Advantages And Disadvantages Of Chat Rooms

Chat rooms are common virtual environments in which synchronous interaction occurs in real time; however, the information exchanged in chat rooms is usually of poor quality due to a lack of focus. Baxter(2007) noted that to improve the level of information exchanged in chat rooms, members could organize a meeting time with a particular topic for discussion. Ridings et al. (2002) noted that the interaction in chat rooms does not encourage lurking behaviors as much as other tools do,because sign-in and active participation are often required when engaged in chatting.

In written conferencing, participants usually have tools that simulate live, face-to- face conferences (Lapadat, 2002). Buttons or specific textual signals inform other participants about what is currently happening with other members. For example, if a person goes to the bathroom, there may be a textual signal to indicate that he or she is temporarily out. To cope with writing and the real-time aspect of communication, a specific vocabulary and language facilitate communication. A common strategy is to use abbreviations of common words and common phrases. Some even have an abbreviation guide so that new members can more easily participate in the discussions.

Dillenbourg et al.(2002) contended that the quality of interaction in videoconferencing is not on par with traditional face-to-face interaction.

Despite showing the face of the participants, videoconferencing does not capture the more intimate aspect of traditional face-to-face interaction because there is not real