On Tue, 8 Apr 2008, Jeffrey Watts wrote: > You keep somehow trying to make the point that text communication is > somehow "faster" and more "efficient" than verbal, despite the fact that > this not only flies in the face of common sense but also seems in > opposition to numerous studies that show that people comprehend verbal > communication better. You keep discussing like you have your nose in a college text book instead of lifting your head and taking a look at what we're actually talking about: netrek. Let me run it by you step by step why text communication is more efficient than voice communication in netrek. By "efficient" in this context we're talking about the (1) speed of which the information is sent and (2) received and (3) the quality of information (signal:noise ratio). 1. In netrek all important messages can be conveyed by RCD macros. This means that all important messages can be sent with the touch of one key. Therefore, RCD's are very many times faster than voice communication. 2. An experienced player can recognize an RCD in less than one second after it has been sent. This is a lot less time than it would take for the same player to listen to the same message being spoken. 3. RCD's can be configured to convey the information the receiver wants to have. For instance, whenever someone uses the dist.carrying macro, I see their fuel because I think this is crucial information to me when I decide to escort. Furthermore, RCD's are never garbled -- you never have to say "can you repeat that?" with written messages. The signal to noise ratio is virtually unlimited. -- Niclas