What is LLs plan moving forward?

[Raveness Slade]

As the real world continues to grow in numbers with the virus, most of us arent employed. Yes, every single aspect of life is being affected in this, including Second Life.

Not to take away from all the happenings in real life, but what is Linden Labs doing to aid Residents who have experienced job loss?  Because as we know, this is taking

a big toll on Second Life also.  We have homes we rent, shops, stores etc...No RL work = No uploading to SL...

Does LL have any special plans in place ?  Ive seen stores lower prices, stores have freebies, but not hearing much about rental lands, and I feel that is going to be a big

issue in the coming weeks, if not longer.  It will take a long time to get back on our feet if and when things start to look up.

[Vanity Fair]

Well, Second Norway has already experienced significant problems, and I expect that other landlords may be struggling as well:

https://www.blog.baldelf.com/post/second-norway-and-sailors-cove-east-changes

People are going to have less cash to spend, and if you have to choose between that Premium account or food and rent, you know what's going to get cut first...

[Scylla Rhiadra]

27 minutes ago, Raveness Slade said:

As the real world continues to grow in numbers with the virus, most of us arent employed. Yes, every single aspect of life is being affected in this, including Second Life.

Not to take away from all the happenings in real life, but what is Linden Labs doing to aid Residents who have experienced job loss?  Because as we know, this is taking

a big toll on Second Life also.  We have homes we rent, shops, stores etc...No RL work = No uploading to SL...

Does LL have any special plans in place ?  Ive seen stores lower prices, stores have freebies, but not hearing much about rental lands, and I feel that is going to be a big

issue in the coming weeks, if not longer.  It will take a long time to get back on our feet if and when things start to look up.

You're not the first to ask here if LL plans to reduce fees, or tier, or whatever, in order to help those who have been financially stricken by the pandemic, or retain people who may otherwise be lost.

You can find LL's only really comprehensive public pronouncement on its response to the pandemic here: https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/3867-a-message-from-our-ceo-coronavirus-and-second-life-operations/

While LL has, apparently, reduced pricing for non-profits and educational institutions in order to encourage and/or facilitate the use of the platform for meetings, classes, events, and so forth, there appear to be no plans to do more. It may be that will change if the platform does begin to experience serious losses, but it would appear, in fact that it is actually bustling. Sign ups and concurrency both appear to be up, at the moment. I haven't seen any figures to suggest that there is increased economic activity in-world, but it seems not unreasonable to suggest that there is some.

How much of that activity is reflected in LL's bottom line I do not, of course, have any way of knowing; it would be mere speculation to suggest that they are doing "well" as a result of renewed interest in SL. But it should also be remembered that LL is coming off the recent failure of Sansar, and some job losses of its own as a result of that; I think it's pretty clear that there is some financial retrenchment and maybe even austerity necessary to keep the company healthy as it works out its next direction. I'm not at all sure that they are in the financial position to offer substantive reductions in things like fees.

Of course, the point that Vanity makes above is also true: there are unquestionably individuals -- consumers, land renters and sim owners -- who are suffering right now, and may not be able to put the money they once did into SL. And that will probably impact in negative ways upon the LL's own finances and the health of the platform. I guess we'll see.

Bottom line: it's really difficult to know a) what the net impact of this all is upon SL and the health of LL, and b) how LL will or even can respond. Whatever it does, if it does anything at all, will be in keeping with its own understanding of its financial situation, and its analysis of what needs to be done.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Scylla Rhiadra]

ETA:

What HAS been really quite lovely to see is how SL's residents seem to be responding -- at least many of them.

I've heard occasional stories of rent "forgiveness" for tenants who are in a tight financial situation, and a really significant number of merchants have been offering freebies and/or significant discounts on goods in an effort to strengthen SL and the community.

SL is a world we built ourselves, in many ways. It may well be that we will be what saves it, and keeps the community afloat, during this awful time.

[rasterscan]

1 hour ago, Raveness Slade said:

...  as we know, this is taking a big toll on Second Life ...

ikr. Logged on player count was up nearly 10,000 compared to 'normal' last night, over 53k concurrent logins.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

51 minutes ago, rasterscan said:

ikr. Logged on player count was up nearly 10,000 compared to 'normal' last night, over 53k concurrent logins.

Yes. But concurrency is only part of the picture.

How are land rentals and sales being impacting? What about estates; how many region owners are being forced to leave or cut back? Are premium memberships holding up? What about the buying of Lindens?

It's hard to believe that some of these things are not being hit to some degree. Possibly increased concurrency and, maybe, sales are making up for it? Or maybe not.

I don't know the answers to these questions, but this disruption of the global economy is going to ripple out in really dramatic ways. I think it's foolish to assume that LL is going to pass through this unscathed, yet alone be a net gainer.

[Mollymews]

4 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I don't know the answers to these questions, but this disruption of the global economy is going to ripple out in really dramatic ways. I think it's foolish to assume that LL is going to pass through this unscathed, yet alone be a net gainer.

agree that the longer this goes on the tighter it is going to get for all companies and people

just on a personal note tho, I have been unable to spend all my discretionary budget, admittedly small, that I did before. Am not able to go out clubbing or to the theatre, or for small item retail therapy.  Up until now I have been saving it up just in case things go really bad.  But the longer things go on then I am going to splurge a little bit on things that make me happy for happy sake

first up is a whole lot of more easter eggs than normal which I already got at the supermarket when I did my grocery shopping for next month the other day. Our PM says that the Easter Bunny is an essential worker in these times and the inner child in me, along with about 3 or 4 million other real and inner childs, totally agree.  Seems we going to be in our bubbles for an extra week now, so the easter bunny is welcome in pretty much every home

if having to stay in my bubble goes on much longer than this then I am going to start spending my discretionary budget on what makes me happy for the sake of being happy like I mentioned. Which is going to include outfits and stuff in SL. Basically if I can't have nice new little things in my RL to cheer me up in these times, then my avatar can and I can be a little bit more happy for that reason

 

[Chic Aeon]

According to a recent Lab Gab (Ebbe), the big push for LL this year will be completing the move to "the cloud" which will (in theory?) save money and increase performance.    

 

I still see new regions coming on line and new rental areas being filled. The sim where I live is not full but is stable so far. Some folks will be impacted but others will not.  For those in the US, unemployment insurance will kick in for many and most are getting $1,200 USD (or more from the latest CNN report) IF that all comes to pass (lots of drama of late there - sigh).  

 

Most of the world will be in Depression mode for awhile -- maybe a long while. No one seems to be using the "D" word, but current reports from many sources (again CNN worldwide coverage) are projecting unemployment rates higher than the 1930s.   Now many will likely be changing their spending priorities.    But as already noted here, that could simply be a SHIFT and it could easily be GOOD for virtual platforms.  Fewer cruises, less plane travel -- sticking closer to home with "simpler" vacations  etc. 

 

While  I am no longer "in business" any longer (not cashing out), I still have my store open and sales have been stable to good of late. SL "may" become more of a hobby arena rather than a "get rich" one, but I suspect it will be around for a long while. It fills a need.   Creativity has been lacking somewhat this last year or so. People keep making the same items over and over and events especially have become boring.  I would be happy to see the "joy" of making things return to the platform. Shifts are not always bad things. 

[Tolya Ugajin]

8 hours ago, Raveness Slade said:

As the real world continues to grow in numbers with the virus, most of us arent employed. Yes, every single aspect of life is being affected in this, including Second Life.

Not to take away from all the happenings in real life, but what is Linden Labs doing to aid Residents who have experienced job loss?  Because as we know, this is taking

a big toll on Second Life also.  We have homes we rent, shops, stores etc...No RL work = No uploading to SL...

Does LL have any special plans in place ?  Ive seen stores lower prices, stores have freebies, but not hearing much about rental lands, and I feel that is going to be a big

issue in the coming weeks, if not longer.  It will take a long time to get back on our feet if and when things start to look up.

Oh FFS, another one?  Do you people ever stop to see if maybe 30 other people haven't posted the same exact topic?  This entitlement mentality of "hey, the world is going to heck, LL should give me free stuff" is really getting out of hand.

LL's "plan" to aid residents who have lost jobs is nothing.  People lose their jobs all the time.  What, should SL be "means tested" now?

If you're not employed, SL should be one of the first things you cut back on, especially since you can enjoy it free.  Stop expecting others to fund your entertainment.

But, if you must have a handout, I tell you what, I recently created a "virtual trailer park" - you can have a trailer rent-free for a month.  Can't help you with shops or uploads, sorry, but there's a nice game area.

[Alwin Alcott]

6 minutes ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

Oh FFS, another one?

different approach ... buy a year premium as long you have the funds! You'll support LL, you can have a decent nice home for a year, and get weekly stipend!

[Tolya Ugajin]

2 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

different approach ... buy a year premium as long you have the funds! You'll support LL, you can have a decent nice home for a year, and get weekly stipend!

Asking a beggar to spend their money more wisely?  YOU MONSTER!!!

[Alwin Alcott]

1 minute ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

YOU MONSTER!!!

i know  ... and feel bad about that sometimes!

[Theresa Tennyson]

8 hours ago, Raveness Slade said:

As the real world continues to grow in numbers with the virus, most of us arent employed. Yes, every single aspect of life is being affected in this, including Second Life.

No, most of us still are.

Even the most negative projections say that unemployment would be in the 20%-30% range.

Sitting here in the United States, not only are people with "necessary" jobs still working, there are several technically unnecessary levels that are still considered "necessary" as well - like Internet service, for instance. What is happening is that several of the many, many unnecessary levels of society are being peeled off. The fact that it's such a huge disruption is a comment over how much our society depends on people paying for things they don't need.

[Beth Macbain]

Where is this sense of entitlement coming from? 

It's one thing to call them up if you're having trouble paying and ask them nicely to work with you (which is what anyone who is truly having trouble should do), but entirely something different to expect LL to just start giving their services away all willy-nilly. 

I'm still waiting for my pony. 

[LittleMe Jewell]

22 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

I'm still waiting for my pony. 

@Grumpity Linden swore it was in the mail.  

 

 

Yeah, we've all heard that line before.

 

[Beth Macbain]

1 minute ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

@Grumpity Linden swore it was in the mail.  

Yeah, we've all heard that line before.

 

I've currently got four premium accounts - I should have a whole herd of ponies!

[TechDave]

Well.... I'm no expert by any stretch of imagination (and we know that often stretches beyond belief in SL!)  BUT... as appears below the L$ market (and Labs) are doing just fine last couple of weeks.... off the chart tops!

[Luna Bliss]

9 hours ago, Raveness Slade said:

what is Linden Labs doing to aid Residents who have experienced job loss?

I don't think LL should offer aid for a number of reasons, but I'm curious....what type of job were you working that is now gone? And what about those you know...what jobs did they have that are gone now?

[TechDave]

8 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

I don't think LL should offer aid for a number of reasons, but I'm curious....what type of job were you working that is now gone? And what about those you know...what jobs did they have that are gone now?

Generally.. in RL with social distancing the jobs that are GONE are in the 'Services industry'. That's how the restaurant/bar/clubs/casino are shown. Also LARGE conventions and activity around them.. including travel (airlines/cruises/etc.)  Most all that has definitely shut down and most likely to be drastically altered as world recovers. 

[Luna Bliss]

2 minutes ago, TechDave said:

Generally.. in RL with social distancing the jobs that are GONE are in the 'Services industry'. That's how the restaurant/bar/clubs/casino are shown. Also LARGE conventions and activity around them.. including travel (airlines/cruises/etc.)  Most all that has definitely shut down and most likely to be drastically altered as world recovers. 

I need to get my lawn mowed and my air-conditioner serviced, but I'm not due to being extra careful. At least I'll put off a lawnmowing as long as possible. I imagine housecleaners aren't doing too good too. So there are lots of jobs that are actually very much needed and the workers are suffering.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Can someone please point me to where the OP "begged" for anything? For themselves, or anyone else for that matter?

Regardless of whether or not it is true that "most" of us are unemployed, the suggestions that there are millions hurting financially now because of this pandemic is demonstrable fact: what is not clear is how this may be impacting upon LL's own financial situation.

The OP did not "beg": they asked a perfectly reasonable question, albeit one that is premised upon information (are premium signups dropping? Are estate owners bailing in any significant numbers? Are rentals being impacted?) that we don't have access to yet. The question was -- as more or less directly articulated in the title of the thread -- has LL put in place any plans or mechanisms to respond to the presumptive impact of the recession/depression that we are now quickly sliding into?

Thanks to the few here who have actually attempted to answer the question. As for the other responses: I get, to some degree anyway, the hostility of people to those who come here demanding that something be done to help them. This OP doesn't do that. When we respond to a relatively reasonable (even if misguided) question with the same vitriol as we would to a bona fide "beggar," it is we who end up looking like jerks.

The pile-on here is unnecessary, uncalled for, and ungenerous.

[LittleMe Jewell]

8 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

I need to get my lawn mowed and my air-conditioner serviced, but I'm not due to being extra careful. At least I'll put off a lawnmowing as long as possible. I imagine housecleaners aren't doing too good too. So there are lots of jobs that are actually very much needed and the workers are suffering.

We use a lawn service and they are still working around here.  As long as I'm not outside while they are mowing and trimming the lawn, I don't feel that it is a problem.  Since they are a small local company, we don't want to stop the service if we don't have to.

We do also need some landscaping work done, but since that would require us actually interacting with the folks, we are delaying that.  Ditto for some work that we need done inside the house.

[Luna Bliss]

5 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

We use a lawn service and they are still working around here.  As long as I'm not outside while they are mowing and trimming the lawn, I don't feel that it is a problem.  Since they are a small local company, we don't want to stop the service if we don't have to.

Yeah maybe I'll tape his check on the outside of my door so as to avoid contact.

[CaerolleClaudel]

7 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Yes. But concurrency is only part of the picture.

How are land rentals and sales being impacting? What about estates; how many region owners are being forced to leave or cut back? Are premium memberships holding up? What about the buying of Lindens?

It's hard to believe that some of these things are not being hit to some degree. Possibly increased concurrency and, maybe, sales are making up for it? Or maybe not.

I don't know the answers to these questions, but this disruption of the global economy is going to ripple out in really dramatic ways. I think it's foolish to assume that LL is going to pass through this unscathed, yet alone be a net gainer.

"Another victory like that and we are done for."

I agree, it the traffic increases but people are spending less money, I would think LL's server costs increase while their revenues decline. Only they know if more people are buying Premium or taking more tier.

[Beth Macbain]

Mother has spoken. Everyone hush now.