From: Zaphod Kotobide
The folks who want the bots, obviously, are the folks who use the bots. If there wasn't an established advantage in doing so, they wouldn't be doing it.
I just want to point out that I'm not a landbot owner nor a landbot user. I'm an idealist enamored with the idea of an online world where real programming, real designing, and real work are rewarded. I don't want to play Sims Online. I don't want the Sims Online contingent to nerf Second Life for the rest of us. I welcome a Metaverse where hackers, designers, 3rd-world sweatshop labor, and consumers go about their business. To me that's much more exciting than selecting from a set of standard land plots, house designs, girlfriend avatars, and pretend careers.
I want the bots.
From: someone
And the auctions are part of the problem....Perhaps it's time for Linden Lab to take the lead here.. and instead of applying an academic analysis to all these various "landbot" threads, actually make the virtual rubber meet the virtual road, and cap the price of land grid wide. Cap it high for now, and gradually lower it so that it's not a shock to anyone who was dumb enough to quit their real life jobs to get into this risky business in the first place.
If I were a land dealer (and I'd like to be if I could work out a profitable business model like I had December-February), I'd simply then sell my land on eBay rather than in-world. Why would I sell my land at, say, a L$12/m2 cap when I could get L$15/m2 for it on eBay? Furthermore, if I could write a landbot script, I'd write another one to locate and buy all the choice parcels of land others were offering at the capped price to resell on eBay for a tidy profit.
You see, it's not land agents that control the value of the land--land value is more a factor of supply and demand. It's "the market" in capitalist jargon. Linden Labs has demonstrated its ability to increase the value of land (by reducing the rate new land is introduced) and to decrease the value of loand (by accelerating the rate new land is introduced). It has also announced its intention to make servers open-source, at which time others may (and eventually will) be able to influence the price of land by increasing the supply.
From: someone
Land ownership is the basis for everything else this "platform" is supposed to be for. Its affordability should be a core concern for the policy makers at Linden Lab, and when folks have to hand over more than $65 real cash for a decent chunk of it, there's a disconnect between what this platform is intended for, and what it is allowed to be used for.
Not everyone has as much disposable income as is necessary to afford land in this climate. They are at a severe disadvantage, currently.
Not everyone has landbots; they are at a disadvantage when it comes to buying below-market-value land.
Not everyone has money; they are at a disadvantage when it comes to buying land at all, and the less money (or bigger the plot of land) the bigger the disadvantage.
Not everyone has Paintshop and knows what looks good on an Av; they are at a disadvantage when it comes to designing clothing or textures.
Not everyone has design sense; they are at a disadvantage when it comes to designing houses and machine guns and penises.
Not everyone can program; they are at a disadvantage against those who can write scripts.
Some people have jobs and families and real lives; they are at a disadvantage against those who can "play" Second Life all day.
Some people have poor social skills; they are at a disadvantage against those who make friends who help them out.
Not everyone has fast computers and PayPal accounts; they are at a disadvantage when it comes to playing Second Life at all.
Not everyone speaks English--a fair disadvantage when communicating within Second Life.
Some people are physically handicapped or disabled in a way that places them at a disadvantage, particularly when we realize that others can type 100wpm and are brilliant.
My point is that "being at a disadvantage" is not a great argument for anything in Second Life. Linden Labs has created an environment that is the same for everybody. Such things as fraud and theft are wrong, but beyond that how--and whether--we take advantage of that environment should be up to us.
Now, I realize, just like you do, that many other people want a kinder, gentler Second Life. Why not see that as a business opportunity? In fact, many people (with various sets of advantages including money, time, and talent) are setting up private sims where one can acquire land (for less than it costs to go premium and buy from a landbot), enjoy good customer support (faster and more effective than you're likely to get from a Linden), and have a stable view and Second Life experience (thanks to covenants). They'll do this as long as it is "worth it" for them to do it. Why not focus on these people, the ones providing a solution to the unbridled freedom of the mainland, rather than those who run landbots?