ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on collaborative working and examines a range of other Internet tools. Collaborative working of any type is more successful if one member of the team is designated as the facilitator. Online collaboration requires not only the presence of a facilitator, but the added requirement that all participants make use of their online facilities regularly. So if e-mail is the method of communication selected, participants should check their e-mail often and respond to those messages requiring action. Mailing lists (also known as e-mail lists) sprang up from the need to exploit e-mail's ability to post electronic messages to a group of people. Those who participate in a mailing list often share a common interest. Even more impressive, Web-based conferencing software such as WebBoard provides the added benefit of the Web's multimedia environment to the discussion process. Internet Relay Chat is a form of online, real-time discussion using text as the main form of communication.
