>Teenagers seem to find on-line chat addictive. That seems to me to argue
>that even low-bandwidth (no voice tone, no visual cues) communication can
>provide the basis for a sense of personal engagement and community. It
>certainly works on xmca as well. I do not doubt that the added dimensions
>of FTF communication are important in some respects -- but we do not know
>what those respects actually ARE! it seems clear that verbal discourse
>alone, if it has certain semantic qualities, suffices for many purposes
>essential to learning communities.
I do agree that we do not have an adequate characterization of what
distinguishes FTF from virtual communication, though I have to say that the
literature on nonverbal and proxemic communication might suggest that
embodiment involves more than hugs and "the one key element missing from
high-bandwidth (realistic) non-FTF group interaction ... the fear of
personal violence."