect to get.

If LL want less Linden in the economy, they should develop sinks.

Just like if LL wanted to make the price of land to go down, making it more affordable and reduce speculation they would flood the land market...um...

The people who want to get rid of the stipend are the people who treat SL as a money making machine. Fuck 'em, I say.

Let everyone keep their stipend.

I absolutely agree with all you said - just remember that Introvert is known for his sarcasm and biting wit... Read what he said again but this time picturing someone using a very sarcastic tone while rolling your eyes

His comments aren't a 'oh yeah lets do that' but more of a 'Oh great another way to put the squeeze on your userbase' approach,

I cringe every time a newbie lands in the WA and starts asking "Sooooo, how do I make US$ ?"

I guess the next LL campaign will be "Hire a n00b". Let's think up clever taglines for Vasudha to use !

"Because newbies are the next cheap labor source !"
"They'll sit in a chair for hours on end for a gumball's worth, think of the possibilities !"

Come on

My apologies; my sarcastic tone as used in that first paragraph is oft misread as serious. It is a known limitation in my writing and I intend to have it patched in Me® version 1.1.

Goddamn I'm good.

My answer is usually 'Find something you enjoy - have fun - and it will come'

and if they say 'yeah.. but how do I make US$????" again I say:

'Work'

Yeah, it takes a lot of insight to identify the sarcasm posted by your own alt.

I guess my question is: can jobs that are outsourced to india be done more cheaply by newbs in SL?

If so... what would we call the new management fad? Newbsourcing? Virtual-sizing?

hmm.