quote:
Originally posted by Unknown...
The technical aren't the main concern, the privacy is. Personally I sit amongst those who think by installing Plus! you should really be allowing people who satisfy the following:
a) Have Messenger Installed
b) Have plus installed
c) Are accepted on your contact list
d) Are not blocked
...to see you have Plus installed (here comes the critical bit) via a SILENT HANDSHAKE. It should be presumed that having Plus! installed (amongst all the other conditions listed above) would allow this. The same underlying core principle is applied to Messenger itself.
It shouldn't be presumed at all!!!
First of all, Plus doesn't do anything hidden. And that is a very good thing. Remember that certain people are still calling Plus! spyware, don't give them any reason to continue or start up on that again...
Second,
"The same underlying core principle is applied to Messenger itself". Messenger Plus! never used the protocol or hacked in to it. There is a massive difference in what can be done inside a main program or a plugin made for that program.
quote:
Originally posted by Unknown...
This is a hard issue to place. A better solution is needed, but (ultimately) compromises will need to be made.
The issue isn't hard at all IMO... Simply ask the contact or use the /ping command...
-----
In all fairness, all this time we rant about it I eventually could have checked 500 contacts by hand.
This issue is almost the same as requesting for a massive automatic custom name setting or something, in the context of automating things. Simply don't be lazy and ask the user or use ping...
As for
"yeah, but they could be using a different computer with no plus! installed". So?? To be honest, what is so critically massivly important that you really really need to know if they are using Plus! at the moment or not, and this for all your contacts all the time???
TBH, there is no reason what-so-ever that you _must_ know from second to second what your contact is using (there is nothing in Plus! that really needs your contact to have Plus also).
The only reason is your own curiosity...
-----
If you find the /ping command a bit cryptic towards the contact that may not have Plus! or don't know what that ping-pong means, then simply make a quicktext with the command in it and an explaination and use that instead of /ping...
-----
In my book, a secret underlying handshaking is a very massive big no-no as long as there are still people dishing Plus! for being spyware or even calling it dodgy software which can mess up the messenger connection. Stuff like secret handshaking stuff are exactly the things which cause people to say such stuff, weither it is true or not...
/ 
