A Hypertext is a collection of linked computer files that create a multi-level text. Files may contain text, pictures, sound or video. Hypertexts can have international distribution over the World Wide Web, or they can have a less far-ranging distribution if created for circulation on disks or cds. Any member of WebCaucus can join literary discussions in the LitView conference. The asynchronous nature of these systems create texts with, sometimes, convoluted logic.
Discussions have many threads.
Chat programs and Moos have, perhaps, more of the disjointedness associated with conferencing, listservers and newsgroups. Conversations, however, do not develop over an extended period. Instead, they take place in real time. When connected to a chat room with, say 20 other people, I am reading and writing at the same time as those other people. Moos function similarly to chat rooms in that participants are on-line at the same time.