Playground gets a POD prison

As mentioned yesterday, there's a good chance I'll tinker with and change things in the new RLV playground over the next few weeks. Today I decided that it would be nice to drag the MD POD Prison out of my inventory. So, I did:

There's room for 10 inmates, all of them put on display next to the road that runs past the playground and shop.

If the MD POD prison system is your thing, and if you're looking for a new location to build up your time, you'll find it in the room above the entrance tunnel to the playground.

The Z&A RLV Playground

Much like earlier this year, when another plot or two became available next to the main store, it was hard for me to resist. Again, I wasn't too keen on the idea of extending the store -- at least not at the moment -- but I did fancy the idea of building something along the lines of the detention centre; something I could share with people, something that would provide a play space for those who might appreciate it.

Yes, I know, Second Life probably doesn't really need yet another RLV playground. That's fine. I had fun throwing it together and doubtless I'll have fun adding things to it and tweaking it over time. At the moment it's based around a simple raised grassy area that has an assortment of toys on it.

Just off the grass there's also a set of devices that can be used to keep misbehaving subs and slaves out of the way:

Of course, I can't build a play space without throwing in a nod or two to my personal fetish. So there's a couple of outdoor cages to throw people in to:

And because a couple of outdoor cages aren't enough to satisfy my fetish, there's also a cell house that contains 8 cells for everyone to make use of:

As mentioned, all are welcome to make use of this space. Please feel free to pop over and use all the equipment. All I ask is that you stay out of this area:

That's my own private space through that door, my home. Trespassers will not be welcome.

Second Life Marketplace commission changes

As I'm sure most people will be aware of, even those who aren't retailers in Second Life, Linden Lab have recently changed the commission they charge merchants who sell via the Marketplace. For as long as I can remember, probably back when it was XStreetSL and the Lab didn't yet own it, the cost for selling there has been %5 of the sale price. As of yesterday this has doubled to 10%.

I just wanted to take a moment to reassure Z&A customers that this won't change anything in my store. I have no plans at all to adjust prices to take this increase into account. Personally I think it's a fair change on the part of the Lab. While the MP has had its issues in the past, and likely still has some, it's a big and complex website that has the benefit if linking in-world in useful ways.

Over the years I've seen significant improvements to how it works (I really don't miss magic boxes!), stability improvements and speed improvements. All of those things take work. All of those things require people to do the work. Those people deserve an income. Etc. As someone who makes a RL living from software development, including web development, I'm pretty sensitive to the value that the MP delivers me, as a Second Life merchant.

Meanwhile, I've seen alternatives come and go, and have even been caught out by one of them.

Simply put: in almost 10 years of trading in Second Life, this is the first time the Lab have asked me to chip a bit more in to maintain a tool I don't have to maintain myself and which has helped Z&A exist. For me it's still fantastic value compared to, for example, maintaining an in-world store -- that takes more work and takes a far bigger chunk of my (in-world) sales. The MP still looks like really good value to me.

So... prices will stay the same. I just want people to have affordable kinky RLV fun. :-)