I have received numerous requests to offer an affiliate vendor that allows you to sell my popular Subscriber Kiosk products.  Today I am pleased to announce the release of my Subscriber Kiosk Affiliate Vendor Kit.  It is available from either Night Sky or from SL Marketplace.  The price is only L$100 and you will receive a 20% commission on each sale, so you will probably make more than your investment back on the very first sale!

The Subscriber Kiosk Affiliate Vendor Kit it is comprised of the following two single prim vendors:

• Subscriber Kiosk Affiliate Vendor: Sells Master Kiosks, Remote Kiosks, Combos (Master + Remote).  Also dispenses a free Master Demo Kiosk (limited to 100 subscribers) and a product description notecard.
• Subscriber Kiosk Accessory Vendor: Sells optional Subscriber Kiosk accessory items such as the SISBox, API Kit, Remote TC Kiosk, Archive Controller and Subscriber Purge Device.  Also dispenses free Master Demo Kiosk (limited to 100 subscribers), free Extra Kiosk Styles, and product description notecard.

Simply rez the vendors, wait for them to syncronize with my server, and start collecting commissions.  I will take care of any customer support questions or issues.  For a more detailed description, read the following: Subscriber Kiosk Affiliate Vendor Kit Instructions.

After long periods of use, the number of subscribers in a Subscriber Kiosk can grow quite large.  It is likely that many of the older subscribers are no longer active in Second Life.  It may be desirable to periodically purge likely inactive subscribers from your Master Kiosk.  The Purge Device is an optional Subscriber Kiosk accessory that is used to identify subscribers who are no longer likely to be active in Second Life and create a removal list that can be used to remove those subscribers from a Subscriber Kiosk.

How it Works

The Purge Device is a small, single prim object containing a set of scripts and Config notecard for specifying options.  To check for inactive subscribers, first make a backup of your subscriber list to one or more Subscriber Backup notecards as described in the Subscriber Kiosk Instruction Manual.  Place the Subscriber Backup notecard(s) in the Purge Device, click on it and select ‘Read’ from the dialog box menu.  The notecard(s) will be read into the Purge Device, after which it will automatically begin polling the online status of the listed subscribers.  Any subscriber found online will be deleted from the list in the Purge Device, so over time only those avatars who have not been detected online will remain on the list.  Polling can be stopped and started at any time to check the count of inactive subscribers remaining on the list.

After a period of time (30 days recommended) or when the count of subscribers remains stable for a while, you can use the Purge Device to send an IM and/or notecard to the remaining subscribers with a message you compose, advising them they are about to be deleted from your subscriber list.  Once you are satisfied that the list contains only subscribers you want to delete, select the ‘List’ function and copy/paste from the chat history window to one or more Subscriber Backup notecards, drop into your Master Kiosk, and select the Append function.  The list is formatted with a minus sign prefixing the avatar UUID so it will be removed rather than added.

The Subscriber Purge Device will work with any Master Kiosk with Release 5 (or later) scripts.  It does not need to be in the same sim as your Master Kiosk.  It can only be used by its owner.  The Purge Device has sufficient data storage to hold a list of up to 10,000 subscribers.  It can be taken into inventory and re-rezzed without losing any listed subscribers.  The Config notecard allows you to program a periodic automatic pause interval to reduce sim loading, however testing confirms that the effect of even continuous polling is negligible.

You can purchase the Purge Device from the Subscriber Kiosk vendor at Night Sky or from SL Marketplace.  For additional information click here.

A number of Subscriber Kiosk owners are approaching 10,000 subscribers, the maximum limit for a Master Kiosk (Pro Model).  The Subscriber Archive Controller (SAC) is an optional accessory item that enables Subscriber Kiosk owners to synchronize multiple Master Kiosks  (Standard and Pro models only) to create a virtual subscriber list with essentially unlimited capacity.  Requires Update Release 6 (or later) Master Kiosk and SISBox (if used).

The SAC is a small, single prim object containing a script and config notecard that resides in the same sim as your Master Kiosk.  When your Master Kiosk gets nearly full, you create an archive copy that contains all of your subscribers and you clear the list in your original Master Kiosk, allowing it to collect more subscribers.  The SAC acts as an interface between your Primary (original) Master Kiosk and your Archive Master Kiosk.  New subscribers are entered into your Primary Master Kiosk and removed from your Archive Master kiosk if already subscribed there, so that subscriber records are not duplicated.  If someone unsubscribes, they are removed from both the Primary and Archive Master Kiosk.   Any number of Archive Master Kiosks may be added, providing essentially unlimited subscriber capacity.

To send IMs or inventory items your entire subscriber list, simply drop the item(s) into the Primary Master Kiosk and select ‘Send’ as you would normally.  The SAC takes care of forwarding the item(s) to the Archive Master Kiosk(s) and commanding them to send the item(s) as well.  Options are provided to tell all the kiosks to send at the same time for maximum speed or sequentially for minimum sim load.

The above synchronization process also takes place when an avatar is manually added or removed from the list via the ‘Edit List’ command or via an API SUB_ADD or SUB_DEL command.  The synchronization process does not take place when adding subscriber records from a Subscriber Backup notecard using the Restore or Append command, however if the notecard contains an avatar deletion entry (avatar UUID preceded by a minus sign), the avatar will be deleted from all Archive Master Kiosks as well as the primary Master Kiosk.

You can purchase the SAC from the Subscriber Kiosk vendor at Night Sky or from SL Marketplace.

If you have a SISBox and you have set it to verify avatars are on the subscriber list, the SISBox will query the Primary and Archive Master Kiosk(s).  The SISBox must be updated to at least Release 6 for this function to work.  A SISBox Release 6 Update Kit was sent to all SISBox owners of record on November 21, 2010.  If you did not receive your free copy, please send me an IM.

Limitations and Restrictions

• The SAC can only be used with the Standard and Pro models of Master Kiosk.
• All Master Kiosks (primary and archives) and the SAC must be located in the same sim.
• All Master Kiosks (primary and archives) and the SAC must have the same owner.
• The following Master Kiosk menu button commands apply only the kiosk that was touched: Show List, Clear List, Append, Restore, Remove Inv, Filter, Update.
• Master Kiosks and SISBox must be updated to Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Release 6 (or later).
• If you are using the API Kit, the API SUB_FIND command will only search the Master Kiosk to which the command is sent.  The API application must send this command to all Primary and Archive Master Kiosks individually to search the entire list.

For additional information, click here.

How to get it:

I am pleased to announce the availability of Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Update Release 6.  I would like to thank our customers for their suggestions on ways to improve Subscriber Kiosk, many of which have been incorporated into this release.  This Update Release is free to current owners.

Update Release 6 includes the following improvements and new features:

• Improved operation of the automatic incremental backup feature introduced in Release 5:
  • Now shows the avatar’s name followed by “Subscribed” or “Unsubscribed” in the email subject line when set to email each transaction.  Format is unchanged from Release 5 when set to periodically email groups of transactions.
  • The incremental auto-backup transaction log is now automatically emailed to the specified address and flushed (cleared) whenever the operator selects Send > Email Log,  Clear List, Restore, or Update > Perform.  The log contents is also chatted (non-public) to the kiosk operator (owner or administrator).
  • CAUTION: Owners who are updating from Release 5 or earlier kiosks are advised to flush and email the transaction log manually before starting the update process to avoid losing transactions that have not yet been emailed.  This can be done by selecting Send > Email Log from the Master Kiosk’s dialog menu.
• Added capability to enable subscribers to obtain previously sent items stored in a SISBox by using any Remote Kiosk within the same region/sim as the SISBox (new ‘History’ button).  They no longer have to visit the SISBox directly.  Only available on Remote Kiosks in same region as Master Kiosk.
• Added SendRate parameter to Subscriber Config notecard to allow owners to reduce the maximum rate at which inventory items are sent to subscribers.  The default value is 10 per second (assuming at least 20 Subscriber Slave scripts are installed).  Some owners have reported occasional item delivery failures under certain heavily loaded sim conditions.  Slowing down the item delivery rate by specifying a SendRate value of less than 10 per second should help this at the expense of taking longer to send items.  If you are not having delivery problems, it is recommended you leave the SendRate parameter blank (will default to 10 sends per second) for minimum sending time.
• Made scripts more tolerant of minor errors in IMCard format, e.g. ‘return’ at end of first line no longer results in illegal format error message.  IMCard is still limited to one line of less than 255 characters and cannot contain any embedded inventory items.
• Added code to support the new optional Subscriber Kiosk Archive Controller accessory.
• Modified Subscriber Name2Key script to check multiple external key lookup databases.  This should reduce the number of failed lookups when only the avatar name is specified during manual list editing or Append/Restore from a Subscriber Backup notecard.
• Made several minor bug fixes to improve reliability and message clarity.

If you purchased or updated your kiosk after March 7, 2009, you can get a Release 6 Update Kit  by using the ‘Update’ and ‘Check/Get’ buttons on your Master and Remote Kiosk’s main dialog box.   It is not necessary to visit the vendor at Night Sky or know your configuration codes.  Be sure to get both a Master and Remote Update Kit  (they are different) if you have both types of kiosk.  If you had automatic update checking enabled, you will receive the Update Kit automatically.  You only need one update kit for each kiosk type (Master and Remote), regardless of how many copies you have made.

Special note to SISBox Owners: If you own a SISBox you should update it to Release 6 as well.  There is currently no automated process for updating SISBox scripts.  A SISBox Update Kit has been sent to all SISBox owners of record as of November 21, 2010.  If you own a SISBox and did not get your free Update Kit, please send an IM to Fred Allandale and I will send you one.

If you don’t have an ‘Update’ button on your kiosk, you can get the Update Kits from the Subscriber Kiosk vendor at Night Sky.  Select ‘Upgrade’, then the type of kiosk (e.g., Master or Remote).  You will then need to enter your kiosk’s Configuration Code.  Your configuration code is shown when you rez your kiosk from inventory.  Once your configuration code is validated, select ‘Update Kit’ (NOT ‘Upgrade’) and it will be given to you.  Remember, you need to get separate update kits for your Master and Remote Kiosks.  Each type of kiosk has a separate configuration code.  Multiple copies of each kiosk type will each have the same configuration code, however, so you only need to get one of each type of update kit regardless of how many kiosk copies you have made.

NOTE: If you have an older version 2.41 kiosk (purchased prior to October 2008), you must replace it with a version 3.0 kiosk.  Visit the vendor at Night Sky and select ‘Upgrade’, then the type of kiosk (e.g., Master or Remote).  Enter 0 (zero) for your configuration code, then select the kiosk model you want (e.g. Basic, Standard, Pro or Remote).  Upgrades from version 2.41 to the Basic model are free.  For upgrades to other models you will be prompted to pay an upgrade charge.

Once you receive the Update Kit, rez it in the same sim/region as the kiosk(s) you want to update and follow the instructions on the notecard you will be given.

NOTE: This release also includes all changes from all prior Update Releases and can be installed in any Version 3.0 Subscriber Kiosk.  To download the latest Subscriber Kiosk Instruction Manual or get other documentation, go to the Documentation page.

How to get it:

I am pleased to announce the availability of Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Update Release 5.  I would like to thank our customers for their suggestions on ways to improve Subscriber Kiosk, many of which have been incorporated into this release.  This Update Release is free to current owners.

Update Release 5 includes the following improvements and new features:

• Incremental automatic backup via email.  Can automatically send sub/unsub transaction records to an external email address at an owner specified interval.
• Subscriber Backup notecards can now be used to add or remove subscribers.  Previous versions could only add subscribers.
• The ‘Edit List’ function now supports adding/removing individual subscribers using either avatar name or key (UUID).  Previous versions only accepted names.
• You can now specify a non-public chat channel for entering operator inputs (e.g.  inputs to ‘Edit List’ or ‘Filter’ functions) to enhance security.
• New capability to specify different textures for ONLINE and OFFLINE/BUSY status.  This includes capability for Master Kiosk to distribute textures to Remote Kiosks.
• New capability to send IM to owner (or designated avatar) whenever a Remote Kiosk goes OFFLINE or comes ONLINE.
• Added auto-retry and longer timeout to external Name2Key database lookup.  Improves reliability of converting avatar names to keys (UUID) (for Edit List, Restore, and Append).
• Improved Remote Kiosk management.  Can now handle as many as 100 Remote Kiosk per Master Kiosk.
• Other miscellaneous improvements and bug fixes.

If you purchased or updated your kiosk after March 7, 2009, you can get a Release 5 Update Kit  by using the ‘Update’ and ‘Check/Get’ buttons on your Master and Remote Kiosk’s main dialog box.   It is not necessary to visit the vendor at Night Sky or know your configuration codes.  Be sure to get both a Master and Remote Update Kit  (they are different) if you have both types of kiosk.  If you had automatic update checking enabled, you will receive the Update Kit automatically.  You only need one update kit for each kiosk type (Master and Remote), regardless of how many copies you have made.

If you don’t have an ‘Update’ button on your kiosk, you can get the Update Kits from the Subscriber Kiosk vendor at Night Sky.  Select ‘Upgrade’, then the type of kiosk (e.g., Master or Remote).  You will then need to enter your kiosk’s Configuration Code.  Your configuration code is shown when you rez your kiosk from inventory.  Once your configuration code is validated, select ‘Update Kit’ and it will be given to you.  Remember, you need to get separate update kits for your Master and Remote Kiosks.  Each type of kiosk has a separate configuration code.  Multiple copies of each kiosk type will each have the same configuration code, however, so you only need to get one of each type of update kit regardless of how many kiosk copies you have made.

NOTE:  If you have an older version 2.41 kiosk (purchased prior to October 2008), you must replace it with a version 3.0 kiosk.  Visit the vendor at Night Sky and select ‘Upgrade’, then the type of kiosk (e.g., Master or Remote).  Enter 0 for your configuration code, then select the kiosk model you want (e.g. Basic, Standard, Pro or Remote).  Upgrades from version 2.41 to the Basic model are free.  Upgrades to other models require an upgrade charge.

Once you receive the Update Kit, rez it in the same sim/region as the kiosk(s) you want to update and follow the instructions on the notecard you will be given.

NOTE: This release also includes all changes from all prior Update Releases and can be installed in any Version 3.0 Subscriber Kiosk.  For more detailed information on Update Release 5, go to the Documentation page to view or download the Release Notes and/or Instruction Manual.

Now you can give a Remote Kiosk to store/land owners to place in their stores or on their land, to increase your opportunities to collect new subscribers.  Magazine or Newsletter publishers can use to increase exposure to new subscribers.

The Remote TC Kiosk provides the capability for Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 owners to give away (or sell) remote kiosks that are pre-linked to their Master Kiosk.  The Remote TC Kiosk functions similarly to a regular Remote Kiosk in that it may be placed in either the same or different region/sim than the Master Kiosk.  Subscriber information from both regular Remote Kiosks as well as Remote TC Kiosks will update the subscriber database in the associated Master Kiosk.

The Remote TC Kiosk is priced at L$995 and is available from the Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 vendor at Night Sky or from SL Marketplace. For additional information, check out the Remote TC Kiosk Instructions on the Documentation page.

I’m pleased to announce the availability of Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Update Release 4.  As always, this update release is available to all current Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 owners at no cost.  If you have installed the previous Update Release (3), you can get Update Release 4 by selecting the the ‘Update’ button, then ‘Check/Get’.  If you haven’t installed Update Release 3 yet, you can get an update kit from the vendor at Night Sky.  If you own both a Master and Remote Kiosk, remember to get both a Master Update Kit and a Remote Update Kit.

Update Release 4 includes the following changes:

• Added option to Remote Kiosk to use blue pop-up dialog box to Subscribe, Unsubscribe or Get Info.  Retained capability to use Subscribe and Unsubscribe buttons.
• Added capability to specify owner defined prompt text to above blue pop-up dialog box.
• Added two 1-prim Remote Kiosks to package.  Must use blue pop-up dialog box option with 1-prim kiosks.
• Updated ‘Subscriber Master Comm’ script in Master Kiosk to support the new optional Remote Transferrable Copyable (TC) Kiosk.  The Remote TC Kiosk is different than the Remote Kiosk referred to above and is sold separately.
• Improved error trapping for improperly formatted IMCard.

An updated Instruction Manual and Release Notes are available for download on the Documentation page.

Want to try Subscriber Kiosk before you buy?  I am pleased to announce the availability of a FREE DEMO version of Subscriber Kiosk 3.0.
The FREE DEMO version has all the features and capabilities of the full versions, except the following:

• Its storage capacity is limited to 100 subscribers.
• Permissions are No-Copy, Mod, No-Transfer. Full version is Copy, Mod, No-Transfer.
• It is not upgradeable to a full version. You must purchase the full version separately.
• It does not include or support Remote Kiosks.

You can get the FREE DEMO version, get more information, or purchase full capability versions at Night Sky.  You can also get one from SL Marketplace.

New Features

I am pleased to announce the release of the latest update to Subscriber Kiosk 3.0. This latest version is now available for purchase from the Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 vendor board at Night Sky. Update Kits have been sent out to current owners.  If you didn’t receive one, you can get one at no cost from the Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Vendor board at Night Sky.

Many of these changes have been the result of user feedback so we thank our customers for their suggestions and strive to continually improve the Subscriber Kiosk user experience. New features in this release include the following:

• Added capability to check for, obtain and auto-install future Subscriber Kiosk Master and/or Remote script updates.
• Added capability to turn all Remote Kiosks OFF or ON from the Master, and initiate a manual Re-Sync of Remote Kiosks.
• Added capability to send notification message to owner (or owner designated avatar) via IM and/or email when someone subscribes or unsubscribes.
• Added option to send both IM and inventory items with one button press. No more waiting around for IM sending to finish.
• Added additional details to Remote Status and script Version chat window reports.
• Script Version Reports can now be obtained from dialog box button. No more remembering to type “/5 Versions?” into chat window.
• Package includes special script and notecard describing how to semi-automatically export/import existing subscriber lists from “Subscribe-O-Matic”. No more monthly fees.

Various other bug fixes and operational improvements.

See the Release Notes and the updated Instruction Manual for additional details.

How to Get It

New Customers:

Touch the Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 vendor board at Night Sky. Select “Purchase” from the dialog box, then select the product type you want to buy. You will be promted to pay the appropriate price and your kiosk will be delivered to you. Note that the “Combo” package includes both a Master and Remote Kiosk and is more economical than buying them both separately.

Existing Version 3.0 Kiosk Owners:

1. Touch the Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 vendor board at Night Sky. Select “Upgrade” from the dialog box.
2. Select “Master”
3. When prompted, enter the configuration code from your current version 3.0 Master Kiosk (shown when you rez it).
4. After your ownership has been verified, select “Update Kit” if you simply want to update your kiosk(s) to the latest script versions (recommended). If instead you want a complete new kiosk, select your current kiosk type (e.g. Lite, Basic, Standard, or Pro). Your Update Kit or complete new kiosk will be delivered free to curent owners.
   NOTE: Update versus Upgrade. If you select a more capable type (e.g. higher capacity) than you currently own, you will be prompted to pay the appropriate upgrade price and you will be given a capability Upgrade Kit only. After you install the Upgrade Kit, your kisok will get a new configuration code. In order to get all the latest version scripts, you must also get either an Update Kit or a complete new kiosk as described above.
5. If you currently own a Remote Kiosk, repeaat the above steps but select “Remote” in step 2 and enter your Remote Kiosk’s configuration code. Note that Masters and Remotes have different configuration codes. There is only one type of Remote so the note below step 4 above is not applicable to Remotes. There is also no “Combo” Update Kit. You must get separate Master and Remote Update Kits or complete new Master and Remote kiosks.

Existing Version 2.41 Kiosk Owners (i.e., purchased prior to October 2008)

1. Touch the Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 vendor board at Night Sky. Select “Upgrade” from the dialog box.
2. Select “Master”.
3. When prompted, enter zero (0) for the configuration code. Version 2.41 kiosks do not have configuration codes.
4. After your ownership has been verified, select the “Basic” kiosk type if you want a free upgrade. You can alternatively select “Standard” or “Pro” and you will be prompted to pay the appropriate upgrade price. You will then be given a complete new version 3.0 kiosk of the selected type. You do not need an “Update Kit”.

Installing Update Kits

Rez your Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Update Kit and follow the directions on the ‘Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 Update Instructions’ note card you will be given when your rez the Update Kit. Update Kits will also include any updated documentation and Config note card examples.  Be sure to update your Config note cards after installing the Update Kit.

Future Updates

This release installs an “Update” button on the main dialog box of both Master and Remote Kiosks. In the future, you can use this feature to automatically or manually check for and get script Update Kits. When you get a script Update Kit, you just rez it in the same region as your kiosk(s) and select “Update”, then “Perform” from a kiosk’s dialog box and its scripts will be updated automatically.

Best Regards,

Fred Allandale
Night Sky Creations

I hope you all had an enjoyable Holiday season!

Based on customer feedback, I have added an option to the SISBox to be able to select whether your customers view and choose from the list of items via the chat window (previous version) or a blue pop-up dialog box (new version). The dialog box option is especially helpful in areas where there is a lot of distracting traffic in the chat window. The Rev B SISBox Kit has been sent to all current SISBox owners at no cost.  If you have a Subscriber Kiosk 3.0 but have not yet purchased a SISBox Kit, you can do so at Night Sky.  It is also available from XStreet SL and OnRez.

You can use this Rev B Kit to replace your current SISBox entirely or replace just the scripts and SISBox Config notecard in your current SISBox. If you do the latter, remember to replace both the SISBox Manager script in the root prim (box) and the SISBox Contents script in the child prim (paper stack). You should also replace the SISBox Config notecard. Installation and/or use of this updated SISBox is optional, but highly recommended.

CAUTION: Replacing or resetting the SISBox Manager script will result in resetting the dates on all of the items stored in the SISBox to the current date. If you want to retain the original item dates, continue using your original SISBox or use both the new and old versions until the items age out of the old SISBox. If you really need to re-establish the original dates on items currently in your SISBox, I have included a procedure in the Rev B SISBox Kit for doing so. It is a bit tedious but will get the job done if you follow it carefully.

NOTE: After you update your SISBox, be sure to change the name of the delivered SISBox to match the name specified on the Subscriber Config notecard in your Master Kiosk. Also be sure to edit the SISBox Config notecard to specify the name of your Master Kisok and any other parameters you desire.

The Rev B SISBox kit also includes the SISBox resizing fix and alternate SISBox design (SISBox Light) from the previously distributed Rev A kit so there is no need to install the Rev A kit if you have not already done so.

Click here to download the Subscriber Kiosk SISBox Installation and Operation Instructions Rev B (PDF)