Deltango Vale

I guess I live on another planet because it's blindingly obvious to me that the source of the problem is free, unlimited, unrestricted, uncontrolled, wide-open, disposable, anonymous accounts.

I've tried to improve the wording. I do not favor any particular form of land ownership. I have known personally several small Estate owners who provided excellent customer service. What I neglected to mention in the article was covenants. I will try to add that soon.

I have noticed that the Answers section of the fora is becoming less useful. Many questions are frivolous and few people return to read the answers. I rarely visit the Answers section anymore.

In my opinion, a ranking system must be carefully thought out from the beginning. Personally, I find the current system quite baffling and I ignore it - just as I ignored the post-count rating system in the previous fora. I judge a person by the wisdom and humor of his posts. In the end, our reputation becomes the rating system.

Linden Lab recently adopted a new payment system. A common problem is that attempts to bring money into an SL account from an existing credit card are now failing (with an error message). Similarly, attempts to buy Lindens inworld are failing (without any error message). The solution that worked for me was to delete payment information and reenter it. Doing so is a bit unintuitive because there is no single, master location for reentering billing information. Also, one has to perform an actual transaction to fill in credit card details. I presume the system is smart enough to use the info for membership and tier billing. I also presume the system is smart enough to use the info for inworld L$ purchases. It's all a bit fiddly, but it does solve the 'increase credit' problem. ETA: There seems to be no way to set up payment through the viewer. The option is unavailable. Attempting to purchase L$ through the viewer results in a message to go to the website to set up payment through the viewer, for which no option exists. This means inworld L$ purchases have been disabled, so, one must purchase L$ manually via the website. Yes, the system is smart enough to use the info supplied for membership and tier payments, but you have to go to the membership page to see it.

Darrius provides a very good explanation. It is certainly worth learning about 'bid' and 'ask' pricing. If I may, I'd like to add to Darrius's comments. The price mechanism is an amazing information system. Sadly, most people are so used to fixed prices that they do not see the price mechanism at work. In all financial transactions, there is a thing being transacted. The 'thing' can be a dress or a package of film rights or a CDO (collateralized debt obligation, a derivative) based on a MBS (mortgage-backed security). Needless to say, if a 'thing' exists, it has an owner. The owner may wish to sell the 'thing'. Sometimes there are no potential buyers (my fingernail clippings). Sometimes there are many potential buyers (a popular paperback). Sometimes, there are no sellers (the National Gallery in London will not sell Van Gogh's Sunflowers). Sometimes there are many sellers (bicycles). Most of the time, there are many sellers and many potential buyers (T-shirts, Linden Dollars). In this case, one must think of pools of sellers (everyone who sells T-shirts) and pools of buyers (everyone who wants T-shirts). Within these pools, individuals have different prices in mind. Some sellers want a high price for their T-shirts; others want a lesser price; others want a low price. The same is true of potential buyers. Some want to spend very little; some are willing to pay more; some are willing to pay a lot. The range of prices in the buyer pool is called 'bid spread' or simply 'bid'. The range of prices in the seller pool is called 'ask spread' or simply 'ask'. Where the price ranges overlap, a transaction occurs (because a buyer and seller agree to a price that they are both happy with). It's kinda like a dance where both girl and boy want to dance with each other. Most of the time, though, buyers and sellers flirt with each other. As with big dances, there is a pool of girls and a pool of boys milling around, checking each other out. Susan wants to dance with Bob, but Bob doesn't seem interested. Will she settle for Joe? Hmmm, Joe wants to dance with Debbie. He'd settle for Barbara, but not Susan. Barbara wants to dance with Carl, but she'd settle for Joe. Ta-da! Barbara and Joe start dancing. Sometimes, girls and boys are so picky that they never get a dance. They're the ones hugging the walls trying to look cool - all night. Others finally give in during the last hour and dance with anyone they can find. This is exactly what is happening with the Lindex exchange. There is a bid pool and an asked pool. Those in each pool who are closest in terms of price get to dance. Those who are furthest apart hug the wall and never get a dance (unless something weird happens like a flood of new people into the dancehall). So, to use the Lindex, you need to know how to flirt. Jim wants 251, Ben wants 250, Sarah is offering 255 and Debbie is offering 259. Jim and Sarah are closest. Will one of them walk over to the other? Woops, Fred swoops in and steals Sarah away by offering 254! Finance is a dance. It's that simple. The hard part is factoring in the cost of risk associated with any 'thing'. Mr. Dancing Dude may have the clap, but you won't know until after you've 'bought' him. This is essentially what happened with CDOs based on MBSs. It didn't help that the supposedly older and wiser regulars in the dancehall (the rating agencies) said Dancing Dude might be a rake, but he was at least clean.

I just got off the phone with UK support. The number is +44-(0)20-3362-0268, which translates to: 020-3362-0268 if dialing from within the UK 3362-0268 if dialing from within London I had no problem getting through to someone at 16:30 on Saturday. The person was very helpful.

K, went through this today. Here is what I did: reboot PC reboot router clear cache load full inventory Advanced - Character - Rebake Textures (results in eyeless, nude, plastic, zombie Ruth) Advanced - Character - Character Tests - Test Female (detaches everything, normal Ruth) Then reattach everything manually (HUDs, hair, eyes, skin, shape, clothing etc.)

"Trying not to make this dissolve into yet another perms debate..." Yes, agree. @ everyone I'm just a potential shopper looking for specific types of stores. Needless to say, if I am not the sort of customer you want, just ignore me and this thread.

Thanks, Tiffy. Yes, everyone, please promote your stores here. I will visit them. Edit: one of the things that drives me nuts is not being able to buy off the wall. On rare occasions where Mod/Trans was not displayed, I tried to contact the owner. Most never replied - and their LM went in the trash. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I have practically given up shopping in SL.

In frustration, I am turning to the forum for help. I am looking for: high-quality fashion designs, from leather to casual to evening wearhigh-quality shoes and bootsI joined SL in 2006. I own 4 sims. I have money. I will pay a fortune for good designs, precision artwork, micro-detail, high-resolution, top quality clothes. If you sell such items, would you please list your store here? But only zero-script, MOD TRANS stores. I have walked away from dozens of expensive boutiques - my pockets bulging with cash - because they did not offer Mod/Trans. So, to all fashion designers: here is a rich customer (me) who can't wait to spend some money. Do you want my business? If yes, I'd love an SLURL to your store. Edit: I do not mind no-trans shoes, but I do want mod.

I want to send my thanks to Guy Linden, who works tirelessly behind the scenes to solve problems on the mainland. He doesn't get the same exposure here in the forum as someone like Torley, but he is equally devoted to making Second Life a better place for residents.

Superb! Yes, many, many thanks.

You have, no doubt, seen these maps a million times, but I post them for those who may be new to SL. November 2002: November 2003:

@ Qie "I think you're letting the perfect become the enemy of the good." --------------------- Yes, agree 100%. My 'algorithmic' proposal (I am not an engineer) was influenced by the direction of the thread toward automated scripts. I'm glad you pointed out the flaws from an engineering perspective. The best and simplest solution is a Dutch auction. Put all abandoned <512m2 parcels on the open market at a L$3000 flat price. Reduce the price by L$500 per week until sold. The priority system thus changes from technicalities of size, configuration and location to the simplicity of the market, Sliding preferences (indifference curves) mean that he who wants it the most is willing to pay the earlier, higher price. This solution is not as strange as it may first seem. The market for microparcels is not the same as large parcels. Below 512m2, demand for a parcel is based more on what it is rather than its area. In other words, it is valued more for prims, annexation, sim cleanup (getting rid of eyesores, spam, ads, scripts), grief-prevention or a buffer between parcels than as a 'normal' parcel. For this reason (including the fact that any parcel, no matter how small, is worth at least L$500), microparcels have traditionally been more expensive per m2 than 'normal' parcels. An initial price of L$3000 per microparcel solves the landbot problem. A max-size abandoned microparcel (496m2) would be L$6 per m2 - of little interest to bots. As for paying L$3000 for a 16m2, it can be cheap at the price for the right person. I personally would snap up a 16m2 embedded in my land for L$3000 the instant it came on the market. Someone else, who only wants it for prims, may only wish to pay L$500 for it. That is the beauty of a Dutch auction.

It is, of course, a matter of opinion. The best way to approach it is to ask yourself which situation you would prefer: You own a parcel on a sim border. There is an abandoned parcel adjacent to yours across the sim border. You own a parcel anywhere. There is an abandoned parcel far away in the same sim. My experience after four years in the mainland business is that most people would identify with 1. I'm not hard and fast about this. It can go either way. I guess much depends whether someone has built an ad farm beside you just on the other side of a sim border :smileywink:

@ Pauline, I added this before you posted: Remember, it is impossible for an out-sim neighbor to be on two sides. By definition, an out-sim neighbor can only be on one side. Remember too, most parcels will not be on the sim border. Most will be interior parcels.

@ Liisa, The order is correct. I feel that adjacent neighbors should have priority. After exhausting all same-sim neighbors, the out-sim neighbor should have priority over same-sim, non-adjacent owners. From long experience, an immediate neighbor trumps distant prims. @ Everyone Seven days is fair considering many residents log on once a week. As I mentioned earlier, I believe the parcels would sell quickly in the overall process. I would expect roughly 25% of parcels selling within the first week, 33% by the end of the second week, 50% by the end of the third week and 75% by the end of the fourth week. Most will never get to the open market. Remember, it is impossible for an out-sim neighbor to be on two sides. By definition, an out-sim neighbor can only be on one side. Remember too, most parcels will not be on the sim border. Most will be interior parcels.

Well, atm it's not being sold at all. It would take 70 days only if no one wants it. Currently, it takes twice as long to get a reply to a ticket. I figure most of the parcels would sell quickly.

For all abandoned parcels, set land for sale back to original owner for three days. Good idea because it saves a lot of administrative hassle. The current system of auctioning abandoned 512m2+ parcels is perfect. Don't change this. For abandoned parcels smaller than 512m2, these should be offered to neighboring parcel owners (after the expiry of the 3-day grace period). This can be automated as follows (based on Wildcat's earlier post) in the following order for a period of 7-days per candidate: 4-sides neighbor at L$1 per m2 3-sides neighbor at L$1 per m2 2-sides neighbor, older parcel date at L$1 per m2 2-sides neighbor, younger parcel date at L$1 per m2 1-side same-sim neighbor, oldest parcel date at L$1 per m2 1-side same-sim neighbor, second oldest parcel date at L$1 per m2 1-side same-sim neighbor, third oldest parcel date at L$1 per m2 1-side same-sim neighbor, youngest parcel date at L$1 per m2 1-side out-sim neighbor at L$1 per m2 open market to same-sim landowners at L$5 per m2 (remember, the max size would be 496m2) open market to SL at L$10 per m2

@ Icarus Superb map. The names seem historically accurate. One suggestion, though, is not to overuse the word 'Lakes'. Last Lakes, Further Lakes, More Lakes, L-Shaped Lake etc. You might, for example, wish to call L-shaped lakes Golden Gate (the stretch of water under the Golden Gate Bridge) because it passes the north coast of San Francisco - or not give it any name at all. I like your color scheme. Good work!

@ Jessika Thanks for the reply. Basically, I'm looking for a pale shade, no freckles, a touch of liner, no shadow, no rouge/blush, classic orange-red lipstick (no smudging), minimal butt-cleavage, natural tone, natural complexion, natural definition. I'm after something simple, classic and elegant, understated, subtle - makeup that doesn't scream makeup - what one would wear shopping as well as at a cocktail party or dinner party. I'd go for the Belleza if it had a softer collarbone and a bit more definition. Suggestions?

Begin rant :smileymad: For two years, I have searched for a new skin. I have a classic Gala, which I am unable to improve upon. I'm now getting to the point of giving up and just wearing this Gala for eternity - no matter how outdated it becomes. The only solution, as far as I can see, is a revolution in how our avatars are rendered and the way skins are made. Until then, it's an endless quest. My main complaints about skins on the market are these: the mania for excessive makeup the 'guillotine' collarbone the fuzzy nipples/bellybutton the 'heroin-addict'-vein 'realistic' look butt cleavage from hell I have no idea what is involved in making a skin. I presume only six people in the world have PHDs in graphic design - and they're employed by Adobe rather than making skins in Second Life. It must be almost impossible to make an SL skin, so I await a technological revolution. Will mesh help? Regarding makeup - something current creators do have control over - would it be possible for women to design skins because the makeup I see on most skins is some guy's insane fantasy of what he thinks girls like to wear. No woman wears purple metallic spraypaint. Purple metallic spraypaint is for cars. I mean, yeah, sure, do some skins for the Cybergoth scene, but maybe only two or three. The other 200 in the product line should be for normal wear. End rant :smileywink:

Before this threads slides to one side of the scale (Disneyfication), I'd like to talk about the other side (Facebook). I read recently that Facebook accounts for 25% of all internet traffic, which is impressive. Yet Facebook is facing challenges converting that traffic into revenue. Meanwhile, Linden Lab is sitting on the biggest money-spinner of all time: selling and leasing virtual land. C'mon, it's bloody brilliant. So, I can imagine the Board of Linden Lab sitting down with the Board of Facebook to find ways of merging their interests. "I'll tradja half my traffic for half yur revenue stream." It sounds good in theory, but I believe it would end up like the Gift of the Magi (a set of combs for a watch-chain - sans hair, sans watch). Personally, I believe Linden Lab's main problem is being 10 years ahead of Facebook. My RLBF tells the story of working as an IT consultant in 1990. He attended the fanfare release of Windows 3.0. Returning to the office, he met a wall of opposition. "Windows will never replace DOS!" said the collective wisdom of 50 highly paid systems engineers. He loaded up on Microsoft stock at US$25 per share (in 1990). His colleagues called him an idiot. As a historian, I see this theme repeated in every generation. IBM refused to buy BASIC until Bill Gates first write DOS (drum-roll, cymbal). Western Union booted Alexander Graham Bell out of the office for wasting its time over his 'tard' telephone. People thought Rockefeller was a kook for drilling oil. Napoleon dismissed Fulton's submarine and steamboat as useless for invading England (wide, flat-bottom steamboats would have done the job admirably). No doubt, Philip Rosedale was ridiculed for seeking to build a virtual world. Okay, so let's look forward 10 years. Think Ferrari instead of Model-T. It is inevitable that virtual worlds will spring up like new countries, perhaps isolated from each other, perhaps forming alliances, perhaps merging into William Gibson's 'Matrix'. The bottom line is that Linden Lab is on the leading edge of this technological, economic and social revolution. Facebook will still be around in 10 years, sure, as a parallel universe serving RL, but the real action will be in virtual worlds. How can this be possible? Easy. In 1700, the UK economy was 56% agriculture (including fishing and forestry), 22% industry (mining, manufacturing, construction) and 22% services (public and private). By 1820, agriculture had expanded enormously, yet it represented only 37% of the economy because industry and services had expanded even faster. The pie was growing, the size of the slice (area) of agriculture was growing too, but the agriculture slice was getting thinner in relation to the other slices. By 1998, the pie had become massive. The amount of agriculture had increased by scales of magnitude, yet agriculture only accounted for 2% of economic activity. Industry accounted for 26% and services accounted for 72%. Today, the world produces more food than ever before in history, yet agriculture represents only about 5% of global economic activity. Today, the world manufactures more goods than ever before in history, yet manufacturing represents only about 25% of global economic activity. Now, the action is in services, expanding exponentially in scale, scope and complexity to the point that US$2 million changes hands daily in Second Life - a virtual world that did not exist 10 years ago. Facebook is not an economy. Facebook is a communication system. Second Life is an economy whose trajectory is pointed straight into the new realm of metaphorical goods and services. In 20 years, the whole pie will have expanded again, but the breakdown of economic activity will look something like this: 01% Agriculture 10% Manufacturing 80% Real Services 09% Virtual Services In other words, virtual economies will become as important as the existing manufacturing base. In 30 years, the numbers will shift to something like this: 01% Agriculture 07% Manufacturing 70% Real Services 22% Virtual Services See where this is going? If ever there was a company whose product stood on the threshold of the future, it is Linden Lab. Does the company really want to risk it all to compete with Disney (a themepark) and Facebook (a communication system)?

@ Peewee March 2006: One new thing I discovered in this roundtable is that everyone already knows Second Life is where it’s at for sexual play in an online environment…. Second Life was continually credited with holding the cutting edge on adult content. One of the recurring themes in producing adult content in games is appropriate diversity, storytelling, and finding what turns people on. I believe that Second Life already has the diversity, and I invite residents to think of clever new ways to develop roles for people to play in the context in Second Life to provide a story and something hot. March 2009: Based on our research, we estimate that around 2-4% of content on the mainland would be considered Adult according to our current thinking on defining that. For all of Second Life, our content research shows it is around 5%. Second Life was never a "sin-bin". It was an adult (grown-up) fantasy world in which 95% of content and behavior was related to building, scripting, shopping, music, dancing, mythological roleplay and conversation with new friends. That 5% of content and behavior was of a sexual nature is surprising only by its low percentage of the total. Moreover, it was the sexual component - the 5% - that represented a cutting-edge feature of Second Life much envied by the games industry. I will go so far as to suggest that 95% of residents came to SL in pursuit of that 5% in one form or another. Of far greater importance is the fact that Second Life was "Your World, Your Imagination." = "Your Responsibility." It was not "Our World. Our Imagination. Our Responsibility." Disneyfication and attempts to convert SL into 3D Facebook were, in my opinion, largely responsible for that change of philosophy, which has led to SL's current stagnation. Without clear thinking, Second Life will become a spork, useful to no one.