Openspaces, Open Opinions: Five Essential Blog Posts On The Openspace Rebellion

Liqueur Felix relaxing in the Openspace sim Las Arenas Rosadas (SLURL teleport)

After going through dozens of SL blogger's posts over the ongoing Openspaces controversy, here are five I think you should definitely read this weekend:

Trinity Dechou On The Personal Cost Of The Openspace Price Hike: Ms. Dechou movingly puts a human face (several, actually) to what's at stake in this coming increase:

[W]e moved to a rented OpenSpace Sim. The main purpose of this sim would be our home. It might be pixels held on a server in San Francisco but hitting the 'go home' button actually means something. To climb into bed and virtually cuddle, means something. Spending time perfecting the look of home, means something... Having complete control on this island, we would take time to create the area that we wanted to marry in. To virtually stand up there and in-front of the collected friends speak of our love for each other

...Two weeks before our 'I Dos' Linden Lab announce the changes in Open Space pricing.

Grace McDunnough On Likening The Lindens To John Sutter:  Sutter was a rich man who found himself literally standing on a gold mine, but squandered his opportunity:

You remember Sutter, right?  John Sutter was a wealthy land developer and it was at his mill where James Marshall first discovered gold in 1848... a man of resources, wealth and business savvy - missed the largest opportunity afforded to him because he lost sight of what was right in front of him.  Why? Because he tried to protect his current thinking, his ownership, his existing business model instead of adapting to the situation that was rather difficult to ignore.

Hotspur O'Toole On How The Price Hikes Endanger Themed Communities:  I like this one because Hotspur lays out the specifics of how a price increase will hurt SL groups that have already incorporated them into their themed area and narrative:

Sims such as the Second Life Sailing Confederation, or the Wild West sims, or Caledon, or Antiquity, all of which have significant open sims that are being used as an essential aesthetic for community activities.. the draw, if you will.

... In Caledon, where I live, there are several open space sims. They are used for sailing, for community activities, for education. We have come to rely on these sims to give Caledon a unique look and feel. It would be difficult to imagine a Caledon without a Carntaigh or Loch Avie or Kintyre, but these are the very sims that may be threatened by such a move.

Radar Masukami's Middle Ground Perspective:  Radar tactfully points out that blame resides with both Residents and Lindens:

Linden Lab should learn how in the name of all that’s virtual to make and enforce good policies, and the residents should learn to use their heads a little and quit stamping their feet like little babies every time something happens.

Nexeus Fatale Defends The Lindens' Price Hike Decision: While very few Residents have publicly taken the Lindens' side in this announcement, Nexeus perhaps makes the strongest case on their behalf, arguing that the price hike is actually good for in-world business, and internal communities:

Openspace sims being used for homeowners, and stores is a bad thing; it hurts those whom rent regular sims and those on the mainland.  The rise in Openspace sims creates less of a push for mainland and regular sim rentals forcing business people to change their business model for cheaper Openspace spaces or forcing people out of the rental market because they are unable to compete... If the same sort of community building that was poured into Openspace sims can occur on the mainland there would be more powerful communities, such as Luskwood or Indigo.

For much (much) more opinions, also see Vint Falken's Openspace round-up. Thanks to Harper Ganesvoort and Radar for suggesting some of these posts in my Open Forum.

Comments

[Crap Mariner]

I must have missed that post... Ordinal's was dead-on: http://ordinalmalaprop.com/engine/2008/10/28/shouting-into-the-void/

[MarkTwain White]

Thank you for your report on the Second Life Regressive Tax on Open Space Sims.

We welcome you to either attend in person in Second Life or view the live video of a large very photogenic PROTEST event in the original open space sims (the type of sims that will likely go away if Linden Lab's announced policy stands).

This morning (Sunday Nov 2) at 10AM Pacific time there will be a large PROTEST REGATTA starting from the four open space sims which were the first such sims created in Second Life (Santa Barbara,Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and Santa Catalina sims).

Surrounding Hollywood sim and Starboards Yacht Club these sims will host a PROTEST REGATTA which will be webcast live on the SLCN.TV network (http://slcn.tv). Boats from various SL communities (such as the very popular sailing and pirate role-playing communities) will wear colorful protest sails and flags.

The race course will take the protesting fleet through more than twenty open space sims, each of whose very existence is threated by the Linden Lab policy announcement.

For further information contact MarkTwain White in world or at [email protected]