Modeling electronic conference control

Abstract

A variety of research has been conducted on electronic conference control; however widely adopted standards are still lacking. In this paper, we present a generic model for electronic conference control. This model extends the formal meeting protocol commonly known as parliamentary procedure or Robert's Rules of Order (RRO). Capturing the essential features of RRO, we formalize a conference into phrased structured process with proposal-discussion-decision cycles. Meanwhile, since traditional RRO incorporates certain limitations, we present extensions to regulate the unique nature of electronic conferences. Centered by the introduction of the concept of discussion thread, our extended RRO enables handling concurrency, multi-floors, amendment nesting, and discussion hierarchy. This research contributes to the state of the art by presenting a robust and comprehensive control model to hitherto ad hoc control practices of electronic conferences. Finally, we discuss an experimental electronic conference system.