WhatToStandardize

While there has been a lot of talk about a "multi-protocol client," there hasn't been as much talk about other things to standardize.

Robert Bloomfield wants a standard way of reporting data for virtual worlds. That's an example of something we could probably get done sooner, and would give traction to the process.

Other things mentioned include firewall management: Can we standardize on traffic patterns and ports, even though the protocols are different?

Another area includes terrain ("levels"); there is currently a proposal for a Pageable Terrain Format standard.

How about a simple back-end entity telemetry standard? It's been done using DIS for many years in the military space. If two virtual worlds could agree on the terrain, and then mirror entities between each other, you could partake of the same virtual simulated space, as users of two separate platforms.

Another option is an avatar portability standard. You can use an existing identity in different contexts. You may have multiple identities (work-time vs after-hours), but you want to tie identity to occasion, not identity to the specific world implementation.

Other obvious big chunks include avatar/entity mesh data, animation and behavior data, chat and voice communication, and shared/distributed authentication and trust.

But how about things like terminology? What is an "entity" versus an "object" versus a "prim" versus an "avatar"? There are some attempts to gather these already out there -- is there one that is especially good?