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DWAGON LESSON: HOW TO LOCATE LAG ITEMS
Here is one way to discern if an item is "laggy". This method is great because it can help you determine if an item is laggy the moment you set it out. It can also determine if already-existing items are laggy... and thus help you de-lag an entire region.
NOTE: This method will not work for particles unless the particle script itself is really bad. Particle control is a whole nuther lesson. : )
MAKE THIS TEMPORARY CHANGE TO YOUR VIEWER
Top menu / Developer / Show Info / Show Updates to Objects. CHECK
This will turn ON the "activity beacons", little dots that show object activity. They can be turned off after lag check is finished.
Visit an area you wish to check, and STAND STILL. This only works when you aren't moving. While you're moving items will be regularly updating and give false lag readings.
The first thing you might note will be regular red dots above your avatar. This indicates the avatar is performing continual updates. ALL avatars do this. But this ordinarily only happens every 1/2 to 1 second, so it's not too bad.
If you see regular red dots (especially almost constant) that means the avatar contains a badly-behaved active script that needs fixed (maybe several scripts).
The same can be done for objects on a region.
If an object is inactive, there will be no marks.
If an object is only moderately active, it will show cautionary blue dots or waves. This indicates the object is causing potential lag, but likely not too bad. (I'm speaking in generalizations here. "Lag" is a multi-definition term.)
If an object is active, it will have red dots coming from it. If an object is excessively active, there will be numerous red dots coming from it.
It is best to eliminate as many red dots as possible. Those are the "lag" objects on a region. Usually this can be fixed by replacing or modifying scripts.
Take care to not confuse distant red dots for local. There is no distance occlusion in this, so you can quite easily see red dots from clear across a region, even through water, ground and mountains.
If you believe you've found a red dot item, move around it to make sure the red dots are coming from that item. Again, stand still to see if it's active. When you move, items update both in position and angle of view, so naturally there will be red dots. Thus the need to stand still and allow time for normal updates to finish.
You can tell if an entire area is "laggy" or not by looking for excessive red dots. This is often best done from a bird's-eye view (flying and looking down).
WHAT DO DO WITH LAGGY ITEMS
Once you find a "laggy" item, you can decide what to do with it.
* If it's an unimportant item, sometimes you can just delete it.
* At other times the item is a good decoration but contains an unnecessary script. In such case, deleting the script can eliminate the lag (take a copy of the item first).
* Sometimes an item is valuable in both appearance and function. In such case perhaps the script(s) can be modified or replaced to eliminate lag.
* Sometimes a nice object contains a bad script and cannot be modified. In such case the item may need to be replaced with something else, or if the lag isn't too bad, just accept the fact that some items lag.
Overall, it's best to eliminate all red dots to the greatest extent possible. A region without red update dots is a happy region. However, realize that some items by their very nature are active. So be discerning. Red dots aren't always "bad"... they just indicate a need for examination and consideration of alternatives.
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