Computer-mediated communication (CMC)

Computer-mediated communication (CMC): is when people are communicating through the use of two or more networked computers.

The term is usually referred to instant messages, e-mails, chat rooms,….

There are two types of CMC which are asynchronous and synchronous.

                                                       

Asynchronous conferencing: is used to describe technologies when there is a delay in interaction between contributors and not simultaneously in real time. It is used in contrast of synchronous conferencing.

Synchronous conferencing: is when people are communicating   through technologies simultaneously in real time. It is used to describe online chat technologies, audio video conferencing, instant messaging systems,..

Examples of Asynchronous Conferencing

Email: Electronic mail, commonly called email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages across the internet or other computer networks.

An electronic mailing list: is a special usage of email that allows for widespread distribution of information to many internet users. It is similar to a traditional mailing list — a list of names and addresses — as might be kept by an organization for sending publications to its members or customers.

     Some mailing lists are open to anyone who wants to join them, while others require an approval from the list owner before one can join. Joining a mailing list is called "subscribing" and leaving a list is called "unsubscribing".

An internet forum,  or message board: is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.

     They differ from chat rooms in that messages are not shown in real-time.

     Depending on the forum set-up, users can be anonymous or have to register with the forum and then subsequently log in in order to post messages.

Examples of Synchronous Conferencing

A web chat: is a system that allows users to communicate in real time using easily accessible web interfaces. It is a type of internet online chat distinguished by its simplicity and accessibility to users who do not wish to take the time to install and learn to use specialized software.

It is real-time social interaction.

Online chat: can refer to any kind of communication over the internet, but is primarily meant to refer to direct one-on-one chat or text-based group chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messengers, Internet Relay Chat, talkers and possibly MUDs. The expression online chat comes from the word chat which means "informal conversation".

     Chatting can be on chat rooms in public or private. It can be done by messengers (IM) in which users can communicate through texts or   can see and hear each other if they have internet mic and webcam. Also, chatting can be occurred  through interactive games available on the internet.

Chat room: or chatroom, is a web site, part of a web site, or part of an online service such as America Online, that provides a venue for communities of users with a common interest to communicate in real time. Forums and discussion groups, in comparison, allow users to post messages but don't have the capacity for interactive messaging. Most chat rooms don't require users to have any special software.

     Chat room users register for the chat room of their choice, choose a user name and password, and log into a particular room (most sites have multiple chat rooms). Inside the chat room, generally there is a list of the people currently online, who also are alerted that another person has entered the chat room. To chat, users type a message into a text box. The message is almost immediately visible in the larger communal message area and other users respond. Users can enter chat rooms and read messages without sending any, a practice known as lurking.

     Chat room messages are spontaneous and instantly visible. Chat can be in public or in private between two persons.

Instant messaging (IM): is a form of real-time direct text-based communication between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared software clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the internet. More advanced instant messaging software clients also allow enhanced modes of communication, such as live voice or video calling.

Text-based chat: is chatting through texts. It is the origin of chatting.

Voice chat: is a modern form of communication used on the Internet. The means of communicating with voice chat is through any of the messengers, mainly Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, inSpeak Communicator or Windows Live Messenger. Voice chat has led to a significant increase in distant communications where two or more people from opposite ends of the world can talk almost free of cost.

Visual chat rooms: add graphics to the chat experience, in either 2D or 3D (employing virtual reality technology).These are characterized by using a graphic representation of the user (avatar) that can be moved about a graphic background or in a graphic environment. These virtual worlds are capable of incorporating elements such as games (in particular massively multiplayer online games) and educational material most often developed by individual site owners, who in general are simply more advanced users of the systems. The most popular environments also allow users to create or build their own spaces.

     Some visual chat rooms also incorporate audio and video communications, so that users may actually see and hear each other.

A MUD: (originally Multi-User Dungeon, with later variants Multi-User Dimension and Multi-User Domain): is a multiplayer real-time virtual world described primarily in text. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat. Players can read or view descriptions of rooms, objects, other players, non-player characters, and actions performed in the virtual world. Players typically interact with each other and the world by typing commands that resemble a natural language.

     Traditional MUDs implement a computer role-playing game set in a fantasy world populated by fictional races and monsters, with players being able to choose from a number of classes in order to gain specific skills or powers. The object of this sort of game is to slay monsters, explore a fantasy world, complete quests, go on adventures, create a story by roleplaying, and advance the created character.

     Modern Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft, and related virtual world genres such as the social virtual worlds exemplified by Second Life are very popular these days.

A Videoconference or Video Conference: (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware.

     Videoconferencing differs from videophone calls in that it's designed to serve a conference rather than individuals. It is an intermediate form of videotelephony, first deployed commercially by AT&T during the early 1970s using their Picturephone technology.

A LAN messenger: is an instant messaging program designed for use within a single local area network (LAN).The LAN messenger runs inside a company or private LAN.