Grizzled sysadmin / desktop admin perspective here: I can't easily remotely interrogate a user's Firefox process, as you describe, like I can w/ the OS by remot

Grizzled sysadmin / desktop admin perspective here: I can't easily remotely interrogate a user's Firefox process, as you describe, like I can w/ the OS by remotely running "dig", "nslookup", etc, on the user's computer. With the Firefox model I have to interrupt the user and ask them to become an active part of the troubleshooting process. I'd prefer fixing the problem "behind the scenes" without engaging the user, except to let them know when the problem is fixed. I consider it vastly more "user friendly" to enable support personnel to solve problems w/o distracting the user. I don't think very many developers consider that use case. Tools that enable "concierge" support for VIPs, executives, Customers who will pay more to be doted-upon, etc, is a valuable attribute in software to me. Moving toward user self-service is laudable, but not if it's at the expense of dedicate support personnel's capabilities. In my experience, at least, the satisfaction and praise users express from having issues resolved without bothering them has been significant.