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Monday, June 3, 2019

Asasara - We Love Roleplay Preview and Linden Labs Pricing Changes

The beginning of this month not only brings several new events and fresh rounds of great sales but also some news that might be unfortunate for some...or not?

Brace yourself – Linden Labs announced price changes starting today (June 3) and there are good and bad news. Let’s start with the good news first - full regions will be reduced again by $20, including grandfathered regions; and higher limits on group membership (70) and an increase in offline IMs’s caps (80) will be added to the bag of perks of all premium members. Premium members have a great number of benefits so I wasn’t surprised to see an increase on the premium plans – I was actually surprised not to see it happen sooner. Starting June 24, the monthly, quarterly and annual fees for the premium memberships will suffer a slight adjustment and instead of a $72 annual premium plan, you will now have to pay $99. Credit transaction fees will also be affected with an increase of 2.5% per transaction. A recap of all the price changes is displayed below with a direct link to the official announcement.


Images from "Featured News - Second Life Communit Forums"

After the announcement went public in the Second Life Forums, there were a lot of mixed reactions (including my own), but let’s try being realistic when facing this situation - Linden Labs has been focused in improving premium’s benefits. Improvements in a business (in this case, a video game platform) must come with financial effort, and let’s not forget employees’ salaries and the stockholders Linden Labs must attract. You want the cool stuff, you must pay to get it, just like in any other game.

Although premium members have that great bag of perks, we will probably see unhappy customers dropping their plans and eventually leave this virtual world. If a decent percentage of users leaves, Linden Labs might be facing a crisis. Second Life’s user numbers have been stagnant for the last couple of years and this “financial boost” must be used to refresh Second Life with new and exciting features, attract new players and keep the existing ones satisfied with the service. 


What are your thoughts in the pricing changes?


"Ari - Variety Pack" Hair from Lamb (400L)

 "Rimon" Makeup from Zibska (Coming Soon - We <3 Role-play Event *June Edition*. Includes Makeup Tattoo Layers, and Catwa, Lelutka, Genus, LAQ and Omega Appliers with 12 Makeup Options)

"Glare Eyes - Blue" from Anatomy (Coming Soon - We <3 Role-play Event *June Edition*. Includes L & R Mesh Eyes and Omega Appliers. Available in Blue, Gold, Green, Grey, Pink and Purple)

"Snake Spirit - Autumn B" Outfit from Jangka (Coming Soon - We <3 Role-play Event *June Edition*. Includes Armbands, Legbands, Top + Loincloth, and Warmlegs for Maitreya. Available in Several Color Options)

"Maea" Masks from Zibska (Coming Soon - We <3 Role-play Event *June Edition*. Includes Collar, L & R Eye Mask and Texture HUD with 15 Color Options for Main and Accent Pieces)

"Tiffany" Ear Clips from PKC (Coming Soon - We <3 Role-play Event *June Edition*. Includes L & R Ear Clip and Texture HUD with 13 Metal Options)

"SunSpear - Black" from EZ Weaponry (600L - The Final Winter Event.  Includes Cosmestic and Scripted Spears. Scripted Version Includes Spear & Polearm Versions with Firo 1.50 Series, Sheath, Range, Over The Shoulder Stance, Mouselook Lock, Autofire, Sensitivity, and Damage Trigger Gestures. Available in Black, Gold and Steel. Original Ad HERE)

"Boa Neck Hugger - Green" from Jian (400L - Uber Event. Includes Boa Terrarium with On/Off Lights and Glass Door Options, Boa Neck Hugger in Green, Albino, Brazilian, and Colombian. Original Ad HERE)

Location: Destinus Essence


"Snake goddess" is a type of figurine depicting a woman holding a snake in each hand, as were found in Minoan archaeological sites in Crete. The first two of such figurines (both incomplete) were found by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans and date to the neo-palatial period of Minoan civilization, c. 1700–1450 BCE. It was Evans who called the larger of his pair of figurines a "Snake Goddess", the smaller a "Snake Priestess". The snake goddess's Minoan name may be related with A-sa-sa-ra, a possible interpretation of inscriptions found in Linear A texts. Although Linear A is not yet deciphered, Palmer relates tentatively the inscription a-sa-sa-ra-me which seems to have accompanied goddesses, with the Hittite išhaššara, which means "mistress".

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