Persistent conversation: a dialog between research and design

Persistent conversation is human-to-human interaction that is carried out over computer networks; it is produced by typing, speaking or other means, and, unlike face-to-face conversation, it leaves a trace - in the form of text on a computer screen, sound files, etc, - that persists for varying amounts of time. Examples of persistent conversation include interactions carried out using chat, IM, texting, MUDs, email, mailing lists, news groups, Web boards, blogs, 3-D VR, and other digital media. Persistent conversation differs from spoken conversation in interesting ways. For example, because it leaves a perceptible trace, persistent conversation can occur asynchronously with lags of minutes to months between conversational turns, as happens in e-mail. Alternatively, the turns of persistent conversation can overlap, with many participants effectively ´speaking´ at once, as often happens in on-line chats. Freeing conversation from the lock-step synchrony of face-to-face talk has major implications both for the ways in which people and groups turn persistent conversation to their own ends, and for the design of systems which support conversation.