Should Bots be banned?

Should LL ban bots either by policy or through technical means?

What real benefit do bots have in-world?

With everyone up in arms about scripts lagging the world, why aren't people upset about bands of autonomous user accounts teleporting all over the world, attempting to game the popularity system (yes, I know LL is working on that), sucking up recourses for no other reason than lining the pockets of a minority of users?

No.

Automated User Agents are a common tool used for many things, from automated greeters, to group inviters, to data collectors, to any number of other useful purposes.

That said, those which add more problems to the grid than provide usefulness should be banned. Specifically, ones like camping bots, which use up resources to excess and degrade the search system's value for everyone.

Yes.

Automated greeters and group inviters are spammers. Data collectors are collecting data without permission on land you do not own.

The few useful functions bots may be capable of are drowned out by the scammer and spammer uses.

Banning data collection would be higher on my list.

YES.

The bad effects far outweigh any productive uses. If people need someone to model their clothes for them, in the store - - they'll just have to hire someone, and do it the old-fashioned way.

Bots need to go.

No. I like bots, responsibly used.

Besides...how could you do it? I don't think there is any automated tool that can run and evaluate a Turing test, and LL won't/can't dedicate the resources to checking individual avatars manually.

Not only that, but an account can be a bot one moment, and the next log in with a real person at the controls.

Shoot. I don't want Hal the robot banned. Or his cousins. He's a great addition to SL. Surely there is some kind of technical means to ban the abusive ones.

We use a bot to automatically invite people to a land group upon rental, it automatically ejects them when their tenancy expires, neither case is spamming, this very much make life easier for the group and the tenant.

RP bots are useful and as someone points out HAL the robot.

There's nothing wrong with bots, it's how people use them that causes issues and that's a people issue not a bot issue.

The main advantage of banning bots would be to put more pressure on LL to add functionality for scripting instead. But realistically, ain't gonna happen, so may as well love the critters. They'll outlive us all anyway.

I hate bots when used for gaming the system. There are some legitimate uses for them though. Even the Lindens use them. Bots could be put to great use. In most games they'd be called NPCs and are a very important piece of any MMO. Maybe LL should come out with their own approved bot client.

Bots will someday be the killer app for virtual worlds. The more VWs there are the emptier they all will be, until one of them creates interesting non-player-bots.

Frankly, I think some of the bot activity in SL is LL testing. There is at least one bots nest that as far as I can tell has no reason for existing except as a test, and it's too long-term and (if tier is paid) too expensive to be a resident's test.

Bots that are actually interesting, though, are a long way off.

Who owns any land in SL? It's certainly not any resident.

LL runs data collectors. They own the land...........all of the land. Every single virtual bit of the land. They can collect any data they want......without anyone's permission.

We aren't talking about LL. But those who spy on the grid for their own profit.

The same applies.........LL owns the land. If they object they can fix it. You, as a resident, own nothing..........you are borrowing, renting, leasing or whatever but you have no control. It's not like RL where it is actually an invasion of privacy..........you have no privacy on the grid (or didn't you know that?).

I don't think bots should be banned. A little more controlled, yeah.........but not banned. They serve a very legitimate purpose for many people.

Bots are certainly useful and shouldn't banned.

I have 4 of them in my castle. They don't do anything useful but people do find them interesting. There is absolutely no reason to ban them.

I have another 6 of them in the store that do perform very useful functions for customers. Whether or not their functions could be performed by real people avatars is irrelevant. They shouldn't be banned either.

no ! Nort!~

I should get one to put on my sky platform so I don't get so lonesome while I make a prim skirt . Some hunk of a bot to oogle me and tell me how sexy I am with only half a skirt on!!!!

Some part of my mind is telling me that any program that could correctly evaluate a Turing test would probably be capable of passing one thereby rendering itself useless as a bot detector

I have just the bot for that job. His name is Phil Deakins, so don't eject him if he turns up when you're half naked

Scripting needs to be extended and improved until there's no need for bots. A script should be able to do anything an agent can, and once that's true THEN they can be banned.

Ok, I brought the popcorn. Debate may now continue.

How can a script be used to take the place of animation demo avs? And how can scripts be used to replace bots like my castle bots?

This thread should have been entitled "Merry Christmas Phil"

And a very merry Christmas to you, Ciaran

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