Here’s Looking at You, Kid

by Bixyl Shuftan

I take an occasional peek at Second Life blogs, among them Sarah Nerd’s. Taking a look in early February, I found something very interesting in the January 28th entry (the article can be found here). It was a way to see what others are looking at in SL, or at least focusing their cursor.

For this, you need the “Advanced” menu at the top of your screen (press Control-Alt-D if it’s not there). Click that, scroll down to “Character,” and seeing the list that brings up, click on “Show Look At,” approximately in the middle.

And after that, you should be seeing at least one three-dimensional cross, which is yours. If there are other avatars, you can see their crosses as well. What the person is doing will affect what color the cross is. For instance, if the cross is gray, nothing is happening. But if the person focused his/her cursor on an object, the cross turns pink. If the viewer is in mouselook, the cross will be yellow.


The obvious advantage to this feature is to let you know if someone is peeping in on something you’re doing, such as virtual intimacy with a friend. But there are other practical uses, such as a storeowner being able to get some ideas on what is drawing the attention of shoppers. And of course it is a fun feature to just simply play around with, alone or with friends.

And no Joan Sweetwater, the cross will not focus on your bosom, unless you’re wearing a necklace or other embellishments in the vicinity. ;-)

Bixyl Shuftan