3 Things a Newb would add to LSL

Most Likely all of these have been suggested before. Ive looked through this forum, and only noticed one of them though (I didn't read every post, just browsed topics, and read through the appropriate ones).

1. Better Documentation. LSL wiki is great, and helped me get through my first scripted Item, but it is crazy that Linden Labs doesn't provide complete documentation on their scripting language.

2. Good Inter-object Communication. Please explain why I am using a postfix server to communicate with something else in-game? If there is something else out there - please share. Give me llSendToObject(key recipient, string message, key attachment) and Ill be happy.

3. Lisences for scripts. The ability to apply and enforce certain common lisences on scripts including: MS style , GPL, and BSD.

Flame all you want.

How do you propose technically to do that? Besides getting Lindens involved you can make the script visible or not to other people. Did you have something else in mind?

I suggest we hire Intertrust and Macrovision.

Sorry - I didn't explain myslef very well. This would be as a partial upgrade to the permissions system. For example - The GPL. I take a script that has had the GPL applied to it. If I copy some code out of it, and into another script, until the code will now always be under the GPL. With a binary only lisence, you can't even look at the source code.

And if I hand type the code from one script to another?

Or better yet, copy it into a notepad document, and then into a new script, removing any sort of strange 'flags' that are added to the copy/paste procedure?

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha snort snigger sorry that's not really funny it just caught my ha ha ha ha permiss ha ha ha ha ha

Now now, be nice to the newbie.

I realize the GPL may be hard to apply to scripts, but it wouldn't be too hard to police the copy in, copy out part with a cache of what has been copied in and out of the client, to prevent simple tampering like you suggested. I do realize that this is DRM and as such, it is impossible to make it 100% uncirumventalbe, but if you make it hard too hard to do, you are left with only the hard-core people. Especially if you tell people that circumventing in-game restrictions is illegal(which it is, if you make all code state that it is under the whatever lisence).

You can easily get around nearly all the restrictions placed in the current system anyways. If someone wants to copy your work they can. Why not at least make it difficult for them?

P.S. I plan on using a BSD style lisence anyways. Im not crazy about the restrictions the GPL puts on people.

Considering you have to go out of your way to make a script visible, if you don't want people copying parts for their own use, don't make it visible.

1) The Wiki and other user-created educational sites and in-world classes do far more to teach the subtlties of SL to the masses than anything the Lindens could arrange. I think they are quite happy to see the community supporting itself in this way. Though I will say that highly visible and official links to these excellent off-site help sources would be a good addition. (Like putting a link to the Wiki on the Linden page the Script Help button sends you to.)

2) I think the key here is that the grid was designed with minimal interconnectivity in mind. Judging by some of the white papers and press releases, the fact that each sim is, at most, connected to only four other servers is what makes the "seamless" grid possible. (And it's much more seamless than it was a year ago, despite the remaining visible cracks!) So the propper support of grid-wide communications was limited by the core design principles. We now have llEmail to send data long-range, but no one expects it to be fast. (It's email after all.) It probably requires more overhead than a simpler interface, so maybe sometime soon we'll have something better... But that may not be till 2.0.

3) It has been mentioned several times that Linden Lab is considering implementing the Creative Commons system of copyright protection in Second Life, or something like it. I like the idea, but I wonder how it will be enforced. One of the requests that keeps popping up and getting shot down is the splitting of transfer-for-free and transfer-for-money. But since there all dozens of ways to get around such a split, implementing it would be silly.

I'm thinking that the best bet is to add more Creator-related data to every object. Not only the (CC) data, but also the last price the creator set on the object (so someone who may be buying it from a reseller can see the original MSRP), a quick link to the Creator's profile (to IM them or find their shops in their Top Picks tab), and a set of creator permissions that are visible to the buyer which may grant the Creator permanent rights (great for providing upgrades and bug fixes).

I have more ideas along these lines that I'll be writting up soon.

Tiger Crossing,
1) Yes, In world classes, and the Wiki are helpful, but Linden Labs should officially support the Wiki as a resource with a link to it from all scripting documentation (and pickup the webhosting bill?)

2) The Overhead involved in Email must be huge. Think about it: A whole seperate server to handle the email, and every message has to be saved to the hard drive and then loaded again.