On Sun, 13 Oct 2002, Zach wrote: > How about using the clue-check code and modify it for this > purpose. Set a reasonable idle time (say 15 mins) and after This is excessively complicated and would make observing a pain. James' original idea of dropping ups if the obs is idle is simpler and makes much more sense. Since you're already suggesting writing the code to detect idleness, it's a simple matter to have things like sending a message or changing lock reset the idle counter. Why make people go through all the trouble of typing in responses when they can signify their nonidleness through far simpler means? Of course, if a server can't afford a few extra kilobits per second for observers to observe in peace, perhaps that server shouldn't be where it is. Dropping ups for observers is something that just shouldn't have to happen in this day and age (netrek is already so much less bandwidth-intensive than newer games as it is).