What is a Bot?

I mean, I know that a bot is an avatar...
And I know that there's no real person inside...

But, what exactly are these Frankensteinian creatures? How are they created, and controlled? Are they independent to a degree, or does their master have to be logged in for them to operate?

Does one establish an alt account and then give the poor guy a lobotomy and drop a script inside his head somehow?

I only ask out of morbid curiosity...I have no desire to make or own such a thing.

In SL a bot is maybe an avatar... but I as far as I know a bot can be many things, as on IRC it used to be small programs to automate tasks.

Morwen.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that, Dave."

This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

Bots are avatars controlled by commands sent to them from outside of SL. For a typical list of the commands, see this thread:

/327/06/209139/1.html

As you see, they can buy land, collect information about objects, teleport, clone other avatars, etc..

Elanthius would be glad to give you a Bots 101 lesson. That is if it really IS Elanthius...

Yes, I read that thread, which is why I started this one. I'm still confused. "Commands sent to them from outside of SL"? Doesn't a bot operate independently? And how does someone outside of SL know what is going on INSIDE of SL, and thereby know what command(s) to send?

And how does one turn an avatar into a bot? I've seen bots with Profiles and SL names, so they have to have been created through the New Account process. But that makes an avatar. What's the next step?

Rougly, here's what's happening in laymans terms:

LibSL (A Resident open-source project) is being leveraged to create a special SL client, that allows folks to login an account in a 'bot' type mode.

So - what someone that runs a bot does, is create a dummy account for their bot, then log it in using this special LibSL client. Using some programming kung-fu, they can make that avatar do many different things - some beneficial, some nefarious.

What was that part about cloning other avatars?

Elinah

Thank you, Travis. "Layman's terms" is about all I can comprehend on this topic anyway.

http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=208634

A bot is a wonderful object that you can deposit money with and then watch how the interest grows indefinitely, but you can never take any money out again.

Oh no, sorry, that's a Ginko ATM.

Hmmmm..... if these other MMO's have "Bot Traps", where the programmed character doesnt realize its being led into a trap (usually an easy kill monster with lots of EXP points & gold), maybe someone can come up with the SL version of a Bot Trap?

Like cheap land that draws 'em in & scrambles their coding or something?

This was tried a hundred different ways. The coders got around it and land bots are thriving despite efforts to sabotage them in this way.

Someone need s to make Killbots, because many bots move way to fast to catch otherwise.

That was tried by Reverend Hertzog once. He used a perfectly acceptable TP HOME script on all the land he sold, with the names of all known bots added to the script. Some botmasters complained that the TPing crashed and froze their bots, and he got a 3 day suspencion, even though LL had already approved the TP HOME script years ago. They called it 'harassment'.

LL wants to build SL in the image of corporate America and corporate America doesn't like pure, fair competition, where entering the market is relatively inexpensive. They prefer oligarchy, competition between a small handful of big timers, where starting up in the market is cost prohibitive for most people.

I've said it before, I'll say it again; landbots and copybots, etc are just the begining. Somebody will find ways to create builder bots where you can custom order a house or club, choosing all the textures and shapes, from a masterlist of a few hundred houseplans, and the bot will build it, eliminating the SL builder. If you can create a blueprint or a design a dress using a template and textures, etc, etc, the bot will build it. Same with alot of SL building that now is done by many residence. Next thing you know, a script will be made the lets you write scripts with common english terms, rather than SLS language, so no more scripters, etc.

LL doesn't care about community. It cares about going corporate. Corporate America is a relatively small segment of the population, but it produces most consumer goods, media productions, and consumer services found in the US. It puts wealth in the hands of the few, something most SL residence find anathema to SL living, but not to worry, just as there are boobs enough to watch prime time television, there are boobs enough play in Corporate SL.

Thankfully I'm still able to make money here, but next thing you know, another bot will drive me out of my remaining business ventures.

As simple as it can be made to non techies.

What makes a Bot a Bot is how it is controlled, period. If there's a human being behind the computer inputting each command to move and speak and run in world scripts- then it is NOT a bot. If I, as an example, had an *in world* script that copied something and used it while I was directing the avatar- I would NOT be a Bot, even though I'd engaged in a behavior that's associated with CopyBots.

If there is a *program* that is manipulating the avatar and choosing which scripts and movements to run, then it is a bot. If I, as an example, set up a program to control my avatar and stand in one place from 1pm-3pm and say Hello to anyone within X feet, and then move to another place and say hello to anyone within X feet- that would be a bot, even if it's not easily identified as one.

Using a program to control your avatar unsupervised is against the rules in many MMOs (I'm not, honestly, sure if it's technically against the rules in SL). Sadly, what makes SL so unique also creates difficulties in tracking bots. In World of Warcraft- bots tend to follow a set course and kill monsters as they appear. Their set courses can be massive and their behaviors can be remarkably life like. The smartest bot users are rarely caught. Bots in that game are used to level and to collect gold from monsters- both monotonous tasks already. Catching a bot that's simply running around in circles is easy- catching one that's using a complex program to mimic realistic movement is a hell of a lot harder.

The bots used in SL are already very complex simply because there's no need for a bot that runs around and hits the 2 button every 3 seconds... so they're not being programmed by a bored kid- they're being programmed by people with a bit more skill and are therefore even more difficult to catch.

Wow. Come on Joy, don't you feel just a little bit embarrassed about inventing such a massive lie and then going on to talk abot fairness?

In one definition, going afk while on a dance ball, could make you no different to a BOT in simple terms.

With regard to the 'Builder Bot'... does Sim In A Box fit that description?

Bot building is 'Mans Dream'.. there is enough media that has been created throughout history to fully support that.

Having played LineageII for some 2+ years... It was sickening to see large groups (100's) of 'Chinese Farmer Bots' ravaging whole areas of the game like giant combine harvesters, despite being strictly against the rules, it took the game makers 2 years before they bothered to start removing these bot gangs. When you look at the revenues these bot gangs were collecting everyday, it must have run into 1,000's of USD... talks of 'kick backs' slowing the process to have then removed. I lost my account, because in protest I ran a bot for a couple of days (as a buffer healer) to prove that the game creators were not after those making huge sums, but the single players who were less likely to share their illgotten gains. When that happened, I reached for the delete key.

Bots have their place, but when its at the expense of others... well you judge.

That's pretty clear, Capella...thanks! I guess I won't ask about any details of how one would install a program to run an avatar. I don't plan on making any bots, and I don't have a Need To Know.

Come on Elan, doesn't saying someone lied when you have no proof what so ever, or any knowledge of the specific situation, make you a bit embarrassed?

However, if you had actally read my OP, you'd have seen that it was about a specific incident that happened to a friend of mine, as well as the larger economic impact of bots on SL work and resident life, not the moral implications of bots. Those speak for themselves.

I'm quite against Bots as they tend to ruin the fun aspect.

And when LL goes to the Corporate Side completely, then I shall gracefully bow out of SL. Lack of Corporate Crap was one thing that drew me in. To add it would cause a mass exodus.

On our side though, is the fact that not every corporate entity would do well in SL.

LL can do what they want for all I care. Just keep the Big RL Companies from taking over!!!!!!!!