A persistent chat space for work groups: the design, evaluation and deployment of loops

Loops is a text-based computer mediated communication system aimed at small- to medium-sized corporate work groups. We begin by discussing the goals of the system and the rationale behind its design, particularly its treatment of non-conversational text. Next we describe its realization in an implemented system, and discuss how an early working version of the system was ‘group tested,’ and the changes that lead to. We then discuss its deployment within our organization, and provide examples of how it’s used. We conclude with reflections on the usage patterns of Loops and their implications for the design of similar systems. Author Keywords CMC, CSCW, Conversation, Chat, Design, IM, Instant Messaging, Social Proxy, Awareness, Online Environments ACM Classification Keywords H.5.3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Group and Organization Interfaces – Computer supported cooperative work, evaluation/methodology, asynchronous interaction, synchronous interaction

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ACMDIS
• Authors: Thomas Erickson, Wendy A. Kellogg, Mark Laff, Jeremy B. Sussman, Tracee Vetting Wolf, Christine A. Halverson, Denise Edwards
• Keywords: ACMDIS 2006, Computer Mediated Communication, Interactive Systems, Medium-sized Corporate Work, We Begin