A Question that was brought to my attention.

I was talking with a friend that had gotten a skin from her partner in SL and she was concerned about a few things that she has noticed. She wanted to know just how far scripts can go in SL. Here were her questions and i hope i have them right:

Is it possible for a script to be put in a skin that reports back to the owner of the script her location at all time, what is said in her IM's, and reports who is around her within a certain radius. Also she was in a little trouble the other day on a sim and she was stuck and at the same time she was in IM with her partner and amazingly he showed up instantly where she was, not flying in from the teleport that she had used. He thought someone was messing with her but the case was the sim was having a bad day and she was just stuck.

I am sorry to say, that i know very little about scripts but would try to find an answer for her. I suggested she somehow get rid of the skin or something and find out if he notices. Okay yeah he would notice. Anyway is this possible.

If it is her partner, then it is likely she has her calling card, right?

If you have someone's calling card you can track them down to the millimeter.

- T -

um to my knowledge this cannot be done, Script put in a skin that is.

However, if it can then again another serious problem in SL with Security and Privacy.

Shadow.

that's an interesting question. can you script a skin to report an av's postition? i dunno; but you can check skin components to see if they're scripted. i can't imagine why they would need to be.

Yeah, Tito, that could be explained but just instantly showing up at her location? and the part bout knowing things said in her IM's, is what puzzles me.

Della, contact me in world tonight...please!.....If such a thing is possible it is a serious invasion of privacy. Would make me question my choice of partners?

No, scripts can't be added to skins, at least that I can see. Also, he can find her exact location using her calling Card, and he may have been folowing her already, when she became stuck. Unless she, or another person teleported him to her location, he had to have flown in.

There are some good invisibility scripts out there, so he could have been following her while using one and then just stopped the scipt to suddenly appear.

Sounds as if her skin isn't the problem.....

Skins are actually just three textures with no scripts. So the answer is NO, a script can NOT be put in a skin.

For any prim based attachments you have on your avatar - THEY can have scripts. So be sure to check the Contents tab under EDIT MODE if you're suspicious.

Regards,

-Flip

Yes, to have jealousy get to that point in SL, as in RL, is very scary indeed.

BTW. Another possibility is a spy. I remember someone was advertising private investigator services in the forums not too long ago, but that would still not explain knowing what was said in IMs...

- T -

Sure think Teri. I had called you that day and asked you about that sorta. Just trying to find out the info from the pros her on the forums.

"For any prim based attachments you have on your avatar - THEY can have scripts. So be sure to check the Contents tab under EDIT MODE if you're suspicious. "

I had thought about that too Flipper. Cause she can never wear tats cause she has them all filled up with make up nipples and pubic hair that cannot be removed. She can change everything else about her body except for that. So this so called script could very well be in those tats?????? if so, how could i see the contents if i cant remove them from the skin????? It all sounds a bit fishy to me.

No, scripts can not be placed in skins.

Attachments can hold scripts, but the MOST a script can do is listen in on non-IM communications only, and run sensors to see who's nearby. It can't pull an av instantaneously to you (your teleporting/tracking thing) and it can't listen in on IMs.

That said, sounds like if they're "partners" and one of the two in this "partnership" is paranoid enough to be worried about something like that, then something is inherently wrong with the "partnership".

Hey, what about the possibility of 'the other man' being her bf's ALT?

That would explain instant teleporting and knowing about the IM's...

If you wanted to test someone's fidelity, that would definitely be a way to go about it.

- T -

Wow, guys, thanks. Because the partner involved is a big name or so thinks so, hehe, and has the means and jealosy tendencies to do this sort of thing if it is possible. I am assuming the IM part, only because at times she could very well have said some things in chat not thinking, like in a friends home thinking that no one could hear or find out. So that is only an assumption but the teleporting part gave me goosebumps. I had heard that only mentors could do that but truly do not know that either. That was also speculation. So if i have the facts right. She can have her location reported by calling card, her chats and av detector reported by a script. Right? and we are still concerned and finding info about the teleporter thing. If I am not right about any of this please set me straight. I believe if she finds this to be true she will just cancel her acount and come back as someone else just to be clean.

Yeah, true, too, but she hasn't got another man. I guess the partner have an alt of the opposite sex that has befriended her. hmmmm

Does this partner perhaps show up at much heralded events and rant in all caps?

We will talk in private, or is that a possibility in SL?????

I'll be in world shortly

The only people who can teleport directly to another AV's location without being given a tp invitation first are 1) Lindens and 2) Live Helpers. Live Helpers can only do this when a person has contacted Live Help, and only within a few minutes of the IM.

Is it possible that when she was stuck, she contacted Live Help? And her partner could be on the Live Help team without her knowing that?

Unless they were grossly misrepresented or have been removed there are devices that allow you to teleport to someone's location. You'd need to get to the same sim they are in (easy with their card) and then use the scanner to find and TP to them. The maker of one came to my location to adjust the radio I bought from him. He said all he needed to know was my sim. And he appeared a few seconds later on my deck. I've never used them myself because I don't have a problem asking someone if I may come to their location before just popping in on them.

But like I say, these items do exist - unless I've been lied to or they have been removed. But from what I have seen as far as someone just popping in on someone, there is a way.

All of my skins have scripts in them. I can make all your clothes vanish or make you switch genders with a simple key on my remote control. Now that would make for a fun town hall meeting wouldn't it?

Which is exactly why I bought Chip's skin

To clear up a few misconceptions.

Skins cannot be scripted. This was said before, but it needs restating. They are just a jpg2000 file, basicly.

Various, ah, "adult" tattoos such as nipples also can not be scripted. They are, again, nothing more than a texture.

Prim-based attachments can be scripted . This includes hair 'attachmens' like buns and braids, most jewelry, some shoes, sunglasses, hats, anything held in the hands, etc.

The most basic way of checking if these things have scripts is to rez them on the ground, open up the edit window, expand it (If you havn't already), and click the "contents" tab. This is not, though, 100% reliable, as it only shows scripts in the root prim.

Now, that said.

A script could be made that could record local chat and shouts, and send it via e-mail to someone, yes. Same with constant updates on position, what avatars are within 90 meters of you, and several other things. It's pretty easy, actually. And for this reason I've always wanted a permissions system for attachments that use the email functionality. The possibility for covert observation is so staggering that I have basicly stopped buying attachments from anyone I don't know since the email functions were put in.

That said, if it were ever proved that someone did this, it would be the most gross violation of the ToS to date and probably be an automatic, permanent ban. It would also be a valid case for legal action, potentially.

However, a script cannot monitor your IMs. End of story. The functionality doesn't exist.

Wow, I wasn't sure I would get a response from this post, much less, answers to all my questions. This has helped tremendously. I am checking out all of these ideas. I truly appreciate all your help.

A Linden herself removed 4 invisible items with a script like that from my land, telling me i should report this person for violation of the ToS and that he would be permanently banned.

So i did...

Guess what? NOTHING happened, no reply from Linden Lab or Customer Support and he's still happily running around placing this stuff on other people's land.

Della,

The issue that Lector raised certainly meant something to me, because I was there at the time (nearly got knocked into the water by the angry av).

I think if someone has a partner with that degree of jealousy, then things are seriously wrong with the relationship. I do actually empathise with the partner, because I have felt jealousy, not perhaps to such an extent but certainly, as it happened, justified, and while it is an ugly emotion, it is a horrible one to experience. So I do feel very sorry for the partner.

But if your friend has given no cause for jealousy, I think she would be wise to perhaps take a break from the relationship in order to look at it objectively. Often it's not possible to see things clearly when we are subjected to barrages of emotion from someone else.

If ever your friend ever feels the need to talk about the issue face to face, please get her to IM me inworld.

Selador