Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!oliveb!b.atc.olivetti.com!koo From: koo@cortina.orc.olivetti.com (Richard Koo) Newsgroups: comp.editors Subject: Re: multi-user editors Message-ID: Date: 24 Apr 89 21:28:41 GMT References: <8531@xanth.cs.odu.edu> <9200001@scsmo1.UUCP> Sender: news@oliveb.olivetti.com Organization: Olivetti Research Center, Menlo Park, CA Lines: 26 In-reply-to: tim@scsmo1.UUCP's message of 22 Apr 89 19:35:00 GMT Many people have wondered at the utility of multi-user editors. In the "collaboration technology" community, two uses of multi-user editors (among others) are frequently mentioned: (1) coauthoring a paper/proposal/design and (2) tutoring. In these situations, users are often in "conference" mode, meaning that while one types/talks, the others watch and listen. This would eliminate the obvious difficulty arising from many users typing at the same time. As for how a multi-user editor can be implemented, the short answer is that it is probably not worth doing. The folks in the collaboration technology community have opted for more general approaches such as window sharing in which users will see the same window on their screens/displays. This way, users can potentially share more tools than just editors. CSCW proceedings would be a reasonable place to look if you are interested in more information on "collaboration technology." -- Richard Koo | Internet: koo@orc.olivetti.com Olivetti Research Center | UUCP: {...}!ames!oliveb!orc!koo 2882 Sand Hill Road | Voice: +1-415-496-6232 Menlo Park, CA 94025 | Fax: +1-415-496-6219