Currently, when a region is full, access to the region is simply on a first come first served basis. This leads to a sort of distributed race to enter the full region; users repeatedly try to teleport or cross into the region and fail until someone leaves.  The next attempt made by anyone  succeeds, which makes the region full again. Even the region owner and estate managers must compete with other Residents to get into their own region if they find themselves outside of the region when it is full.

We are introducing some improvements to how region limits and region entry work:

• The Region Owner or an Estate Manager can always enter, even when the region is full
  
  In effect, the region occupancy limit does not apply to the Region Owner or an Estate Manager for the purposes of entry. Having entered the region, the owner or manager does still increase the count in the region. For example, if there is a region that already has the maximum number of avatars in it, the Region Owner or an Estate Manager would be able to enter, but that would bring the number in the region to 1 over the limit, so 2 would need to leave before the next non owner/manager could enter.

• The default limit on the number of avatars in each region type is increased

  • Full Regions by 10% (100 to 110)
  • Homesteads by 25% (20 to 25)
  • Open Spaces by 20% (10 to 12)

This new bonus capacity is, however, available for entry purposes only to Premium users - for Basic users the occupancy limits remain the same. For example, when a Full Region with a limit of 110 users has 105 users in it, Basic members will be unable to enter - they will see the region as full - but 5 more Premium users will still be able to enter.

• The current (owner controlled) limit on each region will automatically be reserved for Premium entry by the same bonus %:
  • If the owner of a Full Region had reduced the default 100 avatar limit to 50, the same bonus percentage (+10%) is reserved for Premium entries, so 45 entries will be usable by Basic members, and 5 additional spaces will only be available to Premium members.

Once an avatar is in a region, whether they are Premium or not will not matter; they count the same as anyone else. It doesn't matter what the mix of Premium, Basic, or owner/managers in the region is: they all just each count as one occupant.

We will be rolling these features out slowly to regions in and around you.  

We’re excited to offer this new functionality, improving the experience of Land Owners and Premium Members in Second Life.  Login and keep your eyes open for another announcement once the rollout is complete!