Groupware

Groupware is software that helps people work together collectively without necessarily being physically located in the same place. SocialTools is initially focused on supporting two types of groupware:

Mailing lists

A mailing list is a service that distributes email on a certain topic. People who are interested in the topic can subscribe to the list. When someone sends a message to the list, the mailing list service distributes the message to all the subscribers. Mailing lists are typically used for online discussions. They can also be used to send out announcements, newsletters, and the like. Although email has many limitations as a means of communication, mailing lists have two great advantages that make them useful as groupware:

1. Since the discussion doesn't happen in real time, you can participate whenever it's convenient for you.

2. Postings to mailing lists are automatically archived on the web, so there's a permanent record of all discussions.

To learn more about how mailing lists work, you can experiment with the SocialTools user-sandbox list.

Wiki

A Wiki is a service that provides a simple way for a group of people to edit a web site without having any technical knowledge. Each page has an Edit link at the bottom; when you click on it, a form is displayed for editing the contents of the page. You can format text much as you would when writing an email. A Wiki remembers all the changes that are made to each page, so you can go back to previous versions.

To learn more about how a Wiki works, you can experiment with the Test section on the Open Organizations Wiki.