Discussion in online forums typically consists of threaded messages, presented in a static (typically chronological) view. There is basically just one view of a conversation, and threads are attached to topic- specific forums, regardless of how their content evolves over time. This model doesn't allow for much flexibility for how information is presented to the users. We are investigating methods for creating a dynamically structured conversation space in which to organize threaded conversation. Rather than being part of a static topic that may not accurately represent topic evolution, threads can be associated dynamically with various relevant objects, e.g., a thread discussing participants' favorite French New Wave films may be accessed from the page for any of the movies that were mentioned. This makes it possible for users to encounter and initiate conversations in a variety of contexts. Breaking away from the chronological, segmented view of threads, users will instead be able to see messages posted in any area of the website, at any time, by any user. This new approach allows for a dynamic display of the conversation space, and the capability of presenting those threads which are of most interest to the user.

• Related Projects: MessagePlus

Title	Authors	Appears In	Publication Date	Date added
Insert Movie Reference Here: A System to Bridge Conversation and Item-Oriented Web Sites	Drenner, S., Harper, M., Frankowski, D., Riedl, J., and Terveen, L.,	Proceedings of CHI 2006	2006	07.13.06