Forced to close down

[Paul Hexem]

---

Toysoldier Thor wrote:

PS Gadget, your response didnt answer my questions....

Do you reallllyyy reallly think its wise for LL to force 30% of SL residents to leave the grid?  This is what you suggested to Czari... so please explain how your belifs are wise for LL, SL, SL residents, and even you?

---

You're going to be annoyed because I'm going to compare it to gaming again, but MMO's and other similar games have made that very decision in the past.

They choose... Do we want to appeal to a smaller, more dedicated group, or try to accomodate the people that can't afford to upgrade? The answer is usually the former. The more dedicated group is, by definition, more dedicated. They keep subscriptions longer, buy expansions, and update their systems with the game to get the most out of it. The money they spend makes up for the loss of the people that didn't spend much to begin with.

Trying to keep the platform dumbed down, they lose the hardcore gamers to games that DO upgrade, and the ones that stay are the ones that can't afford to spend by definition and don't spend enough to cover the loss.

It's a strategy that works. Does it directly translate to SL? Maybe not, but if you look at Rodvik's resume, I don't think we should be shocked if LL goes that route.

[Czari Zenovka]

Here's where your analogy doesn't work, Gadget.  People in SL with higher end machines are not necessarily the ones who stick around and/or spend money and vice versa.  I used the example in another thread of someone I know who has been in SL for two years but has not put one penny into the SL economy, either RL money or lindens.  He is here only to dance and meet women and everything he has from his avatar, clothes, the "gifts" he gives, a vehicle he drives, etc. are all freebies which he boasts openly about and in essence says he is not going to put RL money into SL.  However, he works in the software industry and has a killer computer he built himself.

Then there are people with less powerful computers who have been in SL 4, 5, 6+ years, have put RL funds into SL during that time, bought land, purchased goods in SL; in other words contributed to the economy.  LL catering to just people with higher end PCs doesn't necessarily equate to keeping the people who are helping the SL economy.  One may put money into their computers but not so much into SL.

We all tend to look through the prism of our own reality and because you upgrade your PC *and* are a contributor to the SL economy you may assume that holds true across the board.  I have met enough people in SL to know it isn't necessarily true.

The "dedicated group" you speak of and that I agree LL should be trying to keep are the people who have stayed through the growing pains of SL, endured less than stellar customer no-service, are content creators and/or content purchasers.  As long as one has a PC that will allow them to be in SL, having a higher end PC is a moot point.  As frustrating as it can be at times to have to wait 5 minutes for an area to rez in when I land, keeping my draw distance at 64m max to move, barely being able to move in places like texture stores...the fact that I'm still here and doing my part to support the grid, unlike many of my friends who have gone elsewhere (most with their powerful PCs), would indicate that I *am* a part of the "dedicated group."

On the subject of gaming, since you keep bringing it up - my PC can run both EQ and WoW beautifully with little to no lag.  I was mentioning that once to a friend who has played WoW since beta and he said that WoW intentionally streamlined their engine so that "most" PCs *can* run it, thus ensuring more users.  Using that gaming analogy, LL shouldn't be making viewers that alienate a portion of their dedicated core.

 

[Paul Hexem]

Oh, if only the coders at LL were even remotely close to being as competent as those as Blizzard, we wouldn't be having this discussion- We could have mesh, all the shinies, and SL would STILL work great on both of our machines.

[Czari Zenovka]

---

Gadget Portal wrote:

Oh, if only the coders at LL were even remotely close to being as competent as those as Blizzard, we wouldn't be having this discussion- We could have mesh, all the shinies, and SL would STILL work great on both of our machines.

---

Yaaayyyy!!  Something we agree on.

While we're at it, LL could take some lessons on customer service from Blizzard as well.  I submitted a ticket about an issue in WoW that, as it turned out wasn't anything WoW needed to correct; I misunderstood something.  However, the customer service reps. responded to me politely and within like 5 minutes of my tickets each time.  They were never snippy or closed the ticket until they were sure I understood the issue and was completely satisfied.  I was extremely impressed and wrote a commendation letter to Blizzard naming each of the reps. who handled my tickets so well.

 

[Paul Hexem]

Yeah, Blizzard was created by gamers, for gamers. They played the very games they created, and they understand the technology they create it on. We don't have that with LL.

 

Not only do I think no one at the Labs actually uses SL, I actually believe they're probably proud of themselves when they tie their shoes in the morning without getting tangled up.

 

The fact that they coded viewers at all is a miracle- like when a monkey bashes a banana against a typewriter and happens to spell out a word or two.

 

Which unfortunately means we need gaming rig hardware to power through their terribad software, leading to arguments like the ones in this thread.

[Darrius Gothly]

Time to toss in my two cents worth on this topic. (And Gadget .. I just hung my reply off your message. Convenience not targeting.)

My two sons are both mid- to intense level gamers. Until the youngest found himself with a new mouth to feed, the light of his life was his PC and video card prowess. The oldest is still in that mode.

But it's a 50/50 proposition near as I can tell. They "want" (although they would say "need") the latest fastest video card, almost as a macho thing. It's like having the hottest car or the fastest motorcycle .. or the prettiest girlfriend. The group they hang with measures GPU stats and video memory like some guys measure the size of their ... umm .. drive down the fairway.

They also pride themselves on knowing the stats to the microsecond for all the latest greatest video cards and attendant hardware. I can make them drool just by whispering "Alienware" at the right times.

But overall they are not really dedicated to any specific software package. Their allegiances shift moment to moment based on which platform gets the most bang out of their hardware. If a particular title adds a new visual whiz-bang, or posts some new benchmark of performance then that's the one they're playing today.

Yes, they have at times had a certain level of allegiance and dedication to a particular title. But always those are fond memories and "what we used to play" before they fell off the top of the performance hill. A gamer with a kick-butt machine is always looking for that platform that will test the machine and offer a chance at bragging rights.

However the dedication to SL is a whole different beast. It seems to come from the magic of being able to create, commune and share in an environment that IS different, that isn't known for performance wins .. and isn't reknowned for accuracy of gibs as they fly in perfect simulations of exploding body parts.

Second Life wins dedicated members .. citizens .. because it calls to the muse inside, because it provides an experience that not a single other type of experience can match. It can seem as realistic as the best 3D game cut scene, or as cartoonish as the worst Anime ever. But it has all of those, it provides the entire range of experience, all in a package that performs mostly within acceptable ranges on hardware that isn't bleeding edge.

I don't think the Gamers that come from Steam or any other dedicated feed-pipe that funnels that market segment into our world will stick around long enough to hear their muse calling to them. It's my opinion that they will find there are no bragging rights, no top-end rendering demands or record setting tweaks that have to be put just right to really zing .. and they will quickly push on looking for that next challenge to their hardware .. for that place that truly justifies all the money they've sunk into silicon and gold.

It's just my opinion, but I think they will only succeed in cranking up the new user numbers while simultaneously cranking up the "single logon abandonments" too.

Of course, because this is all just my opinion, it's both free and most likely worth every penny too. But it's what I see and what I predict based on what I've seen, lived with and learned from those around me. It's the conclusion that I've distilled from all the ingredients I can find. But hey, from the sidelines EVERY call is the best and easiest one to make ... right? *smile*

[Bittersweet Lime]

This is one of the best posts addressing the issues, I have seen thusfar - my kudos to you, Czari.

[Madeliefste Oh]

You are talking about the traditional type of hard core gamers, males between 14 and 34 year old. But that is no longer the only group the game industry is focussing on. As an example take Zynga, they state that the modern hard core gamer is a 43 old woman. And they are doing very well with focusing their products to this target group.

What Zynga did well is trying to understand the psychology of their target group and translate this into the game design. Here is a nice slideshow about this: http://www.slideshare.net/ctrottier1/designing-games-for-the-43yearold-woman

LL can learn something here about analysing their target group.

LL doesn't have a clue about why people join, or why people leave, because they have never examened their target audience. And it doesn't  have to be so hard, for example you can send people a 'we miss you' mail, when they didn't show up again within two weeks after signing up. Besides of offering a link to an attractive newbie place, they can include a survey and ask people who don't intend to come back to SL why they are leaving.

Same thing can be done when land is abandonned by a resident, ask him why he stops owning land, send him a survey.

But also ask the residents who did stayed in SL why they still are here. You could for example send a congratulation on a residents birthday, like: happy rezzday, your are 2 years old today. We would like to know why you are still with us, please complete the survey and get your rezzday award of 2000 linden. (Amount is just an example).

SL has a very loyal residents base, despite all bugs and all frustrations LL puts on us, the most of us are still around. I think it is really worth it to examen what psychology is behind this loyality. LL should learn from it, and use this knowledge to  pamper their new comers.

 

[Darrius Gothly]

Yes, I specifically discussed the "young male" customer in my description (although the ratio of males to females in that age group is shifting toward more female every day). I did so because they also happen to be the most "mobile" demographic. By that I mean they are the ones likely to spend money every week on a new game that appeals to them at that moment. The 43 year old woman, or more generally the middle-aged game player, is more prone to find a game that appeals to them and stick with it for a long time. This is a market the gaming industry is trying hard to sell into, and finding it difficult because they are more than likely to hold onto their money tightly .. only spending it when they get really bored or upset with the game they like.

Your point about LL understanding their current customer is exactly right on IMHO. LL has never bothered to try and find out who we are, why we are here and why we leave. The number of techniques and opportunities they routinely ignore astounds me. When they do send out surveys, they are always targeted (so it seems) at "tell us how good we did with that last new shiny. You like it right?" The follow-up contact, the "thanks for being loyal" contact .. the "we give a damn about you" message is never shown at all. If anything, quite the opposite is true. LL seems almost hostile to people staying around, seeming to prefer new blood and wishing the old blood would wander off the edge of the grid and vanish. (I'm talking the general perception of their message .. not necessarily what they intend.)

And that right there is one of the main reasons why I think this venture with Steam will eventually lead no where. What new users they do manage to attract will find that the friendly face most game companies show their customers is absolutely not present in SL. Instead they will find a company that sucked them in, dumped them on the ground and left hurriedly to attract the next sucker. And with a group of potential customers as mobile and fickle as those that will come here from Steam, abandoning them on the doorstep is guaranteed to make them vanish AND bad mouth the platform even more than we oldbies do now.

And I know I've said it a few times, but for some reason I feel extra compelled to restate it. All of the above is my opinion only. My impression of what LL is doing with this Steam partnership/relationship feels like a desperate grab at a market .. ANY market .. that they haven't spoiled already. I think though that they already have spoiled this crowd too, but the dreamy eyed vision of Mr. Humble that gamers can be a big boost in the bottom line is what has motivated him to find this particular source of new blood. Again .. my opinion .. it's just more of LL trying to shove another square peg into the oblong hole that is Second Life.

[Paul Hexem]

---

Darrius Gothly wrote:

What new users they do manage to attract will find that the friendly face most game companies show their customers is absolutely not present in SL. Instead they will find a company that sucked them in, dumped them on the ground and left hurriedly to attract the next sucker. And with a group of potential customers as mobile and fickle as those that will come here from Steam, abandoning them on the doorstep is guaranteed to make them vanish AND bad mouth the platform even more than we oldbies do now.

---

 

I can say without a doubt that you're absolutely spot on with this statement.

If anybody thinks the badmouthing is bad now, wait until more hardcore gamers get a hold of this platform.

Hell, these are the people that cost Sony untold amounts of cash when they hacked the Playstation Network and forced it shut down (one of the biggest data breaches in history- 77 million people affected), because they didn't like what Sony was doing.

And let's face it, LL's security and infrastructure is nowhere near on the same level as Sony's.

[Czari Zenovka]

Totally agree with your observations, Madeliefste, re:LL rewarding in some small way, or even recognizing their long-term, loyal user base.  Your ideas on how that could be done are excellent.

Back to the gaming example; with both of the MMORPGs I've played, even though I have not played either for close to a year now, I regularly get "We miss you" emails, offering some bonus for returning plus updates on what my current "Station Cash" balance is for one (and, knowing how much I had last time I played, it looks like some was added), and regular updates from the other.

Thank you for including the link to the 43-year-old woman demographic.  I'd read some articles over the years that indicated pretty much the same thing.  What was always fun in the gaming forums was someone inevitably starting a thread asking, "What do you think is the average age group of <xyz> game?" with the OP "positive" it was a spread from 18-25.  Then the responses flooded in with the majority always being at least 35+ and a good many 45+.  The OP would be stunned.

Something similar happened years ago in SL.  A gentleman friend and I were dancing at a jazz venue. To begin with, jazz dance venues are generally not attractive to the hip-hop/trance/or whatever the current music trend is amoung the younger set.  A new male resident arrived wearing jeans and a T-shirt where the dress code was at least semi-formal.  He proceeded to start talking in local to the group-at-large.

Newbie: Hi.

No answer from the couples mainly engaged in IMs.

Newbie: HI!!

This elicited a few Helloes.

Newbie: How old is everyone? (A sure tip off the asker is young.)

This started a flurry of responses from "That's impolite to ask" to "None of your business" until one person said, "42, why?"

Newbie: WOW!!!  So like is everyone in this game OLD?

He poofed pretty soon thereafter, unknown if he left on his own, was "ushered out," or had been advised by the host/hostess he would need to change clothes.

 

 

[Toysoldier Thor]

You are 100% completely correct.  Its so ironic how little the entire LL staff, developers, strategists, etc. really know about their #1 target market.  They really do not understand what makes up the their current customer base. 

They dont know why their customers stick around despite the countless negative impacts that LL befalls on their customers, despite the utter lack of any form of quality customer service, despite LL paying no attention to improving existing functions as opposed to their addiction to keep throwing new wizz-bang technologies on already over-burdened and weak SL infrastructure. 

Rodvik himself in the eary days was amazed at the completely unique and highly loyal SL resident population and strong commitment to SL that many SL residents have.  But Rodvik - being a Gamer from EA - clearly has failed to make a commitment to really understand this same customer base he is in charge of.  Watching the activities happening since Rodvik's takeover, its clear he did not come here to improve the SL that attracted so many to SL.  He clearly came to LL from day one to transform it into what he knows best.... yet another Gamer's environment.

Mesh, Pathfinder, Steam, new Materials sytem - they are all really cool graphic and gaming components that if you could wave a magic wand and transparently / instantly make it part of the SL grid - residents sure wouldnt mind.  BUT if Rodvik and even all the vet employess of LL would have actually spent time to understand what is it that attract what target market to SL - then I am sure they would be utterly shocked that the #1 priority would NOT be to make a more technically cool SL.  They would notice that their customers want improved existing services.... they want a safer protected enviornment to socially engage in (no stalker and griefers)... they would want better customer service.... they would want to reduce crashes and near zero FPS... they want more affordable sim teir pricing so they can afford to build and expand.

IF Rodvik succeeds in attracting the true gamers to SL from all the other environments like WOW, these gamers would do exactly what Darrius posted... they would come in and quickly realize that SL is not about amazing frame rates and goal oriented objectives.  They woudl be as quickly gone as they arrived.  But in the process, Rodvik would also have succeeded in pushing the SL loyal target market from SL and to the other grids where there has been a true focus on meeting the SL resident's target needs.

A good example now of why Rodvik is off base with his plans is Blue Mars.  I was very excited about it when it went live and registered and went over there to try it out.  The graphics were real cool and more Gamer focused on improving FPS but as Darrius said, BM sacrificed environment flexibility for ultimate performance.  By requiring pre-loading of sims prior to a TP and making the barriers to building & creating out of reach for any average resident that in SL can simply create a cube from day 1 - BM was an utter flop for me as an advanced alternative to SL's world.  I hve never gone back to BM even though it was Gamer focus developed.

So.... sadly Rodvik is following in the footsteps of his predecessors - not understanding what is unique about his customer base - and blinding taking SL to a place that his current customers didnt really want and that his new customers will not be attracted to,

I do know that Rodvik's failures will be one competing grid's major success - because this competing grid does know what SL residents want and what SL residents hate and what is encouragng them to leave.

[Josh Susanto]

>If the OP would take Medhue's advice, she would be limiting her ability to sell her creation in any of these other grids.

Moreover, I happen to know for a fact that people are buying my sculpties in SL specifically to export them to other grids, and I'm fine with that. 

In fact, I'm better than fine with that. 

People wouldn't be bothering to export the sculpties if they didn't find some aspect of SL to be deficient. 

When I get fed up enough, I'll probably just go back to offering everything so cheaply that LL doesn't get a commission. 

[Medhue Simoni]

---

Rya Nitely wrote:

My main concern with Medue's advice was that the topic title - 'Forced to close down' - would probably attract many struggling or new SL content creators who might go away thinking mesh is the only way to be successful.

As Pamela pointed out, some people may not find mesh easy to learn (unless you have a mentor), and these people may just throw it all in if they thought this was the only path to success.

I don't create mesh (yet) but my partner does, and his mesh products are very unique and well made, and they do sell, but I still make twice the profit he does. 

So, mesh might be the thing in the future but it isn't a necessity right now.

My advice to any struggling creator would be to aim at making high quality, low prim items, then you serve both markets - customer who look for low prim and those who look for quality.

---

My advice is always geared towards the person I'm giving advice too. Ami is not some newb. She has been around as long as I have. On top of that, her level of merchant experience is at a similar level as mine. I do see your point about insinuating that mesh is the only way, but I was not implying that at all. If some1's goal is to possibly make a living off of creating in SL tho, then mesh is likely part of that picture.

 

[Josh Susanto]

> LL doesn't value peoples time, rather they ask for content for free and then charge you on every single aspect of its use. 

Exactly.

Why should I go through the trouble of producing meshes instead of sculpties when the support for a market system to make them profitable just isn't there?

I can produce and list a profitable sculpty in as little as 5 minutes sometimes.

It takes that long just to get Blender just to decide whether it's even going to let me do anything without a reboot. 

And then I either have to pay 8 times as much to load the thing as I would for a sculpty, or I have to kill off a bunch of the detail that I know my regular customers already want.

[Josh Susanto]

>That is why myself and other thought Medhue's "mesh is the answer to your problem" was:  a) not even a valid solution since Mesh is NOT a new magic money generator for most,  

Moreover, if I'm still not having a problem selling sculpts even a year after mesh dropped, even to people who actually make mesh, why do I even need a "solution"?

[Josh Susanto]

>They really do not understand what makes up the their current customer base. 

But why should they even care if they're just losing their current customer base anyway?

Surely, if they just find something shiny enough to dangle in front of some new people, the eleventy-billion open JIRA's will somehow just take care of themselves ... right?

[WADE1 Jya]

---

Josh Susanto wrote

:

But why should they even care if they're just losing their current customer base anyway?

---

The reason they should care is because their current customer base is simply not replaceable. It's the same problem AOL face - unsustainable business due to irreplaceable customer base. Linden Lab's business model doesn't make sense anymore here in 2012, sitting against the current ecology of amazing possibilities for business-minded creatives. Nor does SL satisfy hardcore gamers - nor casual gamers. SL also doesn't really work very well as a virtual conference room for enterprise users.

Quite simply, SL just doesn't work & it is fun or useful for very few people. So very few that advertising it is equivalent to pouring money down the toilet. So they gave up on the web banners & stuff which is why concurrency is in decline. I believe Rodvik understands the situation. I think Lindens care very deeply & realize the unsolvable nature of this issue, which is why they are busy developing other products now & letting SL hang to dry.

 

[Bittersweet Lime]

This is my impression as well, Wade.

LL knows that the SL boat will just stay afloat for a little while longer and so they rush to create other sources of income, while trying to shovel in new residents from every source possible, to keep the SL boat afloat long enough, to have a good base income from their new products. I would be more than happy, if LL would prove me wrong, but I doubt i will be.

[VonGklugelstein Alter]

---

Amiryu Hosoi wrote:

Well, I am strolling the web today because today is the second time LL decided to charge my paypal account to pay for tier.

 

If my sales doesn’t recover I will need to close down my sims and SL will loose again 4 wonderful free landmarks.

 

So that leaves me with one option only. Praying sales will recover after the summer so my friends, residents and visitors can keep enjoying our little corner in SL.

 

..and a bunch of other stuff

---

Ayhaymee,

Correct me if I am wrong but did not YOU create these 4 sims to PROMOTE your PRODUCT?  I doubt that LL will agree to forgive you payment for these because besides acting as your showroom they provide a valuable service to SL. LL will take tier because you comitted to paying for the use of these. If your sales model cannot float the 1200 a month then just shut them down and make way for someone to fill the hole you have made in your market...

Godspeed!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pamela Galli]

This is the second (or third) time Ami has announced in the forum that she is getting rid of some or all of her sims.

[Toysoldier Thor]

---

VonGklugelstein Alter wrote:

---

Amiryu Hosoi wrote:

Well, I am strolling the web today because today is the second time LL decided to charge my paypal account to pay for tier.

 

If my sales doesn’t recover I will need to close down my sims and SL will loose again 4 wonderful free landmarks.

 

So that leaves me with one option only. Praying sales will recover after the summer so my friends, residents and visitors can keep enjoying our little corner in SL.

 

..and a bunch of other stuff

---

Ayhaymee,

Correct me if I am wrong but did not

YOU

create these 4 sims to 

PROMOTE

your

PRODUCT

?  I doubt that LL will agree to forgive you payment for these because besides acting as your showroom they provide a valuable service to SL.

LL will take tier because you comitted to paying for the use of these. If your sales model cannot float the 1200 a month then just shut them down and make way for someone to fill the hole you have made in your market...

Godspeed!!

  

---

That is why my recommendation was to sell / abandon the sims that her SL business revenue cannot afford.  If she doesnt want to us RL $ to pay for these public use sims then her options are limited and clear.  SL economy is sinking - not growing.  LL has proven that they do not negotiate prices on teirs.  So.... reduce costs - abandon the sims.

 

Actually if she really does want to offer a public sims space to create her japanese themed environments to be used for RP and she wants these sims to cost less than she earns in SL....  if she hasnt already - she should go to SL's competing grids (we all know which one - the one that many others have gone where per/sim teirs are far cheaper) and set up her sims there.

The good thing about this idea is that since her builds DO NOT use mesh... she has 100% complete freedom to transfer her builds there and not only offer the public space she wants to offer the public but she can also start selling her builds there.

She could even inform visitors to her main commerce store sim that there are huge multi-sim public spaces on the competing grid for them to visit.

But regardless ... the solution is pretty clear.  Reduce costs - abandon the sim.

PS VonG... if she really does abandon the sim... there sure is no waiting list for sims considering LL last year saw 1800 abandoned sims.  If someone actually wants a sim.... LOL... they have tons for the pickings at a good price.

[Czari Zenovka]

---

Toysoldier Thor wrote:

 

PS VonG... if she really does abandon the sim... there sure is no waiting list for sims considering LL last year saw 1800 abandoned sims. 

If someone actually wants a sim.... LOL... they have tons for the pickings at a good price.

---

(Emphasis mine)

The estate sim where my shop was formerly located was recently sold.  From what I understand the offers were way less than she hoped to get and finally accepted an offer for less than the asking price, but by that time just wanted to get out of it.  From that one example (and of course it is just one example) it would appear that there are buyers for sims but, like land flippers, wanting to pay as little as possible.  Not that I have any interest, not to mention funds, in purchasing an estate, regardless of the purchase price the same monthly tier exists as in all land on SL.

How many times do we residents have to say if only LL would reduce tier more land would be sold.  *sighs*

 

[Deja Letov]

---

Pamela Galli wrote:

---

Deja Letov wrote:

I have to agree with Toy. Just as an example, I have a paid to join VIP group and each month to that group I give away one free product. The product is always a new creation. Well 2 months ago my new product was a mesh object. It was the first mesh object I've offered in my store so I thought why not start with my group of VIP'ers. I got sooooo many IM's from customers asking me if I was going to continue to do only mesh for my group gift and really raising some negative comments from those people if I planned to do so. I have made a conscious decision to 1. not release mesh as a VIP group gift anymore and 2. not really focus on providing mesh even as a regular product offering, except a few random scattered products. I've played with it a bit and have made just a handful of items, but strangely they are not good selling items, even being mesh. I just don't see mesh as a strong reason for a business being successful. In fact I see it more impressive to content creators than to buyers. Buyers just want what looks good, they don't care how it gets there. mesh may have its day one day, but I don't think it's quite ready today.

As for the OP, I would definitely cut back on maybe one sim that isn't producing revenue. Don't give up completely, just make cuts.

---

I have been building only mesh for a year now. I made my first release when Phoenix added mesh viewing. People did ask if I planned to make only mesh from then on, and I said yes, of course. No one complained tho I am sure I may have lost some sales on that account. OTOH I have ppl come in the store and buy a mesh house, a mesh kitchen, a mesh living room, a mesh dining room, a mesh bedroom, and a mesh office set. They clearly want mesh and only mesh.

I knew two years ago that I had to learn mesh or go the way of the dinosaur, and it made me very anxious because it was so difficult, and I was so dumb. I was very very fortunate to have met a wonderful mentor and best friend who has helped me, or I simply could not have done it. Therefore I can't tell people to go learn mesh because I could not have done it myself without a great deal of help. But mesh will become the gold standard for SL, there is no question about that whatsoever. I am glad that has not happened instantly because I have 4 sims of non mesh.

---

Oh I absolutely agree it will be the mainstream one day...just like sculpts are now. I just don't think we are there now, which is why I'm in no hurry to start working with it. But I'm not completely ignoring it. I'm learning, buying others full perms, figuring out the texturing, etc and one day when it is more acceptable I will be ready!

 

[wrable Amat]

Every one has some great advice on this,I have to say we have taken a hit in baby land and feel you on the sales being spook low .

Down 50% my self I have to face the facts ,and back in college for economic studies sure dose not help hide the bitter truth facing us all.

 we have more sellers then buyers,simple plain truth..

When you can buy a kit for 300L with some sweet shoes to resell/mod or sell as is and all it takes is dropping a script and prim in a object to 100% create and texture it.

Market place free and 0 land needed to operate ,my own guilt about market place is I do 100% of my shopping there..

Sorry do not have the time to fight SL with all all its quirks to visit a location to buy a hair when I can do it on market place in less then 5 mins . Sure 1 out of my 100s of buys have had issues in the past receiving  when shopping there,but it will that not stop me or has stopped me from using it 100% of my buys...

I am a simple user like the very few buyers we have  left in SL , that come in new and have a few dollars to spend on online silliness . I do not use kits and make all my toys so I have no "large buys"  I rather go in world for and nor dose many  many users in my tier as a shopper,I am worth more  in tips at live events then I am a as shopper I bet I filter a whole 1500L  a month is spending to contribute to the economic growth SL,so I can image in a tier of buyer levels many of us are just a small value .

What solves this..

                                                           Regulation of commerce.

 

Cashing out is limited to at min 9.99 a month user and up.

(no free account cash outs,sense when in RL can you use peoples resources to profit for free for ever,even if there was  limited free time it be better then the 100s take out and putting nothing back in to the game)

 

Better policing of Market place on illegal products & stolen content.

(make reward system and  hire a staff to work it along with the community,to avoid abuse reward system is only paid out when a user is flagged and banned from game . Just like RL you do not get paid for narking until they get jail time)

come up with a better kit selling program.

Most already have websites to send PSD files.  It is safer as well if the buyer buys it direct from you ( the kit maker ) on your  own website  that you  can track each IP on agreement and really be able to speed up a issue with abuse to their agreement of resale,that also puts the work load and cost to the kit maker to police themarket place for their own agreement issues.

 threw a 3rd party like SL market place LL is sure not going to help you very much when you find people abusing your agreement.

I know because in the past I been in those shoes and I pretty much took a lost unless I wanted to gamble a huge RL cost to pursue it . You are not going to get then in jail over your internet rights and guess who don' not have any money to sue . People who steal things on the net in small beans like textures and images to resell in fake clothing layers for AVs ... They are broke that is why they steal.

 

And the biggest one of them all..TAKE PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY AGAIN!!!

Lately it seems like a ship with no captain,hire a better PR person to combat with the negative reply issue you have when posting any type of updates or blogs .

You are a a company A business !! You have the tools to work around this,turn off replies.. I duno.Something outside of nothing.

 What we no longer get from LL  I sure miss is listed below !

Quarterly reports.

Real Time users long in to the grid tool.

 Any personal Linden Labs touch to make it feel like a community they take part of.

 DAILY CHATTER BOX LL STAFFER ON THE BLOGS

I feel like a abandon step child these days in SL as far as my LL relationship goes.

Look it up.People spend more when warm and fuzzy!!