Updated 2010-01-13 – 6:15 PM – SLT
Several blogs are reporting that in some regions with some viewers one can now have 40 groups. There is no Linden Lab announcement out. So, this is testing and it may change at any time. Try it at your risk.
Update: So far there is still no official word. Speculation is that one going over 25 groups may lose those if Linden Lab turns the feature off. Whether the excess groups would be lots in alphabetical order or join order or something else is unknown. Actually whether they would be permanently lost or come back when the limits is raised is unknown.
Using Phoenix you will see the limit listed at the bottom of the Groups panel listed as 25. This does not mean that is the limit. That is just a cosmetic thing. One is supposed to be able to set the Debug Settings value in Phoenix40GroupsSupport to TRUE and see what limit the server is using (requires a viewer restart). Update: Phoenix is rumored to only support a max 40 groups. Whatever the case the next version (Firestorm) is planned to have better group support.
Various people are reporting different group limits, i.e., 40, 42, and 50 have been reported. It may be a matter of which region you initially log into. My understanding is that the viewer gets a group limit when logging on. Also, the extended limits are activated on a simulator by simulator basis. So, it may be possible for LL test various limits too. Office hours discussions revealed that the Lindens were uncertain what limit would actually be put into service. Also, the changes coming to group chat are a consideration in what the limit can be set to. The chat system, or may be more accurately ‘chat software’, should be changing soon to reduce chat lag.
Update: Found an older Linden statement that says if they should have to roll back the limit and you are in more than 25 groups, you will still be able to use them. You will not be able to add groups until you get the number of groups below the limit.
My SLV2.5 Development (218511) does not show a group limit.
My KirstenLee S21(3) RC2 does not show a group limit. It does show all of the more than 25 groups I’ve joined.
Imprudence shows a 25 group limit to me logging into the Le Tigre channel. However I can join more than 25 groups. Imprudence has the ability to control the chat and group notices coming in and alert you or not. With more groups the ability to silence them will become more important.
Official News Update
Linden Lab’s FJ Linden posted this afternoon that the group limit change is official. The limit is 42 groups. See: Technology Improvements for Q1 Including Raising Group Limit to 42.
SLV 1.23 users will need to use a SLV 2.4 or newer to add the groups. However the groups will be usable with the 1.23 viewer. So, once added you can see them and work with them.
The new chat system/software/service will be rolled to the grid by March 31. The prototype of the system will be on the grid by the end of this month.
The ‘Compression’ upgrade for improved region crossing is in place now (See: Coming Server Updates). They have a chart similar to the early one I posted from the office hours meeting.
The SLV2.5 Beta is coming and with it the new web based Profiles. Leaks revealed this change to Profiles. The mix of SL and RL info on the new Profile is causing problems and concerns of shop owners and breaking a number of SL products that rely on the older style Profiles. There are JIRA’s filed. So, while the new Facebook friendly profiles are nice, they have some problems. The Linden word is the JIRA’s on the web problems are being quickly resolved… they must use a part of the web I haven’t seen. Whatever, if you bang into a problem get the JIRA posted.
They call the coming hardware upgrades infrastructure upgrades. This means faster asset servers and faster networking. The Server Side Rendering comment suggests they are looking seriously at web based viewers and smart phone support.
So, SL is off to a good start for this year.
I show 40 in phoenix and was able to add groups beyond the 25 I had. It will be interesting to see if they disappear at some point.
Maestro Linden resolved SVC-2833.
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Resolution: Fixed
As of yesterday afternoon, the group limit is 42.
Note that you will need a viewer that supports >25 groups (such as the 2.4 viewer) in order to take advantage of the new limit, as older viewers have the limit hardcoded to 25.
More details will follow shortly on the official blog.