Universal inventory for multiple accts.

[Angelina Sinclair]

Hopefully this is the right place to suggest this.

 

For me as a 7 year secondlifer, I realized something. I'm addicted to this "game." I know that there are many others who like me can agree wholeheartly. However there is something else I am noticing. My age in SL is becoming more and more noticeable. It can even turn some people away.

I started to wonder what will happen when my avatar hits 10 years or 15 years? Or even 20 years? Will SL even be around then? If so what am I going to do? The moment someone peaks into my 10/15/20 year old profile they'll automatically add that age to whatever age they might think I am in RL. I know it's a silly thing to worry but I know us old players will slowly become more and more segregated by newer players. Now if I want to keep my ava looking young and beautiful that's my choice as it's the choice for child avas to remain children for 7 years in SL. Therefore that age does become an issue.

So why a universal inventory? Well just being in SL For 7 years and I already have an inventory that is over 63k items. Most of which are bought items. Any freebies and gestures I have are already deleted. So that 63k is mostly geniune. Minus a few hundred-thousand LM/notecards.

I wouldn't want to lose that if I decided to make an alt. It would be ashame that someone who has spend that much time and money into a company like Linden Labs and into buying content from creators to have to lose it all. Sure some of these things I have are obselete. Things poorly built that in the age of mesh deserve to be trashed forever, but do I really have to lose everything else?

Just by the shear number of inventory items alone you can guess I probably have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I wouldn't even want to think about it. That's also not including the land as well that I rent from time to time. So should all that money spent mean nothing and just go poof?

 

This is why I believe a universal inventory for SL would be ideal. An inventory that is shared between all avas under one account. Now I'm sure there is some security nightmares that run through people's minds when they hear this so I'm here to not just make the case for it but offer some solid suggestions. So here goes:

 

The first and easiest approach is to NOT allow any current avatars to "merge" and share a universal inventory. So how would you make additional accounts? You login to SL and some where in the list of menus is the option to create an "alt". The alt created this way will share your main avatar's inventory and visa versa.

Further more only one account should be online at any given time. So if I made 5 alts through this method, I can't have a friend login an alt while I am logged into my main/other alt. This prevents people from cheating content creators and LL out of money which is another big fear. It also cements the idea that these alts aren't for you to give away to people. They are for just you to use.

 

The second approach and probably the one most like to have is when you merge two inventories together. In reality I feel that is a big mess, literally. Just between my own two accounts I have arranged the inventories different and if they were to be slammed together it would be an ugly mess that I'll have to sort yet again. That is something I don't want to do and I'm sure can be a big turn off to many.

So instead of merging two inventories into one I view it as a sorta marriage. In RL when a couple gets married they eventually move in together and when they do all their stuff comes under one roof. So in SL if I was open up my inventory I would see a long vertical tab something that says "Partner's Inventory." I click that to open up a second inventory yet it's not my inventory it's infact my partners.

From here I am able to do a limited number of things with my partner's inventory such as:

1. I am able wear things from their inventory but when worn my partner should not be able to access it.
2. I am able to rezz things from their inventory (while a seperate system folder in their inventory informs them of the location of said rezzed item)
3. I am able to create new items, re-arrange folders and make new folders.
4. I am able to search through their inventory

Now there should be things I can't do as well such as:

1. I shouldn't be able to empty my partner's recycle bin or even throw stuff into the recyle bin.
2. I shouldn't be able to move no-transfer items out of my partner's inventory.
3. No-copy item should not be something I can take out of my partners inventory and put in my own. They have to hand it over to me from their viewer. This makes stealing items one step harder. It also keeps the partner in the loop of what is happening in their inventory.
4. I should not be able to sell my partner's items that I rezzed. Infact when rezzing my partners items they should be rezzed under their name and not my own. This is where the option in your friends list for full perms takes over.

 

I'm sure there are a few things that I missed that others or even LL staff can point out. However I think this is possible the best and safest approach to a inventory merger of this style. Now these mergers should be easy to get into and easy to get out of. Since SL accounts do regularly get stolen these days.

 

Finally the third and final approach that a few surely would want to have and that LL dreads the most. A complete and full merger where two inventories are slammed together. Whether they are are still shared by both accounts or one is destoryed in the process is up to LL and how they decided to handle it. However there is great fear that such an option to permanently merge two accounts can be greatly abused and I wholeheartly agree. Though I do have one suggestion in making this possible.

Email.

Even if someone can hack my account in SL what are the chances that they could hack my email account tied to SL as well? If we as a whole agree that hacking the email is far more difficult than stealing someone's account via phishing site then we have a means of authenticating mergers.

Simply if I want to merge my account with another person or just another alt. An email with a code would be sent to email accounts tied to both Sl accts which will be needed for a form that both have to fill out for the merger to be completed. There should be a time limit to the merger and the email code. Hell maybe both accounts should be partnered for a time to further make it difficult to steal.

 

I personally have no idea how difficult any of this might be to code and the hours and money required to make such a possible. However for those of us who have been with SL a long time and continue to be with SL I believe that this is definitely an option that needs to be seriously considered.

[Orca Flotta]

1) tl; dr

2) you surely won't need all the 63k items all the time so pack your unused stuffz in boxes. That will keep the numbers down

3) what was cool and expensive 7 years ago is old and outdated now. You don't wanna be seen with old clunky prim or painted on shoes or the fancy system hair and clothes in public

4) you can send transferable items to an alt but that's it. Universal inventory won't work because of the permissions system

 

[Griffin Ceawlin]

Ain't gonna happen.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

All the things you bought were sold as one copy to one avatar.  It would be a violation of the creators IP rights to give access to the same item to mulitple avatars..

[Perrie Juran]

---

Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

All the things you bought were sold as one copy to one avatar.  It would be a violation of the creators IP rights to give access to the same item to mulitple avatars..

---

It would require some changes to the TOS. 

The problem would be applying it to old content.

And while the final word is not out on this, with the recent changes to the TOS there are some who think that LL thinks that they can make retroactive changes to the TOS.

[Angelina Sinclair]

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Orca Flotta wrote:

1) tl; dr

2) you surely won't need all the 63k items all the time so pack your unused stuffz in boxes. That will keep the numbers down

3) what was cool and expensive 7 years ago is old and outdated now. You don't wanna be seen with old clunky prim or painted on shoes or the fancy system hair and clothes in public

4) you can send transferable items to an alt but that's it. Universal inventory won't work because of the permissions system

 

---

Doesn't matter if what I have is old and outdated. This is like saying whatever you store in your garage is old and outdated and should be immediately trashed. They are still my things regardless how dated the hair/shoes might be. It's my choice if I keep them around and my choice if I throw them away.

 

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

All the things you bought were sold as one copy to one avatar.  It would be a violation of the creators IP rights to give access to the same item to mulitple avatars..

---

 How would it be a violation of the creators IP? It's still being tied to one avatar.  It's like in the real world. I go out I by an Xbox. I lend it to someone else to use or I give it away to someone else. This same thing can be done with software. I have windows 8 on one PC but decide to trash that to get a new PC. The new one has windows 7 so I upgrade it to windows 8 with my copy. Same thing as moving from one avatar to another.

 

If the one copy bought from a creator is still being used by one person each time, where is the problem? Where are my rights as the one who bought the item? Am I just royally screwed? Does LL not care about shoppers like me? Who has gone and spent 10k on a whim because I loved this one creator's outfits or items? Where are my rights? I would utterly hate to lose the inventory I have which mind you, doesn't lag me at all when tp around if anyone was curious.

 

Do I really have to spend another 20k, 50k, 100k even to just have a good start on a new alt? That is utterly insane and severely discouraging that LL hasn't in some way catered to the other half of the circle. To have a thriving economy you need sellers and buyers. Our content creators are the sellers and I'm a buyer and I don't like being screwed like anyone else.

 

Code wise I know this can't be all that difficult to excute. Our inventories are stored in some database I'm sure. Allowing another to access it or creating a way to merge two shouldn't be that tough to figure out. I just laid out multiple options since I believe no one has really explored this topic enough to see if there is a possible solution.

[Griffin Ceawlin]

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Angelina Sinclair wrote:

I have windows 8 on one PC but decide to trash that to get a new PC. The new one has windows 7 so I upgrade it to windows 8 with my copy. Same thing as moving from one avatar to another.

---

Wrong.

Your license from MS allows you to use that copy of Windows 8 on your new PC, certainly, if you delete the copy on your old one. You cannot lawfully use that copy of Windows 8 on more than one PC.

Your license to use SL content does not allow you to use that content on any and all avatars that you control. If LL decided to allow you to do so, it would seem to violate the permissions system that is in place and has been in place since the beginning, no?

---

If the one copy bought from a creator is still being used by one person each time, where is the problem? Where are my rights as the one who bought the item? Am I just royally screwed? Does LL not care about shoppers like me? Who has gone and spent 10k on a whim because I loved this one creator's outfits or items? Where are my rights?

---

Your "rights" are to use those items within the existing permissions system.

---

Do I really have to spend another 20k, 50k, 100k even to just have a good start on a new alt?

---

If you want an alt to have those same inventory items? Yes.

---

Our content creators are the sellers and I'm a buyer and I don't like being screwed like anyone else.

---

So your "rights" come before the seller's?

---

Code wise I know this can't be all that difficult to excute. Our inventories are stored in some database I'm sure. Allowing another to access it or creating a way to merge two shouldn't be that tough to figure out. I just laid out multiple options since I believe no one has really explored this topic enough to see if there is a possible solution.

---

Like I said... Ain't gonna happen.

[Paul Hexem]

In every other MMO on the planet, you create a main account, and each avatar is created tied to that account. And in all of them, you can trade many items between your avatars.

I don't know why LL didn't do that with this platform. Seems strange.

That said, even in those games, many items are bound to character when you get them, so...

[Perrie Juran]

---

Gadget Portal wrote:

In every other MMO on the planet, you create a main account, and each avatar is created tied to that account. And in all of them, you can trade many items between your avatars.

I don't know why LL didn't do that with this platform. Seems strange.

 

---

An additional way to monetize SL?

I can see no other good reason why not either other than possibly lack of fore thought.

[Angelina Sinclair]

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Griffin Ceawlin wrote:

Wrong.

Your license from MS allows you to use that copy of Windows 8 on your new PC, certainly,

if

you delete the copy on your old one. You cannot lawfully use that copy of Windows 8 on more than one PC.

Your license to use SL content does

not

allow you to use that content on any and all avatars that you control. If LL decided to allow you to do so, it would seem to violate the permissions system that is in place and has been in place since the beginning, no?

---

 

Would it violate the permission system? Since I am still the same person using the same item? Even if it was an alt I created through my main account? Even if there was a restriction that only 1 avatar can be logged in at a time? What is wrong with me wanting to use content I paid for on another avatar I own?

 

Is there some fear of abuse because any potiental for abuse can be remedied. If it's not fear of abuse then what is wrong with support this idea? Someone will lose out on money? That money I spent rebuying everything from the same creators (If they are even still around) could've gone to support another creator with new things that I enjoy.

 

I don't see why anyone would shoot down such an idea.

[Orca Flotta]

I don't see why anyone would shoot down such an idea.

When Philip made SL he and his people didn't think about alts. Call it lack of foresight or call it just a belief in customers with a more healthy mindset. And nobody could know back in 2003 that ppl would ever own more than 2 or 3 outfits, 1 house and 1 vehicle. Back then it was Your World, Your imagination, so the main attraction in SL was on creation, creating your own stuff. And you can give your own stuff out to all your alts, friends, strangers. And you can even sell it if you want. Nobody could foresee that anybody would ever make a RL business from selling virtual items.

Anyhoo, every alt is on its own account. Technically there are no mains and alts.

If an item is no trans it is - surprise! - no trans! That makes even sense since many items need to be copiable (i.e. vehicles). If you have an item that is copy/trans you can open a store and sell it. This would be the end for many creator's biznizzes in SL.

[Angelina Sinclair]

Exactly!

In the begining they did not think that SL would become what it is today. Hence why they had such a simple permissions system. We have content creators selling full perm items to other content creators because there is no other way around it. You can't "license" your item off to someone with the current permission systems. Texture artists and mesh resellers (you know the ones that builds for others to buy and resell) would love if the permission systems was a tad more complex and protected their investments better. Yet they must sell at full perm but have to go with an honor system pratically in hopes that no who buys will not give away their textures. That alone proves that the first lindens did not think everything through.

So the same problem they have is the same problem I have. The permission system is too simple. People make no-transfer/copy items because there is no other option to protect their assets without making it free for all to take. Yet if there was an option where the liscense of said item could be given away and the original owner would lose their no-transfer/copy version as the liscense was moved to another. I'm sure many if not most wouldn't care if people did shuffle clothing or goods from one alt to the next.

 

Now I'm not suggesting this because I have a need to run away from my current account. On the contrary I love this account, the name I have, the friends and history I have with it. I do know however that I will probably still be in SL in the next 5 years which will turn my account to 12 years old and make my situation with newer players that much more awkward when they see that avatar age. What if SL sticks around for another 10 years and I'm still here playing it. My account would be 17 years old. Boy does that age me in ways that no new skin can fix. lol

Yet it would be nice to be able to create additional accounts tied to this inventory. A business avatar that's purely business. So all friends and groups are business related. A RP account where all groups/friends are tied to that one RP sim. A family account where all friends and groups are tied to RL family that are in SL.

Instead of having to make a dozen+ of alts for all these different situations and purposes that I and others would use SL for.

[MrNicholai]

The inventory database is finnicky on the best of days. Do you really want to give it a heart attack like this? :matte-motes-big-grin-wink: