Quick question

Hi there,
I did post this question on a previous topic thread, but as that thread is well buried I thought it would be better to post it again...
Does anybody know just how long it takes, when somebody leaves SL, for their profile to go??
Also how do you know if someone has left SL???
apart from the obvious like not seeing them online...

Thanks in advance, as your help would be appreciated..

It is my understanding that accounts are not deleted ever merely because they are unused. Someone who started an account 3 years ago, didn't log in for 3 years, and came back today should find that account still active. And it would show up in Search over the whole period.

Accounts that are banned, I'd assume, are deleted immediately, and would cease to show up in Search the next time the Search database would be refreshed (every 24 hours, if I'm not mistaken).

Suspended accounts eventually fall out of Search (even though they can be unsuspended), but I don't know how long it takes for a suspended account to fall out of Search.

I don't know how long accounts which are specifically deactivated remain in Search. I didn't even know if they were actually removed until I checked today. (I had one account that I specifically requested that Linden Labs deactivate; I checked today and it is gone from Search.) There's something like a 30-day grace period once someone asks for an account to be deactivated, allowing one to change one's mind. So my guess is that such an account would remain in Search for around 30 days.

Keep in mind though that very few people actually take the final act of deactivating an account if they lose interest in Second Life. Most abandoned accounts just simply remain in Search forever. There is no way, of which I know, to determine an avatar's last login date.

Thanks for your help...The only way I know of to find out an Avatars last log-in date, would be to look in the groups that you were both members of..Or join 1 of the groups they were members of..The groups will give last log-in date of each member...

If they don't cancel their account, they stay active. When I cancelled my account back in April, it said I had 60 days to retrieve it. Maybe after the 60 days the profile would disappear? I don't know, I only lasted 3 weeks and reactivated.

I've always understood that free accounts last forever but expired premium accounts get wiped. I'd like it not to be true, though.

If you are a member of a group with that avatar, you should be able to see their last login date in the group members listing.

Based upon a couple of friends that cancelled accounts: If you are a land owner, your profile still shows in search until your last tier has been billed. Otherwise it appears that the account is not longer in search after roughly 24-72 hours - it varied on some of the alt accounts of my friend.

NOTE: If you have a calling card for the person, you can always double click that and still get their profile - even many months later. Apparently, the account and profile never really get deleted, simply deactivated and removed from Search.

This is only true if you have payments due that you fail to pay. It is sort of like having a car repoed because you don't pay for it.

You account is never actually "deleted" though. Even if you left it for a full year, you could still come back and pay what you owe.

No account, in the history of SL will ever be full out deleted unless you specify that you want to cancel your account. It may disappear from search, but your information and inventory is saved, out of view.