Dwelling Bonus

Hello,
Just one question : what about dwelling bonus ?
There is no more dwelling bonus ?

Nope.

Chalk that up as another Linden Lab mistake, removing the incentive for anyone to provide stuff just for fun and not a commercial activity.

Lewis

Rather grim when a person needs monetary incentive to do things just for fun.

I know, I'm just saying that L$500 a week doesn't go far with classified, parcel directory and texture uploads, in all that I provide free of charge for the community.

I have never run an event for money, it's just it would be nice to have more choices of things to go to that didn't involve some sort of commercial activity.

Lewis

Chalk it up to a LL customer that complained that the dwell bonus was driving down the price of Lindens and hurting this persons business.

Imagine all of the great content that is being created. No one wants anything that isn't going to make them money now.

I hope that they realize the error they have made and resolve it

Ah, but what about the "surplus" of L$ that dwell introduced into the economy??

I wish dwell wasn't removed, but enough people whined enough, and away it went. Granted, there was an off-balance of L$ coming in to the economy vs. L$ going out, but there are other ways to balance that.

Lewis. you've said this is a game, that you budget for your "style of gameplay" You have no right to expect LL to further subsidise YOUR gameplay. And it is YOUR GAMEPLAY, you might make what you do available to the "community", but you do it because that's how you enjoy playing the game. Don't make yourself out to be some kind of altruist in this.



I just bothered to stop and think what you meant by this and all I can say is, what commercial activity ? I get out and about and aside from shopping (my choice) I have yet to be asked to pay to do anything in Second Life and I haven't run out of new places to go and visit. Frankly I'm begining to think your protestations are nothing more than a bogeyman cooked up for the purposes of your own self agrandisement and publicity.

Finally, as for your sense of entitlement, it's starting to beggar belief. In 2 days I've seen you demanding to be paid to attend the residents meeting at Linden Labs and then in Second Life Answers, requesting what amounts to a PG sim of your own to build and play in, again under the guise of altruism. Staggering.

Go back and re-read what I posted. I didn't ask to be "given" a sim, I offered my time free of charge to set one up, which Linden Labs could then sell the parcels of land in their usual manner.

I would strongly suggest that you think twice about posting, because such unfounded accusations could easily be construed as trolling. If you have a problem with me, you know how to find me, don't clutter up the forums with it.

Lewis

Actually the problem was people 'gaming' it through the use of camping chairs and dance pads. Rather than coming up with a solution to get round this abuse, LL took the easy way out and just scrapped the incentive.

There is no surplus of L$ - it's necessary for a fluid economy. The problem is people upsetting the market deliberately.

Lewis

Re read what I said: "What amounts to..."

The rest of your post is disingenuous. It's a game remember, so that time and building you're offering for free is actually what you're doing for your own entertainment here by your own definition of your style of gameplay, just like the rest of what you "offer the community" on your land.

So I'm not trolling, and I notice you choose to distract from what I say about the free things to do in SL in favour of making false accusations against me.

The point was LL no more owes you dwell, than it does tickets to San Fransisco or a sim to build in.

There is a difference between an incentive and a debt.

Linden Labs does not owe me a thing (except as specified in the TOS), but if it wants me to do something, there has to be some incentive for me to do it.

Exactly. The loss of dwell was just another nail in the coffin of people trying to provide entertainment.

The idea is people are supposed to now charge an entry fee for entertainment. My response: Good luck with that one.

I don't think it's because those people whined. I think LL wanted to do it anyway. I think some of those people may actually be Linden shills. Or wannabe shills.

The same people are at work now to get rid of stipends. LL wants to do that, too, so they can sell their own Lindens to us.

coco

How about we just play the game because we enjoy it! Shouldn't need an incentive to play a game. What's the incentive to buy an xbox? Do the people that make xbox pay you? No! So why should we need an incentive to play Second Life? It's a game just like monopoly, an video game system, or tag. Just play because you enjoy it and get over it!

Sorry Lewis, I have agreed with you on items in the past here on the forums, but for this discussion, I have to side with CJ. Your style of gameplay makes you do what you do. if you want to offer stuff for free, then so be it. LL doesn't "Owe" anybody anything. that money that you pay for your account goes to run LL and keep the game up. They don't owe anyone the equivilent of your monthly US$ payment in L$, and dwell went away just like getting paid L$250 to hold an event. It was there to assist in the growth and creation of what SL is today, and as SL continues to grow, the growth incentives go away. We just get so used to these temporary growth incentives, that we start to think they are permanent until they are pulled. Anything LL gives away free L$ for is temporary, and will eventually vanish as SL gets big enough to not need it anymore.
As you see now, the free accounts will no longer get stipends, and it will not be much longer until each account just gets started with a base amount, and stipends are no more. Once you understand and accept this, your SL experience will be much greater.

Regarding the Dwell Bonus and its "abuse" by the use of Camping Chairs.

I like to consider myself someone who is mostly turned off and indifferent to advertising. Usually turn them off when they come on TV, skip past them on the net, and throw them in the trash when they come via the old fashioned RL mail.

However...advertising and marketing is a business tool. Events and promotional activities are conducted by business all the time to get people to come and try something out. Surely you are familiar with the old "HOOK" method? "Get them to come...and while they are here....they will fall in love with the place, Sir" the Marketing Director said to the Owner.

What you call "abuse" of dwell, via camping chairs...in my mind, is not really anything that different than what LL has done by offering dwell, stipends, and free accounts in the first place. An extra incentive to get you to TRY it out...and get hooked. No guarantee that they would stay forever.

Now, I have to plead guilty for falling for the same market method. But, I am not complaining. Rather, I find it somewhat ironic. You see, that terrible abuse of camping chairs WORKED as a hook on me to get me to go to a night club with live music and dancing. Sure, I went there JUST for the camping chairs...All I was interested in. Now, the camping chairs are gone...and I still go every day, and quite often spend money there!

So...I see your idea of "abuse" as simply a marketing tool...in order to get residents to come and see the place...and if it brought them extra income by the dwell bonusm well...that is the function of business. ...But still....Those people were simply developing a business model based on the provided environment. I think it is a rather subjective assumption that they were an "abuse". Business models must adapt to the environment they exist in. Just as they now must adapt to the absense of the dwell bonus.

Like I said, the locations that have removed camping chairs have not lost me as visitor and customer...so...it looks like they developed somewhat of a "base" to conduct business with while they had the chance. I thought it was rather interesting tool to be honest.

As far as being the hero of society...I take my hat off to you. I like to help find solutions in as much a positve manner as possible. Since you now find yourself in need of money, perhaps you could start a charity, and have everyone who loves your assistance and values it, to help support your continued efforts? I am sure that everyone who considers it to be indespensable will offer and provide assistance for your selfless aims.

Content is what keeps SL going. Now that new players have no money, if there's nothing free to do, except sit in a sandbox and make plywood cubes, they'll soon get bored and leave.

Linden Labs needs to recognise the value of free content, both in objects and events, otherwise if there is nothing left to do except spend L$, which requires real cash to buy, people won't hang around long, and miss out on the potential.

Lewis

And once you understand that no one wil buy in w2orld content unles they ahve an in world income maybe you will understand. Not only ahve sales gone down but as I said it would the number of account holdersa has also started dropping. Sales nose dived when this big debate about stipend all occured. This whole thing is due to day traders taking the short sided view. Get thier money now and who cares if SL goes into the toilet in thier humble opinion. I still think LL needs to take control of the economy in world, reinstate stiepnds to ALL asccount holders, require a minimum wage for anyone employing pl in world, hourly and or commission, and make any third party trading of L's a bannable ofense. If they set the prices for both cashout and buy then there won't be a devaluation problem. And get rid of the day traders and thyings would improve a lot as well.