1. The Q&A session at the last technical town meeting revealed that huge prims would be allowed on private estates (islands). Or at least that was the policy a few weeks ago.

Posted at 7:19AM on Jan 2nd 2007 by Torin Golding

2. Somebody has constructed a sky structure over South Sunset using a number of megaprims; it's easily visible from the Gin Rummy's skybox office/conference room. I hesistate to think what that might be doing to the potential stability of the sim.

Posted at 12:14PM on Jan 2nd 2007 by Erbo Evans

3. Way to fail to note that Gene Replacement is Plastic Duck. *frowns*

Posted at 1:27PM on Jan 2nd 2007 by Hiro Pendragon

4. I was going to bring up the town hall too, not only because it was addressed, but one topic later in conversation, Cory came back and interrupted himself, clearly saying it was fine on private islands.

Posted at 5:29PM on Jan 2nd 2007 by Eric Rice

5. Yup Eric, its fine with Cory Linden, and with any private estate that allows it. My own, Surreal BT, along with the other Surreal estate sims, allow it, and you can come see my 100 meter diameter sign for my Black Sun Club in Hayek region any time... I've had Lindens complement the sign, btw.

The real opposition to big prims is some people in the real estate business who think that giant prims reduce demand for real estate, since what you really buy when you buy land is you are buying prims. If you can build with giant prims, you need fewer to build big structures, so you need less land, or so they think and claim. This is IMHO short sighted and unsupported by the facts that people will always build out to the limits of what they can afford.

Now, I'm in the real estate business, but I don't care how big you wanna build, just so long as you buy my land.

Posted at 6:09AM on Jan 3rd 2007 by IntLibber Brautigan

6. This is a quote from the Town Hall meeting transcript on blog.secondlife.com:

"[14:55] Cory Linden: oh, a follow up on megaprims: we are going to allow them on private estates as well."

I'm wondering about the "as well" part of that statement. It would seem to me that would indicate that the megas are allowed on more than just private estates.

Does anyone have the official word on this anymore? I gathered from the Town Hall meeting (quoted above) that the megas were okay.

Posted at 5:41PM on Jan 4th 2007 by Neural

7. "Way to fail to note that Gene Replacement is Plastic Duck."

Apparently, there was no need to, Hiro. I'll update the post anyway.

Posted at 11:11PM on Jan 4th 2007 by Tateru Nino

8. The real opposition to big prims is some people in the real estate business who think that giant prims reduce demand for real estate, since what you really buy when you buy land is you are buying prims. If you can build with giant prims, you need fewer to build big structures, so you need less land, or so they think and claim. This is IMHO short sighted and unsupported by the facts that people will always build out to the limits of what they can afford.

This is a ridiculous, false, and specious claim. I'm in the real estate business and I've allowed megaprims on my land simply because I don't judge content that fits within my rules even if made by grid crashers like Gene Replacement. I'm not aware of any rentals agent that could cook up such a silly argument because they all rent not by the prim, but by the square meters -- duh. Perhaps there's only one island or something that has that per-prim concept, but 99 percent of rentals are about square meters, or about renting a packet of prims, like 150 in a townhouse, and the tenant uses them as he wishes.

The real objection to them is that they are *used to grief*. They were put over Satyr and about 16 neighbouring sims -- rooted -- so that those people had black signs over their sims blocking their map view including land for sale. It was like a big black cloud.

Cory no doubt had to say this as IBM has used the megaprims in a highly publicized build on their islands.

Posted at 11:11PM on Jan 4th 2007 by Prokofy Neva

9. Apparently, Neural, they are okay to use on private sims (except where used in a way that violates some other rule, ie: for griefing), but not okay to create, sell or distribute. That seems to be the gist here.

Posted at 11:19PM on Jan 4th 2007 by Tateru Nino

10. When I asked about mega prims recently, the Linden I talked to said that Megaprims weren't banned, but they didn't advise their use....

Rumour alleged that Gene Replacement's banning was not just related to Megaprims, but the images which were applied to them (which were allegedly in contravention of the TOS) and the fact that the prims in question were griefing other people ... but that is just unable to be confirmed.

It would be odd if he were banned solely because of the use of Megaprims, given that many people have used them, and one group of developers appeared to be offering them as free gifts on the Linden Emerce island.

Posted at 10:15AM on Jan 5th 2007 by Caliandris

11. Less use than distribution, apparently. While 'not advised', megaprims seem to have what in legal terms might be called 'substantial non-infringing uses', so Linden Lab appears to be treating them like copybot: Acting against the sale and distribution, and against the misuse of them, and leaving them alone otherwise.

Posted at 10:18AM on Jan 5th 2007 by Tateru Nino

12. Whilst mega-prims are tolerated on IBM's private sims, they're tolerated on anybody else's private sims. Stands to reason.

Posted at 1:36PM on Jan 16th 2007 by Musuko

13. Following up... at a tech discussion with Zero Linden, he said that the main problem was related to visibility on adjoining sims. On islands, this is less of an issue.

This does seem to explain the policy of LL.

Posted at 1:37PM on Feb 24th 2007 by Nobody Fugazi

14. On April 13 2007 after being away for an hour I returned to my build which i had used mega prims. I spent months work into my build literally two to three hours day. I recieved only the following Instant Message with user off line.

[21:16] IM: Neo Linden: (Saved Fri Apr 13 16:43:47 2007) the megaprims you are using are degrading the performance of the region for others, so I am returning as many to you as I can

My build was destroyed. No warning No notice and all gone. I tried to contact Mr Neo Linden but to no avail he is off line. My work is wrecked. No one I have spoken to has had this happen. Rumors are all over as even noted in this blog. Yet it seems that linden labs could make policy send a warning or something more courteous. I am not a compuer tech person but a builder/content creator and I dont want to harm a sims function but this just seems wrong.

Posted at 7:42PM on Apr 14th 2007 by michael pasquale

15. Wow, LL really wants to make me feel bad about using a giant prim.

I'm only using ONE, for building purposes. See, I've always wanted to make a convincing space background. When I finished making my Solaris Bedroom to sell, all I could do was span a crappy texture across 2 ten-by-ten billboards.

Then I started experimenting with objects that automatically building huge spheres made up of about 100 cubes.

And THEN I found giant prims. The 100x100x100 works perfect - I made a low-earth-orbit texture in Photoshop (and made it loopable), and the uploaded and applied it to the inside of the sphere. It's one prim that can't cause THAT much damage or slowdown, that gives a convincing feeling (when standing around the center and walking around).

To the above commenter, you wouldn't have lost all your work if you hadn't saved. I do rent space, but often build on skyboxes in Sandbox Cordova (sp?) Because I don't know when it clears everything, every 10 minutes I link everything, take a copy, and then de-link it. That way, by the time I'm done, I'll have like 20 "beta" versions of it, and I can track problems easier. And best of all, when the sim goes down or clears, I don't lose anything.

Posted at 1:49PM on Apr 22nd 2007 by Tor Robinsons (Tor Beerbaum in SL)

16. Linking "too Far Apart" errors prevent large structure functions like a 90 meter wind farm blade assembly i was going to sim here for business purposes, to see and show renewable energy systems at scale and simulated. Lindens claim to want business applications here , but issues of limitation and stability make me wonder if that ever will be a realistic outcome here. The reasoning in SL for such things is limiting is incomplete.

Posted at 4:37PM on Jan 13th 2008 by HD1080i

17. Long life to huge prims ! http://unconwtech.free.fr/products/hdmprims/

Posted at 3:28AM on Mar 20th 2008 by Simil Miles

18. Well, I have been using megaprims since I discovered them! I also carry the SALT HUD about and that helps me greatly. When I was building something the limit of 10 x 10 blocks was a strain to me. I had to either make a mess out of my build by cuddling the prims closer together or get a megaprim- and I got a megaprim. My computer doesn't lag at all with megaprims around me- the Lindens are being QUITE stupid! >:O

Posted at 3:28PM on Dec 23rd 2008 by Bella ______________