SL Group Limits Raised to 42 (Only If You Install Viewer 2)

Linden Lab just announced several technology upgrades for Second Life users, including a big one: "As of today, group limits have been raised to 42!" That's up from the current limit of 25. In this case, 42 may not be the answer to life, the Universe, and everything, but that number should satisfy a lot Residents who've wanted to expand their in-world grouping ability for years. However, to get this expansion, there's a slight hitch:

To add groups beyond the previous limit of 25, you must be using Viewer 2.4 (or a more recent version). And if you’re still using Viewer 1.23, or a third-party viewer based on Viewer 1.23 code, then you can add more groups in Viewer 2.4 and they will still be accessible when you switch back to Viewer 1.23. [Emph. mine]

In other words, for example, if you use the third party Imprudence viewer, as I do, you'll need to install Viewer 2, at least long enough to add groups over 25. This is a notable requirement, because until a few months ago, a larger percent of Second Life's active user base used a third party viewer, chiefly Emerald, and then migrated to other viewers from Emerald-affiliated developers after that viewer was eliminated in a storm of controversy. It will be interesting to see if the expanded group size will bring dedicated third party viewer users back to the official software.

More on the updates here.

Update, 1/14: Notwithstanding what Linden Lab says, many readers in Comments say they're able to join more than 25 groups in non-Viewer 2 clients. So if you use one of those, give it a try and report your own results there!

Comments

[Latif Khalifa]

Well you both got it wrong. Viewer 1.23 allows you to join as many groups as the server will let you. It will not allow you to create new groups however.

Considering that group joining on invitation, and from browsing groups in search is much more frequent operation than group creation, 1.23 users will do just fine.

[Ezra]

Why's it an official viewer only thing? Is it something that can be added to TPVs just as Display Names could? Or will it require a switch on TPVs part to the 2.# codebase first?

[Hitomi Tiponi]

As Latif says you should be able to join existing groups with a 1.* viewer. Also TPVs can change the requisite code to their 1.* based viewers if they wish. Phoenix have already done so (even though it did cause some confusion at the time).

[Rob Danton]

The latest Phoenix viewer (based on 1.23 codebase AFAIK) allows you to join 42 groups. So its not just a 2.0 thing.

[Thoria Millgrove]

The increased group limit works with Imprudence, too. I'm at 27 groups with Imprudence 1.3 right now.

[Roblem Hogarth]

Works just fine in Phoenix. You will see the 25 maximum thing, but thats apparently hard-coded in the viewer and not dynamically generated.

Maybe test before you rant?

[Senban Babii]

Honestly why would anyone even need so many groups in the first place? The majority of groups tend to be silent at best or spam channels at worst. Out of the twenty five groups I'm currently in, maybe half a dozen are regularly active and useful. Some are used purely to allow access to certain places. Some are used to show support for a cause perhaps. But most of the twenty five are there as filler so I have a legitimate excuse to turn down group invites without being negative or confrontational.

Anyone who honestly needs forty two groups is spending a leeeetle bit too much time in-world.

[Nalates Urriah]

Viewers based on series 1 code can have more than 25 groups. In the worst case, if ones preferred viewer won't allow join or create over 25, one joins or creates groups using a viewer that will then switches back.

The limit shown in the image is cosmetic. Phoenix 818 has a debug setting, Phoenix40GroupsSupport, that has to change and then it shows the limit as 40. But, that won't keep it from showing 42 groups.

[Kim Anubis]

"Anyone who honestly needs forty two groups is spending a leeeetle bit too much time in-world."

How rude. I could certainly use 42 groups. Maybe I have spent a lot of time inworld, but I have a couple of books and a profitable RL company to show for it, not to mention classes I've taken and all the fun times. If I had listened to comments like yours I can't even imagine where I would be now.

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

A little bit of sarcasm from an oldbie: Why....who needs even 25 groups....10 groups should be enough for anyone. ;-)

Personally, I'll take as many groups as I can get. I've had to leave groups that I didn't want to leave to make room for others. I've had to decline entry into groups because of the 25 limit. 42 is better than 25 but I'm hoping for 100 eventually....just in case.

[Adeon Writer]

"Anyone who honestly needs forty two groups is spending a leeeetle bit too much time in-world."

You're joking, right? In the past 5 years I've had to quit countless groups in the past purely because of the limit. I never get to quit a group because I no longer need it - I'm always eventually forced to sooner than I otherwise would have do to the limitation.

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

Another thing...I think when LL raised the group limit from 10 all those years ago, it helped contribute to SL's growth. More groups, more communication between people of similar interests, more collaboration, more land groups, more things going on.

[Roblem Hogarth]

"Anyone who honestly needs forty two groups is spending a leeeetle bit too much time in-world." - Senban Babii

WTF?

Why would anyone need anything you don't need right? Flexies, Texture cache, Voice, Windlight, Sculpts, Mesh and all the rest are pointless. Hey lets all go back to There.com where nothing changes and we all look a little like bubble headed Charlie Brown... Oh SNAP it's not "There" anymore because it never changed and dried up and blew away. Software innovation is what keeps it fresh, sure you don't need any change a dev makes but without innovation it goes stale quick. Or are you still surfing with NCSA Mosaic? ;-)

[Senban Babii]

Wow Roblem, my comment wound you up so much that you felt the need to not only spit froth here but also to make a comment on an entirely unrelated post over on my own blog just to be bitchy?

Don't like what I say? Tough cookies. Accept that others have a right to their opinion and move on, it's just the internet dear 8D

[Henri Beauchamp]

The Cool VL Viewer (http://sldev.free.fr/) also allows to get those additional group slots.

[Allan]

The Imprudence blog (dated 12 January, in the comments) says that they are compliant with the OpenSim standard, and that that puts the limit at 100 (potentially, at any rate). The "out of 25" bit is hard-coded, but you can join more than 25 groups, though I have not tried finding if the limit is indeed 42.

In another comment there is a reported "feature" (what Unisys once called a TUF, or a "Technically Undesirable Feature") that the limit of 25 applies for invites to groups, meaning that if you have 25+ groups you cannot join from an invite, though I haven't tried this out yet. Hopefully, if this is the case it will be fixed shortly.

And any bets on how long it will be before people are complaining about 42 groups not being enough? As far as I have heard, my first guess (three days) was proven wrong, so I'll stick to my second guess, three months, counting from the date LL announced the increase on v2.4. :-)

[Michael Knight]

It's so boring to go on discussing about old/new viewers capabilities.
Update your viewers and shut up.
Official viewers aren't made by hobbyists as TPVs.
You remember me the -usual- pathetic people who pretend to use Windows 95 in 2011.