Mariusz Ivanovic

My analogy holds up fine, you think I should pay for the cruise, and if I don't like what I get, then I better know how to build a boat, and do it myself...Why give LL my money then? I'm PAYING for service, not to fix broken crap...get it? As for me acting surprised that people would help, I wasn't asking for help, but some people were more helpful than others. This was not a post asking to solve a technical issue I was having, I was merely stating my displeasure with the obvious downfall of something I love and care about, and asking if others expect more than what we are getting out of LL and/or what we put in. If I wanted technical assistance, I would have put in a ticket, and yes, this is more a rant and complaint, which is my right to do as a paying customer, who pays A LOT and is not seeing the value in return. The solution is stating my displeasure, not building my own online world, the users and residents of SL pretty much already do that anyways since most of the creativity I see in world comes from there, not LL. The least LL can do for its customers, and residents is provide a solid foundation for us to occupy and build on, its hard to do that with faulty building blocks that fall apart under pressure and get no to little quality control. I'll try to keep the analogies as simple as possible for you Solar...sorry if you find them confusing.

So imagine this...you PAY to go on a cruise, you expect a certain level of value, luxury, amenities, and destinations. By no means did you go the cheap route, spared no expense, and when you get to the port, you get an inflatable raft that you have to row yourself, and to eat, a hot dog and soda, with a compass to point you in the right direction to far away travel destinations. Guess we found your dream vacation, huh Solar? SSDD Bon voyage sucker! Keep shillin my boy! Here is some basic reality for you...I pay for this service, and expect the features to work properly and fulfill my needs. a friends list is a BASIC FUNCTION of ANY social online interaction, and if you can't agree with that, then who's the one not acknowledging basic reality?

I'm not having packet loss issues, it was just a "suggestion" from other posters to resolve this issue. I merely stated that 0.0% packet loss at all times and circumstances was pretty much impossible...You can hook 2 PC's together directly through a cable, and have packet loss...its an inevitability, but certainly NOT the cause of the issue of the SL friends list...unless maybe you have 75% packet loss or some ridiculous tin can internet connection with a VPN going through Uganda which re-routes through the South Pole via Patagonia.

Many MANY people DO have the same problem, and the fact you don't is good for you, and you are in the minority. Thank you for the tips on system care and maintenance, and ensuring optimal internet connectivity. Who's saying I don't know about, or have done these things? Why do you assume I'm unaware of common troubleshooting techniques? Your posts would be very useful in "Beginners guide to Internet connection issues" but how they pertain to the topic at hand, just because you are not experiencing the issue, I'm not really sure what you are contributing, other than blaming me for problems I, along with 100's of other people I know that use SL experience on a daily basis.

Thank you, Henri for your informative posts and links to RELEVANT info for the topic. Your contributions are appreciated, even if you think I'm over-reacting I can take valid criticism, but deflection, misleading irrelevant comments, and LL shills that permeate these forums...not so much.

As much as i appreciate you logging in at 3am to try and prove me wrong, you didn't really do what I asked. I get 0.0% packet loss when I'm IN a sim, I asked you to TP with your statistics up to see if you had ANY packet loss when you arrived. Do you people think that I'm not aware that packet loss is a bad thing? I know its bad, I know it can cause all kinds of issues. Is it what's causing possibly thousands of residents over the course of as some would say 10 YEARS to have not properly functioning friends lists? Probably not. Does the difference between a 0.0% packet loss and a 0.01 packet loss cause a basic feature as a friends list NOT FUNCTION? Probably not. Packet loss bad, I get it...You guys deflecting a clearly and admittedly by LL themselves BROKEN BASIC FUNCTION of SL...I don't get. This issue is not packet loss, its not a me problem, its an issue with SL and LL by their own admittance.

I would be very interested in seeing you TP into a random or busy sim with your stats up in SL showing 0.0% packet loss, a quick gyazo would be appreciated. I'll eat my words and admit defeat if you can show.

I'm pretty sure achieving 0.0% packet loss even on a closed internal LAN is not possible, so achieving it on anything over the internet is certainly impossible. I'm also not sure being a gamer counts for nothing, since MANY games and systems in games also use UDP, but I was merely making that statement to say it wasn't a "me issue" when all other games, applications, programs, websites operate fine, and my connection is reliable. It's an SL/LL issue. I'm not trying to debate you here, just not really sure of your statements, or intent as it pertains to my post.

Something is broken for 10 years and you don't see the point in complaining about it? Wow! would you marry me please?

Just to clarify this issue better with the friends list, I think this is a case of people just not noticing or being aware. I have a technical background, and I am a huge gamer, and have been my whole life. This is not just an outage, glitch, or minor issue, I have more patience, understanding and apathy for things like that than most people. This issue is LONG LASTING, consistent over many viewers, many versions of viewers, and from many parts of the world. I have lots of alts, many with friends lists in the 100's and this issue effects somewhere between 50%-80% of all the people I talk to in here, some more than others in frequency or severity, but the issue is definitely there, and has been for well over a year. A quick search of friends lists issues, online status issues, and the like result in MANY results going back up to 3 years ago. It seems to be getting worse. There have been several times where I log in to meet people at set times in world, at a certain place, and we will both be there, staring at each other, yet neither of us will be showing to each other as "ONLINE". You can test this issue yourself if you keep your dashboard open on the website while inworld, and refresh your dashboard now and then to compare it with your friends list in world, they RARELY EVER MATCH. I've said things like this to people, and had it said back to me..."I haven't seen you on here for a while, where have you been?" and reply with "I'm here every day!" yet they don't see me online, and I don't see them. This issue is pretty much system wide, and if you don't notice it, its just that...you don't notice it...it doesn't mean its not happening, but if you've never had it happen, then congratulations, but I'd say you're definitely in the minority judging by my extensive friendship pool all having these issues. I monitor my internet connection more often than most people, have no issues with my online gaming and other platforms, and have very fast reliable internet. My policy is, if I have to hide my online status from someone, they shouldn't be on my friends list, so I NEVER hide my status to ANYONE on my friends list, EVER. I get asked several times a week from different people "Why are you hiding (from me) your online status?" because I'm not showing up on their lists as being online, and vice versa.

I love SL, and it PAINS me to see the state it's in and has become. I always thought when I chose to say goodbye to SL, and just move on, it would be on my terms, and because I had just had my fill of what it had to offer or chose to use or join a new similar online world that was just new and superior. This has not happened after almost 15 years, and that's really remarkable and a great thing, that this world still holds my interest and I want to engage in it daily. I can't stress enough the fun, the wonderful experiences I've shared, creativity, companionship, and exposure to so many things like music and culture from around the world. Unfortunately, the past few years seem to have shifted from a creative space, and interactive world, to just a cash grab to make as much money as possible while putting in as little effort as possible. This as it turns out, is making me want to leave SL for good over any other reason. You'd think in an online world, where your friends list is important to keep in contact with people, and know who is online, and when, it would be a STANDARD FEATURE. Its something that ALWAYS WORKED and is VITAL to keeping in touch with contacts. The fact the friends list and online status have not properly worked in OVER A YEAR is just incompetence, and ridiculous. Whoever is in charge of this at LL should have been fired or demoted like 30 days after these issues were not corrected, and it should be a TOP PRIORITY of the techs working on the basic functionality of the software to FIX. How can we as a community maintain friendships and keep in contact with people we've met when we can't even tell if and when they are online? Why is this even an issue? It worked FINE for YEARS, and now its been just completely BROKEN for a year. Its a BASIC CONCEPT AND FEATURE OF ANY ONLINE SOCIAL APPLICATION to have a WORKING FRIENDS LIST. Why is LL struggling with this issue? Why is this even an issue to begin with? Its something everyone here should EXPECT to work. Keep charging more for everything LL...raising fees to ridiculous levels grabbing as much $$ as you can while not even providing the bare minimum to basic features. Is nobody else not ANGRY over this stuff? We as a community should expect MORE, especially those paying for these services, and getting raked over the coals for not even the bare minimum. People have businesses in here, and their livelihoods depend on creating content on this platform. They deserve better LL...we ALL deserve better...I'm like a hair away from just giving up on SL for good, even though I really don't WANT to, but I'm starting to feel like the brunt of a big joke, that I'm being taken advantage of, and just "revenue" and not receiving good service from the company running this show while being WAY TOO EXPENSIVE to do basic things like PURCHASE L$. Shape up or I'll be leaving...Do better LL, or I'm sure more will be jumping ship too if they haven't already, I know I feel like I've given you more chances than I probably should have, but again, I DO LOVE SL...I just hate the state its in, and the profit hungry sedentary beast LL has become. DO BETTER! I expect more...we all should.

This tax law in on PHYSICAL GOODS, not digital, and was put in place to account for the people who live outside of Florida, and spend a few months a year here in a 2nd home when the weather is nice (Snowbirds). It was becoming a real problem that people were buying furniture and home items where they lived, and bringing them into Florida to fill their winter homes. I just wanted to address this local issue that you took out of context and went through the trouble of looking up Florida state tax laws, but it really has no bearing on the discussion here which encompasses DIGITAL GOODS. EDIT: This is for physical goods that cross state lines.

If LL collects the tax, then they have to pay the tax to the applicable agency, if they do not, its the consumers responsibility to report and pay that tax, LL is not absorbing crap, other than perhaps California state sales taxes, because that is where they are located, and are probably/possibly required to add state sales tax on purchases from people LIVING IN CALIFORNIA. I live in Florida, and they have NO SALES TAX, so why would I pay, or LL "absorb" anything from my purchases? Its the consumers responsibility, not LL's responsibility to "absorb" anything, other than what I mentioned above. LL saying this is a big nothing burger to make themselves look good...it's a meaningless gesture. EDIT: I'm gonna take my own advice and stay in my lane since I'm NOT a tax attorney, and this topic has strayed way off the rails of my original complaint about transaction fees, and just as a final addition, when I said Florida has no sales taxes, I meant on online purchases, not in general.

I don't understand why you keep stressing this irrelevant point that really has no impact on what I'm talking about. I NEVER cash out currency in SL, I only PURCHASE currency, so the fact I CAN do something that I NEVER do, doesn't add any value to my 15$ fee. If you buy tickets to a live performance, and the tickets were always 50$, but now they are 100$, and when you inquire about the increase in cost, you get the response of..."The cost increase is to cover free wheelchairs for all attendees." and you are an able bodied person who doesn't require a wheelchair, does that have any impact on you, other than having to spend an extra 50$ for your ticket? Your argument is like me looking at this scenario and saying "Yeah but...FREE WHEELCHAIR! Do other live performances provide FREE WHEELCHAIRS??" If you don't need or require a wheelchair, then the point of having one provided to you, is irrelevant, as is your repeated posts. I don't understand why you would say every cent I pay is a service charge in other situations, since I buy currency (with NO TRANSACTION FEE) and then with that currency, I PURCHASE digital goods, just like I do in SL. On another note, there is a HUGE difference between a TAX regardless if its state, or federal, and a FEE. A tax may pay for roads, infrastructure, schools, and public amenities, where this (a) fee is a source of revenue for the company applying that fee. Also, if LL does not charge a tax on something, it is not LL's obligation to PAY that tax, it's the consumers responsibility to report that they didn't pay it, and then pay the tax themselves, LL would NEVER be responsible for paying those kinds of taxes, unless it was from the state they are headquartered in and are required to pay state taxes on transactions there. So for people saying that LL soaks up the costs of these taxes people aren't paying on transactions, unless you are a tax attorney, you should probably stay in your lane, and not speculate on LL's tax obligations.

I've EARNED and purchased literally 10's of MILLIONS of L$ in my time on SL, I've NEVER cashed out ANY, not a single L$, so even if LL allows me to cash it out, it doesn't make it relevant to my post since I clearly stated that I BUY L$. Not sure what your point is. The fact that I CAN cash out does not give me any value to the 15$ fee I'm paying for each of my purchases, I'd rather just get Premium accounts on all my alts, at least I'm getting SOMETHING for my money then, and I just won't have the purchasing power to support the content creators that make this world function. Lazy greed is going to end up being the downfall of SL. Most of my avatars in SL have well over 50k inventories, and I already have more than I can ever need or want in here. I purchase L$ to support and contribute to the wide variety of creators in here and keep current. I shouldn't be expected to just soak up more costs in fees every time LL decides they aren't making enough profit, as I'm already getting less value from my L$ purchases in world from creators having to raise prices. Here is a suggestion to LL : Lets drop the facade of this fake trading "currency market" and just charge a flat fee of 250=1$, with a transaction fee of 1$, and spend time actually INNOVATING, and finding new revenue streams and/or ways to charge for services, that actually give value to your customers, instead of strangulating the people that spend the most money in here.

For what I pay in transaction fees, I can purchase monthly subscriptions to most online games/services. This fee just keeps getting overly abused, and increased for revenue, and should be 1$ per transaction at most, since most of an L$ purchase transaction is happening in house. Another hike of this fee while having BASIC FUNCTIONS of SL not working for months on end is just a slap in the face. How about we get a working friends list/online status fixed...a basic function of any online service, and something SL had working properly for years before trying to suck as much money as you can through transaction fees. I buy in game/service currency all the time, and SL is the only one that charges transaction fees at all...15$ is just outrageous! The 9.99 cap before the increase made me cringe every time I'd buy L$ and felt like I was being taken advantage of...paying LL to give them my money basically. Keep increasing your fake transaction fees LL until you push all the whales away that support the economy of this world. Kill your golden geese off...nice business strategy. I seriously cut my spending last time you raised this fee, and I guess I'll keep cutting until my spending hits 0. When I started SL this fee was .25 cents. Find another way to make money, because just raising this fee OVER and OVER again is just lazy and was already ridiculously overpriced at 9.99 per transaction. I love SL, but HATE the transaction fee.

Just for the record, I love broccoli, and eat it frequently. My intention was never to besmirch the natural wonder, and delicious superfood that is broccoli.

If you comprehend, read, write and communicate using the English language, you don't have to assume, since "I" always refers to a singular entity meaning...ones self...while "no one" does not, and could also mean "everyone" or "not everyone".

I've actually read, and comprehended most of this thread, and have seen things much less relevant than my posts, and things I've disagreed with as well, but I didn't take the time to reply to them all and call the people out like you seem to enjoy doing. I never ASKED for your patience OR your opinions, and if you want to defend constant rate/fee hikes and other greedy tactics, that's your business...although it makes me wonder if you're not on the LL payroll to have that point of view. I also have no idea what "explanation" you think I'm looking for in this thread. The explanation to raising fees? I was just stating my opinion, and making comparisons to other similar things which ARE relevant and similar while making it clear my displeasure about the direction something is going that I love, enjoy and care greatly about (SL). Hopefully YOU have the patience to read and understand MY explanation, instead of just flatly denying it saying "its wrong and irrelevant" or not based in reality without anything to back that opinion up. I hope your other 4400+ posts are more insightful, friendlier, more thought out, and a little less confrontational than your last few interactions towards me....I'd read a few of them, but frankly, I don't have the patience to expend on such things.

Saying something is WRONG without explaining WHY, or offering ways to correct what you think is wrong is just your opinion...Please provide some constructive feedback, instead of acting like a pig headed imbecile. I also don't see how ANYTHING I said was irrelevant to what I was talking about...I was comparing REAL WORLD markets and other similar situations and products to the current discussion. If you want to defend constant fee hikes, and greedy tactics, that's your right I guess...I don't agree with that, but it doesn't make you WRONG...perhaps you like starting pointless arguments about things you know little about, or fully understand...also your right to do...doesn't make you wrong...just look kinda silly

I wasn't assuming anything, I was replying to what you posted in your own words...I am saying exactly what you said, and just replacing SL topics with something else... No one likes broccoli, but then again, no one has to eat broccoli either. In that statement, do you ASSUME that I'm speaking about ONE person? If that were the case, I'd say "I don't like broccoli, so I just don't eat it." But again, I'm not discussing grammar here, merely pointing out the consequences of your statement, and hopefully clearing up your "confused response" state that you left to my post.

A sink? Do you understand how a currency market works? its not a belief, its a FACT...I don't know what a SINK is unless you're talking about where one does dishes. If you are buying a THING at 50$ and selling it at 60$ that's not a sink, that's profit. When you see video footage of Wall Street, and you see the nice marble building, and shiny floors and thousands of monitors and gadgets with numbers scrolling through them, that SINK as you call it...is what pays for all that...its how the MARKET makes its money...on every TRANSACTION...through the difference between the SELL price and the BUY price...sound familiar? Except on Wall Street, the MARKET doesn't ALSO OWN the currency, and the stocks (product) they are dealing with...LL owns all these things in this scenario, and that's what makes it a GREEDY TACTIC. As to my comparison to games and online worlds on Steam, my point was not that one could buy and sell currency in them, my point is that Steam siphons off a HUGE % of that transaction from the game developer, and they only get a small portion of the purchase, and the game developer still doesn't charge a transaction fee, while LL gets 100% on TOP of the SPREAD of the market that they own (or sink as you call it). And Rowan, please read your previous post...you literally said "NO ONE HAS TO SPEND A DIME in SL". I wont worry about the difference between the words "HAS to", and "SHOULD" I was merely pointing out the consequences of "no one spending a dime in SL"

Please stop defending greedy tactics that punish the people that spend the most in world. There are PLENTY of games, and online worlds that have in game currency that you pay for with real money, and none of them have transaction fees, and almost ALL of those also go through 3rd party payment authorization which may take up to 75% of the total purchase price (Steam). The transaction of you buying currency is handled completely in house by LL, they don't have to pay anyone to handle the transaction or have a cut taken...they OWN the market, the currency, and the platform. They also make over 10L$ on each 1USD$ being bought OR sold in that market in the SPREAD on each sale (the difference between the purchase, and sell price) already, and that is ON TOP of this transaction fee...and sorry Rowan, but if you think SL would be the same place it is now if nobody spent a dime, you are sadly mistaken...The people creating in world who rely on that income would not just make items for free for fun. Clubs wouldn't get anyone to work, DJ's would find other platforms to play their music...SL would die if nobody spent a dime...was that your point? I've cut my monthly spending in SL in HALF after this increase, and every time I buy L$ and see that rediculous transaction fee, it irks the crap out of me. Not really the feeling you want your customers having when paying you their money for any service or product.

I've been involved in the video game industry, Network security industry, internet, and (many) other pay for service platforms, I own over 700 games in my Steam account, and have worked on or contributed my expertise to many companies, projects, and endeavors over my 30 years in the industry. I feel with this recent SLIDING SCALE TRANSACTION FEE, a line has definitely been crossed for me. The last few times this fee went up, the answer was "oh just buy more L$, instead of making several small purchases a month, make 1 larger one." I went from buying 5-10k L$ a pop, to buying like 20-30k, and again, the fee goes up for that bracket SUBSTANTIALLY, and the answer is once again..."Oh just buy MORE L$, if you spend over 150$ you won't even see the increase" (which is flawed logic). I usually spend about 200$usd per month in SL. I've seen COUNTLESS games, and services lose their customers from schemes like this, most of them offered a FREE to play model, while they kept raising prices, and putting a higher burden on those giving them income. Stop making it harder, and more expensive to give you my money!! Its greedy and a stupid tactic. LL OWNS the currency, the market, the systems it all runs on, and holds all the cards, while the COMMUNITY creates the content. I have MANY other options for my entertainment value, and almost ALL of those options have NO transaction fees if I want to put my money in, and they are also going through a 3rd party, and having a MAJOR percentage of my purchase being siphoned off. I'm sure if you have 2 companies like Amazon, one charges sales tax, and one doesn't, people would gravitate to the cheaper option to avoid extra cost. I feel like I've been getting MUCH less bang for my buck in SL, with possible market manipulation, keeping the base cost of L$ high, prices for things going up all the time in world, and now this LARGE fee for the privilege of making a purchase on a fully controlled internal system, I feel like I'm being taken advantage of, and LL is going to end up strangling their golden geese to death. I've seen it countless times before, and the companies didn't survive long after. I know I will be 2nd guessing, and griping over this fee EVERY TIME I purchase L$, and that is NOT the feeling you want your customers having. I will be changing my SL purchasing habits substantially, and instead of spending heavily on community created content, I'll just be buying enough L$ to cover my rent, as I already have THOUSANDS of items in my inventory that I bought over a year ago, maybe more, and didn't open yet. Reverse this Sliding Scale fee, or I fear its the beginning of the end for SL for sure...GREED KILLS

Too Frickin' bad?? I own land myself, and you still have to pay this fee if you pay your tier or rent in L$. It also effects business owners who cash out L$ to actually get their money. Nobody forces you to own land, so acting like you are doing the whole community a favor by "supporting us" and carrying us on your back is irrelevant to this issue...just sell your land if you don't like the burden, easy peasy Maybe if this 150% increase (in 2 years) in this fee stops people from buying L$ several times a year, or makes businesses lose more profits to fees, you can turn your land into a nudist colony cause there won't be as many outfits to wear/buy. I also worked my butt off in SL for YEARS, and made LOTS of L$ through various businesses, and ventures, but I retired from working in SL and come on to actually enjoy myself, and do what I want with my own time. One of the reasons I stopped working, is because people don't tip as much, don't buy as much, don't spend as much, and its not worth my time anymore. We as a community do not need MORE reasons for people to have less L$ in their pockets, or less L$ in the system pool, and that's what this fee does.