Opportunities for New Land in Second Life

Waiting patiently for more land? Well, this June will see the debut of several new regions to accommodate the growing Second Life community. Some of these regions will be up for grabs but we’re also going to continue to help communities and neighborhoods find their own space.

We’ve heard lots of discussion about residents wanting a chance to buy land together and pursue their dreams. So, we are making it possible for a number of groups to gather together and get first shot at buying some of the new land.

Whether you’ve got a specific theme for your settlement or you’re just a bunch of friends who want to live together, this opportunity is aimed at you.

Here’s how it will work:

Posting proposals for settlements -

Anyone may submit a proposal for a group settlement by posting a new thread under "Projects" by June 4th. The post should describe the vision for the settlement and any guidelines that residents will be expected to follow. It should also indicate whether or not it is an exclusive membership proposal and on what basis settlers will be accepted.

Proposals will be selected based on the number of residents who want to join the settlement and are approved by the original poster. Joining a settlement will take place between June 4th and June 11th. Residents can only join one settlement on this or future group settlement opportunities. The total number of proposals selected will be determined by the overall amount of interest in this process. A proposal must have at least 5 supporters to be considered.

Private access to buy land -

The settlements with the most approved members will get private access to purchase land in one region for one week beginning June 12th. Each region will be accessible only by a landmark that will be given to the settlement leader – the resident who posted the proposal. Each member of the settlement can purchase up to 1/16 of a region during this period.

Sweeping the land of the uninvited -

We realize that landmarks might slip into some hands by mistake. On June 18th, Linden will delete the land of anyone who is not a member of the settlement and delete the land of anyone who bought more than 1/16th of a certain region. On June 19th, the regions will be joined to the mainland and anyone can purchase any remaining land.

The current Themed Communities -

Some of the current Themed Communities will be expanding into new regions next to their current settlements. These will be open for private settlement on June 4th. After that point the rules are the same and the region will be open to public settlement on June 19th.

So that’s it -

Pretty simple. There are lots of possibilities. Now it’s up to you to think up and announce your best idea and start finding out who is interested in getting together in what sort of community.

The paragraph re: current Themed Communities should have read:

Some of the current Themed Communities will be expanding into new regions next to their current settlements. These will be open for private settlement on June 4th. After that point the rules are the same and the NEW REGIONS will be open to public settlement on June 19th.

Here is a revision to the process we will use to select which groups get advanced private access to purchase new regions. The guidelines in the earlier post still apply unless updated below.

This revision is in part a response to posts in the Forum pointing out how difficult it is to settle a complete region; and in part a more detailed version of the process. The plan allows successful settlements to continue to recruit members after the initial deadline.

Forming and selecting groups –

1. Each resident proposing a settlement must form a new in-world group (under Edit, My Groups). You have until Monday, June 9 at 9 AM to post the name to the Forums under Projects. Each leader must invite new members into the group. The new groups with the most members on Wednesday June 11 at 5 pm will be selected for the early settlement opportunity. We will select seven or less groups. Residents can only join one settlement group. We won’t consider the vote of anyone who is in more than settlement group. Holding recruiting events and using the Ad displays near the welcome area are highly recommended.

Who gets private access -

2. The new regions will be brought online on June 12th but will only be reachable by teleporting. A landmark will be given to the leader. All members of the selected groups will be guaranteed access to the region. (They also use up their one-time privilege to gain early private access to other settlements or to vote for later settlements in the foreseeable future.) Each member is limited to purchasing of 1/16 of the region.

The private access process -

3. The group has one week to buy land before the region is brought online for public access June 19th. The leader of the group may invite new residents to the group during this time and they can use their one-time privilege to buy land under the same restrictions. On June 20th, a Linden will delete the land of anyone who has bought more that 1/16th of a sim, or who has bought land on more than one region, or those who have bought land without being admitted to the group.

Holding back the rest of the region -

4. If the members of a group buy at least a half of a sim then the leader can ask that Linden buy the remaining land before the region is open to the public. The “half” must be the south, west, north, or east half of the region completely purchased. The region will be brought online for public access but no land will be available for purchase.

Releasing the rest of the region -

5. The remaining land within the region will be released for public purchase on July 15th - or earlier if requested by the leader. Before the land is released, new members of the group will have 24 hours to buy up to 1/16 of the sim under the same restrictions. At the end of that period, a Linden will sweep in the same way described above. After the land is open to the public then anyone can buy as much as they want.

The current themed communities –

The four themed communities except Native American Village have the option of expanding so step #1 is not required. They may choose to expand anytime up until June 19th. Otherwise the same rules apply. For example, if you buy land in the expansion of a themed community, then you can not join a group for a different settlement, etc. Members of the current themed communities may join a new group settlement but then they can't buy land during the private access period for the expansion of the current themed community.

Also to clarify: There will be no financial subsidies or code changes for any of the groups selected.

To clarify - since we revised the rules, we have shifted the deadline for posting the proposal and the group name to Monday, June 9th, at 9 am.

Here's your chance to ask questions about the Group Settlement process. At the amphitheater on the Clara/Perry border. I'll post a transcript of the meeting here afterwards.

Defining 1/16th of a region -

Some of the new regions available for group settlement will have some land held back and owned by Linden as a buffer to separate one region from another or to protect some physical feature. In this case 1/16 of the region is defined as 1/16 of the whole region, not 1/16 of what is left. A total of 256 4x4 meter segments.

Clumps when possible -

The person who will be checking the amount of land purchased would really appreciate it if you buy in a way that makes counting easy. A 64 x 64 meter square is great. But many of the settlers will be buying less so some filling in will be necessary.

You: who has a question?

Jonathan VonLenard: how long till self governing tools are implemented?
You: the governing tools are really important but I cant put a date on them
You: but they are among the highest priority
Jonathan VonLenard: yes i am looking forward to it, i'd love to be the first SL politician

Horatio Horn: have you locked down pirces on how much an entire sim is gonna cost?
Horatio Horn: i heard 196 K
You: The cost to purchase 1/16th of a sim is $12,288. The taxes will range from $1918 to $2994 depending on the Neighbor tax discount. The average is $2442.
Horatio Horn: excellent.

Lyra Muse: Will there be future opportunities for groups who cannot purchase the land to take part in this process at a later date?
You: I really hope this will be an ongoing process
Horatio Horn: yeah...like several volleys of settling as the population grows?
You: But the next time wont be for at least a few weeks
Lyra Muse: Right, gotta get the first few settled. I'm really glad to hear that, because I know some folks are concerned.
You: Yes, I hope it is a permanent process
Lyra Muse: That would be wonderful, thank you.

Suriah Becquerel: ermmm.. forgive my ignorance but what exactly are they?
You: ah, we are about to bring on a bunch of new regions
You: and groups will have first shot at some of them
You: so that groups can find land together

Xylor Baysklef: Will we have control of the terrain enough to have more than a 45 degree angle (i think thats the limit)?
You: No special tools for these groups so no 45 degree angle

You: Horatio Horn: How are groups going to be selected? based on sheer size, or individuals who've made sizable contributions to the community with events?
You: based on number of people in the group

Dionysus Starseeker: Will the addition of regions equalize the current economic crunch that poor people like me must endure?
(sorry missed this question – the answer is probably not)

You: Hiro Yamamoto: will they be mature sims or not (or up to the group?
You: thats a good question
You: we are assuming they would all be PG sims
Xylor Baysklef: If a group would like the sim to be Mature, is that going to be much of a problem?
You: maybe a problem
You: because we cluster the m sims

Lyra Muse: Will people be given the chance to name the new sims, or is this going to be a Linden-only decision?
You: Linden will name them
You: although if you want to name them then post the idea and see how much support you get
You: same for M sim, post the idea

You: what groups are represented here?
Hiro Yamamoto: Little Tokyo here
Lyra Muse: Nexus Prime in the house! ^.~
Xylor Baysklef: Skeed's Settlers O.o
Jericho Powers: Coruscant
Jericho Powers: aka Starwars
Jonathan VonLenard: Americana
You: Any other groups represented?
Dionysus Starseeker: Americana
Horatio Horn: Yeah, Dio, myself and jonathon are here representing Americana, the expansion of Route 66
Dionysus Starseeker: sorry... daydreaming
Suriah Becquerel: Vampire Nation

You: One thing you need to do is to post the group name by monday at 9 pst
You: and of course , form a new group before that

Horatio Horn: to the forums i assume? general discusssion?
You: no, post it to Projects

Jonathan VonLenard: and the group proposal by then?
You: there is no requirement for a proposal
Horatio Horn: yeah that should be handled internally amongst the group
You: the groups need no theme
Horatio Horn: we're just he entity who gets dibs on the land
Horatio Horn: we take care of the rest
Candie Apple: haney, no proposal, no theme?
You: There is no requirement for a theme or a proposal
You: the choice will be based just on size of new group

Jericho Powers: So where will these sims be put, adjacent to the other themed sims?
You: no, the new sims will be in a new land mass
You: north of the current one
Lyra Muse: Question.
You: yes
Lyra Muse: Just a clarification really..
Lyra Muse: You said that the new sims will be to the north of the current one, meaning the whole grid, or north of a current sim if a community is already in place?
You: the expansion of the current themed communities will be next to where they are now
You: but the new groups will be in a new area

You: Hiro Yamamoto: (off topic) are there going to be more mature sims (non setlment sims)
You: Yes, not sure when about new M sims

Xylor Baysklef: About how many total sims are coming out? (sorry i'm sure its posted)
You: not posted yet, its a secret!
You: we will roll a few out on the 19th
You: or a few more than a few
Dionysus Starseeker: 7000 sims, ahhaha


You: It’s really important that you only be a member of one group that is trying for a sim
You: otherwise your vote won’t count
You: likewise, you can only buy land during the private access period on one of the sims

Horatio Horn: Question: Are the new governing tools mentioned earlier already layed out in a thread? and if not, then what are the proposed features?
You: no details yet

Xylor Baysklef: What is the deadline for making sure you are in just one group? (for those of us who are still considering options)
Horatio Horn: All fence-sitters will be hung
You: we count votes Wednesday June 11 at 5

Dionysus Starseeker: What if a new sim has horrible crash delays, like Kissling and Immaculate did?
You: ah, if there are crashes then we will reimburse for any losses
Dionysus Starseeker: oh, ok then, thanks :^)

Horatio Horn: Does there have to be one clear leader who makes the posts representing the group? because i know in the case of americana, we have a few 'spokepersons' who are making annoucnments..
Horatio Horn: do we need one clear leader to pony-up?
You: yes, we have to deal with one leader, they get the landmark


Horatio Horn: and im assuming that leader will be the person who makes the post to the forums, or do you track it based on who founds group X

Jericho Powers: After they give out the landmark does the leader have any special priviledges or responsibilities.
You: the leader is the leader of the group
You: if the group buys more that 1/2 of the sim the leader gets to decide if
You: they want linden to hold the rest for a while
You: also, they control the group membership - who is allowed to buy land in advance
Jonathan VonLenard: how long is a while?
Jonathan VonLenard: long enough to earn enough money for another half?
You: they can hold it until July 15th
You: the idea is that allows you to continue recruit members
You: Later in June we go commercial and hope for a bunch of new residents

Hiro Yamamoto: ok, if we can only buy 1/16 of a sim before the sim goes live, are we allowed to buy more afterwards?
You: after the sim goes public, anyone can buy as much as they like


Horatio Horn: what happens if the group, or members of it, are unable to meet the tax burden of owning the land?
You: the natural economic effects take place
Horatio Horn: i dont understand thethe kind of vague, if you dont mind my saying..
You: the group doesnt own the land -
You: so its just the effect on the individuals
You: then you go negative balance
You: but the land is not taken back


Candie Apple: this is probably stupid, but how big is 1/16 sim in comparison to the existing themed community?
You: its half
Candie Apple: communities*
Candie Apple: they're half sim each?
You: no the current ones are 1/8 of sim
Candie Apple: wow ok thanks haney

You: thank you all very much

A reminder - Each resident proposing a settlement must form a new in-world group (under Edit, My Groups). You have until Monday, June 9 at 9 AM to post the name to the Forums under Projects.

Make sure you clearly identify the group name and that it is a proposal for a group settlement.