Automatic Cash Conversion, Undead Avatars, and You.
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Desmond Shang
Guvnah of Caledon
Join date: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 5,250
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12-26-2005 10:53
This may sound a bit strange, but I think many of us are one Lindex feature away from a strange form of immortality. I had been considering some sort of really simple algorithm for calculating my 'cash outs' - say... every so many $L I made, I would sell it on Lindex if the price was at a 60 day low, or something. Admittedly that's a pretty stupid algorithm, but just pretend I had a good one (or good enough one). I doubt I'll ever break my SL addiction, but the concept of an account making money in my absence fascinates me on a theoretical level. Could it be done? Then today I realised... what if I was struck by lightning? I doubt anybody would bother to inform SL. Like Elvis or Marilyn Monroe, my dutiful avatar would continue to be marketable, ad infinitum... keeping land tidy with autoreturn, paying tier, and making money for the forseeable future. And I daresay, even being a rather good neighbour. The password would die with me, but that wouldn't matter now would it? Of course, the Company would have no reason to cancel my account - to them, the avatar Desmond Shang would be one of their most reliable customers. Even though he no longer had a soul... So... does anyone think an auto-cashout feature, or an automatic $L-to-tier mechanism might be a good addition to SL? It seems to be more an economic and potentially 'probate law' question than a feature question. "Away", "Busy", "Here but Soulless"?
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 Steampunk Victorian, Well-Mannered Caledon!
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Frank Lardner
Cultural Explorer
Join date: 30 Sep 2005
Posts: 409
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Coma
12-26-2005 12:21
I think of the chilling film "Coma" ... rows of undead avatars kept alive for their organs ...
Or "Aliens" ... with the stung people wrapped in slime, the cute widdle monsters incubating in their chests, just waiting for their debut.
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Bri Koolhaas
Registered User
Join date: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 48
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12-26-2005 12:44
Someone take the glue away from him/her plz !...LoL
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Zippity Neutra
What'd I miss?
Join date: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 191
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12-26-2005 15:46
You know, this really makes me wish we could create NPC avatars -- manikins we could decorate a build with. Because I would really love to build a Coma-style morgue for next Halloween, now that the idea's been put forward... 
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Zippity Neutra
What'd I miss?
Join date: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 191
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12-26-2005 15:51
Oh, getting back to the main point of the thread...
You'd need your automatic fee payments from your account balance, but I bet you'd also need to make some arrangement to preserve the credit card underlying the account. Because I'm sure that LL will still run some kind of monthly check on the account you registered with as a protection against age fraud, identity theft, or some other vaguely TOS-infracting practice.
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Desmond Shang
Guvnah of Caledon
Join date: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 5,250
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12-26-2005 17:15
From: Zippity Neutra Because I'm sure that LL will still run some kind of monthly check on the account you registered with as a protection against age fraud, identity theft, or some other vaguely TOS-infracting practice. Do they? So I suppose the key to making an SL Zombietar would require a credit card updating app, as well as a Lindex cashout-app. Not a terribly difficult email processing / web-entry application for the motivated to create, really... I'm sure it could be done and sold to interested parties with ease. It opens up a kind of a perverse Gibsonian possibility within SL - insofar as you may be doing business with a dead hacker, as Case did, in Neuromancer. Even worse, it opens up a sort of reverse-Matrixy possibility, farming avatars for their $L. Or maybe that's happening now? It does open up some very unusual economic instances, especially with regard to land that would... literally *never* be available again. And in a wierd twist of fate, provide for some very stable business partnerships. It may be very wise for the dead to hide their non-living status, thus protecting their interests so the Company doesn't pull their account. Maybe by using an app to auto-log them in once in a while, so they can chat a bit with each other. Thus maintaining a low profile among the world of the living. Ok, I can't believe I just wrote that, so let's move on. "Thank you for your correspondence. I am away until a certain version update transpires, so please refer to my Group staff for all assistance with digital content or land purchases..."
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 Steampunk Victorian, Well-Mannered Caledon!
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Aaron Levy
Medicated Lately?
Join date: 3 Jun 2004
Posts: 2,147
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12-26-2005 17:31
From: Zippity Neutra Oh, getting back to the main point of the thread... You'd need your automatic fee payments from your account balance, but I bet you'd also need to make some arrangement to preserve the credit card underlying the account. Because I'm sure that LL will still run some kind of monthly check on the account you registered with as a protection against age fraud, identity theft, or some other vaguely TOS-infracting practice. They would never need to touch the credit card again if money was always being paid with USD$ in your account. Or link it to a PayPal account -- I doubt PayPal would ever cancel an account just because it wasn't used, but I don't know.
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Iron Perth
Registered User
Join date: 9 Mar 2005
Posts: 802
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12-26-2005 18:05
You could try renting from one of island owners on an L$ basis.
Of course, your second life mortality would be based on theirs. Who knows though, perhaps we could have a chain of undead avatars all doing business with each other long after we are all dead?
BTW, I think another useful feature for this would be the ability to have our avatars logged in while we are not.
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Shadow Garden
Just horsin' around
Join date: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 226
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12-27-2005 07:43
From: Zippity Neutra I would really love to build a Coma-style morgue for next Halloween, now that the idea's been put forward...  Just visit any place with a lot of camping chairs! 
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"Ah, ignorance and stupidity all in the same package ... How efficient of you!" - Londo Molari, Babylon V.
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