This is a subject I have felt strongly about for a very long time. In my opinion, the greatest thing in opensim for many people is the fact that everything is free. This, in my opinion, is also the greatest danger of open sim.
Although many will hate me for these comments, I am totally opposed to the everything should be free mentality. I enjoy finding some things for free, but I have purchased extensively from kitely market.
If some people wish to share things for free, that is their choice; however, we should also respect the work that goes in to building things by the creators.
To say “everything should be free in open sim” is an insult to every creator and landowner who has put time and money into things for you.
I have many memories of sl costs, and I never want to see them again. This does not mean we have to promote and endorse “everything must be free.”
Like Lone Wolf, I too pay server costs. I want regions without lag…..so the option is paying for a powerful server. I have chosen to not charge rent on my small parcels. That does not mean I am right Or Lone wolf is wrong or Vice versa. We are both right and we are doing what works for us.
The problem is with the “everything should be free mentality.”
No….everything should not be free in opensim.
Be thankful for the things you get for free…..but be willing to pay a little to some creators or landowners.
On a similar note…..imagine if OSG charged $5 month. Many people would be horrified and leave, but imagine if only 20% of active users stayed. That would be approximately 1000 users providing $5k a month or $60k a year. Although that is very little money, it would have helped.
Osg is awesome…… but the free mentality has hurt it…..especially when it needed to do upgrades this last year.
In closing, my thoughts are simply “ everything should not be free”. I would challenge people to change this thinking to “life is affordable in open sim.”
Let’s support creators, grids and property owners. At the same time, let’s remember to say “thank you “ to people who have chosen to not charge.
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