Nany Kayo

The good reason to promote less expensive alternatives like OpenSim is to encourage educational and non-profit organizations to continue developing their projects in virtual worlds rather than giving up completely. A tremendous amount of work has gone into building the momentum and collaboration that exists in the education and non-profit sector of Second Life. It is important to do everything we possibly can to keep these projects going. Any project that drops out is a significant loss. OpenSim looks like a light at the end of the tunnel. It looks like hope. It looks like a reason to hang on.

The scenario will not be the same. 3D internet will be quite different in 24 months than it is now. Probably be significantly different than it is now in 6 months. Different tech, different players, different balances of power.

Bucky, that did occur to me also. Nonetheless, it's another option on the table, another factor to consider. For my particular project to achieve its best results, it needs some presence in SL, but also needs to be easily accessible to educators. We may end up with one full region in SL for offices, meetings and events, and a larger multi-region installation wherever the majority of universities migrate. I'm anxious to hear what other organizations decide to do.

Linden Lab has sent a letter to educational organizations and non-profits owning regions in SL regarding renewal of contracts with instructions for how to renew. An educational or not-for-profit institution that is currently under contract with us will be able to renew early (or purchase additional regions) and continue to receive the current 50% discount on land maintenance provided that the renewal takes place prior to the December 31, 2010. You will be able to select contract renewal options of 6, 12, 18 or 24 months under these terms. If your organization renews and enters into a contract no later than December 31, 2010, it can lock in the current discounted rate for up to 24 additional months.

There are things about this situation and our options we can't discuss in a Linden Lab blog. It's going to be helpful to stay informed of other blogs, forums, and meetings we can use.

Kimo, I didn't realize you were one of the people who built the U of Texas estate. Thanks for helping keep us all in the loop.

College classrooms and museums are often empty.

Please, Do not forget, we (probably) have several weeks to organize this transition.

No, not all of us. Some of us will congregate on high ground.

cool.

Your generosity makes me smile : ) It feels good to be around good-hearted people.

Boaz, I'm not quite sure what you are asking, but the full market value of the virtual land as set by Linden Lab and their discount are both budget items. That's the way I was instructed to set it up by the grant making foundation. As a side note.....non-profit does NOT mean that the organization cant show a profit on their financial statements...and as long as services or goods sold are "business related income" they are encouraged and fully acceptable under the IRS regulations. Thanks for pointing this out. People get a little confused about it.

Lorraine, by describing your project, I hope you will be pleasantly surprised by someone stepping forward to work with you. Especially where we have goals that overlap, educators and non-profits may be able to put some idle prims to work for each other to our mutual benefit. For example, one that came to mind as you were describing your projects is the University of New Mexico which has a full sim neighboring mine devoted to medical education. There are sure to be many educational projects that will want to find ways to share the burden of their increased costs while they regroup. We need some kind of "bulletin board" to communicate who needs what and who has what to offer. We need to do it quickly to limit the amount of damage.

Lorraine, did you attend the meeting at Rockcliffe today? One point that was made among many good ones is that we can organize ways to share land resources to keep our projects going while we regroup over the next 12 - 18 months. I bet there is room for the conference you mention somewhere. I bet someone has room for your classes on a time share basis.

If I recall correctly, there already was a plan announced to load balance regions that are not occupied. It was a scheme for putting regions into a dormant state until an avatar arrived. So this may have already been taken into account in their budgeting. No way to know if Linden Lab is not forthcoming. The trust in this company is needlessly being destroyed.

But if they would, maybe they could enlighten us as to what their cost structure is, so we can, collectively, put our smart brains together in social intelligence and help them solve their cash flow problem in a win-win way, instead of what seems to be their current lose-lose approach. I have wished to hear an explanation of the price of land in Second Life for years. Knowing the strategy behind why the prices are set at the levels they are would alleviate so much mistrust.

Your continued personal attacks on me in Second Life and in the real world are harrassment.

hahahah you just have to love it.....NOW LL is deleting any posts that they consider "competition" lmao looks like they are starting to wake up a little bit at the Lab. are they? haha I was wondering how long they were going to allow discussion of migration to.... OpenSim

Each project has its own mission. The return on investment is different for each one. That's true for recreational users and for profit businesses as well as educational and non-profit projects. For some, the benefits outweigh the costs, for some they don't.

Qwalphi, What do you think of the comment by Alisha above yours? The income would increase by the same amount, but would the net tax be the same? I agree that accounting for this stuff is pretty complicated. We do include the full price of SL land in our budget then list the discount as a donation. That's the way our fiscal sponsor set it up.

Qie, We could see solutions made up of a combination of the alternatives you list. Second Life could be used in a very limited fashion as a contact point while installations on other grids could be expanded for a full scope of operations. The hugely increased demand for other grids is certain to drive their development. With so much demand, OpenSim will probably not remain as undeveloped as it is for long.

Seriously, you're going to just sit here and gloat about the loss of education in SL because you got personally peeved at one provider. You clearly have no understanding of karma.

Linden Lab does not lose money on their donation if they write it off their taxes. That's kindof the point of offering the discount to qualified nonprofits. The discounts are tax deductible. Something besides money has made Linden Lab decide they don't want universities, libraries, museums and nonprofits in Second Life.

You can have this place. It's not worth anything without intelligent, educated people.

Onward then. I feel bad about all the non-transferrable work and money I put into the project I built up in SL. But the best of what I have created I can bring to other grids. I am willing to share everything I know and make.