User talk:Rolig Loon/HUD: Record Volunteer Service

I created this pair of scripts for use by volunteers at the library reference desk on Info Island International or elsewhere in SL. As it is attached, the HUD offers its user an opportunity to position it anywhere on the screen with the use of simple dialog box controls. Thereafter, the only control a user needs is a one-prim button that acts as an ON/OFF toggle. (I distribute the HUD script in a 0.05m diameter cylindrical button that attaches to the Bottom attachment point.) Clicking the control button turns it from red to green and sends a logon message (time and Region) to the companion server script. Clicking it again (or detaching the HUD, or going off line) turns the button red and sends a logoff message.
The server script receives messages from user HUDs and passes the information to an external PHP server which maintains an SQL database and prepares a statistical report on demand. I have removed both the server key and the URL of our external server from the scripts on this page, replacing them with descriptive placeholders.
This HUD system is in use by approximately 50 library volunteers. It maintains a record of the total hours that each volunteer has served in world and can be used to help the duty librarian at the reference desk know which other volunteers are currently logged in and where they logged in from. Statistical summaries from the external server are valuable as we prepare reports for RL agencies and apply for grant funding.