A brief note on pricing changes, which ran long.

[Fyrebird Courier]

perhaps a little clearer wording then? to me, that sounds like 249 + 349 is required to get it.  "Activation fee plus first month's tier?"

 

[Fyrebird Courier]

It states that if you downgrade your membership, when you become premium again, you will get the stipend that is currently in effect.

 

However, i had an argument with a person, who swore she's dropped and picked up her acct many times over the years, and she still gets 500/week, so...do at your own risk

[Selene Gregoire]

8 minutes ago, Grumpity Linden said:

We dropped the setup fee by over 40% last year.  It now costs ~$100 + first month's fee to get a new region.  

That is still a few hundred dollars I can't afford and I'm not alone in that. There are many of us that would dearly love to "own" a sim/region but even at the new prices, we can NOT afford them. It is out of our financial reach. My point being LL would have more of an income if they dropped the price to something more people can afford. In other words, lower the mark up and make up for that with volume!

[Evangeline Arcadia]

3 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

That is still a few hundred dollars I can't afford and I'm not alone in that. There are many of us that would dearly love to "own" a sim/region but even at the new prices, we can NOT afford them. It is out of our financial reach. My point being LL would have more of an income if they dropped the price to something more people can afford. In other words, lower the mark up and make up for that with volume!

I'd love to have a sim! Oh wow, the hours of fun I would have decorating/terraforming etc. But realistically it's never gonna happen unless I win the lottery. I doubt the prices will ever be low enough for 'regular' folk to afford one lol. I personally think the prices are ridiculous for something that's virtual, but then I don't know if I fully understand the costs involved for LL to host them etc. So I could be wrong.

Edited May 31, 2019 by Evangeline Arcadia

[Grumpity Linden]

 

1 hour ago, Maggie Larimore said:

I'm confused about a practice thing. My annual membership is renewable in August. Will I be able to renew it and keep that price in June, or am I out of luck because I don't renew until August. Thanks for the bullet points; answered at least two other of my confusions.

Maggie, you're going to be able to pre-pay for another year in June.  That will move your next billing date to August 2020.

[ananoelle]

4 minutes ago, Evangeline Arcadia said:

I would imagine they'll have some kind of upgrade option if you have the existing premium. In the blog post it says it's coming this year so not too long to wait:)

 

😂 Sorry where are the last names again? 

Id rather know the new perks for the new level before making my alt premium. LL are holding out on those details until after these new changes take affect which could mean ill get stung and taking the current offer they have to keep current rate for another year, will mean jack.

 

[Fyrebird Courier]

i would like to know how the "last names" will work, in regards to the previous.  Will you get the "same" ones? or will there somehow be a marked difference, so it's able to be told who is "older" and who "paid".

[Asadora Summers]

30 minutes ago, Grumpity Linden said:

Just for perspective: we have groups with over 100,000 members.  

 

Wow... I find that hard to believe..not implying that there is an untruth in that - just... literally finding that hard to believe. No offence intended at all. Just being honest. 

[Blueberryxx]

1 minute ago, ananoelle said:

where are the last names again?

I assume not for another year, considering this also requires a ton of work. Even these forums with how the names are stored would need major work. Might honestly not even end up being possible to offer a name change. I do hope that at least new accounts get last names, even if it doesn't end up being possible to change our current last names. Just a guess.

[Blueberryxx]

5 minutes ago, Asadora Summers said:

I find that hard to believe

It isn't a lie. I had to split my store groups into 2, and between the 2 there are over 85000 members. We split the members into 2 groups because none of the functions work when it's that crowded.

Maitreya V.I.P group has 115,000 members.

Edited May 31, 2019 by Blueberryxx

[Polymath Snuggler]

2 minutes ago, Asadora Summers said:

 

Wow... I find that hard to believe..not implying that there is an untruth in that - just... literally finding that hard to believe. No offence intended at all. Just being honest. 

Well, think about a group like Firestorm Support English ~ it's the most popular viewer out there and there's 24/7 support for it~  a decent fraction of the entire SL population has joined that group at some point or another ~ most haven't left it.

[Shauna Greymoon]

None of the functions work in a huge group -and- it eats texture memory like whoa because of everyone's profile pics. Whether you see them or not.

[sodasullivan]

22 minutes ago, Monderas Bristol said:

Please reconsider the Quarterly subscription.

I've been here 12 years and been a premium member in the past, always paid quarterly, the yearly membership fee is just to much for me to afford just as it is for many others.

I worked out that with the price increases those  paying quarterly will now only get a 1 month saving over those that pay monthly, over the course of a year (currently it's 2)

The  group limits bite, I sort of understand the reasoning but then to say you're giving higher limits to premium members when they already have 18 more slots?

If you need to lower limits because of server problems but then increasing them for every premium member then, I don't get it. Really don't get it. Reduce by less or increase by less or both. I've got groups I've paid for I don't want to quit and groups joined for sentimental reasons I wouldn't be able to rejoin if I left.

Bottom line. If you keep Quarterly subscriptions - I, and I bet others will, would go premium again! It's the affordable option and middle ground  

So please, please keep it as an option or at least, don't phase it out so quickly, keep it open a bit longer.

 

If I understand correctly, if you currently  have a quarterly premium account (you pay quarterly), you can still keep it that way and continue to pay quarterly. You will just be paying more every quarter. Is this not correct?

[Asadora Summers]

1 minute ago, polysail said:

Well, think about a group like Firestorm Support English ~ it's the most popular viewer out there and there's 24/7 support for it~  a decent fraction of the entire SL population has joined that group at some point or another ~ most haven't left it.

Mmm yes putting it that way sounds more plausible. Thank you for putting it that way  

[Grumpity Linden]

55 minutes ago, Kimmi Zehetbauer said:

But will they still get charge on their normal anniversary date they started the premium level?

Their billing date will be pushed forward by a year if they pre-pay for a year.  They would then get charged on the anniversary date in 2020.   

[Polymath Snuggler]

1 minute ago, Shauna Greymoon said:

None of the functions work in a huge group -and- it eats texture memory like whoa because of everyone's profile pics. Whether you see them or not.

I'm not so sure about the accuracy of that statement.   At least on Firestorm , I'm pretty sure they only load on demand.  ( IE you look at the chat list itself ) 

[Crim Mip]

34 minutes ago, Grumpity Linden said:

 

 

We dropped the setup fee by over 40% last year.  It now costs ~$100 + first month's fee to get a new region.  

How about to transfer ownership of an existing sim? Specifically a grandfathered/paid down one? Is that likewise $100+first month? I mean if it is, the group of friends I'm in that has mainland currently will be jumping on board. I don't suppose there's any plans to allow homesteads without already owning an estate. That would be even better.

[Shauna Greymoon]

5 minutes ago, polysail said:

I'm not so sure about the accuracy of that statement.   At least on Firestorm , I'm pretty sure they only load on demand.  ( IE you look at the chat list itself ) 

I never open the chat list unless I'm looking for a mod. I can promise you it does lol. Everything blurs in and out and doesn't get better until I restart or close the big group. I'd rather just restart though.

Edited May 31, 2019 by Shauna Greymoon

[Grumpity Linden]

48 minutes ago, Marianne Little said:

Is there going to be a new premium level? And if I have already paid my annual premium, how will "upgrading" work? I am paying the difference between old premium and new, shiny premium?

There will be a new and shiny premium level, which you would be able to upgrade to from your old yet still pretty awesome premium level.  The specifics of how upgrades (and downgrades) will work are going to be announced at a later date, but the general idea is - you will get credit for the "old" premium towards the new shiny.  

[Grumpity Linden]

51 minutes ago, Kimmi Zehetbauer said:

They stay up night. I remember when we had a RL night club south of San Francisco, there was a Linden staff who told me about SL (I blame him to this day for getting me into this mess) and was a regular at the club. He said "you should check the virtual world I'm working for on the back-end. and he left his office about midnight!

That must have been in the days of younger Lindens !

[Grumpity Linden]

55 minutes ago, polysail said:

 

Also @Grumpity Linden should I make a feature request JIRA for my +1 Group Slot / Rez Day idea or is that sort of thing actually impractical?

I would be the last person stopping anyone from making feature requests in jira! But in reality, it's not the most practical of Rez Day gifts. However, cool Rez Day gifts should be a thing. 

[Fox Wijaya]

3 minutes ago, Grumpity Linden said:

That must have been in the days of younger Lindens !

perhaps better no pony ...

[Grumpity Linden]

21 minutes ago, Asadora Summers said:

 

Wow... I find that hard to believe..not implying that there is an untruth in that - just... literally finding that hard to believe. No offence intended at all. Just being honest. 

me too, but there it is. not making this stuff up!

[Fox Wijaya]

38 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

That is still a few hundred dollars I can't afford and I'm not alone in that. There are many of us that would dearly love to "own" a sim/region but even at the new prices, we can NOT afford them. It is out of our financial reach. My point being LL would have more of an income if they dropped the price to something more people can afford. In other words, lower the mark up and make up for that with volume!

now LL only has to deal with a limited group of owners... imagine all resident get a sim, i'd love it, but support would be unworkable.

and it's simply not how most things work... lets call Bugatti.. lower your price to 10k for you top model .. or mercedes or any other brand. We have a capitalistic system, most of us in rl but also in SL. ... and LL needs income.
The real SL experience isn't about having, but being and doing. Thats not limited to the rich few.

[Monderas Bristol]

31 minutes ago, sodasullivan said:

If I understand correctly, if you currently  have a quarterly premium account (you pay quarterly), you can still keep it that way and continue to pay quarterly. You will just be paying more every quarter. Is this not correct?

Currently I am basic and have been thinking about going back to Premium since the start of this year.

" If you keep Quarterly subscriptions - I, and I bet others will, would go premium again! "

Mundane RL things like  a new Fridge freezer, cooker and then last weekend an exploding washing machine (literally..bang!)  have prevented that.

The announcement states that new quarterly subscriptions are no longer possible but if they were kept, then in a few weeks time I would be able to. Juggling a monthly bill for SL ($143.88 a year) on top of RL bills isn't an option 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Monderas Bristol
clarification