KB2/Group-owned land

• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_do_I_deed_land_to_a_group%3F
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Estates,_Private_Regions,_and_Groups
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_do_I_reclaim_land_that_is_deeded_to_a_group%3F
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_do_I_manage_objects_on_group-owned_land%3F
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:How_do_I_change_or_remove_group_land_contributions%3F
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_do_I_reclaim_group_land%3F
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_can_I_tell_if_land_is_deeded_to_a_group%3F
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_to_change_your_group_land_contribution_from_one_group_to_another
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_does_group-owned_land_work%3F

Deeding land to a group

Deeding group land can seem like a complex task, but the following steps will handle the most basic scenarios.

To give land to a group, but continue to pay for it:

1. Right-click the land and choose About Land.
2. In the General tab, click Set and select the group.
3. Select Allow Deed To Group, then Owner Makes Contribution With Deed.
4. Click Deed.

Note: In order to be able to deed land to a group, you need the "Deed land and buy land for group" ability. Furthermore, the Region needs to have Allow Land Resell set in the Region/Estate Menu.

Estates, private regions, and groups

Can I deed land on my Estate to a group?

If you are the Region owner, or the covenant on the Estate allows you to resell your parcel, you can, provided the Region is not an Openspace. However, this process is handled slightly differently than on the mainland.

• Preferably, the group you select should not own any land on the mainland. Since Estate land and land on the mainland are handled differently, a group that owns both can be complicated greatly. This may also cause your group to lose certain features (such as traffic reporting) that are calculated differently for Estates versus the mainland.
• The Estate owner is the only person responsible for paying Linden Lab for land in an Estate; it doesn't fall under any of the normal mainland rules for land use fees (tiers, group land contributions, etc). Thus, you should not select the Owner Makes Contribution With Deed checkbox, as the Estate land requires no tier contribution.
• If the Allow Land Resell checkbox is unchecked in the Region tab of the Region/Estate window, then you can't deed that land to a group, as the system considers it to be a change of ownership.

The proper steps to follow to deed Estate land to a group are:

1. Select World > About Land to open the About Land window.
2. Select the group you want to deed to. As always, you must be have the ability to deed land to this group.
3. Select the Allow Deed to Group checkbox.
4. Click the Deed button.

Important: The Owner Makes Contribution With Deed checkbox should not be selected!

What can group members/officers do on my group-owned Estate land?

• Just as on the mainland, different roles within a group can have different abilities.
• Group members will not gain access to the Estate tools.
• Group land on an Estate can be reclaimed by the Estate owner at any time.

Reclaiming group land

Remove your existing land contribution to group

Do this to avoid an unnecessary increase of land tier.

1. Go to Edit > Groups.
2. Select the group the land is deeded to from the Groups window.
3. Click the Info button.
4. Click the Land & L$ tab.
5. Set Your Contribution to "0" sq meters.
6. Click OK.

Sell the land to yourself for L$1

Be sure to specify you want to sell the land only to yourself, or someone else may buy it!

1. Right-click the land and select About Land.
2. Click the Options tab.
3. Set Autoreturn other residents' objects to "0". This is very important. Failure to turn off Autoreturn may result in the return of all objects on the land!
4. Click the General tab
5. Click the Sell Land button.
6. Set the price to "L$1".
7. For the Sell the land to option, choose Specific user.
8. Click the Select button.
9. Enter your name into the Choose Person window.
10. Click the Find button and select your name.
11. Click the Select button.
12. For the Sell the objects with the land? option, choose No, keep ownership of objects.
13. Click the Set Land For Sale button.
14. Right-click the land and select Buy Land.
15. Click the Purchase button.

If desired, deed the land to a new group

1. Right-click the land and select About Land.
2. Click the Set button.
3. Select a new group for the land from the Groups window.
4. Click the Allow Deed to Group checkbox.
5. Click the Owner Makes Contribution With Deed checkbox.
6. Click the Deed button.

Managing objects on group-owned land

Group-owned land provides a great degree of flexibility for multiple users to collaborate on their builds. However, when not configured properly, it can also provide more difficulties. A poorly setup group-owned parcel can leave you unable to easily remove other Residents' objects from your land without accidentally removing your own!

Kinds of Objects on a Group-Owned Parcel

With group-owned land, there are three categories of objects, as listed in the Objects tab of About Land window, accessed by selecting World > About Land:

• Owned by parcel owner: These are objects that have been deeded to the group (in the Edit window, click Set to choose a group, then enable the Share with Group option, then click Deed). Deeding to the group is an excellent choice for any object that's going to be a permanent fixture of the land. However, group-deeded objects can't pay Linden Dollars to other Residents, and group-deeded objects that accept L$ (like donation boxes) will divide the L$ evenly among all eligible group members.
• Set to group: These are objects owned by group members, and have been set to the group. (In the Edit window, click Set and choose a group.) This is a must-have setting for any object that's going to stay on the parcel that is not deeded to the group.
• Owned by others: These are objects owned by people who are not in the group, as well as objects owned by group members, and are not set to the group. This distinction is very important; anything you build that isn't set to the right group gets placed in this category.

About Autoreturn

If all the objects on your group land are either deeded or set to the group, any third-party objects appear in the Owned by others category, where they can be returned through the About Land window or through Autoreturn. You can set Autoreturn in the Objects tab of the About Land window; it's the field labeled Autoreturn other residents' objects (minutes, 0 for off). As the name implies, you should set this field to 0 to turn it off.

Autoreturn should return all objects categorized as Owned by others (in order of most recent to oldest) before any objects belonging to the group, which helps your group prevent malicious users from trying to attack your build by bringing in their own objects. When you enter a number for Autoreturn, it's set instantly and retroactively, so entering 15 (for example) immediately causes any objects marked as Owned by others that have been left for more than 15 minutes to return to their owners.

Changing or removing group land contributions

A group contribution is an amount of land holdings you voluntarily move from your personal land use tier into the group's total allocation. Group contributions are included in the total amount of land that you own to determine your peak usage and land use.

When you donate land to a group, you often make a contribution to go with the land, so the group can pay for it. This amount remains dedicated to the group, even if the land donated with it is eventually sold or released, until you manually remove it.

Warning: If you do not manage your group contributions carefully, you can accidentally double-bill yourself (or worse) for the same parcel of land!

Checking Group Contributions

1. From within Second Life, open the World menu and choose My Land...
2. The lower box shows each of your groups, and how many square meters you have contributed to each group.
3. The Current Land Holdings box shows the sum of land you own plus group contributions.

Changing Group Contributions

1. Select Edit > Groups...
2. Click the group you wish to change and choose Info.
3. Click the Land & L$ tab.
4. Enter the new contribution you wish to make in the small box next to Your Contribution. To remove the contribution, set this number to 0.
5. Click 'Apply' .
6. Click OK in the Group Information window, and click Close in the Groups window.
7. Open My Land... (see above) and verify that the group contribution has changed.

Reclaiming group land (pt. 2)

To avoid an unnecessary increase of land tier, remove your existing land contribution to group.

1. Go to Edit > Groups.
2. Select the group the land is deeded to from the Groups window.
3. Click the Info button.
4. Click the Land & L$ tab.
5. Set Your Contribution to 0 sq meters.
6. Click the OK button.

Sell the land to yourself for L$1. Be sure to specify you want to sell the land only to yourself.

1. Right-click the land and select About Land.
2. Click the Options tab.
3. Set Autoreturn other resident's objects to 0 This is very important. Failure to turn off Autoreturn may result in the return of all objects on the land!
4. Click the General tab
5. Click the Sell Land button.
6. Set Set a price to L$1.
7. For the Sell the land to option, choose Specific user.
8. Click the Select button.
9. Enter your name into the Choose Person window.
10. Click the Find button and select your name.
11. Click the Select button.
12. For the Sell the objects with the land? option, choose No, keep ownership of objects.
13. Click the Set Land For Sale button.
    
14. Right-click the land and select Buy Land.
15. Click the Purchase button.

If desired, deed the land to a new group.

1. Right-click the land and select About Land.
2. Click the Set button.
3. Select a new group for the land from the Groups window.
4. Select the Allow Deed to Group checkbox.
5. Select the Owner Makes Contribution With Deed checkbox.
6. Click the Deed button.

How to tell if land is deeded to a group

ou can find out if land is deeded to a group by following four simple steps:

• Right-click the land and choose About Land from the pie menu
• Click the General tab
• What does it say for Owner?
• If it says (Group Owned) then the land is deeded to a group. If Owner shows the name of a Resident then the land isn't deeded to a group, but is instead owned by that Resident.

Tip: To learn more about a group that land has been deeded to, click the Info... button in the About Land window. The Group Information window will display the names of Residents who are group owners in bold. Double-click any name in the list to view the profile of the Resident.

Changing land contribution from one group to another

To avoid an unnecessary increase of land tier, remove your existing land contribution to group.

1. Go to Edit > Groups.
2. Select the group the land is deeded to from the Groups window.
3. Click the Info button.
4. Click the Land & L$ tab.
5. Set Your Contribution to 0 sq meters.
6. Click the OK button.

Sell the land to yourself for L$1. Be sure to specify you want to sell the land only to yourself.

1. Right-click the land and select About Land.
2. Click the Options tab.
3. Set Autoreturn other resident's objects to 0 This is very important. Failure to turn off Autoreturn may result in the return of all objects on the land!
4. Click the General tab
5. Click the Sell Land button.
6. Set Set a price to L$1.
7. For the Sell the land to option, choose Specific user.
8. Click the Select button.
9. Enter your name into the Choose Person window.
10. Click the Find button and select your name.
11. Click the Select button.
12. For the Sell the objects with the land? option, choose No, keep ownership of objects.
13. Click the Set Land For Sale button.
    
14. Right-click the land and select Buy Land.
15. Click the Purchase button.

If desired, deed the land to a new group.

1. Right-click the land and select About Land.
2. Click the Set button.
3. Select a new group for the land from the Groups window.
4. Select the Allow Deed to Group checkbox.
5. Select the Owner Makes Contribution With Deed checkbox.
6. Click the Deed button.

How does group-owned land work?

Second Life groups can unify their projects and vision through group-owned land.

Group-owned land is always held collectively by a group, not by any one group member. In order for the group to own land, its members must submit land contributions, which are donations that members make from their own personal land allowance. The group can own a total amount of land whose size in square meters equals 110% or less of the sum of all group contributions.

Warning: Remember that even after your group has sold some or all of its land holdings you will not be able to "tier down" to a lower payment level until you remove your land contributions from the group by setting it to zero.

To set your land contribution to a group:

1. From your Viewer menu go to Edit > Groups.
2. Select the group from the group list.
3. Click the Info button.
4. Click the Land & L$ tab. Enter the contribution amount in the Your Contribution field. It can be set to 0 if you want to completely remove your contribution.

Total Contribution must be equal to or more than Total Land In Use, or your group risks losing some of its land.

See "How do I change or remove group land contributions?" for more information on setting group contributions.

Example

Adam, Bob, and Carol are all members of the "We Love Pretzels" group. They wish to purchase 4096 square meters to build their ultimate pretzel paradise, Pretzeltopia. Since no one person has enough land allocation to buy that much land without paying a higher tier for land use fees, the plan is to have the group own the land, with group land contributions from the group members.

Tip: The Land Use Fees calculator shows your Current Fees and has the option to calculate your Estimated Fees for square meters owned or donated to group.

Adam

Adam is a Premium subscriber. He doesn't own land, but as a premium member, he can own or contribute 512m2 without additional land use fees.

Adam's Current Tier: 0(+512) = 512'Adam's Land Owned: 0'Adam's Group Contribution: 0'Adam's Total Land Usage: 0Adam's Remaining Allocation: 512 - 0 = 512

He decides to donate his 512m2 allocation to the group. He doesn't own land, but his 512m2 is now in use by the group. He can't buy any more land without going to the next land tier (and paying higher land use fees.)

Adam's Current Tier: 0(+512) = 512'Adam's Land Owned: 0Adam's Group Contribution: 512Adam's Total Land Usage: 512'Adam's Remaining Allocation: 0Group Total Contribution: 512

Bob

Bob is also a Premium member, and owns 3584m2 of land already (which puts him in the 4096(+512) land tier).

Bob's Current Tier: 4096(+512) = 4608'Bob's Land Owned: 3584'Bob's Group Contribution: 0'Bob's Total Land Usage: 3584Bob's Remaining Allocation: 4608 - 3584 = 1024

Since his maximum allocation is 4608m2, and he currently owns 3584m2, he has 1024m2 to spare. He contributes this 1024m2 to the group. Since his total usage is now 4608m2 he will be unable to buy any more land without moving up a land tier (and paying higher land-use fees).

Bob's Current Tier: 4096(+512) = 4608'Bob's Land Owned: 3584Bob's Group Contribution: 1024Bob's Total Land Usage: 4608'Bob's Remaining Allocation: 0Group Total Contribution: (512 + 1024) = 1536

Carol

Carol is a Premium subscriber, but doesn't own land. However, she's willing to increase her tier to help the group meet its doughy desires.

Carol's Current Tier: 0(+512) = 512'Carol's Land Owned: 0'Carol's Group Contribution: 0'Carol's Total Land Usage: 0Carol's Remaining Allocation: 512 - 0 = 512

Doing a little kitchen math, Carol figures she needs to go to the 2048(+512) tier to support Pretzeltopia's planned land purchase. She confirms the tier change (to 2048), and contributes all her allocation to the group's land contributions.

Carol's New Current Tier: 2048(+ 512) = 2560'Carol's Land Owned: 0Carol's Group Contribution: 2560Carol's Total Land Usage: 2560'Carol's Remaining Allocation: 0Group Total Contribution: (512 + 1024 + 2560) = 4096

The Group

The group now has 4096m2 of contributions from its members. Groups get a bonus allocation, equal to 10% of the total group contributions members give. As a result, the group can actually own 10% more than its individual members could.

Total Contribution in Group: 4096m2 Total Amount Group Can Own: 4096m2*1.1 = 4505m2

All that remains is for one of the group officers to go to their future home, right-click the land, select About Land, and click on Buy For Group. (Buy For Group allows an officer or other appropriately powered group member to send the land directly to the group without owning it themselves. Use this when you've already made group contributions ahead of time, like We Love Pretzels has.)

Important: If using the About Land > Buy for Group option and the objects on the land are included in the sale, any transferable objects are automatically deeded to group as well. You have the option to buy the land individually (this may affect your tier level) then deed the land to the group.

Owner Makes Contribution With Deed

If you are deeding land to a group and plan to make all of the contributions for the land yourself, you can use the Owner Makes Contribution With Deed option. To use this option, follow the steps below:

1. Go to About Land > General tab and click the Set button.
2. Select the group you want to Set the land to.
3. Check the Allow Deed to Group box.
4. Check Owner Makes Contribution With Deed box.
5. Click the Deed button.

Example

Diane is a Premium member, and owns 4096m2 of land. (which puts her in the 4096(+512) land tier). Since her maximum allocation is 4608 and she currently owns 4096, Diane has 512 m2 available without increasing her tier level.

Diane's Current Tier: 4096(+512) = 4608 Diane's Land Owned: 4096 Diane's Group Contribution: 0 Diane's Peak Usage: 4096Diane's Remaining Allocation: 4608 - 4096 = 512

Diane decides to deed her land to a group. Rather than other group members contributing tier for this land, Diane wants to contribute tier allocations herself. She checks the box next to Owner Makes Contribution With Deed.

Diane's Current Tier: 4096(+512) = 4608 Diane's Land Owned: 0 Diane's Group Contribution: 4096 Diane's Peak Usage: 4096Diane's Remaining Allocation: 4608 - 4096 = 512

While the group now owns the land, the tier level does not change for Diane and she still has 512m2 remaining allocation. Peak Usage does not change since Land Owned and Group Contributions determine Peak Usage.

Additional information on group land allocation

If at any time a group owns more land than they have land contributions for, Linden Lab contacts the founder of the group to let them know they need to either contribute more land allocation or release land within 72 hours, or else risk losing some of their land.

Group land and restricting access

If a parcel of land is owned by (or set to) a group, the landowner (who may also be the group owner) or another group member with the right abilities can set it so only group members can enter that land. This is useful for private events. Here's how:

1. Go to World > About Land.
2. If it isn't already selected, click General tab. Verify the desired group is shown next to "Group:".
3. Click Access tab.
4. Uncheck Allow Public Access.
5. Check Allow Group Access. Note you can't change the name of the group here; it must be changed in the General tab.

However, Region-wide maturity ratings always take precedence over land parcel group access within a Region. You can't visit group-owned land in a Region that exceeds your maximum maturity rating. Let's say that Adam from the earlier example wants to visit Pretzeltopia, which for the purposes of this example is in an Adult-rated Region. Even though he's certainly a group member, Adam hasn't age-verified with Linden Lab. Upon trying to enter the Region, he'll be blocked and see this message:

Related, if you're age-verified but your Preferences are set to not access Adult content, you'll see a dialog asking if you want to change your Preferences. Learn more in "Setting your Maturity Preferences".

Tip: If your group is buying land in an Adult Region, you may want to check beforehand that all the intended group members will be able to access it.

Notes:

• Group-owned land refers to the group for all aspects of ownership.
• Like Linden Dollars (L$) paid to a group, parcel directory fees are divided evenly among all group members who have the ability Pay group liabilities and receive group dividends (in the Accounting category of group abilities) associated with their group role. If nobody in the group has this ability, the fees are paid by the group owner, who always has all abilities.
• Object return tools consider objects along the following lines:
  • Owned by parcel owner are group-owned objects
  • Set to group are objects set to the group but owned by group members
  • Owned by others are all objects not owned or set to group (including objects owned by group members but not set to group)
• If group-owned land is sold, the L$ received is distributed evenly the next day to everyone in the group who has the ability Pay group liabilities and receive group dividends (in the Accounting category of group abilities) associated with their group role. If nobody in the group has this ability, the L$ go to the group owner, who always has all abilities.
• If you own land that you've deeded to a group and subsequently abandon it, the land is returned to Governor Linden and is lost to the group. After abandoning your land, you still need to adjust the amount of land you've donated to the group in order to be billed accurately.
• Land tier donated to a group is always considered active, whether or not it's currently being used to hold land; in other words, land tier donated to a group always counts toward your own peak usage, and you are responsible for paying the associated fees.
• If you're a group owner and you're about to shut a group down, you should immediately withdraw donations from the group in order to avoid unexpected tier charges during the shutdown waiting period.
• Wondering what happens to group-owned land when the group is disbanded? Read "Why was my group disbanded?" to find out.