Well, I think this is mostly already possible. Things aren't well-integrated, but I can see how you'd want to archetecture it. AOL's official AIM client, at least under windows, registers a goim: URL scheme, which you can use to make a hyperlink to an AIM screenname. Consider the same thing, extended to allow for more services, perhaps converse:service/userid, allowing links converse:aim/theorbtwo, converse:icq/1923898, converse:msn/james@rtweb.net, and converse:yahoo/theorbtwo.

That solves the problem of linking to a conversation with the author of an annotation. Now, consider linking to a specified position in the document. That's easy. It's what the # bit in a hyperlink is for (the fragment identifier). OLE supports a concept called "monkiers" for linking to specific points in a document, if it doesn't allow for hash-links then that's a bug, or at least a should-be-easy wishlist. I suspect other similar systems, such as COBRA and XPCOM support a similar concept.

So, you need to get the editor (which already supports annotations) to have a "hand me a link to the current position in the current document". This link needs to be in some sort of standard form, understandable by any editor that handles the document type (handling abigail-ii's objection).

This does require more human interaction then your usecase, but it's more clear how you'd archetecture this solution.

Warning: Unless otherwise stated, code is untested. Do not use without understanding. Code is posted in the hopes it is useful, but without warranty. All copyrights are relinquished into the public domain unless otherwise stated. I am not an angel. I am capable of error, and err on a fairly regular basis. If I made a mistake, please let me know (such as by replying to this node).

In reply to Re: (OT) Collaboration in Context by theorbtwo
in thread (OT) Collaboration in Context by zby

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