I am eager to see if we can adapt to the possibilities that these new technologies offer, or if people won’t be able to let others get “their grubby hands” on their notes.

I suppose keystrokes are being typed on various computers in one order - they are being sent over the internet in second order - and they arrive at the computer hosting the document in a third order. These three orders are in general the same, but network latency might change them. You are right - this is complex simultaneity.

On the other hand, internal to SubEthaEdit’s software process on the hosting computer, there aren’t really ’simultaneous’ changes - just individual single letter or single word changes which arrive in some order, and are committed against the document in the order they arrive. When we slow the writing process down (inverse Stanley Fish) we can see the micro-versions tick by.

However ‘micro-version’ might be a perverse description - a one-letter change is enough of a difference in degree from a ‘version’ that it might be a difference in kind.

Millenium seems cagey, Nicholas or John, you pick.

re: versioning. That’s a good point about histories. I was thinking that if “versioning” is to keep track of the changes made to the document by various people and to preserve “drafts” or a “master copy,” then having everyone make changes simultaneously (even if color-coded) seems to be antithetical to the process.

Re: the animations, they are uncredited. But I must say, that your idea of a recording of the process is excellent and is possible with certain software. Are there cheaper solutions?