[[TIP] *experimental* depth of field camera blur effect... / @ @ \]

Definitely needs an off option.  While I assume it's great for photography and machima (I don't do either), it breaks immersion and is a nightmare for building.  In RL my eyes adjust focus when I look at something different, so I'm unaware of any areas being out of focus unless I seek them.  With default settings, I'm constantly aware that my avatar is out of focus.

[Technology Improvements for Q1 Including Raising Group Limit to 42]

FJ, thanks for keeping us informed.  Your willingness to be frank with us about problems, and give us a timeline, is welcome and refreshing.

[Viewer 2.2 Available Today!]

Once sidebar panels are undocked, they behave like any other floating window in the Viewer.

Except close them and then reopen them as floaters still.  So the sidebar still forces itself constantly into my view, asserting that it is more important than the world.

The planar texturing is a great new feature and the Snowstorm team has steadily improved the viewer despite losing two more of its members.  By this time next year it might be usable.

[Check here if you want more options]

Q, thanks for stepping into the arena and defending why you do what you do.  I may not always agree, but I do respect that the positions are considered.

[Check here if you want more options]

Just to add one more voice to the cacaphony...

One reason you're getting requests for options, Q, is that Lindens have made clear that changing the current default behavior is not something you're willing to entertain.  We need an option to eliminate the sidebar because, it seems to us, when we say "eliminate the sidebar" you stick your fingers in your ears and go "la la la."  When we say "the colors are too dark and give me eyestrain," or "this strobing gives me a headache," we're told that we must be wrong.  Since the One True Interface has been found and anything we propose is received as inferior, we are forced to ask for the option to have things work for us, rather than having it work for us by default.

If this is not how you want to be perceived, you're going to have to demonstrate, over time, that you are listening and willing to make fundamental changes in response to resident requirements.  This is not something the Lindens have managed to do in my few years in Second Life.  Indeed, the perception in my SL social circle is that Second Life succeeds despite Linden Lab, not because of it.  We are used to seeing you as part of the problem, not as part of the solution.

Snowstorm is changing that perception, at least for me.  It's only a start, but a promising one.  But until the major issues – chat focus, interface sprawl, and the infernal sidebar – your credibility is going to be slightly less than that of the Iraqi Information Minister.  We've been burned too many times.

There will be different use cases, and they will necessitate different options.  When I'm scripting, I want every llDialog call to go through and I don't want to receive any IMs or group chat requests.  When I'm in the public sandboxes, I want llDialog spam protection, and I want to receive IMs only from friends and certain groups.  When I'm being sociable, I want IMs and group chat working at full speed – and I don't even want to see script errors.  For the web, I'd use four or five different pieces of software for that, not one viewer.

I personally use three different TPV viewers on a regular basis in part so that I can keep my options tweaked to the three different use cases I have.  On the UI side of the problem, perhaps what's needed is a use case manager interface, with the actual choices less accessible (as a preference list or the current debug options), but the summary ("scripting", "clubbing", "patroling", plus "supported" for dealing with support) higher up.  This does not address code complexity, of course.