General Covenant Update

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Lyubov
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General Covenant Update

Post by Lyubov »

At last Tuesday’s RA meeting, a Citizen concern was raised regarding complications resulting from the current process for private parcel sales, which often leads to confusion and disappointment. During the subsequent discussion, it was agreed that private parcel sales should only be conducted with the assistance of an Estate Manager. The process concerning land purchases is addressed in the General Covenant, https://cdsdemocracy.org/cds-themes/ This is the appropriate place to make a note that private land sales may only be conducted with the assistance of an Estate Manager.

It was also suggested during the RA meeting that the general limitations on the maximum number of parcels which may be owned by one individual may be relaxed, given the continuing availability of a substantial number of parcels for sale throughout CDS. Certain zones within CDS shall retain ownership limitations as detailed in the covenants for those regions. The General Covenant addresses the issue of Maximum Land Ownership and is the appropriate place to make this policy adjustment.

During the review of the current covenant, it was also observed that under Tier Meter Expiration, clarifications are necessary for exactly when an owner's responsibility for monthly fees ends. This point has been expanded.

Lastly, several grammatical errors were corrected.

I offer the following proposed draft text for the relevant sections of the General Covenant. For simplicity and readability, I have moved the Maximum Ownership statement to the Purchasing Land and Paying Tier section, and separated the point concerning the Linden Lab Premium land allowance into its own item. The RA intends to vote on these proposed updates at the next scheduled meeting on 23 June.

General CDS Covenants

(These covenants apply to all CDS regions. You must read these general covenants AND the region specific covenants for the region you are purchasing in; see links at bottom of this page for those.)

Purchasing Land and Paying Tier:

Step 1: Buy the land through the About Land tab. Your first month’s tier is paid when you purchase the land (no cost for the land itself).

Step 2: An Estate Manager will set the tier box to your name, and include your first 30 days as ‘paid’. You pay the tier box at the end of your 30 days and keep it current in order to maintain your ownership and your citizenship.

**By purchasing a parcel you become a citizen of the CDS. We encourage you to get to know your fellow citizens, come to events and meetings, and read the constitution and laws on the CDS website.

a. Tier is paid to CDS and not to Linden Lab. You do not need a Premium account to become a citizen in CDS.

b. The Linden Lab Premium Account land allowance does not apply to and is not credited towards ownership of land within CDS.

c. Status as a citizen in this community is dependent upon making regular payment of the monthly fee for at least one parcel.

d. Land owners may directly sell their parcel to another individual only with the assistance of a CDS Estate Manager.

e. Some zones within individual CDS regions have specific parcel ownership restrictions.

Tier Meter Expiration

f. Your responsibility for monthly parcel fees continues until you mark the tierbox "Won't Renew", you abandon the property though About Land, you notify the Chancellor in writing of your intention to vacate, or you are evicted for non-payment

g. Your status as a citizen in this community is dependent upon making regular payment of the monthly fee for this land, which will be reclaimed by the community if you do not make this payment.

h. Your rights to sell the property are revoked once tier is in arrears.

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Rosie Gray
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Re: General Covenant Update

Post by Rosie Gray »

For reference, I post the current General Covenant here, as the pre-amble is an important part of the covenant:

About this community:

The Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS) is the oldest democracy in Second Life. The regions have loosely based Germanic, Alpine, Tuscan, or Mediterranean themes, representing different historic periods.

We are not a role-playing community.

FOR HELP, find online Estate Managers in Neufreistadt here, or in Colonia Nova, here.
General CDS Covenants

(These covenants apply to all CDS regions. You must read these general covenants AND the region specific covenants for the region you are purchasing in; see links at bottom of this page for those.)

Purchasing Land and Paying Tier:

Step 1: Buy the land through the About Land tab. Your first month’s tier is paid when you purchase the land (no cost for the land itself).

Step 2: An Estate Manager will set the tier box to your name, and include your first 30 days as ‘paid’. You pay the tier box at the end of your 30 days and keep it current in order to maintain your ownership and your citizenship.

**By purchasing a parcel you become a citizen of the CDS. We encourage you to get to know your fellow citizens, come to events and meetings, and read the constitution and laws on the CDS website.

a. Tier is paid to CDS and not to Linden Labs. You do not need a Premium account to become a citizen in CDS.
b. The Linden Lab Premium Account land allowance does not apply to and is not credited towards ownership of land within CDS. Status as citizen in this community is dependent on making regular payment of the monthly fee for a least one parcel.

Tier Meter Expiration

c. Your responsibility for monthly parcel fees continues until a new owner purchases, or you officially abandon the property.
d. Your status as citizen in this community is dependent on making regular payment of the monthly fee for this land, which will be reclaimed by the community if you do not make this payment.
e. Your rights to sell the property are revoked once tier is in arrears.

Maximum Land Ownership

An individual can own up to 12* CDS land parcels. Land ownership restrictions include any land donated to group-owned land in CDS. Additionally, some zones within individual CDS regions have specific parcel ownership restrictions.

General Rules:

1. All buildings in CDS must be physically plausible, based on the architectural technology of the historical period and culture of the CDS region in which the property is located.
2. Use no “Full Bright” settings on any of your objects out of doors.
3. Vendors must be inside of buildings and are only allowed on commercially zoned lots.
4. No global ban lines. You DO have the right to ban specific individuals from your parcel.
5. No security devices below 1000 meters.
6. Keep skyboxes and build platforms above 1000 meters and within parcel limits.
7. No subleasing.
8. Nudity allowed only within private residences. Our regions are rated ‘moderate’.
9. No weapons are permitted.
10. No SL or RL pornography is permitted.

Approval of Buildings:

1. All structures are subject to review by the Land Use Commission (LUC). Upon completion of exterior construction, notice shall be delivered by the LUC to the Chancellor for approval. Builders also have the option of submitting plans to the LUC for pre-approval.
2. Within each region there are public and private structures that can only be modified with prior approval by the Chancellor. See specific Regional Covenants below.
3. Adjustments to land within region specific tolerances, to accommodate complying structures, may be made by Estate Managers.
4. Variances may be granted for terraforming requests beyond the region specific tolerances.
5. Buildings under construction for longer than 24 hours must be kept above 1000 m.

Scripts and Particles:

1. Excessive script usage adversely affects region performance and is not permitted. The determination of excessive is at the sole discretion of the Chancellor.
2. Scripts which use llListen (voice command) are permitted if they listen only after a touch and then deactivate after a certain period of time.
3. Scripts that spy on other residents, record or transmit chat, spy on movement/activities are not permitted with the exception of visitor counters, item givers, statistics collectors, etc., which may be used for commercial purposes within a public, commercial establishment.
4.Private security scripts may be used above 1000 m and range within the owner’s parcel borders and give intruders a 30-second warning prior to ejection.
5. Particles may be used in effects that have real-world analogies, such as lights, smoke, and fire. Floating, particle emitting and rotating signs are prohibited.
6.Scripts and particles attached to avatars are unregulated.

Commercial Zoning: Clubs and other Businesses

1. Clubs and businesses shall be established in commercially defined zones. See specific regional covenants.
2. All clubs are subject to review by the Chancellor. Normally only one club per region is allowed and that on terms negotiated in advance and enforced by the Chancellor.

Terms of Service

All terms and conditions of service set forth by Linden Lab, both in their official Terms of Service (TOS) and in all official blog posts, forum posts or other official statements regarding policy, allowed behaviour and terms of service must be adhered to first and foremost prior to the application of this covenant. Under no circumstances does the CDS permit any behaviour or actions not permitted by the Linden Lab TOS or publicized policy. These covenants are subject to change from time to time as the elected governing bodies see fit. Changes shall be effective upon publication.

For more about each sim and to read the current covenants, visit their individual pages:
Neufreistadt
Colonia Nova
Monastery
Alpine Meadow
Locus Amoenus
Friedsee

*The 27th RA changed the maximum number of parcels allowed per citizen to 12. August 6, 2017 and removed the total m2 and references to ‘Hippo’, and restriction of 3 months max tier payment at the Sept. 3, 2017 RA meeting.

"Courage, my friend, it's not too late to make the world a better place."
~ Tommy Douglas
Em Warden
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Re: General Covenant Update

Post by Em Warden »

I hope for a further clarification in the text about "Purchasing Land and Paying Tier", Step 2:

"An Estate Manager will set the tier box to your name, and include your first 30 days as ‘paid’. You pay the tier box at the end of your 30 days..."

I expected "At the end of your first 60 days", since one has to pay the Casperlet for another 30 days as part of the buying procedure. Or has that been changed, so that you only have to pay for the parcel, and then you can wait to pay again until after the 30 days you got from the purchase?

When you go through hell- keep walking!

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Lyubov
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Re: General Covenant Update

Post by Lyubov »

Thank you Em. There is no proposed change to the current process of purchasing land as described in Step 2. According to the General Covenant written to the Portal at https://cdsdemocracy.org/cds-themes/ "These General CDS Covenants were approved by the 22nd RA, April 19, 2015.". I would expect that this policy has been in place since at least that time.

Purchasing land in CDS only requires a single payment. The purchase price for a parcel is set to be equal to the 30 day tier amount. After purchasing the land, an Estate Manager will configure the tierbox in the Citizen's name and credit 30 days of tier. Once the tierbox is configured, the Citizen may immediately, but is not required, pay additional tier to the box. You may choose to wait as long as 30 days after the initial purchase, until the tier is due, to make another payment.

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Rosie Gray
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Re: General Covenant Update

Post by Rosie Gray »

Em Warden wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 12:43 pm

I hope for a further clarification in the text about "Purchasing Land and Paying Tier", Step 2:

"An Estate Manager will set the tier box to your name, and include your first 30 days as ‘paid’. You pay the tier box at the end of your 30 days..."

I expected "At the end of your first 60 days", since one has to pay the Casperlet for another 30 days as part of the buying procedure. Or has that been changed, so that you only have to pay for the parcel, and then you can wait to pay again until after the 30 days you got from the purchase?

Em, you can just wait for an EM to assign the tierbox to you and they will also assign the first 30 days. It's been like that for a long time, but since you have been a citizen for a long time you, like most of us, don't read the notices anymore when you buy a parcel so you probably just never noticed when it changed a long time ago now!

"Courage, my friend, it's not too late to make the world a better place."
~ Tommy Douglas
Em Warden
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Re: General Covenant Update

Post by Em Warden »

Thank you Lyubov and Rosie. Touché...

When you go through hell- keep walking!

Winston Churchill
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