Asadora Summers

He wasn't in the Lab Gab video; however, he was spotted at the Fantasy Faire auctioning off homesteads, memberships and some other things with two other Lindens. Someone tweeted it and posted the snap on their Flickr. Out of personal principle I won't be attending the FF this year.

When the 'internal' problems are fixed at LL, then problems that were created from within LL will hopefully cease. If not then all those good gestured spin words are pointless. Whatever bad happens within LL and leaks into the userbase it causes a lot of other problems.

In my post I was meaning LL; however, yup what you say is true too.

Yup. That particular blog post from LL did not age well at all. When SL21B comes around, that is when we will all know what was sorted out or not behind the scenes at LL. I wouldn't be surprised of a boycott of SL21B. I'm not suggesting one. I'm simply stating my opinion according to previous experiences within the SL userbase as a whole that are quick to become passionate about certain moral standards. I've been in SL for 18 years and seen changes and trends throughout those years. As a whole, the SL community userbase is perfectly fine at policing itself. As land owners, club owners, sim admins, what have you, there are features that enable us to enforce rules that are set by LL and by those that own land. However, if rules that are set aren't enforced by those that created those rules then there is no reasonable action that can be taken in order for anything going forward to add or change certain policies at the foundation of where all rules are created. In any standard business practice there is a level of transparency that people expect. In my opinion, this is an instance where transparency is missing.

In remembrance of Ivey Deschanel. (Creator of Sn@tch) Sn@tch was one of my favourite stores in SL. Was introduced to it when I was a noob and became a loyal customer throughout my SL rezz years. Ivey Deschanel was the founder and creator of all things Sn@tch. She also organised the annual Pulse Games on the Pulse sim which was next to the Sn@tch sim. Her SL and RL partner Rob Hograth passed away in December of '22. Ivey's clothes were unique yet practical for the alternative goth personality. Her sales were the best on the grid, as everything came with different colours. She kept her designs updated throughout the years, from system, to sculpty, to mesh and back to system (bom) again. Her skill of texturing was absolutely THE BEST and still, in my opinion no one has been able to match her texturing technique. I spoke with her often in IM from group chat. She was funny, intelligent and certainly creative. A kind wild spirit that thrived on being kind but knowing when to put boundaries in place. I'm fortunate I was able to know her in SL, some may say it isn't the same as knowing her in the physical world; however, the human spirit can transcend realms and Ivey's certainly did.

Personally, I think adding any 'goal setting achievement' is a bad idea or 'gamification' tactics would not be an ideal way to go trying to get more people interested in each other. SL already has a reputation for being a 'game' over being a virtual world, which it is just that: A virtual world. And just like in the physical world, there are ups and downs in society, economy and infrastructure. In SL there is a lack of community, like how the old days. When those of us who are older to remember were all figuring out SL together that is what made the community back them. But, as with everything in life, a different generation rezzed in and things are certainly not like how they used to be. That's just how life goes. Today is my 17th Rez Day, I've seen things come and go in SL. When it comes to people, I've observed that people as a whole, will do what it will do regardless of what is being on offer or not. People do like to have choices, but if they choose not to choose something they shouldn't be made to feel ostracized from that same society. Regarding sociability itself that is made up by the individual. We are all in SL for a slew of different reasons. Some to escape from the physical world, to create, to network, to make money, etc,. I don't that a corporation like Linden Lab should have control over how residents interact or not with each other. The users create the content which includes that sociability factor, so it's up to every one of us realistically in this virtual world. I'd like to see certain areas of Mainland landscaping updated; however, I know that is on the bottom of LL's list of things to do. Though it doesn't stop me from enjoying Mainland. I would love to be able to go to Help Island and share my positive experiences with new users, but I literally am not allowed too due to my rez age. Now, I can understand why that is the way it is, because it would turn out to be a danger... I mean safe hub type of thing. I think it would be cool to have a 'Meet a Linden' day in a Townhall set up and expose more people to Lindens, which might help them to see that they are people too.

The first month of tier is already included in the set up fee. So actually, you are only saving $120USD on a full region and $40USD on a Homestead. https://community.secondlife.com/knowledgebase/english/private-regions-r59/#Section_3 I'll show a picture of what I mean:

Regarding the US Government, yes if taxes are not paid then fines and or prison can happen. But I just want to remind you that in LL's original release of this announcement is embedded below. Notice the wording of: '...we have done our best to shield our residents from these taxes as long as possible, but we are no longer able to absorb them.' It's understandable to question as to why to the above. And also it's understanding as to why the recent reactions to the LL + Caspertech announcement have been so loud on this forum. It is absurd to have said 'LL cannot just thumb their noses at the US gov.' - clearly they did not.

As far as I am aware, it does not affect the non business person/consumer

The one thing you hope they don't do, is part of the whole 'waiting for the other shoe to drop' aspect. I hope for the very same that they don't do it either. With the Premium Plus cost recently introduced for 249USD a year, to me that was a shocker. I was expecting more included for that price. As that was only a recent thing and now this, I'm just a bit 'cautious' about whatever else is to come. You know.... 'later in the year'

Regarding CasperVend, absolutely I agree it's popular that isn't in question. I just know from being in SL for 16 years there is always another shoe waiting to be dropped later in in any given year. I'd be foolish if I didn't brace for that shoe.

'....later in the year' comment I fear is coming at some point... maybe in the next ten years - who knows! But yes, eventually we'll be paying for it - we pay for everything.

Don't forget, we may not see the bad end of this this year; however, maybe later next year... we'll be hit with having to pay for this in some way or another.

Just some thoughts after reading the posts... In Second Life, there are choices. One can choose to have a inventory of 190k or not choose to have that much. 'SL baggage' is not on the user side, it's more on the LL side, for example things on Mainland such as Linden trees not being updated in 20 years, which falls under the LDPW. Instead of concentrating on the newer popular continents, how about going back to the older continents and updating them to where people would use those continents to their fullest potential. I do not think there is anything wrong in LL using the content of established creators for Linden Events or the like. I actually think it's a good thing because it shows that LL is making the attempt after all these years to keep in touch with those that make SL what it is and what SL is and what we all make it to be. 1. 20 years is a long time to remain a constant for a mass amount of users 2. The users who frequent SL are loyal and have put in time and money, but also creative and established relationships that spill into the physical world. 3. No other virtual world platform can offer the plethora of communities that are formed in SL 4. There is freedom in SL. A freedom that is personalised to each person dependent on what mood they are in for that day. Don't want to socialise for a day? Sure, no problem. No one is going to give you a negative rating for that. 5. In SL there is no actual pressure to conform, if one doesn't want too. If one wants to conform, they can do that too. 6. I agree with a previous poster that SL is not a social media platform. It is a virtual world. A virtual world can't be compared to something which doesn't hold the same amount of personal and emotional investment like how a tik-tok post that isn't more than 30 seconds long fails to offer. 7. Back in the day, we used to have a rating system on our profiles, but LL got rid of that because of not wanting to create a competitive environment. Personally, I'm glad they got rid of the rating system. 8. Back when LL formed SL, the intent was to create a user based content created world with the ability to share it with others. This is what has made SL a very special place for so many of us. At the end of the day, those of us that pay to have premium or premium plus or those of us that have a basic account, it is all of us that makes SL what it is. Those that are newer to SL might not know the history of SL, so they do not know that not everything is given to them from the higher ups. Just like the physical world, SL is not a place for expectations, because if you expect to have things provided for you already, or to make your choices easier, one is setting themselves up for failure. I do not mean to sound harsh, so if I come across that way I do apologize. It was not intended. All in all, whatever changes may come it's the user base that will be paying for it in one way or another. Which will lead to eventually LL having it's own demise handed to them on a prim platter. If it's not broke, then don't fix it. Sure, there are things in-world that need to be fixed, but someone always manages to find a way around it. That is the glorious beauty of Second Life, it's full of resources that can be used by people, and people using their own skill-sets in order to fix something for the people, (Kudos to the Furry community!) or to show how to get around a problem. After 20 years, this is the result of Linden Lab's declaration in the beginning 'Second Life is a social experiment.' We took that experiment over. We pay for that experiment. We are fine the way we are. And thanks for all the prims.

I too have an advanced feature request: For the unpacker to ask me what kind of male I would like and provide several choices in a preview version allowing me the ability to pick and choose.

I have a grandfathered account, so my stipend is 500L. So 150L more a week is no where near worth upgrading to PP for me.

Two years ago when there was first mention of a premium premium membership, 'details to come later in the year' was tacked on to it. I guess that according to LL timeline two years is later in whatever year that is current. Also, ever notice that increases usually happen around the SLBs.... I'm wondering what will be increased or 'on offer' next year... I'm starting not to look forward to SLBs much.

I don't think some people are realising this, so you are right to point this out. I live in a state where the sales tax for the whole state is 7%. BUT, my city county tax is 2.5%. In the next city close to me, their sales tax is 2.0%, but they still pay the same state tax of 7% as do I. State tax + city county tax = the sales tax you pay on taxable things

You're right - VAT is def higher than any combined state + local (city/county) tax. I'm in Tennessee: State tax is 7% my city tax is 2.5% making the total sales tax for me 9.75% - far lower than the current VAT which is what, 20%? I'm not complaining, knew this day would come but just not anytime /this/ year lol

Wrong. I live in TN and the tax for my state is 9.75% https://www.calculator.net/sales-tax-calculator.html But only 5.5% for food... so that's something... lol

This might be helpful https://www.calculator.net/sales-tax-calculator.html I used it for my state which is 9.75% sales tax

These are great! I'm glad that the original intention of SL which was back in the day touted as a 'social experiment' still being thought of as a way to connect, learn, and create for the most part!

@Tama Suki Well just make sure you don't store your awareness close to a safe hub

Hey there ya'll, My 16th rez day will be coming up next month and to celebrate it, I made a video compilation to detail as to what SL has meant to me over the years. I normally don't edit my videos, but after two days of making a 6 min video, those who do edit theirs regularly I bow to your greatness. Seriously! There are a lot of us oldies around and I'm curious, in all your years what has SL meant for you? (Let's be positive about this or try! lol) P.S - don't worry, I'm not speaking in the video so it's safe. 😆 My 16th Rez Day video special

Just like in the physical world, on Mainland there will always be people that will have something on their property that will upset the neighbours or go against a theme of a neighbourhood or block. In the physical world, one can't just derender whatever is causing them to be upset. In the physical world, one can not return whatever is encroaching on their parcel if it even just barely goes over the boundary line. However, it can be done in SL! Some people enjoy the variety that Mainland offers and others don't. Some people can afford to have their own private region and others can't. Just like in the physical world, people will live where their tastes and/or finances affords them. Unlike the physical world, in SL, you can change your environment with just a click. You can mute/ignore an offending person without having to go to court for an injunction order, hard to do in the physical world. Whether in the physical world or in SL one can't be 100% sure when one neighbour will move out and a new one moves in. And understandably that can cause some anxiety. If one is anxious about the above, then personally I wouldn't suggest Mainland living. If one is the anxious type and can't afford to live off Mainland, then just be sure to have your draw distance turned down when you log in. Just as in the physical world, we all have to either adapt or make sacrifices about where we live. We each make SL how we want it to be.