DoctorEigen Flow

Doggie, > "I can't see a system of monitoring actual use and billing sim owners on a pro-rated system of bandwidth usage or something of that nature, it would be far too involved and complex and have negatives you didn't consider, namely, the more visitors, including unwanetd ones (griefers etc) would run up the cost. In that case a group of griefers could heavily traffic a sim they dislike, with all their buddies knowing they are running up the costs for that sim owner. Conversely it could mean sim owners restricting access across the grid to keep costs down." Me: Well, 'I' can see a system of monitoring actual use, because... that's what S3 does. And as for griefers, ban them and they're gone. People should not adjust their lives because of fear. And as for sim owners restricting access, they can do that already, and do... but! by lowering usage, they do not get a discount, so most don't bother. Thus, nothing you just said in this paragraph, is salient to anything real? > "What you mention is similar to the web site or local isp bandwidth charges if you went over a certain number a month, and if you did you had to pay extra." Me: Yes, that's why I gave that example... to contrast standard services to what Linden enjoys using the Amazon S3. > "As for what I think the reason might be, tough question doctor, my gut feeling is these half price sims are across the board, with some variances of course- being run by LL at wholesale cost, some will cost more some less, but averaged out over the whole I honestly believe what LL is charging for them is what they actually cost LL (another grid with less overhead would be different of course like any business)" Me: But Linden doesn't have to do blind accounting like that, they have an advantage... 'computers'. By using computers, and the S3 statistics, they know 'exactly' what the costs are. Interesting huh? Thus, even if your supposition is correct, and the discounted price is a no profit situation, you'd think... Linden could start a separate part of their company, a 'nonprofit part', and charge just enough over the wholesale cost to run its operations and continue to support non profits and schools on a grid,... IF... they wanted to? So I guess it is an emotional issue after all. > "I feel also that many regular sim owners seeing the 50% discounts have probably expressed some anger or "concern" to LL about that big a difference in what people pay here, since there are far more regular sim owners than non profits in SL, the majority, especially if more vocal, would tend to get notice by the corporate board." Me: Well, I can see for THESE folks that it is for sure! an emotional issue. How sad that these folks think that funding for non profits and schools are monolithic. I can see that everything I said about these brave evangelists working hard to get a representation into SL to begin with, and the fact! that SL is not an typically accepted place to either be, or teach, much less be talked about in the open for fear of being ridiculed... meant nothing, and means nothing to these people too. The fact that education, world wide will one day take place mostly... that's MOSTLY on line in advanced VR worlds and these people are making that happen... means nothing. The fact that education itself, is the only hope for mankind, means nothing, and the fact that not all things of value are attached to sales and marketing of products... I'm sure especially means nothing... and your paragraph describing OUR neighbors emotional position of both jealousy and anger over these groups having a discount, shows that... how sad. > "It could be that LL saw potential with all the universities, being able to advertise that they have this one and that one and the other one, all these prestigious universities in SL they could have seen as advertisement worthy to draw people in, after all, if the University of Texas (or whatever University you wish) is here, then every other academic and everyone else should be in here TOO. Maybe that didn't pan out as well as they hoped or thought it would, we are only assuming number traffic and customer wise these edu's may or may not have brought into SL as paying customers who spend money, we dont know what those numbers are, LL probably does, and maybe those numbers are not as great as people here thought." Me: I think that means they needed to fire the person responsible for the program and get someone who was much more effective in meeting the actual needs of that marketplace, so that it could track rational assumptions and expectations and grow at a realistic rate? I don't personally support turning on your clients and proving to them, that THEY failed to meet YOUR bottom line profitability and promotion expectations, when they are doing a pretty miraculous job, based only on their altruistic enthusiasms... but hey!, that's my opinion. I believe that most people, think altruism is nothing but a ruse to pilfer funds from authentic money making concerns, essentially a liberal socialist conspiracy to take a free ride on other people's backs, and so none of this is very shocking, no, it's more like... disappointing.

Doggie, Your current assessment then is, the discount of 1/2 sim price was being paid, and yet the flexible billing Amazon S3 server was charging Linden for significantly less, as per the small loads you are witnessing? In other words, Texas U. has been seriously overpaying, since we all know the S3 system takes into account ALL costs, not just the existence of a sim (which is merely storage and the least! of the operating charges). The majority of the costs of a fully operational sim on the S3 is based on service charges... bandwidth, upkeep, maintenance, amortization of hardware replacement and upgrades, administration types of things and the licensing of advanced cloud software which only bills the end user for 'what is used'. This is a feature that very few smaller server farms have, as most charge on a 'use it or lose it basis', where you pay for bandwidth for instance, and if you don't use it, tough, but if you need more than that, you pay more. So although the S3 is more expensive, it is very! flexible, self scaling, and self regulating, much like a power company, it only charges a basic fee, and then for what is ‘actually used’. Wow, that is quite a condemnation of Linden you are making?! Their seemingly charging a rate which does not reflect the 'reduced usage' you are reporting?! So, tell us, since they were obviously making a profit on the 'their' fixed rate basis, do you think it was a personal emotional decision to stop offering a discount so that these 'low usage' clients would just... leave, in spite of that profit? Thanks for investigating Doggie!... no one could accuse you!, of holding a grudge!

The institutions I've spoken to over the last three years about bringing some learning program into SL, said, "No.". Almost all of them on this planet currently, say, "No.". The educators who have pulled off this incredible hat trick and gotten programs into SL are amazing, energetic, determined evangelists who will be remembered historically as pioneers! who strove against all odds, to save this planet from its short sightedness, in the early part of the 21st century. Sure, the students who come here now, are mostly elitists from the top industrial nations, who can afford! to have computers and high speed access to the internet... sure. And sure, the institutions these pioneers have tapped are wealthy and powerful. BUT... in the near future, based on the success of these virtual programs and the proliferation of $100. net books and community internet, ...hundreds of millions! who could not otherwise afford universities, but still need! to obtain the knowledge and training to change their world, their way... will come! Linden will be remembered as one of those funky late 20th century game experiments that never really went anywhere, sort of a tuned down, property oriented, microeconomic simulator thingie... like it is thought of now... (none of my friends will come to SL, in fact my family adamantly refuses to even visit to see my work here!). "Remember them?" "Yeah, grandpa, we've heard this story before!! But WOW beat them out... we know! Oh, gotta log into my government and physics virtual classes now, see you at dinner". The future, is what Linden, in their cavalier bottom line driven behavior, has lost sight of... and it, will lose sight, of them. It looks like some of you, just don't get it... but hey! don't kill me, I'm only the messenger.

Dartagan Shepherd So to you, ...educators have nothing really to offer, as they live in a dream world completely isolated from the 'real one' you live in, and are mostly braggarts who loft above everyone else with their 'degrees', and actual inadequacies, while they obsess about a bunch of un-useful unimpressive self serving ‘stuff’, that only they, in their little closed communities, make a big deal about?! So since they are all a bunch of lazy bloated whinny elitists who don't care a scrap about what really matters, and aren't really doing anything to lift up what does, ...‘the bottom line!’, then you don't think anyone should care a dit!, about their trivial over hyped self-centered issues... and they should just get real!, suck it up already!, loosen up some, and maybe get some real jobs!!?? Thanks. Got it. Looks like Linden and the general population of the planet Earth agree with you.. as we all slide back into the bog from where we crawled.

Doggie... I think the defining moment will be when other companies realize, that Linden dropped the ball, and all of a sudden... there really is!... for the first time, a demand for Open SIMS ...as many of these institutional customers, have now got a REASON to have a sim, while before, when the whole thing became realistic to set up, a few years ago, there simply wasn't a 'real reason' to do so, as it was purely entertainment and experimentation since Linden was 'THE PLACE TO BE'. Once the institutions do get set up, I'm sure there will be packages made available to replicate their efforts, and then videos made for YouTube showing simple steps for DYI Open SIMS and then it will be a Pseudo-SL Renaissance Online!, as commercial entities who also would like to set up virtual 3D strip malls online will rush forward just like they did when HTML and WEB pages became quick and easy. ALL the really cool ways in which SL could have been used, and should! have been used, will become obvious! and thereby... implemented. What LL has just done here, is create a VERY lucrative industry!, ...that they will not be part of. When Apple created the 'Newton' they proved! a little handheld smart device was cool, but then PALM came along and used that revelation to build an empire and Apple left the market. When they rediscovered it again, with their iPod, iPhone and now iPad, they had lost out on years! BUT... they assembled such an impressive system that addressed the old issues so well, that they dominated the market. Now imagine, if Apple said... we are going to ONLY stick with ATT and NOT allow anyone else to make APS, etc. etc...., because that's how we want it... they'd go under. EVEN IF... LL had to create an 'Educational GRID' with a reasonable price increase, for 'serious non-commercial and/or rather 'limited commercial' use... that's what they should have done, instead of this. As it is... they are asking for a 'PALM' to come in and dominate a market they could have continued to own.

Doggie: There is a major difference in a lease between Linden and an institution, and one between Linden and an individual. An individual acting on their own personal mythologies, similar to the scenario you just presented, will likely back off and leave the 'scene of the crime', so to say. In your scenario, the investment for paint and/or wallpaper will likely be 'mentally written off', and rationalized as, "well at least I got to live there surrounded by the colors I chose". But what I think we will see in the very near future is institutions who will be forced by their backers, to audit the trail of investment. Moneys spent, efforts taken, manpower used, reputations at stake, subcontracts granted and the potential liabilities and claims that 'they' may have to deal with if the leasehold is pulled and SL is left behind, and/or if costs rise significantly making new funding decisions necessary could be critical masses for some. A number of these 'groups' will not simply be able to walk away and kiss off their investments in paint and/or wallpaper metaphorically... and thus, there may be, for the first time in Linden history, some serious court action. SO far, for two reasons, this has not been so: 1) There is a mythology, a belief system that the TOS is fully defendable in court since most people want to believe that contracts are two dimensional descriptions which define all possibilities and boundaries applicable. Thing is... every single day! there are dozens of cases being tried where such documents as Linden's TOS, ARE in court and being challenged, so a comfortability blanket, no matter how understandably written, may not be enough to power an utter and complete Linden 'happy happy joy joy deflection shield' or for that matter, 'to salve the fears about an over complex world from the eyes of those who desire simplicity'. 2) The $ amounts, as reiterated by you, are usually quite low, and the trouble to carry through legally, are not only too expensive, but a lot of trouble. BUT! I can assure you this, ...a number of the funding bodies behind the presence of some of these inworld organizations and institutions, have deep pockets for litigation. they may not want to spend the money on full price sims, but assigning their legal staff to ‘acquire and pursue’, is all in a day's work for some... it could get quite exciting (or sticky depending on where you are standing). We will soon see.

"Is it worth spending $10,000 you dont have to recoup $500 for a used sim and $200 for contents?" I think you'd be surprised to discover that many institutions here, have invested far more! than $700. in SL.

Cierra, A fact that is often overlooked is... TOSs are NOT the law, they are an intent to convey limitations and guidelines to those who would seek refuge under the law. I can say that if anyone slips and falls on my front step, it is their problem, I can post a sign and proclaim it to the world, "If YOU slip and fall on this step, forget suing me, because I WILL NOT PAY YOU ANYTHING!"... BUT, this does not in ANY way mean you will not sue me, or that the court will not award you a measure of justifiable payment for whatever it deems. The amount of investment by educational and nonprofit organizations is PROVABLE!... unlike lowly individuals who fudge and move about and shuffle their feet as to how much is paid, who gets told how much is made, where the money comes and goes... most individuals operate in a shadow... edu and nonprofits, do not. Thus the TOS is a suggestion, more than an edict. An example is, "what is our content, and what is the actual LL responsibility for it?" LL says, "NONE! Nada. Forget it!". But they also say, we own our intellectual property. So, here they proclaim it has value, and yet they say they have no responsibility for either loss, or in the case we are banned, for seizure? Well, the laws in the State of California are not explicit surrounding a ‘server, and the contents stored in that server's hard drives’, BUT! the laws in that state ARE explicit about 'storage for hire units' and what responsibilities and obligations a company who runs one has to the owners of the properties. A clever lawyer could draw a connection between goods stored in a shed on a company's land, to goods stored in a hard drive on a company's rack. And those laws, are in place with significant historical precedence. I think, you might be able to infer at this point that IF a large shift in policy is due to a potential sale of the Linden investments, which include any and all actual! liabilities with and within it... that their causing a mass exodus and an abandonment of 'content' and 'investments' ...in essence 'surrendering our rights' and 'releasing! LL from further actions’, (they hope), would be a 'good thing', just like causing me to move from my building was a 'good thing', however it 'actually' turned out NOT to be.

I'm pretty intuitive... here is my read: The educational clients and non-profits per se, are the only customers of LL who have a prayer of suing LL for breech of contract and other losses. That's why they just had us accept a new TOS, as the wording lowers their liabilities to us. Individuals mostly, won't have a chance of making a dent in court. So before LL either sells out lock, stock and barrel and keeps everyone's content or shuts down, ...the idea is to drive off the only ones who can make these two alternatives difficult, who would make LL less mobile. With the educators and non-profits gone, LL is free to do whatever comes along and can expect almost no resistance. I've had landlords do the same thing. They made critical decisions on what to fix and how to treat their renters at times when they were mulling selling the properties... thus, if things went 'well' they wouldn't have to pay off lease holds to termination. Not that things always go well... for instance, I was told the landlord was going to lift the roof off on my business building to 'fix it' and so I opted to leave. They accepted a medium payoff for my lease value and I was gone. Meanwhile behind the scenes they had gotten a nice offer from someone to buy their building and figured the money they paid me was substantially less than they would have had to pay to buy out the complete lease had the people actually bought the place... but, once I moved out, the offer people figured that my constant cash flow was gone and a big incentive for them buying the building had left... OH!!... so now, I am in a larger nice building, and the old one I moved from is empty with a big sign on it, losing money. So no, things don't always work out for everyone... I think... something is seriously brewing at LL, and we just don't know what's going on. I suggest that EVERYBODY back up their stuff, and run away!... if nothing happens in a year or two, maybe people might come back and play again... but that's what I suggest.