Public vs Private spaces?

There are virtual worlds (like Sociolotron) where an uninvited visitor does leave footprints (or rather stains on the bed) I think that behaving the same way as one would do in RL is the safest and most polite way to discover a new world. But I agree, an unlocked door and an obviously empty house can look like an invitation to admire the room decoration. That's why I always lock the only tiny room in my whole wide sim where I sometimes need a little bit of privacy.

I don't own the whole sim. I built virtually all of it, for a paid client who owns the sim, but I only own 4000 M2 of it myself. And half of what I own is 'additional prim count land', and completely under water. If I were to set the teleport point somewhere else in the sim, like the telehub, or by the public swimming pool, or at the observation station on the mountain top, I would have to place my notecard vendor on land that I do not own. That would be rather rude of me.

As it is, when you teleport to the sim, you appear at the telehub, and have to fly to where the beacon for the teleport point is.

I suppose I could put the notecard vendor on a sky platform, 300M above the house. But from that altitude, they can't see a thing. Nor would it be at all likely that anyone appearing at the telehub would realize how to get to it.

On a raft in the lagoon perhaps?. In one of my submerged 'extra prim parcels'? I suppose that would work...

That could be cool. Build a floating office for your construction business, like the deck of an anchored barge. Oo, maybe an offshore oil rig.

*smiles* Maybe I will do that. A floating office out there would certainly have a nice view of the island. And as long as it doesn't spoil the view for those on shore... Hummm.

Look up the sim "ANWR"... there's a big oil rig already right there in the middle of it, and from what I can tell, absolutely nothing else.

Lewis

Hmm. Thought-provoking on a variety of levels.

I wonder if a simple indicator would help with this issue, pehaps a red light/green light toggle right next to the other land symbols (no build, etc) on the menu bar. If I see a red light, I know I'm standing on private land and I should leave.

It would be red over 90% of the places you would go. The vast majority of the land in SL is privately owned. Virtually every shopping mall and store is privately owned, too. The Lindens only operate a very small number of retail sites.

To check that now, right click the ground at your feet, and select "about land". Look at who is listed as the owner of the land. If it doesn't say "Linden" as part of the owner's name, then you are on private land.

Simple common courtesy is the best guide. If you wouldn't do it in Real Life, don't do it in SL. "Privately Owned Land" does not always equal "DO NOT ENTER!", but it does indicate that a little respect for the owner's rights, and some common courtesy is called for.

Door is wide open or there is no door, and you see a bunch of vendors with hover text, offering stuff for sale? It's a store. Go in and shop, if it interests you.

Doors are closed or locked, and you see no indication at all that anything is for sale there? Quite probably a private residence, no matter how odd it may look to you. Ask permssion before entering. ESPECIALLY if you look at the map or mini-map and see anyone else is already inside!

Several people gathered in an open space near what looks like it is NOT a store? Wait for a break in the conversation, and politely introduce yourself. If they seem to be saying nothing in Chat, they are quite possibly having a private conversation by IM, and may be unaware you are even there. Give them time to notice you. But for pity's sake, don't walk right into the center of the group and start doing crazy stuff as if none of them were there.

I must agree with those who have said that if a place is in "search", then it is an open invitation to come visit. If I've ever intruded, a quick apology and TP home remidies that.

If it's locked, or you have to work to get in...then your presence is probably not wanted.

I appreciate your concern, and the fact that you DO respect the privacy of others will serve you well as you venture out and about.

I really don't mind people wandering around, as long as they are polite and have made an honest mistake when entering private areas. Half of our sim is for public use, and we really do encourage people to visit and enjoy themselves. There is always the idiot that makes me question this decision..but there will always be idiots.

Of course, now I have the ugly ban lines around my home to prevent those not as careful as you are from invading my personal area. *Sigh* And I've developed a quick trigger finger for the E&B button if anyone even tries to be disrespectful.

Some people are like little kids...
Adult: Don't put your finger in the electrical outlet.
Kid: You can't tell me what to do!
"ZZZZZZZZZZPPPPPPPPPPPPPTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

They'll never learn

Best,
~Ari

Ceera: Actually, I was thinking the indicator would be something the owner of the land would set, like "no build" or "build" permissions. I realize that 95% of land is private. The issue is how much freedom of movement an owner wishes to allow on the private land.

Arikinui: Yeah, I do think that you're probably right about the search thing. Up until the search went down, I had never teleported by finding a location on the map. but I've been doing it a lot in the last week, and, so, the issue came up. When search returns, I'll probably never use the map to tp again, so perhaps I'm tiliting at windmills?

There is a lot to be said for that idea, especially if you could specify a volume of space for that indicator, and not just the whole parcel, or a column of space that streaches from the ground up to infinity...

It would also be a double-edged sword though. Marking a space as "private", while not also banning access, is like a magnet for griefers who seek to come in and spoil other people's fun.

If LL would actually listen to the hundreds of requests on dozens of feature proposals, and implement some actual, effective privacy measures, none of this would be an issue. If a lock on a door or a wall or a closed curtain could actually prevent all and sundry from viewing or entering the enclosed space, then most people who desire privacy would lock their homes, put fences around the private gardens, and would not care if someone flew by at 100 meters above their roof.

While I like the idea of somehow letting people know they have entered a private area without the evil ban lines, I have to agree with Ceera. Not everyone is considerate enough to say "uh oh" and leave. There are those who would target these areas for griefing.

While search is down, try this site:
http://www.gabrielguyer.com/slparksandrec/

There are a lot of interesting places to be found...and they WANT to be found It also lists activities available with a brief descriptions, so you could really see some great things.

Happy travels.

~Ari

Arikinui: Excellent link. That will keep me out of trouble for some time. Thanks.

You're very welcome. There is also a current thread about guided tours which has some neat places you may want to visit.

Best,
~Ari

Wow, thanks for the link! I just submitted Lake Gnoma to their listing.

There are thousands of stores not listed in classifieds. How do I know? I walk around a lot and explore.

Watch out for those furniture stores! They end up looking like really well furnished homes. I though I was enjoying some illicit trespass when I noticed that the couch I was on was on sale... as was everything else.

There are massive amounts of empty sims out there that people want you to visit! Why visit a house with two people having 'sex' when you can go to a public sex place with maybe many more people having sex?

When map-hopping for interesting places -avoid teleporting to places with just ONE or TWO green dots- they just want to be left alone. If you are really curious go ahead a teleport maybe a quarter of a map away and check out the building. If it looks like a house. Just leave. Why be a griefer? If it's a store. Go ahead and visit the place.

Don't bother with trying to second guess the intentions of the owner. Just be polite and considerate and you will not have any problems with any owners.

This thread makes it sound like there are so many private areas that you shouldn't be trespassing on. The reality is that there are many, many, many, many public areas that aren't being visited at all. Trying to gingerly investigate and be all proper about not trespassing doesn't help you or any of those business owners trying to get you on their land.

well just like copy protection in SL you not gona get privacy,
if they is no ban lines its public space and anyone can walk/fly in...
whats right and wrong as always is left up to the indiviual.
oh and this isnt real life its secondlife stop compairing the two LOL
-LW

If you really don't want visitors, and have already made simple 'non grief' features like locked doors, I'd suggest just putting small pink and blue balls randomly dotted around your property, with a script that emits a large "push" when activated. Giving them names like "Orgasmatron" probably helps the curious clicker fall for the trap.

That should stop those who think that using other people's sex poseballs - without even mopping up afterwards - is fun.

Lewis

Explore the oil rig and see what is being pumped out of the seabed. SL doesn't run on oil but there is a raw material that all of us use.

By this logic..... It is OK for a griefer to grief you in SL so long as they wouldn't do it in RL! otherwise we would be comparing the 2........

Of course this doesnt hold up as in SL you'd ban the griefer or abuse report him/her, just as you would in RL to the police.

If basic courtesy and respect doesn't exist in both SL as well as Rl, then frankly there is no point being in SL unless all you want to do is harass and annoy other users or be harassed and annoyed by other users.

I'm glad to say that so far in my short time in SL I haven't had any harrassment/griefing or had anyone try to get into my home.... because the majority of people on SL respect the other users.... and thats how it should be in SL and RL.

There's nothing about ban lines that they have to be permanent. You want privacy for a while? Put up the ban lines and take them down when you've finished whatever you were doing. Very easy.

Or leave them up if you want permanent and convenient privacy - no needing to turn on and off. Even easier. Theres nothing about ban lines that they have to be temporary, either.

Ban lines are annoying for people moving around so it is polite to turn them off when you are not around, I think.

There's also a reverse problem. I want people to come over and look at my stuff. It is being built for the community and to be shared. Many people are very shy to do that, though, fearing they are tresspassing...

I agree. Ban lines are very annoying... I can understand that people raise them temporary. But as said, when moving around they are extremely annoying.

I like my privacy too, but I never use such harsh ways to have it. Simple friendly methodes and yes.. if somebody really tresspass those, then they can end up on the banlist. I see no reason to punish all, because an handfull missbehave.

Morwen.

What Lilliput says! ....... um, mebbe not the trouble bit tho