Bots

First off, I'm not actually wanting to pay for a bot program, I'm just curious about what's available.

Someone asked a question about getting a list of group members, and while I'm sure it's possible to get such a list using a libsl "bot" program, I don't know which one or where to get it. That's what prompted this post.

More generally I'm not aware of a web page that lists bot software, whether it be free or for sale.

So this is an invitation to folks who have bot software or folks that know about it to tell those of use who don't what's available and what it can do.

Well, for starters, there's Buffy Bot:

http://www.landmachine.com/?products=buffybot

Free!

Most bots are based on libopenmv, which is a .net library with a BSD license. If know C#, VB.net or any other .net languages then you can write your own bots.

For the most part it has a lot of the functionality available in the viewer in the library, but some things are still being worked on (like animations, sounds and working with inworld object inventory iirc). You can have a pretty simple bot up and running in a few minutes if you know what you are doing (I ended up writing one up back in the day as a nice target).

Linden Labs has a python library in the works called PyOGP, however I am not quiet sure on the status of that project or if it will even connect to the existing grid (it is a playground for a new grid protocol iirc).

There's also landbot.co.cc (seems to be down today) which used to sell a landbot program. And ten million group invite bots on SLX. If you go to http://www.libsecondlife.org/wiki/Download you can easily download the precompiled binaries which contains a large array of demo programs that do all sorts of interesting things.

I'm pretty sure you can get the main demo program to give you a list of group members. There's also some sort of group manager demo program. Regardless,it's pretty easy to get a list of group members using Bot Technology (tm). I do it myself so that my group inviter never invites people already in the group.

Buffy Bot, according to the linked page, is "a software application which logs into the Second Life Grid and warns, kicks, or bans Bloodlines players which target players with unsolicited bite requests."

I'm aware of libsecondlife, now called libopenmetaverse, and that it can be used to write various sorts of SL clients.

I'm asking about bots that are already written, that can be used by people who can't or don't want to program in C#, that are available for free or for sale, hopefully with a description of what they can do so that a person can tell if they do something that they want done, and usage documentation sufficient that someone who asks a question like "How can I get a list of group members?" can actually use the program to get a list of group members. The group members thing is just an example, one example of many possible uses people might want to use a bot client for.

If I asked about word processing software, I wouldn't expect to get answers to the effect of "Word processors can be written in many languages, you could download Microsoft Visual C# and write one yourself.". In that case of asking about word processors, I'd be expecting to hear about MS Word, OpenOffice, WordPerfect, and so on.

I don't believe there's any documentation at all in the libsecondlife precompiled download.

Running testclient.exe and typing help produces a list of functions the vast bulk of which are of interest to people interested in bots, but not of much value to people who aren't interested in bot technology but who want something SL related - such as a list of group members - that they can't get conveniently using normal SL means.

There are options listed of the sort I'm thinking about.

One command for textclient is "findobjects", which appears to locate objects within a radius based on a search string which is presumably part of the objects name. This might be a more effective way to find a lost object than using an LSL based scanner.

Command windows are fine for their purpose, but for the bulk of users, the application would really need to have a GUI, menu driven, with Help, like most widely used programs do these days.

There's a bunch of stuff in that download I don't have time to look at now.

Hi SuezanneC. A friend of mine and I are working on a bot script that will be used for educational purposes and will enable students to practice their language skills in very specific situations (e.g. a restaurant, a medical clinic, etc). Currently we are working on Chinese and English language versions of the bot, but eventually we hope to have other languages too. The basic idea behind the bots is to be able to program them with specific vocab and sentence structures that help students practice context specific language patterns asychronously. So far the bot we have developed is able to recognise how many of a particular thing you might order in a restaurant and repeat that order/quantity back to you for confirmation. We have a way to go yet, but we are hoping to have a demonstration model ready by March this year. As I don't follow this forum closely, if you want further information please email me at [email]kayleewest@hotmail.com[/email]

Cheers

Kaylee

I only offered what I know. Since I have not downloaded virtually any prewritten applications I can't personally comment on them. Your question was more along the lines of asking for a text editor then commenting on why vi was a pain in the rear to use and didn't provide a nifty spell checker.



LSL only supports scanning 16 objects at once, which can be a pita at times. Most bots are able to bypass this limit at the cost of more resources needed (machine to run it) and more development time. I remember a bot that used to come by my sim every so often that indexed object names and what was for sale. It was pretty fun to watch as it teleported back and forth between the parcels.



The test client is only a sample implementation, a lot of people do build GUIs for their applications. However being able to command the bot via IMs is also immensely useful and allows for multiple people to interact with the bot at once. GUIs are not the end all be all of interfaces, sometimes text just works better (at the cost of a perceived higher learning curve due to unfamiliarity).

Well, Suezanne, of course if you ask a bunch of nerds what the time is they will tell you how to make a clock.

Regardless, a quick search on xstreet for the word "bot" reveals dozens of them for a multitude of purposes.

Also, as I mentioned earlier groupmanager.exe in the download on libsecondlife.org has a GUI, does give a list of members of groups and frankly is so simple to use it doesn't need instructions. Double click executable, type in name and password, select group and click Info. It couldn't more directly answer your question if it tried.

there was one called AvaPet 2.5 i still use http://zetaphor.quotaless.com/blog/?page_id=16
its simple bot but handy i can script it with IMs
the webpage says
What Can It Be Used For?
AvaPet 2.5 was designed to include all of the standard abilities of a regular avatar in Second Life. This includes touching objects, paying objects, teleporting, etc. The bot has no specific purpose, but is more geared towards providing the capability to be used for whatever you want.

* Family Players - You could have an actual avatar for a child, instead of a prim object, or needing consent and involvement from another player.
* Club Owners - How about adding to traffic, having an AI to talk to customers, or even throw it on a dance pole!
* Multi-tasking - Send the bot to a sim, enable the relays, and you can fully communicate from 2 locations at once!
* Pets - Dress your bot up as an animal, have it wear a scripted collar, and you’ve got the best pet in SL! And it works in no-script/no-build areas, because it’s an actual avatar, not a prim object!
* Friends! - Lonely? Nobody likes you? Don’t kill yourself! Login a bot, and you’ve got the perfect friend! They will follow you anywhere, always want to talk, and will consent to sitting on sexual poseballs!

I just tried it out, and it does not appear to work properly on groups with more than a small number of members, or possibly something keeps it from being able to get names for a large percentage of people, because on large groups there's a large percentage of titles and last login dates shown that have blank name fields.

It is however simple enough to use.

It just doesn't work in practical terms.