Tuesday, March 18, 2008

A Guide to Second Life land: Understanding Tier by Lizard Howl

A Guide to Second Life land: Understanding Tier by Lizard Howl

Hi everyone. There are so many different aspects to Second Life land that it can be very confusing. What is tier, how does it apply, who do you pay, and why is it different for different types of Second Life land?

When you buy land in Second Life, you are actually purchasing rights to space on the hard drives or servers that Linden Labs uses to run the simulation that makes up the world of Second Life. Tier is a monthly payment that is required to maintain your Second Life land. Some people like to compare it to a mortgage or rent payment that you would make in real life for your own home or apartment. I think it is more similar to a property tax. If you don’t keep up with your tier payments, sooner or later you will lose your land!

There are two main kinds of tier: tier paid to Linden Labs and tier paid to private parties or land dealers.

In order to pay tier directly to Linden Labs you will need to have a Premium Account. Linden Labs will bill you different amounts depending on how much and what kind of land you own. If you own Mainland parcels your cost will vary from zero up to $195 US per month or more depending on how much land you own. Estate tier is billed separately from Mainland tier and again varies by how much land you own. At the time I am writing this article, tier on a full island sim is $295 per month. Tier on an Openspace or “low prim” island is $75 per month.

The other kind of tier payment would be a tier payment that you make to a private individual, usually an Estate Owner or sim owner. This kind of tier payment works the same way, except in this case you do not need to have a Premium Account. This is because you are depending on the Estate Owner to keep up with their tier payments to Linden Labs. Be careful. If something happens to the Estate Owner or they miss their own tier payment you could end up losing all your land, even if you made all of your tier payments on time.

I am not telling you that to scare you, but to let you know what your risk is when you pay tier to anyone other than Linden Labs. There are many reputable land dealers in Second Life. Just make sure you are working with someone who has some experience in Second Life. Ask for referrals. A reputable land dealer will have many satisfied renters and land owners who will be glad to give you their opinion. If for whatever reason you get a bad feeling about a certain land dealer or don’t trust them, do not do business with them! There are so many good people in the land game in Second Life there is no reason to do business with someone you don’t like and trust.

Well I hope this article helped give you a better understanding of what tier is and how it can apply to you. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any other questions or concerns.

Enjoy!

Lizard Howl

IM Lizard Howl for all your Second Life land needs!
www.SegarraEstates.com

No comments: