Cabbage Acanthus

If you are interested in how the nonprofit is doing, we can talk about it inworld if you like. I won't go into it in this blog. Thanks. I am not especially interested in the state of your "nonprofit" . I brought up the plight of the nonprofit and educational sector in SL to illustrate LL's overall level of concern for all of its residents. This was done to show that just because LL does not apparently care about those objecting to the introduction of teens to SL does not mean that they have made any decision to limit adult content here on the grid. Quite the contrary in fact. LL created an entire continent here on the grid to preserve and encourage adult content. They could have simply done away with it, like they did with gambling. They instead built a giant monument in its honor, Zindra. I don't see a continent for nonprofits or education. I think LL has indicated their priorities quite clearly. As far as the perverts "zipping up and leaving the bathroom", that's not gonna happen. The SL sexual enthusiasts have already adjusted to the new way of things. Most of them have moved over to Zindra. It won't take a lot to expand the clubs and the private estates to accommodate the few "power bangers" that still linger on the mainland. The teen merger won't affect them much. The group that is objecting and will be affected the most are the "normal" adult residents on the mainland. These folks aren't super perverts, they just like their virtual life (all of it ) the way that it is. They don't do orgies or proposition every person that they meet, but they do like the freedoms of expression and self-exploration (of all sorts) that SL offers. These folks are the backbone of SL and are the ones that will be the most likely to leave. How many will go or change their spending habits and will there be enough of a shift to damage SL further remains to be seen but I wouldn't be counting much on an "explosion" of new demand for content creators for a bit. Besides, do you think a successful content provider here in SL is going to completely pack up and leave over teens? That's foolish. They will probably just do what they are already doing, using their successes here in SL to expand onto the "other grids" out there. A unsuccessful mediocre builder has no reason to believe that their competition will simply vanish. Unless, of course, there is little left to keep them here.

Nany Kayo says in response to Brenna.Orellana: Brenna, I have wondered whether mainstream entertainment with streaming video will get involved in virtual worlds like SL. It is a lot of fun to watch a show or game with a group of friends where you can get into group chat or private IM, hang out, go to other related events or do roleplay. A Battlestar Galactica roleplay project got nuked recently in SL for copyright infringement, but it will not surprise me when the copyright holders start setting up their own shops here. That is going to be a blast. Same with sports bars where you can watch games on a big screen with friends all over the country. There is so much you could do with this platform once it zips up, washes it hands and comes out of the restroom. You quite often make the rather overly optimistic statement that all these wonderful things could be done with SL once it stops being so adult oriented. That's silly. The internet was practically a porn pit from early on and it did not stop real business from embracing it porn and all because it was a viable platform on which they could do business. If SL was the sort of place that they could do the same they would, regardless of how many people were screwing in the background. You are right about LL not caring about the people that object to this merger. That's not because LL made a specific decision about them or about adult content. LL just doesn't care, the same way they did not care about non-profits just a little while ago. They are going to do what they are going to do and to hell with their customer base, any and all of it. They care about the teens about as much as they care about the rest of us. That is what has those of us who are actually concerned more about the welfare of minors and, indeed, all of their fellow residents than their own petty and ultimately doomed ambitions so very worried about the upcoming merger. Of course, you and LL have a lot in common. You are both blinded by your own rather foolish dreams and too busy counting the money that you will never make out of this to ever see the chance of it all going horribly wrong. Your lack of basic human empathy is appalling. I'm surprised that you are still stating an interest in things here, Nany. You were crowing about moving on yourself not that long ago. Did it turn out to be too much for you?

The economic data is almost reassuring, almost. A review of the comments shows that they have cut off the real time economic data and replaced it with the latest quarterly report. That is not reassuring. There was also not a whole lot to this post was there? I would have liked to see more details. Everyone has pretty much made up their minds on how SL and LL is doing by now. Nobody is really changing their minds about it anymore. That is also not reassuring. LL's credibility with a large portion of their customer base seems to be unsalvageable and the credibility of those who raise questions or complaints is discounted by anyone who is not already in agreement with them. No real dialog is taking place. I'm as big a fan of forum sparring as the next fellow but one does start to question if there is any point to it besides recreation. Whatever fate there is for SL is in all liklihood already as set as the personal viewpoints of its residents. Those who are pulling their money out probably won't be putting it back in. Those who are putting in cash really can't or won't put in that much more. The only thing that will change is how they spend the same ammount of cash. The massive influx of new customers hasn't ever really materialized. What will ultimately happen? I don't know for sure. The only thing I feel confident in is that the course is already set and there is no changing our destination now. Enjoy the ride.

I do agree to a limited extent. I am fully aware of the person that you are talking about. People like that who are clearly playing the system are a huge part of this problem. I think while we are all pointing the finger at LL, we should also blame these sleazy non-profiteers for the demise that will befall all of the decent honest legitimite non-profit endeavors here as a result of this new policy. Those vermin have undoubetly played no small part in the "death" of the host. I am certain if any of us really thought about it, we can think of at least one individual or group that is "playing" the non-profit discount. Those people need to be blamed in this as well. As people have said, LL offered the discount, therefore LL needed to make sure that only legitimate non-profits got said discount. And once that became too much trouble, LL withdrew the discount all together. They weren't obligated to offer the discount, and they are under no legal obligation to continue it. And I can't help but smirk at some of LL's biggest bootlickers getting kicked in the nuts by their own beloved masters. Thing is, not all non-profits deserved this. The majority of them were just what they claimed to be, some honest well-intentioned hard-working people who really wanted to make a difference. It sucks for them. They have worked very hard developing their projects, benefiting all of us in some way or another in the process. These groups are the very ones that show(ed) that SL was more than just dance clubs and orgy rooms. They show(ed) the RL what was possible here. LL enjoys (enjoyed) the benefits of their hard work as much or more than anyone else. It's a pretty crappy thing that they are doing to them now. They can do it, but that does not mean that they should. It would have almost the same effect if LL took a good, hard look at all of the non-profit groups and then make a case-by-case ruling on them and toss out all of the scammers. They could weed out more than just the one person Angel and myself are thinking of. Then, they could review the costs of maintaining the discount for who is left and perhaps they could still manage it, or manage some sort of discount in any event. Problem is, they are in a bind as far as manpower goes. They can most likely not afford the man-hours to implement something like that any more than they can afford to keep the discount as-is right now. Also, by simply removing the discount entirely, they can avoid the hassles of justifying who loses the discount and who keeps it. It makes sense. It's a bad move IMHO, but it makes sense.

InWorldz? You mean that place where you can't even stay logged in for 15 minutes without crashing? Good luck! If you thknk for one minuite that there is another virtual world that can stack up to SL, you must just stand around like a cigar store indian when you visit. None, and I mean none of the other places can hold a candle to SL. Why do you think they are cheaper? Because they know the business better or have a better mouse trap? Why do you think cubic zirconia is cheaper than the real thing? Like I said! Good luck! BTW, anyone who recommends that your entity leave SL and go to another world, be sure your name ain't on the paper. Your name will be mud after the first prolonged crash. You are correct, mostly. InWorldz is a bit buggy and I do crash a bit when I go there, but I do go there, and often. It's a nice place. I don't stand around "like a cigar store indian" (your choice of words, not mine) either. Yes, it's buggy. Yes, it's crashy. And yes, loads of people are showing up each day. The "other places" aren't as big or as stable as SL.... yet. For someone who has no tolerance for "beta" such as yourself, SL is still the "only" option. Personally, I find the lack of such folks to be a big plus for InWorldz and the other places. The "other places" are getting better each and every day. As they improve, more and more people are going to them, taking thier money along with them (at least some of it). A lot of folks aren't "leaving" SL and going to the "other places" completely. It isn't an either/or proposition. A lot of folks do like I do. I head to my "favorite" world and then if it is too buggy that day or if I want a change of pace, then I pop over somewhere else. As time goes on, I find myself logging into SL less and less each week. These days, I mainly just drop by to chat and hang out a bit. You are correct, the "other places" aren't as stable or fully formed as SL. But they are getting better and bigger as time passes. Is SL?

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. That's not correct. Sure, they can report less income because of the discount given to non-profits, but that just means that they aren't paying taxes on the money they did not make. This is not as profitable as making the extra money in the first place. I am unaware of any tax credit for letting non-profits play make-believe at a 50% discount.

Nany whatever textures I have up in the market place that are full perm If there are educational, and non profits you may use the full perm textures wherever you wish as long as they are not resold on the other grid. IE for personal builds and displays. Also Nany you had so much faith in LL a few weeks ago, Might I ask where that faith is now? I guess that this is the beginning of that whole new business model she was talking about during the teen threads. I would gloat, but this is a far too troubling and rather confusing development. Aside from some short term savings, what is LL going for here? This will effectively drive the non-profits out and as so many have already said, severely limit the educational opportunities that LL cited as one of their reasons for bringing in the teens. ??? I'm glad I pulled out my monies awhile back. This is not a good indication of LL's health. The only glimmer of a smile that I can get from this is that LL just hauled back and kicked the last of their ardent supporters square in the nuts. I'm not really enjoying the misfortune of others, it's more a rueful smile of sympathy and commiseration. Feel free to drop by my park bench in whatever welcome area I am hanging about in this week and we can drink malt liquor and talk about how wonderful our SL dreams were. Maybe if we are lucky some newbie will appear all eager to "make something" here in SL and we can point and laugh. If you have any real content in SL... for goodness sake, back it up now. Either make sure you have the "originals" on your RL hard-drive or export your stuff to another grid or two immediately. I've seen this pattern before. It's not a good sign.