LL Boots Herald Writer From SL Mentors Group
by Alphaville Herald on 08/10/07 at 7:09 pm
Are European VAT dissenters being kicked from volunteer helper group?
by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk
Failing to meekly accept yet another price hike from metaverse service provider Linden Lab appears to disqualify players from helping confused noobies, based on the experience of Herald Op/Ed writer Inigo Chamerberlin. Mr Chamberlin contacted the Herald offices Sunday to report that he had been removed from the Second Life Mentors group – with no advance warning. Could this have anything to do with criticizing sudden price increases in the Herald Op/Ed pages?
Mia Linden <3 Volunteers - but maybe not Inigo Chamberlin
The Second Life Mentors are volunteers who assist the game gods by helping other residents, answering their question, and shoring up the Lab’s nearly non-existent support systems. Evidently at least one LL staff member has had more than enough of the Herald and decided that Inigo should go. Here is the message Mr. Chamerberlin received this weekend:
“Dear Inigo Chamerberlin,
Your submission in the Mentor Directory has been removed. This may be because you have submitted a new listing, or because you have requested its removal. You’ve been removed from the Second Life Mentor group.”
However, Mr. Chamerberlin says he did not submit a new directory entry or a request to be removed. We concluded that either LL’s systems are randomly booting unpaid volunteers from the group, or there is a crackdown on European price-increase dissidents. Is Second Life so profitable that alienating some of its best customers for petty payback makes sense?
Mr. Chamerberlin told me, “I can only assume this is the result of my remarks concerning VAT. Presumably I’m only still in existence because I haven’t yet reverted to basic? Because I suspect the only thing keeping me in existence is $2400 a year”.
Tier fees for older islands are $195/month, increasing to $295/month in November. Mr. Chamberlin currently owns an island and is pondering the implications of moving from $2400/year to $3500/year – now with a further 17.5 – 25% VAT price increase. How many players will pay $4100 – $4400/year for Second Life in its current state?
One might expect that a normal business would go out of its way to avoid offending a player that not only helps out with customer support, but is also paying significant monthly fees for imaginary land in a fictional world. Presumably, Linden Lab can offer free basic accounts to the masses by overcharging virtual landowners — virtually robbing the rich to subsidize unlimited free services has been the Lab’s business plan since June of 2006 when free unverified/anonymous accounts became the norm. This policy has created a certain amount of class resentment, and even some stalwart Linden fanboys occasionally wonder if this is a sustainable economic model. We may find out soon.
In November the metaverse fees will become particularly painful for European island owners as they are hit with both a price increase to $295/month and an additional 17 – 25% VAT fee. While US based-land barons are salivating over he prospect of more customers, the unpredictability of the game gods gives one pause – is this really a platform when the rules change most friday afternoons at the close of business? Long time observers note that Robin Linden is notorious for roiling the world with surprise announcements before heading out of the office for the weekend.
As Mr. Chamerblin weighed his options, he told me, “Oh well, I have an invitation to beta HiPiHi. I guess a ChiCom virtual world could be no worse than LL’s, bah, words fail me.” As we talked, we both wondered how many dissenting Euro-Mentors have been told their volunteer services are no longer needed.
I’d hate to see the Mentors turn into a pure fanboy organization – particularly because I generally get better treatment from the mentor volunteers than I do from game gods like Mia Linden. Still, I’m hoping to turn that around – having met twice in-world, Mia and I go way back, and I think Mia is starting to warm up to me a little. If Justine Babii can just get Mia to pose for a Post 6 Grrrl feature like Tizzers and I’m sure we can make this a win-win for everyone – well, except for the Europeans.
Post 6 Grrrl? Me?? Really??? Is there a policy on Linden Post 6 Grrrls on the web site??
CaptAsh
Oct 8th, 2007
boo fucking hoo
go join the emofur group, you’d fit right in
JimBean
Oct 8th, 2007
How much you wanna bet that Inigo forgot to fill out some form or something.
Tenshi Vielle
Oct 8th, 2007
Wow.
Jamie David
Oct 9th, 2007
That island prices are going up is very worrying. I called up Concierge and Belinda Linden knew nothing about increases in November. “Watch the blog” was the helpfull reply. Is there a story/blog showing prices will be going up in Nov?
Angel
Oct 9th, 2007
Ah, now http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2007/10/the-tao-of-sl-v.html#comments makes sense. It’s the Herald doing sour grapes.
I agree “boo fucking hoo”
Via
Oct 9th, 2007
This is a lot of talk for saying nothing at all.
Ask ‘em. And get something with substance to write about, something other than completely pointless whining or sex with unicorns. Sheesh.
Ichi
Oct 9th, 2007
How come the input here is always so mean?
I like this story very much. In fact I also like, if not love, all the people featured in it.
To quote Bono: “We are one, but we’re not the same”…
and Не потревожьтесь, Будьте Счастливо.
DaveOner
Oct 9th, 2007
“I can only assume they’re mad at me for writing something on a web site LL obviously doesn’t look at”. Sounds like someone’s seeking martyrdom!
Come on guys. I’m sure you’re almost onto something with this Anti-Mentor Group crusade but before anyone employing logic and reason is going to join you have to provide more than weak circumstantial evidence. This is like saying “I can’t get financing on a new car. Must be because of the blog where I criticized the auto industry for not looking into alternative fuels as agressively as they should be”. It just doesn’t add up to people that aren’t already out to criticize LL for everything they do.
I highly doubt that whoever runs the mentor groups is involved in the VAT issue.
And who cares if fanboys end up running the mentor group? Feeling important to LL and helping new people figure out their game is a pretty fanboyish thing to do anyway!
Get over yourselves and at least PRETEND you give a shit about being called journalists…junior or regular sized!
Nacon
Oct 9th, 2007
Ahh good, that serves you right.
Seriously, no one gonna care if you get banned from SL. *hints*
lulzedtosleep
Oct 9th, 2007
Yeah, I am so sure it was all to do with his stance on the VAT hike and nothing to do with his endless and abrasive bitching and moaning about anything LL does…
The only bigger bitch is Prokofy Neva.
lulzedtosleep
Oct 9th, 2007
“How come the input here is always so mean?”
I look at that situation as a mirror held up to the “journalists” here.
They are anything but nice themselves. Boohoo.
chmarr walcott
Oct 9th, 2007
with the current stuff about VAT LL have forgotten a few things.
1)- they MUST have a main base foe there company to be in the same country where they are taking the VAT employees of LL do not count they must have physical offices in which they must have over 10 people working there on a full paid salery.
2)- no other country can take VAT from another IE:- the usa cannot take VAT from the uk and vice versa.
3)- they MUST by EU/UK law show there VAT code on there website with a link to there EU AND UK offices.
4)- the VAT cannont be enforced untill the new TAX year in the EU which is april 1st 2008
5)- ant VAT taken must be made public knowlage and there account avalible to public veiwing which is under EU/UK laws.
on top of that LL cannot put VAT on top of prices as VAT is included in the prices IE:- £100 before VAT £117.50 AFTER VAT and since they are also using EU law the Currency must be under the country of which they are getting the VAT and NOT in US $.
if LL fail to do any of this LL can be open to an international tax evasion / fraud case.
think about it LL could be chased down by the EU / UK tax office and sued for everything.
LL are a 2 faced bunch of bastards first they penilise the residents by enforced USA law on euro residents and now there enforceing EU law on ppl who arent IN the EU i’ve seen proof of LL enforcing EU VAT laws on ppl in pakistan which is weird since pakistan is not in the EU.
LL have yet again screwed up in the legality department.
oh and on a side note…i did the beta of the age verification after it verified me 2 weeks ago…i got an email ..well when i say email i mean spam…lots n lots of spam from companys who got my details from the company collecting the age verification info.
i was even sent letters through my door sent all the way from the usa asking me to “vote for bush” and that my vote would be held untill i reached american soil.
Chav Paderborn
Oct 9th, 2007
Didn’t I see that chair in the Sims?
Pauleh Kamachi
Oct 9th, 2007
Agree with “boo fucking hoo” seriously whats with all the crap been posted on SLH recently? well most of the time
Harleen Gretzky
Oct 10th, 2007
Can we have some reference for this increase in November? First I have heard of something, everything before this has been sometime next year.
Nacon
Oct 10th, 2007
“Are European VAT dissenters being kicked from volunteer helper group?”
OH SUUUURRREEE…. Now just simply add that part in the header AFTER people are saying BOOO HOOOO!
Seriously… No one cares about you anymore. Get a life or two or start writing some GOOD USEFUL reports. Not some crap… haven’t you ever asked yourself “How do I read or eat crap?”.
Melody Marlin
Oct 10th, 2007
Hmm I’m not sure it was the VAT dissent that caused a removal from the Mentor group. I’m still there despite the fact I’ve sent two scathing letters to LL via support ticket on how they implemented it – and voted with my pocketbook, following that up by selling all of my land and climbed down from a concierge level customer for nearly 3 years to no tier. I’ve also managed to post on the blog between the fanboy squad stating precisely why I am fed up with their policy of ‘do then tell’. LL got this one terribly wrong, but know what? They don’t care, the non-VAT’d members are rubbing their collective hands in glee as land value drops even more (following on from LL’s massive mainland sim sale to hmm.. gather short term liquidity at the cost of their customers value?) due to the exodus of tier paying EU members, and ‘someone’ is paying the tier so it means nothing to LL that they just alienated 50% of their user base.
The post above shows some of the reasons what they did was unlawful, but forgot to mention that all invoices that include VAT MUST clearly show their VAT registration number. None of my previous invoices til this last one had a VAT Reg. If they’ve been ‘paying it for us up til now’ as the second official blog post states, they’ve been doing so illegally. If they put their hands up and said ‘we messed up!’ and coupled that with a ‘you have three months til VAT arrives’, I think almost all of this would’ve been averted. Instead they implemented, then disclosed – and some big land holders went over limit on their credit cards when several sims got charged 17.5% (25% in Sweden!) more.
Maria Leveaux
Oct 11th, 2007
I WAS a Member of the SL Mentors, Before resigning about Ten months or so ago (Philisophical differences i choose not to discuss here as they are not germain to the conversation). Last time I was in it LL Didn’t actually take an Active Role in Staffing of the mentors, but more or less Rubber Stamped the membership after it was selected by a Group of citizen organizers. Expulsions (Extremely rare occurances) were handled more or less the same way.
I think this was probably Just a bug.
Maria.
Turn
Oct 11th, 2007
Are you surprised? Honestly? All you ever do is bitch in the main SL blog.
Hibernian Yellowjacket
Oct 12th, 2007
I’ve never seen a SL Mentor that wasn’t a massive jewish faggot