Design Guidelines

Important system design guidelines for this community-conscious approach include:

• Be inviting; create a place that is:
  • simple, plain, and approachable
  • aesthetically pleasing
  • free-formed and flexible
  • encouraged, supported, and sustained over time

• Provide unconstrained access. More specifically, the system should be
  • accessible from appropriate number of convenient points
  • easy to set up and use
  • able to integrate into existing communication procedures

• Do not distract, disturb, or overwhelm. More specifically, the system should:
  • conserve the use of desktop screen real estate and other system resources
  • try to fade into the background of human perception

• Preserve privacy. More specifically, the system should
  • inform the user about its impact on his or her privacy
  • give the user adequate control of his or her privacy