BACKGROUND
Currently, when a customer receives a vended object, to get support or help using it they must:
1) Remember to store and be able to retrieve a notecard provided with the object. This notecard is static, so if there is updated usage or support information the customer will not have it available.
2) Know how to use an object's built-in help capabilities or be able to extract a notecard from the object that contains support and help information. Again, this information is static.
3) Looks in the general information tab for the creator of the object and IM's the creator. In many cases the "creator" of the object will not be the appropriate person to contact for support For example, if I sell a scripted object but I've subcontracted the creation of the object itself, the "creator" is neither the appropriate person to go to for support, nor does knowing their identity provide any useful information to the customer.
PURPOSE & ADVANTAGES
By tying objects to a URL that can be displayed in the embedded mozilla browser, content creators and players in SL benefit in multiple ways:
1) Help and support information is easy to find. Customers no longer have to find notecards buried in their inventory and sift through cards to determine which one is the most current.
2) Help and support information is always up to date.
3) Vendors and content creators no longer need to distribute multiple notecards to customers to support customers.
4) Help pages can be indexed, searchable, and interactive. Support requests can be hooked into web-based customer service products, improving the customer service experience. This is especially important when support people are not reachable by IM.
5) Users are no longer provided with inappropriate information for obtaining support (i.e. IMing an object "creator" whose customer service role at best is to say "don't talk to me, talk to this other person."
. 6) The web browser will be client-based, reducing the overall load on SL by distributing the network load of providing this information onto the network the customer's client is on.
IMPLEMENTATION
Proper implementation could be enhanced by the following added capabilities in the embedded Mozilla browser.
1) URL schema's implemented in the internal browser for IMing a group or individual and linking in-world objects (i.e. notecards, pictures, landmarks) with a permanent link that can be used from outside SL but recognized in the SL client's embedded browser. In other words, a SLURL for in-world objects when using the in-world browser.
2) Some capability for putting some chrome and/or assistance around getting the items out of the object contents and into the customer's inventory. This could be something simple, like allowing a web page to invoke a script that is contained within an in-world object.
3) Some way to get a GUID from the customer if they need to fill out a customer support form because nobody is available to IM. The ability to run an LSL script before determining the ultimate support URL would be very helpful, because it could easily determine who is available in world to help, or whether the person should be sent to a support form.
4) A more basic support feature that could take care of item three is a hard-wired capability to list a group or individual as the support person for the object, and a web page to direct the customer to if nobody is online.
Thanks LL for your consideration. If you should just happen to need Mozilla hackers to implement this, I'm available for contract jobs
-- Sage