Phillip's Announcement

http://secondlife.blogs.com/philip/2006/07/linden_dollar_e.html#more

OMG THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!


VVVVVVV CHICKEN LITTLE VVVVVVV

thread closed

AWWW, BUT MOM!

*pout*

Another bad move. But an expected one nonetheless.

Lewis

This will end well

I don't know if you're being sarcastic because of the usual pronouncements of d00m but I have to agree. I've been moving towards a more 'platformer' stance from the 'it's just a game' one I originally started with and by strengthening the economic value of the L$ we'll see content developers given more incentive to create cool stuff to play our games inside the platform. Be it racing cars around in crappy physics, collecting kinky furniture, or attempting to get a prim baby to STFU!!!!

Only thing is that the only people with money is going to be other content providers. With all the recent changes, newer players aren't going to have money to buy anything. I'm still not sure what their incentive to stay in SL is supposed to be, especially if the free account holders are going to be banned in some areas on top of having no money.

{sarcasm} As long as camping chairs exist anyone can have money {/sarcasm}

What about us older accounts that might get a premium again after July 21st. Is the cutoff date for joining SL or for setting up the premium account?

As long as I recieve my L$500 a week will be happy! My contract is with Linden Labs and not with the other customers of Linden Labs. If at renewal time the stipend gets reduced I will drop back to basic membership. I have sold all of my land on the mainland and it will not affect me in the slightest. The group I gave my 512 will miss it but so goes life.
I am beginning to think about what is beyond Second Life. The answer could be just living my real life.

Camping chairs work. Sure, they slow you down and seem to spawn zombies but that's not a concern to the proprietors who's lindens are being given to the campers. They want a a higher ranking in Find. They get it, and it (and this is where I get fuzzy because I hate laggy shops and clubs) helps them sell rentals and/or products. Etc Etc.

Don't hate the players, hate the game.

Dark, it is join date, so if you made another avie after the 21st, they would not get the 500L stipend, would get the new lower stipend.

And you don't have to worry Ranma, as with basic stipend (now 0, but if you joined before that cut off date, you still get your 50L), if you already are you will continue to get it, only for new accounts after the 21st.

They'll have to buy their L$ on the Lindex. That would mean that free accounts aren't really free, which sounds okay to me.

MM Says differently down below but when they made the change to Basics preceeding the Day of the Beast they did it so if you became a basic again (like going down from premium) you didn't get even the L$50. I assume it'll be something similar.

WB to the grid, Dark.

---[edited to add]---

Answers thread already begun for this change:
/139/93/121502/1.html

Thread from last month regarding the upgrading/downgrading: /139/c9/114133/1.html

The whole point here is to keep a steady mark on the Lindex so that people will be able to afford to buy lindens. Don't fall into the trap of believing that Second Life is free to play. Account setup and wandering around is free; but if you want to participate, you either have to pay US$ for tier (rent whatever) and build content to make lindens to spend, or buy lindens to spend.

I can buy 50k lindens for the cost of my monthly tier fees plus the average cost of the latest MMORPG. So there's my option. Pay tier or buy lindens. Or play something else, that's an option too I suppose.

Where do people get the impression that this is some kind of kiddy game like the Shockwave routines on cartoonnetwork.com?

over all this seems like a very good plan. I cant wait to hear Phillip talk on this at the town hall

Think my family would pay money to Linden Labs to get me off the game It is to be seen what this does to the Linden. I am sure it will increase in value and as long as I get my Lindens will be happy.

Ok.. wait a minute.. did any of you actually read the post?

We currently have far more sellers then buyers on the lindex, yet LL is going to add another 3mil per month to that? (10k USD per month). How is us competing with them going to stablize the economy?

I don't hate the players it is something of a wry joke that was intended.

I have had camping chairs on our land. For us it wasn't worth the headache. For others it works. So be it. To each their own.

There are now officially too many Darks on this thread. Confusion is leaving me in the Dark

I really don't like LL selling lindens on the Lindex. I think it undermines the integrity of the Lindex and becomes a hidden tax on content creators. Also, if their goal really is to stabilize the exchange rate then they would pledge to buy lindens as well as sell them.

The rest of it is fine although I'm not convinced the premium stipend needs to be lowered.

I think it would work quite well if they sold an unlimited amount as a replacement for the stipend at a certain rate. If they set a base price like they do with land auctions, then the market would fluctuate less. Most of the biggest land fluctuation are due to $L fluctuation. If they both had Linden Labs setting the base price, then the economy would be smooth. In the end I don't think it will have much of a stabilizing effect with stipends still around.

Another nice option would be flexible stipends or instant buys from Linden Labs at a constant price. If Linden Labs sells $L directly on the Lindex, then they could always give the option to a person to only receive the $L in monthly payouts throughout the year. Personally, I don't see why people prefer stipends to immediate cash. Of course this type of set-up would need premium accounts to cost less, or simply have one type of account with teir levels available at a fee. There are lots of options. I personally think the stipend is the worst option for people as they have to wait up to a month or a year to get their money. A simpler system can be put in place to let people get whatever amount of money they want from Linden Labs at immediately and stabilize the economy at the same time.

Have you also notice that most transactions were completed at the limted sell level instead of the limited buy level? --> More ppl are doing market buy than market sell.

90% of people putting up limited buy orders are money traders, while majority of people with limited sell orders are content providers. That account for the much larger limited sell order, not the weakness in $L.

Question is, at waht level would the LL sell order come in, they have already told us the upper limit.

So why not do something that makes people retain their money in game, instead of cashing it out?

Bring down land prices to a more attainable level to more people, meaning people have less pressure of cashing out L$ to pay tier each month.

And as more and more people see renting as a more attractive option than buying land and paying tier, you'll get less money going on Lindex from land barons who have to shift millions a month to cover their costs.

It's all so very simple really, yet LL seem unwilling to take the plunge and deal with the obvious reason of the overabundance of sellers v buyers.

Lewis

The price of land is partially dictated by auction prices, but it is also pushed up by land barons. The best way to trim down the price of land a little is to flatten out the teir structure, because I do not believe the demand for land is low enough for justify Linden Labs lowering their price. If they flattened out the discount to give the little guys cheaper teir and land barons closer to the little guys teir, then the price of land would go down and most people would find it easier to own land, but then on the downside large coordinated projects would likely disappear causing SL to be a fractured mess.

Might have to wait a while as I'm likely to be the one talking about these changes at this week's townhalls.

Cheers,
Lawrence