M Peccable

That really wouldn't tell you much. Any object in the region you're in, or any avatar in the region you're in, could be gathering the same data that the nearby bot was. This point has already been made in this thread, but regardless, people somehow believe bots have magical or dangerous powers. I'm sorry, but this is a good example of botphobia. In this case it is believing that knowing if there is one near you somehow allows you to protect yourself from it. "Protect yourself from what?" would be my question.

That was predicted early in this thread.

Of course. I thought that was a given just as much as Sammy's post was, but maybe I was wrong. So to reiterate: Of course. I doubt there are any posters in this thread that scrape data and publish it.

The problem is that unfortunately, that is no longer a given anymore. So I applaud you for spelling it out so eloquently. Personal responsibility is something that seems absent these days.

I don't. You are focusing WAY too much on the legalities if you ask me. The information is UUIDs inside a virtual world, not RL name, address, and credit card numbers. That's Linden Lab's job to worry about that, not ours. We need to be creative residents, assuming we can ever get back to normal.

That's good enough for me!

Yeah, and the bots didn't even need weapons. Just overload us with bot presence then watch us self-destruct! ⚠️

It's been mentioned that they could be a different color on the mini-map, or maybe even the main map.

I understand. But I think the point of Jennifer's questions is that a device that's just sitting there, or a regular avatar wearing a scripted object, can be collecting all the data a bot can and no one would ever know. Sure, it would be breaking the rules, but that is no different than bad bots. So even if all bots are banned, there will still be scripted objects and avatars everywhere that are collecting data. You can't ban all objects and you can't ban all avatars, so how does one protect themself?

Hold on, a dialog box isn't needed. Let me quote Soft. As long as there is disclosure in a notecard, and you continue to use the product, there is consent:

That's why I think the only way to achieve the level of privacy on a virtual life that some people here are wanting is to is either shelter in place or abandon SL completely.

Yes, that is correct. The pre-approved roaming bots would not have any special privileges other than roaming. They would have to obey all parcel, region, and estate permissions.

I would, but I have no idea who those characters are... Besides, Jay Leno is as hip as it gets! 😎

Yes. And in my opinion if you sent Jay Leno out into the world with a microphone and he asked a typical cross section of residents "Do you think all bots should be banned from SL?", the typical response would be "Sure, why not?", without them giving it any thought. That is actually the "group" I am referring to when I was using that now retired term.

Ok, point taken. But I thought it applicable to a group that, as a result of a knee-jerk reaction, demand an immediate banning of all bots (as this thread shows) without thinking it through. I personally consider that irrational. But I will definitely refrain from using the term in the future.

It was never meant to dismiss the concerns, not at all. It is just that in my opinion the recent explosive growth in the number of roaming bots is what has caused an explosive growth in pubic outcry, and that is what has motivated LL to act at this point in time. The term is simply meant to summarize all of that into one word. It saves a lot of typing.

I respectfully disagree.

Yes, they can do that, but as an approved roaming bot they would not be allowed to do that. LL reviewing code would be part of that process, subject to inspection at any time. If the code is sending anything other than what it has been approved for, it loses its approval and can no longer roam (meaning teleporting would be throttled to a very low number per hour). That seems workable to me without too much extra workload on LL.

Well, there is at one poster here that believes banning all of them now would actually be good for SL. I also think the majority of those that don't partake in threads like this feels the same way. To me that's a crowd. But I still think requiring roaming bots to be pre-approved would go a long way towards separating the good from bad.

Ok, I see what you mean now, and there is no fix for that at all. If I want to scrape that texture, I can load different software and do it without the aid of a bot. So I don't really see that as something only a bot can do and therefore a reason to ban them

Oh? That's news to me. I believe that might have been true in the past, but I think LL has done a good job of plugging those permission system holes. If you know of something specific, by all means report it to LL so they can fix it.

Yes, exactly. Although I had you associated firmly with the "ban all bots" crowd? That could be just a communication problem, because this form of chatting is full of pitfalls when it comes to misinterpreting someone.

Exactly. That is why I advocate for a bot registry system that requires roaming bots to be pre-approved by LL before allowed to roam. For static bots, pre-approval wouldn't be necessary. That will kill the vast majority of roaming bots, and the ones that are approved will have LL's "approval number" in their profile, along with their purpose and owner. If they encounter a roaming bot, residents would be able to look that number up on the SL website to verify their owner and purpose. Having that pre-approval code available to scripts would go a long way towards helping residents identify approved bots. The pre-approved roaming bots would still be subject to estate, region, and parcel restrictions, of course. As Quartz said, static bots, whether they are in someone's home, in a club, in a store, etc., poses no more threat than any normal human-controlled scripted avatar.

There is some data that isn't available to scripts unless you are in the region. Ban lines are a good example.

Some people derive their RL income from the gadget called SL (or at least a portion of it). Fortunately, I believe LL is very aware of that, and takes it into consideration when selecting the appropriate sledgehammer size.