Desudesudesuka

I'm going to go full psuedocoder and say " why not just make groups run better?" I think something is very wrong with groups the way they've been implemented, for example, there's the fact that user title switching was apparently a big problem.

No, they didn't think about the users. They have be be very out of touch to have done what they did. Their aggressive move to a subscription payment method makes it seem like the merchant income isn't on the radar for them. They think everyone is going to start buying premium, despite that they reduced the appeal of the game and jacked the price to cement that. The real pipe dream is people buying more land.

For starters? Drop Sansar entirely and downsize everyone involved in that failure. I'd also have people try to optimize groups so they aren't a massive resource hog. It's incredible how long it took for group title script abuse to be stopped.

No, because that is not an issue unless the cost of being in groups is in fact so high it cancels out the massive benefit of those 7 groups. It is nothing but good for everyone involved if people have a better time shopping and spending.

A lot of merchants are forcing people to join groups for free items so they do have some value to people. There's also groups for regular gifts, which are the ones people do not want to leave at any cost. Group notices aren't the greatest, but Caspervend's equivalent cannot be used for purely information/marketing so they serve a purpose. Customers asking questions in support groups and getting answers is sorta rare, as problems are - or should be - sorta rare, but I think it has a lot of value, if only to avoid potentially confused and upset customers.

There isn't much to say about that change besides that it sucks for us and we've gotta deal, as CoffeeDujour has said. Good thing to mention that price increases are worth considering.

What I have to say on the changes to group membership for free players, but framed as a creator: This is not just bad for everyone not paying for premium, this is bad for everyone and will have a chilling effect on SL. This affects merchants in quite a major way, because we use groups for our stores. Store groups are needed to supply updates, promotions, support, and even more through services like Caspervend. Up and coming merchants are going to be hit the hardest by this, given their groups may not offer as much benefit users may opt not to bother joining, or they may even be left. This affects sim owners, because they use groups for land management. This affects everyone not paying for premium, because they need to enter groups for rez permissions (like us for renting store locations) and to get benefits from merchants.

Yep, OP I agree. And as you've said this thread belongs in the adult content forum.

But really, I would like to discuss the recent changes but specifically with merchants. LL is asking for even more money, but what does that mean for us? We're seeing doubled fees. This is just bad for merchants intending to withdraw money. And we're seeing this. This is not just bad for everyone not paying for premium, this is bad for everyone and will have a chilling effect on SL. This affects merchants in quite a major way, because we use groups for our stores. Store groups are needed to supply updates, promotions, support, and even more through services like Caspervend. Up and coming merchants are going to be hit the hardest by this, given their groups may not offer as much benefit users may opt not to bother joining, or they may even be left. This affects sim owners, because they use groups for land management. This affects everyone not paying for premium, because they need to enter groups for rez permissions (like us for renting store locations) and to get benefits from merchants. Those are just my thoughts, I'm interested in others take on this.

So? I already knew that. English is my native language. It's a synonym for tsunami, and that is a word happens to be a loanword in English. Doesn't seem that inconvenient to ignore the word seeming imperfect. Tsunami literally means harbour wave if broken down and may not necessarily be something happening in a harbour. But yeah you could argue that and maybe the hammer should come down on the gacha sellers, but LL is also responsible for moderating them, like how gambling proper got regulated into skill gaming regions.

Not the same? It's literally a case of a tidal wave vs a tsunami. Gacha is essentially a lootbox with 1 item. Gacha itself is a thing, and a word that's primarily found in Asian markets, but lootboxes are effectively the western equivalent. If they were not the same companies would just be adding gacha to their games to circumvent anti-lootbox laws. Dota 2 and CSGO and TF2 all use what are definitely gacha if you look at how they work, but those are classed as lootboxes. So dispensing with all the semantics that ignore cultural differences, this is just about banning all the lootboxes.

Artificial scarcity is an enemy we should not have to deal with in a system where data can just have copy/mod permissions and let people mod their avatars, or have some degree of certainty in buying something without missing out for a very inexcusable reason. Much like no-modify items, no-copy items are deleterious to lasting SL gameplay. I want to say every user would prefer to be able to copy items they have and modify them without losing the original or changes to it. Gacha will entertain the gambling addicts panning for fool's gold, but the rest of us are left with useless little stones coming mainly in colours meant to be bland or offensive. The community is divided on this and there are those of us actually boycotting gacha, which is a sign to me something is majorly wrong with it. It would be interesting to see a poll on how many people gamble vs how many do or do not buy the resales. I don't even buy resales.

Add "NOT demo" and then have fun sorting through listings not actually tagged demo or with DxExMxO in the title because the makers are obnoxious.

I think you need to box them and then sell the box.

On methods of trial versions for items. - Time limited things which delete themselves after a period of time. As discussed in another thread this is common for rezzables. - DEMO labels to prevent misuse by making them impractical to use without looking dumb. Bleeds into the next point. If they like it, they will buy it to get rid of this. Hair and mesh parts generally have this. - Limited functionality items, crippled versions of full items. People may want to upgrade. - Sample items. Like at the grocery store these are examples of other products but without variety or quantity. I've seen this with eyes and some nomod clothing. This can paint you as generous and drive people to your shop. What do you prefer, for what type of item and why? Obviously only certain methods can be used for certain types of items. Secondly, strategies and logic behind demos besides just making a single sale. Pros. - A demo reaches possible customers who might not even be interested in your products, and gives better metrics on what is grabbing attention. - People see your item in the MP, click the page, and then leave. If there is a demo or sample you can avoid losing people here. - Promotes confidence and trust in your product, and possibly your shop in general. - Encourages returning customers to purchase more products, seeing that new items of the quality they expect are being released. - It saves the amount of description and display you have to do of a product by allowing people to model it themselves. - There is an advantage over shops who do not offer demos as you offer better service. - You could have the item message them thanking them for trying the demo, purchase if they liked it, link the shop, and ask for a review. They can contain landmarks and other ads for your shop. Feel free to add anything I missed. Lastly, cons. - There is a time and Linden investment in making good trials and samples. - Can be negative if not done properly. - You need to make it worth it. Metrics metrics metrics.

No. I'm reluctant to clutter my shop with demos =/= there is no demos, I don't make/believe in demos. It's purely a statement of fact I dislike the process of making them.

I'd love a demo system that doesn't make us have to create two listings for every single product. Maybe listings which have multiple versions you can choose to purchase from of what is basically the same item with small variations. This would also condense colour packs and fat packs.

That's earlier in the reply chain.

I literally said "well, I offer demos just not those kinds" lol, but okay. I'd like people to use my less-then-full versions of items as a deterrent, if they would later feel like leaving a negative review on the website or in my inbox over some flaw in the finished product.

I can think of like one case I bought an eye texture and was annoyed there was no demo, since it was utterly broken. Eyes for the M3 heads never have formal demos, and I don't see any reason to buck the trend. At most artists offer a single colour here or there as a gift and example of their work, which I do. Will I offer demos for some of my products? Definitely. Others, no. I don't consider it worth the time or even effective in certain cases. Demos are also ugly, on the level of the store, glowing DEMO text, and self destructing items, these methods don't line up with what I would offer as my art. I have ideas for adding trial versions of many of my things, but it will not be via a ridiculous amount of listings and floating DEMO banners.

Tons of people sell stuff in certain categories that is advertised clearly, without demos, and people buy it. In other categories, demos are expected, hair is one example. This is a very easy observation on the MP.

How about we get the same system, but instead for customers. So we can give people who try abusing reviews poor scores and decreased weight for their behaviour.

I made a thread on this because I was mildly confused and annoyed as a consumer. Now most of my stuff is priced 1L to allow gifting and for the slightest amount of cost recovery. I have a couple items at 0L for SEO reasons. I disagree with tagging or listing dollarbies as freebies and STRONGLY disagree with ever tagging demos as freebies... which a lot of merchants do, cluttering up the MP. If someone is searching for freebie and you tag a 1L item as free, it's not even going to register in the relevant results, which would be sorted from least to highest price. Mis-advertisement is poor practice but I would not call it "greed" and pretend 1L actually matters. On a side note I wish there was a better demo system, I'm reluctant to clutter my shop with demos or even spend the time making them (it's literally duplicating your number of listings) when I'm just beginning to turn profits.

"Creators" on SL ripping from creators on SL is an obvious problem, but there is an even bigger issue of people exploiting content made by creators off SL. It doesn't matter if it's someone's Deviantart, SL store, or a big name company's mesh and textures. Not naming names here but there are some - many, and popular - things which are obviously and openly direct rips from games. There are stores based entirely off of ripping things to resell and blatantly ignoring licensing. People could have uploaded things for free, maybe given attribution, and respected many of the licenses, but being greedy they just do what they want with no consideration for rules or common courtesy. What you should do as a consumer once aware of this, is no longer purchase from these people, and inform friends and others of the offending stores in the hopes they might make the same choice.

Wondering what people's thoughts were on these. When they should be listed if ever, how other people have used them, what people like to see out of them, and strategies for giving them away. L$1, L$5, L$10 "freebies." I noticed a practice of people selling items for L$1, which I don't entirely understand or agree with - I've decided not to "purchase" things simply because I did not want to navigate the L$1 deals after scouring actual freebies, and I never looked into L$5 "freebies" at all, partly due to attention span. Is there a benefit to L$1 "freebies" other than nickel and dimeing people or are they a mistake? Demo freebies. There's the case of things that are limited versions of full products, particularly eyes being given away in one garish colour to try to get people to purchase other colours. I like this idea more than the idea of linked DEMO meshes, since it can serve as free advertisement and doesn't really clutter the store. Group gifts. Not much to say. Often overlaps with the other categories. Encourages people to join your update and profile advertisement groups. Full featured freebies. In the case where there is no "superior" version of the product available, it's just a promotion for the store in general or a gift. Could be ethical or due to respecting licenses. Goes without saying why this is a good thing but it could cut into potential profit. Good use of "waste" versions of products that don't meet the standard there is for sale items.