Adam Spark

That is true if paired with the slash in land costs. It might eventually come to pass, but until then, that isn't what this is.

I would hope not but this is Linden Lab.

I attend a lot of events so I come across certain people I see regularly. Sometimes they are first to say hi, sometimes I am. Sometimes we miss each other. Name changes make it just that much easier to miss one another in passing. Its a minor thing that I don't feel a need to harp on, but that was what I was referring to in my original comment. Yeah I realize things like looking at profiles. But if you see a name you don't recognize in a crowd, I'm sure you can understand it would be natural to assume you are in the company of a stranger and not even think to verify.

I'm not referring to any conversation scenerio. I might say hi to somebody I see frequently if I recognize them. I would hate to not say hi to them because they appear to be a stranger because of this. Not making it difficult, just trying to explain what I see as an unintended consequence of this. Its no biggie, just trying to explain a missed point.

Sure, but likely there was something that made them think they might. A random "who are you?" on the off chance a complete stranger isn't actually a complete stranger would be more than awkward though....

If for all I know they are a complete stranger, why would I ask them who they are?

It still would be helpful to have an easier way, though. If a person I know IM's me and I cannot tell who it is, what I am I to do in that case? Look up the keys of as many folks as I can think of until I find a match? I would hate to see somebody I see at events frequently and not know it is them. Am I still missing something here?

Well they said from the beginning they were only going to use 8 submissions. The point of the contest was an opportunity to award free name changes to winners. Actually, originally they were going to select even less, but they grew the number because they liked so many. The contest was never about feedback solicitation or list filling. 8 of the names came from the contest, as intended and known publicly for some time now.

Its pretty easy to see what premium is about without signing up. That's why Linden Lab lists the features on its website. It makes far more economic sense to charge for volume. Lower the price and open it up to everyone. Or add it to the easily accessible list of premium features and consider a slight bump in monthly fee, justified by the extra value. In the long run, that is more revenue than a one time fee.

Some people will choose the name without knowing the relation to anything Donald Trump. I read the list and only through this forum discussion later did I have any known reason to associate it to the American president. This is a global platform. Some will choose it because they like the name. Just sayin.

You can't do that with Display Names but those are free...

I figured as much but I wasn't 100% certain that it was entirely Linden Home/Premium so I played it safe lol

That is a fair point, but many Belli residents already are premium, so that hurdle wouldn't be an issue to getting Bellisserian wide-scale use. It would just be a question of the $40 fee. And we all know how easily SL residents toss money they really can't afford to at SL.

That won't happen much. The odds that both your ex's last name and your new "love's" last name are in the list at the time (the list will be refreshed regularly) will be fairly remote.

Bellisserian? Really? I hope this doesn't become as common as I expect it will in that community. The reason last names created a "kinship" back in the day was largely because you didn't see the same last name as yours every other week. Last names should represent a family lineage, not a full community one. "Similar to the commodity of dot-com domains, some “last names” held a special status in the community." (Blog quote) Not if nearly everyone in the community uses it. Opening it up to the entire userbase and not charging premium (or discounting premium) makes more economic sense to me. Basic users become customers, and "free/discounted to premium members" entice basic users to join premium with the addition of an added perk. I get that people can sign up for a month, try it out, and all the rest. But even a month of premium adds to the cost. You are effectively making a $40 item a $50 item. Most users are going to look at "premium only" and say "Do I want to pay 10 bucks a month and 40 bucks up front for a name change?" Some will do so. But most won't realize the loophole of dropping it after a month, and still have to decide if it is worth 50, not 40, bucks if they do realize it. I'll be happy to be proven wrong, but I have my doubts about this call. Many basic users spend money on SL. Allow them to buy this and reap the rewards.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/matthew-mcconaughey-hosted-virtual-bingo-170400465.html This was all kinds of awesome

Covid pet peeve #1: "Its just a flu" and all that needs to stop. NOW. We should be taking lessons from this and trying to lower flu deaths, and yet we have something way worse going on and people are saying "its just a flu". I'm not going to type what I want to say to these people. Pet peeve #2: I kind of wish the media would move from telling us case numbers and start telling us active infection numbers instead. That paints a much better picture. If you have 100 cases and 98 are recovered, that's a whole different ball game than 100 cases with 2 recovered. Its not hard to figure out, but telling us mounting case numbers without highlighting how many are recovered is making people panic way too much. In Canada, we have case numbers that are more than double the number of those currently infected. That is a big indicator of how we are doing that doesn't get talked about. We need to stay concerned and keep the fight up, but we also need to know our actions are working too.

I'm an introvert so my life won't change much. But the day I feel safe enough to do so, I'm calling Dominos.

I think that certain changes will be accelerated that were bound to happen anyway. We may see a reduction in cash use, a few less holdouts in that regard. We will see more working from home, which was a thing before covid-19 that we now have an even bigger reason to utilize. We hopefully will see an increase in sanitary practice - the importance of hand washing just might be drilled into a few more heads. Virtual learning might just become a viable every day option for increasing education opportunities, or complimenting the current school system (and reducing our dependence on learning in schools somewhat). I believe we will see more hospital beds available due to the preparation in avoiding shortages in 2020. It might not bring about drastic changes in the next 5 years, but don't be surprised if some of the ever-evolving changes over the very long term (beyond 20 years) have roots in the 2020 Covid-19 epidemic. Major, more sudden overhaul of life as we know it will depend on how often we have to go through this song and dance. While the economy can't stay in this shut down mode forever, we cant turn it off and on every few years either before something gives. The biggest change will be how we deal with these epidemics. This was a rehearsal for the next one, which is inevitable.

Great! I applaud you for that. But Linden Lab has no obligation, morally or otherwise, to get involved in the CHOICES of others.

It has be reasonable to be just and right. It is neither. When your real life workshop shuts down, yes, SL might be a backup. But it might not. It never was a money maker for many, and thats even harder right now. Linden Lab does provide the platform, but doing business is up to you. It is up to you to be creative and find ways to pay the bills in times that are tougher. It is up to you to find ways to draw a crowd when you are up against competition or having to sell off the traditional means (Your region). Is your government providing a relief package for those in your country who have been forced to close up shop? Thats who should be contributing to your issue, not Linden Lab.

It is a substantial part of the artists' monthly income by the choice of nobody but themselves. Linden Lab could close Second Life tomorrow, without warning or obligation to you, yet you expect your request to seem reasonable? Can't afford a region? Get a parcel. Nobody who drops 4 figures a year on a virtual world should get a handout. A penny saved is a penny earned. Budget for your situation.

Tunes for the gloom

That "home and garden wisom" has been known to reduce your risk of death. Your overall health impacts your ability to fight infection. Doesn't have to be = it is not a death sentence. You might die, you might not. We will all die eventualy, sure, but that doesn't mean we are completely helpless in these situations. Even those with high risk can survive this, despite the lower odds. More than 150,000 people a day die for a variety of reasons. But that doesn't leave us completely powerless.