SecondLifeTime

[Qie Niangao]

6 minutes ago, JaimeJustice said:

I do not see "Request SecondLifetime Premium Account" on the dropdown menu of the support ticket page. Does this mean it's already sold out?

"In the support ticket form, select the ticket type Account Issue, and choose Request SecondLifetime Premium Account from the second drop down that appears."

It still appears for me. Are you sure you selected Issue Type: Account Issue first? And maybe make sure you're logged in to that support page?

Edited June 27, 2023 by Qie Niangao

[Tary Allen]

I was tempted but I hate pressure, and money related decisions have to be made with time. So, maybe next time. If there were some extra benefits it would make the decision easier, as it is, maybe next time. 

[JaimeJustice]

16 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said:

It still appears for me. Are you sure you selected Issue Type: Account Issue first? And maybe make sure you're logged in to that support page?

Oh... you're correct. Apparently I wasn't logged into that specific page - I was logged in to the SL site, and this forum. I did not even realize I could. So many different logins...

Thank you for clarifying for me.

[Sid Nagy]

Not for me.
I ain't gonna pay that much upfront for any non essential life requirement.
If I no longer can justify a normal yearly SL premium account for myself in the future, it simply ends there and then.

On the other hand, there are still a few Wimbledon male finals tickets available for.... wait for it..... 4,995 Pounds... and some for 7,500 Pounds.
If one can burn that kind of money for 3 tennis matches and a bowl of strawberries on a Sunday afternoon,  this SecondLifeTime offer is a bargain.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Sid Nagy

[steeljane42]

I would consider it, even if there's close to no premium benefits for me aside of the extra group slots and faster events access (I can wait just fine for 2-3 days, so it's a very small benefit). Perhaps I'd even get some "free" mainland parcel to decorate as a cute public cafe or something similar.

But on top of a hefty price tag upfront they just had to add a FOMO element. That's a big nope for me. While I could see myself relaxing in SL after a long working week and thinking something like "Why not? I spend a lot of time and money here anyway for over a decade already, might as well have this."  The typical FOMO with "Limited quantity for the virtual goods." did kill my possible interest completely.

It works on many people, sadly, as the whole gaming/entertainment industry shows, but for me it does completely the opposite. While there might some "natural" situations when one might need to rush, on SL's example it would be last names and getting a wanted combination of first and last name before someone else took it, such enforced "limited accounts"  and similar things are terrible.

[Paul Hexem]

I swear to god whoever comes up with the prices for stuff over at LL is right out of an Austin Powers movie or something.

It's like they're only just learning what numbers are. 

[Extrude Ragu]

Consider me a conspiracy theorist,

I have to wonder if there is a reason that they decided to launch a product like this now - Think about it, in terms of SecondLife's long term business interests, a lifetime membership is not a continuously paying customer. Although it might seem like a lot of money, in the long term it is actually a loss for SecondLife after a few years. I feel that the reason they capped how many people could make this purchase was because they know this themselves.

Consider me a conspiracy theorist, but I wonder if there was perhaps some motivation that caused LL to decide to trade some long term business money for short term capital. Why would they be trying to raise funds for something so rapidly? Short on cash? Trying to fund some project?

[Sid Nagy]

18 minutes ago, Extrude Ragu said:

Consider me a conspiracy theorist,

I have to wonder if there is a reason that they decided to launch a product like this now - Think about it, in terms of SecondLife's long term business interests, a lifetime membership is not a continuously paying customer. Although it might seem like a lot of money, in the long term it is actually a loss for SecondLife after a few years. I feel that the reason they capped how many people could make this purchase was because they know this themselves.

Consider me a conspiracy theorist, but I wonder if there was perhaps some motivation that caused LL to decide to trade some long term business money for short term capital. Why would they be trying to raise funds for something so rapidly? Short on cash? Trying to fund some project?

They don't sell at a loss.
Their own costs are a lot lower than what we pay normally. They sell with a discount.
Just like the products in a supermarket that sell with -10% - 20% -30% for a short time. It is all about product advertisement.

This isn't in the first place about pleasing their residents IMHO. They give the press something to write about. Making SL as newsworthy as possible. Now that we celebrate SL20B the press more likely will pay more attention than usual. It is not for nothing they only do this for a limited time only and exactly now. Striking the iron when it is hot. 
In a few weeks interest from the press will be back to normal, Motown in SL forgotten, the sweepstakes over and the SecondLifeLifetime yesterdays news.
Running a quarter page add in a few national magazines or newspapers would cost them a lot more than they 'lose' money on this offering.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Sid Nagy

[Love Zhaoying]

11 minutes ago, Extrude Ragu said:

Consider me a conspiracy theorist,

I have to wonder if there is a reason that they decided to launch a product like this now - Think about it, in terms of SecondLife's long term business interests, a lifetime membership is not a continuously paying customer. Although it might seem like a lot of money, in the long term it is actually a loss for SecondLife after a few years. I feel that the reason they capped how many people could make this purchase was because they know this themselves.

Consider me a conspiracy theorist, but I wonder if there was perhaps some motivation that caused LL to decide to trade some long term business money for short term capital. Why would they be trying to raise funds for something so rapidly? Short on cash? Trying to fund some project?

I think your theory is interesting!

On the other hand..here are a few competing theories:

1) LL may be betting that not many people will buy a "Lifetime" membership.  This could explain (conspiracy theory!) the limited number of initial Lifetime memberships being offered. By limiting the number offered, LL could be creating a "safety net" in case a lot of people sign up.  Basically, this would support a theory that it's not a good deal for LL.

2) LL may be betting that "most people won't stay around long enough to use more than a few years more than they are paying for".

Assumption: Mostly "old farts" may sign up for this "lifetime membership" due to already investing a lot in Second Life, extra income for it, hoping for an overall "net benefit" (amount spent on Lifetime vs. amount spent for annual fees), not planning to leave, etc.

However: Statistics may show that those same "old farts" may die or leave Second Life for other reasons, only a few years before or after their overall "net benefit" is reached.

Just a couple competing conspiracy theories off the top of my noggin' / pulled from my tail-hole! 🙂 

 

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

Making SL as newsworthy as possible. Now that we celebrate SL20B the press more likely will pay more attention than usual.

Exactly! I left this one out.  Plus, a lot of press for not many people will / can buy the Lifetime membership, is a good deal for LL.

 

[Love Zhaoying]

Question on the Lifetime Membership: 

Once we've paid, how does LL know we've died?  With no "recurring charges", they shouldn't..

Won't our stuff stay in perpetuity, like the original "lifetime membership" people whose stuff litters some of the old Mainland (see: around Luna, etc.)?

The only way I can see LL "knowing" is if they setup some kind of system where Lifetime members have to respond to some annual / occasional email, etc.  That would be a nightmare, seeing various Forum posts about people not getting emails from LL. 

[Katherine Heartsong]

Further to what @Sid Nagy just said ... the amount of short term capital raised by a few hundred people paying $750 is negligible on the books of a company like LL. You and I may think that $150,000 (say) is a lot of cash but that's just change in terms of operating costs.

Money is a weird thing, vast sums seem like a lot but when compared to other things the sums aren't. For example, last year upkeep on the royal properties in the UK costs about $125,000,000. Seems like a lot, yes? In comparison, my local school board yearly budget for 2022 was $832,000,000.

$150,000 from a few hundred lifetime memberships isn't enough of a capital influx to excite anyone.

[Love Zhaoying]

1 minute ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

Further to what @Sid Nagy just said ... the amount of short term capital raised by a few hundred people paying $750 is negligible on the books of a company like LL. You and I may think that $150,000 (say) is a lot of cash but that's just change in terms of operating costs.

Money is a weird thing, vast sums seem like a lot but when compared to other things the sums aren't. For example, last year upkeep on the royal properties in the UK costs about $125,000,000. Seems like a lot, yes? In comparison, my local school board yearly budget for 2022 was $832,000,000.

$150,000 from a few hundred lifetime memberships isn't enough of a capital influx to excite anyone.

I think no matter how many Lifetime memberships are offered, the number of people who accept and pay for them will be insignificant compared to the total number of paying accounts. Even if it were a "great deal" for users, most people don't want to take that risk, or have the disposable income (or heaven forbid, want to put it on a credit card).

[xDancingStarx]

I think it was just a gimmick and doesn't have a deeper meaning. It was limited as an insurance just because if everyone had opted in, they'd be in trouble in a couple of years. 

1 hour ago, Onur McLeod said:

there should have been more value added to this limited membership

I'm glad there wasn't any added value, otherwise I would have been tempted. Without any added value it was easy for me to say no. As much as I'm committed to SL at this time, it's impossible to tell what's in 3 years from now. Not because I might lose interest in SL, but because there may rise something else. Or SL may evolve into something else. Right now there is so much outdated stuff around that simply puts many new users off. If SL wants to grow, there need to be significant changes.

[Phil Deakins]

Tbh, I'm amazed at the responses here. I am the complete opposite of a fan/supporter of LL because of how they've treated users through the years, but I can't see this as anything but a 20th birthday celebratory giveaway. For anyone who expects to stay in SL for more than the next 7 years, it's brilliant. They can't offer many or it would cost too much in the long term if too many people took it up, so I don't see the limited numbers as intended to be a FOMO element, and I can't see it as a money-grabbing scheme either because they won't get all that much money out of it if the whole allocations are sold. I may be totally mistaken, but that's how I see it.

The one possible spanner in the works would be if the cost of Premium and Premium+ accounts are reduced in the future, meanng that more years are necessary before the user is in the black, but the cost of Premium accounts has increased, not decreased.

[Sid Nagy]

49 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

The only way I can see LL "knowing" is if they setup some kind of system where Lifetime members have to respond to some annual / occasional email, etc.  That would be a nightmare, seeing various Forum posts about people not getting emails from LL. 

One of the terms could be that one has to log in at least once every 2 years. If not, the membership will end three months later if one still doesn't log in after two extra email  notifications, assuming further lack of interest.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Sid Nagy

[Love Zhaoying]

1 minute ago, Sid Nagy said:

One of the terms could be that one has to log in at least once a year. If not the membership will end three months later if one still doesn't log in after two extra email  notifications.

I totally agree. Is that fair? Maybe! 

Should that apply to "all Premium / Paying accounts"? I'm not sure!

[Phil Deakins]

14 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

One of the terms could be that one has to log in at least once every 2 years. If not, the membership will end three months later if one still doesn't log in after two extra email  notifications, assuming further lack of interest.

The page about it, that was linked to early in the first page here, states clearly that the account level is for the life of the account. You can quit SL completely and later renew the account and the lifetime level will still be there.

Lifetime is for the life of the account, regardless of what the user does or doesn't do with it. They can't change the level up or down though, but they can leave SL for years without affecting the lifetime level. A new lifetime Premium, for instance, can't change down to Basic or up to Premium+, but it can quit SL for years and the account remains the same.

So there is no need of any kind of verification from time to time.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Phil Deakins

[Sid Nagy]

3 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I totally agree. Is that fair? Maybe! 

Should that apply to "all Premium / Paying accounts"? I'm not sure!

I certain my bank closes all automatic payments and lock all accounts, the day they receive a notice of me passing away. That is common practice here in NL.
When the undertaker goes to arrange an official death certificate for you at the local civil registry office, that triggers automated notifications to banks, tax office, pension funds, health insurrance, hospitals etc.

So no more endless renewals when I die.

[Paul Hexem]

1 hour ago, Extrude Ragu said:

Consider me a conspiracy theorist

It's really not that crazy.

Every MMO I've ever seen offer lifetime subs has gone into free to play maintenance mode almost immediately afterwards.

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Once we've paid, how does LL know we've died?  With no "recurring charges", they shouldn't..

Quote

Your SecondLifeTime membership will become the base level of membership that your account holds for the remainder of it's lifetime.

this says for me, that the acount will stay, not depending on the living guy at this side of the screen.. so perhaps by Will or heritage the account stays lifetime  

Edited June 27, 2023 by Alwin Alcott

[Sid Nagy]

Just now, Phil Deakins said:

The page about it, that was linked to early in the first page here, states clearly that the account level is for the life of the account. You can quit SL completely and later renew the account and the lifetime level will still be there.

Lifetime is for the life of the account, regardless of what the user does or doesn't do with it. They can't change the level up or down though, but they can leave SL for years without affecting the lifetime level. A new lifetime Premium, for instance, can't change down to Basic or up to Premium+, but it can quit SL for years and the account remains the same.

So there is no need of any kind of verification from time to time.

Sure there is no need for it, but if I had to arrange such a proposition, I would include such term to avoid clutter and unused plots from persons who could not even be bothered to log in or have passed away without relatives notifying the company.

[Phil Deakins]

1 minute ago, Sid Nagy said:

Sure there is no need for it, but if I had to arrange such a proposition, I would include such term to avoid clutter and unused plots from persons who could not even be bothered to log in or have passed away without relatives notifying the company.

I don't a problem. It's up to LL to deal with mainland that is owned by accounts that haven't logged in for a very long time. It's not as if there's a shortage of mainland Unsightly clutter on the land can be returned to its owner if it's reported. In both cases, the lifetime account level with stay the same.

[Alwin Alcott]

1 minute ago, Sid Nagy said:

Sure there is no need for it, but if I had to arrange such a proposition, I would include such term to avoid clutter and unused plots from persons who could not even be bothered to log in or have passed away without relatives notifying the company.

if there's reportabe clutter LL can already remove that now too, so wouldn't be impossible to do it when it last longer, but the lifetime member paid for it, he could come back in 30 yrs too, and still should have his holdings here... again, he paid for it.
If it has to be different, with a required login every year, it should be mentioned before signing up. Those things are not easy to change later.

[Qie Niangao]

1 minute ago, Phil Deakins said:

Tbh, I'm amazed at the responses here. I am the complete opposite of a fan/supporter of LL because of how they've treated users through the years, but I can't see this as anything but a 20th birthday celebratory giveaway. For anyone who expects to stay in SL for more than the next 7 years, it's brilliant. They can't offer many or it would cost too much in the long term if too many people took it up, so I don't see the limited numbers as intended to be a FOMO element, and I can't see it as a money-grabbing scheme either because they won't get all that much money out of it if the whole allocations are sold. I may be totally mistaken, but that's how I see it.

The one possible spanner in the works would be if the cost of Premium and Premium+ accounts are reduced in the future, meanng that more years are necessary before the user is in the black, but the cost of Premium accounts has increased, not decreased.

Agreed. They did sometimes have fire sales on Premium subscriptions but I haven't seen that in years. The current number of SecondLifetime accounts on offer is surely no money-grabbing scheme; I doubt they can introduce and administer the program for the total money it generates. (Where do people live and work that US$ 0.25 million might mean something to a tech company?) If there's any kind of "FOMO" element, it's to generate hype to make the whole thing an effective promotion: "Sold out in xx hours!" probably sends a message of renewed hotness about the platform.

That the offers are of such limited quantities makes it seem unlikely they're considering them for a regular product, alternative to monthly and annual. They might, however, repeat the offer of a similarly limited quantity on the next very special promotional opportunity—maybe before 20 years from now.

If they actually did offer unlimited quantities of lifetime memberships, I'd get concerned.