Server Quick Reference for Co-motion® for Internet
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE CO-MOTION SERVER
The Mac version of Co-motion can both host and participate in sessions. From a single copy you can run your own sessions as well as join the sessions of others, even simultaneously.
When you license Co-motion, you receive a Windows browser which is capable of participating in the Co-motion sessions of others but not hosting.
As a belaboured note on terminology, the software that enables you to host sessions is called a 'server.' The act of serving is known as 'hosting.' And, the act of browsing is called 'participating.' Generally, those who are running a server are known as 'hosts' while those who join sessions at the host are called 'participants.'
SERVER README
Please print this readme and read it in its entirety. It gives you important information that will help you get the most from your Co-motion™ for Internet server.
Please remember that you are bound by the terms of your license agreement. The server version of Co-motion is Shareware. There are plenty of goodies like a box, documentation and complete source code when you register. See the ReadMe file from this distribution for more information.
Once you register, you can reach Bittco at support@bittco.com or by phone at (403) 922-5514 and fax at (403) 922-2859 with questions or concerns. For orders, email sales@bittco.com or by phone.
Visit our web site for the latest information at http://www.bittco.com.
SERVER OVERVIEW
Your Co-motion for Internet server empowers efficient and effective collaboration for teams, departments, task forces, even for groups separated by distance and time. Real-time, multi-user technology energizes collaboration as participants brainstorm and evaluate ideas in a session over the network. Idea generation, annotation, and evaluation tools focus the group on resolving their issues and taking action. Participants instantly organize the results by printing a variety of reports that separate the good from bad ideas as well as identify areas of consensus and disagreement.
Other features include private and public chatting as well as tools for finding, listing, and scrolling through the ideas in a shared, live document called the session. Be in as many sessions as you can handle, with as many people as you want, wherever and whenever it is convenient.
Your Co-motion server can add real-time group interaction and decision-making to the world-wide-web, offering a new dimension of experience and usefulness to your web site.
The world-wide-web can provide an entry point to your Co-motion server and sessions. Participants can join your server and sessions via clicks on web documents. These web entry points to Co-motion can range in purpose from spiffy entry points to your company's Co-motion server to detailed backgrounders on your team's toughest issues.
Additionally, participants using the Co-motion software can navigate the Internet. URLs that participants add to discussions in Co-motion are clickable. This means that when participants click URLs in Co-motion, the URLs are launched in participants' favorite web browsers like Netscape or Mosiac, displaying the web document, sending mail, downloading a file via ftp, or doing anything else that's possible via URLs -- all from a click in Co-motion.
Whether implemented among team members in your company or broadly distributed across the world-wide-web, Co-motion marks one of the newest and most exciting ways for groups to create, debate and evaluate in real-time over the Internet.
BEFORE YOU START SERVING UP CO-MOTION SESSIONS
As the server, you must of course have access to the Internet.
To run the server software, you require a Mac with System 7 or better, 2048K of available RAM, a hard disk, a modem ( if you're dialing in ), and a SLIP/ PPP/ or equivalent connection to a TCP/IP network like the Internet.
If you have dial-in access to the Internet, you must arrange with your Internet service provider to get the same 'IP address' every time that you dial in.
We recommend that the the IP address of your Co-motion server start with 'como' like our Bittco server at como.bittco.com.
SERVER REQUIREMENTS
The Co-motion for Internet server package requires a Mac® running System 7 or better, 2 MB of available RAM, a hard disk, MacTCP, and a connection to a TCP/IP network like the Internet.
Web servers and browsers are available from third parties. Virutally all web servers are supported, and supported web browsers include the latest versions of Netscape and Mosaic.
SERVER INSTALLATION
Your Co-motion server is distributed as a single file which is a self-extracting archive. When this file is opened from the Finder™, it creates a folder containing your Co-motion for Internet server application and supporting documentation.
To install your server version, double-click the package. When prompted to extract, choose a location on your hard drive, preferably on the startup disk (the one which has your System folder). A folder is created with the program and supporting documentation inside.
SERVER CONFIGURATION
Make sure that you have a properly configured connection to your TCP/IP network or the Internet. Please contact your network administrator or service provider for details.
You must personalize your host with a unique name. You may freely change this name if you choose.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR SERVER
By keeping a few things in mind, you'll ensure that your group uses the software to its fullest potential.
• Do follow the guidelines above to make sure that your first meeting is a success.
• Remember the purpose of the software and let other participants know as well. The software enables groups to quickly and efficiently brainstorm, annotate and evaluate ideas. Generated at the end of the session, the report sorts ideas by the groups' votes on the ideas, streaming down the typically large volume of input to only the note-worthy. The whole idea is to get together at the same time for a short and intense period like an hour to confront even difficult or controversial issues with as large or diverse a group as required to get results and take actions.
• Remind others that the software has been designed to maximize interaction and results. Features like anonymity are by design: they ensure that everyone will become involved, without fear of reprisal, bias, or looking silly.
• Ensure that everyone knows the basics of how to use the software. Everyone must at the very least know how to link to a session, place ideas and evaluate ideas. Refer to the documentation on how to perform these skills.
• Pick an issue that begs input from the group. The most engaging issues are real, relevant, controversial, as well as something the group can do something about. Issues that are not worthy of the groups' attention likely won't garner their enthusiasm or involvement. You can resolve social, political, or company issues -- but pick something fun and interesting.
• Try to get everyone, or at least most of the people, together at the same time. One of the best aspects of the software is the frequency of interaction between users who see the ideas of others and react -- instantly. It really gets the group going while fostering the kind of understanding of each other and the issue that will produce the best results.
• Don't worry if the shared, live session document looks messy. It's supposed to. This is unbridled brainstorming and interaction where the group focuses on the issue and the ideas. There's no need to order or stack the ideas in any way. The group members will put the ideas where they make the most sense to them, likely near to related ideas.
• If you or group members get confused by a potentially messy session document, use to the Find window accessed from the 'Ideas' menu. It sorts, lists, and filters all the ideas. Leave the search-term blank empty to list all ideas.
• There's a routine for efficient polling of ideas. Use 'Select Unpolled' on the 'Ideas' menu, followed by 'Idea Info' which opens the info windows for selected, unpolled ideas. Repeat this process until all the ideas are polled. The splats on the icons of unpolled ideas also provide a handy indicator of ideas polled and unpolled.
• Print a variety of reports and share the results with the participants. Remind the participants that they can print reports as well. After contributing, participants are interested in the results. They'll want to know what came from their efforts.
EVEN MORE TIPS THAT YOU MAY WANT TO PASS ALONG TO OTHERS
... an excerpt from the documentation available on our web site
The process
During a Co-motion for Internet Session, you will brainstorm, debate and evaluate ideas with other participants to resolve an issue. The first thing you will do is link up to a session. You brainstorm by creating ideas that others see the moment you create them. You debate by sharing your comments about ideas with other participants. You evaluate the ideas by registering your vote. At the end of a session, you can generate reports that will sort and prioritize the ideas based on the group's evaluation. These reports represent your group's solutions for the issue under consideration.
Read on to acquire the basic skills you need to participate: 1) linking to a session, 2) creating ideas, 3) debating, 4) evaluating, 5) navigating the Internet from Co-motion, 6) reporting, and 7) saving.
Before you begin, you must be connected to a TCP/IP network (like the Internet). And, open the Co-motion for Internet application by double-clicking it at the Finder.
1) Linking to a session
There are two ways to link to Co-motion hosts and sessions: from the world-wide-web and from Co-motion.
To link from the world-wide-web ...
This requires a web site that has been configured to work with Co-motion. Given this, it's simple. Just click a session or host entry point on the world-wide web. The first time you attempt this, your web browser may prompt you to determine what you want to do with the file. You should choose to 'launch' the file. After this, Co-motion should launch automatically and display either a list of sessions, or an actual session.
You may be prompted to enter a name that you wish to be know by during Co-motion sessions. Enter a unique name as no two people with the same name may join the same Co-motion host or sessions.
If you are not automatically joined to a Co-motion or session from your click, your web browser may be incorrectly configured or you may not have installed Co-motion correctly.
To ensure that you've installed Co-motion correctly, make sure that you have a Co-motion application on your hard drive. Co-motion is typically shipped as a BinHexed, self-extracting archive. You must convert this archive from BinHex and decompress it with a program like Stuffit or Compactor.
Also, you may need to configure your browser. At the time of writing this note, Mosaic required manual configuration, and Netscape would prompt for configuration information.
For more information on how to configure your WWW browser or how to correctly install and configure Co-motion, please user your WWW browser to access the following URL over the Internet, and look into the 'Trouble?' section --
When you link to a session, you become a participant. This step is like entering the meeting room and taking your seat.
To link to a session, Choose 'Link' from the 'File' menu, enter the address of the person whom you wish to join, and click 'OK'. You must obtain the address from the host of the session if you do not know it.
(If this doesn't work for you, you can enter the IP address directly, bypassing 'domain name resolvers' that may be the cause of the problem. To do this, hold the option key while choosing 'Link' from the 'File' menu. A small dialog prompts you for the numeric IP address to which you want to connect.)
Next, you'll receive a list of sessions available on the host to which you've linked. From this Link window, select the title of the session you want to join and click the Join button. A Session window will display on your screen. You will notice a swirl in the center of the Session window. This is the central issue that the host has requested the group to brainstorm.
2) Creating ideas
The first step in resolving the issue is to brainstorm ideas in the Session window. These are the ideas that the group will debate and evaluate. These are also the ideas that will be prioritized on the reports according to the level of support they receive from the group. So, if you want to find out what the group thinks about your idea, you must select an Idea tool and place your idea in the Session window.
The tools used to create and manipulate ideas are on the Idea palette found at the top left of your screen. An example of how your group might use the types of idea tools is as follows: the shovel tool to suggest concerns or problems, the target tool to suggest objectives or goals, and the runner tool to suggest actions or things to do.
To create an idea--
Select an Idea tool that reflects the type of idea you want to create;
Decide where you want it to be in the Session window and click there;
Type your idea title in the text box that appears; and
Press ENTER or RETURN to send your idea to the rest of the group. They will see it instantly.
The Browse Hand at the top of the palette enables you to select and move ideas.
The more ideas you contribute, the closer your group will be to a solution.
3) Debating
Each idea contains its own associated dialogue. This dialogue clarifies the group's understanding of the idea. It provides a forum to elaborate, ask questions, state opinions and even lobby.
To add your comments about an idea--
Select the Browse Hand from the Idea palette;
Double-click the idea in the Session window;
Type your comment in the bottom box of the Info window that displays;
Press ENTER or RETURN to send your comments to the group;
And, close the Info window when done.
The rest of the group will see your comments and respond or consider them as they are evaluating the idea.
Co-motion for Internet offers two other places for more generalized debate: public discussion in the Chat palette, and private discourse one-on-one. You will find the Chat palette on the bottom left of your screen. Select Session Info from the Windows menu to initiate a private discussion.
4) Evaluating
A crucial step in the process of a session is idea evaluation. You are there to not only brainstorm ideas but to help the group to prioritize them by ranking each idea according to your level of support. It is important that you evaluate every idea, not just the ones you like, because your votes count!
Ideas that you have not evaluated are indicated by a splat on the idea's icon in the session window.
To evaluate an idea--
Select the Browse Hand from the Idea palette;
Double-click the idea in the Session window;
Drag the head on the sliding scale until the value from 1 to 100 reflects your level of support;
If you are curious, click the Group button to see the group average;
And, close the Info window when done.
To ensure that you evaluate all of the ideas--
Choose Select Unpolled from the Ideas menu;
Choose Idea Info from the Ideas menu. This will open up the first ten ideas that you have not evaluated;
Register your level of support;
And, close the Info window when done.
Repeat these steps of choosing Select Unpolled and Idea Info again;
And, when you have evaluated all of the ideas, the Idea Info item will remain dimmed after you have chosen Select Unpolled.
Another way to ensure that you evaluate all the ideas --
Make sure that none of the ideas in the session windows has a splat on its icon. If you see one or more that do have a splat, double-click the idea to open its Info window, and vote on it. Repeat until none of the ideas has a splat on its icon.
If you are done early, pull up a few of your favorite ideas' Info windows and watch in the group view as others register their votes. Your work is done.
5) Navigating the Internet from Co-motion
URLs that you see in the chat, idea notes, one-on-one chat, as well as in the title field in an idea's Info window, are clickable.
This means that when you click URLs in Co-motion, the URLs are launched in your favorite web browsers like Netscape or Mosiac, displaying the web document, sending mail, downloading a file via ftp, or doing anything else that's possible via URLs -- all from a click in Co-motion.
You can also enter URLs for others to click.
You must have an AppleEvent-aware WWW browser like the latest versions of Netscape and Mosaic running to take advantage of this functionality.
6) Reporting
The results of your group's hard work will show in the reports. Any participant can choose their report options and print a report while they are linked to the host's session.
Select your report options by choosing 'Report Options' from the 'File' menu. The default report prints the top five endorsed ideas of each type. The 'Catalog' report prints all the ideas in alphabetical order while the 'Picture' report prints a graphic of the session just as it appears in the Session window. You can optionally include notes on the report as well limit the types of ideas printed on the report. You can change the sort direction from low to high or high to low, and you can sort by an average of the group's vote, a measure of support, or by the deviation, a measure of consensus.
When you've determined your report options, choose 'Print' from the 'File' menu.
The reports represent the considered and collective expertise and experience of your group applied to resolve the issue. Use them wisely.
7) Saving
If you plan to re-join the session, save a Link file by choosing Save from the File menu. This file conveniently gets you back into the session.
To rejoin a session with a Link file, double-click the Link file icon on your desktop or choose Open from the File menu. The session will display if the session is available at the address specified when you saved the link file.
