It seems we can't go but a few months without this topic being brought up. Unfortunately that's the way things are when the economy is bad and the grid is expensive....
Once again we're faced with the trouble of raising money to cover our monthly tier. In fact we've been faced with this problem for a couple of months already, but some very generous donations have kept us afloat.
The staff has been debating the tier issue at great length in that time, and our conclusion is that if we have no other alternative, we must move to the backup location I've had ready and maintained for years, just in case, because since the beginning I realized what a financial strain paying US$300/month to LL could be.
So now it's time to ask the players what they think.
There are two players who have been making very generous donations, but we concluded that the situation is very hard to sustain, and that perhaps downsizing would be a wise idea.
If people are still willing to commit money to the cause for the foreseeable future, things stay as they are.
For those who aren't familiar with the situation, for about 2 1/2 years I paid the tier for Lismore all on my own. But my financial situation became very complicated and we set up donation boxes and started actively asking people to help with the bill.
We had some extremely generous donations and humble donations and all helped us stay up and running for another year-and-a-half give or take, but with one of our biggest sponsors also having changes in his financial situation in RL, we're in a tight spot once again.
The tier for a Full Sim in SL is US$295/month (L$80000 - give or take depending on the exchange rate of the day). I don't know about you all but to me that's no pocket change. It's the most expensive bill I have besides mortgage payments - it's more expensive than my internet and electricity and telephone combined!
Due to that, for the longest time I've maintained a 'backup' for Lismore in my MaindLand parcel at Clockwork, so if the day came when I couldn't cover the Full Sim bill, we'd have a place to move the RP to and carry on!
MainLand land works completely different than Private Region land. I'm capable of having so much MainLand for a fraction of what the Private Region costs because MainLand tier can be split amongst multiple users with Premium accounts. Also MainLand tier is significantly cheaper than Private Region tier, because the Lindens are clever bloodsuckers like that (a full MainLand region is US$195/month).
So the conclusion we have come is that while we absolutely love our Private Region (and trust me it's devastating to me to consider not having it!), it might be time to cut costs and move the RP to the backup location (affectionately dubbed LismoreLite by Radem).
Before you say "eeww, MainLand!", take a moment to check the place out.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/228/250/1701 <- Main Entry Point
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/173/221/1705 <- Middle of the city
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/152/219/1883 <- The Temple & Forests
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/170/218/1674 <- Caves (because Xela has to have her caves
)
The place hasn't been fully furnished yet so the buildings and all are rather bare, but that would change the moment a "let's move" decision was made.
Clockwork is on the same server class as Lismore, shares the server with the same number of regions, and I'm the major land owner there and most of the rest of the place is abandoned land because I ruined the region for everyone else by taking the best spot and blocking the view.
LismoreLite is installed in a gigantic skybox in the sky, which would make it less likely for griefers and casual passer-byers to stop by (statistically as unlikely as they are to get to the Full Sim at the moment - the place is listed on search after all, anyone can find it).
....and yes, we're on floating islands.
We have thought and debated at great length about this move (for about two months), and worked hard to get things ready if we do have to make the move. We have events planned and stories/explanations in place to tie the moving to floating islands with what we have in the Full Sim.
So now, it comes to the players to tell us what they think! ...Got questions? Comments? Opinions? Got money you don't mind blowing every month to help us keep our beloved Full Sim?
If we can not get enough money committed to paying the sim's tier, we will be moving within the next few weeks.
I'd hate to see anyone go simply because of our change in location. Radem, who's a veteran from the good old days of MUCK RP, would say as long as the spirit of the RP remains, we could be on a black screen with white text for all he cares and he'd still be around. You are all welcome and needed in Lismore, whether it's a huge open track of land in an expensive region, or a packed floating island in the skies.
