Linden Lab To Change Fees For Buying Linden Dollars, Price Increases For Some

    

For those whom buy Linden dollars in larger amounts, you will soon be paying more. A few days ago, Linden Lab announced that starting Thursday April 22, it will change the way it charges people for buying it's virtual currency for Second Life. Instead of a flat fee for any amount, they'll be charging a percentage with the old fee as the minimum.

Effective April 22, the current flat buy fee rate of $1.49 will be replaced by a 7.5% buy fee (capped at $9.99) applied to the total amount of Linden Dollars purchased in each transaction. The $1.49 minimum still applies. 

So what does this mean? If you buy Linden dollars in amounts of $20 or less, nothing really changes. But buying more than that, you'll be paying more. For instance, someone buying $30 USD worth of Lindens, assuming an exchange rate of 250 Linden dollars for one US dollar, will be charged 7.5% of $30 extra, or $2.25, and so pay a total of $32.25 instead of $31.49. This is an increase of 76 cents. For $50 USD, the fee is $3.75, and paying $53.75, an increase of $2.26.

Linden Lab would explain it was trying to manage having to deal with expenses, such as "Investing in our infrastructure to further improve speed and cadence of update" and "Developing new marketing initiatives and entertainment partnerships to fuel growth,"and wanted to "manage these costs in a way that minimizes the overall burden on our Residents." While it was going ahead and taking some loss, the Lab stated they needed a way to make up part of the expenses.

The fee for buying Lindens last went up in June 2018, from 99 cents. It was the second increase in less than a year, in Novemeber 2017 going up from 60 cents to 99 cents, and in June 2017 going up from 40 cents to 60 cents. Part of the reasons for these increases were the reductions in sim tier charged to residents.

The fee for selling Linden dollars, which is 3.5%, remains unchanged. 

A thread was created in the Second Life forums about the topic, which as of the writing of this article is sixteen pages long. Checking the first few, a few residents complained, "LL are digging their own grave by raising the fee." But most seemed more open to explanations and reserved in their criticism, "It is all a matter of take it or leave it in the end. If you are not satisfied you take your business elsewhere. That is the normal procedure everywhere."
 
Source: Linden blog

Bixyl Shuftan
   

What It's Like To Acquire A Sim

The Newser has written about hundreds of locations in Second Life. But the process of getting one, this is something we have yet had to write about, until now. MajikVixen recently opened her new sim, Zamargad. In this article, she chronicles the steps she took from the decision to get one, to the steps of the process, to the party to celebrate it's completion.

Read Majik's article in Extra.

Microsoft buys Mojang for 2.5 Billion, Founder "Notch" Persson to Depart

Following reports that the two companies were in talks, yesterday on September 15, Mojang, the makers of the highly popular "Minecraft" game announced that they were indeed being bought up by the Microsoft corporation. The selling price was listed at 2.5 Billion dollars.

In a statement on their website, the spokesman tried to reassure Minecraft fans "Everything is going to be OK." As for why the company was being sold, "Minecraft has grown from a simple game to a project of monumental significance. Though we're massively proud of what Minecraft has become, it was never Notch's intention for it to get this big." They felt only a few companies were big enough to continue to allow the game to grow "on the scale it deserves." As they had worked with Microsoft since 2012, they were "impressed by the continued dedication to our game and it's development. We're confident that Minecraft would continue in an awesome way." Although the three people who founded the company were leaving, most of the team was planning to stay.

On his personal website, "Notch" Persson, the man who made Minecraft, gave his own statement. "I make games because it's fun," he wrote, "... but I don't make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don't try to change the world. Minecraft has certainly became a huge hit, and people are telling me it's changed games." Persson had actually stepped down from developing Minecraft "a relatively long time ago," but stuck around on smaller projects as people were telling him he was "important to the culture."

But he described an incident "a couple of weeks ago when the Internet exploded with hate against me" over a user license agreement issue that he had nothing to do with. Later on, he "started to realize I didn't have the connection to my fans that I thought I had. I've become a symbol. I don't want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don't understand ... I'm not an enterpenuer. I'm not a CEO. I'm a nerdy computer programer who likes to have opinions on Twitter."

Persson stated he would be leaving Mojang as soon as the deal was completed, going back to doing small experiments, "I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can't be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a larger sense, it's belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change. It's not about the money. It's about my sanity."

Mojang's statement can be read in full (here), and Persson's can be read (here).

Bixyl Shuftan

Microsoft in Negotiations to Buy Minecraft

Where do Second Life residents go when not in Second Life? For some, it's the game of Minecraft. Among the most popular games in computer history, it's developed a fanbase of millions spending not only time there building things, but also willing to spend money on real life items such as "Creeper" hats and toys based on the game. But fans aren't the only thing the game has been attracting. Recently the Microsoft corporation has been negotiating a possible buyout of Minecraft's owner Majong, news that has some fans wondering what this could mean for their beloved game.

Read more in Other Grids and MMOs.

SL Video: "QuickTips - Shopping in Second Life"

In the second of the "Quicktips" videos aimed at newer residents, Linden Labs features shopping in Second Life. The introduction on the blog refereed to the first video, suggesting perhaps the newcomer might want a more unique look, and stated one could shop for one.

Our first QuickTips video focused on the simple process of changing your avatar in less than 60 seconds using the free avatars built into the Second Life Viewer. That’s a great skill to have as a newcomer -- but many users want to stand out in style or perhaps just look a bit more unique. Why look like everyone else when there are thousands of fashions and avatar accessories to choose from?

This week’s QuickTips video introduces new users to the fundamentals of how to shop like a pro in Second Life. Watch this clip to learn the basics on discovering places to shop, as well as transaction tips and even unpacking your items.

The video is narrated by the popular Torley Linde, who got a few complements on the youtube page, "Thank you Torley for staying with SL/LL through all these changes. You are a constant that oldtimers can rely on and trust."

Podex’s Jacek Shuftan on Buying Lindens

Second Life Newser recently got in contact with the owner of the Podex Exchange, Jacek Shuftan. He had a few things on his mind. Notably among them were a few bits of advice on how to purchase Lindens safely. “Finances are not the sexiest part of Second Life,” Jacek admitted, though reminded a little knowledge in the area is helpful and convenient.

Jacek’s observation was that most residents on the Grid, “think it is not legal to sell Lindens, which is not true. And they think banks are illegal ... media (stories) make people scared (smile). So let’s start with the bank ban, that the majority of people think that banks are illegal. This is not true. What is illegal is to take deposits and offer (interest). Exchanging Lindens, ie, buying and selling, is legal. Linden Labs allows it. The catch is, it can be risky. But there are ways to minimize the risk.”

“We can describe buying Lindens and the risk with it as a pyramid,” Jacek commented, one with levels of safety, “At the top us Linden Lab, there is no risk buying from them. The next level are third-party exchanges. They are usually registered real-life companies with real-life addresses and telephone numbers, operating on the market. There is a tiny risk as they are not Linden Lab and not as large as they. However, most do not have prices as competitive as Linden Lab, as it depends on the currency rate. Their advantage is they have a larger limit on transactions, if they have limits at all, and a wider range of payment methods. Not just credit cards or Paypal, but they also take traditional money orders, in both buying and selling Lindens.”

The next and bottom level, Jacek explained, are individual avatars not connected to any company, “Let me repeat once again, it is LEGAL to buy and sell Lindens from and to normal avatars. Usually they have good prices, as they are often (content ) creators who sell their Lindens. But it is also the most risky way. If you buy fraudulent Lindens, are are at the biggest risk as they will be taken back from your account, and you can be given a fine 150 percent the amount, not to mention the possibility of a ban from Second Life, as you can be suspected of cooperation in fraud.” With third-party transactions, Jacek stated, there was no risk of fraud.

It was possible to lessen the risk from buying Lindens from individual avatars, “the best idea is to use your logic. If an avatar is one day old, and is offering to sell a hundred thousand Lindens, there’s a 99 percent chance it was stolen. So my humble advice, check how old is the avatar. It is also a good idea to ask how he earned the Linden dollars. He sells, so he should tell it. Check to see if he really has a shop or company/ If an avatar owns an island, he probably does not want to cheat you for twenty Euros.”

“To limit the risk, you can always send him half of the money, then he will send you some of the Lindens, etc. And never buy a big sum as your first transaction with an individual. Try with a thousand Lindens or less. If all is okay, buy more in a few days. Avatars dealing in fraud are usually banned in a few days. Do NOT trust avatars who sell Lindens at extremely low process, like half of Linden Lab’s rate. Why wouldn’t they sell it on the Linden Exchange? You can ask them yourself. Ask the seller to put the Lindens on eBay or any other auction portal which needs registering data. It can always be a fake account, but it needs some effort, so then you can verify him.”

“Ask your friends for recommendations. If someone bought Lindens and wasn’t cheated, you probably won’t be cheated as well. If you pay the seller by post office money transfer, ask him for full details with the address, pretending your bank needs it. You can also ask about telephone numbers, to talk with him personally. Anything that verifies the seller is good for you. If he hides something, that should make you worry. Legal sellers have nothing to hide. Check to see if the seller has a verified account in his profile, and CC connected. Thieves usually do not do it.”

A question that I had for Jacek was with non-US currencies, how does he figure out the exchange rate? “(I) calculate it manually or with script,” he answered, “but US dollars is always a base for calculation. And because of the difference between currency rates, Lindens can be even cheaper from third party transactions than with Linden Labs when you buy in your local currency, as Linden Labs charges in US dollars.”

Jacek Shuftan’s Podex Exchange is in the Moonberry sim at (26, 223, 34), and exchanges Lindens for several world currencies.

Bixyl Shuftan