East River Community looking for tier donors

[Indigo Mertel]

Hello folks,

the ERC group is going through a tier crisis and we are looking for donors. Can you please help spread the word?

I have been contributing to the East River Community with large swaths of land at a considerable monthly cost for years. Many things have changed in my RL these past months and I am now in the sad position to inform you that I am no longer able to contribute to the community. I have procrastinated this decision for a long time because I was very uncomfortable with the idea of dilapidating all the hard work we all put into building our beautiful community. But, eventually, I had to come to a decision.

We all want the East River Community to survive, so rather than just pulling the plug, I'll hold off for a limited time in order to find donors willing to donate tier to the group.

To anyone willing to donate tier to the East River Community, please contact Indigo Mertel.

Thank you.

Indigo Mertel
East River Community - founder

[Alwin Alcott]

---

Indigo Mertel wrote:

 

We all want the East River Community to survive,

---

how about the members take it over?... and you have house and store rentals...

If the members, stores and houses can't cover the tier ,something got a bit out of control .. who goes donate to a money pit?

[Indigo Mertel]

You got that wrong, Alwin. It's a community, not a business.

[Alwin Alcott]

please explain me what i see wrong?...

 

if the members and rentals can't keep the community land alive .... what is it than?

Doesnt mean you can't like that, but community is something you do together... also costs.

[Indigo Mertel]

Alwyn, there have been a number of communities in Second Life where focus is not on business but on community buiding, of which the East River Community is a long standing one. In the case of the ERC the logic behind the community is to build a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing environment. In order to cover the full cost of such a vast community (ERC spans over about 8 regions) we would have to build and rent a massive number of rental units, and that would defeat the purpose of the community. While we do have rental units, the most of the costs are covered by land owners who have federated as a community. You may find that strange, but there are people willing to do so. So, again, our community is not business-oriented.

[Klytyna]

---

Indigo Mertel wrote:

Alwyn, there have been a number of communities in Second Life where focus is not on business but on community buiding, of which the East River Community is a long standing one. In the case of the ERC the logic behind the community is to build a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing environment. In order to cover the full cost of such a vast community (ERC spans over about 8 regions) we would have to build and rent a massive number of rental units, and that would defeat the purpose of the community. While we do have rental units, the most of the costs are covered by land owners who have federated as a community. You may find that strange, but there are people willing to do so. So, again, our community is not business-oriented.

---

I don't find it strange at all...

 

I do enjoy the inherant hypocrisy based humor of asking people who are not part of your elite community, to fund your elite lifestyle, especially when many of those reading this will be people your 'federation' would almost certainly eject and ban on sight for daring to set foot there, "not our sort of people at all..." and all that.

 

Perhaps you could poll your Federation Members and ask what their response would have been if say, I, had walked into the town square and asked for a couple of hundred linden because I couldn't pay my rent this week.

 

Their responses are quite predictable, i'm sure. Maybe it's time to build a few peasant cottages for rental, somewhere out of the way where the nice people wont have to look at the peasants saving their paradise.

[ChinRey]

---

Klytyna wrote:

I do enjoy the inherant hypocrisy based humor of asking people who are not part of your elite community, to fund your elite lifestyle, especially when many of those reading this will be people your 'federation' would almost certainly eject and ban on sight for daring to set foot there, "not our sort of people at all..." and all that.

---

I went and had a look. Nobody or nothing tried to ban or evict me.

Lovely open community scene. Great classic prim builds. A place that really deserves to be preserved.

But!

There are so many such places that deserve to be preserved. If everybody who cared for Second Life as more than a backdrop for their barbie doll avis donated a hundred dollars a month, there still wouldn't be enough to cover the tier for them all.

There has to be another way and since this thread is in the Mainland forum, it's the right palce to discuss it.

[Klytyna]

---

ChinRey wrote:

I went and had a look. Nobody or nothing tried to ban or evict me.

Lovely open community scene. Great classic prim builds. A place that really deserves to be preserved.

But!

There are so many such places that deserve to be preserved. If everybody who cared for Second Life as more than a backdrop for their barbie doll avis donated a hundred dollars a month, there still wouldn't be enough to cover the tier for them all.

There has to be another way and since this thread is in the Mainland forum, it's the right palce to discuss it.

---

I don't disagree at all, but, this does remind me of the old cattle ranchers back in the 80's, who wanted the government to use taxes from urbanites to subsidise ranchers, so they could continue to sit on their huge ranch house porch shouting at the 2 doezen guys living in the bunkhouse to mount up and punch the motley collection  of half starved cows on their quarter million acres of arid scrubland, because "ranching" was a classic lifestyle that deserved to be preserved.

 

Realistically, this community have a choice, trim sails or commercialise, build rentals on some of the empty open land or sell it off, and with Mad Mainland land markets being the way they are, they might have left it too late.

 

Maybe there should be a 10% Mainland Property Transaction Tax, to salvage some of the money people waste trying to play land baron buying and failing to sell empty lots in the property bubble, and finance salvaging the more scenic parts of the Mainland that actually deserve to be kept.

 

But I guarantee you'll find more wannabe land tycoons opposing that than SL lovers hailing it.

[Xtacky Haystack]

---

Indigo Mertel wrote:

Hello folks,

 

the ERC group is going through a tier crisis and we are looking for donors. Can you please help spread the word?

 

I have been contributing to the East River Community with large swaths of land at a considerable monthly cost for years. Many things have changed in my RL these past months and I am now in the sad position to inform you that I am no longer able to contribute to the community. I have procrastinated this decision for a long time because I was very uncomfortable with the idea of dilapidating all the hard work we all put into building our beautiful community. But, eventually, I had to come to a decision.

We all want the East River Community to survive, so rather than just pulling the plug, I'll hold off for a limited time in order to find donors willing to donate tier to the group.

To anyone willing to donate tier to the East River Community, please contact Indigo Mertel.

Thank you.

Indigo Mertel

East River Community - founder

---

Well they say if you don't ask, you don't get, and good luck with that.

In my own experience though, there often comes a time when losses have to be cut and life taken in another direction.

If subtley-placed donation boxes, and/or rentals, and gentle little asks in group notices, haven't brought in enough revenue, or even some ideas of how to raise some revenue without appearing to be begging (ie wedding venue, some pop-up exhibitions - forgive me if you already do all this, I am totally unfamiliar with East River and its community), then you may just have to call it a day.

I still miss Apollo sim after all these years, and a relatively recent replica sim just did not have the same atmosphere.

Be grateful for what you have had if you do have to close the doors and push the key through the letterbox.

 

[SAULGOODiE]

First of all, I absolutely ADORE ERC and the whole sim complex of the township. I love taking friends there and simply wandering along the canal, seeing where the train takes us, or just finding a nice park to relax in  

Several times I have though about renting for either business or residence there, but for some reason I have never pulled the trigger! I cannot donate any tier but this has me considering opening up a shop just to show a little support to the place I love so much. 

Unfortunately, ERC as I see it falls in a very tough spot in the SL scene. Its a gorgeously designed sim in terms of Modern Town design, but in my experience most folks who want to live in a commnity such as this are also interested in RolePlay built into the community. In addition to that, it is a mainland community (something that I also LOVE), but can be a big turnoff for some players who want the security and control of a private sim. 

As a resident who does not have loads of Tier to hand over to ease the burden, what is something us common folks can do to help preserve this piece of SL? Can any fundraising or awareness events be hosted? Any other way to bring attention to the sim and the issues at hand that might broaden the audience beyond the forum? I am totally open to helping out any way I can even though I am not a part of the community per-say, I do see great importance to keep this place around and alive. 

[ChinRey]

Three very good points in Saul's post:

Tier donation - people may not have funds to spare to continuously support a place like this but many have a little bit of spare tier they don't have any use for anyway. a few square meters here and a few square meteres, there - it may end up as a full sim or more of tier. The Arbor Project used to use that model to preserve quite a lot of land and I think NCI relies heavily on that solution today.

Fund raising events - very interesting idea to help a place through an emergency although probably not reliable enough as a permanent solution.

Awareness - I think that is the key and it's what I myself had in mind when I said there had to be another way. But how? It'll have to be a massive increase in the awareness. That takes a lot of time and effort and LL is not likely to be of much help. It'll take time to build too and if I understand Indigo right, time's in short supply for ERC right now.

(Edit: rereading the original post, I realize I - and possibly others too - misunderstood a bit. Indigo wasn't asking for Linden dolalrs but tier)

[Indigo Mertel]

>> I do enjoy the inherant hypocrisy based humor of asking people who are not part of your elite community, to fund your elite lifestyle, especially when many of those reading this will be people your 'federation' would almost certainly eject and ban on sight for daring to set foot there, "not our sort of people at all..." and all that. <<

Geezz... are you serious? You are making a lot of speculations there, considering that you have no idea what our community is. FYI, people who donate tier are part of our Steering Committee and have a right to vote  on any decision concerning the community. Now, if you would excuse me, I have no time for such nonsense.

[Indigo Mertel]

>> In my own experience though, there often comes a time when losses have to be cut and life taken in another direction. <<

That is being considered, of course. Our purpose is to save what can be saved. If we won't have enough donors to save part of the community by the deadline I'll have to pull the plug.

[Indigo Mertel]

Thank you for your kind words.

Unfortunately a fund raising event would not be enough to preserve the community in the long run. We need donors willing to contribute to the community. Tier donors can be members of our Steering Committee, so they would be involved in running the community.

[Indigo Mertel]

Indeed, it's tier donors we are asking for, not money. And, unfortunately, you are right about time. Some have a hard time to understand this, but there are people willing to contribute to a community for the sole purpose of creating a nice environment. Our community is on Mainland on purpose, our challenge is to prove that a nice and cohesive environment can be built on Mainland and we proved that for the past 9 years. Through all these years I have personally bought hundreds of parcels and removed junk in our area. What used to be a dump today is a nice community appreciated by many.

[ChinRey]

---

Indigo Mertel wrote:

Indeed, it's tier donors we are asking for, not money. And, unfortunately, you are right about time. Some have a hard time to understand this, but there are people willing to contribute to a community for the sole purpose of creating a nice environment. Our community is on Mainland on purpose, our challenge is to prove that a nice and cohesive environment can be built on Mainland and we proved that for the past 9 years. Through all these years I have personally bought hundreds of parcels and removed junk in our area. What used to be a dump today is a nice community appreciated by many.

---

You've done a wonderful job and I can understand your frustration since it's pretty much the same as I've been trying to do at Coniston, only on a different theme. I'm luckier than you though, I have some income from my stores that cover much of the tier and I didn't have to expand that much since I'm mostly surrounded by neighbours who agree on harmonizing their builds with each other. My total net SL cost these days is less than 50 dollars a month and I can live with that for a while. But I hate to think back to the time when things were harder. I've actually spent more than 10,000 dolalrs on Second Life in less than four years and that's money I'll never ever see again. Oh well, that's water under the bridge.

Ironically I think much of the problem is that Linden Lab has become more honest. Second Life used to have this fake image of being an idealistic (in some vague definition of the word) project and it was also something new and exciting. LL still has a tendency to expect people to pay for the privilege of doing their job but they don't really bother pretending anymore and of course, the newsworth is long gone.

[Seductive Dreamscape]

Hi Indigo. As the founding member of Commune Utopia community over 6 years ago, i also had the same dilemma when reality got too much and I had to radically rethink how the community would be run and evaluate if all the land was needed etc. After debating with many others, a wonderful soul came to the rescue and donated a whole sim, a larger village of rentals was created, regular music events and art galas happen , and the community understands that unfortunately nothing is free in sl, everyone has to chip in if these artistic and free thinking communities are to survive. That's what you need to press on your existing community... Tier is needed and although it would be amazing if someone steps out of the blue to rescue it, please look at all other options within your own community.

[Aethelwine]

I think perhaps the point being missed is that the East River Community is more than just the people on the Sims, it is an asset for everyone. I will look at what tier I have myself free and even consider going up a tier level to help. I will also have a word with contacts in sailing groups. I really hope something can be done, it is a very special place.

[Indigo Mertel]

Well put,  Aethelwine. Indeed, the ERC is a successful experiment to create a pleasant environment on Mainland open to everyone who wants to contribute, or just enjoy the place.

If you feel like contributing please do ASAP. The deadline is the end of this month. If we don't get enough donations to at least reduce my tier by one region by the end of the month I'll be forced to pull the plug. Time is running short.

[JamesKisson]

Sadly in dire need of a major makeover.

[Volchia Ferduccio]

Hey there everyone,

I have read every comment on this thread. Truly there are some great ideas here.

Here is what we have done. I personally went up in tier and took over the Free Town of Helvellyn. Another has taken over most of Kirkstone. So we have a lot of the ERC preserved. However, we are not out of the woods yet. So I am here to revive this thread and once again ask for donors. However, things are different this time around. I am asking for people to buy the land and become true ERC patrons. Indigo was asking you to donate tier to a group that you would have a SAY in running. Ultimately it was her group that she had all the say in. I do not like the idea of that. I want to be in command of the lands that my tier is supporting. So, I want to be partners with some of you. I want you to come out and take some of these areas and help expand the ERC. Together we can make the ERC something even better than it was ever intended to be. I want to come together as a group of Second Life land owners with a common goal of building something truly amazing that we can all be proud of.

For many years I have been a part of the ERC. My boat building business (Feral Marine) has been based in the ERC and I have maintained a large marina, airport, and various other lands. I love this area and there is no where I would rather be. However, I do see a need to update as JamesKisson said. I have started in on that. As soon as I bought the land in Helvellyn I began returning Indigo's builds and replacing them with a little more modern mesh builds in the same theme and feel. If you ask most people what is important to them about the ERC it is the look and feel of this historic area. It is important to me too. The ERC was founded as a federation of land owners, but always had the issue that Indigo Mertel was the majority land owner. This needs to change, the ERC needs to become a federation like it was meant to be.

This is what we are offering now. We have a lot of land still available.

- ERMA (East River Municipal Airport) a small airport located in Brooks sim

- Muirhead Village - Located in Muirhead sim this area has quite a few rental homes and a large garden area

- Helvellyn Village - Located across the East River from Helvellyn town this area has rental homes and a vast garden.

- Hardknott area - This is mostly undeveloped land with a wind farm, vast forest area, and a home.

- Whinlatter Fortress - An old fortress right on a head water, amazing place for rental homes or any number of installations!

Among other areas.

I am looking for "investors" that are willing to come in and buy these lands and become part of the ERC. The people I am looking for will want to build something in theme and help preserve this area. For instance, someone coming in and buying up the rental homes in helvellyn and erecting a super modern home on the water front it NOT something we are interested in. However, for the right people I am willing to sell them the lands they would like for $L0, FREE (of course LL tier still applies)

So, please get in touch with me and I'll be happy to speak to you about taking over part of this historic and important area!

 

Sincerely,

Volchia Ferduccio

[daltonprock]

On 4/2/2017 at 0:19 PM, Volchia Ferduccio said:

Hey there everyone,

I have read every comment on this thread. Truly there are some great ideas here.

Here is what we have done. I personally went up in tier and took over the Free Town of Helvellyn. Another has taken over most of Kirkstone. So we have a lot of the ERC preserved. However, we are not out of the woods yet. So I am here to revive this thread and once again ask for donors. However, things are different this time around. I am asking for people to buy the land and become true ERC patrons. Indigo was asking you to donate tier to a group that you would have a SAY in running. Ultimately it was her group that she had all the say in. I do not like the idea of that. I want to be in command of the lands that my tier is supporting. So, I want to be partners with some of you. I want you to come out and take some of these areas and help expand the ERC. Together we can make the ERC something even better than it was ever intended to be. I want to come together as a group of Second Life land owners with a common goal of building something truly amazing that we can all be proud of.

For many years I have been a part of the ERC. My boat building business (Feral Marine) has been based in the ERC and I have maintained a large marina, airport, and various other lands. I love this area and there is no where I would rather be. However, I do see a need to update as JamesKisson said. I have started in on that. As soon as I bought the land in Helvellyn I began returning Indigo's builds and replacing them with a little more modern mesh builds in the same theme and feel. If you ask most people what is important to them about the ERC it is the look and feel of this historic area. It is important to me too. The ERC was founded as a federation of land owners, but always had the issue that Indigo Mertel was the majority land owner. This needs to change, the ERC needs to become a federation like it was meant to be.

This is what we are offering now. We have a lot of land still available.

- ERMA (East River Municipal Airport) a small airport located in Brooks sim

- Muirhead Village - Located in Muirhead sim this area has quite a few rental homes and a large garden area

- Helvellyn Village - Located across the East River from Helvellyn town this area has rental homes and a vast garden.

- Hardknott area - This is mostly undeveloped land with a wind farm, vast forest area, and a home.

- Whinlatter Fortress - An old fortress right on a head water, amazing place for rental homes or any number of installations!

Among other areas.

I am looking for "investors" that are willing to come in and buy these lands and become part of the ERC. The people I am looking for will want to build something in theme and help preserve this area. For instance, someone coming in and buying up the rental homes in helvellyn and erecting a super modern home on the water front it NOT something we are interested in. However, for the right people I am willing to sell them the lands they would like for $L0, FREE (of course LL tier still applies)

So, please get in touch with me and I'll be happy to speak to you about taking over part of this historic and important area!

 

Sincerely,

Volchia Ferduccio

Hello there,

Just to update this thread, the following locations have been bought and are safe now.

- ERMA (East River Municipal Airport) a small airport located in Brooks sim

- Muirhead Village - Located in Muirhead sim this area has quite a few rental homes and a large garden area

- Helvellyn Village - Located across the East River from Helvellyn town this area has rental homes and a vast garden.

- Hardknott area - This is mostly undeveloped land with a wind farm, vast forest area, and a home.

- Whinlatter Fortress - An old fortress right on a head water, amazing place for rental homes or any number of installations!

 

If anyone is interested in purchasing ERMA at East River, be sure to contact Volchia Ferduccio

Hope to hear from you folks soon, cheers!

 

 

[daltonprock]

East River is now officially safe, we have found enough land tier donors. We appreciate all the help we gathered during this situation. 

Hope to see you all around soon, thanks again folks!

[karynmaria]

I'm really glad this worked out for you guys.

[daltonprock]

6 hours ago, karynmaria said:

I'm really glad this worked out for you guys.

Thank you Karynmaria, it is now time to get to work on updating the community itself.