Solves several problems, makes griefing less attractive, ends some of the bots, raises revenue for LL (help compenstate for gambling revenues lost), keeps all players paying the same fees, adds a level of verification to all accounts and by waiting until 1/1/2008 to make the change, everyone gets notice.

Downside: Everyone has to pay for alts. Those who are on tight budgets might find the membership charge are little difficult as well.

Bottom line though, if you can afford a computer and broadband to run this thing, I simply don’t see how $5 US would kill anyone and do see how it might be used to better this whole world.

I know this won’t be popular, but its a thought.

DRD

How many days has it been!? I’m losing my patience…

reCAPTCHA..good idea…see I kept it on topic..:-)

How do you suggest content creators test their products do make sure they are bug free if they don’t have an ALT?

I really wouldn’t know how to do it (unless bothering friends who may not be too happy about it). And I’d really rather see myself how a product functions when it is no longer used by the creator. It would be difficult to have it explained by someone else without actually seeing it.

For example scripted items can behave somewhat differnt when the permissions for the “end user” apply, so I’d rather test everything I create before it goes up for sale.

And once in a while I just want to enjoy SL, go to an event, chat with friends… without being interrupted by a customer request, and taking off a couple of hours from business once in a while is important - you do have time off from your job in RL too, don’t you?

Take away the ALTs and I’m gone (or my business closed), I think a very small amount of all ALTs are used for stuff like griefing and other not so nice things.

About the VAT thing:
People say we Europeans should complain to our goverments and not LL.
Well, from a lot of the posts I read concerning VAT most of the uproar is about HOW this has been brought to us, not giving us a prior notice and applying it to the CURRENT billing circle.

That way we didn’t even have a choice to tier down land before we were actually charged with the new price, and none of the people aggreed to paying that amount when buying a certain amount of land.

Think about it in a different way - let’s say you order a new flatscreen TV for 1000 USD, you signed the contract for just that amount. 2 weeks later it is delivered to you and all of a sudden the bill says you have to pay 1190, without giving you the chance to cancel that purchase? I bet you wouldn’t be too happy…
I guess you would have expected to been given a CHOICE of cancelling in that case. None of the Europeans were able to “cancel”, because it was applied to the CURRET circle.
Hope you see my point.

That’s not how to do things like that. There just should have been an anouncement that form XXX (no date of the current billing circle) on VAT will apply for European players, so everyone would have had enough time to think about it and make changes if they wouldn’t want to pay more for their game.

If LL is not doing this, or they have no rights in law to do this, they should simply stop collecting taxes for a foreign government. It’s ludicrous.

I purchased a US product in US$ (converted sterling to $ by the bank). The last thing I expect to pay is an EU tax. The EU is trying it on. Ignore them and let them sue you.

No. They were not forced. NO serious US company charges this. And if a company does (in spite of SERIOUS legal problems), the very least an european can expect that LL writes a BILL in which LL VAT number is included, so that an european can reclaim this tax as business expense. As long as LL themselves are not in accordance with EU rax laws and regulations the charging of EU tax simply illegal. Additionally this kind of tax is not meant to be used on non-business services at all.

I really wonder who talked them into this. Cause they do not earn any profit, tax money is not property of LL and not a single cent is allowed to stay at San Francisco.

The result of this decision is obvious. It will make a lot of europeans leave SL. And there must be only ONE guy fed up enough by LL desision and some european governements will start an international inquiry because of fraud.

Just as the wagering rule change demonstrated the power of one law (and LL is, defacto, the “State” in SL) to destroy an economy, LL acquiescing to the EU ruling on VAT is a further lesson to those in need of an education: stop voting for governments that will tax you to death, or else vote with your feet and your dollars/euros.

In this dase, vote with both and move off the mainland to our estates (many euros lives and work here happily already). We will also accept sim transfers with RL contracts respecting and protecting your property rights.

I suspect the source of the EU ruling is lobbying by the Finnish Entropia Universe in a bid for some protectionism.

DITTO! Heh