LL Please Suspend Reoccuring Billing For Ukrainians

[Skyler Pancake]

One of things I love about Second Life is how it's an international community. We have folks from all over the planet gathered together in our own virtual world. A world based on the freedom to create, connect, and enjoy.

 

Right now Ukraine is busy fighting for their freedom outside of our private world. For a variety of reasons they may not be able to join us or may have limited ability to do so. Yet, they are part of our community.

 

For the Ukrainians who do support our world, via Premium and Tier Subscriptions, I request that LL now support them. Please suspend all reoccurring billing charges for those with billing addresses located in Ukraine. If unable to suspend the charges, please credit the accounts the equivalent. Although in the grand scheme it may be a little thing.. Ukrainians right now should not need to worry about their virtual land being lost while their nation is being invaded.

 

When you're already losing everything, the loss of one more thing still hurts. LL may not be able to do much to help the people in Ukraine who are fighting to survive.. But they can help maintain the hope of someday returning to what they had. Providing hope is sometimes the most powerful action one can do.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Skyler Pancake
1) Phrasing. 2) Additional comment explaining the importance of this request.

[LittleMe Jewell]

What about the Russian citizens who don't want this war and yet can't stop it; who have had their economy collapse because of the sanctions, and who possibly now might also have to worry about not being able to pay SL bills.

This war hurts the citizens in both countries, through no fault of their own --- well, other than many years ago electing that idiot into power. 

[yestothis]

This is a very sweet idea, but in the grand scheme of things.. people don’t need a virtual game as much as food & shelter. If LL does this, then why not for people who have illness, loss of a job, etc too? They give no one a break. 

[Kathlen Onyx]

They didn't suspend billing for those affected by Covid so while it's a nice idea I don't think it's appropriate.

[Finite]

Every little bit helps. Even if only a handful of refugees or those weathering the storm use SL to mentally escape just for a moment then it is worth it.

Of course there are better ways of helping  like air dropping non-perishables into the cities or maybe dropping a nice “gift” on top that bottled up 40mile long convoy outside Kyiv (why hasn’t this happened anyways? It’s screaming here I am you can end the war now). But from SL scope I think this would be helpful.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Finite

[Scylla Rhiadra]

I am uncertain about the "ethics" of this, so to speak. Obviously, it would be lovely if LL could provide relief to everyone and anyone who finds themselves in difficulties. Whether or not Ukrainian residents should be singled out or not? I am undecided, but agree that, while it would be nice, it is privileging one particular crisis over others.

All that said, I'm pretty sure LL is going to come to some sort of accommodation with at least a few high-profile Ukrainian creators, if only because it's not a good look to see such publicly visible residents lose their in-world businesses because of the war.

https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2022/03/hanna-lindberg-osmia-second-life-ukraine.html

[Monavie Voight]

Playing Second Life® is not a necessity, it is an entertainment.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Possibly, a more useful and helpful gesture by LL would be to make a reasonably sizable donation to one of the agencies assisting with Ukrainian refugees.

LL has done this sort of thing before. I'd applaud that far more loudly than tier or fee relief for Ukrainian residents.

[Coffee Pancake]

Linden Lab suspend and perma-bans Ukrainian Second Life users when unable to pay.

That's a great headline, epic .. lets not have that, and while were at it, lets not have .. 

War in Ukraine over, but Second Lifers still on the hook for virtual back rent, accounts banned!

 

Suspending all tier and premium for Ukrainian residents till this mess is over is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Istelathis]

It would be nice, especially for those who are unable to afford whatever land they have developed due to the invasion.  A lot of them have worst things to worry about, but eventually we can hope most of the can return to a safer environment and then return to something they love without the worry of it having vanished.  

[Quistess Alpha]

2 minutes ago, Coffee Pancake said:

Linden Lab suspend and perma-bans Ukrainian Second Life users when unable to pay.

I'm with Sam1 on this one sadly, "Linden Lab suspend and permabans sick covid19 patients when unable to pay." also valid, no?

[Chris Corvinus]

2 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

What about the Russian citizens who don't want this war and yet can't stop it; who have had their economy collapse because of the sanctions, and who possibly now might also have to worry about not being able to pay SL bills.

This war hurts the citizens in both countries, through no fault of their own --- well, other than many years ago electing that idiot into power. 

What about them? The majority voted for Putin. I say increase their recurring bill.

[BlissnBreez]

I think there should be a place here built so information can be shared as the Russian community is being lied to heavily.

[Istelathis]

Ukraine's infrastructure is slowly being removed, people are fleeing parts of the country to escape harm at this time.  Covid-19 is horrible, not doubt, and what the Russian civilians are going through is horrible too.  But, I think at this point trying to compare what is happening to Ukraine to either other scenario is not quite on par.  I hope LL does something for the residents from the Ukraine, other than make a community page.  Of course they are not responsible for them at all, but doing so would not only be kind it would also be great PR.  

I would not be offended if LL helped them out, for that matter I wouldn't be bothered if they helped out the Russians, or people with Covid-19, people dealing with natural disasters, etc.  I think that would be kind of nice to put their account on standby until they recuperated.  But I don't want to get in a long drawn out argument, as is often the case I haven't the knowledge required to get very in-depth with what it would require for LL to provide such services for people in need.  And yes, I know they are a business not a humanitarian group and yes I can be naïve at times .
 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Istelathis

[Scylla Rhiadra]

31 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

I think at this point trying to compare what is happening to Ukraine to either other scenario is not quite on par.

This is actually a good point. What is happening in Ukraine is vastly more horrifying than Covid, or life in Russia under Putin, as awful as those two are. Although I still think that some RL assistance to a refugee agency would be a better investment.

31 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

And yes, I know they are a business not a humanitarian group and yes I can be naïve at times .

Please don't. I'll take a naive person who cares, and wants to make a difference, over 10 "realists" who don't.

And businesses needn't be crappy, heartless money-making machines, even if they so frequently are.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Alwin Alcott]

Let's give all free premium access and all the land they want , form all conflict aereas on the world. ( and close the doors in 3 months...)

It's nót realistic to go for this,

Ukraine
Jemen
Syrie
Afghaistan
Irak
Servia, and surrounding countries who are still in conlict
Greece , Italy, Spain for their nearly bankrupt economies (without support of north EU)
Korea's
Nepal
nearly the whole of Africa
big parts of South America
and so on...

who's gonna keep LL up?

Everybody can play in , and live in SL without spending anything.  Land and other stuff is nót required. .. but they won't even have the infrastructure ..

Edited March 3, 2022 by Alwin Alcott

[Istelathis]

I think an option would be to allow people who are experiencing a catastrophe such as having their country invaded to be able to temporarily put their account on standby, it would possibly lock their account out or better yet simply lock their land from entry.  This has two benefits, one being that the person does not lose everything they have invested in SL for when they can return, and the second is LL still has a paying customer once they are able to make their payments again.  Unfortunately, I imagine this could be taken advantage of people who want to sell land behind the scenes, so there would likely need to be evidence of hardship.  For Ukraine at the moment, it is practically a given.  

Having such a system in place could help out a lot of people, such as when they have health issues, or they have experienced any kind of trauma that would place them out of work for a few months.  With such a system, people are not getting free things from linden, they just are not losing what they have invested in.  Hopefully, they are able to become paying customers again in the near future.  

Edited March 3, 2022 by Istelathis

[Alwin Alcott]

31 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

 to be able to temporarily put their account on standby

we have that, it's called basic account.I t will wait on the owner without any payment till LL pulls the plug on whole SL.
The inventories keep intact, and their L$ are hold.
Just premium and land can be downgraded.

I seriously think we should't make exceptions that are unrealistic.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Alwin Alcott

[Istelathis]

It does not have to be indefinitely, and the property is going to be running regardless if it is on the mainland.  For private regions I would hope it can just be shutdown. The Linden homes in Bellisseria is where I would see the problem as I am unsure if they can be changed to allow no entrance.  Doing it this way, will ensure the property owners that have invested a lot of time on their properties, as well as establishing a faithful following for the land do not lose the work they have invested over time.  
 

[Camilaaa0]

1 hour ago, Alwin Alcott said:

Let's give all free premium access and all the land they want , form all conflict aereas on the world. ( and close the doors in 3 months...)

It's nót realistic to go for this,

Ukraine
Jemen
Syrie
Afghaistan
Irak
Servia, and surrounding countries who are still in conlict
Greece , Italy, Spain for their nearly bankrupt economies (without support of north EU)
Korea's
Nepal
nearly the whole of Africa
big parts of South America
and so on...

who's gonna keep LL up?

Everybody can play in , and live in SL without spending anything.  Land and other stuff is nót required. .. but they won't even have the infrastructure ..

I don't think It's the help they might need right now, rl is more important

[Sid Nagy]

If I ever come in their situation where bombs are dropped (Ukraine) or economy is collapsing (Russia) or both, the last thing I will be concerned about is SL.
Food, water and a roof above the head will be the only concerns then. If there is a possibility to still access Internet in such a situation I would downgrade immediately.
Rebuilding the country and economy will take years. After that Second Life could become an option again, if still available by then. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Sid Nagy

[Drake1 Nightfire]

One of my friends is an American teacher living in Ukraine, she has evacuated and is in a different country now. She was allowed a backpack of clothing and necessities to take with her. The last thing on her mind right now is SL. She is worried for her dog, who she had to leave with friends who hopefully could take her pup with them when they evacuated, her students who she is STILL teaching virtually, and her friends who she has lost contact with. 

Second Life is so far off her radar right now its in Alaska. 

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, Istelathis said:

The Linden homes in Bellisseria is where I would see the problem 

there is no problem with Linden homes ... when upgrading to premium again, if and when they come back, reclaim another one.
There is no lost investment, all bought  items are in the inventory.

[Isaac Ashton]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

As much as I understand the wave of empathy towards Ukrainians in these difficult times and participate to it on my very small level, SL is the least of their concerns right now. Ukrainians need peace, food, shelters and safety. They need this war to end ASAP and they need to be able to live again peacefully in a country whose fate they choose democratically and independantly. It is good to show them support in SL but showing them support in RL – for instance through donations to organisations like the Red Cross and other famous charities which will help the Ukrainian refugees and population – is, at least to me, much more important. L$ won't feed and shelter anyone when the recipients hardly have access to Internet, power, etc. and fear 24/7 for their lives or try to escape the hell that has become their country. They can't just log onto their SL account and convert L$ into real money or go to the ATM. They have more urgent needs and concerns right now. More than a million people have already fled Ukraine since the war started a week ago but what will happen to them once they're in Poland, Romania or Moldavia? Donations in real $ to charities in order to help them take care of those who lost everything because of the war have a greater and more useful impact than any debate about what LL should or should not do.

[Ceka Cianci]

OP, It's probably better to contact LL directly with your suggestion..