Objects on Public Land & Inactive Beta Accounts
Summary:
* Beginning with the next software release (scheduled for late February), objects on public land will become public if they are not interacted with for 72 hours
* You will be able to make money by recycling old public objects, even if you did not create them
* Beta testers who do not log in at least once every 30 days risk having their land and objects forfeited
Hello Second Lifers:
Wanted to take a moment and share some thoughts regarding objects located on public land (parcels not owned by Residents or Lindens) as I’ve seen a bunch of related forum posts. Currently, owned objects on public lands just stay there forever while unowned public objects can be deleted by any community member.
Some of these objects are integral parts of the community (for example, newspaper vending boxes or ornate sculptures) but others are just the remnants of old projects. Our goal is to preserve the community assets while encouraging the clean-up of orphaned objects. So how do we do this? By essentially allowing the community to decide what is interesting and worthwhile. Here’s how we can do this:
Objects on Public Land
Objects on public land will have timers in our database. Whenever someone interacts with the object (edits it, plays with it, pays it money, takes a copy, etc), this timer resets. However, once the timer hits 72 hours (three days where no one has interacted with the object), the object is “released” and ownership is set to public. Object owners can refresh their own objects on public land so if you want, you can go around and reset the 72 hr clock. And remember, objects on owned land do not have timers.
So, what happens to creation costs for objects which are released? We’ve separated the refunding of the $10 creation cost into two amounts - one for releasing and one for deleting.
Right now you get the $10/object creation cost refunded when you release to public or delete an object. Going forward objects, whether public or private, retain some value until they are deleted. The idea is to encourage people to clean up after themselves and provide a reward to people who go out of their way to keep the landscape pretty.
So here's how it works using some sample scenarios:
1. You create a cube and then delete it. Creation cost was $10, deleting refunds you $10.
2. You create a cube, release it public, then delete it. Creation cost was $10, releasing refunds you $6, deleting refunds you $4.
3. You create a cube, release it public, leave it somewhere and then it's deleted by someone else who cleans up after you. Creation cost was $10, releasing refunded you $6, and the person who deleted it receives $4.
4. You create a cube, leave it on public land, after 72 hrs of non-interaction it becomes public. Then you or someone else deletes it. Creation cost was $10, once it decayed to public you receive $4 while $2 leaks back to the economic pool. Then whoever deletes the public cube receives $4.
So the only way a creator can ever lose money is if they frequently deposit objects in public areas, ignore them, and these objects are never interacted with by anyone in Second Life. So, for example, there could be a minor cost to deciding to put up posters everywhere. I know it feels a bit complicated at first glance but is actually pretty simple and we think pushes in the right direction. Think of it as Second Life’s version of bottle and can recycling.
Inactive Beta Accounts
Inactive beta testers (have not logged in within the past 30 days) are being contacted about rejoining the community. Those who choose not to rejoin will have their accounts closed and, soon after, any objects or land they have in-world will be released to public. This should address some concerns about money, land and objects held in old accounts.
Conclusion
The end result? Objects on public land which the community appreciates will become important pieces of the environment. But items which are just experiments or rubbish can be deleted.