How would you make premium accounts more appealing?

[Sasy Scarborough]

5 minutes ago, Kyrah Abattoir said:

It's an interesting idea but that's something estate owners would want regardless.

I'm still of the opinion that the target for region ownership shouldn't be individual users. People constantly claim that land is too expensive but that's usually because they are shooting straight for region ownership, which was never priced to be personal space anyway. That's what the premium 1024 sqm allotment is for, and it's pretty cheap in comparison.

in my years I have seen people that needed full regions um and ahh and get overwhelmed by what would actually be involved, keep using the statement 'when I can get a full sim' as though this would mean huge changes etc, often it does not change a thing, often there is no need and often they do not realise that until it is too late. Sometimes they really do need the space, the prims and the ability to not fill other land with people coming to their location, they need that whole 50 people or so at the time, and hesitate when they should dive in, because they are holding back, both sides of the same thing could possibly be solved by a sim rehearsal so to speak. This is not about first time land, it is more about first time big responsibility. 

The day I decided to quit smoking I bought a sim, the reason was someone was selling one cheap back in the 1000USD times, which was cheaper than the 1600USD times to be sure. However I worked out that the 300USD tier was approximately the cost of cigarettes for a month (gross I know and I have been a non smoker since 2009 THANKS SL) and that I could not do both, so locking in a sim meant I could not fall off the wagon so to speak :). I ended up having it fully rented by tenants a month later and never actually paid into it, but the point was I could, I was an SL Adult with Adult responsibilities lol. 

Sometimes people need that eyeopener to hold back or get on with it, it was just an idea that as a Premium that step could have a safety harness.

[Kyrah Abattoir]

4 minutes ago, Sasy Scarborough said:

in my years I have seen people that needed full regions um and ahh and get overwhelmed by what would actually be involved, keep using the statement 'when I can get a full sim' as though this would mean huge changes etc, often it does not change a thing, often there is no need and often they do not realise that until it is too late. Sometimes they really do need the space, the prims and the ability to not fill other land with people coming to their location, they need that whole 50 people or so at the time, and hesitate when they should dive in, because they are holding back, both sides of the same thing could possibly be solved by a sim rehearsal so to speak. This is not about first time land, it is more about first time big responsibility. 

The day I decided to quit smoking I bought a sim, the reason was someone was selling one cheap back in the 1000USD times, which was cheaper than the 1600USD times to be sure. However I worked out that the 300USD tier was approximately the cost of cigarettes for a month (gross I know and I have been a non smoker since 2009 THANKS SL) and that I could not do both, so locking in a sim meant I could not fall off the wagon so to speak :). I ended up having it fully rented by tenants a month later and never actually paid into it, but the point was I could, I was an SL Adult with Adult responsibilities lol. 

Sometimes people need that eyeopener to hold back or get on with it, it was just an idea that as a Premium that step could have a safety harness.

That's not a bad argument at all, maybe some form of limited trial, and when it expires you can decide to pony up, or lose the region?

I can see a lot of potential for abuse of such a feature, but if it's done well it could be a good thing. I don't know how much LL rely on impulse region purchase.

In the same vein, a trial premium could possibly give a "taste", once you start filling those groups, you might find it easier to just "tier up" rather than removing them :3

I need to dig into the archives of there.com they had a pretty crazy membership system back in the days. Maybe there are a few lessons to get from it.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Kyrah Abattoir

[Sasy Scarborough]

3 minutes ago, Kyrah Abattoir said:

That's not a bad argument at all, maybe some form of limited trial, and when it expires you can decide to pony up, or lose the region?

I can see a lot of potential for abuse of such a feature, but if it's done well it could be a good thing. I don't know how much LL rely on impulse region purchase.

In the same vein, a trial premium could possibly give a "taste", once you start filling those groups, you might find it easier to just "tier up" rather than removing them :3

I need to dig into the archives of there.com they had a pretty crazy membership system back in the days. Maybe there are a few lessons to get from it.

having it linked to premium it may be a one time only situation like a ticket filing request because LL would not want to spend all day bringing up regions...or possibly once per calendar year if you have been a constant premium, second or more times smaller amount of time, as you already had your week etc.

[Kyrah Abattoir]

These are the current there.com member perks:

 

Customizable 3D Avatar	Yes (???)
Text Chat, IM, Buddy List	Yes (That seem a bit hardcore)
Shop in Catalog	Yes (ditto)
Listen to Streamed Radio	Yes (not exactly a selling point in 2019, but there.com 's music system was way better than parcel streaming audio)
Skills and Rewards	Full (not relevant to SL)
Clubs	Host and Rent Clubs (There.com has a bunch of social spaces you can rent, this might not be bad as a complement to Bellisaria)
ThereVoice (VOIP voice chat with friends)	Yes (I'm not a fan of voice chat anyway, but that would certainly anger some people)
Bookmark Favorite Places	Yes (stupid)
Auctions	Shop & List and offer items for sale (Other people suggested merchants should be premium, why not, I could also see a Marketplace auction system being popular with some people)
Club Privileges	Join up to 100 Clubs (That's basically group limits)
Events	Can Attend and Host (That would certainly declutter the event calendar)
Developer	Yes (Kinda goes with my idea about mesh upload)
Neighborhoods	Own and rent (that's basically land tier)
ThereIM	Yes (just... no)

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

I guess if you are going to look at there.com as an example, you'd want to note that (as far as I know) they do not have "free" accounts. It's $10/month for all, right?

[Rhonda Huntress]

On 6/1/2019 at 1:46 PM, Rhonda Huntress said:

 

• More L$ stipend is not that important unless it goes WAY up.

 

2 hours ago, Kyrah Abattoir said:

And it can't, a stipend covering more than your subscription fee would only lead to a devaluation of the L$.

Right.  So that will tell you what a stipend is worth to me.  If I were limited to 10 bucks worth of Lindens per month I wouldn't even bother logging in.

 

[Victorianna Writer]

I haven't seen where we prepay for premium useres. Has anyone seen it yet or did something change again?

Thanks

[Mollymews]

1 hour ago, Victorianna Writer said:

I haven't seen where we prepay for premium useres. Has anyone seen it yet or did something change again?

Thanks

it might not happen til LL office hours begin 

[Resi Pfeffer]

On 6/1/2019 at 7:01 PM, KanryDrago said:

I suspect for a lot of basics the answer will be there is nothing they can offer to tempt us to take up premium without it being something unfeasible.

I have no interest in mainland I prefer renting on a private island

I have no need of extra groups

I have never gone "Oh if only I could get support"

No interest at all in the gifts

The stipend would only be an expensive way of buying lindens

I have no interest in experiences in fact I avoid experiences that others set up.

I really can't think of a single thing they could offer me. If they try and take something off me that I need to function such as for example saying you need to be premium to rent on a private island then I would more likely leave than sign up as I don't take kindly to coercion. Most of what SL is for me is social and I can't see anything they can do to enhance that for me. (I don't find groups useful for social bonding)

The above could have been said by me. I was a basic user for 12 years, and never ever missed anything. I was fine getting my very own stipends by using PayPal for filling my SL account and if i need a roof above my head, i rent a homestead parcel.
But out of curiousity i went premium (quarterly membership) 2 weeks ago and tried to get into that Bellisseria community. It didnt work. I barely am or was on my house boat, and therefore i met no one until now.

A premium feature would be to get land cheaper than it is at the moment. Paying around 60 USD/month for a whole homestead would hurt less than what i pay now for 1/4 homestead, what is about 32 USD/month. 
I know, thats probably a silly request, but its still my world and my imagination

Edited June 4, 2019 by Resi Pfeffer
typo

[Kyrah Abattoir]

7 hours ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:

I guess if you are going to look at there.com as an example, you'd want to note that (as far as I know) they do not have "free" accounts. It's $10/month for all, right?

I know, but neither did SecondLife when I jumped ship from one to the other.

I'm just looking at what they did, despite failing horribly to try to entice users into a subscription.

 

There is a limit to what LL can offer that has a direct monetary value because it's essentially asking them to charge us less, reduce their margin, or well... expect them to pay us to be here. So premium perks have to be something that is more in the realm of "features". And that's something that has always more or less been added to all accounts regardless of their subscription status.

Experiences are a very good premium perk, and I really wish Linden Labs promoted the scripting side of SL more. LSL has limitations, but it is great as a "practical" language that goes pretty much hand in hand with primitives as far as rapid prototyping is concerned.

there.com was the sole "world designer" and I suppose Bellisaria is sort-of closer to the kind of things there.com would provide as a perk, I think it's fine for LL to provide more controlled spaces, given that it's something that most rental companies have essentially avoided doing.

Barons where given an entire continent with regions to develop and neighborhoods to create, and they never bothered doing so.

[Kirakuma]

if premium wave the uploading fee I would think about it for taking pictures and loading Textures in

having my own isolated pocket Dimension I would pay $40 with 500 Primitives and have up to five people allowed to be in it

[Victorianna Writer]

10 hours ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:

I guess if you are going to look at there.com as an example, you'd want to note that (as far as I know) they do not have "free" accounts. It's $10/month for all, right?

Yeah, I just happen to glance over there it is 10.00 a month. No free trial or anything.

 

[Sasy Scarborough]

13 hours ago, Kyrah Abattoir said:

Bookmark Favorite Places Yes (stupid)

lol why is this stupid ? I am not poking just wondering. I personally have my whole top of my viewer favourite LMs and they are used often not only to tp to but to also grab the slurls from (right click it save to clipboard) as they are often popular locations or I need them to add to posts for blogging etc. 

I also use it as a somewhat second home settings, I have my home as my Home and my Studio/Office is on my toolbar otherwise it would be hell trying to find that stuff in LMs all the time. 

Teleport history is also the best thing ever. 

 

The mention of other 'games' mentioned etc, the signing in once and seeing all accounts etc. 

Appearance Mode could do with an overhaul!

it would be awesome if in appearance mode it wasn't that others did not see changes until you saved it, but you were actually invisible, sort of like a secret change room. It would be wonderful to try on demos and the like in locations without chance of sudden nakedness etc. If you want to try something on or adjust something you go into appearance mode and you are just not there to others until you save chat and the like stays, but visibility is gone. That would be an epic premium perk. or just give to all 

[Kyrah Abattoir]

2 hours ago, Kirakuma said:

if premium wave the uploading fee I would think about it for taking pictures and loading Textures in

having my own isolated pocket Dimension I would pay $40 with 500 Primitives and have up to five people allowed to be in it

If anything texture upload should reflect the size of the texture and not be a flat fee for everything from 16x16 to 1024x1024, there is a big difference on how quickly a location loads up and textures participate a lot to it.

[Ivanova Shostakovich]

   For people who love skyboxes and want a more enticing premium experience, could raising the maximum build height be an option? Or do things get too wonky that high?

[Parhelion Palou]

1 hour ago, Ivanova Shostakovich said:

   For people who love skyboxes and want a more enticing premium experience, could raising the maximum build height be an option? Or do things get too wonky that high?

Things start getting wonky below 4096 ... not good to raise the limit higher.

[Kyrah Abattoir]

Parcel privacy is a thing... just saying.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

18 hours ago, Akane Nacht said:

Though I'd prefer a 19thC village with a pub, town square and trails for horseback riding... eh, I can dream...

Given the popularity of Victorian RP here, you'd think that would be a logical way to go.

So too, though, might be an urban area: there are a lot of urban sims around, even if many of them are post-apocalyptic, sex-oriented, or focused on "dark" sides of urban life. Something half way between a sterile planned urban community and the Crack Den would be good. I'd like to see a little graffiti on the walls, and refuse on the streets, but I'd also prefer not to be worried about dodging RP rapists and drug dealers.

19 hours ago, Akane Nacht said:

I've rented in themed communities before but it's inconvenient to pay weekly rents and, they may close or change management with little or no warning. 

Yep. My experience too. And it made me very sad when it happened.

[JJack Montreal]

I'd start by making it more expensive

[Marianne Little]

I really wish they would boost the land so we could feel it. Like 1/16 region with 1400 LI.

That would really be a noticeable improvement in owning land. I could take out some of my more LI heavy items. Not all, of course, but have a rotation of my inventory without counting every LI.

Don't get me wrong, I have lots of nice low LI stuff, but sometimes I want variation. 

[Amanda Crisp]

What I would want is undoable; the ability to actually remain invisible to stalkers and their alt-hordes and their Scanners without having to “hide” on an Alt.

 

 

[ananoelle]

57 minutes ago, AmandaKeen said:

What I would want is undoable; the ability to actually remain invisible to stalkers and their alt-hordes and their Scanners without having to “hide” on an Alt.

 

 

Just....smile and wave 😂

 

[Kyrah Abattoir]

2 hours ago, AmandaKeen said:

What I would want is undoable; the ability to actually remain invisible to stalkers and their alt-hordes and their Scanners without having to “hide” on an Alt.

 

 

I can see problems with that from a scripting perspective...

[Alyona Su]

8 hours ago, AmandaKeen said:

What I would want is undoable; the ability to actually remain invisible to stalkers and their alt-hordes and their Scanners without having to “hide” on an Alt.

 

 

It is possible: Swap main and alt accounts; make the main your new alt by spending less time there and the alt your new main by spending more time there. No sarcasm or anything. It's what I've done a few times. It's a technique that works well. (Otherwise, why bother with an alt?).

[Chrissy Pratchett]

On 6/1/2019 at 2:46 PM, Rhonda Huntress said:

First off let me say that nerfing basic is not going to be a good idea.  Ever.

I am already premium but what I would like to see as a perk ...

• More L$ stipend is not that important unless it goes WAY up.
• An SL email address might be cool.
• IM portal for offline communication.  Maybe couple that with the address above.
• I know this is never going to happen but a way to tie multiple accounts into one super account. We would log in and then pick our character like most MMO's.  One log in at a time.  All characters are premium.  Maybe even a shared folder in inventory.
• Personal music streams that would override the land settings.  Take your tunes with you.  I know you can do that with virtually any web browser now but why not set it for your character instead?
• How about a monthly Premium Member Newsletter?  What's in the works, status of the project viewers, upcoming major events, and maybe a personal letter from a Linden of the month.  "Hi, I'm Don'tBlameMe Linden.  I have spent 3 days stomping out a bug in group chat and it's driving me nuts!"
• And finally ... multiple partners.  Maybe family names.  Or -- dare I even mention it -- guilds (groups with no ownership tags).

 

Love that newsletter idea alot.