Linden “actively discussing” ad farms
By Eric Reuters
Jack Linden said Friday that Linden Lab is looking into the problem of ad farms — small patches of land filled with garish virtual billboards. While discussing a new “Linden Department of Public Works” initiative to beautify the Second Life mainland, he wrote:
Yes, we are actively discussing ad farms at the moment, we’re very aware of the impact they have but we don’t have anything concrete to share as yet. Keep reading the blog.
Ad farms are designed to obstruct the views of surrounding territory and lower its value. Owners of newly-devalued virtual homesteads argue that the practice is tantamount to extortion, as ad farmers ask for rates well above market value for their land.
Large swathes of Second Life’s mainland have been rendered uninhabitable by ad farms, as residents and businesses avoid building next to existing ads.
