Basal Omni-Presence

Although a BOP Space may support multiple protocols, in the current test phase, we are using just one - Jabber or as I prefer, the XMPP the eXtensible Messaging & Presence Protocol. Therefore you will need a Jabber account - if you have a Gmail account you already have one via Chat and Google Talk. There are also many public servers where you can create free accounts. If you’re not using the Google Talk or web chat client, you will also have to choose from one of the many available Jabber clients. Personally, I use iChat on OS/X(it’s built-in and works very nicely) and Exodus on Windows(some years ago it was the first stable, free client I tried and I haven’t looked back since). One very notable entry missing from the list on the Jabber site is the recently released SamePlace Firefox Add-on which I like very much.

Like Google’s Chat it can be “popped” outside of the browser window so it takes up a minimal amount of screen real estate.

Illustrations in this walk through use Google Chat, SamePlace and iChat.

In order to access a BOP Space, you have to first request a chat with the XMPP account associated with that space. Currently testlab@bopspace.com is available. I will be checking this regularly but right now there may be delays between when you make the request and when your account gets added to the access list. NOTE: this is NOT an email address so if you’re using Google Talk or Chat and request a chat you’ll get a bounced email notice but this won’t keep you from being added.

Once you have testlab@bopspace.com in your buddy list, open a chat to testlab@bopspace.com and enter something like “hello world”. Like entering a chat room, nothing appears to happen when you do this. However, the owner and occupants of the space will be notified of your presence. Upon first entering a BOP Space, an avatar will be added to the scene. Everything you say in the space will appear in speech bubbles in the 3D host space and 3D clients.

For chat clients, the text will be presented as a message from the space

Once you’ve entered a BOP Space, your chat input is transformed into a powerful command line interface to the underlying scripting and programming facilities of the environment. By default everything you type is treated as “speaking out loud”. What is actually happening is that what you type is converted into a scripting action instructing an actor to take some action using particular stage directions. The default actor is your avatar, the default action is the message “say” and the text you type is treated as stage directions. However, the first character of the text you enter can be used to access other actors and messages. The first of these shortcuts is the “>” which BOPSpace to treat the entered as a message to your avatar. Valid scripting statements such as >move forward will be covered separately in Controlling Your Avatar From Chat.