MystoryTimedancer

This reply is from my prime account. Thank you all for your sage advice. As it turns out, after a well needed rest, things sorted themselves. Each of my accounts have their own distinct email account, but I do make all payments to LL via one bank account. I did clear my hard drive before checking the Transaction Pages, maybe it was as simple as that. Again thanks to all who responded. The Forums here are most helpful.

Hi! I joined Second Life back in January, after becoming very discouraged with the Sims franchise; after playing it for well over 7 years. I have quit playing the Sims altogether, at the top of the game. I was one of the most highly decorated builders in the Sims community. I basically followed Rodvik over here. He was what made the Sims special, and when he left, so did the fun. I now have 3 premium accounts in SL, and pay each one on an annual basis, in real money. I also pay tier amounting to approx. $33.00 per month for properties I own. My current entertainment budget is about $100 USD per month, and I now spend most of it here on SL. I love it here! I love creating & making things here! I do also run the crystals in LR for the purposes of raising extra Lindies, mostly for texture uploads, and a few other treats. Since I have joined, I have watched the situation degrade in LR to the point of LR becoming pointless. I consider LR not as an entitlement, but more of a privilege. Companies form policies based on projected routines. Maybe, the original projections were to entice newcomers to become use to the virtual economy, and entice them to become more committed, like I have. Maybe it was intended to help teach younger members how to work & earn, so they can buy themselves nice things. Linden Labs is a for profit enterprise, after all. They only get to stay in business as long as they show a real profit, and continue making real money. I doubt they expected some users to start several basic accounts, and use scripts to overide the restrictions in LR. To dominate entire sims for hours, even days, and gather massive amounts of crystals. Then maybe some of them are cashing those ill gotten gains into real cash on the Lind-Ex, or just depositing it into their Paypal accounts, and buying themselves other video games, MP3 players, etc. off of eBay. The current policy is = No rezzing, No pushing, & No flying. The new overides are something most likely not forseen, and it is obvious that new policies have to be put into place. Which in turn, will be meaningless, if not enforced. Either that, or there will come that inevitable day, at a LL staff meeting, when the actual numbers of what is being taken out of their real cash profits by these miscreant activities. Once realized, there will be some kind of action, ranging from new fair polices that are made & enforced; or the complete shutdown of LR. If they are at least not spending their money inworld, they are hurting the inworld economy. Products are not being bought, and rents are not being paid. I make it a practice to help newcomers that I find lost in LR. I remember how rough it was for me when I started. I show them around, & even have a welcome folder that shows good places for freebies, a changing tent that I made, and some other things to get them started. Right now, I have to say I am doing far less of that, because newcomers are so quickly discouraged, that I hardly see any of them in LR anymore. What I see is about a hundred veterans, using several different Alts & advanced technologies taking everything, and leaving nothing for others. Since I do things on an annual basis, and pay into my USD account monthes, even maybe a year in advance; I am now reviewing what my committments for next year will be. I am projecting cutbacks. I also see that there are many others in SL doing the same. I am only one user, and it looks like Linden Labs is only going to get about $72.00 USD from me in 2013, instead of $1200.00+. A very wise SL friend told me when I just joined = "Are you a Maker, or a Taker?" I am dedicated to help LL improve SL to the best of my abilities. I have become a Maker, I own 3 stores now, all with my own products. I also contribute actual money to the cause. But, a company that allows such kinds of activities to continue & degrade, is symtomatic of other flaws I may not be aware of yet; and this does not inspire confidence. Thank You for reading this.

Update: Just did a test run, and HUD is counting, and all cash in pads are working, including the Greens. Hope it stays fixed. Thanks!

As of last night's testing with 2 different avatars, on 2 different runs, the HUD is now counting again. BUT!- Although the Red/Yellow/Orange/& Blue cash in pads are working, the Green pad is not paying out. Gee, I have never had 52 Greens collected before, but since I can't cash them in, I guess that will increase, hopefully before the HUD glitches again. The Dev Team seems to be trying to correct some lagging problems by subtracting & adding crystals in certain areas. They have been playing with this for quite some time. Use to be Blues showing up by the flare cannons, but that is very rare now. It is kind of wierd to see as many as 3 rock monsters protecting just 1 Red crystal, where there use to be 2-3 greens.

2:30 SL Time = Test Run = No HUD, even after running up the rock several times. No payout on cash in pads. And! - Field of Oranges is back, with even more orange crystals than ever, but all other areas are empty again, except Shattered & Devil's Canyons. JIRA response said that it may be my LR HUD, but it is obvious to me that LR is broken, and has been for monthes now.

PS: I did file a bug report on this issue, in case anyone wants to watch it, or contribute more information.- https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-7904?

Okay, I just ran through the entire Linden Realms. First of all ... The HUD is still not counting crystals collected, and the cash in pads are not recognizing them either = no payout. (There's 3 days of hard work, and about L$600 that I will not be getting). All areas I mentioned above as being empty are now there, and the "Field of Oranges" at LR162 is now the only empty area. This may show that someone from LL actually is reading this thread, and did something about it. I like it fine, except for the wasted time & effort of no payout. My Suggestion = Keep it just the way it is. The "Field of Oranges" should be empty, and we should have to roam around. Too many bad things happen at LR162 because it is so flat, and has so many orange crystals there. Linden Realms has vast areas that have virtually no crystals at all, and LR162 attracts the worst kind of behavior. The crystals should be more evenly distributed around the realms. This may result in more enjoyment, and far less bad experiences. It seems the use of the combat AOs & HUDs are still going to be an ongoing problem. It will most likely remain so until LL actually takes the time & effort to form an official policy for LR itself, instead of just allowing the general TOS to apply. Right now, there are no specific rules for LR. That means, No Rezzing, No Pushing, No Flying, and the general TOS rules against griefing & harassment are in effect. I have my own policies that I use as guidelines... 0- Reporting is a waste of time! 1- I always match the prowess of the other players in the area. If someone is using a runner HUD, I will match their speed. (Runner HUDs are actually over-rated. They can send you spinning into space & are next to impossible to control if you hit a bump. You can get stuck in a tree or rock, and have to TP away to correct it. They are useless in hilly areas.) 2- I NEVER take advantage of new people!!! If I see someone in the area that is obviously new, and running with that jerky default movement, I check their Profile. If they are new, I just leave the area to them. that goes for older players too, that just choose to play normally.) 3- Even though I do have a few gimmicks up my sleeve, I only use them to defend myself, in order to stand up to a bully; and do that only after I have been repeatedly attacked, or threatened. Most of them are just small people using big gimmicks. Their actual talent is sorely lacking in most cases, which is why they resort to cheating. 4- "The best way to win a fight is not to be there!" = Most of the time, I either just leave, or check the area first, and not enter an area where I know those players are trouble in the first place. There are two sides to this coin. There are the bullies, but there are also some very mean-spirited people who acheive the same results by being report crazy. These self appointed moderators dominate an area just as efficiently as the bullies by threatening to report anyone who is performing better than they are. I went and stood on a rock once, before collecting any crystals, and a lady came right up to me and told me she was going to report me if I made any moves there. she said she had already reported over 10 cheaters that day. I avoid her like the plague now. If I see she is in an area, I run in the opposite direction. * At the rate this is going, I would not be surprised if LL just decided to shut down LR. I really take exception to those who call it fun. Let's call it what it really is = very hard work for very little payout. The new premium wilderness is beautiful, but I have found no desire to visit after ther first tour, because it has no finacial incentives. Linden Realms serves the purpose of allowing us to make inworld money to spend, and that helps to drive the SL economy. In my experience, outside of the unlikely chance of forming a business which will cost more than it earns; LR is the best way to finance the beginning stages of becoming a stable SL resident. * Please keep LR162 Empty! It's a good way to cut down on the cheating. Thank You

Okay, I just ran through the entire Linden Realms. First of all ... The HUD is still not counting crystals collected, and the cash in pads are not recognizing them either = no payout. (There's 3 days of hard work, and about L$600 that I will not be getting). All areas I mentioned above as being empty are now there, and the "Field of Oranges" at LR162 is now the only empty area. This may show that someone from LL actually is reading this thread, and did something about it. I like it fine, except for the wasted time & effort of no payout. My Suggestion = Keep it just the way it is! The "Field of Oranges" should be empty, and we should have to roam around. Too many bad things happen at LR162 because it is so flat, and has so many orange crystals there. Linden Realms has vast areas that have virtually no crystals at all, and LR162 attracts the worst kind of behavior. The crystals should be more evenly distributed around the realms. This may result in more enjoyment, and far less bad experiences. Thank You.

Add to the mix that entire sims have been empty for monthes now. Banshee Peak shows up for about an hour approx. noon GMT , Dark Moon Bay, Sunspire & Sunspire field, Slopes of Tyrah's Peak ... all empty ... for monthes now. Sure Shattered & Devil's Canyons are still there, where your life expectancy is about 2 seconds, are always there. Leaves us squeezed into Whisper Hollow, and the Field of Oranges at LR162, which is a killing field now, with every kind of cheater you can imagine. Then, we can't tell if we are actually collecting anything because of no HUD showing, and then the pads not paying off, and giving the message "Don't have enough". having been a Sims 3 player for over 7 years, I thought EA Games was the worst. Now, I am thinking very seriously about spending my $100 per month gaming budget back at the Sims, instead of wasting it here in SL. That's right, I spend about $1200 per year on video gaming, and for the last 5 monthes, all of that money has been spent in SL; but I am starting to wonder if it is worth it.

My LR HUD hardly ever shows, and the rock trick works sometimes. But today, besaides not knowing how many crystals I have collected, the cash in pads are not paying out. Wondering why we even go to LR anymore?

I have been running the crystals in LR since I joined SL. I now can, and do make about L$100 per day, in an hour or so, to help pay my tier with inworld earnings.. I do use a runner HUD to allow me to go a little faster. In my humble opinion, being fast & efficient is one thing, but using gadgets that instantly transport across a full sim, especially those using noxious smoke, or lightning flashes & sounds to intimidate other players from an area, is over the top. Some of these players also send threatening IMs, or get close to confront & threaten via chat. That's way over the top. Add to the mix, that entire regions are now empty, and have been for monthes, and we are now squeezed together into the very few remaining areas. At least before, when we were banished from an area by a cheating bully, we had recourse to go lick our wounds in another area. This is no longer possible. Banshee Peak, Sunspire & Sunspire Field, The Slopes of Tyrah's Peak, Dark Moon Bay ... all empty for monthes now. Most cheaters are not really flying, they are using combat HUDs from Royal & Dleacruz Technologies, and the cheaters are not engaging in healthy competition with them, they are waging war against the other players. They enter an area, threaten & intimidate everyone out of the area, and then dominate that area for hours, sometimes all day. Like I said, running fast & being efficient is one thing, but fearmongering is quite another. These combat HUDs & dashers should at least be on the LR ban list, and LL should do it's best to restore the empty areas. I wouldn't even be running the crystals if the things I have been making, but it seems the economy in SL is very stagnant. It's not that my products aren't of good enough quality, it's just that the SL economy seems to be reflec ting the RL economy. That leaves some of us no choice but to try to make inworld earnings if we want to continue playing SL. There are children & people who are on fixed incomes that depend on LR to earn some Lindies. The cheaters are depriving them of this. Things I will be considering as my 3 premium accounts come up for renewal.....

Okay, I have figured it out, and now have all the funds needed to pay my tier for at least the next 3 monthes in the USD part of my account. I arrived at the conclusion that of the Linden Dollar amount being like a checking account, and the USD account being like a savings account. I must thank you once again, Cinn. Your explanation above was the clear simple answer I was looking for to get it done, and understand the concept. The Linden Knowledge Base just confused me, Live chat just sent me back to the Knowledge Base, and when I called, aside from no real help, she actually hung up on me. Your answer was just what I needed Cinn. Many, Many Thanks!

Thank you Cinn for the inciteful & clear information. The only thing I am not clear about now, is the USD account you mentioned... Is that a feature here in Second Life / Linden Labs? like a Savings account? Or... Do you mean cash it in to my Paypal, or actual Bank Account? I hope it's the first option, I have been wanting to have a savings account in Second Life, so I don't have to worry about keeping a minimum balance in my actual RL account to cover tier fees. I only have one avatar that needs to pay tier right now. The others are currently only owning their free 512s.

Hi! I have the same problem. I am using Windows Internet Explorer as my default browser, and have had many problems on getting Second Life pages to complete themselves. They seem to get hung up into some kind of loop, and will not go all the way through. I downloaded Opera Internet Browser, and it works perfectly on all Second Life pages, including buying Linden Dollars with my PayPal account. As suggested before, maybe try a different browser. Hope this helps!

Hi! This month, I bought land that goes beyond my free 512 tier that I get for being a premium member. I have now joined the ranks of those who have to pay tier every month. I currently have a property that is 3104 meters. It is not a perfect squared rectangle, and the owner of the little notches next to me may be willing to sell them. I have looked at my land holdings page, and it tells me that I may own up to 4096 meters without increasing my monthly tier of $25.00 USD (L$6,175 Linden dollars @ Current Rate). the page also states that I may own up to 4608 meters. I guess the source of my confusion is that I have been thinking that it's $5 USD monthy tier for every 512 I own. It appears to me that it is a sliding scale, although I may be wrong. What I need to know, so I don't go over my monthly budget, is... Can I actually own up to 4096 meters of land, and still keep my monthly tier at $25.00 USD? $25.00 USD is about L$6,175, and my current inworld earnings are about L$6,600 monthly. Can I actually pay my monthly tier with my monthly inworld earnings? Being so new, it is kind of confusing, and a little scary to me. Thank You in advance for any helpful advice you may be able to give me.

Thank you for the advice also Persephone! I have this thread bookmarked. * I will have one premium account, and most likely two basics when I am through, but my plan is to take it slow and easy. I know about Alts, but I have decided to have 3 accounts. One for each member of my "Timedancer" family. Your advice will be most useful when I do this in the future. * I do go to freebie places, but I was shocked at the things that go on there. There are people there trying to pick up & recruit females that are new. It's like the equivalent of seedy characters hanging around a big city bus station; waiting to take advantage of girls just arriving. I have too much milage on me to fall for it, but I feel sorry for those less aware of the world. * I am also joining 1920's Chicago, and will be renting a house there, until I can buy my own land. I am an accomplished builder in the Sims venue, I am sure that I will be able to build my own home. * I really do not like the public sandboxes, because there is always some guy blowing me up, running me over, shooting me, or disrupting my attempts to work on my wardrobe and clothing inventory. I want to have my own private place to live in this wonderful virtual world. * I do go to Linden Realms, but there are many cheaters there. They try to intimidate the other runners by using some very imposing and obnoxious methods. I am sure it is just a few guys, operating under many names. I wouldn't be doing it if I could buy enough Lindens outright to establish myself. I am an adfult, and kid's games is not why I came here. As time passes, I will get settled in, without the need to raise money in any demeaning way. And those cheaters will most likely still be in Linden Realms collecting crystals.. * Anyway, thanks so much to all of you for your wonderful help. I greatly appreciate it! *

Thank You Wiked, Ariel, and Theresa! * I did it! The tip about opening two viewers is a great help! I got to see them both together. *

I am new here, so please forgive any faux pas. I have been an active Sims player for over 7 years, but now I intend on being here from now on. Having that experience, I am adapting quickly to this venue. I feel like I found a new home here, and really like it. I joined SL last Christmas Eve with a basic account. I was in a rush, due to my excitement, and did not have a well thought out plan. Like a kid with a new toy, I bought some nice things, and accumulated several thousand Lindens. I also came to realize that I could not change my username. I decided since I only had a week invested in my basic account, that I would begin again with a new account. One that I am now quite satisfied with, and intend to use for the rest of my time here. I bought a full year's subscription, and purchased my maximum of $30.00 USD. I would like to find out how I can transfer what is possible from my first basic account. I already have learned about purchased items that are not transferable, and accept it as collatoral damage, it's the price of learning something new. I would like to transfer all of the money from my basic account to my premium account. I would also like to transfer any objects that I can. I have tried to friend myself, and have not received any notifications to accept them. I have also tried to pay my premium avatar from my basic one, in small amounts. This also has had no effect. I intend to close down my false start basic account as soon as I have gleaned what I can from it. So my question, is there any kind soul out there that can show me how to do this? Thanks!