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Posted

or Convince An Existing Premium Member to Continue Being A Premium Member

Update: Consensus is no compelling reason to become or remain a Premium Member

Hi, my premium account annual is coming due. However, since Linden Labs has done little to optimize or even improve their existing world, rationalizing a continued 'premium' account (which doesnt feel premium anymore), is suddenly on the table.

I have the money to do it, it's just getting harder and harder every year to put it out, since nothing has changed.

I use Second LIfe to;

1)  Design and upload content for others to use in Second Life.

2)  Explore cool sims other creators create.

3)  Rent land from landowners for inworld stores, or creative photograph/machinima projects.  The success of the Marketplace is eclipsing inworld purchases, so the need to have an inworld presence is minimal, if even needed at all, and public sandboxes fill in that gap.

 

Premium is losing its lustre for me because;

1)  Premium homes are getting old and outdated, and kinda ugly.  Out of scale (I can fit an entire restaurant at scale in the living room), small allowance of LI, and no new designs/optimization is making my premium home boring. I've settled in them all at one point or another.

2)  Premium sandboxes no longer needed if you rent land. They're nice and quiet, but with all the public sandboxes, why do we need them again? What's the benefit to a Premium member, if I can attend a much more active (and policed) public sandbox?

3)  I don't buy or trade or sell Mainland.  Never found a reason to. Seems landlords are renting out at the same prices they're putting in to pay the tier. Frankly, I've never understood how mainland owners even make money at it.

4)  Premium account 'free monthly gifts"  are not that good, or unrelated to my interests.

5)  Live chat support has never been used, nor do I expect to use it anytime soon.

6) Already have attended vehicle, flying sims. Never anything new to keep my interests as a Premium member.

 

This is probably just a symptom of Second LIfe getting a little long in the tooth, and there isn't much incentive for some of us to continue on - since nothing new and exciting has been added to Premium accounts - once you've visited all the Premium areas, what else is there other than just paying for the same old, same old?

I believe there is a lot that can be done to improve the existing world of Second Life - most of which is creating engaging worlds and experiences, better UX/UI, better tutorials and "What Next?" or "What Do I Do Now" for new customers, optimizing texture use, scaling down stuff, etc, long before I don a 3d headset and swim around in Sansar.

Thanks for your responses.

Posted

There really is no reason to be a premium member unless you own mainland or want a Linden home.  Linden homes were not designed for luxury or as permanent homes.  When LL first introduced them they said that the homes were meant to give people a taste of having a home with the thought they'd eventually want to have a better home and move on.  It is therefore not surprising that LL has never upgraded them.  

I have been in SL for 10 years and  in the past, when owning real estate was profitable, owned are multi sim estate and have never been premium.  The few times I had technical issues, other than problems with my sims when I had concierge service, I have been able to solve them myself through research or from prior knowledge.

Seeing how you feel about it, I suggest you just downgrade to basic membership and carry on.

Posted

If I had the ability to sign back up for a year right now? I would do it in an instant.

I miss it.

Without the inducements offered. Although that 512 makes me miss my 'First land'

 

Posted

I pay a premium membership in Second Life for the same reason I pay my taxes in real life - it makes me feel as if I am supporting something in a small way, and I feel it gives me more right to complain.

On the other hand, whatever you choose, you are still enriching Second Life just by creating things and by renting from others, so perhaps you are a better resident than someone who just pays their membership and then expects everything to be given to them. :)

Posted

Try going Basic for a while and see how you like it. You can always go back to Premum again if you change your mind.

Before you do though, add your 60 groups you want & one extra profile pick. They don't take these away when you go back to Basic, but you won't be able to add more until you go below 42 groups & 9 picks.

Posted


entity0x wrote:

 

5)  Live chat support has never been used
, nor do I expect to use it anytime soon.

It's not only live chat that's limited to Premium subscribers; there are only a few categories of support tickets that Basic members can file. I don't know what those are, off hand, but it's a recurring theme for forum whining, so apparently it matters to some folks.

Personally, I don't remember ever filing a support ticket that isn't Land-related, so if one didn't own land, that wouldn't be a big deal. IIRC, folks tend to fuss about having big Inventory losses but no way to ask for help as a Basic... but I suppose one could re-up only when the need arises, right?

I have several Premium accounts myself, but only because they're old enough that their stipends (L$500 and in one case, L$400/wk) make an Annual membership ever so slightly profitable. If they were all L$300, I'd only have one and only because I still prefer owning Mainland to renting anywhere, and obviously YMMV.

Posted

Why do people always ask for opinions on whether or not to keep premium? It's your life do what you want. Can't you make your own decisions in life?

Also, just a small thing really, but you use it over and over and over.. It's LINDEN LAB not LABS!

Posted


Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

There really is no reason to be a premium member unless you own mainland or want a Linden home.  Linden homes were not designed for luxury or as permanent homes.  When LL first introduced them they said that the homes were meant to give people a taste of having a home with the thought they'd eventually want to have a better home and move on.  It is therefore not surprising that LL has never upgraded them. 

 LOL Amethyst, you're supposed to sell me on keeping it.

Anyway, I do still use my Linden Home quite a bit; mainly as a starting base and 'lab' of sorts, where I may work on scripting, assembling prototypes and meshes, 'scenes' for product shots, fixups and improvements to existing products, listening to the music I want to, etc.

I'm not a real estate or marketing mogul yet in Second Life, so the LH still has some good value in it. (but sucks if you want full household scene). I'm also cheap - I don't pay more for something than I have to, and only pay well for quality goods.

 


Rufferta wrote:

I pay a premium membership in Second Life for the same reason I pay my taxes in real life - it makes me feel as if I am supporting something in a small way, and I feel it gives me more right to complain.

 With each purchase you make, land rental, etc you're contributing anyway to Linden Labs, much like someone who may not vote, or extreme cases not pay income taxes - they still pay through usage fees and taxes - so always contribute anyway.

 


Qie Niangao wrote:

I have several Premium accounts myself, but only because they're old enough that their stipends (L$500 and in one case, L$400/wk) make an Annual membership ever so slightly profitable. If they were all L$300, I'd only have one and only because I still prefer owning Mainland to renting anywhere, and obviously YMMV.

Yes, I get a $300L stipend or 'cash back' weekly, which pretty much amounts to money back (though the $L value is 12.5% lower than last year), which makes the Premium cheaper every month.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted


entity0x wrote:

or
Convince An Existing Premium Member to Continue Being A Premium Member

Update
: Consensus is no compelling reason to become or remain a Premium Member

 

am late to this. Is ok that you dont see any benefit in a premium account for yourself. Is all good

i just put some stuff for anyone else who might need/want the info

+

a reason for having a Premium account is to own your land, where the land is less than a sim in size. Own in the sense that the estate owner is LL and not another resident

is still also the cheapest way to own your own small ish parcel. With 2x annual subscriptions, and with 2x stipend, it works out at about $US2-3 a month to own a 1024m

the cheapest estate 1024m rentals are going for about 210L a week at the mo. About $US3-4 a month

(depends on the Lindex exchange rate when you buy the L$. but this is the ballpark about )

can legitimately have upto 5 Premium accounts for 2816m mainland. 2560m + 256m group bonus. [included in the base subscription price]

 

eta; [incl...]

 

 

 

 

Posted

For myself, the best incentives to have a premium account are the increased number of group slots (60 for premium, 42 for basic) and the higher offline message caps (50 for premium, 25 for basic).

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