Change, even Economic change, is not the end of the world.

So, we have:

1. Ratings cost L$25. Triple-ratings cost L$75.
   
2. Weekly ratings-induced bonuses are halved.
   
3. Event sponsorship focus will switch to learning events that can teach the waves of beginners how to become content creators, use SL, etc.
   

To hear some forum users write, this will kill SL, There is better, etc. I think that's a pretty emotional response, and actually see each of these changes as net positive shifts in policy.

Obviously, ratings were abused and given when inappropriate. This will reduce that. There's the argument that older players will have an advantage because they're sitting on a fortune's worth of ratings. Well, that's true, but, if LL just killed the existing ratings system dead, or reset the ratings count, folks would feel something was being "taken" from them, too. Perhaps with the increased cost, and reduced income, folks will become less reliant upon the ratings system for income and LL can shift it toward something really useful, really interesting, and not connected with money. All sorts of exciting possibilities there to build a reputation and association-based system.

There are a lot of events. A mind-numbing number. LL has been helping pay for the party by providing contest money as a means of getting the social juices flowing and events running. I'd say that it has been pretty succesful! Of course, when event funding required 'contests,' a lot of teachers threw up their hands and stopped teaching class and tutorial events. When I joined in late Feb'04, there were multiple classes every day, each class often offered two or three times per week. Now, you're lucky if Scripting 101 is held once every two weeks. This is a sad state of affairs, especially when you consider how many more new users per day SL is seeing as compared to ten months ago. Shifting event funding back toward events that teach users how to participate fully in our shared virtual world can only be a good thing.

There's going to be a little adjustment, sure. We'll each have to rethink how we rate people, run events, and spend money. The half bonus may sting a little, but, hopefully, if enough folks ask, the upload fee can be cut from L$10 to L$5 so that content creators who don't wish to become businesses aren't penalized. But saying "SL is dead" "let's move back to There!" is .. really blowing things out of proportion. We're all adults, here, and the bottom line isn't really hurt-- we can socialize and create every bit as well as before the changes.

Actually, the reason for less teaching events is more to the fact that they have to be a minimum of 5 hours apart. I usually find there are no available slots to host teaching events. It's nothing to do with the money, in most cases at least.

Ah, that's interesting. Definitely a policy worth reviewing, since there don't seem to be many teaching events at all, these days.

Indeed. I do hope it's reviewed.
I don't mind holding private classes free... but they'd have just disappeared in the tide of 'come dance here naked' events which usually flood the list. With these unsupported, maybe the lists will be easier to navigate.

I don't want to get into why I don't think the change in the ratings system will work as you think it will. However, if it does, then I will be quite pleased.

I do think that the sponsorship shift will have a great deal of positive impact.

I think there's a better way of compensating content creators than reduced upload fee, though. When a texture, sound, or animation is cleard from the database (ie, not in world, or in any inventory), the original upload fee should be re-imbursed.

I know that at least 75% of my uploads are used once as a test, then corrected and re-uploaded.

I think this would also give a financial incentive for players to reduce the DB bloat.

But maybe that's just me.

(grammar edited)

we've suffered more radical changes than this before. v1.2 reduced stipends and introduced tiers, land auctions and real money. those were legendary changes. a few people left; most stayed. a whole honkin lot of new people arrived. a good number of them stayed as well. the only time we lost people was when new land wasn't being released quickly enough. most of them went back to there. i don't know anybody that returned to tso. ll don't have very long to be the only browsable 3d host on the net. they need to make these changes while we still don't have anywhere else to go.

we'll be better off without constant ratimania. plus, a more stable rating set will let ll treat the bonuses like a prime interest rate that they can adjust monthly based on the latest indicator values. when the economy is strong, bonuses will decrease to control inflation. when it's weak, they'll increase to encourage spending. i still wish they'd ditch the whole world economic community routine and just be the host. but as long as they're gonna play this game, they might as well do it correctly.

event support is no longer necessary. frankly, i'd rather give prizes to people that advertise my wares than pay them cash. at least, i'll be encouraged to do both now since it all will come out of my pocket. prizes don't actually cost me anything, but do save them money for not having to purchase the items. i've been playing tringo. the players contribute to that pot and it always has at least 500L in it. other games will work that way too. if i pay to enter a contest, by golly i'm gonna try to win. this is just a good thing and long overdue.

auctioning featured billboard slots on ebay is not focused on inworld advertising. when was the last time you looked at the top picks? really? what it does is advertise secondlife to millions of ebay users. i worked with a person that owned an online jewelry store. we "auctioned" powerbeads with a link to the store in the listing. we didn't care what people paid for the beads. we cared that thousands of people browsed the ad and the browsed the store site. it is true that the list should be titled something to reflect that these are paid advertisements, not anything reflective of community support. although, how or why are they going to afford the ad if we don't buy their stuff.

Actually, that is a great idea.

I agree with 90% of this thread so far.

What the HELL?!

That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Hell, I can remember running from one class to the next, and not being able to make it in time for some of them, but FIVE FRELLING HOURS?! Two, maybe! Not five!

It's in the Mentor rules though...

After ahnging in Ahern for about 45 minutes this morning, it was like a nuclear war had been reported. I'm sure that if I had an anim for "flailing around and running in a circle like a headless chicken" then I could probably have had them all using it.

I then noted "I must be the only one that has no problems with their proposed system," ... and I got negged for it. Go figure.

I fully support what Chromal has said. I am frankly tired of "Person X has rated you positively: [no message]" ... because I have come to expect them to be pointless. When I get those, I ask the person why the rated me. Most of the time it's "Cuz I can, plz rate me bak 2" or "Person Y told me to so I'd get more $$$$!" . Needless to say, I don't rate back any more except on certain particulars I won't name here (So that if 'those people' are reading they won't figger it out easily)

If you want ratings, I have no trouble giving them, but I give them in my own time. Usually I'll wander Morris or the other sandboxes, look for things I like, and then rate. I won't rate people for appearance unless I am sure that what they are wearing is actually created by them, so if I drop by and you're making some prim robot and you notice me examine one of the parts you have sitting on the ground being worked on, no worries, I probably like what you're working on, and if it's indeed made by you, you'll probably get a rate.

I do agree that L$25 is a bit too high; either making it L$10, or like Chromal says, halving upload fees, seem more logical to me. First starters will no doubt need more "trial and error" chances as they learn the system.

I am taking these changes as a sign that I should finally start events/classes of my own. If people start to see events as opportunities for getting some experience in SL rather than an opportunity to farm rates, then maybe even I could get into teaching. And with less money balls around, our events will mean something, rather than "Forget the classes, I can just go sit around a dance machine all night and get free cash."

I support the idea of making rate costs change depending on their amount:

1 Posrate on someone: L$10
2 Posrates on someone: L$50
3 Posrates on someone: L$200
1 Negrate on someone: L$20
2 Negrates on someone: L$100
3 Negrates on someone: L$500

I dunno, it's an idear. I suppose negs and pos being the same L$ rate would work too.

"I am simply blown away after reading this post in its entirety."
/laughs

who really cares? Who is actually in this world to collect dwell, ratings, and stipends?
I mean COME ON people get real!!!
LOL Is that why we are all really here?

SMILE it shows when you type!

I agree with you Chrome. I also think that serious inflation was waiting in the wings, and that LL is wise to take these steps now.

And Psyra, you already got my $3, but you woulda gotten $75 from me too cause your AVs always make me smile.