The New LH Release Plan - Your Thoughts

[Marianne Little]

7 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

I have never used a browser within the viewer.  I also have a separate external browser running.  Personally, I use Chrome for most things, though occasionally will use Firefox.

I have Chrome and Firefox too. The home page load fine, the Marketplace load fine. On both.

I never use a browser in Second Life. For me, it would be logical that it would work slower of fail.

 

[roseelvira]

3 hours ago, Daniel Voyager said:

don't see the point now for the old Linden homes to be listed. They will be closing either later this year or next year once the new continent is fully here. 

 

well until  the older generation homes are gone ,,,, keeping the older ones listed is a plus as if you cannot get a new one you can experience each of the older ones

and with every one leaving some of the older ones like the aspen that hardly was  available there are a tonof them out there now ,,,, so until everyone is finally moves  it would be a kind thing to keep this for the ones who have not been able to obtain  one of the newer ones ,,,,,, i wish that maybe they  keep some of the older homes and give  them the  added prims and land ,,,,,the tahoe theme  with the  extra prims and land  in the autumn and winter and being able to rez on the  land and decorate and not just before the  end of the patio,,,,, wow all the things  one could do 

[Cee Edman]

7 hours ago, Quartz Mole said:

All that means that we really are constrained by regular US working hours, otherwise we just can't have everyone there who needs to be there.

The OP asks for an opinion of the release method and a suggestion for a better way. Abner Mole has explained a serious constraint on what that might be. Over the last couple of weeks, I have read the complaints and the objections to every proposed improvement. Both seem to me to be entirely valid.

 

Yet, there are serious problems with the “new” release routine. Constrained as it must be to US business hours, it places an insurmountable burden on residents of Europe, Asia, Africa or Australia, and a lesser (but significant) burden on all who work or travel. Then it releases individual homes or very small clusters over several hours. That means hopeful residents must glue themselves to their screens, prepared to jump into action in an instant over that same time span. This also places an extreme burden on invalids and those with less than ideal computers or networks.

 

I gave up on Mainland 11 years ago, and had no other reason to maintain my premium status. Since then I have built and lived happily in private estates. Then, last month, with the announced increase in groups added to the priority treatment in crowded regions, I signed on again for my shopaholic avatar. The potential for a house in Bellisseria was a plus. [Love the look and the community appeal! Thank you, SL and the moles!]

 

With the aid of automatic refresh, I started fishing for abandoned houses about three weeks ago, several hours each day, testing the waters with ever-shortening refresh intervals. Including yesterday's release, I have now seen literally dozens of houses and about an equal number of houseboats come and go in an instant.

 

I have a fast computer and a 200+ mbps network. I rarely have my eyes off the page. I click on “Next” even before ARP signals the “find”. I still missed every house (don't want a houseboat).

 

I'm not complaining. It's not a bit worse (and a lot more comfortable) than waiting in a tree-stand for a passing white-tail in my old RL home in Vermont.

 

But there MUST be a better way.

 

Until the overwhelming demand is satisfied, I think the only thing that makes sense is a lottery. Sign up for a house, for a houseboat or both (two lists). Everyone on each list gets a number. When the staff is ready to release a region (or, for that matter, when an abandonment takes place) they choose a random number for each available unit and notify the person with that number that they've won. Give them 48 hours to take possession or reject. Rejected units are re-cycled. Winners who reject their won unit can sign up again.

 

All done during US business hours with no disadvantage for non-US residents. No click-fest. AND easily understood! Moreover, there would be no second-guessing the Moles, nor would they have the burden of finishing a region every two days, pronto, punctilio, holidays and weekends excepted, just because the residents expect them to adhere to that strict schedule.

[ananoelle]

3 hours ago, Abnor Mole said:

Are regions named and restarted before they are released? Yes.

Does a region being renamed and restarted mean they are ready or about to be released? Nope. 😁

Awwww poop! Back to the guessing board....

[Beth Macbain]

4 minutes ago, Cee Edman said:

Until the overwhelming demand is satisfied, I think the only thing that makes sense is a lottery. Sign up for a house, for a houseboat or both (two lists). Everyone on each list gets a number. When the staff is ready to release a region (or, for that matter, when an abandonment takes place) they choose a random number for each available unit and notify the person with that number that they've won. Give them 48 hours to take possession or reject. Rejected units are re-cycled. Winners who reject their won unit can sign up again.

"I've been a resident for a dozen years, and have been paying for a premium membership for years. Some yahoo that joined SL last week had his lottery number come up before mine did. I am offended and angry. It should be done based on seniority."

"I just joined SL last week, and some dude who's been here forever and obviously isn't going anywhere had his lottery number come up before mine. He's had years to get a Linden Home. I'm a bright shiny new resident with new money I want to give LL. I deserve a bright shiny new home first because LL wants to keep me and my money and make me happy. Newest residents should have priority."

"I've been sitting in front of my computer for a month now refreshing over and over trying to get a house and some doofus that didn't even know the homes existed until yesterday had his lottery number come up before mine. Those who've been waiting and trying longest should have priority."

Who's right? Who's wrong? What makes your idea any better than anyone else's, or more fair than anyone else's? 

[Cee Edman]

2 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

What makes your idea any better than anyone else's, or more fair than anyone else's? 

"You" wouldn't know who won or when.

 

[Beth Macbain]

1 minute ago, Cee Edman said:

"You" wouldn't know who won or when.

Doesn't matter. No one knows when someone snags one the way it's being done now unless the tell people.

[Cee Edman]

3 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

Doesn't matter. No one knows when someone snags one the way it's being done now unless the tell people.

But you specified the imagined  complaints of people who DID know!

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Cee Edman
added word

[Beth Macbain]

Just now, Cee Edman said:

But you specified the complaints of people who DID know!

The point is that no matter how LL chooses to do it, someone is going to have an issue with it. 

Here, let me rephrase:

"I don't like the lottery because I've been here a long time and seniority should be the priority."

"I don't like the lottery because I just joined and new members should have priority."

"I don't like the lottery because I've been trying to get a home since they were released and I don't think it's fair that someone who hasn't put in any effort gets one before me."

[roseelvira]

 when   the look when you  think  the homes are not getting released    like this monty python meeme

 

[Cee Edman]

6 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

The point is that no matter how LL chooses to do it, someone is going to have an issue with it. 

A lottery solves some intractable process problems.  It doesn't solve emotional ones.  No system LL could implement can solve them all.

[Beth Macbain]

7 minutes ago, Cee Edman said:

A lottery solves some intractable process problems.  It doesn't solve emotional ones.  No system LL could implement can solve them all.

ALL of the complaints are emotional ones. 

At some point, LL has to stop listening to everyone's brilliant ideas that they have probably already run up and down the flag pole several dozen times and do it the way they think is best. 

First come, first serve. Doesn't matter how old or how new or how long they've been trying, or where they live... first come, first serve. Simple as that. Get to the button and click it and go through the screens faster than anyone else and you get the home. There is no process problem. First come, first serve. Boom, done. 

[roseelvira]

FROM INFORMATION  FROM ANOTHER  THREAD  VERY INTERESTING,,,,, FEAR  OF LOSING OUT ,,,,,,,

The video game industry utilizes FOMO to get consumers/players to engage in the medium. Video game publishers will create release windows with early access for those that pay for their subscription service. An example is the publisher Electronic Arts. On their main website they have posted, “Try new EA games before launch day. Your save progress carries over to the full game if you decide to buy.”^[37] This can be seen in the release of the game Anthem, where Electronic Arts released a chart depicting the various ways to purchase the game and which would grant early access to the game.

The games themselves are also designed to create a fear of missing out. There are a few ways that FOMO is utilized, such as with daily login rewards. Again, Anthem is an example, having daily, weekly, and monthly challenges to complete for various levels of rewards, prompting players to return. “Daily login rewards are a type of system that rewards players for simply logging in to a game each day. Some games will give a player a set reward every day, while others will build up to better rewards the number of consecutive days logged in.”^[38]

Mobile games are another example of products that use FOMO to retain large numbers of engagement. Mobile games are well known for timed exclusives of one sort or another. “If there's a chance a player might miss a one-time event, it generates FOMO.”^[39] As an example of a mobile game that utilizes FOMO tactics, Crab Wars has a timed currency booster that lasts for three hours, so any time where it’s not active is time spent “losing” money. 

[roseelvira]

SEE THE THREAD ON  LINDEN HOMES  FOMO  AND THANK YOU FOR   THAT THREAD  INTERESITNG GOODSTUFF   WITH ANSWERS

[Chic Aeon]

Thanks for all your comments!  It seems like the majority of forum folks anyway are happy (or at least satisfied for now) with the new method of releases so I hope it works well. I will be reporting the thumbs up feelings on my bi monthly Bellisseria blog report. 

 

While I didn't read all the details in the FOMO post above this I understand the point; I had already in my mind decided that people were happy because it SEEMED that they had a better chance with this new method. Since I got  good grades in both logic and statistic I won't go into the unlikelihood of that premise LOL,  but hey, perception is everything -- right?  And happy citizens are HAPPY citizens.    All good.   

 

May everyone get their plot somewhere along the way!   

 

Feel free to keep chatting of course. 

[Gryphon Ronas]

9 hours ago, Beth Macbain said:

No, the problem is that nothing LL does will make 100% of the people happy. They tried a huge release at once. People complained. They tried a smaller release with the pickle. People complained. Now they're trying this, and yes, people are going to complain. 

If the Flying Spaghetti Monster swooped down from the sky with a shiny, clean, brand new Linden Home or Houseboat in the ideal perfect location for every single person, AND it  was self-aware and would just know intrinsically how to be that particular resident's idea of the perfect house, with the perfect furnishings, with the perfect landscaping AND refunded every single dollar collected by LL over the past 16 years with a promise to pay each resident a daily stipend of L$25,000 on top of that, along with unlimited real life squishy hugs from the person from their real life that they most desperately need one from, plus an ice cream cone, someone would still complain. 

"This is unfair", "they should do it this way", "they should do it that way", "they favor this", "they favor that..."

OMFG.

OMFG!

If all the complainers know so much about what LL should do, then they should go get some venture capital and start their own SL. 

No pony?  NO PONY?????

What do you mean we don't get a pony too!?!?!?!

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

7 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

we know the first big release of the Campers & Trailers will be in a few months.

That far off? Has something more been said?

[Raspberry Crystal]

5 hours ago, Cee Edman said:

I think the only thing that makes sense is a lottery.

...equally fair but involves changing the system which would divert resources.

[roseelvira]

from what i understand it is already random . the server computer what ever dose the download  and the computer  server what  ever  determines  it,,,like when you pick the ceder home but no ideal if you will land in gannet  or shelduck 

[tinatickles Cummings]

11 hours ago, Cee Edman said:

The OP asks for an opinion of the release method and a suggestion for a better way. Abner Mole has explained a serious constraint on what that might be. Over the last couple of weeks, I have read the complaints and the objections to every proposed improvement. Both seem to me to be entirely valid.

 

Yet, there are serious problems with the “new” release routine. Constrained as it must be to US business hours, it places an insurmountable burden on residents of Europe, Asia, Africa or Australia, and a lesser (but significant) burden on all who work or travel. Then it releases individual homes or very small clusters over several hours. That means hopeful residents must glue themselves to their screens, prepared to jump into action in an instant over that same time span. This also places an extreme burden on invalids and those with less than ideal computers or networks.

 

I gave up on Mainland 11 years ago, and had no other reason to maintain my premium status. Since then I have built and lived happily in private estates. Then, last month, with the announced increase in groups added to the priority treatment in crowded regions, I signed on again for my shopaholic avatar. The potential for a house in Bellisseria was a plus. [Love the look and the community appeal! Thank you, SL and the moles!]

 

With the aid of automatic refresh, I started fishing for abandoned houses about three weeks ago, several hours each day, testing the waters with ever-shortening refresh intervals. Including yesterday's release, I have now seen literally dozens of houses and about an equal number of houseboats come and go in an instant.

 

I have a fast computer and a 200+ mbps network. I rarely have my eyes off the page. I click on “Next” even before ARP signals the “find”. I still missed every house (don't want a houseboat).

 

I'm not complaining. It's not a bit worse (and a lot more comfortable) than waiting in a tree-stand for a passing white-tail in my old RL home in Vermont.

 

But there MUST be a better way.

 

Until the overwhelming demand is satisfied, I think the only thing that makes sense is a lottery. Sign up for a house, for a houseboat or both (two lists). Everyone on each list gets a number. When the staff is ready to release a region (or, for that matter, when an abandonment takes place) they choose a random number for each available unit and notify the person with that number that they've won. Give them 48 hours to take possession or reject. Rejected units are re-cycled. Winners who reject their won unit can sign up again.

 

All done during US business hours with no disadvantage for non-US residents. No click-fest. AND easily understood! Moreover, there would be no second-guessing the Moles, nor would they have the burden of finishing a region every two days, pronto, punctilio, holidays and weekends excepted, just because the residents expect them to adhere to that strict schedule.

I love the idea of a lottery, or really almost ANY form of sign up.  The idea of randomly checking my browser, or tasking a computer full time to do automated searches for available new homes is ludicris.  This is my *SECOND* life, not first.  I can't do that.  The real frustration for me is no ability to plan.  If I could sign up, and it spits out, "you get your new home Sept. 3, 2019" then I could fully inhabit one of the old homes and get the full value of my premium membership, and abandon that home on Sept. 2, claim my new home, on Sept 3 and transition.  As it is, I really am being robbed of my premium payment.

[Alyona Su]

40 minutes ago, tinatickles Cummings said:

I love the idea of a lottery, or really almost ANY form of sign up.  The idea of randomly checking my browser, or tasking a computer full time to do automated searches for available new homes is ludicris.  This is my *SECOND* life, not first.  I can't do that.  The real frustration for me is no ability to plan.  If I could sign up, and it spits out, "you get your new home Sept. 3, 2019" then I could fully inhabit one of the old homes and get the full value of my premium membership, and abandon that home on Sept. 2, claim my new home, on Sept 3 and transition.  As it is, I really am being robbed of my premium payment.

What is stopping you from "inhabiting one of the old homes" now? You've already just described your own solution. As for being "robbed" of your premium payment: what exactly were you promised that you do not have access to right now and the moment your payment was made?

[LittleMe Jewell]

8 hours ago, Bitsy Buccaneer said:

That far off? Has something more been said?

This is where I pulled that statement from and I didn't word it exactly as stated here:  https://thebellisserian.wixsite.com/news/super-secret-page

[Chic Aeon]

19 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

This is where I pulled that statement from and I didn't word it exactly as stated here:  https://thebellisserian.wixsite.com/news/super-secret-page

THANK YOU FOR THE SOURCING (yes in caps as I really appreciate it) :D.   My guess (I've been writing a blog post for the first of the month recap) was August so I guess I am in the ballpark there --- this ONLY based on no work being done inworld that we can see --- on either SSP or Bellisseria.   

Actually I think the BIG confusion came about when the 512 plot sizes disappeared on the preview region ---- and then of course all the tons of folks ASKING for bigger plots. I always assumed -- from their first appearance on SSP that they were 512 lots; simply because of the density. 

 

 

and to @Cee Edman  I was in no way "suggesting a better plan" for releases. I was asking for INPUT and looking at the new LH as part of a much bigger picture (including mainland). If I was confusing in my original statement (for you anyway) I am sorry I wasn't literate enough :D.    

Edited June 26, 2019 by Chic Aeon
spelling

[tinatickles Cummings]

1 hour ago, Alyona Su said:

What is stopping you from "inhabiting one of the old homes" now? You've already just described your own solution. As for being "robbed" of your premium payment: what exactly were you promised that you do not have access to right now and the moment your payment was made?

If I inhabit an old home now, I can't check to see if there are new homes available.  I'm hopeful I'll hit refresh one of these times and get a new home.  I can't try while I inhabit an old style home.  If I knew that I would not get a home until 'x' date, I would inhabit an old home and wait patiently.  As it is, I have to be ready to strike on the off chance a refresh gives me a shot at a new home.  What was I promised?  When I signed up for premium, LL was touting the new homes as a reason to upgrade.  By not knowing when I might get lucky, I can't make use of an old home, without giving up my chance at a new home.  That is what is frustrating, the lack of a defined process.

[Alyona Su]

34 minutes ago, tinatickles Cummings said:

If I inhabit an old home now, I can't check to see if there are new homes available.  I'm hopeful I'll hit refresh one of these times and get a new home.  I can't try while I inhabit an old style home.  If I knew that I would not get a home until 'x' date, I would inhabit an old home and wait patiently.  As it is, I have to be ready to strike on the off chance a refresh gives me a shot at a new home.  What was I promised?  When I signed up for premium, LL was touting the new homes as a reason to upgrade.  By not knowing when I might get lucky, I can't make use of an old home, without giving up my chance at a new home.  That is what is frustrating, the lack of a defined process.

That's fair. Except for the "touting the new homes..." this is not true. All they promised was a Linden Home. Yes, they did show a picture of the new models, but they never said this is what you will get. I am not arguing with you, here. LOL I do generally agree with you in premise. Surely, you may feel cheated or shortchanged, but in truth, you were not. I get it. But such is the state of advertising; people just need to learn how to read advertising. "No one does it better!!!" (And you didn't say you do it better than anyone else, either).  My favorite: "Guaranteed low price!" LIE! Because "low-price" is relative, so you cannot guarantee it. But I digress.

I suppose what I would do, myself, is to just grab one of the older styles (they aren't bad, the new ones are just better... and laggier LOL) then do my own thing and try later, once most of the hoopla calms a bit.

Though with the new release cadence, those shouting out the "release them as they're ready" will get their wish, hopefully it will create the result they are hoping for. Perhaps ypu will get into one sooner by this method (or perhaps not, who knows, right?) Only time will tell, and in the end, it all takes time.