Differences that make the difference: a studyof functionalities in synchronous CMC

This paper has a dual aim: to situate functionalities among the complex of factors that helpshape online interactions and to explore the heterogeneity of audio conferencing and itsimplications. Following a critical discursive synthesis of the treatment of variables in theliterature, attention focuses on the distinctive and diverse characteristics of synchronous audioenvironments. The existence of a synchronous-asynchronous dichotomy is questioned and theeffects of a number of differences are highlighted. As a further illustration, the paper nextundertakes a comparison of Lyceum and Wimba Voice Direct. The main features of the twoenvironments are introduced and a detailed analysis of their text and voice chat facilities iscarried out. In the last section the benefits of text-based CMC are revisited through the lens ofvoice chat technology. It is concluded that the benefits of CMC appear to have been overstatedand that no general claims can be made about voice CMC, but that collectively, welldocumented studies could provide a useful source of information on the level of contingencyof particular findings