Ever since I was introduced to virtual online conferences in the early 1980s I dreamed of developing a synergy between synchronous and asynchronous interaction, which I labeled RT/DT Synergy, for Real Time vs Delayed Time. We might also distinguish the modes as F2F vs Virtual - but synchronous can be mediated by telephone or video conferencing, and Virtual can involve exchanges of audio/video segments. Edited recordings of synchronous play can be observed and interacted with virtually.

I dream of F2F conferences where all participants have been comitted to virtual dialog before attending - and there is little information presentation at the F2F conference.

I dream of emerging networks of F2F gatherings, some small and some large (and celebratory) that are woven via virtual sharing.

I dream of research as to what might best be done virtually and what might best be done F2F, developing an optimum synergy.

I dream of D&D Expeditions, where small teams in Colab Studios talk and play with I/O interfaces that are linked to other similar teams. They have a dynamic schedule so that sometimes they may interact asynchronously with the product of other teams and then schedule for team-team synchronous play.

I dream of team synchronous/asynchronous composing and editing of semiotic structures (such as the textual products of deliberations or an educational program)where the team plays with the computer tools as others (in the past) would particpate in a barn raising.

RT/DT Synergy can even be performed in a single F2F conference. I experienced such an experiment in 1987, at the Baylor Medical Institute in Texas, the First Informatics Access Conference -- whose objective was to develop virtual means for medical information and guidance to be provided to developing nations. I attended as a conference session reporter - with a lunchpail computer (pre-laptop), taking notes. At the end of each session of presentations, we reporters carried our floppy disks to a central location where they were placed on a primitive BBS for online access AND the notes were rapidly printed and distributed to participants. This latter part failed because the realtime sessions were back-2-back so there was really no time to read. This was also the first F2F conference where the planners did all their work virtually. -- Larry Victor