Telehub Taxi?

As Hotlined by Bri Koolhaas there is a new phenomia with someone sending a "taxi" type ride from one sim to the hub of another to try and get people to come to their land. They dont own any of the land around the hub but it sorta makes it look like they do.

Is this kosher? Discuss.

Depends. I've been using something similar at the Shelter for quite some time - and got some Linden advice before I did so. What I was told - was providing it doesn't obstruct navigation (i.e. Solid object blocking a roadway), its kosher.

My situation might be a little different though - I'm in the Telehub sim, and there's nothing but me & Linden land seperating me from the Hub (I'm about 100m away). When Isabel was experiencing the horrible Time Dilation issues before - travel was nearly impossible without the taxi.

The object Bri is concerned about is physical, solid, and originating from a neighboring sim. So no clue on the grey area there.

I'm not exactly sure what she's talking about... if someone made a taxi type service to take people from the hub to somewhere else I don't see an issue with it it's enterprising at least. I don't see how it'd be abuse reportable either, no one is being hijacked by the thing and dragged against their will.

What if this trend catches on and every time to arrive at a hub there are 15 taxis waiting to take you someplace else?

Sounds like a RL Airport or Subway station. Hey.... wait a minute....

I can ignore them like I do everything else at telehubs lol I tend to fly straight up long before anything is rezzed and get as far away from the lagfest as quickly as possible.

Might take away any advantage that those who own stores around hubs may or may not have.

Can anyone come up with a legitimate reason it would NOT be kosher??

I think it's a great idea.
It offers people an opportunity to get out of the lagtastic Telehub zone quickly and easily and on with their shopping.
I am not even sure WHY telehub land is so expensive. The texture loading in telehub areas is soooo slow that I am well away from there before any but a few of the textures rez. On the few instances I am deliberately shopping in a Telehub zone, I am not interested in browsing or in being 'Spillover traffic". I get in, get my stuff and get out.

A lot of the traffic counts for land in those areas is a byproduct of the fact that people HAVE to stay that long to SEE ANYTHING! It is an artificially inflated figure. IT does not reflect actual active traffic, since the first 5 mins of anyone's telehub experience is overcoming grey-view

Are you seriously suggesting that 15 taxi cabs at a telehub would ruin the ambience? Okay, I'll play. Whatever could induce someone to leave the vicinity of a telehub?

Personal teleports are utilized to bypass travel via telehubs. Sounds like public transportation to me.

If it's not griefing anyone (pushing them away, pulling them onto, spaming chat, lagging the sim, etc...), then I say keep 'em.

It just goes to show how annoying travelling through telehubs is. If we had P2P (like I and apparently many others would like to have), this would be a non-issue.

HP

Just put the coordinates of your destination in your ROAM or Hank Ramos "teleporter" and leaving the taxis in the dust.

Tragedy of the Commons

It is possible that this could eventually become a problem. However, it also possible that eventually there will be a single taxi at a telehub to take you to a variety of places instead of a variety of taxis with only one destination each and there will be no problem at all. Or the taxi idea will entirely fail to spread and there would still be no problem.

No matter how it turns out, it is not abuse, which is why I am troubled that there were three Lindens that removed it. The taxi is small and clearly not blocking anything. Well, perhaps blocking a tree and a small rock a little, but anyone who really wanted to get to them could easily go around it.

Perhaps it would be better if the taxi went to the vehicle rez area next to the telehub, but requiring that would be very different than removing it entirely.

Everytime I go through the Siona teleporter some nimwit has a notecard that automatically is dropping on me warning me about the taxi service. I have no idea about the taxi but that jerk who drops a notecard at me everytime I go through Siona is pissing me off.

Ditto, there could be free cheesecake and Silly putty at the telehubs and I would never know. I follow the red beam as soon as I can fly up...

SO I had an idea, um why didn't I just talk to the notecard guy himself. So I did. And he says he HAS to drop notecards on us as we go through the teleporter because the lindens won't help him with his issue with the taxi.

I call BS, I suppose what I really don't like and wasn't aware people can vandalize the telehubs like this.

This is brilliant. What a wonderful idea.

Kudos to the original thinker!

Every time I arrive at a hub there are hundreds of textures on dozens of walls in my face and in my way lagging my frame rate to hell and trying to trap me inside their associated shops.

I fail to see any difference.

This bullshit babytalk is the typical reason people throw at the idea of implementing point-to-point teleportation too. Poor things, people got tired of their old-fashioned methods and implemented something new and innovative.

I recommend people try out the taxi. It's fun to ride.

HP

i rarely look around items by a telehub, i fly up and follow the red beam. i've probably passed a taxi and never knew it.

It probably hadn't rezzed yet.

i'll have to keep an eye out for it and try it. can't give a good opinion on it without at least trying it

First of all, let me state that when I formulated the idea for the Telehub Taxi system it was from purly altruistic motives.

I had several goals in mind in doing this and quite frankly they presented somewhat of a challenge to me.

This would be my first time creating a scripted object of any type with any measure of complexity.

I had seen other modes of transportation with scripted objects such as helicopters and teleporters and transporters, and hover cars, and flying saucers. But one had to purchase these to go from point a to point b. You also had to have some type of skill at flying these things.

In my travels I've seen skycars and trolley cars, and even some different setpos teleporters scatered about.... the all amazed me.

Bear in mind, I've only been playing second life for about 2 months now... but I learn quickly when it comes to coding stuff.

What I had not seen was a public transit system like a taxi service.

So I set myself some goals.....

1) Design a craft that could travel from Point A to Point B without being encumbered by physics or random incursions in mid-air (eg - other aircraft, buildings that might suddenly appear, etc)
2) Allow the craft to automatically travel from point to point in a 'route' or circuit.
3) Provide an information system for the craft so that people will know what it's about.
4) Expand the system to cover as many mainland telehubs as possible and reasonable with current available resources.
5) Implement a 'call' device to be given away freely - if someone wants a vehicle to travel in - a taxi can come pick them up (at no charge).
6) Implement selectable destinations for the Taxis. So when someone asks for a ride - it can take them anywhere on the mainland.

Thus far... I've covered the first three... I'm currently working on numbers 4 and 5 though I have slowed my progress a bit because of the current controversy.

The Taxis currently run to three hubs - Hyles, Ribeata, and Siona... with my location in Falcaria acting as a hub for the three. I made them to operate free of charge and anyone that hasn't been ban-listed to my property is welcome to ride them (ya'll know who you are so I won't point fingers).

Since the inception of their operation I've had several lindens out to my place to look them over - they have found no problem with how the taxis operate and no appreciable server resource issues when they are operating. The taxis run off of a coordinate driven setpos script. They don't use open listens, and they don't (from my scans) cause any type of lag. I have literally recorded over a hundred people arriving with my visitor tracker at my hub where the taxis launch from from incoming or outgoing passengers. The first complaint arrived in the form of a summons from a live helper (again - no names) who insisted I shut down the Taxi - a certain individual was with this volunteer and the conversation I ported in on was something to the effect of 5 or 6 abuse reports already having been filed.

No rational explainations were given other than the fact that I didn't own land in Siona so I shouldn't be running vehicles there... aside from the fact that the place I was landing (for 45 seconds at a clip every 5 minutes) was public land at the telehub.

So I shut it down - albeit temporarily - not knowing a livehelper couldn't order anyone to remove content - and summoned a linden. I was told that NO livehelper had the authority that was being demonstrated - and that particular linden rode the taxi with me and scanned it in transit - nothing was found wrong with my taxi - and it was suggested I send a message to support. I did. After a bit hearing nothing negative about my taxis - I reactivated the Siona run....

Since then I have had several tactics used to try to get me to stop flying to Siona....
1) Message card dispensers telling people my taxis are 'bad' and that they break scripts. I don't think the taxis can break a script and I've ridden them hundreds of times with scripted items equiped and have yet to see one break from it.
2) Certain individuals showing up at my place in Falcaria and planting the same type of notecard dispensers on my neighbors property. Fortunately I have good neighbors who were willing to DO something about that
3) Mostly invisible walls placed in the taxi's flight path with someone extending the middle finger printed all over it.
4) Graphics textures sent to me from a certain individual that say "YOU SUCK" (white text on a black background).
5) A certain individual showing up at my establishment and cussing like a sailor to my neighbors - I wasn't privy to what was said as I muted him a long time ago.
6) Oh and lest I forget - the IM from a certain individual stating "I sure hope you enjoy being banned... I'm gonna nail your a** to the wall today" after I restarted the Siona taxi. (This was when the 'mute' function ended up being invoked.)

All of these terroristic griefer tactics are annoying but by no means are they insurmountable show-stoppers.... I've coped.

Let me point out again that the taxis run on a setpos based script... the same type of script is used by the Cubey Terra Mark III teleporters.... the Keywork Skimmer Box.... and a few others. I've never seen a report of one of them breaking someones scripted items. I'm sure there are quite a few items for sale in game and on SLX/SLB that use similar functions - Entropy Creations distributes an item they call their builder CPU that rezzes an item called HAVEN that takes the user to 400m above their start point. It uses the same method of travel as well.

I am by no means the first to come up with a mode of transportation that uses these functions. How many reports of breaking scripts have any of you seen from those items? I'd be curious to know.

In any event - that's the story from my perspective so far. Unless otherwise told by someone in authority - I plan to continue developing the taxis and their capabilities. Eventually I hope to provide FREE wristcoms that will allow ANYONE on the mainland to summon one to take them where they need or want to go... point to point - with no hub stops in between. (and yes I know the hyperteleporter already does that - but my taxis LOOK cooler)

If anyone who hasn't already wants to ride them - head on out to my place or one of the mentioned telehubs - you are welcome to do so. If you have questions, suggestions, or comments, contact me in-game and I'll answer them as best I may.

Regards,
Traven Sachs
Wolfhaven Productions - Falcaria (188,240)

and I might add that there's a small but lovely garden right next door to his telehubs. We're not selling anything but it's a nice place to stop rest dance and say hi if someone else is there!

I wasn't arguing one way or the other. I didn't post my opinions about the Telehub Taxi. It was something that came to my attention today and thought it was an interesting topic to discuss and I enjoy hearing what other people have to say about stuff that interests me.



I am all for P2P. I know there are those who own hub land that say they in fact find a noticeable increase in their sales. I do not own any land near there so I don't know.

My thoughts on this matter have always been that if the vast majority of people wanted P2P and the only reason people were against it was because it would affect their sales, there is no reason NOT to impliment P2P.

Want people rezzing into your house?