Question: Items in other parcels highlighted when editing/zooming?

Okay, here is what happens to me. I've never seen this in SL before so perhaps I have changed a setting.

When I am working on something and buiding and I hold down the ALT key to zoom around, furniture and items in my neighbors houses highlight as red. I can see the outline of these items in the distance.

Does anyone know what causes this?

Those are active objects. You'd get the same effect if you selext "Alt showes physical" in the view menu. This is some unannounced (and (for me) unappreciated) change in the edit tool.

Been like that for as long as I can remember (since 12/04). Only happens when the object editor window is up (whether or not an object is selected). It should be optional though as it can get annoying, but also useful for focusing cam on invisible objects (either 0 alpha or fully masked texture). I don't like the red color tho; I'd prefer a subtle grey.

This may be related to the (acknowledged) bug that obscured touchable objects show up as red when you hold the ALT key down.

I really wish they'd fix it.

This is most likely it. It is not all object, just some nearby.

I am pretty sure it hasn't been like this since 12/04. I would have noticed it before now.

Yeah, this wasn't always this way, and the change happened in the last year sometime. I can't remember exactly when, but I, too, didn't and still don't appreciate this particular "feature." Would prefer it if it were a toggleable thing...I don't really need to see the bazillions of other people's scripted objects around me, just mine.