Today, I tried to get back into SecondLife after being away for over a year. I had tried previous to this, but was befuddled by what I thought were client software issues. Not having time to figure out what was going on, it took a back seat to other life issues. On several different occasions I attempted to login to SecondLife with no joy. My client wouldn't update properly, then my password wouldn't work. It was a huge hassle.
Linden Labs, the makers of SecondLife updated their website since the last time I attempted. This time, I changed my password, but when I logged in after that, all I could see was a phone number to call. So I called.
The kind and courteous gentleman who assisted me informed me that my account had been deactivated for non payment. He said it was deactivated in October of last year. I got married in October of last year, and I moved into my new house in November of last year. But most importantly, I had lost a credit card and had it replaced sometime prior to that. That credit card was on file with Linden Labs. When its authoritative numbers were sent to the big bit bucket in the sky - Linden Labs was unable to withdraw my yearly payment. I'm sure they sent out messages informing me of this - but as I mentioned, a wedding, and a move which caused my email server to be down for several months positioned me to be the less than active netizen. Shame on me. :)
The kind gentleman explained that he was obligated to tell me that since I had been gone for over a year, that my SecondLife land had been reclaimed, all my Linden Dollars seized, and perhaps all of my inventory items as well. I didn't know what to say. He was being so nice, and I've always found English accents so disarming. All I could muster up was, "Ummm that's not good." I asked him if there was any way to know for sure. He looked into my inventory and told me that my inventory was still showing over a thousand items in it. That was a good thing, since I had created some of those items myself. I asked about my Linden Dollars. He said, "The account is showing a zero balance."
He advised me that the only way to reactivate this account is to pay the yearly fee. I asked him why Linden Labs didn't just revert my account to a "free" account. He stated that the account was set up to withdraw monies on a yearly basis, and that had not occurred. But, we already knew that. I'm not sure why they didn't just revert my account to a "free" one, which would mean that I could not own land. I asked him if I could have the account reactivated as a "free" account; but, he told me that was not possible. If I want this account reactivated, I need to pay the yearly fee.
I can understand the reclaiming of land. After all, if someone owns premium property and then disappears for over a year without paying - the virtual neighborhood could surely suffer. But, I see no reason to have seized my Linden Dollars. Especially when I had been saving to launch a business in SecondLife. I had in all likelihood accumulated well over 100,000 Lindens. At the current rate of exchange, 100,000 L is equivalent to approximately $386.
I don't know if there is any petition method to try and recover my lost Lindens; but, I'll try.
I'm writing this today, not to bash Linden Labs or SecondLife, but to warn others who may be allowing their accounts to lapse. Even though SecondLife is a virtual world, the money to be made is real enough. Even though the interface seems like a game, there is real work that goes into building and programming objects for this virtual world.
Because Linden Labs has pioneered "virtual property rights" within SecondLife, they deserve credit and respect of netizens across the world. But, because they have been so energetic about creating a virtual world with a thriving economy and personal rights, it seems all the more strange that my Lindens were seized.
You can donate to this blog with the PayPal button in the sidebar to help me get back into SecondLife. Thanks for all your help. See you in the Metaverse!
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