Automatic Chat Logging

Alright, here's an interesting idea. How about a feature that automatically logs the main chat window conversations? It could log to Notes, or it could log to a TXT file, just as you're logging out. It'd be handy for those of us who wanted to save something but didn't have the sense to do it before going Sim-bopping and end up going out of synch with the rest of the world(IE "going Phantom". Just a thought.

yes this should be in SL as default from day 1 =/

I think its not there because it is against the TOS to "record" private conversations. Like if you have a chat logger in your store it is a violation of the TOS for sure.

On the other hand, personal chat logs are posted all the time, so its a very grey area.

actually chat logging would have come in handy for me lastnight. I had a friend IM me and i tried to explain to them that i was in the middle of working on a comissioned project (for all they knew i was blowing smoke up thier ass, which i wasn't) and that i really couldn't chat long. well the IMs kept coming in along with the damn DING! DING! you get once you close the IM window (gawd that's annoying) so i finally got fed up and went to World >Set Busy.

well this approach only infuriated my friend who was IMing me and at that point i wish i had some sort of proof that, yes my services had already been requested elsewhere and it was keeping me busy at the moment, and that i had a deadline whereas I feel it's rude to make customers wait especially if they were first in line for my attention.

that falls into even a greyer area because i really wouldn't want to disclose information concering a customer, but all the same my friend figured i was putting them off with an excuse, so a chat log of some sort would have been nice to send them instead of the general 'I'm Busy" (I might not really be) but tough cookies ya aren't getting through to me right this minute message.

Auto chat logging can save your ass when the sim you're in crashes and you completely lost track of the conversation. On a related note, I sometimes like to log off and on very quickly, and pick up where I left off. I wish there wasn't such a gap between SL being closed and open.

That sounds to me more like you need to dump that friend, they sound like an extremely annoying person. If someone keeps IMing me I ask them to stop if I'm busy, if any of them got as bad as the one you're mentioning did then I'd have muted them.
If they got mad at that then it would be their own damned fault, because I'd be just as mad at having to do it in the first place.

Automatic logging is something I'm surprised (and disappointed) doesn't already exist.

If youre forgetfull like i am, this is a true blessing for me, to much chat, and some people trying to talk to me, usually zone out , or i had some conversation and they refer to that <.< i completly forgotten it already.. bleer,

Anyone who tried to talk to me during my zone out building time , usually dont really get a reply <.< and i log and forgot who just im'd me

I'd like to see this too.

Preferably saving it in-world and optionally also on the client computer.

i put my vote in to see this as wel, we need a Chat logging system built in to the SL client so that we can review what was said to us or what system information was missed.

I know this is off subject from the main thread but.... I would like to see an option to log in invisable. When I want to just be busy on my own and not be hounded by im's or whatever, the option to just not show up as there would be really nice. No friends to get pissed that I'm ignoring them and I can do as I please without constant interuptions. I do love my family and friends but sometimes a man just needs a bit of time alone. (Ok family and friends don't get mad at me for saying all this )

I don't agree with this at all. I would never log something that someone else was telling me without thier prior knowledge. To me it would be a breech of privacy. If a conversation means that much to you, copy and paste it to a notecard or something. Some things said can and will be taken out of context and this opens up a whole huge area for drama.

That's your choice. Mine is to automatically log everything ever spoken to or near me, on the off chance that I might need it for some reason (generally, posting things for posterity with permission -- unless it's for something like a breach of ToS -- or copying and pasting to avoid having to retype something, or simply for my own later amusement/reference). Long experience has taught me that it's better for me to have a log and not need it, than it is to need a log and not have it.

I don't consider it a breach of privacy. I consider it an augmentation of my existing memory (mine, not my computer's) and a private historical record of events and conversations that I have witnessed.

Like everyone else here, I can already quote conversations from memory naturally, and that's not a breach of privacy unless I actually do so when the other person didn't want me to. I see no compelling reason why logs should be treated any differently. It's not as though the logs automatically get fed to my web host, mailed out to 100 email lists, and advertised on banner ads as the Seekrit Chats of Second Life Residents, Candid and Unauthorized!!! (tm).

Either you trust me to keep private stuff private, or you do not. If you do not trust me to do this, it's generally not a good idea to say things around me that you wouldn't want to get out, logging or no logging. After all, as you pointed out, I can already copy and paste ... and if I were malicious or untrustworthy, I'd probably think nothing of doing so.

Besides, it is generally much more sensical to try to obtain permission to post something after it is logged than it is to obtain a log of something after it has evaporated due to client crash or forgetfulness.

I agreed. It really disappointed not having a chat logger. I vote for having it built into the SL client.

How could I save a chat if the client suddenly gone screwed up or I suddenly get logged off? And not tell me that I can click Continue button to read conversation. Because I cannot scroll up my IM window! (groan, is it just my stupidity?) And if the electricity suddenly downed, you get no chance to save anything at all.

Just to let you know... there kind of is a chat logger - it is on your hard drive, but it only records what YOU say in chat. I think if you have IMs go to chat, it will only save your end of the conversation (not sure, because I don't do that ) Anyway, for those of you who want to know how to get to it.. it is kind of buried and you have to go to your folder options on hard drive and view hidden files.

So... in a nutshell (I know everyone is just waiting for a point here)

C:\Documents and Settings\(UserName)\Application Data\SecondLife\logs

Then you open up the log called "Second Life" and you do at least have a record of what YOU said.

Oh well I have never noticed it before even if I have been to that folder for many time!

Still think it should be a good idea to have at least Full Logs for person-to-person or group-chats IM, at least! You know, every other IMs have the feature! -- MSN, YIM, AIM, etcetc. And they have nothing with privacy problem also.

Let me give you a few real-world examples:

Skype
AIM/MSN/Y!/Jabber/ICQ (all of these protocols have clients which log chats)
IRC
Email

All of these are ways in which "something someone else was telling" without their prior knowledge can be logged.

Besides, how do we know that SL itself, on the grid, doesn't log chats and IM, in case there really IS an investigation of abuse or other illegal behaviors? We don't know that they aren't logging EVERY chat and IM somewhere in case they are issued a warrant or subponea for this information.

Answer: We don't.

Logs in this kind of case would also be legally defensible, as corroborating evidence in case YOU are accused of doing something. If you had a copy of the logs on your end, you could compare those to the ones SL kept on the grid, and either prove your side or disprove theirs.

I find it really useful to log chats with clients in which we discuss the details of what they want built -- I can go over the log afterwards and write up a summary, instead of having to take notes during the meeting. We built our own chat logging tool, but it would be more convenient if it were built into the client.