It had been promised some time ago, but on the 18th June it finally arrived – if quietly so. Linden Lab now have a web form for submitting IP complaints.
However, one sticking point that has been around for a long time has been the requirement for users to notify the Lab via snail mail or … fax.
A page of the Lab’s IP Infringement Complaint web form, which went live on June 18th, 2019
The option to file via web form was promised as far back as December 2017 (see: SL Project Updates 49/2: Web User Group), with the hope it would be implemented in early 2018. Needless to say, it has, for assorted reasons, taken a little longer to arrive. However, it will hopefully be greeted positively by those who have been requesting it.
The form can either be accessed from the Intellectual Property Infringement Notification Policy – the link sits within section 1.1 form the policy, immediately above the Lab’s mailing address and fax details. It can also be accessed directly – however, it is always recommended people read the policy in full before submitting a DMCA claim to Linden Lab. The form will replace fax submissions, but I understand filing complaints by regular mail will remain available to those who prefer.
The development of additional Bellisseria regions with houseboats and Traditional houses that people have been able to witness during May / June 2019 is part of a new approach the Lab is taking to releasing these Linden Homes, which comes into effect from Monday, June 24th
Update: Patch has now issued a forum post on the new Linden Homes release process.
Since their launch in April 2019, the Linden Homes, available to Premium subscribers, have proven exceptionally popular. The first release of the houses – offered in two types: land-based “Traditional” homes and houseboats, each available in for styles – were snapped up in the first couple of days following their release, with the houseboats going within hours. Similarly, a special release of regions with houseboats was completely allocated in just 27 minutes.
For the last several weeks, the Linden Department of Public Works – LPDW – and the Lab’s Land Team have been work on a further development across a number of regions in Bellisseria, implementing new infrastructure as well as more Traditional homes and houseboats, all under the watchful eyes of curious residents. As Patch Linden, Senior Director of Operations Patch revealed on Monday, June 24th during his Meet the Lindens event, this open development of Bellisseria is part of a deliberate change in strategy.
Ahead of that event, I had the opportunity to hear from Patch on what would be happening:
We are going to try and change our release strategy for a little while to see if a particular process works better for everyone involved, including many of you who have been very patiently waiting for one of the new Linden Homes. Many of you have already been witness to the new process unfolding in front of you whether you knew it or not.
Those regions that have been called out in various places such as. New Hamsterdam down to SSPE120 (soon to be officially named). We did this for multiple reasons, mostly in an effort to show all of you the process we go through in real-time to make these beautiful new regions come to life, and give a glimpse into the time-line involved.
Another of the new Traditional houses being prepared
In particular, and starting with this development, the Lab will be increasing the cadence of Linden Home releases, as Patch went on to explain:
Starting Monday, June 24th we’re going to try to release a region’s worth of new Linden Homes on a regular cadence. We’re aiming to try for a region per every other day, so Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but as we cannot control all the factors involved in the lengthy process, such as QA requirements, we may have some gaps which could last anywhere between a day to several days and especially on the weekends.
This means that development of Bellisseria is going to be on more of a rolling basis as individual region are readied, rather than large-scale releases with extended period between them. Nor will the roll-out be restricted to the current Traditional houses and houseboats; other types of Linden Homes will be made available, including the upcoming trailer-style homes, which will initially come in a larger release (I’ll have more on these in a follow-on post to this one).
And just as a reminder – the place to obtain one of the new homes as they are made available is via the Linden Homes registration page, not by queuing up inside Bellisseria (as has been done). Just check the page and look for Bellisseria in the drop-down list (arrowed below left), and the available house option(s) – Traditional house and / or Houseboat – and click on the image.
The new Linden Homes are available through the existing Linden Homes registration page – just make sure Bellisseria is selected in the Theme drop-down (arrowed) and select your choice of house or houseboat – not that only one or the other may be available at any given time, and that further type of home will be added to this page as they are released.
Nor is this all in terms of development. Again, as many have already seen, there is a new island development within the arms of Bellisseria. Marked by the continent’s second airstrip, this 2-region island is to be the Bellisseria Fairgrounds, with Patch explaining:
Our vision for this space is to grant communal access to an area that is clear and ready for set-up of an event. We have supplied the outlying basic infrastructure which includes water taxi access to the main continent, an airstrip and landing pad. We will have a scheduling calendar and process in place where the space can be reserved in advance. The first events already in line for use of this space will be around the 4th of July holiday coming up. More information to come about how the reservation process will work in the near future.
Currently in the centre of the new Bellisseria Fairgrounds island is a huge “Torley-fied” statue of Magellan Linden, the colours (and the flag he holds) presented in support of Pride Month.
Note that the Fairgrounds aren’t an amusement park (or similar) but are designed to be used for a wide range of events.
It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the new cadence of releases – and the order in which they are made; given the idea is to release on a region at a time, and given regions tend to be split between land houses and houseboats, will the releases alternate between the two, or will it be more a more orderly release, proceeding region-by region along and down through the developed regions before moving on to the next set that are developed? I suspect the former, a this would give more of a mix to things – but the next week or so will show!
On May 29th, 2019, Linden Lab issued a blog post outlining a number of changes to fees charged in connection with Second Life (see Land Price Reductions, New Premium Perks and Pricing Changes). In particular, for the purposes of this article, the Lab’s post indicated the Premium subscriptions would be increasing after June 24hth 2019 as follows:
Monthly subscriptions will be increasing from US $9.50 per month to US $11.99.
Annual subscriptions will be increasing from US $72.00 per year to US $99.00.
Quarterly subscriptions will be increased from US $22.50 to US $32.97.
In that blog post, it was also indicated that from both Monthly and Quarterly subscriptions would be applicable to user in EU countries, while Quarterly subscriptions would be discontinued as an option from June 24th for those upgrading to Premium after that date, but would remain available for those already subscribed to that option.
However, on Monday, June 10th, in responding to the comments left in the forum thread on the subject of the changes, Grumpity Linden indicated the Lab were making a temporary adjustment to the planned Premium fee changes, stating that the Quarterly subscription plan will now remain available to new premium sign-ups through until the “all-new membership level for those who want to get the absolute most out of their Second Life” is officially announced. The original blog post has been updated to reflect this.
Grumpity Linden’s forum comment on the short-term continuance of the Quarterly Premium subscription plan for users upgrading to Premium
This doesn’t offer much to those still feeling aggrieved by the fee changes as a whole (although – at the risk of earning a degree of ire – such changes are going to remain inevitable if the Lab is to maintain its ability to generate revenue whilst also meeting demands to lower virtual land tier), however, it does offer those wishing to upgrade to Premium but who are uncomfortable with playing the annual fee a further option to do so, albeit at the increased rate after June 24th, 2019.
Also, as can be seen in Grumpity’s reply, the Lab will try to address matters around the fee changes through their annual Meet the Lindens sessions that form a part of the Second Life Birthday events. As always, I will endeavour to provide a summary of these sessions, with audio extracts where relevant, as soon as possible after each session.
In particular – for the purposes of this article at least – that blog post indicated that from Monday, June 24th, Premium subscriptions will be increasing as follows:
Monthly subscriptions will be increasing from US $9.50 per month to US $11.99 . This is representative of a 26.21% increase over the course of a year (from US $114 pa to US $143.88 pa).
Annual subscriptions will be increasing from US $72.00 per year to US $99.00. This is representative of an increase of 37.5% pa.
Quarterly subscriptions will be increased from US $22.50 to US $32.97. This is representative of a 46.53% increase over the course of a year (US $90 pa to US $131.88 pa).
Further it was also indicated that after June 24th, 2019:
The Quarterly subscription package will be withdrawn as an upgrade option from June 24th, 2019, although Premium members already using the plan will be able to continue with it.
The Monthly and Quarterly subscription plans will be subject to VAT for EU residents.
In order to try to sweeten these increases (the first to Premium subscriptions in a long time), the Lab indicated that from Monday, June 3rd through until Monday, June 24th, Premium users would be able to “lock in” their current billing rate for one more cycle.
In case you missed it – as the Lab opted to update their May 29th blog post rather than make a separate announcement – the lock-in offer is now available, as highlighted by the Lab at the top of the May 29th blog post:
UPDATE: The limited-time opportunity for existing Premium members to lock in their current rates for one more billing cycle, including extending an existing monthly to use the current full year rate by upgrading now to annual is now available on the premium page. Simply renew before June 24th to extend your current Membership at the same low rate. For example, monthly members will be billed at the lower rate for one more monthly billing cycle, while annual members may renew (or monthly users may upgrade to annual) early to add one more year to your existing Membership at the current lower rate.
This means, for example, that as a Premium member on the annual billing plan, I normally have to renew towards the end of the year. However, if I take advantage of this lock in offer, I will effectively gain my 2020 membership at the current $72.00 rate (albeit paid well in advance), rather than having to pay $99.00 when my renewal falls due at the end of 2019 – I’ll only see the increase when / if I renew towards the end of 2020.
Whether you take advantage of the lock in or not is down to your personal choice and circumstance. However, should you wish to do so:
Note: I’m getting to this a little late as I was caught-up on in-world projects when the news broke – so please excuse my tardiness.
On May 29th, Linden Lab issued a blog post indicating some major restructuring of fees for Premium members, for credit processing Linden Dollar amounts to fiat money and out of Second Life, and alterations to Premium and Basic account Group and IM capabilities.
In my initial response I noted that while the Premium fee changes incur an “ouch!” factor, they are nonetheless understandable if the Lab is to meet the demand for lower virtual land tier fees and maintain its revenue flow. Of the other announced changes, the increase to credit processing fees, whilst again part of the revenue pivot, is nevertheless a hard bite to take for those generating their own income via SL, given it is the latest in a line of such increases over the last few years. However, and for many of us – Basic or Premium – the major injustice outlined in the Lab’s announcement was the cut to Basic account capabilities – namely the group allowance and the reduction in off-line IMs.
Again, as I noted in my initial blog post on the subject, and expanded upon in “Dear Ebbe II” (on the subject of Basic account changes, reducing Basic account capabilities in the manner proposed smacked of being a punitive act towards Basic account holders. This view wasn’t particularly helped by an official forum post indicating the Basic account reductions were an (ill-considered) attempt to encourage people to take out Premium subscriptions and – in the case of group allowances – an exercise in load-balancing to compensate for some of the group increase being given to Premium subscribers.
Such has been the upset that late on Friday, May 31st, the Lab openly conceded they’d made a mistake, and that the group allowance for Basic members will remain unchanged at the current limit of 42 – see: Group Limits Update: No Changes for Basic Members. However, the reduction in off-line IMs will still come into force from June 24th. So, as per the Lab’s update, From June 24th, 2019, Basic and Premium accounts group and off-line IM caps will be as follows:
Group and off-line IM capabilities as they are for Basic and Premium accounts, and as they now will be from June 24th, 2019 – the group allowance for Basic will remain unchanged
This does leave off-line IMs for Basic members reduced – although it has been suggested that planned changes to the events system might reduce the need for group messages to promote events, in which case this might help reduce part of the reliance on off-line IMs for at least some basic users (as well as possibly decreasing the reliance on groups overall in some cases). Time will tell on that; for the moment there is still understandable hurt over this reduction.
However, the fact that Linden Lab is prepared to listen and accept that they have erred on an issue should be acknowledged – and take steps to reverse that part of the decision that has caused the clearest feedback about the optics it presents – does deserve acknowledgement and a word of thanks for taking the time to listen, consider and respond.
On Wednesday, May 30th, Linden Lab announced further changes to Full private region fees, significant changes to Premium subscription fees and to credit processing fees, and changes to some Premium and Basic account capabilities.
As detailed in an official blog post, the changes can be summarised as follows:
The monthly fee increase represents an annual increase of 26.21% (from US $114 pa to US $143.88 pa).
The annual increase represents an annual increase of 37.5%.
Quarterly subscriptions are to be retired as an option for users wishing to upgrade to Premium, but will still be available to those already using this plan. The fee increase of US $22.50 to US $32.97 represents an annual increase of 46.53% a year (US $90 pa to US $131.88 pa).
Both monthly and quarterly subscription fees will be subject to VAT, where applicable.
With regards to these Premium subscription changes, the Lab note:
To help with the transition to the new pricing, starting June 3, we’re offering a limited-time opportunity for existing Premium members to lock in their current rates for one more billing cycle, including extending an existing monthly to use the current full year rate by upgrading now to annual. Simply renew before June 24th to extend your current Membership at the same low rate. For example, monthly members will be billed at the lower rate for one more monthly billing cycle, while annual members may renew (or monthly users may upgrade to annual) early to add one more year to your existing Membership at the current lower rate. We will update when the option becomes available on June 3rd. Until then – if you are not up for renewal already, you will not see the option to lock in your current price. Keep an eye out for updates.
Credit Processing Fee Changes
In what will be seen as a further blow to those regularly / routinely cashing-out from Second life, the blog post also announced changes to credit processing fees, to wit:
Effective June 24, the fee for processing credit transactions (i.e. paying real money into a PayPal or Skrill account) will be 5% per transaction with a minimum fee of US$3 (there is no maximum fee). The fee is currently 2.5% per transaction. This fee change offsets increased regulatory and compliance costs to Linden Lab and is in line with our continued commitment to the long-term successful operation of Second Life.
Change to Premium and Basic Account Capabilities
In order to try to offset some of the negative feedback these changes have already cause (as per at least two forum threads, here and here on the topic), the Lab also indicated increases to a couple of perks available to Premium members, together with a decrease in the same capabilities available to Basic account holders, a per the table below.
Note that group membership will not be revoked for Basic members who are involved in more than 35 groups at the time this change comes into effect. However, Basic members will be unable to join new groups until they reduce their group enrolments to below the new 35 group limit.
In addition, the Lab indicate that further improvements to Premium memberships will be announced later in the year, as will a new Premium membership level, “for those who want to get the absolute most out of their Second Life.”
Thoughts as Premium Member
As one who is a Premium Member, I’m not entirely sanguine about the pricing increase – although I appreciate that in trying to pivot revenue generation away from a reliance on virtual land fees, Linden Lab must ensure any potential shortfalls are adequately guarded against. I’m also aware that while the Premium fees increase does hurt – it is actually the first such increase I can recall for a long time.
How this effects Premium level overall remains to be seen; however, my personal feeling right now is that unless the to-be-announced Premium membership level is truly exceptional in terms of benefits and opportunities, it is going to be hard to justify making a leap to it based on the prices announced with these changes and what might be taken from them in estimating to potential cost of any new membership package.
Those who are likely to feel particularly aggrieved are those who do routinely cash-out from Second Life, given credit processing fees have seen a number of increases over the last few years. While the Basic account changes come across as punitive in nature.
Please refer to the official blog post for the full text relating to these changes.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 