Retire Calling Cards to protect user privacy and safety
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Hopatunia Resident
Calling Cards are a legacy security loophole that fundamentally breaks user privacy. Linden Lab charges a premium price for a Name Change, which is marketed to residents as a way to get a fresh start and escape harassment or stalkers. However, keeping Calling Cards defeats the purpose of this paid service. Old cards in an abuser's inventory automatically update and link directly to the resident's new active profile. This allows stalkers to bypass the name change and continue tracking their victims against their will. Telling users to just create an alt account to escape harassment is unacceptable. Residents invest years of progress, achievements, and thousands of L$ in non-transferable skins, shapes, and inventory items. They should not be forced to abandon their entire digital life and financial investment just to feel safe when a simple system update could fix the issue. Since we already have a Friends List and modern search tools, Calling Cards are completely redundant. They cause inventory lag and compromise personal safety. It is time to retire this outdated feature completely to ensure true privacy and value for paying customers.
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Rachel Dallas
Never in my life in sl have i seen a more pointless thread then this one. . Seriously??? with everything wrong and all in Sl and data breaches happening all over the place someone has to go off about Freaking Calling Cards??? sighs. 1st off half of users if not more then half have no clue about them let alone use them . Secondly stakers happen . you block them you can lock them out of your land ,,,,WHAT CAN THEY DO TO YOU????? its not like they can kidnap you!!!.... They should not be forced to abandon their entire digital life and financial investment just to feel safe .... let me ask you this, What exactly can they do that makes you feel in danger? grab there monitor and shake itwhile yelling at it ? SERIOUSLY CALLING CARDS???
Beatrice Voxel
The Calling Card isn't linked to names, it's linked to UUID's, which are not private.
Anyone can copy the UUID from your profile, and save it, and then later use it to look up your current name (changed or not).
Removing the Calling Card feature would break a lot of functionality beyond 'stalking' and would do nothing to address 'stalking'.
marxman1313 Resident
They are needed for business coordination and other situations where a transferable item, like a genuine calling or business card is perfect.
While I am not discrediting the problem that you are attempting to address they would need to be replaced with something better, live as to not completely break existing calling cards system (which I understand partially defeats the purpose of what you are trying to say) and not an outright retirement which I am guessing also suggests the deletion of the entire system.
That said part of the problem also seems to be the lack of extent LL is willing to go to to resolve issues like this, and the infinite amount of alt accounts someone can make exacerbates the issue.
Linn Darkwatch
Totally disagree with this. Calling cards are the only way to find someone you've lost touch with who has changed their name. Also very useful when passing along contacts in a notecard for Group events, etc.
NaluriMurai Lust
I have to concur with others.
Your avatar's UUID is much like your Social Security number - you cannot change it, and anyone who knows it, can trace you. The only way you can truly fix this is by hiding on an alt.
More trouble than it's worth.
squidpaladin Resident
You'd have to abolish UUID's alongside it. Which isn't gonna happen. Also, name changes are not marketed as a tool to escape harassment, they're basically marketed as time-limited cosmetics.
Izzatooona Enthusiast
Your complaint is moot - the avatar's UUID is never going to change. If you do a UUID lookup with a small script that anyone can write or find free somewhere, you get the current avatar name. There is nothing you can do about this. Calling cards are a great way to ensure you can share your contact details without the need of friending people and bloating your friends list needlessly. Sorry, but that is a fact.
AlettaMondragon Resident
Izzatooona Enthusiast This! By the way, no script needed for a UUID lookup, even, you can open the resident selector (for example from an abuse report, add to ban list or share items panel) and enter the UUID on the appropriate tab there.
Sana Sakura
While your understanding of the new avatar name system isn't correct in relation to escaping and ending stalking; I agree with the premise that you shouldn't be told to create a new account to escape someone violating Linden Labs TOS. Having had stalkers in second life I can say this with confidence. Block them immediately, track their avatar names, and gather evidence, then file an Abuse Report. Don't respond to their IM's or Local Chat in any way. I took one stalker who had upwards of 47 accounts give or take, and not kidding about the number, to LL with an abuse report and an outline of all the account names. They took care of the issue and I never was stalked by that person again. A lot of people dismiss stalking in Second Life because they can't relate to it. But, equally, you do have to do your part to draw the picture for LL to handle it. ~ Also I did vote up your recommendation not to get rid of calling cards, but because stalking is a problem in Second Life that Linden Labs needs to take seriously. Also, don't give out your calling card. That stops the issue for future people. Also people can still track you with your UUID and an online status board. So really this isn't going to stop that. You need to stop the abuser.
AlettaMondragon Resident
Sana Sakura I agree with your stance against stalkers completely, just keep in mind upvoting this suggestion does nothing about that, because this idea that calling cards are a contributing factor is very vague and absolutely wrong. No calling card, scripted objects (like an online status board as you mentioned), and not even the avatar's UUID has to be known to find out their new name. The old name is enough. You can search for the old name and get the new one. If people wanted to vote for that to be changed, that would make sense. Hating calling cards because they update to new names as they should is so pointless and tiring.
Timothy McGregor
Your premise is wrong. Name changes are never marketed as a way to get a fresh start and escape harassment or stalkers, and are not intended to function that way. You just flat made that up. So the rest of your points are moot. This has been raised over and over again. Changing your name is not a privacy feature, it's a vanity feature. If you're being harassed in a way that violates Community Standards or Terms of Service, report the person to Linden Lab. If you're being harassed in a way that violates the law, report the person to law enforcement. Those are your two avenues for redress. You also have the option of cancelling your account, and/or creating a new account.
Grave Resident
I'll be real with you. I dont think people should be able to escape the reputation they build for themselves. Having to make a new account should be a punishment if it is that bad.
Izzatooona Enthusiast
Grave Resident You are so right!!!! I know of many who create alts because they angered so many around them and were basically shunned. I've been around since 2007, and I've changed my name a lot - giving LL a lot of $$ - but I do it for fun. Cute names. But I know of many who do it because they are drama seeking turds. LOL Anyway, have a lovely day. LOL.
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