Public Attributes

Pretty much all the text-based virtual worlds let users assign a more or less unlimited number of attributes to their avatar, that can be seen in the profile (or details, or whatever it's called in that game) or from a script.

I think it's about time we quit asking for individual extensions to what LL provides in the profile, and just asked for attributes.

(and calling it 'gender' rather than 'sex' woudl reduce the schoolyard humopr)

So you could have, on the attributes tab:
Gender: male
Species: elf
Tribe: umblewood

Or:
Gender: female
Race: posthuman
Enhancements: borg

Or:
Gender: unresolved post-male
Species: sirian
Race: outer-belt
Clan: freebelter

Or:
Gender: male
Species: human
Race: gorean
Rank: ...

Or whatever makes sense for the people you associate with.

From LSL you'd have something like string llGetAgentAttribute(key avatar, string key);, PERMISSION_SET_ATTRIBUTE, and llSetAgentAttribute(string key, string value);. Let it work for agents in the same sim, to avoid the "load on the asset server" problem.

For even more fun, add llGetObjectAttribute(key object, string key) and llSetObjectAtribute(string key, string value), for the long requested "writable local storage" without notecards. A script would only be able to set attributes on itself, but it could read attributes of objects in the same sim. Could reduce a lot of the high-channel-listen spam, too.

@sex me=yes

With that out of my system, this is probably the most palatable solution to the constant whining for gender/sex identification from scripts that I've seen proposed so far.

I'm used to that being "@set me=sex:yes".

# @set Argent Stonecutter=sex:lots of it

>: D

(I run a MUCK, I can do that ;P )

Heh, back when I used MUCKs I too used the "@set me=sex:N" syntax. (the "N" stands for 'none', 'neuter', or 'not interested').

But yeah, good idea Argent.

With a few standard ones built in (ie gender) this would be nice. Scripts can then decide on their own defaults.
Maybe an LSL function to 'suggest' a new attribute to a user? e.g if they joined a combat controller system they might be suggested a 'rank' of 'private'.

One question... how would permissions to set/update properties be handled?
What permissions are required to overwrite a property set by another script?
How about just reading the properties set by other scripts?

A script in an object could write attributes on the object containing it, and read attributes on any objects (including avatars) it knows the keys of.

A script attempting to write attributes on an avatar would get a permission dialog unless it was attached to the avatar.

There wouldn't need to be script-private attributes. Scripts already have variables.

Attributes would be MOST excellent. Especially if this was applied to any prim-set active in the world.

No more cramming config options into prim parameters, or hoping your script doesn't get reset in a sim restart...

Another thought on permissions, from here.

First, when you look at someone's profile they'd have a tab marked "More..." or "Attributes" or "Flags" or something similar, with a bunch of named blocks of text in it. In your own profile you'd be able to add, delete, or edit the text, and mark each field's permissions: "Private", "Group", or "Public" and "Profile only", "My scripts", "Ask", or "All".

Second, there would be an LSL call that could be used to read (and, for your own attributes, set) these attributes. To make this efficient, you'd have to be online and in the same sim as the script when it made the call. Depending on the permissions you might have a dialog box come up or it might be automatically allowed or denied. If denied, the script wouldn't get any indication whether you had the attribute or not.

You would also be able to have these attributes on objects, and copy them between objects to your profile. More in this thread.

This would incorporate the family tab, the "public gender" field, and all the other special-purpose extensions to the profile that everyone has asked for. You could create special friends lists, put URLs in here, stream information, anything else that you need to keep track of in-world or among your friends or group.