Locales framework: exploring foundations for collaboration support

We believe that virtual simulation of physical environments is an insufficient basis for building collaborative support systems. In response, we present a locales framework which frames collaboration as the interaction of individuals within social worlds regardless of whether that interaction is physical or virtual. The overview describes the five aspects of the framework: locale foundations, where locales are the basic structures providing the affordances for the work of social worlds; mutuality in interaction, including presence and awareness issues; individual views of multiple locales of interest, defined by the individual's participation in multiple social worlds; interaction trajectories, capturing the temporal dimensions of interaction; and civic structures, which embed locales and the collaborative work of groups in the larger public sphere.