A Directory for Caledon, and Other Places Potentially

One of the things that I have been doing recently is constructing a small Directory for Caledon. The island has grown to a size where one finds it extremely difficult to know the locations of all of the establishments there, or even of their basic existence.

There are many possible avenues that one might explore in providing such information to visitors and residents, but really, spending too long considering them means that one is unlikely ever to produce a product of any sort, and thus I decided to make something very simple: a giver of landmarks, selectable via the usual back and forward arrow buttons.

The basis of this design was my Simple Freebie Giver, which I find is the most popular item taken from either my freebie box or my roster on SLExchangeBoutique. For those unaware of it, likely most of you, it is a very simple device that one merely drops items into the inventory of, and which then allows anyone to cycle back and forth between them, displaying the name, type (object, animation or whatever) and permissions. Touching provides the item. It is as the name suggests extremely simple, but really, to give out free items there is little more needed I find.

Clearly though I would not be satisfied with this alone, and so I made sure that it communicated with a map of Caledon external to Second Life, which you may view by clicking the previous link. Each landmark present is prefixed with a subdivision in square brackets - thus it includes

[Shops] Ordinal Enterprises

rather than just “Ordinal Enterprises”. At the moment, a user of the actual device in-world will see the square brackets, which has the additional effect of grouping all similar establishments with each other. The map itself, though, produces separate lists of names. As is evident from the page concerned, clicking on the name of an establishment makes the map scroll rapidly to its position, and opens up a small window with a link upon which one might click to teleport directly there. As is customary with maps of Second Life, one may also zoom in and out and drag the thing around.

A small thing, but one which I hope may be useful, if I obtain sufficient landmarks of course and can decide on appropriate categories. Once the system is complete I imagine that I will be able to distribute it to all interested parties, or at least those who have some sort of hosting space to put the page on.

One enhancement that I would like to build in - apart from a search facility and proper use of the categories - is the ability to have all of the landmarks stored in a central server, and choosers being merely clients. This would be extremely simple and quick using the magical llHTTPRequest (which, as one might imagine, is used extensively here) - however I am determined to have this functionality purely in LSL, as this will mean that at least part of the system will be operational if communications fail between Second Life and the Aethernet, or even if Second Life itself fails.

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As an aside I find myself rather… flattened at the moment, and lacking in “zing”. Should a reader find my “zing” (it is of orange and slightly rippled appearance, moving rapidly on seven legs, and should be approached with caution) I would be glad to have it back, but otherwise I imagine that I will try something else to entice it to return.

I was considering writing something regarding some of the attitudes that I see displayed around me, or at least in the Forums; on consideration I believe I will confine myself to one short comment there and leave it at that.