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So this post was left on one of my regions and is fairly representative of the mindset original opensim creators will grapple with if they want to sell their products here:
"It looks nice but I like the whole sharing is caring idea. So many places in OS that offer free stuff. Not here, too bad."
I don't blame this shopper at all for wanting to find quality items for free - who doesn't? I was grateful that they visited in the first place and cared enough to leave a comment. It's for that reason that from time to time I do exactly that - offer most of my stuff for free as I did this past OSFest.
No, the ones that make life for opensim creators difficult are those freebie mills continuously churning out stolen content from Second Life and calling it 'sharing', and who aggressively push the idea that merchants in opensim have no right to exist.
As I replied to this user: Sharing is truly caring only if it's the original creator giving it away free, or if they have explicitly given permission to others to do so. And that only works if they don't have to pay for their regions, which is not the case for me.
My region costs average $20 per month per region, and the money I make from sales covers that most of the time. There are months I take a loss with my opensim stores (my Second Life store has never posted a loss in 14 years). But because sales do cover most of my rent I can keep doing what I love: making original content for Opensim.
Paying for regions of course is my choice - I prefer to be on well-run grids that truly respect creators rights. I know that you can easily find quality items for your regions for free all over opensim, so no one is more grateful than me when you choose to purchase at my stores :-)
"It looks nice but I like the whole sharing is caring idea. So many places in OS that offer free stuff. Not here, too bad."
I don't blame this shopper at all for wanting to find quality items for free - who doesn't? I was grateful that they visited in the first place and cared enough to leave a comment. It's for that reason that from time to time I do exactly that - offer most of my stuff for free as I did this past OSFest.
No, the ones that make life for opensim creators difficult are those freebie mills continuously churning out stolen content from Second Life and calling it 'sharing', and who aggressively push the idea that merchants in opensim have no right to exist.
As I replied to this user: Sharing is truly caring only if it's the original creator giving it away free, or if they have explicitly given permission to others to do so. And that only works if they don't have to pay for their regions, which is not the case for me.
My region costs average $20 per month per region, and the money I make from sales covers that most of the time. There are months I take a loss with my opensim stores (my Second Life store has never posted a loss in 14 years). But because sales do cover most of my rent I can keep doing what I love: making original content for Opensim.
Paying for regions of course is my choice - I prefer to be on well-run grids that truly respect creators rights. I know that you can easily find quality items for your regions for free all over opensim, so no one is more grateful than me when you choose to purchase at my stores :-)
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People confuse me here. On the one hand "sharing is caring" freebies are damned, on the other hand there are tons of "likes" for just those kind of freebie regions
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Different people with different interests. Not all OpenSim users are the same.
Those who condemn illegal content want to promote legal content made in OpenSim for OpenSim. They themselves usually try to use legal content instead of illegal content wherever they can. Of course, this also includes those who try to sell their self-made products for real money.
Those who shower freebie sims chock-full of copybotted SL stuff with likes don't care where something is from or whether it's legal as long as they can get the best possible quality for free. They seem to believe that "Never buy in OpenSim" was coined by Ubit Umarov or another OpenSim core developer. And some of them got such a thorough brainwashing by the copybotting mafia that they want not only commercial creators to leave OpenSim, but they also want OpenSim to get rid of freebies which are sub-par to stolen SL payware. Not only the old Linda Kellie stuff, but also e.g. the Ruth2 and Roth2 open-source mesh body families because they're perceived as uglier than Athena, Adonis etc. by those who are only used to Athena, Adonis etc.
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Those who condemn illegal content want to promote legal content made in OpenSim for OpenSim. They themselves usually try to use legal content instead of illegal content wherever they can. Of course, this also includes those who try to sell their self-made products for real money.
Those who shower freebie sims chock-full of copybotted SL stuff with likes don't care where something is from or whether it's legal as long as they can get the best possible quality for free. They seem to believe that "Never buy in OpenSim" was coined by Ubit Umarov or another OpenSim core developer. And some of them got such a thorough brainwashing by the copybotting mafia that they want not only commercial creators to leave OpenSim, but they also want OpenSim to get rid of freebies which are sub-par to stolen SL payware. Not only the old Linda Kellie stuff, but also e.g. the Ruth2 and Roth2 open-source mesh body families because they're perceived as uglier than Athena, Adonis etc. by those who are only used to Athena, Adonis etc.
the world and above all the people were logical?
those who want to spend money should go to second life .. so bye bye (except donations to the developers and grids)
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those who want to spend money should go to second life .. so bye bye (except donations to the developers and grids)
is also important to me... you should go to the right places to make money. .Second life would be a small example.
Ohhh use the OpenSimulator software for free, use the viewer for free, use Blender for free, maybe borrow Avastar from colleagues, maybe get a region for free.. all for free... :D I hope you at least take the people who do everything with it for free you have this platform and you can use it in your prayers
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Ohhh use the OpenSimulator software for free, use the viewer for free, use Blender for free, maybe borrow Avastar from colleagues, maybe get a region for free.. all for free... :D I hope you at least take the people who do everything with it for free you have this platform and you can use it in your prayers
impressive ..... the world population is about 8 billion at the moment. In the open simulator there are maybe 5000 per month (without old avatars and relogins), that's 0.00000...6% ..... Close this topic again. Funny entertainment XD XD XD .. The World have other issues.
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i was actually told the other day that because I buy on opensim or kitely I am a fool but yet some of the items they bought said they really liked them, eh go figure. if its good quality and i cant get it similar for free I dont mind paying depending on the price and what it is.
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While I do use things that come from SL I also buy from creators on Kitely. I have spent a fortune in SL and am okie with using the same body and head I have in SL. IN stating all that I would love to see OS be truly its own thing and not just another SL clone so i am trying to learn some skills to contribute to that.
I also believe this, " Sharing is truly caring only if it's the original creator giving it away free, or if they have explicitly given permission to others to do so.", and I dislike the whole "Sharing is Caring" slogan because its a dishonest thing. NO one is ever entitled to your labour, time and effort for free, that is called SLAVERY!! If you want to share out of your own heart that is a wonderful thing but no one has the right to claim your work time and effort to satisfy their needs and wants EVER!!
And to those who complain about the items in OS not being as great as in SL, stop complaining and start contributing in some way to OS. I have regions that I pay for and have given others to use for free. I am working on some items that while may not be as great as sl will add to OS options. Learn some skill you can use to benefit OS, even texturing some simple items can be useful, programs like Blender and Gimp (and so many other useful open source programs) are free to use and there are so many tutorials on you tube etc. Heck just throw a texture on an item in world and play with the edit options.
I also think Linda Kellies meshes is a great resource for some base items to build upon and upcycle. You could even spend time searching the internet for public domain textures and mesh items, they are out there to be found you just have to put the work in. Learn how to change Obj and fbx etc into dae files in blender, how to paint faces etc. SOOOO much you can be learning on your own.
Anyway i could say so much more but will leave it here for now other than to say that while the tech for OS etc is old its still a great resource for a creative outlet for so many who cannot afford sl prices. Make it your own, make it as silly and as crazy or as fantastic and beautiful as you want. Its your world to create and play in it and dont let others demand that you supply them with the very best.
Have fun and build on!!
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I also believe this, " Sharing is truly caring only if it's the original creator giving it away free, or if they have explicitly given permission to others to do so.", and I dislike the whole "Sharing is Caring" slogan because its a dishonest thing. NO one is ever entitled to your labour, time and effort for free, that is called SLAVERY!! If you want to share out of your own heart that is a wonderful thing but no one has the right to claim your work time and effort to satisfy their needs and wants EVER!!
And to those who complain about the items in OS not being as great as in SL, stop complaining and start contributing in some way to OS. I have regions that I pay for and have given others to use for free. I am working on some items that while may not be as great as sl will add to OS options. Learn some skill you can use to benefit OS, even texturing some simple items can be useful, programs like Blender and Gimp (and so many other useful open source programs) are free to use and there are so many tutorials on you tube etc. Heck just throw a texture on an item in world and play with the edit options.
I also think Linda Kellies meshes is a great resource for some base items to build upon and upcycle. You could even spend time searching the internet for public domain textures and mesh items, they are out there to be found you just have to put the work in. Learn how to change Obj and fbx etc into dae files in blender, how to paint faces etc. SOOOO much you can be learning on your own.
Anyway i could say so much more but will leave it here for now other than to say that while the tech for OS etc is old its still a great resource for a creative outlet for so many who cannot afford sl prices. Make it your own, make it as silly and as crazy or as fantastic and beautiful as you want. Its your world to create and play in it and dont let others demand that you supply them with the very best.
Have fun and build on!!
Yes, there's so much to do in OpenSim. Upcycling is a good starting point. You can texture or re-texture things made in OpenSim (as long as the creator allows you to do that) or Damien Fate's mesh clothes, and be it only for yourself. Or you could take older furniture and upgrade it to SFposer, especially the old power-hogging MLP stuff. SFposer really isn't that complicated to use, and direct conversions from PMAC are particularly easy and actually make furniture more useful.
You don't have to compete with what freebie store owners import from SL right now, not if you find a niche that isn't overrun with stolen SL payware. Also, there will always be users who prefer legal content over the latest, greatest, most glamourous luxury items from SL, so they're likely to be customers.
Also, you don't have to go all the way and learn Blender and make mesh. Prims aren't dead yet, at least not in OpenSim where prim counts hardly matter. Skilled builders can make houses out of nothing but prims. There are enough textures you can use, so you don't have to make your own ones if you don't want to. And for customers, prim houses have got one big advantage: A house made out of a few hundred prims is easier to modify than one made out of a dozen mesh chunks, more so if the loose textures are included.
Yes, granted, making houses that don't look like 2007 newbie creations takes skills and practice, but maybe it's you who has got what it takes. And building are always needed, especially buildings that don't look like made for 12-foot avatars or bigger and buildings from somewhere else than the USA.
And believe it or not, even the women's mesh fashion department is still lacking. I know someone who keeps churning out her own original meshes because no content thief ever imports from SL what she wants, knee-length skirts, calf-length skirts, long summer dresses, medium-height pumps and sandals etc.
In general, one of the greatest driving forces for creativity in OpenSim is not being able to find what you're looking for. If you've searched the Hypergrid up and down for something that you need, you'll eventually give up and make it yourself, and be it from pre-fab materials, or at least modify something that's close enough. And then you may decide that what you've made is good enough for others to have it, and others may look for just that, too. Voilà, your first creative contribution to the community.
I myself may not have made much yet, but this is how I started. Yes, I tend to get carried away making more and more variants (need 1 store shelf, make 32; need 1 female skin, make 138), but the more variants there are, the more likely it is that someone may find a suitable one.
Oh, and Remmy, while I'm at it: Any plans to make your stuff from Tropicana Freebies available again? The layer beachwear, the mesh dresses, the beach bags, the hats...
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You don't have to compete with what freebie store owners import from SL right now, not if you find a niche that isn't overrun with stolen SL payware. Also, there will always be users who prefer legal content over the latest, greatest, most glamourous luxury items from SL, so they're likely to be customers.
Also, you don't have to go all the way and learn Blender and make mesh. Prims aren't dead yet, at least not in OpenSim where prim counts hardly matter. Skilled builders can make houses out of nothing but prims. There are enough textures you can use, so you don't have to make your own ones if you don't want to. And for customers, prim houses have got one big advantage: A house made out of a few hundred prims is easier to modify than one made out of a dozen mesh chunks, more so if the loose textures are included.
Yes, granted, making houses that don't look like 2007 newbie creations takes skills and practice, but maybe it's you who has got what it takes. And building are always needed, especially buildings that don't look like made for 12-foot avatars or bigger and buildings from somewhere else than the USA.
And believe it or not, even the women's mesh fashion department is still lacking. I know someone who keeps churning out her own original meshes because no content thief ever imports from SL what she wants, knee-length skirts, calf-length skirts, long summer dresses, medium-height pumps and sandals etc.
In general, one of the greatest driving forces for creativity in OpenSim is not being able to find what you're looking for. If you've searched the Hypergrid up and down for something that you need, you'll eventually give up and make it yourself, and be it from pre-fab materials, or at least modify something that's close enough. And then you may decide that what you've made is good enough for others to have it, and others may look for just that, too. Voilà, your first creative contribution to the community.
I myself may not have made much yet, but this is how I started. Yes, I tend to get carried away making more and more variants (need 1 store shelf, make 32; need 1 female skin, make 138), but the more variants there are, the more likely it is that someone may find a suitable one.
Oh, and Remmy, while I'm at it: Any plans to make your stuff from Tropicana Freebies available again? The layer beachwear, the mesh dresses, the beach bags, the hats...
What you state here is so true,
"In general, one of the greatest driving forces for creativity in OpenSim is not being able to find what you're looking for. If you've searched the Hypergrid up and down for something that you need, you'll eventually give up and make it yourself, and be it from pre-fab materials, or at least modify something that's close enough. And then you may decide that what you've made is good enough for others to have it, and others may look for just that, too. Voilà, your first creative contribution to the community.' Necessity drives creativity!
I mentioned Blender etc as so many want mesh stuff but expect others to provide it for them, rather than learning to do some basic things that could help os. I can make those things available though those were freebies i had out when i was planning to create a Kiteley store, to which I would add more options for sale.
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"In general, one of the greatest driving forces for creativity in OpenSim is not being able to find what you're looking for. If you've searched the Hypergrid up and down for something that you need, you'll eventually give up and make it yourself, and be it from pre-fab materials, or at least modify something that's close enough. And then you may decide that what you've made is good enough for others to have it, and others may look for just that, too. Voilà, your first creative contribution to the community.' Necessity drives creativity!
I mentioned Blender etc as so many want mesh stuff but expect others to provide it for them, rather than learning to do some basic things that could help os. I can make those things available though those were freebies i had out when i was planning to create a Kiteley store, to which I would add more options for sale.
The greatest weakness of OS is the mentality of those who feel "everything must be free in open sim". Most things in Open sim are free........and this is a blessing compared to Second life prices. However, skilled creators should never be shunned upon because entitled people think they deserve everything free. Be thankful for the things you get for free.....and be willing to pay a little for some other special things. I personally own many of Luna's items....I paid full price for them and I do not regret it because I have the best.
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The biggest problem that all original creators in OpenSim face is that people got used and addicted to premium luxury SL payware and getting it for free ever since 2015. They refuse to take less, and they refuse to pay for anything.
Back in the day, many more SL creators offered their products in in-world stores. These were easy to copybot wholesale, all sales boxes included. This is why we have everything from Maitreya from those times, this is why we have everything from BlueBerry from those times and so forth. OpenSim users got a) the best of the best, b) boatloads of it in no time and c) for free.
Nowadays, this is no longer possible. Instead, individual shopkeeps buy things from the SL Marketplace, claim it's their property now, and they can do with it whatever they want (both assumptions are incorrect), export it without asking the creators for consent (this is where it gets illegal) and import it to OpenSim to have exclusive content in their own freebie stores that no-one else has. That is, until someone comes and copybots their stores or god-modes their no-copy or no-transfer boxes to full-perm. I guess some also do that to satisfy their own craving for new stuff which they feel isn't possible with what other freebie stores offer.
Now you simply can't get people back to legal content anymore, no matter whether it's payware or freebies. Many wonder why they should ever pay for anything in OpenSim if they can get everything in high quality for absolutely free and full-perm. Some seem not to know that by far most of those freebies are stolen, most don't care.
And then there's "Never buy in OpenSim". Some people seem to believe that this is an official slogan. In reality, it was created in the mid-2010s by the copybotting mafia that was aiming for a total content monopoly on the Hypergrid. "Never buy in OpenSim" was to drive all the commercial creators out of OpenSim by taking away their customers. Likewise, the anti-Linda Kellie propaganda was to drive freebie creators away.
Speaking of freebies, it's next to impossible to get those who are used to stolen commercial SL content to legal freebies made in OpenSim for OpenSim. Many of the popular SL creators create for SL as a part-time or even full-time job, and they're at least on a semi-professional level. They have to be because so is the competition. OpenSim freebie creators are amateurs who create in their spare time. You can't expect both the same quality and the same output rate from them.
There aren't even many freebie creators left on the Hypergrid. Many quit under the pressure of the copybotting craze. Cary Bean, the creator behind the Deva Moda brand, was a promising new talent in the mid-2010s, but she quit altogether when the Hypergrid was flooded with copybotted Maitreya Lara clothes, soon to be followed by the body itself. She knew she couldn't compete with that. Others haven't even started because it wasn't worth it. Many of those who still create mostly do it for themselves.
So now we have a few commercial creators who, for obvious reasons, only offer their products on their own sims plus the Kitely Market, and who are being discriminated against by a crowd that unironically believes that "Never buy in OpenSim" is sincerely anti-capitalist. And we have precious few freebie creators who don't get much coverage either, partly because many recent creators are too obscure for potential customers (or freebie store owners) to know them, partly because freebie store owners refuse to offer their creations because they aren't on the same quality level as stolen SL payware. Or if it's women's clothes, because it isn't rigged for Athena, and thus nobody would ever want it because all female avatars allegedly are Athenas.
Most legal freebies that can still be found in the odd freebie store are from times before mesh. Linda Kellie, Selea Core, Hylee Bekkers etc. Thus, many believe that everything created in and for OpenSim is only on par with what Linda Kellie made in 2007/2008. I guess some find it hard to believe that most Clutterfly products are actually mesh, and that Aaack Aardvark and Bibiana Bombinante don't import their stuff from SL. And it's actually a wonder that Ruth2 v4 and Roth2 v2 have started spreading across freebie stores without my help.
Sadly, it doesn't really help the commercial side of OpenSim that some commercial creators continue to offer products that must be ten years old or older and, especially if they're clothes or other avatar accessories, are mostly hopelessly outdated. And they continue to offer them for the same prices as ten years ago when these things were still state-of-the-art.
Granted, yes, it may be unfair to those who have bought them for real money if they became free-of-charge now. And yes, there are still people who avoid mesh like the plague, and who are willing to pay for layer-and-prim clothes. And yes, I guess many of these payware creators haven't been online in years, they haven't created anything, nor have they upgraded their stores.
But the general public sees payware that has been outdated for 7 years already, and a few sims further down the Hypergrid, they can get up-to-date stuff for free. From that, they deduce that even OpenSim's payware is stuck on a 2008 Linda Kellie level.
One last thing: "Sharing is caring" was hijacked by the copybotting mafia, too. "Sharing is caring" meant that people should take the copybotted stuff they got from The Harbor and put it into freebie stores of their own to make it harder to trace back how that stuff got onto the Hypergrid in the first place. Hence also "Share with no mercy" or even "Share or die".
It may also sound like a jab at OpenSim creators who only offer their creations no-transfer to keep them from spreading throughout freebie stores, mostly in the case of actual freebies so that they can upgrade them more easily without old versions staying available. Like a rally cry to god-mode these things to full-perm and put them into as many freebie stores as possible. But those who knew what "Sharing is caring" stands for would never have wanted anyone to offer legal content in freebie stores.
like(2)
Back in the day, many more SL creators offered their products in in-world stores. These were easy to copybot wholesale, all sales boxes included. This is why we have everything from Maitreya from those times, this is why we have everything from BlueBerry from those times and so forth. OpenSim users got a) the best of the best, b) boatloads of it in no time and c) for free.
Nowadays, this is no longer possible. Instead, individual shopkeeps buy things from the SL Marketplace, claim it's their property now, and they can do with it whatever they want (both assumptions are incorrect), export it without asking the creators for consent (this is where it gets illegal) and import it to OpenSim to have exclusive content in their own freebie stores that no-one else has. That is, until someone comes and copybots their stores or god-modes their no-copy or no-transfer boxes to full-perm. I guess some also do that to satisfy their own craving for new stuff which they feel isn't possible with what other freebie stores offer.
Now you simply can't get people back to legal content anymore, no matter whether it's payware or freebies. Many wonder why they should ever pay for anything in OpenSim if they can get everything in high quality for absolutely free and full-perm. Some seem not to know that by far most of those freebies are stolen, most don't care.
And then there's "Never buy in OpenSim". Some people seem to believe that this is an official slogan. In reality, it was created in the mid-2010s by the copybotting mafia that was aiming for a total content monopoly on the Hypergrid. "Never buy in OpenSim" was to drive all the commercial creators out of OpenSim by taking away their customers. Likewise, the anti-Linda Kellie propaganda was to drive freebie creators away.
Speaking of freebies, it's next to impossible to get those who are used to stolen commercial SL content to legal freebies made in OpenSim for OpenSim. Many of the popular SL creators create for SL as a part-time or even full-time job, and they're at least on a semi-professional level. They have to be because so is the competition. OpenSim freebie creators are amateurs who create in their spare time. You can't expect both the same quality and the same output rate from them.
There aren't even many freebie creators left on the Hypergrid. Many quit under the pressure of the copybotting craze. Cary Bean, the creator behind the Deva Moda brand, was a promising new talent in the mid-2010s, but she quit altogether when the Hypergrid was flooded with copybotted Maitreya Lara clothes, soon to be followed by the body itself. She knew she couldn't compete with that. Others haven't even started because it wasn't worth it. Many of those who still create mostly do it for themselves.
So now we have a few commercial creators who, for obvious reasons, only offer their products on their own sims plus the Kitely Market, and who are being discriminated against by a crowd that unironically believes that "Never buy in OpenSim" is sincerely anti-capitalist. And we have precious few freebie creators who don't get much coverage either, partly because many recent creators are too obscure for potential customers (or freebie store owners) to know them, partly because freebie store owners refuse to offer their creations because they aren't on the same quality level as stolen SL payware. Or if it's women's clothes, because it isn't rigged for Athena, and thus nobody would ever want it because all female avatars allegedly are Athenas.
Most legal freebies that can still be found in the odd freebie store are from times before mesh. Linda Kellie, Selea Core, Hylee Bekkers etc. Thus, many believe that everything created in and for OpenSim is only on par with what Linda Kellie made in 2007/2008. I guess some find it hard to believe that most Clutterfly products are actually mesh, and that Aaack Aardvark and Bibiana Bombinante don't import their stuff from SL. And it's actually a wonder that Ruth2 v4 and Roth2 v2 have started spreading across freebie stores without my help.
Sadly, it doesn't really help the commercial side of OpenSim that some commercial creators continue to offer products that must be ten years old or older and, especially if they're clothes or other avatar accessories, are mostly hopelessly outdated. And they continue to offer them for the same prices as ten years ago when these things were still state-of-the-art.
Granted, yes, it may be unfair to those who have bought them for real money if they became free-of-charge now. And yes, there are still people who avoid mesh like the plague, and who are willing to pay for layer-and-prim clothes. And yes, I guess many of these payware creators haven't been online in years, they haven't created anything, nor have they upgraded their stores.
But the general public sees payware that has been outdated for 7 years already, and a few sims further down the Hypergrid, they can get up-to-date stuff for free. From that, they deduce that even OpenSim's payware is stuck on a 2008 Linda Kellie level.
One last thing: "Sharing is caring" was hijacked by the copybotting mafia, too. "Sharing is caring" meant that people should take the copybotted stuff they got from The Harbor and put it into freebie stores of their own to make it harder to trace back how that stuff got onto the Hypergrid in the first place. Hence also "Share with no mercy" or even "Share or die".
It may also sound like a jab at OpenSim creators who only offer their creations no-transfer to keep them from spreading throughout freebie stores, mostly in the case of actual freebies so that they can upgrade them more easily without old versions staying available. Like a rally cry to god-mode these things to full-perm and put them into as many freebie stores as possible. But those who knew what "Sharing is caring" stands for would never have wanted anyone to offer legal content in freebie stores.