network-based systems for asynchronous group communication
Current computer-based mechanisms for asynchronous communication include electronic mail and computer conferencing systems. Electronic mail supports one-to-many communication patterns and has serious drawbacks when used for group interaction. Computer conferencing systems are typically implemented to execute on a single processor and users at remote locations access the shared information by logging on from terminals connected by dial-up lines. This paper presents an architecture for a network-based system that models communication as group access to shared multimedia objects. It also describes the features of a computer conferencing system that was implemented for Bitnet, a network of academic computers, and Vnet, the IBM internal network.
network systems asynchronicity group group communication communication computation asynchronous communication electronic mail pattern interaction processor users locatability access sharing informal log terminals paper architecture model multimedia object feature intern