Cost Of Name Changes Out Of The Bag

[Chic Aeon]

20 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

huh?..."trial " ? never seen that before .. or my age... forgotten

 Confused. Maybe too late for you? I am fading for sure. There was nothing in my post about a "trial".  

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

1 hour ago, Chic Aeon said:

In my view it is all about the money. If it was about making everyone in the platform happy, then last names would have never disappeared in the first place. There was a HUGE AND ONGOING protest about last names disappearing. It isn't like the populous voted for that change.  

So it is what it is and those that REALLY want a last name can have one now.  Since it has been almost nine years with no last names it isn't like they scream "newbie" any longer.

And I got a feeling we're going to see more nickle and diming from LL, like the charges going up this year and the event listing fee being imposed shortly after it was mentioned in their blog.

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

56 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

 Confused. Maybe too late for you? I am fading for sure. There was nothing in my post about a "trial".  

The word "Trial" is in the screen grab you posted. "Trial --- Payment Info Used."

[Alwin Alcott]

2 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

 Confused. Maybe too late for you? I am fading for sure. There was nothing in my post about a "trial".  

in your profile pic cut  , with the payment info
i never seen a "trial" payment info .. can't remember it was there in the past that i am awayre of.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Alwin Alcott

[Anicha Heartsong]

The thing that annoys me about display names is that many people don't even have them turned on. So in a group chat you have people responding to both your display name and username. That gets confusing for the rest of the people in the chat.

One thing I would say, and it applies to both RL and SL: your name is YOURS. You should have the right to change it whenever you want. You decide how it is spelt, how it is pronounced, everything. No one should even dare to intrude in that. That should be a fundamental human right. So I'm glad LL has finally introduced this. I do think $40 feels like too much. But I'm sure it will cost them a lot in ongoing user support once implemented. Let's just say I have a nasty feeling about this...

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Alwin Alcott said:

in your profile pic cut  , with the payment info
i never seen a "trial" payment info .. can't remember it was there in the past that i am awayre of.

Ahhhhh. Didn't even notice that.  BETA GRID :D.   That could have been on there forever -- or might be new. 

[Wulfie Reanimator]

53 minutes ago, Zipe Kirkorian said:

One thing I would say, and it applies to both RL and SL: your name is YOURS. You should have the right to change it whenever you want. You decide how it is spelt, how it is pronounced, everything. No one should even dare to intrude in that. That should be a fundamental human right.

And just like RL, it costs money to change your legal name (username), but you can always just use a nickname (display name) for free. Some people will refer to you by your legal name because they can't know your nickname, and others will use your nickname. This does lead to similar confusions.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, Zipe Kirkorian said:

The thing that annoys me about display names is that many people don't even have them turned on

because many of them who do use it make it totally useless to even try for the non users to try using it because it's unreadable...


🐚  🎀  𝒾𝒻𝓎🍬𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓃❤𝓎𝑒𝒹𝒷𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈...𝑔🌸-🍪𝓃𝒶𝓈𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓇  🎀  🐚

(¯`*•.¸,¤°´✿.｡.:* ί𝐟Ｙσ𝓤ʳ𝕒𝕣ᗴή𝕋𝐚Ⓝ𝐍ＯƳｅ𝒹𝓑Ｙ𝓉𝔥ƗŞ...ｇⓞ-𝕆ηΔⓈ乇𝔞ＲⓁ𝕚έⓇ *.:｡.✿`°¤,¸.•*´¯)

ĭ̷̛̛̟̣̗̥̙̘̩̯̭̻̂̂̓̄̆f̸͇̪̀͝y̸̖̪̦̤̺͗͋́̔̆͊̉̂͐͘õ̵̢̼̳̦͉̻͝ͅu̴̧̧̨̯̦̣͚̣̖̬͛͋́r̵̬͈͆̒̍͗͘á̷̛̭̹͔͙͙̒̀̑̈́͝͝ͅr̴̛͈͓̱̫ē̵̯̦̞̅̀́̓͛ń̴̢̧̨̳̱̰̮̘͔̺͝͝t̴̨̨̛̮̰̟̖̜̩̿̈́̑̒͠â̶̢͕̤̜̥̻͇̝̠͙̈́̉͒̈͋̄͛n̶̞̱͔̳͌̌̇̍̅̉͊̑́͝n̷̮͉̠͇͂̇̇̓͌͒̔͑ͅo̷͍̪̙̮̖̜̬̞͎̍̑̕y̵̨͇͓̦̳̞͙̦̗̏̆̄͑̇͂̎̚e̶̗͔̰̜̺̺̯̯͋̈́̇̾̊̽̾̇ͅͅd̸̨̛̯̙̱̺̲̼̹̆̈̽̔̍b̵̡̨̛̝̩̫̙̳̞͈͗̔̈́̽̽̈́͗͘ͅy̶̺͙̩͔̱̙̞̗̰͊́͂̎̑̾́̚ț̶̽̍̏h̶̯͗̿͊̍͑̆̀ī̴̛̜͑̈́̾̎̓̈́̕s̶͉̻̜͕̋̊͘.̴̡̧̜͉͉̫̦͓̲͊ͅ.̴͙̘̹̱̊̎̓͒̌̇͑͠.̷̨̗̪̱̝͙͚͚̔̐́͋͜ͅg̸̢̞͉͚̫̫̠̞̊̏̏̇͒͝o̷̧͖͍͍̰̟̜̓̎̓̿̿̎̂̚-̷̛̺̻̞̩̱͂̈́̓͜͠o̴̰̲͔̰͎̥̟͚̜̠͑̿̄̂͗n̵͖̖̲̹̗̠͂̚̕á̴͚͓̳͉̯̪̙̯̟̄̒̀̋̓̐͘ṡ̸̨͚͍̺̥̟̖̘͊͂͐̃͊͒͛͜e̶̡͉̠̱̤̭̘̔̎͆̄̄́̆͛͜á̸͙̆͗̾r̴̢͇̙͕̎̀̏͗̌ͅl̷̳̭̼̜͖̣̥̩̿͋̀͗̈́͐̓i̶̲͓͇̠̮̘̇͂̎e̸͈̜͕̼̤̱̹̤͔͗̃̐͂̋̏̋͠ŗ̶̨͙͓̰͓̻͙̯̩͘

 

(translation: if your arent annoyed by this...go on as earlier)

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Alwin Alcott

[Alwin Alcott]

11 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

And just like RL, it costs money to change your legal name (username), but you can always just use a nickname (display name) for free. Some people will refer to you by your legal name because they can't know your nickname, and others will use your nickname. This does lead to similar confusions.

not sure how  it's used in other countries, but here in the Netherlands it's totally normal to use a different daily name than registered by the governerment..
As example, registered name Jacobus Daniel Bushwalker, daily name Josh. The name Josh will never appear on official documents.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

4 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

not sure how  it's used in other countries, but here in the Netherlands it's totally normal to use a different daily name than registered by the governerment..
As example, registered name Jacobus Daniel Bushwalker, daily name Josh. The name Josh will never appear on official documents.

But isn't that's exactly what I said? Unless you agree and are just adding an example. In which case yeah, it's the same here but they're less common and more cutesy rather than proper names.

[Alwin Alcott]

23 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

But isn't that's exactly what I said? Unless you agree and are just adding an example

yes.. and that it's more common than suggested in the other poster's lines

[wesleytron]

7 hours ago, Drayke Newall said:

Your post just answers why it is a bad business model.

If, as you say, they did this only for those members that want to fix a bad name choice on sign up, then they have spent over a year of resources probably totaling many tens of thousands of dollars implementing a system for a minority without looking at a method in which it could benefit both the majority of users and their profits. If that is the case then, yes, a very bad business model and decision indeed.

If MORE money can be made from LESS people than selling to more people for less money, how is that a bad business model?

If satisfying the desires of a minority who are prepared to pay a premium price can make LL more money than selling to a majority at a 'low' price (and you can only do one or the other), then it absolutely is a good business model. There is money to be made from satisfying a minority.

250 people paying $40 is more money than 800 people paying $10.

What I'm suggesting is that the majority you think LL should be trying to satisfy doesn't exist. If not enough people are prepared to pay even a lower amount because they just don't care that much about changing their name, then LL are set to lose out.

And as I already said, bare in mind that for most people a name change is most likely going to be a ONE TIME THING for most people anyway - not every few weeks (that's what display names are for). I think that is more significant than it's perhaps being given credit for - if you sell a service in the knowledge it's going to be a one time purchase for most people, you have to price it accordingly to make it worthwhile offering.

Edited December 24, 2019 by wesleytron

[Desiree Moonwinder]

19 minutes ago, wesleytron said:

If MORE money can be made from LESS people than selling to more people for less money, how is that a bad business model

That's the point. Historially, by charging mostly for land, LL created a culture of whiny freeloaders. 

Shifting monitization of the game to transaction fees does not appear to be significantly increasing the impact of the whining. 

Who cares if a whine thread is twice as long?

[Beth Macbain]

7 hours ago, Mollymews said:

1st Rule of Activism. Get your objections in before it happens, rather than say nothing beforehand and then complain about it afterwards 🐱

In that case, I object to LL banning humans from using SL! The bloody nerve of them! How dare they??

I'm going to stage a sit in at their offices to protest! Who's with me??

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

In that case, I object to LL banning humans from using SL! The bloody nerve of them! How dare they??

I'm going to stage a sit in at their offices to protest! Who's with me??

A Sarcasm protest? 

[Beth Macbain]

12 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

A Sarcasm protest? 

[Anicha Heartsong]

6 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

because many of them who do use it make it totally useless to even try for the non users to try using it because it's unreadable...


🐚  🎀  𝒾𝒻𝓎🍬𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓃❤𝓎𝑒𝒹𝒷𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈...𝑔🌸-🍪𝓃𝒶𝓈𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓇  🎀  🐚



I agree that those names in unreadable letters are also deeply annoying.

(sorry but I can't work out how to use the quote function properly on this forum. Which I guess is a deep *fail*)

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Zipe Kirkorian

[Solar Legion]

@Zipe Kirkorian: When you hit the Quote button and insert it into your response, it should automatically place the cursor under the quote block.

[Nextio]

It's way too steep when you compare it to MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, which is only $10  every 3 days.  

[Cam Mode]

"Ebbe: How's the Name project? Been a month

Moneygrub Linden: We sold one! Sansar-resident!

Ebbe : Brilliant.

Moneygrb Linden: H/h/t card was declined"

 

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

8 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

because many of them who do use it make it totally useless to even try for the non users to try using it because it's unreadable...


🐚  🎀  𝒾𝒻𝓎🍬𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓃❤𝓎𝑒𝒹𝒷𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈...𝑔🌸-🍪𝓃𝒶𝓈𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓇  🎀  🐚

(¯`*•.¸,¤°´✿.｡.:* ί𝐟Ｙσ𝓤ʳ𝕒𝕣ᗴή𝕋𝐚Ⓝ𝐍ＯƳｅ𝒹𝓑Ｙ𝓉𝔥ƗŞ...ｇⓞ-𝕆ηΔⓈ乇𝔞ＲⓁ𝕚έⓇ *.:｡.✿`°¤,¸.•*´¯)

ĭ̷̛̛̟̣̗̥̙̘̩̯̭̻̂̂̓̄̆f̸͇̪̀͝y̸̖̪̦̤̺͗͋́̔̆͊̉̂͐͘õ̵̢̼̳̦͉̻͝ͅu̴̧̧̨̯̦̣͚̣̖̬͛͋́r̵̬͈͆̒̍͗͘á̷̛̭̹͔͙͙̒̀̑̈́͝͝ͅr̴̛͈͓̱̫ē̵̯̦̞̅̀́̓͛ń̴̢̧̨̳̱̰̮̘͔̺͝͝t̴̨̨̛̮̰̟̖̜̩̿̈́̑̒͠â̶̢͕̤̜̥̻͇̝̠͙̈́̉͒̈͋̄͛n̶̞̱͔̳͌̌̇̍̅̉͊̑́͝n̷̮͉̠͇͂̇̇̓͌͒̔͑ͅo̷͍̪̙̮̖̜̬̞͎̍̑̕y̵̨͇͓̦̳̞͙̦̗̏̆̄͑̇͂̎̚e̶̗͔̰̜̺̺̯̯͋̈́̇̾̊̽̾̇ͅͅd̸̨̛̯̙̱̺̲̼̹̆̈̽̔̍b̵̡̨̛̝̩̫̙̳̞͈͗̔̈́̽̽̈́͗͘ͅy̶̺͙̩͔̱̙̞̗̰͊́͂̎̑̾́̚ț̶̽̍̏h̶̯͗̿͊̍͑̆̀ī̴̛̜͑̈́̾̎̓̈́̕s̶͉̻̜͕̋̊͘.̴̡̧̜͉͉̫̦͓̲͊ͅ.̴͙̘̹̱̊̎̓͒̌̇͑͠.̷̨̗̪̱̝͙͚͚̔̐́͋͜ͅg̸̢̞͉͚̫̫̠̞̊̏̏̇͒͝o̷̧͖͍͍̰̟̜̓̎̓̿̿̎̂̚-̷̛̺̻̞̩̱͂̈́̓͜͠o̴̰̲͔̰͎̥̟͚̜̠͑̿̄̂͗n̵͖̖̲̹̗̠͂̚̕á̴͚͓̳͉̯̪̙̯̟̄̒̀̋̓̐͘ṡ̸̨͚͍̺̥̟̖̘͊͂͐̃͊͒͛͜e̶̡͉̠̱̤̭̘̔̎͆̄̄́̆͛͜á̸͙̆͗̾r̴̢͇̙͕̎̀̏͗̌ͅl̷̳̭̼̜͖̣̥̩̿͋̀͗̈́͐̓i̶̲͓͇̠̮̘̇͂̎e̸͈̜͕̼̤̱̹̤͔͗̃̐͂̋̏̋͠ŗ̶̨͙͓̰͓̻͙̯̩͘

 

(translation: if your arent annoyed by this...go on as earlier)

 

When I was running my club and see that gobbledygoop --- I'd just call them by the system name.  Sometimes they QQ and just leave.

[Drayke Newall]

12 hours ago, wesleytron said:

If MORE money can be made from LESS people than selling to more people for less money, how is that a bad business model?

If satisfying the desires of a minority who are prepared to pay a premium price can make LL more money than selling to a majority at a 'low' price (and you can only do one or the other), then it absolutely is a good business model. There is money to be made from satisfying a minority.

250 people paying $40 is more money than 800 people paying $10.

What I'm suggesting is that the majority you think LL should be trying to satisfy doesn't exist. If not enough people are prepared to pay even a lower amount because they just don't care that much about changing their name, then LL are set to lose out.

And as I already said, bare in mind that for most people a name change is most likely going to be a ONE TIME THING for most people anyway - not every few weeks (that's what display names are for). I think that is more significant than it's perhaps being given credit for - if you sell a service in the knowledge it's going to be a one time purchase for most people, you have to price it accordingly to make it worthwhile offering.

No that is not how things work, you simply would pay off what your total costs would be and nothing more and would have also wasted 1 years worth of potential improvement of SL that would benefit everyone and not a minority. There are plenty of people in this thread that were in favour and wanting to buy a username change who have stated that they wont now. All to be called whiners.

Also what would sell more,

"hey all you old residents pay $40 + premium sub and you can get a last name or pay $99 premium sub and you get one for free"

or

"hey new members signup to SL Premium today and for an extra once off payment of $10 USD on top of your 1 month premium you can get your own unique username"

I can tell you now the latter would not only INCREASE their premium signup and potential premium retention but also will make SUBSTANTIAL more profit for them. It all comes down to how they market and implement it as well as how much they charge.

Edited December 25, 2019 by Drayke Newall

[Qie Niangao]

15 hours ago, Drayke Newall said:

"hey new members signup to SL Premium today and for an extra once off payment of $10 USD on top of your 1 month premium you can get your own unique username"

I've admitted above that I'm clueless about marketing, but I have to say: That option sounds pretty good to me. Maybe in a year or so, in their next periodic quest to swell the Premium ranks, it could be a hot-selling limited-time offer.

(I wonder if that's part of the marketing mystique, overpricing the standard offer to make "special deals" really seem special.)

[Desiree Moonwinder]

Running sales is easy. Raising prices not so much. 

[SlyDog4]

On 12/16/2019 at 8:09 PM, Lindal Kidd said:

Rather than complaining about costs, I'm thinking this thread should take a new direction.  And that is, "What Goofy New Names Can YOU Think Up?"

LL has already told us they won't go for Boaty McBoatface.  So...

If there's a Hutch, you could be AvatarskyAnd Hutch.

Who's next?

How about... No lol. The price is ridiculous. They should have offered premium members a one time name change for free for spending their cash on linden AND for premium membership. Linden should honestly be ashamed of themselves.