Checklist: Internet tech support.

In theory, Web-based tech support is breathtaking in its economic implications: Switch customers from high-cost telephone support to a low-cost self-service medium, and one of the industry's most unmanageable costs almost vanishes. But so far most of the Web support pages we've seen (and we've visited more than a hundred, an effort reminiscent of a sightseeing trip through Iowa) do a pretty lackluster job of answering even routine questions. Web-based support clearly has a long way to go before it lures customers away from live technicians.

Still, there are a few pioneers who seem to get the model right. Our favorite is the Adobe support site, which offers virtually every checklist feature a good Web support site should provide. Susan Lang, who helped design the site, recently described its key features:

* Tips & tricks: Every end-user magazine has pages full of hands-on application tips, and so does the Adobe site. In fact, Lang points out, Adobe's tips section--which includes ideas and examples submitted by users--has a permanent place on the Home page, the site's highest level. "Tips are great for building traffic," she points out.

* Searchable knowledgebases: Lang says Adobe maintains a technical solutions database of almost 5,000 documents that users can search by keyword or by natural language query, "which works very well for non-techie customers." Lang notes that Adobe tries to keep its knowledgebase as current as possible: "We add and delete new information every night."

* Hot issues: The support organization also tracks high-frequency questions and posts these items (along with bigger troubleshooting documents and how-to guides) on a special "hot issues" list. Lang says this list is especially valuable during rollouts of new products and upgrades, when telephone support reps tend to get swamped with unfamiliar questions.

* Downloadable files: The support site provides "over 650 files that are updated on a regular basis," says Lang. The file library includes trial versions, plug-ins, utilities, technical notes, and program updates. "We want to make sure the customer understands what's in the update before they download it," Lang notes, so each file describes the new features and fixes that it provides.

* Support portfolio: Although users can get free answers to support questions on the Web, Adobe also describes corporate and personal fee-based options. "If a customer is comparing your product with a competitor's product, part of the buying process is to see what kind of support is available," says Lang.

* Customer service information: Adobe deals with a broad range of non-technical questions in its customer support section, including product registration procedures, disk replacements, Adobe Magazine subscriptions, and licensing rules for home and office use. But there are also some unexpected topics: an electronic form for reporting software pirates, and procedures for "requesting an Adobe software donation." n Comprehensive contact lists: Adobe lists worldwide addresses, phone and fax numbers for its offices, resellers, user groups, and strategic partners, as well as tech support phone numbers for each of its products. One nice touch: the site also lists discontinued titles, along with contact information for third-party companies that may still provide support or upgrades.

* Links to sales information: One of the primary goals of the support site, Lang points out, is to encourage product sales. The support section isn't overtly commercial, but there are easy navigation links to product information pages and online order forms.

* A feedback channel: Lang explains that Adobe tries to avoid answering one-to-one questions online. But every page carries an e-mail link to Adobe's Webmaster that says "Send Adobe your feedback!" Lang says most of the e-mail comments don't involve support questions, "but we've learned a lot about what's working on our site, and what's not working, from the feedback people send us."

Susan Lang, manager of service technologies, Adobe Systems, 411 First Ave. S., Seattle, Wash. 98104; 206/470-7546. E-mail: [e-mail].