I Gave Them More Money

Yes, I did.

Friday, I saw that the parcel adjoining mine for 1,024 meters from the coast, and separated from mine by an unsold inland parcel for another 1,536, had been sold. This is the one with the thunderstorm and Giant Rocks, all of which, regrettably, were merely a sales tactic.

One that worked.

So the new person had put up a Club. Since the sim is rated PG, I wasn't terribly concerned about a lag-inducing attraction that might bar me from my own land...something that DOES happen on the Mainland (and the main reason for my Grand Plan, which of course involves spending over 1K, so that's in the future.....)

The 'club' part didn't take me aback, but the 'benches with pose balls' deployed along the unsold parcel, did.

This unsold parcel had been set up as an inland lake--only 1,024 meters inland, so it was feasible to 'dig down to water', and indeed the seller had done just that. And clearly, my new neighbor-with-the-club was counting on this attractive vista to remain, for the enjoyment of his hypothetical club patrons.

The sight of this reminded me forceably that whoever purchased that parcel might well decide to raise the attractive lake and place a gigantic purple cube in its place. Or put a big black floating platform over the entire parcel, blotting out the light for all parcels to either side (meaning both me and Mr. Club). Or anything else that took their fancy.

So I started in with the calculator.

Could I afford both the price of the parcel ($10/square meter, which is about right, currently, for non-coastal land) and the monthly tier?

I decided: marginally.

I suppose that the fact that when I logged in Saturday with these thoughts in mind, I saw my neighbor Mr. Club hovering there, looking at the same land, impelled me to give Linden Lab my hard-earned cash (to purchase Lindens sufficient to complete the transaction). I felt a weird sort of guilt---did I do something mean to my neighbor?

On reflection, I'd say 'no'. He could have bought the parcel himself, if it were important enough to him. And certainly I will leave it in a condition that's less likely to cause him pain or grief, than would any random purchaser. I have no interest in making giant black floating platforms or massive purple cubes.

Still, it's interesting how this Second Life reflects the first. In first life, people 'do' each other out of land deals, and build things their neighbors hate, and all the rest. It just takes longer than it does in Second Life.