This book chapter has the ambitious goal of proposing a powerful framework for collaboration, after having classified the existing common approaches for social interaction.

To achieve this goal, the author starts with a historical analysis of the evolution of the Web paradigm, starting with the era in which the Internet was used for the distribution of resources and the emphasis was on Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)-based material, and continuing with a discussion of the advent of the semantic Web. The author then proposes an alternative Web paradigm, “Inhabited Web,” which is supported by research and development advances in the area of social interaction and collaboration via Web technologies. The term “Inhabited Web” is nice, and the timing of its appearance is right. Collaborative tools are quite mature, and a lot of experience has been gathered about online learning communities [1].

The author’s emphasis is on virtual collaborative environments, which are supported by tools like object-oriented multi-user dungeons (MOOs) and ActiveWorlds. This is a narrow perspective, which should have been reflected in the book’s title. The feeling of social presence can surely be augmented in such environments by the use of avatars and multipurpose communication tools, such as whisper, chat, and telegrams, and by shared workspaces. Nevertheless, this type of environment is not adequately explored, and the fact that MOOs lack maturity, and have not been adequately evaluated, is not discussed. In contrast, other synchronous and asynchronous collaborative environments (like Cornell University’s CUSeeMe, LearningSpace, and Centra), or even groupware tools (such as BSCW) have been used for many years, and one could extract best practices for social interaction using them. Thus, the principles and the semantics of the “Inhabited Web” for nonvirtual, three-dimensional collaborative spaces can be extracted. This attempt has been initiated by the International Standards Organization (ISO), and by researchers like Martinez, de la Fuente, and Dimitriadis [2]. ISO SC36 Working Group 2 has in fact initiated a project called “Toward common understanding for collaborative learning - from the viewpoint of technical standardization” (http://jtc1sc36.org/doc/36N0153.pdf).

Other consortia have been involved in the identification of best practices, and are working toward specification design patterns for collaborative learning. Some examples are the patterns of interaction (PoInter) project (http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/research/cseg/projects/pointer/patterns.html) and the groupware patterns community (http://www.groupware-patterns.org/). This second project is exploring a pattern language for groupware that facilitates communication within the development team, between the development team and end users, and between end users. It helps practitioners to become familiar with the research area.

The exploration of the conceptual basis of an “Inhabited Web” is a really challenging and interesting idea. With this paper, the author may simulate a research dialogue. He needs, however, to take into account several ongoing activities and publications, and to analyze their findings to ensure that common understanding about the “Inhabited Web” is reached.