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19 minutes ago, Kadah Coba said:

Was originally 10 groups.

Nov 10, 2004 it was raised to 15. http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/32/40/26961/1.html

2006 it was raised to 25.

2011 it was pushed to 42. If I remember right, there was a technical limitation preventing it from being higher than 25 before this and Oskar or Andrew made it 42 as a reference to HHGTTG.

2015 was when the 60 bonus was added to premium.

Ah, so it was 2006 when they upped it to 25. Just seemed longer. Thanks!

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13 minutes ago, Kadah Coba said:

In all but some very iffy and narrow edge cases, its always cheaper to increase your tier than to premium up an alt. This increase only makes this slightly more true.

Single private region holders will see a $17.75 savings off $255/m. It is literally not much more than a token gesture, but I'll take it. This will help pay for the slight increases in mainland holding I did for frientals and I won't need to sell off any old mainland for now.

In case you didn't know, when you highlight to quote someone quoted in another post it won't show the original OP's name. It shows the other person. Like it's showing you quoted me when it was someone else. Not the first time it's happened. 

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4 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Ah, so it was 2006 when they upped it to 25. Just seemed longer. Thanks!

I thought it was 2008 initially as that was what the wiki history turned, but dug further as I couldn't trust that result as the wiki was started in 2008. Anything before the end of 2008 is before my time.

Just now, Selene Gregoire said:

In case you didn't know, when you highlight to quote someone quoted in another post it won't show the original OP's name. It shows the other person. Like it's showing you quoted me when it was someone else. Not the first time it's happened. 

I don't doubt it, Invision is only a little better than Lithium garbage.

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The new pricing really won't affect me very much. My renewal date for my annual membership doesn't come due until next March so I could just sell a few more L$ each month than I do now and be fine. I'm probably going to re-up for another year at the current price though since I have the L$ to do it. I know it's going to be a problem for some though. It's especially crappy that they did it AFTER people got all those new Linden Homes. I really don't need more groups or IM's before capping than I have now. I think dropping what basic gets like this is really mean spirited and a really bad decision. You don't encourage people to pay for premium by taking away from what they already had, you make premium more attractive which is what they have been doing. I think they are going to lose a lot of residents over this, and a number of those will be item creators that were indirectly earning LL far more than the price of a premium membership. 

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9 hours ago, kathyparnes1 said:

Did anyone notice that full regions are reduced 20 usd? This offsets the cost of membership from 72 to 99 usd lol

(Remember that 99 usd is approx 145 aud at current exchange rates)

Actually, i have been expecting a price rise for a while..

$230 USD ($310 Canadian) is still too expensive for land, $20 discount or not. In the ageless words of SimCity, "reduce taxes to encourage growth." If LL found a way to slash land to $50 a month or cheaper, how many people would buy land on principle?

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1 hour ago, Selene Gregoire said:

I was one of the ones who dumped Photobucket when they went full pay. I wouldn't have minded a small hosting fee but they went more than the whole hog. I was using it to host some of the images I was using on the FS forum before I discovered that particular forum provider didn't limit that sort of thing, just in the nick of time.

I got properly shafted by Photobucket, as I'd used it a long time and probably had over 1000 images there, linked to a forum in RL I'm very active on. Had they drawn a line in the sand and said "from now it's this price", I might have had some sympathy. But they wanted a fortune so I left. I had all my images on a hard drive at home, so I reposted them all elsewhere, and then spent forever reposting all my old posts with the images. Then I wiped every image from Photobucket and closed my account.

It's not often I get hopping mad, but that episode of an utterly ridiculous business plan really go me going. And still does.

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I was reading the linked article over and over, trying to find what "new premium pearks" I will get... and there really is nothing that has any value to me.

- As a premium member, I already have plenty of group spots. Thats like handing me another bag of chips, when I'm already sitting on a pile, expecting me to feel the same amount of happyness as I did for the first chip bag. Sorry, but thats not how it works.

- I'm not popular. I don't get more than 25 offline IMs anyway. An increase does not matter to me.

- Ohhh, a 20$ reducution on rent for entire sims! How gre...oh wait no, renting entire sims is a sport for the very wealthy and looking at my bank account and my job situation...uhm, thats not going to be me any time soon (call back in 10+ years!). Seriously, if you can spend more than 200$ each month on a virtual chunk of land, 20$ is nice for you. But who is going to debate getting a sim and that $20 is what convinces them to do so? Nobody. Because if you have that much money free to spend for that kind of stuff, then that reduction isn't going to mean a lot.

The change to mainland and the increase of the allowance without extra payments was what made me go premium, because it made the annual payment option "worth it". Now I'm bascially getting the same stuff but have to pay more for it. And it feels bad, because like Selene already said it, it feels so inconsidered towards the lower income residents. In combination it even feels like I have to pay more, because they want to reward the 'whales' of Second Life.

Generally speaking: Increased and decreases of something have a higher impact the lower you are on an income scale.

I'm also one of the poor noodles, who has to pay VAT on that horsecrap, too. So I will break that 100$ barrier for the annual membership. My premium membership has recently started its second year, so I'm going to stay Premium until next May... but after that? I don't know. If they keep kicking us in the butt like that, I will consider canceling.

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I've been over and over this in my head. To make my alt premium or to not. I've chosen to make my alt premium.

 My plan is to use the LindenX, sell off my lindens to pay my premium accounts. This is all dependent on the market: and fully subject to change lol ......

  L$52,000          for x 2 avatars

- L$31,200          balance of x 2 stipends

= L$20,800         total to make up over the year for both avatars. I can buy in smaller lots and when the dollar says it a good time.

at the current rate to purchase the extra L$20,000 in full will cost me NZD$127. Feels like a, pay for 1 get 2 'kinda' deal (I know it's not really). After the initial startup costs for my alt that is.

NZD$28pa extra is what it will cost me to have my second account premium. 

 

This all depends on how well I can save those tempting linden$ of course. I already know how much I spend in SL on impulse buys, upgrades, tipping, uploads and land. Cutting back on those things is where my sacrifice will be.

I could increase tier, at NZD$128 annually for an another 1024sqm and rebuy mainland it is only a dollar extra than having two premium accounts but I don't want to. The group bonus isn't even enough for me to choose the tier increase. I'm over the mainland for living, I'll never do it again. 

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10 hours ago, Amina Sopwith said:

It would certainly reduce the number of alts quite dramatically. I wonder what the consequences of that would be.

A dramatic drop of visitor counts in the sexytime sims. That and it would be a lot harder for me to test multi-player games.

Edited by Arduenn Schwartzman
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I've been in sl for over ten years. Not on this account. On an older account that I deleted a few years back. In the majority of that time I've always been a premium member for many reasons. It was just always the better alternative for my tight budget. I have always paid quarterly. With premium, I'm always guaranteed a home I don't have to worry about paying rent for. I get the weekly stipend which is also very nice and allows me to save up for things. It is just something that is a no hassle benefit for me. Especially at the price it was. Now, I do have to rethink a few things because I just signed my alt up for premium a month ago because the idea of just leaving the stipend to build up on my alt was appealing for me. I won't be able to keep up that second premium membership so there is a bit of disappointment here for me.

I will keep my premium membership for now on my main account here. I'm not sure if I can do it annually because that is quite a lump sum for me. The increased number of groups isn't something I consistently need so that won't benefit or hinder either way. I'm sorry for the basic members who are seemingly being penalized for not being premium. Their number of groups in my opinion should of stayed the same while the premium member's simply increased.

I do understand that need for prices to go up. I get it, but I also don't have to like it or be pleased about it. I'm just going to wait and see how things go. I've been a premium member for so long and would hate to have to drop it because it really has been the best thing for my rl budget in the past and I hope it continues to be the best way to manage things for me. Only time will tell I guess.

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5 minutes ago, Grumpity Linden said:

Oh hey, I posted a thing which clarifies a number of questions raised in this thread.  Nota Bene regarding the pitchforks ... 

 

Maybe shut all the threads down and have them merge into your thread???? There are people with good ideas whos comments get lost between ongoing conversations and nit pickers.

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7 hours ago, Selene Gregoire said:

It was 10 when I joined in 2004 and didn't increase for several years. I don't remember off hand what year it was but I want to say it was around 2007/8/9 when they upped it. It may have been as early as 2006 but I doubt it.

It was 25 groups when I joined end of 2008.

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7 hours ago, BelindaN said:

I got properly shafted by Photobucket, as I'd used it a long time and probably had over 1000 images there, linked to a forum in RL I'm very active on. Had they drawn a line in the sand and said "from now it's this price", I might have had some sympathy. But they wanted a fortune so I left. I had all my images on a hard drive at home, so I reposted them all elsewhere, and then spent forever reposting all my old posts with the images. Then I wiped every image from Photobucket and closed my account.

It's not often I get hopping mad, but that episode of an utterly ridiculous business plan really go me going. And still does.

I'd been using it for years for personal things. I didn't even bother closing my account, I just left. It still chaps my hide, too. Just as being driven out of SL, slowly but surely, chaps my hide. Even more so when I've been spending money I don't really have to spend on buying all new mesh objects to build with so I could get my little business going again which there is now no point in doing since I'm being driven out. Thinking about that hurts so much it stings. Because, frankly, no one but me gives a damn about it.

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10 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

.... Just as being driven out of SL, slowly but surely, chaps my hide. Even more so when I've been spending money I don't really have to spend on buying all new mesh objects to build with so I could get my little business going again which there is now no point in doing since I'm being driven out. Thinking about that hurts so much it stings. Because, frankly, no one but me gives a damn about it.

In practical terms.. you are (potentially) loosing 7 groups and 3 less L$ for every hundred you buy.

It's not the end of the world by any stretch  and those of us who do and are paying LL more cash than we care to admit are totally fine covering the cost of your access. In fact, it's actually nice to see that paying for the service does come with solid perks. I for one am looking forward to further improvements to the premium offering.

Please try not to sound so entitled, it's taken years for good will towards basic accounts to reach the point everyone see's they have value beyond the raw numbers, it would be a real shame if that were to take a step back because of something so trivial. 

You are in no way being driven out, your access and abilities are not being curtailed, you weren't paying for SL before and you wont be paying for it afterwards, even though access to the service and software costs actual money that you don't and won't have to contribute towards, you're more than welcome. We're glad you can join in.

 

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30 minutes ago, CoffeeDujour said:

 

In practical terms.. you are (potentially) loosing 7 groups and 3 less L$ for every hundred you buy.

It's not the end of the world by any stretch  and those of us who do and are paying LL more cash than we care to admit are totally fine covering the cost of your access. In fact, it's actually nice to see that paying for the service does come with solid perks. I for one am looking forward to further improvements to the premium offering.

Please try not to sound so entitled, it's taken years for good will towards basic accounts to reach the point everyone see's they have value beyond the raw numbers, it would be a real shame if that were to take a step back because of something so trivial. 

You are in no way being driven out, your access and abilities are not being curtailed, you weren't paying for SL before and you wont be paying for it afterwards, even though access to the service and software costs actual money that you don't and won't have to contribute towards, you're more than welcome. We're glad you can join in.

 

You are missing a lot of information to be so judgmental of my situation. I have been premium before  and wanted to be again. I was trying to restart my SL business so I could hopefully afford to go premium. I suppose I shouldn't expect those who have an income that is likely double what I can earn in a year to be able to understand.

As for the rest, I call bs. Premium accounts have never carried mine. I have always paid my own way and never once did I ever cash out nor did I have any plans to cash out. I was planning on leaving it all inworld and using it to pay for land and everything else I would need to just break even and be able to stay in SL.

So yes, I am being driven out regardless of your opinion.

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8 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

As for the rest, I call bs. Premium accounts have never carried mine. I have always paid my own way and never once did I ever cash out nor did I have any plans to cash out. I was planning on leaving it all inworld and using it to pay for land and everything else I would need to just break even and be able to stay in SL.

Premium accounts never carried anyone. Land owners (specifically those above bonus tier and renting / owning private regions) have carry everyone, for ever. Shifting the income model away from pure land and incentivising land ownership is critical to SL's on going survival.

SL costs a whole boat load of money just existing before a single person has logged in.

If you were premium before, the entire profit for a year just about covers a single support ticket. 

 

Edited by CoffeeDujour
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17 hours ago, animats said:

37% price increase!

Wow. This is normal for San Francisco, but not for the rest of the world.

 

In effective terms it's actually a 150% increase.

Part of the benefit of a premium subscription can be considered a refund in the form of the stipend, which has a value of approximately $60 USD per year which can be exchanged for USD in your account to pay your subscription.

At $72 for a premium the real term cost was $1 per month. With the new pricing it's $2.50 per month.

Whether that seems to much or not I guess is up to each person, I just wanted to highlight the bump in cost as an effective or "real" percentage.

 

ETA:

Correcting myself, it's a 225% increase, because the cost per account will be $3.25. I was going on $90 not $99, derp.

Edited by Yorkie Bardeen
maths is hard
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20 hours ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Well then... LL just priced premium completely out of my reach.

Apparently LL is determined to oust all us poor folk and have SL only for the people who have incomes over $50,000 US annually.

Thanks LL. It's so nice to know how much Linden Research dba Linden Lab appreciated the thousands of dollars I have (now) wasted over the past 15 years. I was going to request my original account back and go premium on it again but no, you had to go and raise the rate and make it unaffordable.

I think SL forgets a good amount of their players are retired or disabled an on limited incomes :(

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14 minutes ago, Lizbette Tearfall said:

I think SL forgets a good amount of their players are retired or disabled an on limited incomes :(

Most companies and people don't seem to really care one way or the other. We've become a disposable society as well as a "me me me it's all about me" society. Definitely not the world we were lead to believe would exist at this point in time. Those of us who are not in the "1%" are considered expendable, less than human. We have become "the Other".

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I think SL forgets that spending $2.50 a month for a primary source of entertainment is exceptional value.

I've been on a very limited income for a long time. If it comes down to subsisting on Ramen or buying L$, you know .. maybe I can do without going to the arcade this month.

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3 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Most companies and people don't seem to really care one way or the other. We've become a disposable society as well as a "me me me it's all about me" society. Definitely not the world we were lead to believe would exist at this point in time. Those of us who are not in the "1%" are considered expendable, less than human. We have become "the Other".

Nah, the 1% wouldn't exist without the 99% paying them.

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1 minute ago, CoffeeDujour said:

I think SL forgets that spending $2.50 a month for a primary source of entertainment is exceptional value.

I've been on a very limited income for a long time. If it comes down to subsisting on Ramen or buying L$, you know .. maybe I can do without going to the arcade this month.

THANK YOU!

OMG, you'd think they are literally bending people over and ... well, you know... doing Very Bad Things to them.

Also, I buy ramen by the case from Amazon. Not that fancy stuff in it's own cup... the cheap stuff I have to put in my own bowl. That's a 20 cent dinner right there. 😋

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