Thunes to acquire payments platform Tilia LLC

[Sid Nagy]

2 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Since Oberwager said he sold Tilia because it cost too much to operate, it follows that he wouldn't sell it resulting in a higher-cost service. 

... for the company.

But what about for the consumers?
I'm not really concerned if LL makes a million a year more or less profit to be honest.

 

[Qie Niangao]

5 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

However I don't know SL's financials, and realize they do need to keep afloat. Also I don't know what those at the top are making -- could be it's not in excess as RL execs make these days.  But to automatically think those at the bottom of a community should pay more is faulty thinking.

(The bottom of a community?)

Without knowing SL's financials, we do now know Tilia was losing money for the Lab, and one way or another, eventually, it will not lose money for Thunes. Either they'll realize the hoped-for efficiencies, or somebody will pay more.*

As for whether Linden Lab squanders too much of the proletariat's transaction fees on updating SL technology and generating returns (if any) for the investors, we could second-guess their business acumen, but in a capitalist system that's ultimately a question of competition: if they're doing it wrong, the business fails because its customers go elsewhere.

I suppose there's always an OpenSim collective somewhere, but the lines at those content kitchens might be long.

_______________
*Or if the five-year contract specifies something about transaction fees, the contract doesn't get renewed and the Lab scrambles to find a replacement.

[Porky Gorky]

4 hours ago, Sid Nagy said:

It might have worked for you, but not for me. McD is here in my hometown for more than 40 years now, I haven't even been there twice so far.  Exaggerate a bit is okay in commercials, but the way they do it...
LL should not go that way with advertising IMHO.

Yeah but Mcdonalds is SL in this analogy and you choose to pay to use SL, even though you see it for what it really is. Get people back through the doors and maybe they will also pay to use SL too once they are here.

[Coffee Pancake]

If nothing else we urgently need to see reduced L$ purchase and sale fees.

Thunes will be taking their cut as money handler, Linden Lab shouldn't have their fingers in the pie too.

[Alwin Alcott]

22 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Since Oberwager said he sold Tilia because it cost too much to operate, it follows that he wouldn't sell it resulting in a higher-cost service. 

that's logic, but not always the case .. the 5 yr contract isn't there without reason. It's not only profitable for Thunes to have a client that keeps using their old, their new system... they will have at least income as long they don't aquire new clients for that new part.
For LL the lack of costs running their Tilia for 5 yrs could be a really good deal,  no maintenance, no development a.s.o ..
don't think Thunes paid with gold bars ... Tilia was a money pit worser as a inworld club for LL, those never get paid well at sale. Oberwager is a CEO as the signer of Thunes is too... both know how to run a business.

Edited April 27 by Alwin Alcott

[BilliJo Aldrin]

2 hours ago, Arwyn Quandry said:

My big concern is the issue that Tilia always avoided for LL - payment processors leveraging their power to force a ban of sexual content. How are they going to ensure that doesn't happen now?

Gee, is that why there has recently been a big concern about the presence of a certain type of avatar in SL, and how they should be reined in considerably?

Edited April 27 by BilliJo Aldrin
spelling, punctuation

[BilliJo Aldrin]

2 hours ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

I know Tilia was spun off and officially separate but... it always felt there was a link. Isn't LL now utterly dependent on another company who have enormous power to effectively set platform policy? what if they decide they don't want to handle certain transactions (for example adult content)?

 

I expressed that same concern when LL moved to Amazon cloud hosting, and everyone just laughed. Now the possibility is just twice as much 😂

Edited April 27 by BilliJo Aldrin
changed words

[Innula Zenovka]

1 hour ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

When some outraged media runs stories about the filth going on in Second Life and specifically names Thunes as facilitating the monetary side of it.

What's the likelihood of that happening?   This isn't 2006-7 any more, when SL was on all the front pages as the next big thing.    That's ancient history now, and SL is no longer news.   

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

When some outraged media runs stories about the filth going on in Second Life and specifically names Thunes as facilitating the monetary side of it.

Unpopular idea: that's why the Thunes deal happened BEFORE any such story made sufficient coverage.

[Luna Bliss]

1 hour ago, Qie Niangao said:

in a capitalist system that's ultimately a question of competition: if they're doing it wrong, the business fails because its customers go elsewhere.

In a capitalist system the top will squeeze as much as they can from those who work for them.  We must resist!  We need a freelancers on the internet lobby.

[Luna Bliss]

2 hours ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

3 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

Perhaps all who create for these online corporations should get a better deal? Why should SL conform to the too-low payments creators receive on other platforms? As more and more of RL moves online I'd like to see all who create for online platforms get a better deal. In other words, let's not funnel too much of the money to CEO's.

However I don't know SL's financials, and realize they do need to keep afloat. Also I don't know what those at the top are making -- could be it's not in excess as RL execs make these days.  But to automatically think those at the bottom of a community should pay more is faulty thinking.

Expand  

I think we're going to have to face this eventually but right now the regulatory environment in most countries makes this an enormously lucrative business and I know those involved won't want to give it up easily or even reduce their rather large share of the pie.

We've allowed a global economy to emerge where we charge ludicrous sums for the transfer of tiny packets of information, there's nothing especially expensive about handling online transactions other than the wrangling that is involved in obtaining the licenses to do so.

I don't know how we fix this, cryptocurrency (I know, I know) was one idea but rather quickly being made less and less viable due to how disruptive it can be to those currently making out like bandits.

It's never easy to fight against those in power 

[Sammy Huntsman]

22 hours ago, Vanity Fair said:

Oh, innnteresting! I see J. Randall Waterfield listed as co-director with Brad Oberwager.

 

Fun fact: Waterfield Holdings includes, among dozens of properties in its so-called "Waterfield network" (https://www.waterfield.com/, scroll to the very bottom for the full list)...blue-chip investment firm Goldman Sachs. 💰

That is what investment firms do. They invest in businesses, this is very normal. 

[Love Zhaoying]

59 minutes ago, Sammy Huntsman said:

That is what investment firms do. They invest in businesses, this is very normal. 

Plus, it's normal for board-level execs (CEO's, presidents, etc.) to serve on multiple boards of other companies, especially when they "leave" a CEO position. My company's CEO used to meet with everyone whose birthday was that month and talk about such things (including his own plans after leaving, to serve on other company boards).

[Sammy Huntsman]

4 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Plus, it's normal for board-level execs (CEO's, presidents, etc.) to serve on multiple boards of other companies, especially when they "leave" a CEO position. My company's CEO used to meet with everyone whose birthday was that month and talk about such things (including his own plans after leaving, to serve on other company boards).

I wonder if Phil Spencer and Oberwolf Linden ever communicate. Since they are also invested in Microsoft as well. 

[Ceka Cianci]

2 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

It's never easy to fight against those in power 

Fighting  is never that easy anyways, specially if you're small like meh!! \o/

Just have to know where to hit'em and get out of there as fast as you can before they can getta grab on ya.. hehehe

 

Edited April 27 by Ceka Cianci

[Love Zhaoying]

2 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

It's never easy to fight against those in power 

The "power" is Maya, and they are lost in bondage (not the kinky kind).

[Ceka Cianci]

2 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

The "power" is Maya, and they are lost in bondage (not the kinky kind).

I think we're getting close to the visual part of the thread now.. hehehe

 

[Luna Bliss]

4 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

2 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

It's never easy to fight against those in power 

The "power" is Maya, and they are lost in bondage (not the kinky kind).

 

[Love Zhaoying]

36 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

I think we're getting close to the visual part of the thread now.. hehehe

 

Now there's an idea, if Strawberry and Oberwolf were to "dance" (choreographed, not "couples" dancing) during the interview, but talk while breathing hard - like Madonna or P!nk singing while dancing, that would be cool!!

[Innula Zenovka]

5 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said:

If nothing else we urgently need to see reduced L$ purchase and sale fees.

Thunes will be taking their cut as money handler, Linden Lab shouldn't have their fingers in the pie too.

Oberwolf spoke in the Lab Gab about the high cost of running and maintaining the Lindex.    If you do not disbelieve him, how do you think those costs should be covered?

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, Ceka Cianci said:

Fighting  is never that easy anyways, specially if you're small like meh!! \o/

Just have to know where to hit'em and get out of there as fast as you can before they can getta grab on ya.. hehehe

 

If you're really small, just run up their pants leg and bite tender areas!

[Coffee Pancake]

36 minutes ago, Innula Zenovka said:

Oberwolf spoke in the Lab Gab about the high cost of running and maintaining the Lindex.    If you do not disbelieve him, how do you think those costs should be covered?

No, he didn't.

He spoke about the high cost of running Tilia, as in the licensed money exchange part of the program.

The Lindex is still part of Second Life and will remain so, it is not expensive to run.

[Arielle Popstar]

5 minutes ago, Coffee Pancake said:

No, he didn't.

He spoke about the high cost of running Tilia, as in the licensed money exchange part of the program.

The Lindex is still part of Second Life and will remain so, it is not expensive to run.

Yes I remember him mentioning the Lindex as being expensive too.

[Sammy Huntsman]

1 minute ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Yes I remember him mentioning the Lindex as being expensive too.

He did say that both were very expensive to run. 

[Persephone Emerald]

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Now there's an idea, if Strawberry and Oberwolf were to "dance" (choreographed, not "couples" dancing) during the interview, but talk while breathing hard - like Madonna or P!nk singing while dancing, that would be cool!!

Strawberry has done some Bolliwood dances on TicToc. I think that would be cool with a bunch of Lindens and Moles for the SL 21th birthday celebration.