Enabling a larger volume of Currency Exchange

And yet you apparently have no problem giving your credit card number and expiry date, and other personal information to Linden Research Inc. who are no more burdened by EU privacy, banking and data protection laws than the other incorporated money exchange services. Interesting.

Oh come on it's not quite the same is it. I've been watching SL for quite a while and decided that I could trust Linden with this information. Linden haven't supported the gold farming industry in other games either.

When I arrived in the game I was then effectively told "go to one of these third party sites that you've never heard of and sign up all over again". Like I said, I found this a bit surprising.

A note for the record. I'm not saying that these exchange services are bad / evil. Just that when you're new you don't know them or the people who run them and are inclined to treat them with more suspicion than something in game.

Ame

You're absolutely correct. Its not the same at all.

Third-party exchanges do not have access to your credit card info, which means the only potential loss in the (highly unlikely, given the reputations of existing exchange providers) event of a scam is the amount you've chosen to spend on currency. With your billing info sitting on a server at Linden Lab, you have the possiblilty of significant liquidity issues in the event of "billing errors".

The bottom line is, the SL economy and the innovations you see in world are the direct result of external currency exchanges. Without us, mediocrity would still be the order of the day.

How long will it take to get the cash to our credit card on file? My interactions with GOM take me minutes. I have to deal with Paypal, but I can do what I need to do in the course of 2 minutes time starting with my deposit with the GOM machine. I am suspect of adding my finances into SL's hands because they aren't perfect, and half the time they aren't even accountable (sorry, we can't help you with that). They will not absorb the losses incurred by the inevitable fraud or hacking that will happen since they are rushing this service to market. I also wonder how long after the Linden market completely dries up due to cutting of most of the income in the game, that Philip decides to "fix the economy" by relaeasing Lindens he says are worthless, for sale for US dollars. We have only his word that they won't have an alt selling Linedns on behalf of the company. WE sure as hell can't police them. He asks for feedback, but only so we can pretend we have a voice. Linde Labs facilitating the sale of Lindens in game leaves a gaping breach just begging for abuse and fraud on their behalf. LL is accountable to no one.

1. A currency exchange service would be excellent for SL in everyway.

2. Linden Labs owes nothing to GOM.

3. Standard transaction fees are fine to cover transactions. Spreads are completely unfair and unecessary. Within game, we should be able to make even transactions with eachother without loss of a percentage. It would be unfair, and absolutely rediculous to charge a spread for this.

1. A web shopping portal would also be excellent for SL in every way. Do the purveyors of those services believe they won't also be overrun when it suits LL? In fact, is there any more incentive for users to build innovative SL services?

2. Given the fact that we established the viability of "making a living in SL" to the point that our services are now taken for granted by *everyone*, one might think that our opinion and expertise in the area of currency exchange and products might conceivably be valuable.

3. A spread is created by transaction fees. You can bet there will be trading fees when this service starts.

Ok, 1. How does what you're doing here put money into the pockets of the content creators? I mean, I see it taking money OUT of the pockets of the people who have already created sites that provide these services... Instead of someone skimming a little off the top, if a content creator is "cashing out" they save a buck?

2. Basically, I read this idea as, "Make it incredibly easy for people to purchase Linden. Many people aren't content creators and are here to relax and play as a hobby, they're going to be to lazy to go sign up at a 3rd party site." And sadly I agree, there are many people who will not take the time to go sign up at a website or who will get confused by something shiny on the website. Or even UI or security issues that make many websites difficult to stumble through. But, I think that you guys could have circumvented more villagers with torches and pitchforks by ither...

a. Having simply a "buy Linden$" option that would charge the player's credit card and give them lindens. You don't "trade", you print them on the spot, and LL gets more money.

or, b. Having a different form of "consumer" account, where I could pay say $20 per month and still have a 512 parcel, but then get L$1000 per week to go spend on content. Once again, the money becomes revenue.


I'm not that great with economics, but assume either of these could cause inflation because the money isn't being sold by content creators "cashing out" but by LL printing the money... BUT, the key here would be to balance it so that buying Linden dollars off a 3rd party site would be CHEAPER. Make it more expensive to "buy Linden$" or get a "consumer" account so that they have these "training wheels" in place and can start getting more Lindens without dealing with an outside website in HongKong... But so that you're not even competing with, let alone usurping the position that 3rd part sites hold now.

Also just want to add that I see how this idea makes sense - having to go to an outside website is out-of-the-ordinary and might distress or confuse new users... More people buying $L in-client and spending it on content because it's easier to do is a good thing. I'm just wondering why they can't print new L$ into the economy, keep the real-world money as added revenue, and charge $4 per block while other sites can charge $3.50 or whatever the market value happens to be.

My understanding of Philip's post was that the intention was not to sell Fresh Linden Labs money, but to provide an integrated UI version of a Free market where anybody could sell L$ and anybody could buy them easily. Is that not what he said?

I believe you are correct..