skyboxes

[muffy77]

how high off the ground do they have to be

 

[Rolig Loon]

That depends on where you are.  If you are in a Linden Home, skyboxes are only allowed on the Bellisseria continent above 2000 meters. Linden Lab has been policing that fairly heavily. Skyboxes are not allowed for first-generation Linden Homes at all (although residents seem to have forgotten that and LL hasn't policed it rigorously).  Elsewhere, it all depends on what the region owner allows.  On my own region, for example, I do not allow any building in the sky below 300m, because it makes the sky unsightly and blocks the sun.  Check your local covenant.

[Lindal Kidd]

Rolig is quite correct: the minimum height is set by the landlord. On Mainland (not counting Linden Home regions) there are no restrictions. You could hover your house 5 meters off the ground if you want.

But there are practical considerations, too. I recommend a minimum height of 1000m. At 1000m, the viewer stops rendering the ground below. This greatly improves your performance. In places where I see frame rates of 40 fps on the ground, I see rates of 99 fps or more above 1000m.

The maximum height at which you can rez or place objects is 4096m, so you're prevented from building anything higher up than that.

That gives us a range...from about 1000m to about 4000m. Within that range, you will often find neighbors have built THEIR skyboxes. So it's a good idea to survey the sky above your parcel and choose an altitude that puts you out of sound, and, hopefully, sight, of others.