New XStreetSL policy for freebie items - What about opensource?

[Satomi Ahn]

Dear colleagues ^^,

I think the OC crowd, and more generally the FLOSS crowd, could be
interested by this
https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/commerce/blog/2009/11/18/roadmap--managing-freebies-on-xstreet-sl

In short, it will now cost 99L$ a month to get a freebie listed...
(justified by the well-known fact that all freebies are only
low-quality promotional items, suuure!).

I somehow feel it is wrong if OpenCollar has to pay such a fee for
making available our free and opensource products to a larger
audience.
I feel it is wrong if I have to pay 99L$ per month for my standalone
RLV relay too.
I feel it is wrong if Nandana is charged for the right of listing her
nPose scripts.
I am sure you all also have your own opensource pet project you like
to share with the largest audience as possible.

Even if most of us can afford this fee, it remains that it is a strong
incentive against starting new opensource projects.
Maybe how many projects will never receive sufficient exposure because of this?
How many potential future OpenCollar, ZHAO or Another Skin will have
to remain in the shadow (until their creators give up)?

SL would be a sad place without such projects. We improve the global
experience of SL residents and help making SL a better place without
asking anything in exchange. Why should we have to pay a fee for this?

--end of rant--

This policy should be enforced within 30-60 days.
Could we, during this time, use the weight of OpenCollar to change the
course of events? (yeah we are dealing with Lindens... )
Maybe we could ask for an exception for full perm items?
I would be interested in your point of view about this.

Cheers.

Baffledly yours,
Satomi