Early researchers studying computer-mediated communication (done via bulletin boards, forums and email for example) often compared CMC forms to more traditional face-to-face communication and found them wanting. They focused their critiques on what the computer-mediated communication approach was missing.

Jelle van Veenen calls our attention to two specific concerns that may suggest that text-based CMC tools would be less than optimal for dispute resolution.

• Not rich enough for the complex task
• Lacks important social information

We will look at these theories in more detail next.