Second Life to lose group voting feature

While it isn't clear yet which Second Life server versions will no longer support group voting, the upcoming 1.23 viewer release candidate (due any time now) will no longer include support for the feature, which will then be phased out of the servers at a subsequent date.

"It's being removed because there are still a number of bugs (including significant database load issues) in the voting system," said Soft Linden in response to user enquries, "however the metrics team found that the feature is virtually unused." (We think that might ultimately be because of the bugs and poor performance).

"There is little engineering work in removing group voting, while there would be significant work in making the feature work and scale well."

Even if the feature isn't used, just its presence, as the viewer automatically interrogates servers for related information is enough to place significant loads on grid subsystems. That load just gets worse as users interact with groups. As of viewer 1.23, you won't be able to assume that voting proposals will reach all users. Not that you can realistically assume that at present.

While the feature is, indeed, infrequently used by the broader Second Life population, it is likely to be a loss to those who have relied on the feature to-date. No alternative is planned at this stage, though there are third-party alternatives. "The functionality could be reproduced with scripted objects or, where the voters are trusted, a SurveyMonkey link in a group announcement," says Soft.

Group voting — will you miss it?