May I create a special vendor system for other token or currency?

[Madelaine McMasters]

Hi Jules,

The only currency recognized and supported by Linden Lab is the Linden. You can certainly construct a system that moves around some other kind of tradeable thing, you've already found one in the marketplace. But, it's hard to imagine that scaling up into anything significant. There was once (is there still?) a bit of a market in breedable creatures but I'm not aware of any other kind of token that ever got any traction.

Simple items like clothing or furnishings are far easier to sell, as they usually don't depend on anything else for their value. A currency system's value is proportional to the number of people participating in it. On day one, that's a hard sell.

[Madelaine McMasters]

Hi Jules,

The only currency recognized and supported by Linden Lab is the Linden. You can certainly construct a system that moves around some other kind of tradeable thing, you've already found one in the marketplace. But, it's hard to imagine that scaling up into anything significant. There was once (is there still?) a bit of a market in breedable creatures but I'm not aware of any other kind of token that ever got any traction.

Simple items like clothing or furnishings are far easier to sell, as they usually don't depend on anything else for their value. A currency system's value is proportional to the number of people participating in it. On day one, that's a hard sell.

[Jules1979]

I asked this, because i don't want work on it, if is not allowed by the TOS.

[Alwin Alcott]

i'd like to add a little thing to think about after reading Maddy's answer.

 

A token system is always prepaid, often not refundable.... most people will hate not like that.

[Madelaine McMasters]

The SL Terms of Service do not outlaw the creation of trading/bartering systems. The design and nature of SL don't make them easy.

[Jules1979]

My example: you can earn activity points on a website. When you click to the withdraw button, the website gives you a unique code. You can use this code inworld, and the vendor will gives you the virtual good.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I can't see that being a big seller or even selling much at all.

It isn't legal to give tokens out as winnings in a gaming system if the players have to pay to play, unless it is owned and run by someone that has a gaming license and the system is on a gaming sim.  You might have to be licensed as a gaming device creator too.  I'd certainly inquire with LL about that before you put a lot of effort into it if that is the intent.  Second people are more interested in winning $L's than tokens to exchange for merchandise.  

If people don't pay for tokens, or even if they do , it is just as easy to give out gift cards to reward people for something, and probably more secure.  There are plenty of vendors on the market that accept gift cards.  Most places that don't sell things, such as clubs, rely on merchants to give them free gift cards as a promo anyway.

 

[Jules1979]

I don't speak about gaming system. A little easier... if I have a store and you want buy a t-shirt and you give me a texture (now your texture is a token) for the t-shirt. Can I allow it? This is exchange but not token exchange. Virtual good exchange.

[Madelaine McMasters]

You're describing a barter system, and that's allowed. People barter all the time, both in SL and in RL. I don't know how you design vendor to do this, though. How does it determine the value of something (or whether it infringes someone's IP rights) offered in exchange for a t-shirt?

[Jules1979]

Is not too hard... php, mysql, lsl. :-) But I must listen to the TOS, is important. I don't want start something if is not allowed by LL.