WWW: Beyond the Basics

4. Collaboration

4.2. Technologies for Collaboration

Collaboration over the WWW is made possible by different kinds of collaborative technology. One kind of collaborative technology is the computer-mediated communications (CMC) mechanism. CMC mechanisms allow users to communicate with each other over a network. Additionally, other software mechanisms have been developed to allow remote users to share objects during the course of their collaborations. Examples of shared objects include topics, documents, equipment, and data. We call these shared objects "shared artifacts." Often, CMC and shared artifact mechanisms are integrated into larger systems that support specific types of collaboration. We call these systems "collaboration frameworks."

4.2.1. Computer-Mediated Communications Mechanisms

For collaboration to occur over a network, one or more forms of CMC must be available. Groupware applications have been traditionally supported by a number of synchronous and asynchronous CMC mechanisms. Synchronous CMC mechanisms provide a live, spontaneous exchange that occurs in real-time. They require that communicating parties are on the network at the same time. Asynchronous CMC mechanisms defer interaction and allow a time lag between correspondences. Using asynchronous CMC mechanisms, communicating parties are not typically on the network at the same time.

Forms of synchronous communications include:

Forms of asynchronous communications include:

To a certain extent, CMC models the kinds of communications that occur in our day-to-day lives. For example, video teleconferencing simulates face-to-face interaction, synchronous audio resembles the use of telephones, and e-mail is an electronic version of the physical mail we send and receive on a daily basis. Like their real-life counterparts, synchronous and asynchronous modes of collaboration have varying applications and support varying needs. Both modes are essential for effective collaboration.

All the CMC mechanisms described above have been or are being integrated into Web applications to varying degrees. IRCs, e-mail, and bulletin boards are common communications channels available on the WWW. Web-based synchronous audio systems such as CoolTalk (Netscape, 1996b) and Conference (Netscape, 1996a) are available but in limited use. Web-based video teleconferencing systems such as LiveMedia (Netscape, 1996d) are in the latter stages of development and will be available in the near future.

4.2.2. Shared Artifact Mechanisms

Collaboration requires a common, shared object to serve as the focus of work and/or discussion. In some cases, the shared object is simply an abstract topic or idea. In other cases, the shared object has a physical manifestation. Examples of shared physical objects are paper documents, equipment, and physical implements used in one's work.

For collaboration to occur over the WWW, the shared objects or artifacts must be recognized by collaborating members. Shared artifacts may either be explicitly defined and delivered by the collaborative technology or implicitly maintained by collaborating members. In either case, collaborative technology is purposefully designed to share certain kinds of artifacts. Types of shared artifacts include:

With the exception of shared WWW applications, all shared artifact mechanisms described above have migrated onto the WWW to varying levels. Shared WWW application mechanisms are currently under research at companies such as Netscape (Netscape, 1996e) and Sun Microsystems (Sun, 1996a) and research universities such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Rensselaer, 1996) and Virginia Tech (Virginia Tech, 1996), but such mechanisms will not be available in the near future.

4.2.3. Collaboration Frameworks

A number of collaboration frameworks have been developed from CMC and shared artifact mechanisms. Collaboration frameworks support specific kinds of high-level activities and tasks. More focused than pure CMC, collaboration frameworks structure and organize interaction in purposeful ways. More generic than groupware applications, they provide infrastructure that may be configured to support many specific applications and domains.

Collaboration frameworks provide an environment where users may discuss and/or manipulate shared artifacts. Some examples of collaboration frameworks include multi-user dungeons (MUDs) and MUDs object-oriented (MOOs), graphical virtual worlds, news and discussion groups, and review and annotation systems.

4.2.3.1. Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) and MUDs Object-Oriented (MOOs)

MUDs and MOOs are collaboration frameworks that typically combine an IRC channel with shared objects. A user of a MUD or MOO is called a player. MUDs and MOOs simulate physical, two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) spaces. They may simulate real-world environments such as houses, city blocks, and convention halls, or fantasy environments such as mystical dungeons and space stations. MUDs and MOOs are often referred to as text-based virtual realities. Players imagine and pretend they live in a virtual world. They cast off their true identities and assume the identities of characters of the players' own designs.

Within a MUD or MOO, players move from place to place by issuing text-based commands. They may pick up and examine objects as well as communicate with other players in their travels. More sophisticated players may construct objects of their own and make them accessible to other players.

For the most part, the development of MUDs and MOOs have occurred independent of the WWW. More recently, WWW developers have constructed Web page front-ends to a variety of MUDs and MOOs. Through these front-ends, players can view graphical representations of the virtual world as well as access descriptive information on objects, players, and the simulated environment. Examples of Web-based MUDs and MOOs include Harper's Tale (Hamilton, 1996a), Frontier City (Hamilton, 1996b), and The Sprawl (SenseMedia, 1996).

4.2.3.2. Graphical Virtual Worlds

Like MUDs and MOOs, graphical virtual worlds provide a virtual reality environment in which users move from place to place, pick up and examine objects, and communicate with one another. Unlike MUDs and MOOs, however, graphical virtual worlds are highly visual. They simulate the real-world by providing a 3D graphical representation of it. Users appear in 3D space as "avatars." An avatar is a fictitious, graphical representation of the user. Typically, a user's avatar is selected from a palette of characters or graphically constructed using supplemented drawing tools.

Web-based graphical virtual worlds combine desktop virtual reality with text-based communications. These virtual worlds are constructed using the Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML) and may be displayed using a number of Web-based VRML viewers. A common mode of communications in Web-based graphical virtual worlds is through text balloons. A user would type a message into a text line and the message would appear above the head of his/her graphical manifestation. An example of a VRML graphical virtual world is V_Expo (NTT, 1996b).

VRML is an evolving technology on the WWW. As a collaboration framework, Web-based graphical virtual worlds are severely limited by its restricted communications capabilities. Lengthy, sophisticated communications and interactions are difficult to conduct using only text balloons. As a result, graphical virtual worlds have limited support for collaboration in its current form.

4.2.3.3. Newsgroups and Discussion Groups

Web-based newsgroups and discussion groups are rapidly becoming popular. Newsgroups and discussion groups are essentially bulletin boards focused on specific topics. Under this collaboration framework, the shared artifact is simply the topic under discussion.

Prior to the introduction of the WWW, Usenet (SunSITE, 1996) newsgroups were common collaboration mechanisms for sharing information and advice. Usenet is an Internet-based message maintenance and propagation system that allows users to subscribe to specific topical newsgroups and to read and post messages. Users may respond to specific messages by issuing replies. Reply messages are then connected or linked to the original message to create a network or hierarchy of messages. Usenet topics are extensive and cover a variety of issues including sports, recreation, science, sociology, and computers.

To take advantage of Usenet's existing base of collaborative technology and established users, a number of WWW interfaces have been developed to access, display, and interact with Usenet newsgroups. WWW systems such as HyperNews (NCSA, 1996) and NetForum (University of Wisconsin, 1996) establish a link between WWW browsers and the Usenet software. In such hybrid systems, the input and output of the Usenet software are redirected to WWW pages and forms.

Apart from Usenet, other kinds of newsgroups and discussion groups have also evolved over the WWW. In some cases, a discussion group is maintained by a single individual or organization that collects e-mail messages from group participants and posts the messages on a Web page for others to view. Examples of this type of discussion group include Internet Vet Column (Moore, 1996) and JavaSoft Forum (Levine, 1996). Other systems such as Newsstand (Chin, 1995) duplicate the hierarchical topical discussion capabilities of Usenet newsgroups, but eliminates the overhead of maintaining the Usenet software.

4.2.3.4. Review and Annotation Systems

Review and annotation systems allow users to review and critique the work of others. Such systems may be used to evaluate the content of a written composition or technical paper. For example, the Virtual Mathematics and Science Fair (Washington State University, 1996) is a Web site where judges may review and evaluate Web-based science and mathematics papers written by middle and high school students.

Review systems may also be applied to more leisurely activities such as movie-going, dining, and travel. These systems allow users to rate the quality of movies, restaurants, airlines, hotels, etc. and to pass these evaluations on to other prospective customers. As an example, the Internet Movie Database (Internet Movie Database, 1996) is a Web site where amateur movie critics review and rate various box-office movies.

The forms capabilities of the WWW provide a natural way for users to attach ratings, scores, and comments to a particular piece of work. To conduct reviews over the WWW, however, the work must somehow be created, transferred, represented, and/or reproduced in the form of a Web page. Thus, the medium of the work must be one that is supported by the WWW. More specifically, the work must be in the form of supported WWW multimedia types which include text, image, audio, video, and 3D virtual reality. Written work is easily transferred onto Web pages. Other kinds of work may be more problematic.

Web-based review and annotation systems allow users to review and critique WWW documents. As part of the review process, reviewers may wish to annotate a WWW document by attaching comments to it. To support this, some Web-based review systems are realized in the form of a bulletin board where each thread of discussion is comprised of a source WWW document followed by reviewers' comments.

As discussed, the granularity of a Web-based review is at the level of the Web page. In many cases, the reviewer needs greater capability to identify and highlight specific portions of a Web page. For example, the reviewer may wish to reference and comment on a specific passage of the text or a specific area of a diagram. Most existing annotation systems cannot support this level of detail. As WWW programmers are given greater control over the user interface with evolving features such as Java, we expect to see the capabilities and sophistication of Web-based review and annotation systems dramatically improve.

[PREV][NEXT][UP][HOME][VT CS]

Copyright © 1996 George Chin Jr., All Rights Reserved

George Chin Jr. <chin@csgrad.cs.vt.edu>
Last modified: Tue Dec 10 16:00:00 1996