Yoki Enoch

Hi Summer: I do believe you gave a very good analysis, and I am very impressed with your intelligence. However, given my observations as to how Linden Lab operates, I do believe what you have really given is a detailed and excellent description of a dragon found in a cloud formation.

Alexios Donardson wrote: does anyone have any clue when the 1.23.5 viewer be removed from the viewers directory and thus LL will disable logins with 1.23.5? i think viewer 2.xx is very stable and better than some early releases and much better than viewer 1.xx. Yes Viewer 2 is more stable now. As far as being better than Viewer 1, that is a matter of opinion. In some ways Viewer 2 is better (better bells and whistles for sure). However, I have tried Viewer 2 three times this year. The last time was very recent. In my opinion, overall, Viewer 2 is a piece of crap. If or when Viewer 2 is forced upon us, ... well, I won't make any absolute statements... but if I was looking for an excuse for leaving SL, such an event would be the one.

Ayep, checked that as did the live support person. But it comes up 0.0.0 in search...I think I will delete it and reset it and see if perhaps that helps. Ticket still sitting there with NEW status in support. I have read that this is a Viewer 2 bug, and that LL doesn't understand how it presents a problem, so, it just won't fix it.

Ann Otoole says: You are still giving large parcels for businesses you like a boost even when they should not be boosted because their products are fewer and inferior. It is called forming trusts to control an economy. Also Jack thanks for admitting you give free advertising to your friends like Ozimals. You stated this clearly at your office hour today. Everyone in SL paying tier to support a business needs to understand LL gives unfair advantage to LL's friends. It is called forming trusts to control an economy. I wonder why LL did not call the Atlas Program, Forming Trusts Program? Oh the mysteries of the minds of those who really run the Lab. It is no wonder Philip bailed out from acting CEO. He must have been completely baffled by it all.

Well Jack, how come you are not "excited" about this announcement. You usually are "excited," ya know.

Wallace Linden says in response to tx Oh: To be clear, yes, the test is U.S.-only at the moment. Well, being clear like this in intial blog would have been nice to the international users who wasted their time, like me.

Well, I guess I didn't qualify but I got me a new alt account and downloaded that darn Viewer 2, again! Maybe third time lucky with Viewer 2, eh?.... (mumbles, mumbles about a cheap trick to get folks to use Viewer 2... mumbles, mumbles)

Persephone Emerald wrote: What are the chances if I have a sex-bed inside my house or if I undress on a platform above the clouds, that someone is going to report me for activity inappropriate for a PG region? Don't you think the chances will be higher when the 16 & 17 year olds officially come onto the main grid? Quite frankly, the chances are pretty slim that someone would report you for having a sex bed inside your house and being nude way above the clouds. However, if there were such a danger, perhaps it might be more exciting for you knowing you were doing these things in a region wherein you could be reported.

The Lab sold 400+ Homesteads at a deep discount in both price and tier to one of the larrger estates in Q2, that "Growth" will take a while to bleed off of their statistics. By my estimation, that huge artificial increase in private estates in early June of this year, has already been eradicated. However, the Atlas program continues on. However, I believe that not all of the participants within this program are getting the same breaks. It seems that one has to ask in order to get the Homestead tier break, but the set-up charge breaks are always the standard.

Hurana Ugajin wrote: Imagine what LL would do if the 5 biggest Estate owners had ALL of their sims turned off. thats a huge chunk of the grid. Things will be changing in other areas of SL first, starting with the removal of 1.23 viewer code, and its slated around !@#$% yeah right like I can disclose that info without getting in trouble. lol Once a few other changes allow it, the current pricing will not be as bad as it was, though, how many people outside riches countries able to afford them? Simple they cant. SL is very, very discriminatory, and they admit that openly! Apparently, the top 5 estate land owners control close to 17% of the estate grid. However, a high percentage of their holdings are Homesteads - i.e., they hold a higher percentage of Homesteads as opposed to the overall percentage, across the estate grid.

Lizard Howl wrote: Hi Yoki - I'm tempted to chalk you up as a nay-sayer but since you are keeping the thread going and have asked me to respond, I will! Darien wrote:" Make your rent high enough to make a profit. Give outstanding customer service. Make your sims beautiful, and not a boring pancake." and believe it or don't 2 of the three really is enough. (the top 2) In your response Yoki you wrote: "But with a Homestead at a monthly tier of $125 USD per month, one would have to charge 9500 L per week in order to make an 18% profit." and your math is bang on. That is the exact rate I charge for my Homestead sims. Also, in spite of what you may think, Atlas Program members have to pay $125 per HS just like anyone else. This is a case where the proof is in the pudding so to speak. I take good care of my customers and they take care of me too. If they come to me and ask for a Homestead I explain my rates. If they say "oh I can get a Homestead for less" I agree with them, they certainly can - just not from me. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to get Homesteads at the old tier rate so I have to charge enough to make a profit. Do I have 100s of Homesteads rented at 9500L/wk? No, of course not. I have 10 rented at that rate at this moment and I'm fine with that. The Second Life land business is extremely competitive, but one thing is certain. If the only way you can compete is on price you will lose. Have fun, and good luck! Lizard Howl Segarra Estates Owner I thank for your response, and appreciate it. If you can make a go at leasing out Homesteads at 9500 L per week, then more power to you. In checking out your other prices, you are quite competitive in the marketplace, with this one exception for Homesteads. There are scores of Homesteads currently available for lease at around 7500 L per week from your competitors. As for Atlas program participants getting Homesteads at tier rates of 125 USD per month like anyone else, you might find that even within the Atlas program there are different levels of participation breaks. There is a large land baron, who ranks 5th overall, who has been leasing out new Homesteads for the last 5 months at leasing rates from 7 to 12% below cost, if the monthly tier on these new Homesteads is at the 125 USD per month level. Since the majority of her holdings are these new Homesteads, it seems she might go belly up soon. But according to Occam's razor, it is more than likely that she is paying the old grandfathered 95 USD monthly tier. Don't bother asking her though, because she seems very touchy when asked about this apparent suicidal pricing scheme, if her tiers really are 125 USD per month.

Darien Caldwell wrote: Yoki Enoch wrote: Lizard Howl wrote: Yes, it is possible to profit at the $125 tier rate in spite of what other people might say. Really? Well, perhaps you can elaborate on this since one would have to compete with so many Homesteads with a monthly tier of $95.00 per month. I would be very interested in hearing how it can be done - seriously. Make your rent high enough to make a profit. Give outstanding customer service. Make your sims beautiful, and not a boring pancake. People will gladly pay more for this. Ahem. I doubt that very much. I have owned estate sims before, including Homesteads. In order to make the rent high enough to make a MARGINAL profit, one would have to increase it by at least 25%. Also, Homesteads with tiers at 95 USD per month are not fixed in numbers, but do keep coming into SL through the Atlas program to the larger land barons. So the competition at lower rates continues to rise. The giving of outstanding service is always a "given" to those who venture into this area. It does not attract people because they don't know it's there until they come. It may keep people longer - say for 2 months instead of staying for only one month. A beautiful sim? Sorry, but I have to chuckle at that. True, some people will be attracted to that, but nowadays, given all the great bargains available, people are looking for price. They can make their own beauty, and many are very good at it. In esence, given the current marketplace, there are hundreds of Homesteads for rent at 7500 L per week. 90% of these Homesteads are very attractive. But with a Homestead at a monthly tier of 125 USD per month, one would have to charge 9500 L per week in order to make an 18% profit. It would take a full year just to recupe the cost of the intitial cost of the purchase price of the Homestead, and that would be at a bargain price of 200 USD. Sorry, but Linden Lab has destroyed the Homestead market for the medium to small estate sim owners, and has obviously kept it in reserve for the likes of Dreamland ACS, Jewels Islands, and maybe a few others, who can still pay only 95 USD per month in tier on Homesteads with even the new ones they purchase.

Lizard Howl wrote: Yes, it is possible to profit at the $125 tier rate in spite of what other people might say. Really? Well, perhaps you can elaborate on this since one would have to compete with so many Homesteads with a monthly tier of $95.00 per month. I would be very interested in hearing how it can be done - seriously.

Perhaps LInden Lab should evaluate the differentiation it makes among premium members, estate land owners, and basic account holders. The assumption is made here that basic account holders are freeloaders and should have less priority in access to support. However, many basic account holders contribute far more financially to Linden Lab than premium users or estate land owners. But as always, talking to Linden Lab is like talking to the wind. You may boast about a collaborative management style, but the last folks you would ever bother collaborating with are those who pay your bills and your salaries.

I guess we can assume that the Atlas program will continue to go full steam ahead, giving the larger land barons grandfathered monthly tier fees on all new Homestead sims they order? You know if Linden Lab can still make money by giving the large land barons the 95 USD monthly tier still on new Homesteads ordered, if it made this price available to all eligible Homestead buyers, then it would sell a whole bunch more of them. Hello? Is any one home at Linden Lab?

SimonLeo Roelofs wrote: I own 16 FP sims Well, one Homestead at 125 USD per month might take you down a bit, because you won't be able to make a profit on the thing when there are so many Homesteads still out there at 95 USD per month. As of May 1st this year, any transfer of ownership of Homesteads result in the new owner having to pay 125 USD on their new Homestead.

SimonLeo Roelofs wrote: I would guess the demand is great but many people can not buy it. This means it is an outstanding chance for landlords. I happen to own a few sims so I can get alot of homesteads to rent out. If you are paying 125 USD per month for a Homestead, you can not possibly compete with the others out there who are only paying 95 USD per month in tier on them. I know, because I tried earlier this year... it is a lost cause.

SimonLeo Roelofs wrote: I am looking for a homestead sim to buy (full transfer) but there are very few for sale. why is that? Unless you are a full prim sim owner who wants to expand their land holdings, one can "buy" umpteen different Homestead sims on the market right now with land ownership rights and admin manager estate rights. You only have to pay by the week - from 7300 L per week upward. So what that means is that you play with complete Homestead sim at less than the 125 USD per month one would have to fork out if they paid tiers to Linden Lab directly. Of course, your Homestead under such an arrangement can be pulled out from under you at any time by the true Homestead owner. However, many large reputable land barons have great deals now. You just have to look under land search ... in probably Viewer 1.23 or a TPV... god knows how the land search is working in Viewer 2 these days.... I am too irritable lately to even try out Viewer 2 again. Also, there have been some great renting deals for full prim sims as well... paying only tier at cost.. as many land barons are just trying to hold onto their inventory until things improve.

Another M Linden brain child suffers infanticide.

If Linden Lab is entering into the "abandoning" mode, taking a good look a Viewer 2 and the general public response to it might just clue you guys into an even better thing to abandon. Or, I guess, maybe incorporating the good features of Viewer 2, which are not many, and start developing a Viewer 3, but this time - have SL resident user input into the darn thing first off.

Suella Ember wrote: Yoki Enoch wrote: Athena Mornington wrote: There are no more half stars or partially filled stars showing a true average of ratings in the SL Marketplace. Even if a seller has an item with a zillion 5's and just one 4, the rating shows up as a 4. It was reported by the sellers but it doesn't seem to be something that will be changing. So, by that logic, if one had a gazillion 5 star ratings, and just one, 1 star rating, the overall rating would be 3 ? Let us hope not for the sake of the merchants. Indeed. I'd certainly take exception to that, despite being a 'cheerleader' (which I'm not, I'm just constructive, but you've called me a cheerleader before ) Although even if this is the case I'll still try to discuss it constructively and get some logical answer from LL rather than having a pointless rant about it! I'll have to do a bit of digging round in the commerce forums and stuff I guess to see if there is a definite answer to this. I don't particularly have a problem with it rounding to the nearest whole number, but it needs to be rounding correctly based on the mean. In other words, if an item has ten ratings, nine of them 5 stars and one of then 1 star as follows, then the mean would be 4.6 which should give it an overall rating rounded up to 5 stars: 5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+1 = 46 46 / 10 = 4.6 (rounded up to the nearest whole number = 5 stars) Hi Suella: There is no need to take exception to my observation. That is just what it was: an observation. Your math is perfect in your analysis. It all depends on whether LL staff can understand that rounding down is not of benefit to SL merchants.

Athena Mornington wrote: There are no more half stars or partially filled stars showing a true average of ratings in the SL Marketplace. Even if a seller has an item with a zillion 5's and just one 4, the rating shows up as a 4. It was reported by the sellers but it doesn't seem to be something that will be changing. So, by that logic, if one had a gazillion 5 star ratings, and just one, 1 star rating, the overall rating would be 3 ? Let us hope not for the sake of the merchants.

Suspiria Finucane wrote: Kaylan Laville wrote: No you cannot download objects from your inventory to your computer, you can only save textures to your computer if they are copyable. We all hate organizing our inventory, something we all have to deal with. Really? You can download with Stored Inventory It's on the list. Wow, I was not aware of that feature. Thanks Susy. I will check it out too.

Since you responded to my post, and asked me a question, yes you did ask me to reply to your post. But I will stop responding to you. And yes, I do spend a lot of time in SL, contrary to what you do, apparently. I also spend a lot of time on these forums and blogs, which apparently, you do not. However, you come in here, and your first post ever is to defend Linden Lab. I find that very strange indeed. You are the one who attacked someone. I am just taking to task a Linden troll who did that.

Given that this is the second post you have made, why should I give anything essential? You are here to defend the faith. So get to it, and tell us how wonderful everything is with SL, and how it is growing leaps and bounds with everything Linden Lab does. If you want to read more details of the "essentials" then read Sojourner's Blog, and post as "Anonymous" if you have any comments, and hide who you really are. http://secondlifesecondchance.blogspot.com/