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Help and Info to get a new Linden Home (or try to!)


Raevyn Addams
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I'm not sure this is even allowed but I'll throw it out there and see if it sticks (or gets deleted or something. That's possible too).

Months after the initial release we're still facing the same questions from people looking for answers, and I seem to be re-posting the same information. I figured putting it all in the same place may be of use to someone. If anyone has any other info to add please share here, or correct me where I'm wrong. I stayed awake all night to type this so there's bound to be a few errors. With that, lets get down to business.

How to get a new Linden Home.

1) Login to your Dashboard on Second Life.

2) Click the yellow button on the right side of the screen that says 'Get Your Home Now.'

663474313_yellowbutton1.png.641afa453ef7cde9a61fc753950f7ca7.png

3) A page will open called: 'Customize Your Home'.

4) Under 'Select A Theme' you will see a drop-down box with a small arrow on the side. By default it should say 'Meadowbrook'.

('Meadowbrook' is an older style Linden Home Region, so are 'Tahoe', 'Elderglen', and 'Shareta Osumai'. They are not homes in Bellisseria, so if you select one of these you will not be able to claim a house in Bellisseria as you are only entitled to one premium home per premium account).

5) Click the small arrow and look for 'Bellisseria'. If you don't see it that means there are NO Bellsseria homes available right at that very second.

You will either have to refresh your screen (skip to the next post; Refreshing) or try again later. If you do see 'Bellisseria', select it.

2096344267_yellowbutton2.thumb.png.059917d0eb377d60d8f147e29e32652f.png

6) Under 'Name Your Home' quickly type anything. It doesn't have to make sense as long as it is over 5 characters long. You can change this later, for now anything will do.

7) Click 'Next'.

8 ) A new page will open; 'Confirmation Page'. Check the small box ('I agree to the Terms and Conditions') in the right hand side corner of your screen.

984492001_yellowbutton3.png.32bb38397e675018279c803b483ed13f.png

9) Click 'Accept'.

10) A page will open up; Details of (your name) Home’. The Slurl link will show your home’s location on the map, or you can click on the yellow button ‘Go to your home’; both will give you a link to teleport to your home.

703536352_yellowbutton4.png.3ce5fa5b82b77cae547ce1ab7934b446.png

That’s it! But if you weren’t lucky enough to see Bellisseria on the Theme Selection page, then you’re going to have to begin the process of refreshing (see the next post Refreshing).

 

Edited by RaeLeeH
Typo! I knew I'd find one! XD Added link.
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Refreshing.

Refreshing the page is just loading it again. You can do this manually (by clicking the Refresh button on your browser) or by using Auto-Refresh (an Automatic Refresh Plug-In for your particular browser).

Each browser has its own unique Automatic Refresh Plug-In and I won’t list them here (as I think I could get into trouble for posting to external sites) but you should be able to find them with a simple Google search. Just type in whatever your browser is named and ‘auto refresh’, then follow the link instructions to download and run. I’m still not sure if I’m able to mention these too much as they are external sites and not endorsed by Second Life so you use them at your own risk.

Due to excess reloading and the load this caused on the SL servers, there are restrictions in place as to how many times you can refresh in a given time frame. Currently you are only allowed to refresh 10 times in 10 minutes, or roughly once every 60 seconds/1 minute. There is a loophole to this but you are still capped at 10 attempts. If you use all of your attempts you will get a screen warning you of the restriction. You will need to log out of your dashboard and log back in again. Then click on the yellow ‘Get Your Home Now’ button (see step 2 above) and return to the ‘Select a Theme Page’ to continue refreshing. You will get another 10 attempts before you have to log out and back in again. It doesn’t matter whether you manually refresh or use an Automatic Refresh Plug-In, it works the same.

While the minimum time between automatic refreshes is supposed to be 60 seconds, that doesn’t work for me and I always reach my limit and have to log out and back in. The only way I can bypass that is to change the time between refreshes to 72 seconds and I can leave auto-refresh to run all night and it won’t ever reach it’s capped limit. You will have to find what time works best for you.

1909946959_autorefresh.png.53cd4b826c2baa389232e0e158c3575b.png

To use an Auto-Refresh Plug-In, set the Time Interval for 60 seconds (or more), and under Page Monitor (it may be worded differently depending on your plug-in) type in the word Bellisseria. Then click ‘Start’. If possible, edit the preferences to play an alert sound when the word Bellisseria is found. In Google Chrome Auto Refresh Plus this is a cog icon.


756925948_autorefresh2.thumb.png.f6e7027ac5a7ec3570f2e1dd4fcef4be.png

Above is an example of the settings I use to play the alert sound. Yours may differ depending on browser and preference.

 

A few tips:

Pre-load your home name.

This is handy to save time. Because homes can be claimed in split seconds so you need to be quick (or just plain lucky) to catch one before someone else does. If you haven’t already, bookmark your SL Dashboard; you’re going to need it in a moment.

1) Follow steps 1-4 at the start of this post. Select any theme; 'Meadowbrook' will do. (It doesn’t matter what Style Theme you choose because you’re not keeping it).

2) Name your home. Type a name, any name as long as its longer than 5 letters. (Again, we’re not going to keep it, it’s just a temporary name until you actually catch a new home in Bellisseria).

3) Click ‘Next’. (Don’t panic, you're not going to keep it!)

4) This is the vital step. Go back to your dashboard. Do not click the back button!

(If you click the terms and conditions then you will claim a house in Meadowbrook and have to teleport to it in-world and abandon it, and then start this process all over again!)

5) Repeat steps 1-3 in the post before this one (How to get a new Linden Home). You should now see the name you typed already in the ‘Name your home’ box. Now all you need to do is wait 60 seconds and then start refreshing your page. If Bellisseria does pop up in the Style Theme menu then you won’t be wasting precious seconds trying to think up a name because it’s already there.

 

Delay before automatically refreshing.

As I just mentioned, if you are going to use an Auto Refresh Plug-In you must wait at least 60 seconds after initially loading the ‘Select a Theme’ page before you press start. Since you are only allowed 1 refresh every 60 seconds, if you press start it will refresh the page and that will count as 2 refreshes in less than 60 seconds, so in 9 more refreshes you will be shown a restriction page and will have to log back out and in again to start refreshing all over again. This is only if you are using an automatic refreshing plug-in!

Edited by RaeLeeH
Added text beneath picture. Added link.
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Home and Region Releases.

There are currently two ways that homes are released: large-scale roll-outs, or smaller region releases.

Large-scale official releases have generally seen several dozens of regions and hundreds of houses and house boats being released at once. The first roll-out of homes happened around April 19, 2019 and they were all claimed within 48 hours. The next is speculated to happen within a few weeks or months with the release of the newest style of Linden Home, the Campers.

It is strongly suggested that you follow the official updates thread to stay up to date with when releases are due to happen as the homes go fast.

Official updates can be found here: https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/435708-the-new-linden-homes-update-post/

A preview of the campers were available at the SLB16, and can be seen here:

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/439587-lh-camperstrailers/?tab=comments#comment-1932787
 

Region releases offer on average around 16-20 homes or houseboats depending on the region. They can all be taken within 3-7 seconds (!) so being quick is crucial. Unlike the larger scale releases there are no official warnings. There are two groups where you may be fortunate enough to hear some warning; the ‘Bellisseria Community’ and ‘Bellisseria Citizens’ groups (in-world). Patch Linden has previously warned of impending releases through these groups but it doesn’t happen frequently. Often the only warning that regions are being released is by other Residents who have claimed a house. You may also see that on the forums here: https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/439050-when-did-you-last-see-a-bellessarian-home-available/

Region releases were originally scheduled for release every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, during Linden Labs business hours. That has since changed. Now region releases happen when they happen. Sometimes there are no regions released on Monday or Tuesday. Sometimes there may be two regions released instead of one. Sometimes regions are released hours apart. Sometimes releases appear to be one after the other. As there are no set times, or days of the week, there is no way of knowing exactly when a region release will happen, or what day, or what region is being released next (though we know region releases will not happen on weekends or public holidays, so your only chances on those days may be to catch an Abandoned house or house boat). By keeping an eye on the map in-world and paying attention to the forums you might get a better indication.

 

One thing to note. If you do happen to see a Linden or Mole working in-world please don’t disturb them. Questions or problems can be asked on the forums or using Live Chat, or by submitting a ticket.

See here for details: https://support.secondlife.com/?lang=en-US

 

Abandoned homes.

Abandoned homes doesn’t refer to all the empty homes you see. An abandoned home refers to a home (or house boat) that belonged to another Resident who has given it back or abandoned it so that someone else can claim it. People abandon homes for all sorts of reasons; just because someone else didn’t like it that doesn’t mean you won’t. In general catching an abandoned home might be the only way for some people to claim a house for now; if for example you’re on a different time zone and not able to be at a computer or your phone when regions are released.

To find an abandoned home, follow the steps outlined at the start of this post. Homes are abandoned any time of the day or night, every day of the week. There may be only a handful or there may be nothing at all. From my experience there does seem to be a slight increase of abandoned homes Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings as people prepare to grab a new home in a region release if they expect it will happen soon (and there is no way to really tell when so it's a great lottery at times). This is based on the rumour still floating around in groups that region releases are most likely to happen on these days. But the only way to know if there are any abandoned homes available is to refresh your page as frequently as you can.

If you do catch a home that you aren’t happy with and wish to abandon, TP to your home. Right-click inside the land boundary, and select ‘Abandon Land’. Make sure you really want to because there’s no getting it back once it’s gone.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

While this list might not be exhaustive I’ve included the questions that seem to be asked most often. I can add to it as needed, or correct if I have something wrong too. Just let me know.

For questions relating to security, see the Linden Homes Security System thread here:

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/436103--linden-homes-security-system-/
 

Can I pick what style of house I want?

Yes. If you claimed a Traditional House then click the mailbox to bring up the style options. If you have a house boat you click the buoy. There are options to change the interior and exterior walls, floors, and roof (for Traditional houses).

 

What if I changed my mind? I have a house boat but I want a house on land.

There is no way to change your type of house, only the style. So if you claimed a house boat you have that house boat until you decide to abandon it. If you do abandon it there’s no guaranteed way to get it back, so once you give it up, it’s gone. That also means you have to wait until a house becomes available (use your Dashboard the same way you claimed your house boat).

 

How many prims do we get?

In the new homes in Bellisseria: 351

In the older style homes:177 (I could be wrong about that).

 

Can I claim an older Linden House until a new one becomes available?

You could but that means you will have to abandon it before claiming a new one, and if there are no new homes available you may end up with neither temporarily. This is because you can only have one Premium Home per Premium Membership.

 

What if I have donated land to a group/someone else?

If you are willing to pay monthly tier, you can keep any other Mainland and/or group donations. For a breakdown on how see this post here:

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/441469-help-and-info-to-get-a-new-linden-home-or-try-to/?do=findComment&comment=1957152

A HUGE thanks to @LittleMe Jewell for the info.

 

I don't understand why it's taking so long. Why don't they just copy and paste regions?

This appears to have been a conscious decision to ensure that Bellisseria does not look cookie-cutter like the previous Premium Homes continents. It's not as simple as laying down a few homes and roads. Each region is created unique for the area, so that beaches look like beaches, etc. Not only is there landscaping to be done, and to ensure objects don't obstruct traffic or impede on properties, the roads need to line up fairly smoothly, and rez zones to be implemented where prim counts allow, and then there are scripts to consider too, both those that communicate between house and mailbox (or buoy and house boat) but scripts between those and the Dashboard (and whatever happens to be on LL's side of things). All of that takes time, and that's not including the time it takes to fix things that sometimes go wrong, like ironing out bugs. I think @Patch Linden or @Abnor Mole mentioned there's a team of around 12 people involved behind the scenes in region releases so orchestrating that many people at once also takes some time and effort.

 

Why don't we have another system in place like a waiting list or lottery?

The current system is not the only system they tried but it's the one that worked best for the development team. Beyond that, any shift away from a current system to a new one is going to take more time to implement and more bugs will need to be ironed out. A new system won't make anyone get a home faster, if anything it will slow things down to a grinding halt until they manage to get whatever new system they agree on up and running again. @Quartz Mole explains it better here:

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/441087-ok-so-this-is-ridiculous/?do=findComment&comment=1956035

 

Why don't they release more homes once a month or X time instead of every few days?

@Abnor Mole explains why:

image.png.11b46bf0a02cfd7a3202951cf5db823d.thumb.png.1a6db4204c68459703965634e6fd1184.png

(If someone can find this quote for me to link to please let me know, thanks)

 

I’m really frustrated! I’ve been waiting for X time and still don’t have my house!

You’re not alone. I know that’s small consolation. But if you need to blow off steam the best place to do that is probably here: https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/439475-no-linden-home-please-vent-here/

Try and be considerate and adhere to the usual rules and commonsense. It’s not a good idea to pick a fight just because you’re disappointed.

You may feel the need to create a new thread and vent your frustrations or think you will be overlooked or drowned out in a thread with others, but try and avoid doing so. While there are no rules stating you can’t, much of the time these topics end up as fuel for negativity and hurt feelings, and end up being locked. We want to avoid that!

 

Threads worth keeping an eye on to stay up-to-date:

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/4266577-ssp/

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/439050-when-did-you-last-see-a-bellessarian-home-available/


Phew! Hopefully that's all of it and someone finds it helpful. If it breaks a rule or something pull it down. Not intending to step on toes, just wanted to put all this info in one place is all!

Good luck! :D 

Edited by RaeLeeH
Because it was a mess! Added thanks. And a quote! XD
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32 minutes ago, RaeLeeH said:

What if I have donated land to a group/someone else?

If you have donated your land to a group or elsewhere you will not be able to claim a new Linden home until you have your full 1024 land allowance back.

Slight correction here:  If you are willing to pay monthly tier, you can keep any other Mainland and/or group donations.  Go to you Land Use Fees page:
image.png.b098fea82f59845322c348c85da52b51.png

 

Go to the bottom section and select the tier level you are will to pay for:
image.png.4f569efc99644c0a4bb57c27f9837716.png

 

The tier level is in addition to the 1024 sqm that you get free with your Premium membership.  If you are currently only using 512 sqm, then you have 512 sqm free and only need to select the $4.00/month level above in order to have the required 1024 sqm available. 

Note that you will not actually be billed until such time as you are actually using more than the free 1024 sqm (i.e. likely when you actually claim a Linden Home).  Once that happens you will then be using your free 1024 sqm plus whatever you are already using on Mainland and/or donating to Groups.  Tthat is when the additional monthly tier fee will kick in.

 

After making a selection and Saving it, go up a bit and look at the section above this part to ensure  it shows AT LEAST 1024 Available:

image.png.b9b21304f56e8bde5f5d3b7d1ea5672f.png

 

 

ETA - Added more info

Edited by LittleMe Jewell
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Just now, LittleMe Jewell said:

Slight correction here:  If you are willing to pay monthly tier, you can keep any other Mainland and/or group donations.  Go to you Land Use Fees page:
image.png.b098fea82f59845322c348c85da52b51.png

 

Select the tier level you are will to pay for:
image.png.4f569efc99644c0a4bb57c27f9837716.png

 

The tier level is in addition to the 1024 sqm that you get free with your Premium membership.  If you are currently only using 512 sqm, then you have 512 sqm free and only need to select the $4.00/month level above in order to have the required 1024 sqm available. 

Note that you will not actually be billed until such time as you are actually using more than the free 1024 sqm (i.e. likely when you actually claim a Linden Home).  Once that happens you will then be using your free 1024 sqm plus whatever you are already using on Mainland and/or donating to Groups.  Tthat is when the additional monthly tier fee will kick in.

 

Thank you. This is what I needed. Right now my brain is mush trying to pull all this together. I'll edit asap. Thanks again! :D 

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1 minute ago, RaeLeeH said:

Just hope it makes sense. I can't see straight right now. The sun's up and everything. But hopefully it's worth it to not retype the same answers now, fingers crossed?

Love it, thanks Rae. This was needed and I hope everyone will just link this thread when someone ask something about this. Pretty sure it will help alot in having threads spiral into something negative.

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Thank you for pulling this together. Hopefully this will reduce some frustration on the part of other community members. 

For those still trying to get a home...many of us were in your situation till we got one the same way you're trying.. I personally empathize with you because it took me a while, and I remember what that felt like to come on these forums and see people posting that they got and released X number of homes in X amount of time, and see people posting how much fun they're having now they have a home in Belli. All I can say is persevere. You will get one, sooner or later, if you continue trying. And try to keep some perspective about it, so it doesn't become a major drag to you in the rest of your life.

Remember that activities and events on Belli are not exclusive to Belli residents, so feel free to join in whenever you'd like.

On a practical note, it can be frustrating for people who work regular business hours in the Western Hemisphere that they are shut out of a lot of the timed releases. If you're off work early one day or taking a day off you might want to set up the auto-refresh so that you're able to react when a release happens. Since releases often happen on Mondays and Fridays there is an opportunity for those who have taken a long weekend. 

There are some auto refresh apps for mobile as well, although the one I tried for iPhone had intervals that were too short to keep the auto refreshes going.

I'm pretty sure I got my house while I was on my iPhone. I remember walking down the hall at work and my hands were shaking! It was either that time, or a time that I had come home from work an hour early, which is really rare for me.

 

Edited by Trinity1776
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And now I can't edit anymore... figures. Maybe I overdid the editing process since posting. But I'm sure if a Moderator spots an error they could correct?

Thanks for the updated info regarding the prim counts @Sylvia Tamalyn, @iBrat, @Rolig Loon, much appreciated. :D

And thanks to all for the thanks and likes. Just hope it helps!

❤️🤗👍

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12 hours ago, RaeLeeH said:

And now I can't edit anymore... figures. Maybe I overdid the editing process since posting. But I'm sure if a Moderator spots an error they could correct?

Thanks for the updated info regarding the prim counts @Sylvia Tamalyn, @iBrat, @Rolig Loon, much appreciated. :D

And thanks to all for the thanks and likes. Just hope it helps!

❤️🤗👍

Nothing you specifically did is preventing the editing.  You can't edit any post after 24 hours.

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13 minutes ago, Zoee Clarity said:

Wondering if Auto Refresh alerts if it sees a home during the time between refreshes or just at the time of a refresh? Everytime I have heard an alert I get so excited and haven't noticed where in the refresh cycle it was. :)  

It is doing a page scan, so it can only alert when it reads the page again during each actual refresh.  There is nothing different for it to read in between the actual refreshes.

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On 8/11/2019 at 3:21 PM, iBrat said:

That was long ago, they never updated that page. @Sylvia Tamalyn is right 175. Was a great upgrate, back then.

Can confirm. Also, 351 divided by 2.  The old Linden homes offer half the land impact allowance of the new homes.  

And yeah that WAS a great little boost from 117 to 175!  Good times.  

And yeah great job RaeLeeh! Comprehensive omg.

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