I've been feeling uppity ever since we FINALLY got the IM typing indicators I was asking for so long ago. So here's another thing I'd like to see. It's not actually something I'm wishing for, but it would be fun: an indicator showing that a resident is being buried under multiple IMs.You know how it is: you tp in someplace and you see a friend standing there. You hail them, but get no response. They're probably talking in IM, but they might also be afk, or going through their inventory, or a dozen other things. They might even be ignoring you! This isn't imperative, but wouldn't it be neat if there were a little number next to their name, indicating how many IMs they're currently engaged in? This wouldn't be a breach of privacy, you wouldn't see to whom they're speaking, but it would give you an idea if they're going to be available soon, or whether or not you ought to IM them yourself. At the very least, it would help manage conversations like this:
Akela: "Hey, Friend X, what's up?"
silence
Akela: "You okay?"
silence
Akela: "Oh, in IM Hell, huh?"
silence
Akela: "Okay, I'll ... I'll just ... stand here, then, shall I?"
silence
Akela: "Okay, I'll be here going through my inventory."
10 minutes pass
Friend X: "Hey, Akela!"
silence
Hmm. Maybe we should expand that indicator to display activity other than IMs, like inventory management, scripting, etc. Maybe instead of a simple indicator, it could be accompanied by a Time Away indicator, to display how long the resident has been inactive. Maybe instead of numbers, there could be little animated icons. Maybe I should lie down and get some rest.
1. And here I thought you were going to ask for IM Avatars ;-)
Posted at 4:13AM on Dec 14th 2006 by Wrestling Hulka