Vacant Homes/Houseboats

[Emerist Begonia]

I was fortunate to receive my houseboat on 4 16. I have been on SL since 2006. I began as a premium member then decided to go basic because I didn't spend much time online...I am now a premium member again and I must say the perks are wonderful and the homes are outstanding. My only issue (if you can call it that) is that there are several houseboats around me that have stayed vacant since they were acquired around the same time as mine. I don't think it is fair to those who want to be in the community to have to wait for new homes when there are some just sitting empty. I guess the buyers only wanted the perks. I wish there was a rule that houses/houseboats had to actually be used by the buyer withing a few days and not sit empty or unoccupied. It makes me feel lonely when I am there and want to move to a more involved location (which apparently I can't or don't know how). Just wanted to let you know I support you all and wish you all success in the building of the new and updated communities...just wish people wouldn't take advantage of them for the perks!

Edited July 11, 2019 by Emerist Begonia

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

There is no obligation to decorate, nor any rule regarding same. There are many reasons that a house may be undecorated, and we have no way of knowing why (nor is it any of our business). Let people use their homes (or not) as they wish, as long as they are complying with the covenant and TOS.   

[Evangeline Ling]

12 minutes ago, Emerist Begonia said:

I was fortunate to receive my houseboat on 4 16. I have been on SL since 2006. I began as a premium member then decided to go basic because I didn't spend much time online...I am now a premium member again and I must say the perks are wonderful and the homes are outstanding. My only issue (if you can call it that) is that there are several houseboats around me that have stayed vacant since they were acquired around the same time as mine. I don't think it is fair to those who want to be in the community to have to wait for new homes when there are some just sitting empty. I guess the buyers only wanted the perks. I wish there was a rule that houses/houseboats had to actually be used by the buyer withing a few days and not sit empty or unoccupied. It makes me feel lonely when I am there and want to move to a more involved location (which apparently I can't or don't know how). Just wanted to let you know I support you all and wish you all success in the building of the new and updated communities...just wish people wouldn't take advantage of them for the perks!

Sorry but if people paid money for their premium account and decided to get a house and do nothing with it there is no problem with that... If anything THANK them... their choice not to fill their boat or house with stuff just reduced lag on your region

[Raevyn Addams]

I'd like to add to this, that while I do agree with OP to some degree (and I did initially when the first houses were released), having empty homes is actually a GOOD thing for the rest of us. Putting emotion aside, look at it from a technical aspect. The more there is to see, the more there is to render, the harder your (or my, or anyone else's) computer has to work to process all that information. On top of that, when you have a lot of large textures this alone can create lag, as can excess scripts, objects that aren't optimised, and the worst of all, avatar weight. If every house was full then very few of us would be able to move around Bellisseria without rubber-banding. So instead of being upset, be thankful. As hard as it is to see so many empty houses not being used, they serve a purpose BY not being used.

And @Evangeline Ling beat me to it, but that's what I mean, yes.  

[Sparkle Bunny]

my houseboat is laggy in spite of the fact i never see my neighbours (or maybe i never see my neighbours because the region is laggy?) i don't think it's a timezone issue because looking at their profiles most of them are either in my timezone or an hour ahead. i know that at least one belongs to someone who also has a house. i think you have a much better chance of getting to know your neighbours if you have a house, just because people are out decorating their yards and such.

[Evangeline Arcadia]

As has been pointed out in other threads you can't assume that if a home appears empty it's because the owner doesn't really want it or has no plans to use it. What's 'vacant' to you may be someone waiting till they've got free time in RL to come play in it, or waiting to save Lindens to buy furniture, or has a skybox in use for a while, or many other options...Let's not assume what other residents are or are not doing with their homes. And to be honest they've paid their premium so they are entitled to it and can do as they wish (within Covenant and ToS). It's not a resident's fault that there is such big demand and little supply (yet) for the new homes. How could you even possibly enforce rules about what you should do with your home and whenf in the way the OP describes...? If we start going down that road SL will not be an enjoyable place to have a 'second life'.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Evangeline Arcadia

[Kat Shadow]

and, protip... have an un decorated HB between you and some particularly lovely Mole-made environs?  Derender that sucka & voila instant great view.  (I've done this at my personal HB with 2 neighbors). You can always re render if they start putting furnishings in.

[Evangeline Arcadia]

Just now, Kitten Kaos said:

and, protip... have an un decorated HB between you and some particularly lovely Mole-made environs?  Derender that sucka & voila instant great view.  (I've done this at my personal HB with 2 neighbors). You can always re render if they start putting furnishings in.

Oooo that's a good idea! You could even derender all the houseboats around you to have a perfect sea view!:)

[Sparkle Bunny]

2 minutes ago, Evangeline Arcadia said:

How could you even possibly enforce rules about what you should do with your home and when...? If we start going down that road SL will not be an enjoyable place to have a 'second life'.

at the same time i can see why, when everyone is going on about the amazing community in Belliseria, it might be a bit dispiriting to find yourself surrounded by empty homes. you wouldn't want to live in a street full of deserted houses in RL, would you?

[Evangeline Arcadia]

20 minutes ago, usagihara said:

at the same time i can see why, when everyone is going on about the amazing community in Belliseria, it might be a bit dispiriting to find yourself surrounded by empty homes. you wouldn't want to live in a street full of deserted houses in RL, would you?

EDIT - removed comment as I realised I was talking about something a bit different not what usaghiara was referring to:)

Edited July 11, 2019 by Evangeline Arcadia

[LittleMe Jewell]

Even if the homes were decorated and the person online when you are online, who's to say they'd want to be social with their neighbors anyway.  There are lots of reasons for wanting to live in a Linden Home that don't necessarily include being social with your neighbors.

 

ETA:  The OP specifically mentioned the homes not being decorated and wanting to live in a more involved area.  Decorating a home does not imply being involved in the neighborhood or community.

Edited July 11, 2019 by LittleMe Jewell

[Evangeline Ling]

This is also the reason for getting involved in some of the active groups in Belisseria... your best experience of neighbors likely wont be your neighbors in your region but of the overall continent.  Join one or both of the 2 big groups, maybe find 1 or 2 of the smaller groups that interest you.  Then maybe come to some of the house parties that are actively promoted and you will meet plenty of friendly neighbors.  I highly recommend too, get out of your own region and go explore around a bit you will find plenty of people out there.

[Nika Talaj]

Some of those folks might just have a skybox up.  This is why I wish there was a 5th option on the home controllers, for 'skybox' or maybe you could call it 'landscape'.  It would just have landscaping that occupied enough space that it would be impossible to put a prefab home on the lot.  That way, owned but 'vacant' lots would enhance the neighborhood look.  In fact, it'd be great if the controllers defaulted to that whenever a new owner takes over.

[Evangeline Ling]

2 minutes ago, Nika Talaj said:

Some of those folks might just have a skybox up.  This is why I wish there was a 5th option on the home controllers, for 'skybox' or maybe you could call it 'landscape'.  It would just have landscaping that occupied enough space that it would be impossible to put a prefab home on the lot.  That way, owned but 'vacant' lots would enhance the neighborhood look.  In fact, it'd be great if the controllers defaulted to that whenever a new owner takes over.

I like this but I think you also might be underestimating how creative some builders are who would use that as a loophole to create some existing structure around or even incorporating that landscaping into a build somehow  😁

[Evangeline Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, Nika Talaj said:

Some of those folks might just have a skybox up.  This is why I wish there was a 5th option on the home controllers, for 'skybox' or maybe you could call it 'landscape'.  It would just have landscaping that occupied enough space that it would be impossible to put a prefab home on the lot.  That way, owned but 'vacant' lots would enhance the neighborhood look.  In fact, it'd be great if the controllers defaulted to that whenever a new owner takes over.

That's a really interesting idea! It could rezz some landscape as you say but it would need to be set so that owners couldn't rezz junk on it somehow. That might make it a bit more complicated to implement since they'd still need to be able to rezz items on the land, just in the sky.

[Sparkle Bunny]

5 minutes ago, Evangeline Ling said:

I like this but I think you also might be underestimating how creative some builders are who would use that as a loophole to create some existing structure around or even incorporating that landscaping into a build somehow  😁

they'd have to write it into the covenant that if you went for the skybox option you couldn't rez ANYTHING of your own at ground level. no, not even a tree. otherwise people would just be planting their own homes there.

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

28 minutes ago, usagihara said:

at the same time i can see why, when everyone is going on about the amazing community in Belliseria, it might be a bit dispiriting to find yourself surrounded by empty homes. you wouldn't want to live in a street full of deserted houses in RL, would you?

I would, especially around the 4th of July.

[Evangeline Arcadia]

4 minutes ago, usagihara said:

they'd have to write it into the covenant that if you went for the skybox option you couldn't rez ANYTHING of your own at ground level. no, not even a tree. otherwise people would just be planting their own homes there.

My guess is that LL would just say that's why you have the option of 1024 free tier, i.e. to buy land on the mainland so you can have a skybox or whatever else you want on it.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Evangeline Arcadia

[Cindy Evanier]

one of the empty ones is probably mine.  Life has been very busy in both worlds and though i will get round to it eventually it won't be to please anyone other than myself.

[Sparkle Bunny]

5 minutes ago, Evangeline Arcadia said:

My guess is that LL would just say that's why you have the option of 1025 free tier, i.e. to buy land on the mainland so you can have a skybox or whatever else you want on it.

been through this multiple times; you BUY mainland, you don't get given it. given the choice between free land and non-free land, most people are going to go for free, regardless of what they plan to use it for or how many people would appreciate it more.

[Evangeline Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, usagihara said:

been through this multiple times; you BUY mainland, you don't get given it. given the choice between free land and non-free land, most people are going to go for free, regardless of what they plan to use it for or how many people would appreciate it more.

I know, I was just saying that I don't think LL will go for a 5th rez option, because people have the option to buy mainland at 1024 without any tier where they can have skyboxes or whatever else they want, rather than clutering up the LL neighbourhoods - they already said they want to keep those in theme. There are plenty of folk who do actually prefer to buy mainland,  precisely because they have more flexibility.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Evangeline Arcadia

[Nika Talaj]

21 minutes ago, Evangeline Arcadia said:

It could rezz some landscape as you say but it would need to be set so that owners couldn't rezz junk on it somehow. That might make it a bit more complicated to implement since they'd still need to be able to rezz items on the land, just in the sky.

Well, I don't know.  I mean, the existing houses have pretty big yards.  You COULD just encase the house in another house, or rez full-bright toruses all over the yard.  It's against covenant, whether you would do it on a lot that happened to have a house (or boat) also on it, or whether there was landscaping on it.

[Sparkle Bunny]

3 minutes ago, Nika Talaj said:

You COULD just encase the house in another house, or rez full-bright toruses all over the yard.

i am surprised, given the state of mainland, that nobody has done this yet. making people wait and refresh endlessly for their plots does seem to have the fortunate side effect of making them more respectful of what they've been given. i bet all the 'vacant' plots are from the initial release when people didn't realise how scarce Bellisserian homes were going to turn out to be, so they didn't (and still don't) know how lucky they were to get one.

[anna2901]

знаете ли вы, как я могу открыть skybox?

[Raspberry Crystal]

12 hours ago, Emerist Begonia said:

It makes me feel lonely when I am there and want to move to a more involved location (which apparently I can't or don't know how)

It must be frustrating. I think some people grabbed plots early, then went back to their usual activities and have forgotten about them!

Houseboats were seen by some as free boat slips, which was an attraction for island dwellers cut off from the largest oceans.

It sounds like you are not happy where you are. Swapping plots is challenging but not impossible.