mapping, showing online/offline, etc

This topic contains both a question and a request.

The question is : what are you going to do to:
1) address the privacy concerns of adding someone to your friends list (e.g. the ability for people on it to track you anywhere in SL).
2) address the inconsistent 'online status' system where someone's profile doesn't show if they're online unless they're on your friends list, but their page in find->people *does*.

I'd like to hear what your plans are.

I'd also like to suggest some ideas :


The only thing I'd add to this is that 'show online status' should be consistent across both profiles and 'find->people' searches - one should not have an online/offline status in one, but an 'unknown' status in the other. If you don't want to make the server query the database many times to find out if someone has permission to view the online status of each returned user - then simple disable the 'online' section of profiles returned via 'find people' and have the checks only performed on profiles people open as seperate windows. This requires them to be nearby, you to have their calling card, or you to do something manual like click a special 'show online status' button in their find->people window before their online status is displayed (and the access checks are made).

Please consider an implementation like this. Even if you decide not to - please at least consider it.

You sure have many questions, Angel. Such curiosity!


1) Related privacy points were raised at a previous Community Roundtable meeting (yes, after a great many forum threads were posted asking). Historical transcript: /3/72/104936/1.html
For now, the answer is, if you don't want someone to map-track you, remove them from your Friends list. Not the most controllable, but--it works. As for the God mode hack concerns of "tracking anyone" (since someone reading this is going to wonder), we intend to address--okay, I'll say *fix*--those as well.

2) I have heard of this. I don't have a solid repro for it. Please, kindly, if you could and do have a repro, send a bug report so our eXtreme Bug Hunters will nail it. Let me know personally too because I know this sort of thing chafes. :\


The implementation for map-tracking you suggest is more configurable, but could also be unneeded for some. As you know too well, Feature Voting Tool! I'd be happy to see the proposal you come up with. And, you've certainly got me thinking.

Jana Fleming nudged me with another good point: if you're on a private island which isn't visible from the mainland, it also won't show your online status. Thx Jana.