Putting hovertext above avatars?

[dandykong]

I am trying to make a hud that can be used to detect invisible avatars and camera crosshairs. I'm planning to make it possible to show the location of invisible avatars by placing hovertext above their heads. For example: Someone named MrGriefer enters a sandbox. A person with this hud is also there. MrGriefer turns himself invisible. The hud user, along with everyone in the sandbox, will see [DETECTED <MrGriefer>] appear above MrGriefer. MrGriefer sees it, and targets the hud user. Another alert appears above MrGriefer, but this time, only the hud user can see it. It says [CAMMED BY <MrGriefer>]. If MrGriefer has any orbit gun, cager, teleport blocker, or other similar objects when this happens, the hud user sees [TARGETED BY <MrGriefer>] and can get away before MrGriefer can do anything. The only problem with this scenario is that I don't know if the invisibility detection violates any rules by showing the hovertext above the griefer to everyone instead of just the user. I also don't know how to put the script above other avatars to reveal their location. Also, if the scripting used is capable of revealing Lindens' locations, the user and creator could get in big trouble when a Linden sees [DETECTED <FirstNameHere Linden>] appear above his or her head right after hiding. Can anyone tell me what the rules are regarding the use of hovertext on avatars?

[Dilbert Dilweg]

It would requre a prim to target and follow the resident. I do beleive it is against TOS to use objects to follow residents without their permission.

[dandykong]

I've seen people in a group called Clouded Illusions make hovertext above avatars, and they didn't use any prims (nothing highlighted with Highlight Transparency). They've also done it in areas where objects aren't allowed.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

Hmm. Wonder if they used particles.. images that follow the avatar

[Ceka Cianci]

anvil drop would be a good one to put on them..it doesn't really do anything to them hehehehe

plus it's just fun to watch hehehe

[Qie Niangao]

Scripts have absolutely no way of knowing where cams are directed.  That's only known by viewers, and then only if the camera operator cooperates by letting their own viewer leak camera information (which is the default).

It's also impossible for a script to know what attachments are worn by an avatar unless those attachments are cooperating in being detected.

In the case of extremely naive or willing targets, some of this information might be obtained by a very specially coded viewer, some of the time, and with much delay, and then passing that information to an attached script.

(Incidentally, it's very unlikely that a particle could be used to target text.  The particle texture would have to be generated and uploaded on the fly, to include the target's name. Although certain viewers upload temporary textures, it wouldn't be an easy extension to get them to do what's needed for this. It's much more likely hovertext on a follower microprim invisible to highlight transparent.)

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Even though you may have good intentions, what your proposing is a form of griefing itself.  There are legit reasons for someone to be invisible in a sandbox.  I rarely use a sandbox as I have my own private one, but have to sometimes if my own is full and I need to rez something or work on something else.  When I do I sometimes make my avatar invisible to avoid being visually noticed and interrupted, and to avoid pervs. (women get hit on all the time in sandboxes)  You put something over my avi that follows me around without my express permission, whether I choose to be invisible or not  I'm going to AR you.  I also have my viewer set so you can't tell what I'm looking at because, frankly, its none of your business.

[Eileen Fellstein]

Isn't there already enough nose up your fanny privacy invasion crap written into veiwers now?

please, someone make one that blocks all this stuff

 

[dandykong]

Since a lot of people objected to having their positions given away by a radar, I decided that it would be better to make it less intrusive. The location tracking prim will be removed and only the user will see the detection info, which will appear on the hud interface instead of at the invisible avatar.

I may bring back the old tracking method for use by land owners, but it will be scripted directly into an un-modifiable "No invisibility" sign that must be placed in the parcel and will also contain scripts to keep it from running if it is hidden where visitors can't see.

[Perrie Juran]

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dandykong wrote:

Since a lot of people objected to having their positions given away by a radar, I decided that it would be better to make it less intrusive. The location tracking prim will be removed and only the user will see the detection info, which will appear on the hud interface instead of at the invisible avatar.

I may bring back the old tracking method for use by land owners, but it will be scripted directly into an un-modifiable "No invisibility" sign that must be placed in the parcel and will also contain scripts to keep it from running if it is hidden where visitors can't see.

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I am confused here.  I thought the only folks who have the ability to 'hide' their presence on a SIM (hidden from radar, etc) were Lindens operating in "God Mode."  Unless there are illegal viewers allowing hackers to access this function????????

As best as I can logic it out it would require a viewer that had the ability to turn off (or not turn on) a function in the Server so that the Server did not send the information to your viewer.

Maybe someone who understands this better can help me out. 

[Perrie Juran]

I need to add here, what is up with people's paranoia? 

I can understand someone not wanting their online status open to all so they can for instance work in peace or have some private time to them selves or to avoid griefers.

But some of this stuff seems to rise to the level of Paranoia.  "OMG, He was zooming in on my Avatar!" 

Sorry, but it just boggles my brain.

Yes, there are things about me that I don't consider public information but seriously this all just seems to go overboard.

[Eileen Fellstein]

lol, well stuff like detecting camera position is what I was reffering to by 'nose up your fanny' features. Why anyone thought this was a good idea to have in a viewer I have no idea, but I have seen it cause no end of needless drama along the lines of 'stop looking at me!', usually coming from people that spent a whole lot of time making their avatar look appealing. Once I even saw a sim owner send out a scaulding message in all caps demanding that no one cam her house which happened to be constructed less than 100m from the club. LoL, if anyone in the group wasn't aware of it before that, they certainly were once the notice was sent.

Yea, I'd love a feature that let me totally turn off everyone's ability to see me on line at once. Last time I tried it, the most I could select was 25 at a time.

I realize I could build on an alt and send to myself full perm, but then you get a finished project  with a whole lot of prims listed as created by someone else or 'unknown.

[Irene Muni]

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Perrie Juran wrote:

I need to add here, what is up with people's paranoia? 

I can understand someone not wanting their online status open to all so they can for instance work in peace or have some private time to them selves or to avoid griefers.

But some of this stuff seems to rise to the level of Paranoia.  "OMG, He was zooming in on my Avatar!" 

Sorry, but it just boggles my brain.

Yes, there are things about me that I don't consider public information but seriously this all just seems to go overboard.

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[161488303349]

to get a prim text message in a no-build area the avatar would have to be wearing the prim, if thats what you mean by what you saw

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in a build area then can use a skywriter. can write a name, or anything else, as big as you like that way

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in a no-build area then can make a text-to-particle emiiter where the particles are letter textures. is quite tricky to get the timing right on these tho. missing and/or duplicate letters usual

these probs aside, a streamer with your own name on it is fun. like when you walk then if plays out behind you. can also shoot your friend with a particle streamer that spells their name. if use 2 or more particle streamers scripts then can make quite pretty

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like other people said. you dont want to put any followers on people. if someone is actual greifing the sim, trying to crash it or viewrs, then simple way is just to shout out the name of the offender in the public chat so that other people can block the owner of the greif objects

much of what you are thinking to do has been done before. google for "darling brody" to get started on the history of all this kinda stuff

[PeterCanessa Oh]

Most of what you want to do will require you to write a custom viewer (see LL's TPV policy).

[Qie Niangao]

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16 wrote:

in a no-build area then can make a text-to-particle emiiter where the particles are letter textures. is quite tricky to get the timing right on these tho. missing and/or duplicate letters usual

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Well, kinda, but not much like the hovertext the OP reported as having seen.  A single particle containing all the text in one texture can look pretty similar to hovertext. (Viewers don't scale hovertext normally, but otherwise, it's pretty close.) In contrast, painting one letter at a time, the individual letter sprites always face the camera like hovertext, but they're positioned individually in space, so viewed from the back, the spelling would be backwards.

Oh, also, I doubt there has been much "privacy" objection to radar position information; that data is everywhere.  In fact, there's a new LSL function coming in a very few weeks that will give us avatar identity (trivially augmented with position) for an entire sim all at once, no need for laggy sensor probes nor kludgy TPV bridges.

I do think people will almost universally object to other people writing crap over their avatar's head against their will. That's so obviously harassment that anybody using such a thing is sure to get many ARs against them.

Oh, and about the cam-tracking crosshair stuff in viewers: I can imagine it being marginally useful for debugging viewer problems; otherwise it's a huge drama generator, and regrettable. The thing is, it sorta can't go away as long as folks want their avatars to appear to face the direction they're looking.  That's one feature that's lost if you turn off the viewer's willingness to leak cam focus.

[161488303349]

like you say a whole word or sentence particle is a bit limiting without quite a large dictionary/library of premade textures. can work good tho in a limited setting like you also say. example. a self named poofer. have seen quite a few people with these. xxx is in da house. xxx has left the building. others like yyy is my bff. i <3 zzz. stuff like that

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the new function to return a list of detected avatars on a sim is quite good for quests games i think. anything that reduces lag is great when it can be done anyways but kludgy like you say

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the whole cam thing i dont really care about. never use it myself. dont care if people cam me in public. dont care if they need to know that i am camming their hair or shoes. if i want people to not cam me bc i am check out a new skin or something then just turn off visibility on my parcel and restrict public access while i am do that

 

[Eileen Fellstein]

lol, I just think the whole basic design is backward of what it needs to be in terms of privacy and should be rethought in the very near future. And I do stress, it's my opinion. I understand I'm not aware of every possible use for every feature but I don't believe that a feature having a possible use is enough justification for having that feature live in viewers that go out to the masses.

 

Here's my point...

 

This thread was started asking about how to slap a sign on someone that is invisible. Well here's my thoughts when I saw that...

 

1.  A  person can be invisible? How? I mean besides wearing an invisi prim which would not obscure their avi name anyhow

2. ok so if the above is true and people can be invisible, including name tag, and that's ok, first, why is it anyone's business and why do they need to be called out unless they have actually done something wrong and there is proof of it?

3. If people can be invisible physically and that's just dandy, why can't I login invisible to freind and group lists AND people viewing from the dashboard and their mobile phone? WTF someones right to snoop from a mobile pager superceeds my right to login without unwanted solicitation?

Yea backwards

And yes, I turn cam crosshairs off in both directions. I don't care who is looking at me. It's their right as long as they dont do offensive stuff, but no one NEEDS to know where I am looking for any reason...ever. If linden labs does for some reason they have my blessing and full cooperation.

[161488303349]

if you build in a public sandbox and want to fake invisibility so can remain mostly unnoticed then on an official viewer (or most v3 tpvs):

wear a full body alpha texture

fly up a bit and press Stop Flying so you start falling. then immediately right-click on yourself as you fall and Sit Down. then cam to the ground and start building. or even up cam way up above your name tag and rez a platform and build on that

is a bug this

what happens is your avatar will sit on the ground. (can see this if you take off the alpha) but your name tag will be way up in the sky at the height you pressed Sit Down

any follower or scripted attack object will go to your name tag up in the sky and not your avatar on the ground. bc you are sitting then you cant be pushed or moved either

do not play any animation on your avatar. so like turn off your AO. or the avatar and name tag will rejoin

just press Stand when you finished building