[Opensim-users] plugin/extension/module system for viewers?

[Cider Jack]

I know this is related to viewers rather than OpenSim directly and as
such may be completely inappropriate for this list, so please feel
free to ignore this!

This has been on my mind for a few years now and I thought I would
just go ahead throw it out there -- Why hasn't there been some sort of
plugin/module system developed for Viewers? Something along the lines
of Firefox or Google Chrome's add-on/extension system comes to mind. I
would expect it to be simple to implement, and I can imagine all sorts
of community created tools for builders, avatar designers, scripters,
machinamists, terraforming, etc. that could greatly extend viewer
functionality & customization! I can think of only four reasons this
hasn't happened:

1. Nobody building viewers has thought of it (I don't believe this!)
2. Nobody has taken the time to implement it
3. A technical reason makes it impossible
4. SL's terms wouldn't allow the viewer to be used with SL (This
sounds most likely to me)

Is there something I'm missing?

In regards to number four, it's probably primarily based on a
combination of the dreaded CopyBot and the Emerald debacle. Perhaps a
central repository where the code can be reviewed before release
(again, like Firefox or Google Chrome) could prevent these sorts of
abuses. Additionally I suspect the viewer would only need a couple of
lines of code to load the plugins, and leaving the code out wouldn't
affect the viewer functionality, so two versions of the viewer could
be released - an extendable version, and the locked-down SL version,
which isolationist grids like InWorldz may insist on as well.

Anyway, just pipe-dreaming here! :)

Cheers,
~!CiderJack