Renewing Customer Support

Re-imagining support in a world that has only existed for a few years is a daunting task. Unlike other online environments that have strict rules and regulations, we have tried very hard to allow Second Life to develop on its own as much as is practical. This brings its own philosophical challenges in terms of governance, but those challenges exist in support as well.

When we re-imagine support we of course have to take into account the uniqueness of Second Life itself. Unlike other online environments, the particular issues that inform our support load are quite out of the ordinary. It is doubtful that companies like Cerulean Studios and AOL take support calls like "I can't fly across my region border" or "I think someone stole all of the salsa dance balls out of my inventory". Our unbelievable capacity for creation in Second Life means that we have singular bugs and problems, and that means we require a very high level of expertise for all our support staff.

Training is one thing; you can train anyone to answer a phone. But to understand the complexities of Second Life you need to put in actual time, live in world, understand its vocabulary, meet its Residents and learn the language. Still though, what is all boils down to in the end is providing access to information for people who have a need for it, no matter how that information is presented. Whether it's a knowledge base, a wiki, live chat or phones, the literal definition of support is to help people in need get the answers necessary to resolving their problem.

As everyone is well aware, we have grown quite quickly, and as such we find ourselves in the wonderful position of being able to renew our support and commitment to the community. We have a terrific group of people working towards this goal and in my estimation the result will be quite special. Our community's needs in Second Life as it exists today are necessarily very different than the needs of the small group of people who originally ventured out into our brave new world.

Participation in this venture is of course greatly encouraged. We've already held one community forum on this topic, and will continue to hold more events as we move forward. Let us know what you think would help you the most in getting support navigating your Second Life.