Bonus stipend payments to be stabilized for better predictability
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We've seen lots of recent discussion regarding rapid changes (and a
general downward trend) in bonus stipends. As these bonus stipends are
for many residents critical to meeting tax payments on land and objects,
addressing this issue by reducing the variability of these payments seemed
critical. Beginning wednesday August 20, we will change the calculation
of the bonus stipend payments in the following two ways:
1. The overall bonus 'pool' will no longer be a fixed amount divided
among all residents receiving bonuses, and will instead be switched to an
amount based on the number of overall residents.
2. The 'Weekly Change' rating (as is visible in the leaderboards) will no
longer be included in calculation of bonuses. Only total ratings will be
used. This is a change from the current system which computes a
'weighted' rating of 1/4 the weekly change in rating and 3/4 the total
rating.
These changes should halt the downward trend in overall payments, and
stabilize the rate of change you see in your bonuses week-to-week. During
periods of heavy admittance of new residents, bonuses may actually
slightly increase, as the new residents will increase the size of the pool
without collecting as much of the bonus. Some (generally newer) residents
may see a drop in bonuses due to the removal of the weekly change from the
computation, but this seems a worthwhile tradeoff to stabilize the system.
As discussed in the 'feature feedback' section of the forums, we are also
planning to implement further changes to the bonus calculation system in
the 1.1 (September) release, including the 'tiering' of payments and the
use of the previous week's ratings to determine the coming week's payments
(a change specifically suggested in the forums, so thanks much!). These
changes will further stabilize and increase predictability of bonus
stipends.
We are continuously modeling and exploring further changes to the tax and
stipend system, and will keep making changes as needed. The high level of
feedback from residents is instrumental in structuring these changes, so keep
them coming, and thank you as always for all the balanced debate and discussion.
Philip Linden