Resident ?

To give the name " Visitor " to non paying people is wrong imo .

Thing to remember here is ... a lot of people who now have premium started off life here as" freeloaders" ... Visitors

Since free membership ,I know very few people that signed up on day one using a credit card , But i know plenty that did sign up for a premium account after they had been here a while and decided SL was a pretty cool place .

The have gone from " freeloaders " to being very active and worthy members of the " Community "

Please don't bring class systems into this .

Come on ... lets all join hand's and turn this post into somthing posative ... let's be a " Community "

The use of freeloaders is misleading. Many people who have “payment info on file” or “no payment info” are often fully integrated members of the SL community and add through the skills they bring to SL which increase the all important content.

I myself have “payment info on file”, therefore have not paid a dime, as yet, to LL. However, though I have not contributed financially, I have contributed through the creation of content, helping others as well as adding to discussions and debates.

I think that many of those who have no paid into SL, if they stay long enough will begin to contribute not just through content but financially, as with most addictions, overtime they become much more expensive to maintain.

Finally, if I never pay any money to LL, I will not feel guilty, as I do put a lot of effort into providing other residents with an added experience through the content which I create.

People who are not premium members are not by default freeloaders. Saying that is just rediculous.

It is entirely possible to camp for a while, or borrow lindens, and open a rented store in a mall or whatever and build a business from there without EVER buying a single linden. You can buy a SIM without a premium account for crying out loud.

Just because people are not buying Lindens from LL doesn't mean they are not running buinesses or providing services, earning lindens, and spending them right back into the economy.

With several thousand island sims which can be bought, sold, parceled and rented without the need for anyone to be a premium member, there is in fact little incentive to become a premium member. While I am one, I am basically paying $72 a year for an old, old, old 512 I bought as my first land and don't want to give up even though I own a sim now. Not everyone is as dumb as I am

I think this is a healthy debate. I hope I have helped to put my "10 Linden cents" in. I agree we are a community but I feel I contribute in many ways to SL. I buy many thousands of Linden dollars of art - helping to support artists in SL/RL. I buy clothes, hair and doodads. This is an economy and I suppose that - in a sense - some of us pay the "taxes". Since my occasional meetings with griefers and general ne'er-do-wells, I am more and mor econvinced that there has to be some form of control of members brought in to play. Yes, I have been here long enough to have see the "sunset" of the early SL life - but we are too big now to be a single "community" - there are too many disparate groups going off madly in all directions. I pay my way. I am not ashamed of that. Let's face it society has never been "classless" - we have meritocracies and classes of "citizens". If you dont pay and you are one week old (in SL) then I dont consider you should have the same rights as me. Sorry. That is just the way it is. Now, have I stirred up debate some more?

There are a million threads with this same topic out there... we all know how we feel...I don't think this thread will change anyone's mind on this.

Who cares about changing anyone's mind? It's nice just to bitch. There's lag in SL today so we are all camping here.

OK, if everyone who pays is a resident... and everyone who doesn't pay is a resident... why do they bother to label anyone as such? Is there another classification? If so what is it? It just seems pointless telling me someone is a resident if everyone is a resident, surely I'd simply know. Or am I missing some crucial reason?

Becuase of the charter members

Thiers says "charter"

Of course those people are such a tiny percentage of the world now that removing the entire comment on the profile probably wouldnt be the end of the world.

Ah, thank you! Now I'm going Charter Hunting! *grabs camera*

Everyone who pays is a resident. Everyone who doesn't pay is a resident. The reason there's no distinction is that resident status is not determined by payment status. It's determined by participation. It's like saying I'm not a Charter Communications customer because I only have basic cable service, and no premiums I pay extra for. I'm still a customer.

Yup. Same crap, different thread. There, I said crap!

We could follow the classic british system of the Landed gentry where those with island sims would have titles of nobility, us "freeloaders" would be serfs (quick tug of the forelock "your lordship"

Indeed, as well as titles we freeloaders could be made to wear special aos which react when nobility walk past making us kneel or perform other referential actions, including the gentlemen laying their coats or cloaks over puddles so as a Lady does not sully here shoes.

He he....From Monty Python;

"Who's that?"
"Must be the King."
"How do you know?"
"He hasn't got shit all over him."

Did you really just censor "crap"?

Yes I did, I think there is a time and place for everything, using profanity in its naked form on an open forums, or anywhere where people have access, is crass imho. Using expletives in place of nuances which cannot always be projected, has its place, but using it in place of punctuation is unacceptable imho.

I have a question:
As I have said before, when I joinned, there were 2 choices. Premium account and Lifetime membership. Both required a CC and a valid email address. As I was new to SL, I paid the full Lifetime Membership, which equated to around 2 months premium payment. The reason I have never changed that status, is simply because I have no intention to purchase land direct from LL, even though I do own land now. Premium status only gives you the ability to buy land from LL!

LL removed the Lifetime Membership, 6 months after I joinned (short lifetime) and 'downgraded' my status to free account. If LL decide to enforce restricting free accounts, or kicking them from the grid in preference to a premium account holder, where does that leave me and others like me?
Giving the preference for a premium account holder to gain access to their land, over me gaining access to my land (bought and paid for through a 3rd party), is that fair? Also raises the question, would that action effect the stability of 3rd parties selling land, business's as people would potentially be forced to become a premium account in oder to continue being classed as a 'resident'? As I paid for a Lifetime Membership, is that not discrimantion by default of removing that status without substitution?

Because the term "resident" was not created to distinguish between different types of avatar in Second Life. It was created to denominate an avatar in Second Life as opposed to a person who controls several avatars, a person who plays football at the park on Sundays, or a dog burying a bone, for example. Think av=resident.

Regarding different classes of residents, consider my own example. I have one av with premium membership, and one av with "payment info on file." I am just as committed (or not) to Second Life whether I am running one or the other. Both avs have spent well beyond what they may have received in stipends or sign-up bonuses.

If I didn't happen to make money in SL, I could use my Premium av to purchase L$ and transfer that money to my Basic av...so although I would be paying, that information would not be reflected in my Basic av's tag.

I assume that many if not most avs that are not "Payment info used" are similarly alts of "players" who run more than one resident.