changing avatar names changes friend list, groups, etc?

[Linda444444]

If i understand correctly, an avatars name can be changed once a week if desired.  What else changes with the name change?  I have an avatar 'friend'  listed as friend and would like not to have this person know when i log in and off.  Will name take care of this?

 

[Syo Emerald]

Hello Linda,

you can not change your avatar name (Linda444444). What you can change once a week is your display name. This is an optional name, that will be shown above your avatars name in bigger letters. Nothing really changes by picking a display name. This also means it has nothing to do with your friendlist.

Anyone on your friendlist will still see you normaly. I'm not sure right now, if there even is an option to be shown offline (I think there is...but I would need to log in and look for it). I'm also wondering why you keep someone on your friendlist, if you don't want them to know you are there. Also: If that person would put some enegery into it, they could still be able to know if you are online or not.

[Freya Mokusei]

You may change your Display Name once a week. This is your informal name, used by some people but not all. Your Account Name will stay the same.

Nothing else changes just by changing your Display Name, and there is no way to hide login/logout events - even non-friends can tell when you're logging in and out.

[Linda444444]

Thank you for your response. How do non-friends know when I log in or log out?

[Linda444444]

Thank you for your response. I see. Maybe a new account and avatar and clothes? Yikes. I deleted one friend and they wanted to know why. What does one say? This 'friend' in the question, we've been good friends for a while, but things have changed and i didnt want to hurt him.

[Freya Mokusei]

Takes about a dozen lines of code - in a script anyone can write.
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/LlRequestAgentData

I don't post this to scare you - it's just that this is public information, not private in any way. You'll have a far better time in SL if you learn not to sweat the small stuff.

Good luck.

[Nalates Urriah]

There are different ways of thinking about an avatar name. I'll try to frame this so it uses the Linden terms for the various names and relates to what you find the Lindens talking about.

There is an ACCOUNT name used for login and the Avatar. In this sense they are the same thing. Login ID and Avatar Name match. This name cannot be changed. To get another name one must open another account. Things that are are No-Transfer cannot be moved from one acouunt to another.

There are Display Names. They can be changed once a week. In your Preferences you can set which name displays. The setting only affects what you see. I can set my viewer to show account names (avatar names) or Display Names. That will show your Account or Display name on my screen.

Display names are used by some roleplaying communities. They are also used for fun, some times to provide a name translation to antoher language, and other reasons.

[Linda444444]

Thank you. I understand.